"The foolish boy sure was lucky..."
Seeing that the pearl-like young lady had agreed to Hu Ma’s request, the old shopkeeper chuckled softly, gave Hu Ma a look, and said, "But our young lady is kind-hearted. Since she has agreed to help you, it’s your good fortune. So, tell us, what’s going on?"
The porters nearby exchanged glances, finding the situation strange.
The Second Master, seeing this, couldn’t help but feel a wave of worry. The distinguished person in the sedan chair, though unable to refuse Hu Ma this time, has clearly displeased the shopkeeper. I wonder if we’ll face any difficulties when Grass Heart Hall comes to the village for herbal medicine.
Sigh, it can’t be helped. Any other kid from the village wouldn’t have acted so cluelessly.
Little Huma is just spoiled by Granny; he seems to think everyone ought to help him.
"I..." Hu Ma began, knowing this "foolish boy’s luck" was bound to happen. He just pondered how best to explain the situation.
He was already aware of the dangers and mysteries of this world and naturally couldn’t divulge everything blindly. So, he just looked towards the sedan chair and said, "My granny is a Ghost Walker. A powerful evil spirit appeared in the forest, and she went in to deal with it."
"But something happened, and I’ve lost contact with her. I don’t know how she is now."
"I want to know where my granny is."
"Ghost Walker?" the old shopkeeper repeated, furrowing his brow at these words. "Do you have anything your granny used or regularly carried?"
Listening, Hu Ma couldn’t help but frown. Everything Granny used was back in the village, and he hadn’t had a chance to fetch any of it. Although the items he had on him were gifts from Granny, he hadn’t seen her for nearly half a month, meaning they wouldn’t carry her recent presence.
"Heh, nothing?" The old shopkeeper couldn’t help but chuckle coldly twice upon seeing this.
Suddenly, a voice came from inside the sedan chair, "Isn’t the basket in the little ghost’s hands sufficient?"
"Ghost?" The old shopkeeper was suddenly startled by the mention, quickly turning his head to glare fiercely at the Second Master and Hu Ma. "You’re carrying a ghost with you?"
A wave of tension gripped the Second Master. Had Little Hongtang been visible all along? Dealing with these distinguished city folk was precarious; there were so many taboos. They were hired as guides, yet they had an evil spirit with them. It could easily be misconstrued as malicious intent, as if they were seeking a chance to harm their employers. Not only might they forfeit the reward money, they could even risk severe punishment, perhaps even death.
"No need to be so tense." The voice inside the sedan chair spoke calmly, "It’s just a subdued little ghost, quite obedient. It’s harmless."
This sort of thing could be made into a big deal or a small one. Seeing the person inside the sedan chair speak so calmly, the old shopkeeper also discreetly suppressed his anger. "Very well, the basket it is. Something used recently will do. Bring it."
Hu Ma quickly nodded, turned, and took the basket covered with a red cloth from the somewhat frightened Little Hongtang’s hands.
To others, it seemed like he simply turned around, and suddenly a basket appeared in his hands. The scene appeared rather eerie, like a magic trick.
The old shopkeeper watched this with a calm demeanor, but the porters couldn’t help but be surprised.
"It’s said that throughout the eight-hundred-li expanse of Old Yin Mountain, even a single blade of grass is imbued with sorcery; this statement indeed holds true."
"This young and seemingly naive boy from the village actually wields such eerie, ghostly skills."
Unbeknownst to them, Hu Ma’s ability seemed bizarre, but it was something even the Second Master couldn’t perform. This was a skill belonging to Ghost Walkers like Granny; Hu Ma was merely borrowing Little Hongtang’s presence to effortlessly retrieve a basket. Such an act was simple and ordinary to those who could see Little Hongtang or knew what was happening. But to the unknowing, it appeared rather uncanny. It was like Cui Xie’er, whom he had fought; Cui Xie’er probably couldn’t understand how he had just tripped and fallen on flat ground for no reason.
"Consider yourself lucky, boy. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother with your troubles," the old shopkeeper said as he took the basket from Hu Ma’s hand. He lifted the red cloth to peek inside, found it empty, and covered it again.
Then he took a few steps to the side, stood in front of a patch of weeds, holding the basket in one hand, and positioned his other hand before his chest, fingers extended. He closed his eyes and mumbled quickly, each syllable so soft that likely no one but himself knew what he was chanting.
Yet, as he recited the spell, changes occurred around them. An unknown cold wind seemed to sweep through. The surrounding weeds swayed erratically in the wind, rustling and wavering, now leaning east, now west, as if brushed by an invisible hand, or as if unseen things were conferring amongst themselves.
After a while, with a final, decisive shudder, the chilling wind vanished, and the weeds gradually settled.
Hu Ma was amazed, his eyes wide with wonder. He glanced at the Second Master, who also seemed awestruck, eyes fixed on the scene. The Second Master quietly whispered to Hu Ma, This shopkeeper is truly skilled! That’s a ghost-controlling technique—capable of unfathomable feats, like finding paths or moving wealth.
"Eh?" But as they spoke, the old shopkeeper had reopened his eyes, his expression somewhat strange. He looked towards the sedan chair. "It seems my Five Ghosts Technique isn’t working."
"Old Yin Mountain is different from other places," the voice inside the sedan chair stated calmly. "Your cultivation in the Five Ghosts Path isn’t high enough; your techniques are ineffective here. Bring me a brush. Let me try!"
The old shopkeeper promptly agreed and summoned a guard carrying a small bundle. The guard opened it up to extract a pen box, an inkstone, and a porcelain bottle. Just outside the sedan chair, the guard poured liquid from the porcelain bottle into the inkstone and ground it finely. After some time, he opened the pen box, carefully dipped the brush inside into the ink, and then, holding it respectfully with both hands, head lowered, passed it into the sedan chair.
Hu Ma didn’t know what they were doing, but he smelled a peculiar scent from the porcelain bottle and turned to the Second Master.
The Second Master scrutinized them closely and whispered to Hu Ma, It’s likely Master Tai Sui’s blood... refined with a Secret Technique.
I’ve seen Ghost Walkers and people from the sect cast spells this way. The materials they use are mostly related to Master Tai Sui.
The flesh is used for eating or healing, and the blood for casting spells and curses... Hu Ma silently pondered. Do all the strange phenomena in this world stem from Master Tai Sui?
"Alright, let’s see how sincere you are!" After a while, a delicate, fair hand extended from inside the sedan chair, offering a small, intricate mirror. "Look into the mirror and think earnestly of your granny. As long as you’re sincere enough, you should be able to see her."
Hu Ma nodded, intending to take it, but the old shopkeeper took the initiative, received the mirror, and then passed it to him.
Hu Ma nodded to show he understood, stepped to one side, and gazed into the mirror’s surface.
The mirror’s surface bore peculiar, somewhat sloppily drawn runes of unknown meaning. Because of these runes, the mirror, which should have reflected a person’s face, only showed a fragmented image. He couldn’t even see his own face clearly, let alone Granny’s.
But Hu Ma had already discerned that the person in the sedan chair possessed extraordinary abilities, so he just breathed slowly and focused his mind intently on Granny.
Why was he so desperate to find Granny in the forest? Was it only for the Tai Sui meat that she alone could provide? It seemed to be more than that. She genuinely doted on her ’grandson.’ To bring him back to life, she had chanted scriptures through the night, gone to the Old Fire Pit to plead with the ancestors, and braved immense danger to enter the forest alone and fight the evil spirit sent by the Meng family...
He wasn’t her actual grandson, yet he had reaped all these benefits.
He had truly felt this old woman’s wholehearted sacrifice and devotion, and a genuine sense of gratitude had welled up within him...
As these thoughts emerged, Hu Ma’s vision suddenly blurred. It was as if his eyes had simply blurred from staring at the mirror for too long. But as this blurriness appeared, the light refracting from the mirror and the crookedly drawn runes upon it suddenly seemed to leap and dance. Colors and lines rearranged themselves, forming a hazy image within his vision.
Even his ears seemed to catch indistinct sounds.
He saw a massive, ancient tree, its branches adorned with bells, swaying in the air like a thousand serpents.
Granny, her body hunched, was standing before the old tree, loudly chanting a spell.
Each branch on the tree, like a python, writhed and weaved about. Upon these branches, shadowy masses, swaying with the limbs, opened their blood-red maws to snap at Granny. She was locked in a desperate, chaotic battle with them, the scene a whirlwind of darkness.
Suddenly, one branch, as if sensing something, lunged fiercely towards Hu Ma.
Hu Ma was merely peering into that scene through the mysterious mirror, but the bizarre branch seemed intent on dragging him into the battlefield.
Just as the branch was about to touch Hu Ma, Granny reached out and grabbed a bell on it.
She turned, her gaze pierced through the mirror’s surface to meet Hu Ma’s, and she said hoarsely, "Don’t look, and don’t come looking for me..."
Yet, even as Granny warned him, Hu Ma saw all the tree’s branches quiver, and it was as if a strange voice was calling out, "Come, hurry, your granny is about to die..."
Those myriad voices, like a turbulent current, flooded Hu Ma’s mind, interweaving ceaselessly. Then, the mirror abruptly shattered.
Hu Ma stumbled back two steps, instinctively looking towards the sedan chair.
The sedan chair was silent. After a long moment, a faint voice finally sounded from within, "You owe me a mirror."