Walking desolate country roads at night was truly terrifying, especially when silence enveloped everything. With no one in sight, the surrounding fields were dotted with abandoned graves, and willow branches swayed eerily. In his previous life, Hu Ma had been timid. In this life, before mastering his cultivation, evil spirits had constantly harassed him, making him so afraid he didn’t dare step outside. Although he had now learned cultivation, he had never experienced anything like this. Even his night patrols were always done with many people carrying the Red Lantern Lady’s lamp.
This was his first ti walking such a dark road at night alone, yet he felt surprisingly calm. After all, he had a little ghost companion with him!
Summoning his courage, he gripped his knife tightly, hoisted Little Hongtang onto his back, and took large strides forward.
He was quite familiar with these country paths from his usual night patrols around the area. Gradually, he rounded the foot of one mountain. After following a small path for another three to four miles, he could already see a dark village nestled at the foot of a distant mountain, a faint light flickering within.
It seed Xu Ji and his n had already arrived. Villagers usually couldn’t afford to keep the place so lit up at night; this light must be because of them, he thought.
Hu Ma stopped outside the village, frowning. This area lay beyond their usual night patrol range, and he had no idea what might be there. In fact, despite accepting this difficult task, he knew nothing about its details. The old shopkeeper ntioned an evil spirit that had lingered there for quite so ti, but what exactly is it?
"Ah..."
While Hu Ma was pondering, Little Hongtang, who was on his back, suddenly chirped, "They went to Sister Jing’s place."
Hu Ma was taken aback. "Huh? Who’s Sister Jing?"
"There’s a poor sister there who hides in the well and cries every day." Little Hongtang looked up at Hu Ma. "Little Hongtang went over to talk to her, but she ignores everyone."
Hu Ma was even more surprised. "When did you go over there?"
"I go often..." Little Hongtang continued, "Brother Huma usually ignores Little Hongtang, so I wander off to play. But there’s no one around here to play with , so Little Hongtang has to go out and find friends..."
She spoke with an aggrieved tone, "But Little Hongtang doesn’t know anyone nearby. Sister Jing to the west won’t talk to Little Hongtang. Master Shi to the south gets angry whenever he sees anyone. And that family to the north loves to bully people..."
"You..." She’s surprisingly well-traveled, isn’t she? Hu Ma thought, sowhat surprised.
Still, there was nothing to be done about it. Within ten miles of the Manor, evil spirits weren’t allowed to linger; they had all been expelled in the na of the Red Lantern Lady. And since Little Hongtang couldn’t bear to stay cooped up in the room recently, she had been running out to play every day and had actually beco quite familiar with the surroundings.
An idea sparked in his mind. Holding his knife, he sat down and said to Little Hongtang, "Go take a look. Just watch from a distance; don’t get close. See if those people are bullying your Sister Jing."
Little Hongtang, having been promised green food by Hu Ma, nodded vigorously. A flash of red darted forward and quickly disappeared into the night.
Suddenly, he was alone again, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, with only an inexplicable wind whirling past. Hu Ma felt a chill perate his body and silently hugged his knife tighter.
His voice lowered as he spoke into the surrounding night, "I’m just passing through. Let’s mind our own business, like well water and river water staying separate. Nobody bothers anybody!" As he spoke, he drew his knife halfway out, holding it across his lap.
Who knows if that was effective, or if anything even heard it, but the surrounding wind did seem to lessen slightly. If sothing did hear, hopefully, that warning would work; he didn’t want any extra trouble. And if nothing heard, well, talking to himself wasn’t embarrassing.
After waiting for about the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, Little Hongtang ca rushing back from the village’s direction. She anxiously told Hu Ma, "Brother Huma, they really are bullying Sister Jing! They’re pouring so awful-slling stuff into the well, hitting Sister Jing’s hair with old objects, and even chopping at the well curb with knives! They’ve also ford a circle and are spitting fire at Sister Jing, trying to burn her!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Ma was convinced: the evil spirit the old shopkeeper had ntioned was indeed the one in that well. Whether it was the spirit of soone who had drowned themselves in the well, or so entity that had manifested within it, that was undoubtedly the core of this difficult task. It looked like Xu Ji had already found a way to deal with it and might succeed at any mont. What should I do now?
He glanced at the knife in his arms. Even before setting out alone, he had already co up with two plans. Either I go fight him head-on with my cultivation and snatch the prize from him, or...
He quickly made his decision. He pulled a paper package from his robes and slowly unwrapped it.
Initially, Little Hongtang didn’t know what it was, but as the package opened, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she stared at it unblinkingly. Not only her, but even in the surrounding pitch-black night, sothing seed to stir with excitent.
The paper package contained a few pieces of dark, sticky-looking at. These were pieces cut from the green Tai Sui left to him by the Second Master. However, tempting as this green Tai Sui was, it still wasn’t quite enough. So, Hu Ma also took out a Blood Food Pill given by Granny, squeezed out the fresh blood, and drizzled it over the pieces of green Tai Sui.
With this, the green Tai Sui now slled just like a Blood Tai Sui. This technique has a professional na: fooling ghosts. And this was precisely the contingency Hu Ma had hastily prepared in his room before leaving the Manor.
If I were to charge in and fight with my knife, Xu Ji has old objects. I might not be able to win against him, and there’s also the risk of exposing my true level of cultivation. Besides, if I’m going to win, I need to win completely and decisively. That way, the old shopkeeper will have no more excuses and will have to teach the dharma thod.
Having thought it through, Hu Ma no longer hesitated. He handed the package to Little Hongtang. "Little Hongtang, take these things and run a circle around the area! And don’t you dare sneak a bite."
"But..." Little Hongtang looked at the at, her eyes wide, and swallowed hard. She shook her little head. "I can’t just circle around. People will try to snatch them from Little Hongtang. Back near our village, Little Hongtang could deliver food to you because Granny was watching, and no one dared to snatch it. But out here, they’ll all try to rob Little Hongtang! Waaah..."
"It’s okay. Just let them snatch it," Hu Ma instructed earnestly. "Run fast. If soone is about to catch you, throw down one piece... And it’s best if you throw them near that village!" He finished, looking up toward the firelight still glowing from the village.
anwhile, in the village at the foot of the mountain, Xu Ji had his n light several torches. A chilling wind gusted around them, making the flas leap and flicker erratically. Xu Ji, brandishing a Wooden Sword, kept his eyes fixed on the dark, wet wellhead, shouting, "Keep going! Don’t be afraid!"
The hearts of the n around him were already pounding in their chests as if to leap out. Eyes squeezed shut, their hands fumbled in their tasks. So scraped their knives desperately against the nearby stone walls, producing harsh Jin Ge sounds. Others were simply practicing desperately, holding their breath, ready to spit it out towards the well at any mont. And Xu Ji’s two main followers were loudly berating a tearful Li, ordering him to take a jar of what looked like fresh blood and pour it into the well.
From the surrounding houses, flickering shadows indicated that the villagers were watching in terror, bewildered by what these Blood Food Society people were doing. Previously, when the villagers had wanted to hire them to deal with the evil spirit in this very well, they had refused, claiming it was too much trouble. Yet now, here they were, stirring things up in the dead of night. Who in their right mind would provoke the thing in that well in the middle of the night? the villagers wondered. A few villagers had initially co out to shout at them to stop. But seeing that these youths, though not old, were all ferocious-looking and so were ard, the timid, honest villagers didn’t dare provoke them further. They just retreated into their hos, shivering with fear.
It will work! It has to work! Xu Ji clenched his jaw, silently steeling his nerves. Every step he had taken was the result of careful deliberation. Having his n scrape the well curb with steel knives—though right now they were just scraping stone—and pouring those things into the well, it was all to force the entity inside to erge. He had already succeeded once. He’d clearly seen a strand of wet hair shoot out and try to drag soone into the well. But the old object in his hand was truly formidable; one slash of his sword, and the creature had shrieked piercingly and retreated back into the well. And to be safe, he even had his other n encircle the well. These n hadn’t practiced their forms well and certainly didn’t know advanced dharma thods like the True Yang Arrow. But that didn’t matter. As long as they held their breath and spat it out if things looked bad, they could similarly use the vigorous stove fire from their own bodies to help repel the evil spirit from the well. This way, he had effectively laid an inescapable trap; the creature would have no way to escape. He was bound to win this test. And the old shopkeeper’s Shousui man dharma thod would undoubtedly be his!
"Put more effort into it!" Thinking this, Xu Ji felt his courage swell. He roared at Li, "If you keep dawdling and hesitating, I’ll throw you in myself!"
Li’s face was already deathly pale with fright. He squeezed his eyes shut, fumbled his way to the well’s edge, and was about to tilt the jar to pour.
Xu Ji also tensed up, his focus entirely on the well. This ti, the thing in the well will definitely be forced out. I have to watch for the right mont. Just one strike from my sword. One strike will be enough to finish it off!
But just at this critical mont, with success hanging by a thread, an unnatural, sinister wind suddenly swept through the village. The area around the well was already filled with a chilling wind, a sign of the entity dwelling within. But for so reason, at this precise mont, that sinister wind intensified severalfold. Moreover, this wind wasn’t coming from the well; it seed to be rushing in from outside the village, bringing with it a bone-chilling, ominous presence.
WHOOSH! The torches they had stuck into the ground were all blown out simultaneously. The surroundings instantly plunged into a terrifying darkness, filled with flickering, ghostly shadows.
Li let out a terrified shriek and fell to the ground, the liquid from the jar splashing all over him. The others had no ti to scold him; they all felt a chill seep deep into their bones, and their ears seed to fill with endless, bizarre sounds. This chill perated their bodies, and it felt as if their vision was blurring. They could vaguely make out shadowy, swirling forms outside the village, as if a demonic wind was stirring.
What they couldn’t see, of course, was a little girl in a red dress fleeing for her life, with a large band of dark, grotesque figures chasing crazily after her.
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