Chapter 2 Another Disaster?

The sudden change startled Miao Shan Xiangu and Miss Zhou Si, who had just separated to guard against someone attacking Hu Ma from different directions. Miss Zhou Si was helpless in the face of this situation, while Miao Shan Xiangu waved her horsetail whisk and began to calculate with her fingers.

But in her anxiety, her calculations became muddled, and the more muddled they became, the more anxious she grew, ultimately failing to figure it out.

Sweat beaded on her forehead: "What is this thing? It's so powerful!"

Dou Guan, standing nearby, immediately saw through it and slapped his thigh hard. "This is bad! Shiye must have fallen into someone's trap."

Amidst this surprise and doubt, the snake, or rather, Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord), had already rapidly approached Hu Ma.

Since leaving the cave, it had been dazed, wandering aimlessly, not knowing where it came from, what it was supposed to do, or where it should go.

Other disaster creatures had a clear purpose when they descended upon the world, but only it was completely confused. After wandering for who knows how long, it had finally found someone. For a moment, it was overjoyed, its tail tip trembling, and the closer it got to Hu Ma, the faster it swam.

As it approached, a fierce wind suddenly arose, and dark clouds pressed down on the mountain. Compared to before, the disaster qi was more than ten times heavier.

"It's the twelfth path of disaster!"

The moment the snake approached, Hu Ma suddenly understood.

He knew it all too well. He had once been at Lao Yin Mountain when the eleven paths of disaster were approaching. At that time, the mountain was hazy, with this exact feeling.

It was just that the Mountain God had led the pond deities to block it at that time, and the eleven paths of disaster had failed to enter the mountain, nor had he been in close contact. But now, he was almost face-to-face. The heavenly phenomena and strange pressure brought by this disaster creature were even greater than at Lao Yin Mountain.

"This thing didn't return to its cave?"

He was also surprised.

This twelfth path of disaster was also invited down in the name of the Meng family. Logically speaking, it would have suffered a bit from the Meng family's downfall.

Once full, it would naturally return to its cave. Why was it still wandering around here?

And even more coincidentally, it ran into him here?

Suspicion arose in his heart, but there was no time to think about it. He only felt that as the strange snake got closer, he felt more and more dizzy, as if the sky had fallen.

Facing that thing was extremely tricky. Disaster creatures were not demons; you couldn't fight them or kill them. You could only block them or dodge them. But now, he had nothing on him and was caught off guard, with no way to deal with it.

He watched from afar as the snake swam to a spot three zhang (approximately ten meters) in front of him, tilting its head and sizing him up. His scalp was already tingling.

This thing was powerful. The eleven paths of disaster could wipe out the Meng family. How could he be any better facing a single path?

Without hesitation, Hu Ma thought of the black bag in his hand.

"That crazy son-in-law who benefited the Sun family guessed it..."

At this point, how could he not understand? Thinking about it now, that crazy son-in-law was truly loyal.

The life-redeeming bag he had given him was truly enough to redeem his life. He had seen that of the twelve paths of disaster, only eleven had returned to their caves, and one remained, which he would encounter sooner or later. So he left this bag to collect the disaster.

But perhaps because he was crazy, his words were incoherent, and he didn't explain it clearly enough.

But because he understood this, the cold smile and words of the doctor flashed through Hu Ma's mind...

He was now facing such a difficult problem.

To collect this twelfth path of disaster was actually very simple. Just use this disaster-collecting bag to deal with it.

But if he wanted to use the disaster-collecting bag to deal with the snake, he would have to release the toothless swarm from the bag, and the villagers he had just saved would immediately die.

They had indeed suffered this undeserved disaster because of the Hu family, and what's more, they had already been saved. If they died again, it would definitely be the Hu family's debt. But if he protected the villagers, he would be entangled by this twelfth path of disaster.

No wonder the doctor looked at him with such cold and strange eyes, his face full of mockery.

The trolley problem?

Only a transmigrator could come up with such a tricky and bizarre situation!

"Still not understanding?"

At this time, Lao Suanpan (Old Abacus) had already run into the mountain from afar. Seeing the black wind in front of him and the appearance of a powerful disaster creature, he didn't dare to get close. He only took out his treasured banner from his crotch and unfolded it to cover his face.

He didn't dare to open his eyes, but shouted loudly in the direction of Hu Ma, "They are treating your Hu family's fate!"

"So that's how it is..."

Hu Ma only vaguely heard his words, but at this moment, he suddenly understood.

If he hadn't taken a look at the bridge earlier, he might not have been able to understand what Lao Suanpan was saying.

On the bridge, he could see his three lives intertwined, sewn together as one. Earlier, Nü'er Hong (Daughter Red) had come to assassinate him in order to seize the immortal life within him, which was the Lao Jun Mei (Lord Lao's Eyebrow) life. But she had failed, leaving a nail.

That nail prevented him from using the Da Wei Tian Gong (Great Might Heavenly Duke) General Dharma Image, but because he had seized the fourth incense stick, it was even more deeply integrated with his fate.

He originally thought that this second wave of assassination would also target his Tian Gong General Dharma Image, but unexpectedly, it was the opposite.

They were using this disaster creature to force him to give up the fate of the Hu family descendants?

"Understanding now?"

When Lao Suanpan came to remind Hu Ma, Die Da Jiu (Trauma Wine), who was hiding in the dark, did not stop him. Now his voice laughed, floating erratically and drilling into Hu Ma's ears:

"The Da Luo Fa Jiao (Great Luo Dharma Sect) created a monster like you, but we have no grudge against you after all, and we know that you didn't know beforehand, so we don't necessarily want you to die. Now, you do have a way out!"

"The lives of this entire village are the karma of the Hu family. What does it have to do with you now?"

"If you're really smart, you should know that some karma cannot be borne. Why not take this opportunity to abandon the Hu family's life and leave the control of the Da Luo Dharma Sect? You might be able to come back and still be that carefree transmigrator."

"We haven't revealed your identity. If you abandon this Hu family identity, you might be able to hide this secret forever..."

"..."

Abandon the Hu family identity?

His words made Hu Ma suddenly realize, and a sense of absurdity arose in his heart.

Could it be done this way?

The villagers encountered this calamity because they followed the Hu family's orders to worship the pond deity. He had to bear this karma because he was a member of the Hu family.

So at this time, abandoning these villagers to their fate would be equivalent to abandoning his Hu family identity. In this way, he could only retain his identity as a transmigrator and follow in the footsteps of those transmigrators?

The words "carefree and unrestrained" could not but move Hu Ma's heart, but such a thought did not give him a moment's hesitation.

The Hu family's identity and the Hu family's karma were indeed unimportant in the eyes of the transmigrators. That was just an alias, an identity in this world.

But he was different.

He took a deep breath, his heart flashing like lightning, and his eyes became sinister: "I don't know about the past, but I am the one who borrowed the world's incense."

"You used such great magic power to set up this situation just to see me make a fool of myself?"

"..."

In a low shout, he could no longer suppress it.

The Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord) packed in the black bag was honest, but the strange snake repeatedly probed and sized him up for a long time. It seemed to have many uncertainties.

After all, compared to the Meng family's meticulousness when inviting disaster, Hu Ma only borrowed the identity of the Meng family's Fourth Master and the assistance of Xiang Ya Tou (Fragrant Girl) to invite it randomly, just to make it the last straw that broke the Meng family's back.

So unlike other disaster creatures, it had no clear direction when it came into this world, and no one sent the disaster.

But no matter how confused it was, it had now confirmed its relationship with Hu Ma, so regardless, its body coiled up.

The next moment would be the disaster creature's jump.

And at the moment it coiled up, Hu Ma suddenly shook the black bag in his hand towards the ground, and the Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord) inside fell out, chirping and screaming, with disaster qi surging, still wanting to pounce on the villagers.

In the dark, watching Hu Ma release the disaster rats, the doctor's face also showed a cold smile.

"In the end, don't you still want to save your own life first?"

"..."

But he didn't expect that after Hu Ma released the disaster from the bag, he didn't leave. Instead, he welcomed the Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord) with his whole body.

The snake was also anxious. With a whoosh, it darted towards Hu Ma, causing endless yin winds in the mountain to sway along. Hu Ma held the empty bag in his right hand and covered the strange snake, taking it into the bag.

But at the same moment, the Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord) that was poured out of the bag originally wanted to rush towards the villagers, but Hu Ma grabbed it tightly in his hand with lightning-like speed.

He could feel a cold and evil aura from this thing. Just holding it like this, it suddenly spread rapidly along his palm, arm, and body.

And the Wuzu Jun's (Footless Lord) attention also shifted instantly from the villagers to Hu Ma.

Opening its sharp teeth, it had an indescribable strangeness that made one's scalp tingle.

Miss Zhou Si only kicked it, and even her shoes had to be burned to avoid being contaminated by disaster qi. Now Hu Ma directly grabbed it, leaving nothing behind, all returning to himself.

In an instant, the world was silent, and everything was silent. Even the doctor fell silent.

It seemed that no one had thought of what Hu Ma would do at this moment.

"Then I have to disappoint you."

Hu Ma's right hand used the disaster-collecting bag to trap the strange snake, while his left hand tightly pinched the Wuzu Jun (Footless Lord), his voice firm and sinister: "I will bear the debt of the people in this village."

"Just as the pond deity blocked the disaster for me, I will also block the disaster for them!"

"Fates have weight. I also want to see if my life is really heavier than all the people in those villages combined?"

"..."

As he spoke, rolling disaster qi descended upon him. The unprecedented pressure almost instantly overwhelmed Hu Ma.

(End of Chapter)