Chapter 1 Coffin Boards Turning Into Spirits Seeking Revenge?

And also, his identity in this world was actually the grandson of this strange old woman?

Then why would she use such a cruel method to lock him up?

The bizarre phenomena of this world, and his speculation about his own situation, caused a strong impact on Hu Ma's mind.

Terror, doubt, incomprehension and other emotions also made him see stars again and feel dizzy.

But this time, he resisted the urge to faint, and tried to open his eyes to look at the old woman.

And the old woman standing at the door had been staring at Hu Ma with a ghastly gaze, her eyes seemingly unmoving under her messy hair.

She saw Hu Ma swaying, but ultimately not falling down and fainting, and her gaze was somewhat complex.

After a long while, she slowly lowered her eyelids and said faintly:

"You woke up earlier than I thought, and you have more energy than I thought. It looks like you're getting better soon."

"..."

"This time she's finally willing to talk?"

Hu Ma braced himself and realized that this time was different from before.

He had shouted at this old woman countless times, sometimes fainting, sometimes waking up in pain, and sometimes wanting to struggle and resist when she approached, but this old woman had always watched coldly, unmoved, and he even suspected that she couldn't speak.

Hu Ma immediately stared at her and said in a trembling voice: "You... what exactly is going on with me?"

"Why are you locking me up?"

"..."

"You're sick."

The strange old woman slowly walked in, sat down on the small stool, and said in a low voice: "I'm treating you."

"Treating me?"

Hu Ma's voice changed slightly: "Does treating a disease require this?"

You pierced my pipa bones and hung me from the roof beam, tormenting me every day and night by chanting scriptures and burning talismans, but you say you're treating me?

The old woman seemed to guess what he was thinking, and said gloomily: "You're very sick."

"?"

Even if I'm sick, you wouldn't hang someone up to treat them, right?

Hu Ma suddenly felt that his mind was in chaos, and he went all out, shouting: "Stop pretending to be a ghost, who exactly are you?"

"You... let me down first..."

"..."

The old woman listened to his shouting, but just kept a calm face, slowly putting down the bundle she had carried back.

It was as if she had returned to the state of ignoring Hu Ma's words.

But the girl with two small pigtails suddenly said crisply: "Hu Ma-gege (older brother) doesn't remember Grandma."

"The Meng family sent a ghost to kill Hu Ma-gege, but Grandma is very capable and called Hu Ma-gege's soul back."

"But Hu Ma-gege always wanted to run away, so Grandma fixed Hu Ma-gege's soul and body."

"Grandma helps Hu Ma-gege recite the *ding shen zhou* (soul-stabilizing incantation) every day, feeds Hu Ma-gege soup, and even cut meat from the *taisui* (Grand Duke Jupiter) for Hu Ma-gege to eat. Now Hu Ma-gege finally doesn't run around anymore, but Hu Ma-gege doesn't recognize Grandma, and doesn't recognize Xiao Hongtang either."

"..."

She seemed obviously unhappy at the end, and her little mouth was pouting.

But her words made Hu Ma suddenly feel dizzy.

What was all this?

He couldn't help but recall the buzzing chanting sounds he had heard constantly for the past seven days, thinking about the strange talisman water, decoctions, and the square-cut meat that had been boiled until it was white... This kind of meat was what she called *taisui*?

Before, he was always dizzy, his vision blurred, and his body felt light.

But now it's gradually getting better...

Could it be that they really are treating him?

But the key is...

...

"His soul has only just been stabilized, it's normal for him not to remember things."

While the little girl was talking, the old woman, with a gloomy face, was slowly taking things out of the bundle.

All he saw were some incense candles, paper money, and a large piece of square meat wrapped in red paper, the red paper soaked with grease.

Her voice was slow, and after a long while, she said: "He will get better."

"Hu family's last surviving descendant won't be killed by the Meng family like this..."

"..."

As things developed to this point, Hu Ma already understood something.

A tsunami of amazement surged in his heart, and even though this was happening to him, he could hardly believe it.

He was about to blurt out countless words, but he suddenly reacted.

He pursed his lips slightly, then suddenly looked up at the old woman and said tentatively, "Then..."

"Now that I'm better, will you..."

"...be able to let me down?"

"..."

Everything else was secondary, whether what this old woman and little girl said was true or false didn't matter.

The priority was to get them to help him unlock these two hooks.

Sure enough, in his worried gaze, the old woman's expression seemed to darken slightly, and she slowly shook her head:

"Although you're better, it's better to fix you for a few more days..."

"..."

Just as Hu Ma's mood sank slightly, he saw her stop halfway through her sentence, as if she had made some decision, and suddenly glanced at Hu Ma.

The gaze was too sharp, and Hu Ma quickly looked away.

He could feel her looking all over him, perhaps also seeing the bloodstains seeping from his shoulders when he had just tried to escape the hooks.

Then, he was surprised to hear her tone soften:

"But it is indeed uncomfortable to be hung up. If you want to untie them, then untie them."

"..."

Hu Ma was a little surprised: "Then..."

"I'll do it!"

Just as he was about to ask how to untie them, he suddenly heard the little girl in red on the ground shout excitedly.

She was extremely short, less than a meter tall, with thin arms and legs, but her movements were surprisingly agile.

She bounced off the ground and jumped onto Hu Ma's back.

Her feet in embroidered shoes braced against Hu Ma's shoulders, and her fair little hands grabbed the iron hooks, tensing her body and exerting force.

"Pu..."

A sharp pain came, and before Hu Ma could react, one of the iron hooks had already been pulled out.

She quickly threw it aside, and rolled over Hu Ma's back again, grabbing the other iron hook and doing the same.

Blood immediately flowed profusely from his shoulders, and Hu Ma only felt a lightness in his body.

But immediately afterwards, a sharp pain attacked his brain, and he saw stars, and his body fell uncontrollably to the ground.

But then he heard a giggling sound, and a chaotic red shadow flashed in his eyes.

A chilling coldness came from the burning pain in his shoulders, which made his spirits lift.

He opened his eyes and found that it was the little girl in red, sticking out her tongue and licking his wound.

Her slender tongue licked the wound, and the hole, which was bleeding profusely, immediately stopped bleeding, and even the intense pain was greatly reduced.

"What exactly is this little girl..."

Hu Ma realized the problem, but in the chaos, he couldn't think about it in detail. The little girl had already flipped his body over and was licking the two bloody holes on his back. Although Hu Ma's body was thin, it weighed at least a hundred catties, but she could turn it around casually with her two slender arms.

The changes in this short period of time made Hu Ma's thinking chaotic, and he gasped for breath.

Throughout the whole process, the old woman just sat on the stool, slowly pouring herself a cup of cold tea and drinking it.

Her eyes were slightly lowered, as if she was thinking about something.

The room was silent, with only Hu Ma's heavy breathing, vigorous and powerful.

She seemed to feel a little more relaxed, and after a long time, she slowly stood up and said to the little girl:

"Xiao Hongtang, take care of your *gege* (older brother). I have to go to the Cui family's grave to take a look."

"Old Master Cui died suspiciously back then. I let that locust wood coffin board watch him for twenty years, but maybe the thunderstorms and rain a few days ago washed away the grave. The coffin board even ran back to me to collect debts. Old Master Cui's corpse probably won't be honest either..."

"..."

She walked to the door, but seemed to remember something again, and turned around to remind Hu Ma:

"You've only just recovered, and your body is very weak, so you're prone to attracting evil spirits. Don't run around."

"..."

"Don't run?"

Hu Ma vaguely heard her instructions, and just thought in his heart: "I'd be a fool not to run!"

He endured the discomfort caused by his current physical weakness, but his mind was racing.

Through the few remaining traces of memory in his mind, plus the few words that the old woman and the little girl had said just now, he vaguely pieced the whole thing together: "My predecessor, this old woman's grandson, was killed by someone else before?"

"This old woman wanted to save him, so she helped him summon his soul?"

"After someone dies, she can still find a way to summon the soul back, this old woman's cultivation is not shallow..."

"But, damn it, she summoned the wrong soul."

"..."

He wasn't her grandson at all, how could he remember her affairs?

But he couldn't say this, what if she knew he was fake and scattered him and summoned him again?

...

Thinking silently in his heart, estimating that the old woman had already gone far, Hu Ma suddenly opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the little girl in red, squatting not far away, staring at him.

They looked at each other, big eyes staring at small eyes, and neither of them spoke.

Although the old woman had left, she had left such a little monster to watch him, so he had to deal with this little monster first.