He knew my identity?
When he heard this person announce his family na, Hu Ma instantly beca alert. He took a small step back. Inside the incense burner within him, the three Life Incense were all ready. He had known that after doing these significant things, trouble would co knocking, but he had also planned on how to handle these troubles. Now that his cultivation had progressed significantly, he only needed to take a step back to reach the Bridge. This encounter with the Negative Spirit Great Sword Catching Sect had made him realize that his fate was heavier than expected. Thus, he had confidence even when facing a Shangqiao Master.
At the very least, he could escape! After all, for a Shousui man, being able to escape was a skill and nothing to be ashad of.
However, observing Hu Ma's wariness, the State Preceptor, known by the Dharma na Dong Xuan, showed no unusual behavior, nor any hostility. He rely smiled, turned to pick up a wine cup from the table, downed the village's crude wine in one gulp, then turned to Hu Ma with a smile and said, "With the pond god revived and lesser deities abundant, these mountains have beco much more peaceful, and one is less likely to encounter evil spirits."
"Young friend, would you care to take a walk with outside the village?"
Hu Ma glanced around. No one seed to have noticed his conversation with the State Preceptor; the atmosphere remained lively. It was as if no one had even seen him stand up. After a quick ntal assessnt, he decided and smiled, replying, "Since Senior is in the mood, let's go!"
The State Preceptor lightly waved his horsetail whisk, then smiled and led the way. As he and Hu Ma left their seats, still, no one around them seed to notice. The two walked slowly towards the village outskirts. The State Preceptor, his face filled with emotion, surveyed the village: the low thatched huts, the tall wooden walls erected years ago to ward off evil spirits, the village's millstone and stone-paved paths, the chili peppers drying in front of houses, and the rough wooden window lattices. Every detail reflected the simple life within the village. As he looked, he sighed, "The Hu Family has indeed suffered greatly."
"The esteed direct lineage of the Hu clan, one of the Ten Surnas, yet they forsook wealth and glory, grand mansions, fine clothing, and exquisite food, to co to this desolate village. They struggled to survive, constantly on guard day and night, their future bleak. Reflecting on it now, I truly admire the Hu Family's ruthless determination."
Hu Ma listened coldly, his mind racing, and asked, "You seem to know a lot about the Hu Family's experiences?"
"Naturally," the State Preceptor chuckled. "The Hu Family obtaining the Zhensui Mansion, retreating to Old Yin Mountain, and sealing the disaster-averting altars—all these were decided after discussions with ."
"Then..." Hu Ma's heart tightened as he listened, and he whispered, "Why?"
His instincts scread caution regarding this mysterious State Preceptor. He rembered that Longjing Senior had said it was this very man who had betrayed the Reincarnators, leading to the purging of the first generation of Reincarnators. He also recalled how Eldest Master ng, after realizing the ng family's inevitable doom, had repeatedly warned him to be wary of this person. Yet, he also understood that this man knew a great deal—many things concerning the Hu Family, things Hu Ma had desperately wanted to understand but had no way of finding out.
"Because the Hu Family themselves chose to do this," the State Preceptor said with a slight smile, hearing Hu Ma's question. "Back then, it wasn't only the Hu Family. The ng family also had the opportunity to choose this path. However, the ng family lacked the courage and that ruthless determination. So, they chose to sacrifice their own Old Ancestor, and their path diverged."
"But the Hu Family did not," he continued. "The Hu Family's courage surpassed that of the ng family. Therefore, the Hu Family has now risen in power, while the ng family has been annihilated."
As they spoke, they had nearly reached the edge of the village, coincidentally passing by the Hu Family's thatched cottage. The altar containing Eldest Master ng was placed outside the house; because it could be affected by the disastrous object at any mont, it could not be brought inside.
The State Preceptor spotted the altar and beckoned lightly with his hand. The altar flew into his grasp. It seed Eldest Master ng within sensed sothing, for the altar began to shake violently, the deep hatred causing yin qi to practically overflow. The State Preceptor tucked his horsetail whisk into the back of his collar, then, with both hands, exerted force. In an instant, he had crushed the altar to pieces, and along with it, the yin soul inside let out a furious and despairing cry.
"Old friend, it is ti for you to depart..." the State Preceptor said with a smile, clapping his hands and tossing aside the fragnts of the altar as if he had done sothing utterly insignificant. He retrieved his horsetail whisk and, still smiling, explained, "The entities in the cave have been deceived by us for many years. They are gradually growing dissatisfied."
"The ng family's vast wealth, being quite extraordinary, might have bought them a little more forbearance from those entities."
Witnessing this, Hu Ma clenched his jaw slightly. He had considered intervening—not to protect Eldest Master ng, but to test this man's capabilities. But he found he couldn't make a move. It was as if so invisible force was pressing down on him; in this man's presence, the very thought of acting freely vanished.
"Young friend, are you satisfied with the ng family's fate?" the State Preceptor asked as they reached the village entrance. The paths here were re dirt tracks, uneven and pitted. From his sleeve, the State Preceptor produced a wine jug—the very sa kind used to serve guests in the village earlier. Who would have thought he had filched a whole jug and hidden it in his sleeve?
He tilted the jug, pouring the wine onto the ground where it pooled in a hollow. The moonlight above reflected in it with perfect clarity. As he spoke, he gave his sleeve a gentle flick. The reflection of the moon in the puddle rippled and then vanished, replaced by the image of a large, gloomy mansion. It was like a dream, filled with countless tragic scenes: soone lay on a bed, screaming miserably, while another already hung from the rafters, swaying with the wind. Livestock were restless, and servants, having stolen gold and silver, were fleeing in disarray.
Hu Ma suddenly understood that he was seeing the current plight of the ng family.
He even saw, in the main hall of the ng Mansion in Salt State, Young Master ng sitting on a grand chair, his face like that of an Evil Ghost. Three nails were driven into his head, and iron chains bound him loosely. One mont he wept, the next he cackled madly, struggling and screaming, "I won't go! I won't go! I won't go with you into the cave!"
"My ng Family Ancestor is an incarnation of Tai Sui! You must show respect to my Ancestor and let remain in the human world!"
"Save ! Save !"
"Is there anyone out there? Quickly, go entreat the Ten Surnas! Beg them to protect !"
"Without the ng family, the Stone Pavilion cannot be opened! No one will ever achieve freedom!"—
"Alas, pitiful child, always failing to recognize his own situation," the State Preceptor sighed softly, watching the reflection. With a light flick of his fingers, the nails embedded in Young Master ng's forehead suddenly flew out, passed through the puddle of water, and landed in the State Preceptor's hand, who then tucked them into his sleeve.
With the nails abruptly gone from his forehead, Young Master ng Siliang looked terrified. "Who? Who is it?"
But the ng Mansion was already deserted; naturally, no one answered him. After the nails flew from his forehead, a pill that had taken on a human-like form suddenly darted out from his mouth. It glanced at him with disgust, crying, "He's beyond saving! Beyond saving!" Then it scurried out of the ng Mansion, leaving Young Master ng alone in the hall.
The next mont, a strange, ghostly wind swept into the hall where Young Master ng was, carrying with it what seed like a hint of malicious glee: "Found him! Found him! He's here! He's here!"
Countless hands reached for him, grabbing and pulling, then transford into a gust of wind that whisked him out of the ng Mansion.
In that instant, the ng Mansion beca utterly desolate, with only the hollow wind gusting back and forth. If one had to describe it, the ng Mansion, at that very mont, completely died. Not a single sound or sign of life remained.
He just killed him like that? Witnessing this, Hu Ma felt a chill run down his spine. Wasn't it said that the Stone Pavilion Alliance required the bloodline of the Ten Surnas? He himself had wanted to sever this bloodline, but Young Master ng had protectors, making him difficult to kill. Yet now, this State Preceptor...
"Actually, the ng family was never important." As if explaining to Hu Ma, the State Preceptor put away the nails and smiled. "They believed the Stone Pavilion Agreent couldn't proceed without the ng family. What they didn't realize was that, from the very beginning, the ng family was never counted as part of the Stone Pavilion Agreent."
"The ng family toiled hard for twenty years and were always the most diligent in pushing forward the Stone Pavilion Agreent, but they never possessed the qualifications to enter the Stone Pavilion itself."
At this mont, Hu Ma had to exert considerable effort to suppress the overwhelming sense of absurdity rising within him. He remained silent for a long while before finally asking, "Then, who *is* important?"
The State Preceptor turned to look at him. "Of course, it is your Hu Family."
Hu Ma gritted his teeth slightly. "Is it just because the Hu Family took on the Zhensui Mansion?"
"No." The State Preceptor chuckled. "The Zhensui Mansion is not important either. What is important is simply your Hu Family."
"Or, to be more precise, it is you!"
The questions in Hu Ma's mind had reached an unbearable intensity. The State Preceptor, however, was walking faster and faster. Following behind him, Hu Ma subconsciously quickened his pace. Before they knew it, they were already moving through the mountain forest.
The State Preceptor walked with a composed gait, yet it seed as if he employed the marvel of Shrinking Ground. It was only in a daze that Hu Ma suddenly realized the man was walking according to the thods of the Haishou Path. In the eyes of the Haishou Sect, the world is divided into ten orientations. These encompass concepts such as auspicious and inauspicious fortunes, Hidden Light, Wangsun, Fashang, and Emperor Deficiency. As long as each step taken aligns with the corresponding orientation, one can achieve Shrinking Ground and travel ten thousand li in a day, even without cultivation or Mana.
This man effortlessly took each step in the correct position. Following him, Hu Ma found himself crossing mountains and ridges in what felt like an instant.
Unwittingly, they arrived at a village deep in the mountains. It was long deserted and dilapidated, with collapsed houses and overgrown weeds everywhere. They stood before the village's Ancestral Hall, where they saw a skeleton sitting cross-legged on the ground, its flesh and blood long rotted away.
The State Preceptor bowed lightly to the skeleton, then stepped aside and said to Hu Ma, "Young friend, you should co and pay your respects."
Hu Ma asked, "Why?"
The State Preceptor sighed softly. "Because that is your father, Mister Hu Shan."
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