Chapter 23 Are Tongyin Meng and Guiren Zhang Joining Hands to Build a Demon-Revealing Mirror?

This unexpected news sent a chill through Hu Ma's heart. If they really succeeded, wouldn't that mean the second great purge of reincarnators was about to begin?

Subconsciously, he resisted the news, finding it incredible, but upon reflection, he had to accept it.

The special nature of reincarnators would naturally become more apparent as their abilities increased.

As in the case of facing the Old Master Yan this time, the entire Guazhou city seemed lighter, yet only the reincarnators reacted minimally.

Similarly, when facing the pressure from the Meng family's ancestor, only the Benming Lingmiao (Vital Spirit Temple) provided support.

The Benming Lingmiao was the most unique aspect of every reincarnator, allowing them to avoid detours, connect with each other, and possess various wondrous functions.

But as their abilities grew, this uniqueness could also become a weakness, leading to their discovery...

For a moment, he couldn't digest the impact of this news. He hurried back to Master Zhao's mansion in the west of Guazhou city.

The mansion was in a flurry of activity. Master Zhao was absent, having hurriedly taken the still-recovering young master out. Only the steward remained to explain to Hu Ma: "Rest assured, esteemed guest. Master knows the city is in chaos today. You must be tired from your outing. He instructed me to have the kitchen prepare your meal early."

The steward shook his head and sighed, "Who would have thought something like this would happen to the Yan family of Iron Gate?"

"The Yan family has been the city's philanthropists for years. When Iron Threshold King Yu entered Guazhou, it was their master who prevented the bandits from causing trouble. The entire city was left unharmed, only contributing tens of thousands of dan (a unit of dry measure) of grain to appease the army. But you can know a person's face but not their heart. Such a good family was the culprit behind the toad disease..."

"Alas, with this incident, the local gentry must meet to discuss how to proceed!"

"..."

The iron threshold that the Yan family had guarded for so many years was breached in a single night. With the Yan family's downfall, Guazhou was shaken.

Perhaps Master Zhao had already guessed that the Yan family's troubles were related to the guests residing in his mansion.

Arriving in the hall, he saw Lao Suanpan (Old Abacus) and Wu Ya had already arrived. Zhou Datong was still busy at the Zhao family's estate, leaving only the three of them to eat.

Preoccupied with thoughts, Hu Ma's expression was somber.

Lao Suanpan also seemed guilty, hesitating to speak. Only Wu Ya looked at Hu Ma with adoration, propping her chin up and refilling his wine cup.

"That..."

After a few bites and drinks, Hu Ma and Lao Suanpan spoke simultaneously, then stopped at the same time.

The atmosphere became awkward. Hu Ma took a deep breath, put down his chopsticks, and said to Lao Suanpan, "You go first."

"Me..."

Lao Suanpan grew more embarrassed, forcing a smile. "What can I say?"

"I came along to offer advice, fearing your youth would leave you ignorant of the martial world's depths, leading to great losses. But it seems I'm not needed at all."

"People used to say the Hu family was small, but now it seems like there's no family bigger than the Hu family..."

"..."

"Don't say that."

Hu Ma smiled, comforting him, "If not for your reminder, I wouldn't have been able to pull this off with such fanfare."

"No, no..."

Lao Suanpan waved his hand, "I wouldn't dare take credit for that. Even the two hundred jin (a Chinese unit of weight, roughly equivalent to a pound) of blood food you promised me, you don't need to give it to me..."

He paused, "...You don't need to give it all to me, just give me one hundred..."

The words reached his lips, then he paused again, hardening his resolve. "...Give me one hundred and ninety jin, that's fine."

"?"

Hu Ma was amused and exasperated, glancing at him with a smile.

Lao Suanpan's face flushed. He quickly said, "What did you want to ask earlier? Tell me, maybe this old man knows!"

Hu Ma sighed softly, frowned, pondered for a moment, and then slowly opened his mouth. "The Zhang family of Guiren, have you heard of them?"

"This..."

Lao Suanpan paused. "The founding ancestors of the Haishou (Harm Leading) sect? How could I not know?"

"Yangming Zhou, Zhensui Hu, Tongyin Meng, Shenshou Zhao, Busi Wang, Jiangtou Chen, also called Huogui Chen (Living Ghost Chen), plus Wuchang Li, Guanshan Zhu, Zaofu Sun, Guiren Zhang..."

"These ten surnames are the most prominent in the profession."

"The Zhang family of Guiren has always been regarded as the founding ancestors of the Haishou sect, but their Haishou methods are different from your Shou Sui (Year Keeping), Zou Gui (Ghost Walking), and Baxi (Acrobatics) sects. Your three families roam the martial world the most, while they rarely enter the martial world or participate in various affairs. The Haishou sect is fragmented, with little interaction."

"..."

"Haishou?"

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback. "So the Zhang family of Guiren are also descendants of artisans and machinists..."

But he stopped halfway, realizing the subtlety.

Sure enough, Lao Suanpan sighed. "That's not right. Although the Haishou sect includes many artisans, sorcerers, and impoverished people, how could the Zhang family be worthy of the title 'Guiren' (Distinguished People) if they were like that? They are the founding ancestors of the Haishou sect, but they don't dabble in these things. Astrology, numerology, and Qimen Dunjia (Mysterious Doors and Hidden Armaments) are their specialties..."

"Why did you suddenly think of asking about them?"

"..."

Hu Ma thought for a moment, then looked at him and said frankly, "I just met two people who gave me a reminder."

"The Zhensui Hu family should be careful of Guiren Zhang and Tongyin Meng!"

"..."

"What?"

Lao Suanpan seemed confused. After a while, he said, "How did these two families come together?"

"Guiren Zhang has his nose in the air, while Tongyin Meng started from the bottom. These two families are completely unrelated..."

"...Who reminded you?"

Seeing his curiosity, Hu Ma smiled and explained, "It wasn't exactly a reminder to me, but a message for that friend of mine, you know, the one in Mingzhou..."

"...Do you really want to hear about such things?"

"..."

Lao Suanpan suddenly understood, his face changing drastically. He immediately shook his head. "No, this old man doesn't want to know at all."

But meeting Hu Ma's gaze, he hesitated slightly, and whispered, "But regarding your question, I will only tell you the most important thing: Guiren Zhang is not easy to provoke."

"In terms of frightening and harming people, the Haishou sect doesn't actually have many methods, and people from the Haishou profession are rarely seen in the martial world. Their reputation is not great."

"But you must understand that a small reputation and few methods do not mean they lack great abilities."

"A good fighter has no merit, a good battler has no fame. The Shou Sui's name is famous in the martial world because the Shou Sui needs to fight and kill openly. The Fuling's name is famous because there are evil spirits everywhere looking for living people to replace them in broad daylight, so they need to roam the martial world."

"The Zhang family of Guiren doesn't have any well-known harmful tricks because their abilities are superior, and they don't need to spend their days pondering such inferior methods."

"Of course, their identity is also extraordinary. They are the last of the royal descendants..."

"..."

"Royal descendants?"

Hu Ma was somewhat surprised by this. "Didn't the imperial lineage already... Where did the royal descendants come from?"

"Hey, the Du clan killed off all the imperial clansmen."

Lao Suanpan said with a sinister smile, "But the royal descendants of the previous dynasty are still alive!"

"Two hundred years ago, the Du clan took over the world from the Zhang family, but also granted the Zhang family the title of a leisure prince. For two hundred years, countless martial artists who disapproved of the Yi dynasty's Du clan secretly respected the Zhang family as the king. Even twenty years ago, after the emperor was skinned, some people still believed that the world would be returned to the Zhang family."

"..."

"It actually involves the change of dynasties?"

Hu Ma was surprised to hear this. As he pondered, Lao Suanpan also thought for a moment, seeming to recall something important.

But he hesitated, then lowered his voice and said slowly, "There is another important thing."

"Back then, the Zhang family of Guiren was the first to discover that a group of evil ghosts crawling out of hell were hiding in people's homes..."

"The Zhang family of Guiren was also the first to determine that their own family had a reincarnated evil spirit, and they selflessly destroyed it, grinding it into dregs with a stone mill!"

"..."

"What?"

Hearing this suddenly, Hu Ma's heart sank.

If the Zhang family of Guiren had such methods in the past, then the possibility of Guiren Zhang and Tongyin Meng joining forces to create the demon-revealing mirror that could expose reincarnators would be much greater, and his heart would sink even more.

But after asking a few more questions, his doubts increased.

The Zhang family of Guiren were the first to discover reincarnators and even "selflessly destroyed" them, so why did the Hu family become responsible for suppressing the reincarnators later?

And the most critical point:

The Zhensui Hu family once carried out the first great purge of reincarnators, but how exactly was it carried out? He, as the master of the Zhensui Manor, actually knew nothing about it. He tentatively asked Lao Suanpan, and he also looked confused. And the current reincarnators, due to the information gap with the previous generation, are also unaware of such a big event...

After saying a few words, he was at a loss. But being able to learn about the relationship between the Zhang family of Guiren and the reincarnators was also a gain.

After finishing the meal, he first returned to his room. He had just opened three manor gates and should have sorted them out, but he didn't have time now. He slowly circulated his energy, adjusted his mood, and slowly sank into his Benming Lingmiao (Vital Spirit Temple). He thought that after the excitement of the Yan family affair, the reincarnators would be in chaos again, but unexpectedly, the Lingmiao was surprisingly quiet.

"You've come?"

Miss Red Wine's voice sounded, as if she had been waiting for Hu Ma for a long time.

Hu Ma quickly said, "Those people..."

"They're taking it seriously."

Miss Red Wine said, "Right now, they're all creating small private chat groups, some selling zombie horns and dragon zombie scales, and some voting to elect small team leaders in various regions!"