Chapter 3

The search and rescue team had only seen the skeletons on the outside. They had no idea that there were countless baby spirits in the pit. The villagers had abandoned all their unwanted baby daughters there over the last few years.

Not wanting the abandoned babies to take revenge on them, they built a small tower and carved runes all over it to suppress the spirits. However, the villagers' fear of vengeance also prevented the innocent babies from being reborn.

The tower lost its power after it was destroyed, so it was nothing more than a pile of broken bricks now.

No one could see the babies' spirits traversing gleefully all over the mountains, playing pranks on everyone who stepped foot into the area.

I kneeled down next to the broken tower and asked, "Can you let me take Soleil home?"

The babies' spirits giggled eerily as they floated around me in a circle.

I knew what they were trying to tell me. "No, Mommy will get angry."

They were more willing to listen to their "Mommy" than me.

I let out a regretful sigh and pulled out my blessed sword that was carved from a tree that was struck by lightning.

"You leave me with no other choice then," I said.

The babies' spirits scattered, not daring to get in my way. Instead, they stuck their tongues out at me from afar.

After all, I used to be their leader, which also meant that I still intimidated them.

Since they weren't willing to disclose Soleil's location to me, I would simply have to look for her myself.

I searched through the entire pit, but I couldn't find Soleil's body anywhere.

I sighed as I stood outside the tomb that had a dragon carved on the entrance, not wanting to enter.

"Do we have to do this? He doesn't like it when people enter his home uninvited. Besides, his people are the ones causing trouble. If you come out now, we can still talk about this. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to go inside."

It seemed that I was out of options when the silence stretched on with no reaction from within.

I gritted my teeth and entered the tomb, ignoring the fact that the owner once told me that he would eat me if I dared to return.

However, he should be able to understand why I broke my promise, knowing that I had no choice but to do so. But truth be told, he shouldn't even be aware of my presence, considering the fact that he was no longer there.

I didn't smell the tomb owner's scent even once when I returned this time.

I navigated past the rooms with familiar steps, dawdling until I made it to the main room. I couldn't help the slight twinge of frustration that bubbled in my chest, wondering why Soleil had to hide here of all places.

As expected, I found Soleil lying in the casket in the main room. Her corpse showed no signs of decomposition, but there was a strong, rotting stench wafting from it.

Her stomach was extremely swollen. Her shirt had ridden up to her chest, exposing her entire belly. The surface of her stomach was covered in green veins, and she looked like she was seconds away from giving birth.

In fact, I could see her stomach moving.

I frowned, feeling fury bubble within me. Still, I suppressed my anger and politely asked, "Are you going to come out by yourself? Or do I have to extend an invitation to you?"

Soleil didn't say a word, but the negative energy in the tomb grew thicker, as if we were in a freezer.

I had obviously angered it.

Still, I tried reasoning with it. "Don't you know that you're crossing the line by lying in someone else's casket? Also, you're not supposed to behave this way. You've been perfectly fine all this time staying here and playing your role as the spirits' mother, no?"

With the existence of a tower to suppress the spirits of deceased babies, there would most certainly be a ghost mother.

A ghost mother who lost her child was a perfect match for abandoned babies, after all. The presence of the babies allowed her to become stronger, while the babies were given a mother.

Unfortunately, the ghost mother had crossed the line by getting a human involved. She was even trying to use Soleil's body to return to the human realm.

I didn't take action immediately. Instead, I pulled out the piece of cloth that belonged to Charlotte and set it aflame along with a talisman.

"She's not an unwanted child. Her parents are waiting for her," I said.

Soleil suddenly bolted up into a sitting position, staring at me with dark eyes.