“Second Brother, have you lost your mind?”
Coming to a sudden realization, the old clan leader and Grandpa Old Sheepskin both shouted in unison, their expressions increasingly horrified.
Even Hu Ma, Grandpa Sun, and the others nearby had realized what was happening, their faces filled with astonishment.
Walking the fire pit was an old tradition in the village. When someone suffered an injustice that couldn't be explained or reasoned away, the most aggrieved and resentful would propose walking the fire pit.
A raging fire would be built ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) long, and the accused would walk barefoot across it. It was said that if one's conscience was clear, the fire wouldn't burn them, and swords wouldn't leave a mark. This was witnessed by heaven and earth, and recognized by ghosts and gods. Even the most wronged person, after walking the fire pit, would have their innocence proven.
However, even in the village, this method was more like a legend.
In recent decades, there had been attempts, but almost all ended in death by burning.
To die in such a way was more than just death; it was the destruction of one's reputation and life, leaving them unable to rest in peace.
“Don't try to dissuade me.”
Second Master looked at the old clan leader and the others, but his gaze lingered more on Hu Ma and the others. He said in a low voice, “I believe in the rules of our village. I refuse to believe that after living my whole life, I'll be wronged here. I need to clear this up.”
“Hu boy, I know you've learned great skills. Even the Bao Liang General (Grain Protector General) has come to our village and calls me Second Master.”
“But just because we're skilled, does that mean we can rely solely on our skills and ignore the rules?”
“Your Second Master has lived his whole life believing in the rules of this village, and he's lived by them. So, I believe I can get through this.”
“……”
As he spoke, he shouted towards the old clan leader, “Brother!”
The old clan leader suddenly shuddered, coming to his senses. His heart was filled with reluctance, and he muttered, “Alright, alright, you've always been stubborn, never listening since you were a kid. I, as your older brother, can't beat you, but I…”
“I also know what you've lived for your whole life. Our ancestors are sleeping in the pond. I don't believe they can bear this injustice. Then let's do it, let's walk the fire pit.”
“Everyone for miles around needs to know that my brother is a good man!”
“……”
Seeing his resolve, he ordered people to move the tables and chairs in the middle, and dig out a fire trench, filling it with charcoal and thorns.
He also sent people to burn incense in front of the old fire pond, and bring the incense to light beside the fire trench.
In his heart, he still felt sorry for his brother, wanting to ask the ancestors to protect him.
However, he had no idea whether it would actually work.
“This cannot be!”
But seeing the old clan leader give the order, Hu Ma's eyes turned cold. He knew that Second Master couldn't be persuaded at this point. Those words were meant for him. Though he wasn't saying it explicitly, he was already struggling:
He had heard about walking the fire pit, but there were many ways to do it in the martial world, either through skill or trickery. Who would really walk it with their bare feet?
Although Second Master was strong, he hadn't entered the Dao (path of cultivation) and couldn't withstand the pain of being burned by the fire.
Moreover, according to the rules of walking the fire pit, even those in the Dao couldn't use their skills.
If they were found out, the injustice couldn't be cleared.
He had many ways to ensure that Second Master wouldn't be hurt, but if he used those methods, not only would others see through it, but Second Master himself wouldn't be able to accept it. If that was the case, it would be better not to do it at all, to forcibly keep Second Master here, even lock him up…
But even as he thought this, he realized that if he did that, Second Master's spine might never straighten again.
“You don't seem to believe in the old rules of the mountains?”
Just as he was thinking this, a faint sigh sounded beside him.
Hu Ma was slightly startled and turned his head to see a figure sitting on a tree stump in front of a family's main room by the roadside. He was wearing a wide robe and had blurred features. It was the Mountain Lord.
He had appeared silently, and no one around had noticed except for him and
Little Hong Tang turned her head to look. Hu Ma quickly said, “Senior, those people outside the village…”
“Their skills are great. They're not ordinary people of the Dao. I can't catch them.”
The Mountain Lord said softly, “Those few who just returned to the village were also charmed by a wisp of evil energy that entered their hearts.”
“This is a method of the Demon Sky Ghost Earth (Yaotian Guidi). Even I can't wake them up. They returned to the village to ruin the people's spirit. This is a method of planting the seeds of disaster and nurturing the air of misfortune. Very few people in the world know this method.”
“Your Second Master has a grievance in his heart. He's walking the fire pit to gamble with the heavens.”
“But the heavens are no longer what they used to be, so he won't be able to walk through the fire pit. He'll have to carry this grievance with him forever.”
“……”
“Thank you, Senior!”
Hearing this, Hu Ma's heart suddenly brightened, and he bowed to the Mountain Lord in a hurry.
He understood that the Mountain Lord had come to remind him. He didn't even have time to think about the so-called Demon Sky Ghost Earth, planting disaster and nurturing misfortune. He only knew that since Second Master couldn't get through it, he had to keep him from doing it, even if the old man blamed him afterward.
“Hold on.”
But the Mountain Lord suddenly stopped him, saying softly, “If you stop him, your Second Master won't be able to clear things up.”
“You have the ability to kill those who have been invaded by evil energy, and you can keep the news from spreading.”
“But heaven and earth are watching here. Some things can't be hidden from people. If you really do that, you'll fall right into their trap, and the mountain sacrifice is out of the question.”
“When the three disasters and eight tribulations come, don't even think about escaping.”
“……”
“As expected, they're coming for me, but I have to admire the skill of this method. It's truly brilliant.”
Hu Ma took a deep breath, nodded to himself, then smiled and said, “If they're coming, then let them come. I wasn't planning on hiding anyway. But I can't let Second Master suffer this anger for me.”
With that, he was about to step forward, knock Second Master unconscious, and send him back to his room to rest, and then investigate the problem with Iron Hand Peng.
“Since you have that thought, then there's no need to persuade him.”
At this moment, the Mountain Lord suddenly nodded slightly, his gaze seeming to pass through the figure in front of him and land directly on Second Master. He said softly, “The old man believes in the old rules of this village, so it seems that the old rules of this village won't let him down.”
Hu Ma was slightly shocked, and a thought flashed through his mind. In the past, the Mountain Lord wouldn't easily enter the village. This time, he seemed different from before.
“I didn't actually come for you, but for this old man.”
The Mountain Lord looked at Second Master and sighed softly, “I was born with the ability to hear the good and evil in people's hearts, because I was born from the good and evil of people's hearts. The old man has a grievance in his heart, and he can't clear things up, so he wants to walk the fire pit. Mortals walking on fire will inevitably suffer disaster.”
“But I will hear it. Since I hear it, I can't ignore it. With me here, if the person walking the fire pit uses Jianghu (martial world) methods to steal power, it will not work. A mortal body walking on fire, the fire will not harm him.”
“I came to your village not for you, but because I heard his voice.”
“It was he who called me here.”
“……”
Hu Ma was even more surprised as he listened, and suddenly seemed to think of something. Looking at the Mountain Lord again, he was even more astonished.
“Senior, didn't you say that the Demon Sky Ghost Earth…”
“……”
“Yes.”
The Mountain Lord nodded lightly and said, “This world is no longer as clear as it used to be. It has been stolen by people, manipulated by selfish desires. That's why innocent people die in the fire pit, and why the three disasters and eight tribulations have become a means for some people to muddle through cause and effect and karmic debts…”
He sighed softly, looking towards the deep mountains and old forests, as if the entire Old Yin Mountain was sighing with him, “Do you know why these mountain people believe in these old rules?”
“It's because there used to be old guys like us.”
“You are one of the most capable family heads in the Dao (path of cultivation) ()
, but there are still some things in this world that you don't understand. The old rules of these mountains, the things they believe in, are the ancestors of all skills in the Dao…”
“Now, most of the old guys are gone. But after all, I'm still here.”
As he spoke, he lightly raised his robe sleeve, and his gaze seemed to become somewhat distant. His expression looked very similar to Second Master's, who had just made up his mind, “I won't overstep my bounds for your Hu family's affairs and get involved in those people's struggles.”
“But when I hear about such grievances among the mountain people, I can't just sit idly by.”
“As long as I'm here, there will still be a glimmer of clarity in this Demon Sky.”
“This is my duty since birth.”
“……”
“So, Senior, you…”
Hearing this, Hu Ma's speculation was completely confirmed, and the shock he felt was indescribable.
Listening to people's hearts and embodying justice, ordinary City Gods (local deities) definitely don't have such abilities. They only eat incense and protect themselves. The difference between the Mountain Lord and them proves that…
“The ancestral altar has been destroyed, the foundation is withering, some of the old comrades have sunk into the City of the Wrongfully Dead, some are only left with a pile of bones, some are sealed in altars, and some are hiding in the Netherworld. Now, I'm just a lingering soul in this Old Yin Mountain…”
The Mountain Lord knew that he had guessed it, and sighed softly, “Many people no longer pay attention to remnant souls like us.”
“I want to look after this justice, and some people won't agree.”
“When I do this, he will definitely not be willing to just watch. He will take action, but taking action will reveal his face. Whether you can take this opportunity to catch him depends on your ability…”
As he spoke, his figure gradually faded until it disappeared.
But Hu Ma's heart was already completely clear.
“Brother Ma, quickly persuade him…”
At this time, the fire trench had been dug, and the charcoal and thorns had been filled. Zhou Datong and the others were worried and tried to persuade him, but when they saw that Hu Ma had been behind the crowd all along, they were afraid and hurriedly ran over to plead with him.
Even Grandpa Sun, Yang Gong, and the others turned around and looked at Hu Ma in confusion.
“I believe in Second Master!”
Hu Ma deeply exhaled a breath of stagnant air, and said to Zhou Datong and the others, “Take good care of Second Master, don't let him be wronged, and don't let anyone run away.”
“Little Hong Tang!”
After saying that, ignoring the worries of Zhou Datong and the others, he shouted loudly towards Little Hong Tang, who was already happy, “Bring out my Punishing Official Saber (Faguan Da Dao).”
“We're going to the forest to catch ghosts!”