Black Mountain Old Ghost
Chapter 5 Old Fire Pit
Hu Ma silently pondered the strange temple in his dream and the voice he heard before waking up, feeling a sense of oppression in his heart.
He quietly lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
In this strange environment, he dared not take off his clothes and shoes, so getting up was convenient.
Only…
…It seemed that he hadn't lain down all night last night, so who had put the blanket on him later?
Outside, the old woman was indeed already waiting, leaning on her crutches and carrying a bag.
Seeing Hu Ma come out, she said coldly, "Let's go!"
Hu Ma was both afraid of her and subconsciously wanted to please her. He stepped forward and said, "Let me carry the bag?"
The old woman seemed a little surprised and took a deep look at Hu Ma.
Probably because he didn't sleep well last night, Hu Ma had heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face was pale, and he looked listless.
The old woman's expression seemed a little heavy, and she shook her head and said, "You have an injury on your shoulder, you can't lift heavy objects."
"Let's go to the old fire pit first, and pay respects to the ancestors."
“……”
Hu Ma didn't know what the old fire pit had to do with the ancestors, but he was tired and didn't bother to ask.
The road was a gravel road, and in some places there was still accumulated water from the rain not long ago, muddy and damp.
Morning mist filled the sky above the village, covering everything near and far with a mysterious atmosphere.
It was indeed completely different from the world in Hu Ma's memory, ancient and remote, with a sense of inexplicable alienation and dilapidation.
Hu Ma didn't know why, but he felt a little apprehensive facing this world.
Just then, his left hand suddenly felt cold. He looked down and saw that the little girl named Hong Tang had come close to him and taken his hand.
"Let's go, Brother Hu Ma…"
She looked up at him with a giggle, full of innocence.
She really looked like a little girl who was afraid when going out and always used to hold an adult's hand.
"But she's a little monster…"
His heart refused to hold this little girl's hand, but he didn't dare to shake her off, so he could only endure it.
Holding her hand, he followed the old woman's hunched back and walked forward.
……
This is Hu Ma.
Surrounding him were rows of wooden buildings, stacked on top of each other, with irregular paths of broken stones dividing them, outlining the appearance of the village.
This time, he looked more carefully and still didn't find any modern things he was familiar with.
Whether it was the clothes of the people in the village, or the farm tools, the clumsy stone mill, and the damp well, they all exuded an ancient atmosphere.
"Whirr…"
While walking, a household in front of them opened their door.
But when they looked up and saw Hu Ma and the other two, they quickly retreated and quietly closed the door.
People in the village got up early, and they often encountered three or five people on the road, but when they saw the old woman coming, they quietly avoided her.
Those who couldn't retreat just stood there awkwardly, smiling at the old woman.
Faintly, Hu Ma also heard someone in a nearby house whispering, "Granny Hu is still very capable…"
"This Hu family kid was so badly possessed by a ghost, but she was able to save him…"
“……”
"Oh dear, looking at Granny Hu's direction, is she going to the old fire pit?"
"Will the ancestors recognize little Hu Ma?"
"Shhh…"
“……”
"Hong Tang doesn't like the villagers…"
While walking silently, the little girl suddenly looked up at Hu Ma and said, "Granny has been helping them to see a doctor. She doesn't charge money from poor families and even gives them herbs, but now they all avoid Granny, afraid that Granny will borrow their lives to give to Brother Hu Ma…"
"Borrow lives?"
Hu Ma looked at the little girl's face, not knowing how to respond.
The villagers are all afraid of Granny, and I'm also afraid…
However, is the identity of this granny a village doctor or a witch-like figure in this village?
In my previous life, in some remote and ancient villages, the responsibility of treating diseases and exorcising evil spirits was often held by one person.
Amidst respectful and fearful gazes, an old woman, a little girl, and a young man passed through the village and came to a hillside in the north.
There were already a few people waiting under the slope.
The leader was wearing a sheepskin coat, with a long iron pipe stuck in his waist, and his old face was full of wrinkles.
"Granny Hu…"
Seeing Hu Ma and the old woman coming, he hurriedly greeted them. He first looked at Hu Ma, then turned his eyes away, and hesitantly said to the old woman, "Little Nephew Hu Ma looks much better, but you… do you really want to take little nephew into the old fire pit?"
The old woman slowly raised her head to look at him, and then glanced at the few middle-aged men cowering behind him.
"Is it not allowed?"
“……”
"No, no…"
The old man quickly shook his head and said in a low voice, "Little Hu Ma has just recovered? Why don't you let him rest a bit longer?"
"It's precisely because he just recovered that he needs to enter the old fire pit."
The old woman's attitude seemed very firm: "If the ancestors don't bless him, who will?"
The old man's face suddenly became very embarrassed.
But the old woman didn't say much. She had already taken the lead and walked forward. Little Hong Tang also held Hu Ma's hand and followed excitedly.
At this point, the old man couldn't persuade her anymore. The few people behind him also nodded at the old woman with smiling faces.
But after the old woman passed by, they gathered around the old man in the sheepskin coat again and said with some difficulty:
"Clan leader, Granny doing this, what do you think…"
"There's no way!"
The old clan leader said: "In this village, who would dare to stop Granny?"
"Do you want to throw away your conscience?"
"Let's see what the ancestors mean…"
“……”
After going up the slope, Hu Ma saw that there was a pit about twenty square meters in size on this flat ground.
It was surrounded by earthen bricks, in a long strip shape, and the pit was filled with ash.
Faintly, he could still see the dark red charcoal fire hidden under the surface of the ash, and smoke curling up, as if the fire inside had never gone out.
Most importantly, in that pit, Hu Ma actually saw an unburned skull.
Only half of it remained, lying on the ash, its empty eyes staring straight at him.
"This old fire pit is for burning people to death?"
Hu Ma was shocked: "Granny is thinking of bringing me here, could it be that she wants to throw me in?"
"Kneel down."
But at this moment, the old woman had already walked to the front of the fire pit, untied the package on her back, and said to Hu Ma in a low voice.
Hu Ma obediently knelt down.
Little Hong Tang didn't kneel, but squatted aside with a grin, holding her chin in her small hands and looking at him.
"Kneel a little closer, let the ancestors take a good look at you."
When the old woman saw that Hu Ma had knelt down seven or eight meters away, she frowned and motioned for him to come forward.
Hu Ma had no choice but to kneel in front, less than a meter away from the old fire pit. His body could already feel the scorching heat emanating from the old fire pit, thick and oppressive, making him sweat all over and making it seem difficult to breathe.
The old woman took out incense, bowls, meat, and talismans from the package.
Bit by bit, she burned incense, offered meat, burned talismans, and respectfully did it all over again. Then she lowered her head and prayed:
"The Hu family entered the village twenty years ago, helping neighbors and protecting the village and diligently farming the fields."
"Now the Hu family has suffered a disaster, the enemy is forcing little ghosts to entangle."
"Today I ask the ancestors to protect my grandson, and I will repay with more incense money in the future…"
“……”
She closed her eyes, muttering and repeating these words over and over again.
Hu Ma thought, this granny really cares about her grandson…
Unfortunately…
But before this thought could pass, a gust of cold wind suddenly blew over the old fire pit.
Hu Ma's eyes blurred, and he suddenly felt that the scorching heat in the old fire pit instantly turned ice-cold.
This cold seemed to be able to penetrate directly into his bones, freezing his whole body.
At this moment, his ears were also filled with whispers from who knows where.
It was as if a hundred people were whispering, but these voices were all densely packed together and poured into his ears.
Not only that, but his eyes also hurt terribly. He subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed them, and then suddenly froze.
In the old fire pit, the half-burned skull actually grew an eye, coldly and gloomily looking at him.
Immediately afterwards, he saw a hand stretch out from the ashes.
And then, one after another...
One illusory arm after another, one cold and stern, semi-transparent face after another, emerged from the ashes.
Were there dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of them?
They were densely packed, entangled together, like a centipede with hundreds of arms, and were reassembled.
Countless figures, but squeezed into this fire pit less than twenty square meters.
Bodies intertwined and overlapped, like crushed crowds.
Countless faces squeezed against each other, countless eyes, up and down, stared at Hu Ma in unison, blinking densely.
Some were gloomy and indifferent, some were confused and foolish, some were curious and fearful.
"Buzz!"
Hu Ma's brain was shocked by this scene, and terror welled up from his chest, almost stopping his heartbeat.
He just stared blankly at the endless figures emerging from the old fire pit.
The surrounding cold wind whizzed around the fire pit, the old woman's chanting became more and more anxious, and little Hong Tang hid far away.
Like a strange human tree, more and more illusory figures kept emerging from the fire pit.
They were just inches away, condescending, and indifferently looking at Hu Ma.
Not one of them reached out.
……
……
The old woman kept her head down, chanting in her mouth, chanting continuously, as if she didn't even need to breathe.
But the more she chanted, the more anxious she became. Until the three incense sticks lit in front of her burned to the bottom at an unusual speed, she suddenly stopped.
Her messy hair covered her face, unable to see her expression, only to hear her disappointed sigh.