Chapter 265: The Accusation

The old lady on the bed ground her teeth again, the grating sound sharp with anger.

Lu Xin, however, acted as if he hadn’t noticed. Adopting a professional tone, he said, “Ma’am, your child really does have a problem.”

“His mental power is severely damaged and distorted right now. These are clear signs of mental pollution.”

“Please trust my expertise. Back in Qinggang City, part of my job involves handling precisely these kinds of situations. From what I can see, the influence on him is already severe. The conditions in this village offer no hope for recovery. Unless you go to Qinggang…”

…

“Mental pollution?”

The old lady’s voice trembled as she repeated the words, a mix of confusion and concern.

“That’s right.”

Lu Xin nodded. “It’s a newly emerged type of contamination symptom—mental pollution… Do you understand?”

He wanted to explain further but wasn’t very confident she would grasp it.

It had taken him some time to understand when Chen Jing first explained it to him…

“Are you telling the truth?”

The old lady’s voice shook slightly. “You… tell me more…”

She paused, then added, “Before the Red Moon… I… I was a university student…”

“A university student?”

Lu Xin was taken aback by her words.

In his mind, university graduates were talented young elites like Vice President Xiao…

He himself had only finished high school.

Someone like Gecko probably hadn’t even finished high school…

A faint sense of respect arose within him, and he took another serious look at the strange child.

Through his unique vision, Lu Xin could clearly see the child had undergone a certain mutation. Not a physical one visible to everyone, but a mental distortion. A fissure had formed near his left temple.

When the child became aggressive, an eye would appear within that fissure.

Just moments ago, Lu Xin had stared directly at this eye, frightening the child enough to stop him from reaching into the soup pot.

Lu Xin had already completed basic training regarding Special Pollution Sources and Ability Users.

However, the training hadn’t covered theories about directly *seeing* pollution like he could. So, Lu Xin had to combine his unique ability with the theoretical knowledge from the course to make a judgment. He concluded the child was deeply contaminated.

But it hadn’t reached the point of loss of control yet.

Therefore, the child was likely at a critical juncture.

He could either become a Pollution Source or an Ability User.

…But judging by the current situation, it seemed far more likely he would become a Pollution Source.

…

“What… what exactly is going on? Please… tell me in detail…”

As Lu Xin observed closely and organized his thoughts, the old lady grew visibly anxious.

“To know what specifically happened, I should be asking you…”

Lu Xin thought for a moment, then looked at the old lady. “When did he start acting like this?”

“Two… about two months ago…”

The old lady’s voice trembled with anxiety as she explained:

“Many people in the village got sick… they contracted this pollution you mentioned. But none of them… none were this severe. Only my little grandson, my poor little grandson… It’s because he doesn’t get enough food, his body isn’t strong enough, that’s why it’s so bad for him…”

…

“Two months ago…”

Lu Xin pondered for a moment. “Did anything else happen around that time?”

Seeing the old lady’s confused expression, he elaborated:

“Based on my experience handling these cases, the onset of mental pollution usually has a rather specific trigger.”

“It’s often triggered suddenly by an outsider, or perhaps an object. Alternatively, someone within your village might have developed problems first. If that’s the case, it’s highly likely they experienced some major, memorable event…”

“An outsider…”

The old lady followed Lu Xin’s train of thought, and suddenly, something clicked. She slammed her fist on the bed. “Yes!”

“It was that woman! That wretched woman…”

“Everything started with her…”

…

A curious expression appeared on Lu Xin’s face as he waited for her to continue.

“That woman… my son found her outside and brought her back…”

The old lady gritted her teeth, her eyes gleaming coldly with intense loathing. “My family treated her well enough, we never let her starve. My eldest son even gave her the best food we had. But that woman, she’s a jinx! Not long after she arrived, my eldest son was killed by someone while reclaiming wasteland. My second son took her in, but… but just a few days later, he also got sick and died…”

“I told my third son back then, ‘We can’t keep her! We have to bury her!’ But he wouldn’t listen…”

“He and my fourth son were full brothers, yet they drew knives on each other over that woman! One got his head smashed in, the other’s intestines spilled onto the ground… My poor third son… He just lay there on the floor… died in agony…”

…

Lu Xin listened quietly, saying nothing.

“It’s that woman…”

The old lady spat through gritted teeth, “That’s right! After she came, everyone started getting sick…”

“I… I’ll go tell the village chief right now! We have to kill her! We must kill her…”

…

At this point, Lu Xin finally spoke, a hint of surprise in his voice, “She’s still alive?”

“Alive! That damn woman is still alive…”

The old lady shrieked, startling even the strange child beside her.

“This woman, she caused the deaths of my four sons…”

“And then, just like that, she started fooling around with the village chief’s son…”

“Shameless! She deserves to die…”

…

The old lady’s voice grew increasingly hysterical. Lu Xin cleaned his ear and frowned.

“Please calm down first. Tell me slowly. The more detail you provide, the better it will be for resolving this situation…”

He offered the old lady a gentle smile while taking out his small notebook.

He looked quite serious and professional.

The old lady looked at him sitting on the stool, ready to take notes. She found him a bit odd, but his gentle expression did have a calming effect. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice chilling, and her pace indeed much slower. “That woman… she’s a ghost…”

Her voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from extreme hatred. Her teeth ground together subconsciously.

“Ever since she came to our village, nothing good has happened. She…”

“She caused the deaths of my four sons, seduced men all over the village, and even… even went after my little grandson…”

“You… if you don’t leave, she’ll seduce you too… You don’t know how evil she is!”

“Now, everyone in the village is bewitched by her! They all side with her…”

…

“Didn’t you just ask why we don’t have enough to eat?”

The old lady abruptly turned her head towards Lu Xin, the wrinkles on her face twisting slowly like worms. “Because she eats all the good things in the village! She demands the best food, the best drink! All the eggs, the piglets in the village—she ate them all! The village chief’s son… Pah! My eldest son used to be the chief, but his two sons snatched it away…”

“They even trade our grain away to get delicacies for her…”

“We only have a few acres of land. How much grain can we harvest in a year? And then those motorcycle riders steal some… The rest… is all squandered on her…”

“But that woman still isn’t satisfied! She wants the absolute best…”

“Tell me…”

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly turned gloomy, her gaze like a shadow falling over Lu Xin.

“When all the grain, chickens, pigs, and sheep are gone… what else will they feed her?”

…

“Ah, this…”

Hearing this, Lu Xin was stunned for a moment. He sniffed the air and muttered to himself, “No wonder it smelled so fragrant…”

…

The old lady fell silent, as if Lu Xin’s comment had abruptly broken her emotional outpouring.

Lu Xin looked down, scribbled in his small notebook for a while, then looked up.

“So, that’s why you don’t have enough food? No wonder so many people look malnourished.”

“However…”

He scratched his head. “But where did the uncoordinated limbs come from? Is it rickets?”

“That shouldn’t fall under the scope of mental pollution. Could there be a cross-infection?”

“It’s her…”

Perhaps feeling increasingly that Lu Xin wasn’t reliable, the old lady’s voice became much quieter, losing its earlier intensity. She just mumbled, “It’s all her fault, that woman… She’s bewitched everyone in the village…”

“She tried to trick my little grandson too, but only my grandson isn’t one of hers…”

“She won’t harm my little grandson…”

…

“Sigh…”

Seeing her rambling state, Lu Xin decided not to press her further.

He simply wrote something like “Subject emotionally unstable, unable to conduct in-depth investigation” in his small notebook.

Then he fell into thought, wondering what kind of pollution could cause such a situation…

*Hiss…*

Just then, Sister suddenly crawled along the rooftop to the edge of the door. Hanging upside down, she peered out through the gap above the doorframe. A mischievous, happy expression spread across her small face. Turning to Lu Xin, she forcefully squeezed the screaming chicken in her hand.

A heart-wrenching screech echoed through the room, utterly miserable.

“Are they here?”

Lu Xin perked up his ears and heard the faint rustling of footsteps not far outside the house.

There were lights inside the room, but outside was pitch black, obscuring everything from view.

Yet, Lu Xin intuitively felt figures slowly emerging from various corners outside the house.

Hunched over, dragging their legs, they appeared one by one under the Red Moon.

Their eyes could be seen faintly glowing, and they carried various makeshift weapons.

Some held long poles with daggers tied to the end, others carried kitchen knives, and some held bricks.

Silently, they crept closer to the room.

Their movements were slow, like beasts stalking prey.

…

The old lady seemed to have noticed the commotion outside as well. A strange smile spread across her face.

“See? That woman is hungry again…”