Chapter 1 Hu Ma Learns the Truth

Hu Ma saw that Second Master spoke solemnly and immediately perked up to listen.

Second Master said in a low voice, "Second Master, my dilapidated manor, means nothing in the eyes of humans, but not just anyone dares to enter it in the eyes of evil spirits. Why is it that Little Hong Tang usually doesn't dare to enter the manor when she comes to deliver your meals?"

"It's because the fire energy here is too strong. Evil spirits can't even get close without being scorched."

"I deliberately chose to live in a manor outside, teaching apprentices here. It's actually because we have too much fire energy and are afraid of disturbing the ancestors..."

"..."

Hu Ma was slightly surprised, "Does this mean the evil spirit that came is very powerful?"

Little Hong Tang was indeed usually too afraid to enter the manor and would only sneak in when Second Master wasn't around.

But she was just afraid, and she could still enter if she steeled herself.

Was that the same for the White-Faced Mountain Monster?

"It's not that simple."

Second Master waved his hand and said, "Calling them evil spirits is just a general term. There are several categories of those evil things, such as *youhui* (wandering spirits), *xiesui* (evil spirits), *ewu* (evil things), and *xiongsha* (fierce spirits)..."

"The ones that usually clash with the villagers in our village are actually *youhui*. Those wandering ghosts who died unjustly are also like this. They act purely on instinct. When they see our manor from afar, they are scared and run away."

"But that White-Faced Mountain Monster can truly be called an evil spirit, and a powerful one at that."

"But even that thing, based on the fire energy of your furnace right now, it should be afraid of you too, or at least everyone wouldn't want to provoke each other."

"But the problem lies here. This kind of creature has already developed intelligence and knows how to seek good fortune and avoid disaster. It knows that your furnace has strong fire energy and that Second Master is in the manor. Why did it specifically bewitch someone to harm you?"

"..."

Hu Ma vaguely thought of something, and a faint horror arose in his heart, "Second Master, do you mean..."

"That's right."

Second Master nodded and lowered his voice, "This goes against its nature. I suspect something is driving it."

"Tomorrow, you must tell Grandma about this. I'm worried it's related to the family that harmed you."

"..."

"The family that harmed me?"

Hu Ma felt a slight chill in his heart, thinking of the miserable state of his predecessor.

Guarding such a capable Grandma, yet he was harmed to the point of his soul being scattered, giving himself the chance to be reborn.

He suddenly raised his head and said in a low voice, "Second Master, do you know who that family is?"

"How did I become like this in the first place?"

"..."

Second Master shook his head, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening, and said in a low voice, "I asked Grandma, but she always refused to tell me..."

"I only know that this should be a feud that your Hu family made outside back then. Counting the time your Hu family came to Da Yang Village, it must have been twenty years ago. But that family was too ruthless, they didn't even let go of the old and young left in your Hu family."

"They were determined to exterminate your Hu family..."

"..."

As Second Master spoke, his voice even carried a hint of anger.

He paused, calmed down, and then said, "As for your matter, that was a month and a half ago. I just remember that a strange wind blew all night that day, and then I heard that you were lost."

"Grandma went out to perform a ritual for the villagers and wasn't in the village. And the people in the village didn't dare to go out at night. When Grandma..."

"But after searching in the forest for two days, there wasn't a trace of you. They rushed to worship the ancestors, only to find that the ancestors didn't respond at the time, as if they had lost their power."

"Later, no one knew what happened, only that Grandma seemed to have used some kind of method to find you with a few people, and then..."

"..."

Speaking of this, Second Master's eyes seemed to become a little strange.

Hu Ma asked carefully, "What's wrong?"

Second Master shook his head and said, "Nothing."

He vaguely remembered that everyone in the village thought Hu Ma was beyond saving. And the people who had just found Hu Ma privately swore that Hu Ma was completely dead at the time, his appearance was terrifying, but Grandma insisted that he wasn't dead and brought him back to the village.

Who would have thought afterward that Hu Ma would actually come back to life? It could only be said that Grandma was capable.

Second Master felt a little apprehensive when he thought of this, but this matter was too terrifying, so there was no need to tell the current Hu Ma.

He continued, "At first, everyone thought he was bewitched by the evil spirits in the forest. Grandma didn't say anything to others, but secretly told me that ordinary evil spirits didn't have the ability to enter the village and kidnap people, and that the old fire pit didn't react. It was the Hu family's enemies who had come."

"She first brought you back to the village, and then went out of the village again. That night, everyone in the village couldn't sleep peacefully, they only heard some ghostly wails from the forest, and the wind howled through the forest all night."

"That night, none of the chickens, pigs, or dogs in the village dared to make a sound."

"No one in the entire village dared to light a lamp, because when the lamp was lit, it was actually green, which was eerily frightening."

"But finally, Grandma came back, but she looked very tired and lay in bed for a day."

Second Master said here, tapped his tobacco pipe, paused for a moment, and then slowly said, "Later, Grandma spent a few days and truly saved you. Everyone else thought it was okay."

"Only not long ago, Grandma came to me privately and told me that the thing that harmed you was only injured by her and was still wandering outside. She had finally managed to save you, and once that thing noticed, it would definitely come to harm you again..."

"To put it bluntly, Grandma sent you here to me not only to learn my skills but also to protect you. Only if I protect you will she have the time to go to the forest and deal with that guy."

"What I'm worried about now is this. This White-Faced Mountain Monster is coming for you, maybe it's related to it."

"..."

Hu Ma listened to Second Master's words and remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, he turned his head and looked out the window, only to see a crescent moon slowly disappearing behind the dark clouds.

The surroundings were dark, bringing a huge sense of oppression.

In this vast forest that seemed to have no end, there was a ghost constantly watching, wanting his life...

Little Hong Tang said that Grandma was looking for something in the forest, was she looking for it?

But logically speaking, Grandma should have the upper hand, but if that were the case, how could the other party still have the ability to send the White-Faced Mountain Monster to harm him?

Could it be...

Hu Ma felt a chill in his heart: Grandma didn't actually have the upper hand?

As soon as this thought arose, he felt even more horrified and didn't even dare to think about it further.

It was true that Grandma was very capable, he had experienced it firsthand, but after all, Grandma wasn't young anymore. She looked like an old woman in her seventies or eighties, and even her waist couldn't straighten up.

And this old woman had just spent so much effort to "revive" him.

In order to help him ward off evil spirits, she chanted scriptures all day and night without sleeping, and she had also found so many precious Blood *Taisui* (fleshy ganoderma) to help him prolong his life...

For some reason, Hu Ma felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

How much faith must it take to support an old woman to do so many things?

In this state, no matter how capable she was, how long could she last?

Hu Ma's expression was restrained, but some details were captured by Second Master. The straightforward man could feel Hu Ma's psychological changes, especially that clear emotional fluctuation, and he felt a little relieved in his heart:

"Before, everyone in the village said that this Little Hu Ma was a heartless wolf, growing up so big, relying on Grandma to serve him every day, and he wasn't grateful at all. It really made people unable to sympathize."

"But people will always grow up..."

"Elders aren't afraid of children being ignorant, they are always looking forward to the day when children become sensible. When that day comes, they will be at ease."

"..."

"..."

"Second Master, I want to go into the forest to help Grandma."

After a long silence, Hu Ma raised his head and said seriously to Second Master.

"Being able to say these words means Grandma didn't dote on you in vain."

Second Master also said seriously, "Your fire energy is indeed not shallow now, but don't rush to make a decision."

"Grandma's skills are greater than ours, ask for Grandma's opinion first before you decide."

"..."

Hu Ma agreed, and then went back to the side room to pack up, but with things on his mind, he couldn't sleep all night.

And having just experienced the White-Faced Mountain Monster incident, the little companions were also trembling and silent.

Hu Ma was also preoccupied, waiting for Little Hong Tang to come, but unexpectedly, Little Hong Tang didn't come even after noon. He couldn't bear it anymore and went to the outside of the manor to take a look, only to suddenly see a flash of red.

"Brother Hu Ma, why are you only coming out now?"

Not far away, Little Hong Tang was carrying a basket, pouting, "I've been calling you for a long time..."

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was a little surprised, wondering why he hadn't heard it.

He turned his head and saw a circle of faint ashes around the manor, and then he suddenly understood.

Yesterday, the Mountain Monster had caused trouble, and Second Master was afraid of accidents, so he had sprinkled ancestral ashes around the manor.

Unexpectedly, it not only blocked other evil spirits but also blocked Little Hong Tang.

He quickly walked over, took the basket, and said, "Go back earlier today, and tell Grandma something for me..."

He had been thinking of eating quickly so that Little Hong Tang could go back quickly, but unexpectedly, when he opened it, he saw that the basket was empty.

"No food..."

Little Hong Tang said blankly, "The food in the basket was eaten by you yesterday!"

Hu Ma was a little surprised, "What about today's?"

"I don't know about today's..."

Little Hong Tang said pitifully, "I can't find Grandma..."