Chapter 50 A Unique Skill

The shopkeeper was sitting in the courtyard, smoking, his face gloomy. He was startled when Hu Ma came in, and then stood up abruptly.

Looking at his expression, his doubts seemed to have vanished, replaced by joy, as if the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed.

"Good, good, good..."

He stood up and walked to Hu Ma's side. He looked around and said anxiously, "I was just worried about important matters, and I was worried that you wouldn't be able to keep up. I didn't expect you to have already refined it."

"You've made some progress?"

"..."

"I can exert force, but it's still a bit wooden, not fully refined yet."

Hu Ma responded one by one, twisting his toes a few times, and cracking a bluestone brick in the courtyard.

"Very good, very good..."

The shopkeeper couldn't hide the joy on his face. Even He Meizi in the room cast her gaze over, and one could even sense a hint of joy in her eyes.

The shopkeeper asked a few more questions, and Hu Ma answered them one by one, revealing nothing. The shopkeeper repeatedly praised him, laughing, "You've really put in a lot of effort. It wasn't in vain that I taught you this method."

"You also have talent. I taught three apprentices before, but none of them practiced as well as you."

"Hehe, if it weren't for these things weighing on me, I would have considered taking you as my closed-door disciple."

"..."

The way he praised Hu Ma didn't seem fake.

Of course, he didn't teach those three apprentices so carefully, and they didn't have so much blood food to nourish them.

"I really put in a lot of effort..."

Hu Ma couldn't help but think to himself, "Thinking every day about how to hide my true level..."

Now, with the abundant supply of blood food and the illumination of his natal divine statue, he had already brought his two hands and two legs to life. What he showed the shopkeeper was deliberately slowing down the progress of his right leg. His left leg had actually been refined long ago.

But he couldn't show that. Hu Ma was planning every day what stage he should be at under normal circumstances.

Now, his right leg was half-refined, barely considered refined, which was just right.

"I was really worried before that you wouldn't be able to learn it."

The old shopkeeper sighed, asked Hu Ma to sit down, and ordered the old servant to bring tea. He said to Hu Ma, "But you didn't let down the blood food I gave you. Being able to refine to this point, I can tell you about my special skill..."

"If you can learn it, I can arrange for you to do that thing."

"..."

Hu Ma was curious when he heard this, "Special skill?"

Shopkeeper Wu nodded solemnly, "We Grave Guardians, each has their own skills for entering the mansion." (referring to cultivation realm)

"Of course, not just us, other sects also have the saying of entering the mansion, but everyone's methods are different."

"Simply put, you've glimpsed the method of seeking survival in death. Whether you've refined one hand, one leg, or those tricky starting points of one eye, one ear, this all belongs to entering the path. In the industry, it's called ascending the steps."

"And when you've refined your hands and feet, you've ascended to the second step. If you have enough talent and refine your internal organs, that's the third step."

"At this point, in our Grave Guardian sect, you can be considered to have deep skills."

"As for the head and soul, those are not easy to refine, but if you refine them, it's not just ascending the steps, but entering the mansion."

"Of course, that's not something we can think about. I've been refining for thirty years, and I've only ascended to the third step. I still don't dare to think about entering the mansion."

"..."

"Sounds like levels?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but think, "If other sects besides the Grave Guardians also have this saying, then..."

"Which level has Grandma reached?"

"..."

Just as he was thinking, the old shopkeeper looked at Hu Ma seriously again and said, "In our Grave Guardian sect, ascending the steps and entering the mansion, the refining method is the same, but each has their own experience and understanding of how to perform the exorcism. The unique thing about it is called a special skill."

"In addition to the Grave Guardian's method, I also have a special skill, passed down from my master."

"I wanted you to quickly refine one hand and one leg because that's the minimum threshold for learning this special skill."

"This special skill is called Si Gui Yi Men (Four Ghosts Bowing at the Door)."

"..."

"There's also this unexpected gain?"

Hu Ma was taken aback and quickly got up, saying to the shopkeeper, "Thank you, shopkeeper."

"Don't thank me."

Shopkeeper Wu waved his hand and sighed, "Because the time when I need you has come."

"Teaching you this special skill is to increase your chances of success. Of course, time is tight, and I don't know how much you can learn."

"..."

"It's here?"

Hu Ma was surprised. He had been sending people outside to keep an eye on things, but there hadn't been any movement.

"Alas, take a look!"

Shopkeeper Wu sighed when he said this, got up, went into the main room, and took out a letter with a light yellow seal. There was a hole in it, as if it had been nailed to something.

At the end, there was only a finely drawn jar, and on the jar, there was a scribbled and strange rune, which seemed to be a "敕" (chi) character (imperial decree).

He glanced at it and saw some scribbled words like "My dear, I know you're thinking of us. We'll be visiting in seven days. Please prepare wine and dishes." He looked up at Shopkeeper Wu, puzzled.

"Last night, I was sleeping when it was nailed to the table by a flying knife."

Shopkeeper Wu shook his head slowly, saying, "These gangsters have disappeared for a year, and their skills have grown."

"Leaving a letter in the middle of the night?"

Hu Ma was indeed a little surprised when he heard this.

Last night was peaceful, and he and the guys in the outer courtyard didn't notice anything.

And the old shopkeeper, who lived in the inner courtyard, didn't notice either?

If the other party could sneak into the inner courtyard so silently, nail the letter to the shopkeeper's room, and leave swaggeringly, then wouldn't it also be possible...

"Don't worry."

Shopkeeper Wu waved his hand, saying, "It's not difficult for them to send a letter silently, but it's not easy to kill me silently."

"I'm not worried about you..."

Hu Ma thought to himself, "If these people are so skilled, wouldn't they be able to slaughter the guys in the village at will?"

"Even me?"

"..."

Of course, he couldn't say this. He hesitated slightly and said, "What did it say?"

The shopkeeper sneered, saying, "It said they knew I was thinking of them, and they'd be visiting in seven days."

"Of course, they also said that they were missing two people, and they'd also come to collect debts from me."

"..."

The shopkeeper said it easily, seemingly not caring much.

But Hu Ma felt a little awkward hearing it. He hadn't found the whereabouts of the Tan'er sect.

But as a result, they directly issued a challenge?

But this was even stranger. Their purpose was to take back the blood food. Wouldn't it be better to do things quietly?

Why be so high-profile? What are they doing?

"Heh, this is exactly where they're playing tricks..."

The shopkeeper sneered when he heard this, saying, "I know why they're coming back. They initially estimated that I might not know, but after losing two people, and even being unable to summon back their souls, they guessed."

"Knowing that I'm waiting for them, they simply issued this challenge, set a date, but it's uncertain whether they'll really come, or when they'll come."

"Perhaps they'll really come on the appointed day, perhaps they'll take care of things in advance, or perhaps they're just making us nervous for nothing, consuming our minds for a day or two, and then suddenly killing us."

"After all, it's wishful thinking to expect these lowlifes to keep their word..."

"..."

"Or perhaps, it's still a test?"

Hu Ma suddenly thought, did they issue the challenge first to see if the shopkeeper would report it to the city?

After all, most people would probably think of asking the city for help, but this Shopkeeper Wu was stubbornly incomprehensible.

"You don't need to be afraid either."

Shopkeeper Wu looked at Hu Ma, saying, "I've been waiting for them for a year, and I've been preparing for a year. No matter what tricks they play, I don't care. No matter when they come, I'll go and meet them."

"But, precisely because of this, I have an important thing to entrust to you. From the beginning, I taught you the skills of a Grave Guardian precisely for this matter."

Hu Ma's heart sank slightly. He looked up at the old shopkeeper and said, "Just tell me."

"We've received your teachings, and you're still going to teach me a special skill. No matter what it is, I'll do my best."

"..."

"You're not bad, it's a pity that we met at the wrong time."

Shopkeeper Wu sighed when he heard Hu Ma say this, waved his hand, signaling him not to continue, and looked up at the outside of the village. The sky was still early, and the big red lantern was sitting by the door.

"It's simple, which is to help me guard this lantern."

"..."

Seeing the surprise in Hu Ma's eyes, the old shopkeeper said, "Normally, when enemies visit, the first thing they have to do is to extinguish our red lantern. This is the victory or defeat on the surface, and in the dark, it's also the key."

"I want to meet with these enemies, and I don't want the authorities to know unless it's absolutely necessary, but if I really can't beat them, I'll need to ask Red Lantern Goddess to save my life..."

"Similarly, the people from the Tan'er sect will also want to extinguish my lantern, cutting off my escape route."

"So, what I want you to do is, on that day, you need to bring people to guard here, not opening the gate, not leaving the village, and no matter what happens, you must guard this lantern, not letting it be extinguished, and then the matter will be considered complete."

"..."

"I'll guard it?"

Hu Ma was surprised. He couldn't help but be suspicious, but he hid it well. He subconsciously said, "Then where will you be, Shopkeeper..."

"Where I go, you don't need to ask anymore."

Shopkeeper's Wu face suddenly sank. He was silent for a moment, and looked at Hu Ma with a cold expression, "In short, it's still what I said before, as long as you help me do this, you won't owe me anything."

Hu Ma was stunned for a long time when he heard this, and slowly said, "I have already promised you, shopkeeper, and I won't go back on my word."

Shopkeeper Wu's face relaxed when he heard this, and he laughed, "In that case, I'll tell you about my special skill!"