Chapter 1

Inside the village, tables and chairs had been moved aside, revealing a trench ten zhang long and a little over one zhang wide. The trench was lined with firewood, crushed stone, and thorny brambles. On either side, bundles of incense sticks had been planted, and everyone stood silently along the edges.

Second Master, barefoot with his trousers rolled up, stared intently as the trench began to blaze. His old face was etched with deep lines, like knife strokes.

Among the onlookers, many wore worried expressions, as if they still didn't think the matter was important.

Those present, regardless of their skills or status, were far superior to Iron Hand Peng. Dealing with the old rascal would be as easy as lifting a hand.

They didn't understand why this Little Hu's shifu would take such a risk over the words of such a nobody. They had come to observe out of respect for the younger generation of the village, but they ultimately didn't understand the rules of the mountains.

The villagers and those from neighboring villages had initially tried to dissuade Second Master, but now that they saw the fire pit prepared, their expressions became solemn. They stood silently on either side, their gazes towards Second Master almost reverent.

Walking the fire pit was, after all, a method for the common folk.

It was their last resort, born from a habit of not expecting help from others, a way to reason and vent their anger.

"To put it bluntly, it's the common people gambling with their lives against Heaven."

Beside General Bao Liang, Chief Steward Xu Wensheng whispered, "Because they have nowhere to reason and cannot swallow their anger, they believe they are wronged, and even Heaven won't let them die."

"If Heaven doesn't open its eyes, then they will throw their lives here, because if even Heaven doesn't care about them, then they won't live in this broken world."

"In the villages, those who voluntarily walk the fire pit, whether they live or die, will be believed by the villagers."

"At the very least, even if they die in the fire pit, they will let their neighbors understand their intentions, and Iron Hand Peng will not be able to manipulate their disciples."

"Country folk always factor life and death into their calculations when dealing with matters."

"..."

Yang Gong listened, his heart heavy. He whispered, "How could such a small matter require such a gamble with life? This should be something for the officials to handle."

Chief Steward Xu said with a bitter smile, "General, you also come from a poor background, don't you know, when have the officials ever been reliable?"

Yang Gong gritted his teeth and said, "When we take charge in the future, we will take care of this matter."

"Those who don't take care of things, we'll chop off their heads!"

"..."

Chief Steward Xu couldn't help but shrink his neck, actually hearing a strong and real hatred in Yang Gong's words.

As the fire in the trench blazed, Second Master slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on Iron Hand Peng at the other end. After Second Master proposed walking the fire pit, the old man seemed to have changed.

Originally, he was aggressive and arrogant, but now he seemed to be in a daze. The firelight shone on his face, making it shift between light and shadow, his eyes staring blankly.

"Heaven..."

Second Master opened his mouth hoarsely, his voice trembling, "Is watching!"

With just this one sentence, the entire village seemed to tremble. The old clansmen teared up with heartache.

Looking at his brother, he also said in a trembling voice, following along, "Heaven is watching!"

The next moment, all the other villagers, regardless of age or gender, shouted together, "Heaven is watching!"

When this sound was shouted out, it shook the clouds. Even the guests, with their great skills and high status, trembled in this shout, as if they felt a wind rising in the village.

From the direction of the old fire pit, something was struggling to rise, an ancient and simple thing emerged from the depths of the village, causing them to feel awe.

And Second Master, accompanied by this ancient and mysterious aura, gritted his teeth, took a step, and walked into the fire pit.

Everyone widened their eyes, seeing clearly that Second Master was not using any techniques.

The flames rising from the burning embers sizzled against his skin and robes, as if the fire suddenly flared up, enveloping his entire body. Many people, at this moment, couldn't bear to watch directly and raised their sleeves to cover their faces.

"That..."

But at the next moment, someone suddenly cried out in alarm, and those beside them heard and looked up together.

The next moment, everyone widened their eyes, their faces filled with shock.

...

...

At the moment when the words "Heaven is watching" rang out in the village, Hu Ma, carrying the Executioner's Blade, led Little Red Peony, and strode out of the village. He didn't look back, but his eyes were filled with a coldness as he gazed at the deep mountains.

He raised the blade, lightly blowing on it. In an instant, the baleful aura on the blade surged into the forest.

In the dark shadows, countless ghostly things were alarmed, fleeing far away, not daring to approach.

He didn't know who was hiding in the forest, injecting that Iron Hand Peng with a burst of evil energy, nor did he know what skills this person possessed that even the Mountain Lord couldn't catch him, and where he was hiding now.

But Second Master's unwarranted suffering had already filled his heart with hatred. Now that Second Master had to rely on walking the fire pit to release this pent-up anger, he couldn't let this妖人 (yaoren, demon person) ruin things.

After driving away the filth and darkness from all around, Hu Ma slowly exhaled a breath of yang qi. As this breath left his body, he gradually became cold, completely merging with the阴森 (yin sen, gloomy and ghastly) atmosphere of the forest. His steps were heavy as he walked into the depths of the forest.

The surroundings were silent, and endless sounds were carried in the wind, all rushing into his ears.

This was the Listening to Graves method, and at a high level, it could directly listen to the wind.

At this moment, he even stopped his heart from beating, but the countless sounds carried in the wind poured into his ears, clear in every detail.

He could hear the countless tense heartbeats in Great Sheep Village, he could hear Second Master's determination to walk the fire pit for the sake of his lifelong innocence, he could even hear the bewilderment of the noble lords who didn't understand, and he could also hear the ghostly wanderings.

Until, he suddenly heard a burst of shock in Great Sheep Village, followed by indescribable joy and delight.

He could even see the soaring popularity of Great Sheep Village, rising steadily, and when it was dyed with a layer of divine light, suddenly, something strange mixed in the wind and flew towards Great Sheep Village in an instant.

"Found him!"

At the same moment, Hu Ma suddenly raised his head, his eyes as sharp as swords, and his figure shot out in an instant.

The Measuring Heaven Boots were on his feet; he hadn't returned them after borrowing them from the Underworld that time.

With this movement, he was as if using the Shrinking Earth into Inches divine ability. In an instant, only a faint shadow remained, and he had already passed through the deep forest, arriving about three or four li west of Great Sheep Village. His gaze suddenly fixed on a ball of firelight.

Now that he had borrowed the baleful aura from the Executioner's Blade, driving away the evil spirits around the village, the mountains were silent, and no human voices could be heard.

But here, there was actually a person wearing a tattered sheepskin coat, with a painted face, covered in strange trinkets, jumping around a bonfire, chanting incantations, as if performing a ritual:

"Born without fortune to be fortunate, Heaven does not send disaster, disaster comes by itself."

"Three disasters and eight difficulties have nowhere to hide, originally knowing this heart is a source of misfortune!"

"..."

At the moment Hu Ma rushed to the edge of the forest, the person finished reciting the strange verse and held out a dark, paste-like object.

It was a heart, still beating.

Hu Ma didn't know what kind of spell he was casting, but he wouldn't allow him to act. The moment he arrived, he suddenly raised his blade and slashed.

The blade followed his body, and in a few steps, he had already covered a distance of more than ten zhang. A cold light swept across the forest.

"Aiyo, Wandering Ghost Officer, you've come so fast..."

The person by the bonfire heard the sound of the blade and turned his head, a strange smile appearing on his oil-painted face. He didn't have time to continue casting the spell. He laughed and suddenly retreated behind him.

But since Hu Ma had already drawn his blade, how could he let him escape? The person seemed to only take half a step back, but the blade light had already arrived, instantly splitting the other person in two.

Logically speaking, he should have captured this妖人 (yaoren, demon person) from who knows where, and interrogated him first.

But Hu Ma was worried about Second Master and didn't want him to ruin things. He attacked with all his strength. At worst, he would kill him and then question his soul!

But unexpectedly, this blade was indeed fierce enough, but when it passed through the other person's body, he immediately realized something was wrong.

Looking closely, he saw that the person he had split in two was blown away by the wind.

What he had cut was actually a shadow?

"Miasma?"

At the moment the other person's shadow dissipated, Hu Ma immediately realized the reason.

Old Yin Mountain had a lot of miasma, which could cause hallucinations and even form mirages. Now, this place just happened to have it. He didn't know if it was the other person's spell, but it was precisely borrowing the illusion formed by this miasma that made him slash at nothing.

But after Hu Ma landed his blade, he didn't hesitate and immediately stomped heavily on the ground.

He was the Great Year Guardian, and his full-strength stomp was extremely powerful. The ground around him trembled, and the next moment, Hu Ma heard an "aiyo" sound, and saw someone losing their footing in the shadows next to him and falling to the ground.

This time, he could see it clearly, knowing it was not an illusion. He waved the Executioner's Blade and strode forward, the Executioner's Blade aiming at the other person's neck.

But unexpectedly, he had only taken two steps when his foot suddenly slipped, and it turned out that there was a rabbit hole in the place where he had stepped, but it was covered by weeds. It was just this kind of incredible coincidence that caused his foot to fall into the rabbit hole.

While rushing forward, losing his footing could even break his ankle from the momentum.

Even the Executioner's Blade in his hand suddenly swung towards his own neck due to the shaking of his body.

And the figure flew up from the ground and didn't forget to laugh, "You're too impatient. When people are impatient, things easily go wrong..."