At the moment he heard that voice, Hu Ma gave a start and suddenly woke up.
It wasn’t accurate to say he woke up; he was still asleep but had abruptly left that hazy state and entered the dream with that peculiar little temple.
Raising his head, he saw his own incense burning gently in the incense burner before him.
In the distant dark red mist, there was an almost imperceptible wisp floating through the mist, swirling lightly around him.
"The White Wine calls from Old Yin Mountain..."
By this time, the other side had already called out a second time, the voice hoarse and slightly magnetic.
Hu Ma steadied his nerves, confirming that it was not an illusion, and felt a surge of excitement well up inside him.
Earlier, he hadn’t found anyone, and now, out of the blue, had he encountered the second Reincarnator he had seen in this world?
He immediately spoke, but then held back, thinking quickly, and tentatively said, "Old White received the call. May I ask who you are..."
At the moment Hu Ma responded, the wisp of smoke that had snuck in from the blood mist seemed to find its target and suddenly coiled around his own incense.
The previously calling voice also paused slightly, then spoke again, somewhat surprised, "Are you the child who came out from the village?"
Hu Ma was suddenly taken aback and exclaimed, "How do you know?"
The hoarse voice paused for a moment, then said softly, "When you connect with others, you don’t ever change your voice?"
This remark left Hu Ma slightly confused. "How does one change their voice?"
The other side fell silent again, saying after a while, "There are so many methods that I don’t even know how to answer you.
"But your not knowing how to change your voice indicates that your previous connections with other Reincarnators haven’t been numerous?"
The other person’s mind was so fast that they deduced so much information from just this question and answer, even exposing his identity, which left Hu Ma feeling slightly alarmed.
However, having met this world’s second Reincarnator, Hu Ma was somewhat excited. He didn’t know how many questions had been piling up, waiting to be asked of these kindred spirits, and now they were just lodged in his throat, so he decided to ask them all at once.
After a brief pause, he quickly began to speak, "You... what was your identity in your past life?"
The hoarse voice was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Your opening is rather unique.
"Having fallen into this world already, what use is there to care about that?
"No matter what our identities were in our past lives, in this life, we are all just pitiful creatures struggling to survive in this strange world."
"Are you very pitiful?" Hu Ma said, "I think your conditions are quite good. You even have sedan chairs to carry you into the woods."
The other person suddenly stopped speaking. When the voice resumed, it held a note of surprise, "You figured out who I am too?"
"It was not hard to guess..."
Hu Ma sighed softly and said, "There are very few Reincarnators within Old Yin Mountain, so if one suddenly appears, it’s undoubtedly an outsider.
"And today, a group of outsiders just arrived at the village. Of those I could see, all were men.
"Though you’ve worked hard to make your voice hoarse and unpleasant, it still clearly sounds like a woman. How could I not guess who you are?"
"Can my voice really be recognized as female?"
The other was a bit taken aback and suddenly changed to a soft, pleasant voice, returning to her low tone, "It seems my power is still lacking. By rights, it shouldn’t be discernible."
Listening to what she said, Hu Ma was slightly startled and suddenly realized an issue.
Her previous voice was genuinely hoarse and gruff, hard to tell if it was real or feigned, more akin to an old man’s voice.
But for some reason, the moment he heard her voice, he instinctively felt it was a woman’s.
It didn’t seem like he discerned it; it felt more like intuition.
He suddenly thought that the intense heat of his inner furnace made him all the more susceptible to women.
Could this attribute have brought about this instinct?
How come it feels a little...
Though the woman was somewhat surprised that Hu Ma had exposed her identity, she didn’t dwell on it, calmly saying, "Revealing identities doesn’t matter.
"You know who I am, and I know who you are. It makes exchanging information more reassuring. free we\bnove(l).com
"You seem to have been born and raised here in Old Yin Mountain, so you’re presumably familiar with it. Have you heard of the legend of the ’Hundred Corpse Tomb’?"
Hearing this, Hu Ma was initially stunned, a vague sense of familiarity washing over him, then realization struck him.
The first Reincarnator he conversed with before had mentioned the ’Hundred Corpse Tomb,’ had they not?
Upon meeting this second Reincarnator, he remembered the request entrusted to him by that previous fellow.
Even if she hadn’t inquired, he would have told her about this, asking her to save that person.
Unexpectedly, she was searching for the very thing that fellow had found?
While he was recalling this, the other person’s voice continued, "As payment, you may ask me for information of equal value, or exchange it for three lesser-valued pieces of information."
Hu Ma remained silent for a moment, his mind racing.
This was only his second time conversing with a Reincarnator, and the first Reincarnator had been in a dire situation, leaving no time for much discussion.
Hence, not only was he unfamiliar and bewildered by this world, but he also wasn’t familiar with the circle of Reincarnators.
Yet, he vaguely sensed from the woman’s words that even among Reincarnators, mutual aid in crises wasn’t guaranteed, and even information required an exchange?
"You’re hesitating. Does that mean you indeed have information on this matter?"
But amid his silence, the woman’s voice said softly, "That saves me a great deal of effort.
"You may ask or request anything. You can go first because, concerning our identities in this world, I hold a slight advantage over you.
"Should you wish for other forms of compensation, feel free to say so, though we must negotiate the method of delivery."
Hu Ma hadn’t expected his silence to reveal so much information to the other side.
Nonetheless, since the other party was willing to exchange, it was a positive thing.
Since coming into this world, countless questions had piled up within him, and he’d prepared to ask thoroughly when meeting other Reincarnators.
He immediately said, "First question, what kind of world is this?"
"An Evil World, a Demon World, a Chaotic World."
The woman’s voice was soft but carried a weighty sense of oppression as she murmured, "Exactly what has happened, not even the native people of this world know, much less us.
"It is only known that this place was once in an era called the Yi Dynasty. But at some unknown time, Tai Sui descended. From then on, chaos engulfed the land, strange phenomena became frequent, demons emerged, and with dusk as the boundary, the world was shared equally between the living and the dead.
"Currently, it is a time of rampant warfare, where powerful figures are rising. You dwell in Old Yin Mountain; though it’s barren and impoverished, it offers a modicum of stability.
"Outside Old Yin Mountain, it’s already a scene of war and famine, with rampant supernatural forces. To live peacefully is now an extravagant hope."
Hu Ma listened, finding it hard to imagine the world outside Old Yin Mountain.
He pondered in silence for a moment, digesting the information, then slowly said, "Second question, what is happening to people like us?"
Unexpectedly, the person on the other side chuckled softly after hearing this question.
"You really are wasting a chance on such a useless question, though admittedly, it is the most commonly wasted valuable question.
"What I can tell you is that we also don’t know what’s going on.
"I suddenly regained memories of my past life at the age of three, when I unlocked the ’mystery of the womb,’ so to speak. I’ve met several Reincarnators, and they were like me.
"We were all inexplicably reborn. Through discussions, we’ve only discovered that our common traits are being reincarnated with the same name and Bazi—the eight characters of one’s birth time—as our past lives, and we all possess the ability to find and connect with each other through our Lifebound Spirit Temple.
"But as for why we’re here or what the future holds, no one knows.
"Everyone just guards their own secrets, surviving carefully. When we meet other Reincarnators, we just exchange information to improve our own chances of survival."
Awakening at three years old?
Hu Ma listened carefully to each word she said, suddenly realizing a crucial problem.
According to her, they were all born into this world, growing up from childhood?
But I am different from them. I only arrived after my previous self had died, mistakenly summoned by Granny into this world...
Vaguely sensing something amiss, he suddenly realized. This sounds like...
...everyone else is merely reincarnated, while I seem like an Evil Ghost possessing someone?
This realization startled him, but he suppressed it and didn’t voice his question.
Just from these few exchanges with the woman, he vaguely sensed that even Reincarnators kept secrets from one another.
Plus, since waking, keeping his own secrets had been a top priority, which was now somewhat habitual.
"Time for the third question."
The woman’s voice sounded faintly, "But let me remind you, with the previous two questions, you’re wasting opportunities.
"I have no interest in taking advantage of you, so think carefully about the third question."
Hu Ma now understood. While his first two questions were crucial for him, having just awakened, they were indeed a waste of an opportunity for Reincarnators who had lived in this world for a long time.
He inhaled deeply, slowly opened his mouth, "For the third question, I’d like to make it a request, if that’s possible?"
The other party was silent, then said, "Go ahead."
"I wish for you to help me find someone."
Hu Ma immediately said, "She is very important to me. I only know she’s also in this forest, but her life or death is uncertain.
"I need to find her as soon as possible..."
After speaking, he held his breath, waiting for her response.
The woman evidently paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Is the person you’re looking for a relative of yours in this world?"
Hu Ma thought for a moment, then said, "I guess so. She’s very kind to me!"
Her response came slowly, as if she were sighing over some thought, before she said, "This isn’t difficult for me. I can help you."