Chapter 1 You're Going With Us?

Upon hearing Hu Ma's words, both the clan chief and Second Master were visibly taken aback.

The village had heard about Hu Ma's previous situation. He'd gotten into trouble in the forest last time, and then the grandma had come all the way to try and have the ancestors in the old fire pit recognize Hu Ma, but they hadn't, and he couldn't get their protection.

He'd gone to learn skills from Second Master, but it had only been a few days.

Wasn't going into the forest now the same as sending him to his death?

"Don't you go, don't delay your Second Master!"

As soon as the old clan chief reacted, he immediately and seriously instructed Hu Ma, "The village will figure out how to find the grandma."

"I won't delay him, and isn't the place these city people are going in the same direction the grandma went before she disappeared?"

Hu Ma had figured it out and insisted on speaking.

The grandma must have encountered some trouble, or she wouldn't have forgotten to burn incense for Little Hong Tang.

The trouble the grandma encountered was either something she could solve without the village's help, or something only Second Master could lend a hand with, so he had to go with Second Master.

As for the danger in the forest...

Hu Ma had long understood that he now had some skill in circulating qi, and ordinary wandering spirits couldn't get close to him.

And those who dared to get close to him could take his life even if he stayed in the village.

Instead of staying in the village, anxiously waiting for an unknown fate without Second Master's protection, it was better to go into the forest with these people, where he could get Second Master's protection and try to find the grandma.

Even if it was a false alarm and the grandma returned to the village, one move to call back Little Hong Tang, and both sides would be relieved.

"Ah... right, then let Little Hu Ma go with us."

Second Master had originally wanted to persuade Hu Ma to stay, but when the words reached his lips, he suddenly understood.

This was the logic, and it was best for Hu Ma to go out with him now.

He had also understood this, but his reaction was a little slow.

"I say, is it so difficult for such a big village to find a guide?"

At this moment, the long-robed old man who had been watching the scenery with his hands behind his back not far away smiled and walked over, saying, "We're in a hurry to enter the mountain. If your Da Yang village doesn't have anyone familiar with this old forest, we can go to another village. There's still time."

"We have, we have."

The clan chief quickly smiled and said, "Didn't we call him over? I'm telling him the rules, so he doesn't offend you esteemed guests."

"I'll take you into the mountain. I'm familiar with the old mountains within three thousand miles around the Da Yang village."

Second Master also turned to the long-robed old man and said, "But I have to take this kid with me to help me out."

"A guide who needs help?"

The long-robed old man glanced at Hu Ma with a smile and said, "Go ahead, but he won't be paid."

"He wasn't going to be paid anyway..."

Second Master muttered and walked towards the village, "I'll go prepare some dry food."

"No need, we have everything here. We won't miss your share of food and drink. Don't waste time, let's enter the mountain early!"

The long-robed old man raised his hand to stop him and waved to the people behind him, "Unload the things!"

It seemed that those porters and guards were very capable. Upon hearing this, they immediately opened the wide carriage, which was full of boxes and luggage.

They carried all the large and small packages down, picked out a few essentials, tied them up with thick ropes, and carried them on their backs.

They threw the largest one to Second Master without hesitation.

They weren't polite to Hu Ma either, throwing a bundle of padded clothes over, "Wild kid, you do some work too."

Hu Ma silently took it without resisting.

Now, with his short hair, rough cloth jacket, and cloth shoes, he did look like a wild kid.

Besides finding the grandma, these people also aroused his curiosity, and perhaps he could learn about the world's appearance through them.

"It's almost noon."

The long-robed old man took the straw rope handed over by someone next to him and tied his front and back hems to his waist. He also carefully wrapped his silk trousers around his legs before respectfully saying to the black-curtained sedan, "Shall we set off now?"

"We can!"

Inside the sedan, a clear, cold voice faintly sounded.

Two strong men with sturdy builds came to the front and back of the sedan and put the ropes on their shoulders.

"They're actually going to carry the sedan into the mountain?"

Hu Ma watched from the side, feeling a little surprised.

The roads inside the forest were difficult to travel, and carriages couldn't enter at all, so it was naturally difficult for sedans to travel either. That was why the luggage from the carriage had been unloaded and carried by people.

But the woman in this sedan needed porters to carry her into the forest?

Of course, they had discussed how to do it in advance, and no one had any objections. Seeing that preparations were complete, they set off.

Hu Ma withdrew his gaze and silently followed Second Master.

The group left the village and headed straight west, which was the direction where the forest was densest, and most desolate in this old Yin Mountain.

Now that Hu Ma had been in this world for quite some time, he had gradually learned about the basic situation here.

He knew that this mysterious region of interlaced mountains and forests was the eight-hundred-mile-long Old Yin Mountain, with its deep forests and dangerous mountains. It was the most dangerous place, but it was also where *taisui* (a type of rare fungus with medicinal properties) grew and possessed endless treasures.

Although he was usually lazy when running in the mountains, Hu Ma's furnace was now strong and his stamina was amazing. Carrying such a bundle of padded clothes while walking in the forest wasn't a big problem.

However, the oppressive silence in the forest inevitably made people feel a trace of desolation.

After walking a few steps, a red shadow flashed by, and Little Hong Tang came over to hold onto his clothes, carefully following him.

Hu Ma noticed that none of these people had noticed Little Hong Tang's existence, so he remained silent and silently led her on their way.

Whether it was because Second Master was with them, or because his last trip out of the village had attracted many evil spirits due to the grandma's identity as a ghost walker, this trip was surprisingly smooth.

Apart from some difficult roads that needed to be cleared with a sickle, or encountering some snakes and insects, the rest of the time was just stable and dull as they gradually delved deeper into the forest.

"It's foggy ahead, we can't go."

Second Master was a guide for these city people, so he didn't talk as much as he did in the village.

He just silently carried the big package forward, without saying a word, but stopped when he reached a fork in the road that was almost buried by weeds.

He said to the long-robed old man, "We have to go around by the river, it will be a bit longer."

"It's foggy, so what?"

The long-robed old man stopped and looked ahead, where a heavy night fog was slowly flowing.

"That fog isn't normal, it must be the old toads from the river coming ashore."

Second Master said, "If we accidentally break in, and there's an unprovoked conflict, even if we can deal with it, it will delay our work."

Upon hearing this, the old shopkeeper-like man raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Dusk is the boundary, dividing yin and yang. Living people and evil spirits each take their own path. Looking at the scenery now, it's still early before dark..."

"It's different."

Second Master honestly said, "The forest in the Old Yin Mountain is different from other places. The yin energy is heavy, and whether it's day or night, it's dusk."

"Living people entering the forest are crossing the boundary."

"..."

The old shopkeeper seemed very interested as he listened, and there was no fear on his face, but he still looked at the sedan behind him.

Inside the sedan, a faint voice sounded after a long while, "Listen to the guide."

The group stopped talking and just followed Second Master to take a detour. Seeing this, Second Master breathed a sigh of relief and quietly spoke to Hu Ma.

When guiding these city people, the most feared thing was those who thought they were capable and knowledgeable and didn't listen to advice.

This forest was perpetually dark, and close to the *taisui* lord, no one knew what kind of strange demons, evil spirits, or wandering gods were hiding there. No matter how great your abilities were, you had to have awe for this forest to ensure your safety.

One slip-up, and you wouldn't know how you died.

Hu Ma noted Second Master's words and paid attention to Second Master's every move.

Now that his furnace was strong and he had an experienced person like Second Master leading him, even if he went deep into the forest, he could control the danger to a certain extent.

However, this vast old forest, so deep and secluded, had no trace of human habitation.

Could they really find the grandma by just wandering around like this?

"Perhaps we can only rely on Little Hong Tang. She's the grandma's little messenger ghost. She'll be able to sense her when she gets close to the grandma."

Thinking this, he turned to look at Little Hong Tang, only to see that she was also listless, just holding onto his clothes and following him.

It was as if she was afraid of losing him as well, now that the grandma was gone.

As they delved deeper into the forest, and the sky was about to darken, Second Master immediately called a stop and found an open space near the stream to rest.

He brought Hu Ma to pick up some branches, not just to make a fire, but also to insert them around the perimeter, one by one, as a courtyard wall. He also picked up a thick branch and placed it horizontally at the opening he left, saying that this was called a threshold.

Living people spending the night in the forest was equivalent to trespassing on the territory of evil spirits.

But inserting a courtyard wall and setting up a threshold was like building a *yang* (living) house for themselves.

People lived in *yang* houses, and entry was forbidden without invitation. If evil spirits broke in, they could be killed directly without offending the wrath of the deep mountains.

These city nobles found it a bit novel, so they followed suit, stopping the sedan inside the "courtyard", clearing away the weeds, and making a fire to bake dry food.

They were generous and also shared a portion of dry food and salted meat with Hu Ma and Second Master, but Hu Ma tasted it and confirmed that it was just salted meat, not *taisui*.

Hu Ma noticed that the person in the sedan hadn't gotten out even at this point.

Even when eating, no one gave her food. He didn't know if there was food in the sedan, or if she simply didn't eat human food anymore.

But he was now full of worries and couldn't care about others. After eating the dry food that the people had handed him, he held Little Hong Tang and fell asleep beside Second Master with his clothes on.

Before long, he fell into a daze and entered a dream, and in the haze, he suddenly heard a hoarse voice:

"White wine is calling in Old Yin Mountain, can any transmigrator hear me?"