When Young Master Lu saw that woman, half of his soul had already been frightened away. Hearing her call out "Lu Bangchui" suddenly made him shudder all over, even though his years of cultivation had ingrained some vigilance into his instincts. Still, he couldn't help but let out a groan from his throat.
She didn't call me Lu Xiujin, nor did she use the private name Lu Huaiyu that I had chosen for myself. Instead, she directly called me Lu Bangchui?
That was a nickname she gave me as a joke, and I intentionally acknowledged it, hypnotizing myself to only recognize this name just to guard against her Soul Calling Technique up close.
But with countless thoughts swirling in his head, none of them could provide an explanation. That groan slipping out made him instinctively feel something was terribly amiss.
His body visibly stiffened, and his Divine Soul wavered as he witnessed her beautiful yet annoying face advancing rapidly toward him, leaving his heart half-frozen with dread.
Just then, from the white lantern hanging behind him, a swarm of moths flew out chaotically.
The candle inside the lantern seemed to be blown wildly by a strong wind, flickering incessantly. The moths inside all flew out at once, drifting into the night sky.
But as these dozens of moths flew away together, they helped him withstand one move, allowing him to retreat a few steps, his voice changing pitch.
As he called out, he continued to stare intently at the woman in front of him, almost gritting his teeth.
"Haha, Senior Brother, are you hiding here to cause trouble, using martial artists to refine yellow official paper? Does our Master know?"
The woman wasn't surprised by his life-saving trick. Although she called his name and failed to completely subdue him, she didn't mind. Instead, she laughed heartily, flicked her sleeve forward, and with a RUSTLE, a flurry of paper money floated into the air.
"Paper Money Buys Life..."
Without thinking, Young Master Lu retreated rapidly, careful not to let the paper money touch him.
His Master had three trump cards: yellow official paper, soul calling, and Paper Money Buys Life, while his Junior Sister had learned one more.
He knew that what she tossed from her sleeve was life-buying money.
If this paper money struck one on the head, it would drain their luck and life. For those with shallow cultivation, a single piece of paper could snuff out their life. Those with deeper cultivation would find their powers continually weakened.
Thus, while evading, he shouted, taking advantage of the situation, grabbing the now empty lantern from which all the moths had escaped, and rapidly swung it to shield himself from the paper money.
With that swing, the lantern caught fire, resembling a torch and burning away much of the paper money.
As the siblings began to clash, Hu Ma, inside the ancestral hall, through a wall and a half-open door, executed the Four Ghosts Salute technique targeting those outside.
Surrounded by a faint, eerie coldness, a wave of yin qi instantly pressed toward the people outside.
Since arriving at this Young Master Lu's side to earn Silver from Sweet Potato, he already knew his purpose.
Those so-called treasure hunts and dealing with his Junior Sister were all pretenses. All his tactics were aimed at these martial artists of the jianghu.
Sweet Potato had long informed him that the secret of the yellow official paper lay in its ability to control people.
When the yellow paper stuck to one's face, it locked one's qi, life, and Divine Soul. Once hit, if the victim wanted to stay alive, they had to obey his commands, serving a lifetime as his slave, at his beck and call.
If they didn't want to live, he could imprison other Living Souls in their bodies, turning them into Walking Corpses obeying orders just the same.
What Young Master Lu claimed was indeed not seventy percent true but ninety percent true.
The paper man up the mountain was truly set by his Junior Sister, and the Evil Ghost beside the ancestral hall was left by his Master.
His real intention wasn't to dismantle these few techniques and fight his way into the deepest part of Majiawa to seize the treasure. Instead, his goal was to weaken the courage and vigilance of the accompanying martial artists along the way. In plain terms, he aimed to make them suspicious and uncertain, as their sect thrived on preying upon unsettled targets.
He spoke of enemies on the mountain to agitate everyone.
On the way, the muddled soul calls were his Junior Sister's array, but the paper man he secretly set up behind everyone directly called out their 'real names.'
At the critical moment of entering the ancestral hall, when everyone was tense, and the paper man called out their real names, a single oversight and one's soul would be whisked away.
Once people's souls departed their bodies, they could return within a short time. But he had another method: the yellow official paper.
The yellow official paper would seal a person's five senses, obstructing the soul from returning. By using a Secret Technique along with this, complete control over the person was achievable.
Once these people were under his control, he could either advance into Majiawa's ancient tomb to duel for the treasure with his Junior Sister, or retreat and use these controlled martial artists to duel with the green clothes gang.
This series of schemes was truly insidious, one step after another.
The methods within the Execution Soul Path were indefensible. Had Sweet Potato not revealed everything early on, he might have unwittingly fallen into the trap.
But since he knew, Hu Ma naturally dodged away, even having the yellow official paper stuck to his face with no result.
When the yellow official paper covered one's face, the moment they exhaled a breath of human air, it began to lock their life breath.
Even if the names were not quite right and the soul wasn't lost, the opponent might still control anyone. But Hu Ma had, from the beginning, transformed his lungs to simulate death, exhaling only yin qi.
Thus ensuring he wouldn't be subdued, many matters were left to Sweet Potato.
Young Master Lu had never anticipated this. She had indeed located the treasure long ago, easily dismantled their Master's technique left behind years ago, and entered the ancient tomb. However, she hadn't waited there for the treasure to be unearthed. Instead, after being notified by Hu Ma, she had turned back to intercept her Senior Brother.
Her plan was quite simple.
She and Hu Ma had agreed to switch identities in the ancestral hall. She would don his raincoat and bamboo hat, with yellow paper covering her face, making her unrecognizable in the pitch-black darkness.
Of course, if anyone asked later, the story would be that she had immobilized Hu Ma as soon as he entered the ancestral hall, snatched his raincoat and bamboo hat, and then left.
"Junior Sister, I refined this trump card especially to subdue you. Since you ran out here to fight me, you've met your end!"
At that moment, Young Master Lu swung the burning lantern, and as it was nearly consumed, the paper money in the air fluttered to the ground.
Having evaded his Junior Sister's sneak attack, he sighed with some relief, gritting his teeth as he shouted, "Monkey Master, give me a hand."
"Having encountered this opportunity today, I will rid our sect of this menace."
Listening to his call, the Old Monkey was equally startled and furious. Hastily, he retrieved a cloth bag from the cart and tossed it to him.
The monkey on his shoulder leapt down with a SCREECH! and clawed at his Junior Sister's face.
"Junior Sister, you didn't expect this, did you?"
Young Master Lu caught the bag, quickly turned around, and soon had a smaller white paper lantern in his hand, with five or six moths fluttering inside as well.
He had sent the Monkey Master out to summon souls in the surrounding villages under cover of night, harming quite a few people.
Most of the moths were in the large lantern, yet he kept an ace up his sleeve with these remaining five or six in the small lantern for self-protection, if only barely.
In his other hand, he grabbed a yellow mask. As the monkey pursued and scratched at his Junior Sister, he donned the mask, instantly exuding a ghostly aura.
"Yellow Paper With Official Rank, Execution Soul Decree!"
While chanting, he shook the lantern in his hand, spinning it three times.
Immediately, the yellow paper on the faces of the martial artists around him shrank drastically, faintly forming into the appearance of a face.
This face seemed to be opening its mouth vigorously, attempting to breathe and shout. Despite its painful, struggling expression, not a sound could emerge.
Under the control of this face, their bodies wavered, drawing their weapons, and charged at his Junior Sister.
His Junior Sister, who had just kicked the monkey away, was terrified at the sight, her face turning pale.
Yet, at this exact moment, focusing on each other, they failed to notice the sudden gust of sinister wind emerging from the ancestral hall, passing through the wall and over them.
All at once, everyone felt dazed and chilled to the bone.
It was akin to being blown on by an Evil Ghost in the dead of night, their bodies stiffening, and their minds growing muddled.
The Four Ghosts Salute technique was inherently designed for ambush.
A salute beyond the wall would surely ensnare anyone.
Just as Hu Ma's salute through the wall left everyone stupefied, he charged out of the ancestral hall, blade in hand, shouting, "Are you two going to get us killed with your sibling duel?!"
First in his sights was the Old Monkey.
This old man, seeing Hu Ma's face devoid of yellow official paper, with only chilling coldness, was utterly alarmed and hastened to shout, "Protect me!"
While shouting, he retreated, frantically reaching into his pockets to retrieve something.
His cry prompted the individuals nearby with yellow paper on their faces to sway, intending to intercept Hu Ma, particularly the three hemp-clothed men and the two sallow-faced men, who had been under control the longest. Though their minds were foggy, they forcibly raised their weapons.
But engaging with a Shousui man up close was most perilous.
The group had just been taken aback by Hu Ma's salute, their movements sluggish and wooden, like puppets. Hu Ma wouldn't allow them a chance to counter.
He swung his blade, aiming for their heads. Advancing with techniques taught by Second Master, his left and right strokes were ruthless.
Taking advantage of their sluggishness, he rapidly felled the three hemp-clothed men to the ground.
Suddenly, with a skillful parry, he deflected an awkwardly mechanical blow from one sallow-faced man and gutted him in return. Pivoting, he sliced upward with his knife at another sallow-faced man, nearly splitting him in two from the crotch up. Without a backward glance, he strode forward.
The Old Monkey also had been bewildered by the Four Ghosts Salute earlier, his mind unsteady until his movement gradually resumed after a brief moment.
In his panic, he'd fumbled a pile of junk from his pocket, still uncertain which one to use, when he unexpectedly glanced up to see Hu Ma already striding toward him. Behind him lay four or five toppled figures, like scattered straw men.
It nearly scared the Old Monkey out of his wits. He opened his gap-toothed mouth wide and shouted, "Little brother..."
Before he could finish, his mouth was filled with sand.
Hu Ma didn't know how many crafty tricks the Old Monkey had up his sleeve, and he certainly wasn't going to let him use any. Stepping forward, he kicked up a spray of mud and sand directly into the old man's face.
That was followed by a single stroke, cleanly slashing the Old Monkey's throat.