Chapter 1 Loss of Senses

Hu Ma was in this gloomy forest, almost losing his sense of time and space.

He didn't know how long he had been walking in this forest, but finally, when he was sweating all over, he came out of the forest. He looked up and saw a low hill in front of him, and beyond the hill was another larger forest.

Looking into the distance, he seemed to see some dark red, bloated, wriggling giant meat-like things deep in the forest.

He didn't know if he was just seeing things.

But when he looked back at the hill, he found a few low stone houses there, and he could vaguely see some figures moving. He immediately glanced at Granny, confirming that this was the place Granny was taking him to.

He quickly perked up and hurried to follow.

When he got closer, he found that this place was like a small farm. There were several vegetable plots around, and a large flat area where the soil had been compacted. There was also a millstone in the middle.

On the surrounding walls, there were sparsely placed two rows of weapon racks, on which one could see broadswords, spears, lotus hooks, rope darts, and other things, as well as several heavy stone piers.

At this moment, in front of the house, there was a tall old man sitting on a bench.

Next to him was a small teapot and a plate of dry tobacco.

In front of him were two rows of a dozen teenagers, stripped to the waist, wearing black pants, practicing boxing in a rigid manner.

"Is this a place for practicing martial arts?"

Hu Ma was a little surprised at what he was seeing and thought to himself.

What surprised him even more was that he had already witnessed the endless dangers outside the village. If the old man possessed superb skills and could live outside the village by himself, that would be one thing, but how could he have such a group of teenagers with him?

Weren't the teenagers in the village usually not allowed to get close to the edge of the village?

Or was it that the old man had some powerful skills and it was okay for him to live outside with this group of teenagers?

"Fighting and killing things are of no use to us, and we can't deal with the Meng family."

Granny seemed to see what Hu Ma was thinking and turned around to urge him, "I brought you here to learn another skill from Second Master. If you can learn it, then even without the old fire pit to protect you, those evil spirits won't dare to get close to you easily."

"Besides, being with Second Master is safer than being with Granny."

"In a few days, I need to free up my hands to deal with something, and I'm also worried that I'll be negligent and not take good care of you."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma's mind raced: Is she going to leave me here?

Earlier, he woke up...

But the result was self-evident. He was so scared that he only felt a little safe when he stayed by her side. But now, how long had it been? Just when he was about to adapt to the way he got along with her, he unexpectedly got a chance to leave her?

In addition, from Granny's point of view, it didn't seem like she brought him here to have people take a look at him, but just to find someone to take care of him.

"Old sister, you really brought the child here?"

Just then, a loud laugh rang out, and the tall old man walked over.

He walked over with a smile, glared at Hu Ma, "Boy, why don't you greet someone?"

"Call him Second Grandpa."

Granny said to Hu Ma, then turned her head and said, "He was seriously injured before. Although he was rescued, he doesn't remember things very well."

"Alas, that family is really ruthless."

Second Grandpa frowned slightly when he heard this and looked into the vast forest in the distance.

He lowered his voice and said, "Is that *xingzi* still here?"

"The Meng family always does things this way. They won't give up until they succeed."

Granny shook her head, took the bundle from Hu Ma's back, told Hu Ma to go a little further away and wait, then turned around and handed the bundle to Second Grandpa, saying, "Some time ago, I injured that *xingzi*, but I didn't take it away."

"Thinking about it, it's almost recovered during this time. If I don't get rid of it, I won't feel at ease..."

"..."

Second Grandpa held up the bundle with one hand, weighed it slightly, and frowned:

"Old sister, you saved my life back then. Even if you didn't bring these things, I would take care of Little Hu Ma..."

"..."

"One thing is one thing."

Granny said, "I brought my little grandson here to apprentice, not to ask for favors."

"I took him to the old fire pit, but the ancestors didn't recognize him. Now he can only learn your skills."

"..."

"But I..."

Second Grandpa frowned and lowered his voice, "Old sister, I have no problem teaching Little Hu Ma."

"But this thing of mine, not everyone can learn it..."

"..."

"He will definitely learn it."

Granny seemed to be much stricter when she talked about this issue, and said in a low voice, "He must learn your skills."

"Our Hu family..."

She was a little depressed when she said this, sighed, and said, "There's no other way."

Seeing this, Second Grandpa didn't know what to say, and hurriedly said, "Old sister, don't worry, this is my own nephew, I will definitely teach him with my heart."

"It's just that the evil *xingzi* sent by the Meng family, you see..."

"..."

He was eager to try, seemingly volunteering.

"That's our Hu family's grievance."

But Granny interrupted Second Grandpa, saying, "It's not right for outsiders to interfere."

"Alright then!"

Second Grandpa didn't say much and put the bundle under his arm.

"You can rest assured when the child is with me, go and do your work, just send Little Hongtang over to say something if you need me."

"..."

Granny didn't exchange many pleasantries here, just told Hu Ma a few more things, such as eating more meat, learning more skills from Second Grandpa, being obedient, and not going down the mountain.

Then she asked Hu Ma to kowtow three times to Second Grandpa on the mud. When he stood up, Granny patted the dirt off his knees, took out the few small silver coins from her arms, put them in his hand, turned around and left.

Hu Ma held these silver coins that still carried her body temperature, and watched her hunched back slowly go down the mountain in a daze.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a touch of emotion.

Thinking of the truth he had concealed, he felt a little unbearable.

...

"Hey, why are you like a girl, crying as soon as you leave Granny?"

Second Grandpa saw Hu Ma's sadness, but he misunderstood it a bit, and patted his head with a smile, saying:

"Go back when you've learned your skills, what's there to cry about?"

"..."

As he said that, he took Hu Ma to the front of the house.

The group of teenagers who were practicing boxing just now had also stopped at this time, and were staring at Hu Ma with wide eyes.

Someone glanced at Hu Ma's skinny arms and curled his lips, "Is this the newcomer? He's too weak."

"He doesn't have two taels of meat on his body. If he encounters an evil spirit, wouldn't he be blown away by a gust of wind?"

Some people snorted twice and said, "That's Old Ghost Granny's grandson. He's usually treasured..."

"He finds studying a headache, practicing martial arts tiring, and working in the fields too hot."

"Sometimes Granny goes out to treat people and can't come back at noon, so she has to ask the aunt next door to make him food and send it over, and he's still picky..."

"..."

"..."

"Are these teenagers also from the village?"

Hu Ma didn't take the contempt and ridicule of these children to heart.

Instead, he felt a slight movement in his heart. It seemed that these teenagers also knew something about what had happened to the original owner of his body.

Because of his fear of Granny, he had never dared to directly ask what had happened to him, or what he used to be like. Now he was thinking that he could try to get some information from these people, piece it together, and he could always figure out what had happened before.

"Okay, everyone stand up straight."

Second Grandpa frowned when he heard this and shouted loudly, and the teenagers immediately stood up straight.

"You go over too."

Second Grandpa lightly kicked Hu Ma on the butt, telling him to stand next to the group of teenagers, and then shouted:

"What evil spirits?

"That's just a gust of yin wind. Granny said to let you come with me to bask in the sun and strengthen your fire. If you ask me, you came to the right place, you should have come a long time ago."

"I never cared about those evil spirits. If you ask me, those things are all bullies who are afraid of the strong. You can meet them because your body is too weak. If you practice your skills, you can blow those things away in one breath."

"..."

"Second Grandpa..."

In the crowd, the slightly fat teenager said with a smile, "Hu Ma encountered a very powerful thing."

"Even the ancestors in the old fire pit dare not bless him!"

"..."

"Then practice more."

Second Grandpa glared at him and said, "If you practice well, you don't need the ancestors to bless you."

"How can living people rely on dead people to live?"

"..."

As he spoke, he sat down, took a pinch of tobacco, stuffed it into the tobacco pot, and said:

"When I was young, I was also entangled by this thing. At that time, I was in my twenties, I was brave, and when I went out to do business, I forgot to bring the ashes of my ancestors. As a result, when I found an empty house to sleep in at night, I accidentally got entangled by a hanged widow. I watched her sneak in from the crack in the door, her face was pale, she climbed onto my *kang*, and pulled my belt to do that thing..."

"Guess what happened later?"

"..."

The teenagers were immediately curious and stretched their necks to wait for the next part.

"Heh..."

Second Grandpa held the tobacco pipe, sat on the small stool in a carefree manner, and said proudly, "Twenty times in one night!"

"She was burned away by the sun!"