“Indeed, our founding master was good at playing dumb, but this is the first time I’ve heard him put it so frankly…”

Meeting Hu Ma’s seemingly indifferent gaze, Old Abacus grew anxious, saying in a deep voice, “Besides, even without considering the divination, it’s obvious those demonic figures won’t let you off.”

“Actually, even if Master hadn’t explained it to me in detail, I could sense something. Twenty years ago, Master and the Hu family caused those demonic figures a great loss.”

“Now, evil spirits cross the bridge and resurface, and the heavens and earth are unstable.”

“Since Master has agreed to appear in Shangjing, and you are also heading there, it’s obvious the National Preceptor will join hands with the Hu family again. How could those evil spirits sit still?”

“The way of the Jianghu is to make as few enemies as possible. If you must make an enemy, you have to understand their background before taking action. Those evil spirits are even more ruthless. If they want to act, they won’t just probe the surface; they’ll dig up eighteen generations of ancestors.”

“How did the old master of the Yan family in Guazhou die? Don’t you have any idea?”

“They’ve already come looking for trouble twice. I think they were testing the waters. This third time, I’m afraid they’ll be serious.”

“…”

Hu Ma could see that this was the worst his relationship with the Da Luo Dharma Sect had ever been, but Old Abacus, as a disciple of the Da Luo Dharma Sect, was being the most honest with him.

Knowing that what he said wasn’t false, he just smiled and said, “I have to go.”

“In the past, I listened to other people too much. Looking back on the last three years, I didn’t take many steps on my own.”

“Now, only this path to Shangjing is the one I should take.”

“…”

As he thought about these words, he couldn’t help but recall the information he gleaned when his finger touched the ancient book in the hands of the monster covered in eyes in the Zhongyin realm, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Old Abacus hesitated, “You’re not thinking of using this opportunity to break through the Gate of Life and Death and cultivate your Dao?”

Hu Ma glanced at him and smiled, “Isn’t it perfect?”

“Perfect my foot!”

Old Abacus exclaimed, “It’s extremely difficult for a person to pass through the Gate of Life and Death even once. How have you passed through twice in just a few days?”

“Are you playing house?”

“Entering the Gate of Life and Death to cultivate Dao is like snatching life from heaven and earth, but everything has a limit. You’ve already taken advantage twice. Do you really want to enter the Zhongyin realm a third time and snatch back another life?”

“…”

Listening to his words, Hu Ma did recall that the monster seemed very angry the second time he appeared in the Zhongyin realm.

He had to prepare himself; would it have precautions the third time he went in?

He looked seriously at Old Abacus, “Then what do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know.”

Old Abacus shook his head and said, “That’s not something people like me with light fates and low natal energies should consider. I only know that if you continue forward, those demonic figures will probably give you a severe blow and won’t give you another chance to turn things around.”

“Also, if you want to break through the Gate of Life and Death again, it will definitely cause a big mess. Things in the dark have their own plans. You might not be able to come back.”

“…”

Meeting his serious warning, Hu Ma also fell silent. Just as Old Abacus thought he had finally listened to his advice, Hu Ma suddenly looked at him and said in a low voice, “Can you only snatch one pillar of life at a time?”

“Uh…”

This question was clearly beyond Old Abacus’s comprehension. He said blankly, “It’s not a question of how much you snatch at once. In theory, you shouldn’t be able to snatch it at all…”

“You can snatch it…”

Hu Ma thought of the bizarre information that flashed in his mind when he touched the Book of Life and Death, and slowly said, “It’s just that I really need a better opportunity…”

“Snatching only one pillar at a time is a bit disrespectful to that thing…”

“…”

After pondering for a few sentences, Hu Ma excused himself, saying it was late, and returned to the carriage to rest.

The next day, he didn’t mention turning back, and although Old Abacus was worried, he couldn’t say anything.

The group continued on their way in silence. One thing was different: yesterday, Fourth Sister Zhou helped Immortal Maiden Miaoshan catch the disaster, and afterwards, Immortal Maiden Miaoshan gave Fourth Sister Zhou a pair of her new shoes.

Their relationship had eased a bit, and they sat in the same carriage again. Fourth Sister Zhou said awkwardly, “You’re actually a pretty good person.”

“How novel.”

Immortal Maiden Miaoshan rolled her eyes at her and said, “You call us Jianghu demons every day. Does that mean we only do things that harm heaven and reason?”

“Do you know why we’re called ‘Non-Beef Eaters’?”

“Our sect leader says it well: the common people are like oxen and horses, bearing the world on their backs. They can carry people, and they can also overturn them. It’s not that they can’t be eaten, but that we dare not eat them…”

“…”

Listening to her, Fourth Sister Zhou first felt like she understood and nodded, then suddenly froze and pondered deeply for a while.

She was certain that these were new principles, different from those taught at home, but these principles were so grand that they overwhelmed all other thoughts.

After a long silence, she finally spoke again, her face full of amazement, “This is… something he would say?”

“Of course!”

Immortal Maiden Miaoshan became interested and sat up straight, “Sister, you don’t understand. Our sect leader is proficient in the three volumes of heavenly scriptures and has a bellyful of compassionate principles. Back then, in Shima Town…”

Once she opened the floodgates, she spoke eloquently, pouring out all her admiration for Hu Ma.

He was wise and martial, his insights were shocking, and it was extremely far from the truth.

However, Immortal Maiden Miaoshan’s attitude was so serious when she spoke, and Fourth Sister Zhou listened so attentively, that she gradually became fascinated, and her face was filled with worship without her realizing it.

Little Bean Official, who was following beside her, was so anxious that she clenched her small fists, “My dear Aunt Miaoshan, do you know what you’re doing…”

…

“When that doctor left, he did leave a message, saying that the next ones to come would be their seniors…”

“Who could it be? From the previous generation who are still in this world, using tea as their code name?”

“Or perhaps…”

“…Tieguanyin?”

On their way north, Hu Ma and the others inquired about the route and learned that they had already traveled most of the way. The road was mostly plagued by war, and there were few signs of habitation, but further ahead, past a pass, they would be able to see Shangjing City in the distance.

However, for some reason, the closer they got to Shangjing, the harder it was to find food. The men who were responsible for scouting the way and buying food had mostly returned empty-handed recently.

Fortunately, half of the food on the carts had been saved, so the group wouldn’t be without anything to eat.

On this night, several of the scouts didn’t return for a long time. It wasn’t until midnight that the sound of horses’ hooves could be heard. Those who were resting hurried to greet them, only to see that their pockets were empty, but they had brought a ragged grandfather and granddaughter.

The old man fell on the carriage, waving his hands forcefully, “Don’t go forward, don’t go forward.”

“The grain-seeking team from Oxheart City is out. Don’t run into them…”

“Grain-seeking army?”

Because Mingzhou also had a grain-protecting army, with only one character difference, Hu Ma became interested and listened carefully.

After asking in detail, he learned that there were three rebel kings besieging Oxheart City, and they had been besieging it for half a month. Countless people had died, and there was a shortage of food inside and outside the city. People were starving and didn’t know what they were doing.

Old Abacus, who was standing beside the cart, saw the little girl beside the old man looking longingly at the fire, so he filled a bowl of porridge that had been left for the scouts and gave it to her, then had someone start another fire and cook half a pot more.

He asked curiously, “Old man, they’re short of food, so you have to flee in panic? I see you don’t have any travel money on you. How will you find food?”

“We walked all the way here, and it’s not easy to buy food within hundreds of miles.”

“…”

“What are we looking for to eat? We escaped, just wanting to survive…”

The old man saw that his granddaughter had food and tears fell down his face, “If we don’t leave, I’m afraid we’ll become their food.”

“The grain-seeking armies inside and outside the city are all starving and crazy. There are Yin and Yang routes. The people on the Yin route dig up graves and tombs, take the funerary objects, and exchange them for gold and silver to buy food everywhere. The people on the bright route catch people everywhere, bleed them, and dry them to eat!”

“We’re not fleeing a famine; we’re fleeing for our lives…”

“…”

Everyone listened, especially Fourth Sister Zhou, and their expressions changed, “They’re actually eating people?”

“Has another army of hungry ghosts appeared?”

Hu Ma’s heart also stirred, but when he turned his head and saw Old Abacus’s face as dark as an abacus, he immediately understood.

It wasn’t that another army of hungry ghosts had appeared, but that it looked like armies of hungry ghosts were everywhere in the world.

After settling the two with a full meal and giving them some rice, watching them support each other as they headed south, everyone was speechless for a moment. Once upon a time, the saying that Twilight Boundary was the boundary between Yin and Yang was deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

Without any skill, no one dared to travel at night.

But this grandfather and granddaughter couldn’t care about that. They just wanted to get further away from this battlefield, as if no matter what ghosts and monsters they encountered at night, they were not as scary as the grain-seeking team.

“Since there’s a town ahead, let’s not camp in the wilderness. Let’s go!”

Everyone packed up their luggage, harnessed the horses to the carts, and continued forward, but the atmosphere suddenly became much quieter.

Traveling in the darkness of night, it was eerily silent, and the sky was gloomy and moonless.

After the roadside weeds, a ghostly wind blew, rustling. Suddenly, a sharp, mournful voice, shrill and hoarse, began to sing:

“Husband and wife starve to death together in a year of famine, better for the concubine to go to the ‘vegetable market’.”

“Get three thousand coins to help the husband return, one slice can travel one li.”

“Lotus root-like flesh, cooked with fresh fragrance, breasts made into wontons, people compete to taste.”

“Both arms are cut off first and hung in the butcher’s shop, slowly cut the thigh fat and hold it to make soup.”

“Not to let life end, but to have fresh meat, slice by slice, watch it enter the bellies of hungry people.”

“Man’s meat is fishy and cannot be eaten, woman’s skin is greasy with less sweat.”

“After three days, the meat is gone, leaving only a soul, where to find the husband in the setting sun?”

“Heavenly born woman, good as a ‘vegetable person’, can make the husband return and grow old.”

“Buried alive in the intestines, filling several people, but fortunately, the crows and kites don’t peck early.”

“…”

The voice was frighteningly shrill, causing everyone present to straighten their backs slightly, their hair standing on end, and breaking out in cold sweat.

Hu Ma got out of the car and, with Fourth Sister Zhou, stepped over the weeds and looked in the direction from which the song came, but only saw a woman covered in blood, with pieces of flesh missing from her body, revealing terrifying wounds, holding a pipa in her arms, singing softly.

After the song was finished, she sighed softly, and a gust of wind blew, and she disappeared completely.

All that was left were a few broken bones.

(End of chapter)