Corpse-Fetus? Chloe and I looked at each other in disbelief, not understanding what Corpse-Fetus Stein was talking about.
"Hey, you creepy little dead guy, stop talking nonsense. How could I be pregnant with a Corpse-Fetus?" Chloe snapped impatiently, visibly displeased.
Stein didn't get angry. Instead, he asked Chloe if she had been dry-heaving lately or feeling an urge to drink blood.
Chloe suddenly fell silent. My heart skipped a beat—was it true? Was Chloe really pregnant with that… thing? A Corpse-Fetus?
Stein explained that carrying a Corpse-Fetus would produce symptoms similar to a human pregnancy, including nausea. However, while a human fetus would cause cravings for sour foods, a Corpse-Fetus would create a thirst for blood. He had just taken Chloe's pulse and confirmed she was indeed pregnant—but her "joyous pulse" was abnormal.
The "joyous pulse" referred to the "slippery pulse," which the Pulse Decision clearly described as "a woman without phlegm is pregnant." It should feel like smooth jade beads rolling beneath the fingertips, distinct and rhythmic, like pearls falling onto a plate.
But Chloe's pulse was unusual—stiff and hard, prickling like thorns as it moved under his touch. This was unmistakably not a human fetus. It was… a Corpse-Fetus!
A human pregnant with a Corpse-Fetus? That was too shocking, too absurd. Still, this Stein seemed somewhat capable—just a touch of his fingers could determine not only pregnancy but whether it was a human or Corpse-Fetus.
Finally, Chloe spoke up. She said she didn't know how this could have happened, let alone what a Corpse-Fetus even was. At first, she thought it was just from drinking too much—since she often had to accompany clients, the nausea and vomiting made sense. But later, even when she wasn't drinking, the urge to vomit persisted, along with an increasing craving for blood.
How could this be? Was it the ghost haunting Chloe? That didn't make sense. I had just given her the Ghost-Begging Yaksha tattoo. Olivia had gotten one—Chloe shouldn't have been affected.
Chloe agreed, saying it couldn't be the ghost because the tattoo had worked.
Before, she had constantly felt something following her, though she couldn't see or pinpoint it. But after getting the Yaksha tattoo, she could sense where the ghost was. A dark figure wielding a staff would appear, and in an instant, the ghostly presence would vanish.
"Good, that means the Ghost-Begging Yaksha emerged and scared it off. Since the Yaksha devours ghosts, of course it would flee."
I felt slightly relieved. At least the problem wasn't with my tattoo—I'd been worried it wasn't working!
But then, Chloe shook her head. The ghost hadn't left.
She could still feel it—no longer daring to come close, but watching her from a distance. The sensation was unmistakable.
No way… What was going on? Was the ghost really fixated on Chloe? It didn't dare approach, yet it refused to leave her alone.
Stein had no idea what we were talking about and listened with a blank expression, so I had to explain Chloe's situation to him.
After hearing it, Stein slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Wrong! The whole thing is wrong!"
"First," he said, "the ghost revived by possessing a corpse—it doesn't want to kill Chloe. It wants to use her womb to conceive a Corpse-Fetus for its rebirth. If it really wanted Chloe dead, it could've killed her during the possession. There's no need for such a complicated scheme."
"Second," he continued, "the ghost isn't trying to harm Chloe—it just wants to see its child. Once the Corpse-Fetus is born, it will leave. That's why the Yaksha can't drive it away completely—it's forced to watch from a distance."
"Third," he added, "the resentment clinging to Chloe wasn't left intentionally by the corpse so it could kill her. It's leftover resentment from the ghost who possessed the corpse. He was in the middle of his 'good deed' with Chloe when his time ran out, and he wasn't happy about it."
"But this thing got incredibly lucky—somehow, it actually managed to impregnate Chloe without any mistakes."
What Stein was saying was too bizarre. How could a corpse impregnate someone? And only halfway at that? Besides, who would go through the trouble of possessing a corpse just to create a new Corpse-Fetus?
Also, wasn't it Chloe's enemy, Isabella, who had hired someone to curse her? How did it suddenly become about a Corpse-Fetus? If Isabella wasn't behind it, why would she lie so stubbornly—even to the point of refusing to live?
Why did this situation keep getting more confusing?
Stein shrugged. "I don't know. I can see through supernatural phenomena, but human motives? That's beyond me. Who would be bored enough to do something like this? And what grudge does Chloe even have with anyone?"
The more Chloe listened, the more terrified she became, nearly on the verge of tears. She was a living person—how could she be pregnant with some Corpse-Fetus? It was enough to drive anyone to panic.
She asked Stein whether this so-called Corpse-Fetus was a human or a zombie—and whether it could be aborted.
Stein explained:
"A Corpse-Fetus, once born, is half-human, half-zombie—immortal. Its development depends on how it's raised. If nurtured properly, it can gradually become more human, though its physique will still differ slightly, retaining traces of corpse energy. If raised poorly, it'll become a full-fledged zombie."
"You can get rid of it through force, but it'll be extremely harmful. Traces of corpse energy will linger in your womb, leaving you weak and sickly for life."
So, the Corpse-Fetus could grow into an adult—but the risks were enormous. And the father of this child was a dead man. Who in their right mind would want to keep it? Just getting pregnant with one was terrible luck.
I still had one question:
If this Corpse-Fetus was the result of possession, meaning the corpse and the ghost were two separate entities… then whose child was it, really?
Stein hemmed and hawed, looking slightly lewd as he said, "How should I know? That's something for Yama to judge."
Chloe wasn't in the mood for jokes now. With this happening to her, she was suffering more than anyone. My heart ached for her too - her fate was already unfortunate enough, and now this had happened.
Chloe immediately knelt before me, tears streaming down her face, begging me to give her another Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts design, hoping to get rid of this Corpse-Fetus.
I quickly helped her up. It wasn't that I didn't want to tattoo her - there simply wasn't such a design in Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. Neither Yang-themed tattoos nor Yin-inspired tattoos could help. This was the first time I'd even heard of a Corpse-Fetus.
There was no natural way a corpse could impregnate someone - this was truly sinister. And was Isabella hiding some secret so terrible she'd rather die than reveal it?
Chloe cried bitter tears. I felt terrible too - if I couldn't help solve this for her, I feared she might take her own life. This was something ordinary people simply couldn't accept.
I asked Stein if there was any way to terminate this Corpse-Fetus without harming Chloe's body. Getting rid of one problem only to create another wouldn't be worth it.
Stein thought for a moment and said we should consult a Celestial Master - they might have a solution.
"A Celestial Master? Who should we ask? Philip?"
Just then, angry shouts suddenly came from outside the door.
"Roger, you big shot! So what if I owe you twenty thousand dollars? Was that worth complaining to my sister about? Have you no humanity?"
Well, what a coincidence - the Celestial Master was here!