Chapter 2 The Next Day

The next morning, Hu Ma woke up feeling refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. He noticed that Wu He's room was empty, the bedding neatly folded.

When he asked the servants, they said that Zhang Agu had gotten up early, before dawn, and left. She had said not to disturb Hu Ma, but if anything happened in the village, just let Little Messenger Ghost know, and she would definitely come to help.

Hu Ma simply nodded, said nothing else, washed up, put on a decent cloth gown and shoes, and left the village, looking around.

He didn't walk far before he saw a lively crowd gathered ahead. The neighboring villagers had all come to see what was happening.

The previous night's battle had terrified the surrounding people, leaving them in a state of shock. They hadn't dared to show their faces, but seeing that the day had brought peace, they had mustered their courage to come and see the commotion.

Officials from the yamen had dispatched a team of constables and laborers overnight. They were now gathering the corpses of the bandits killed the day before, burying them on the spot. A new mass grave appeared at the foot of Old Yin Mountain.

The stone statue that had fallen to the ground, however, was untouched. It was simply surrounded by red string, as if it were some kind of exhibit, for people to point and stare at.

At that moment, everyone was discussing the fierce bandits who had emerged from the mountains the day before, the headless statue that had suddenly fallen from the sky, and Yang Gong, who claimed to be a disciple of the gods.

The fact that a headless statue had fallen from the sky was already fantastical enough, and with rumors spreading of golden-armored deities dragging evil gods through the villages at night in a demonstration of power, the surrounding people were even more frightened and reverent, prostrating in worship.

Everyone now speculated that the evil deeds of the bandits from the mountains were directed by this evil god.

But because the evil god had committed crimes, he had been beheaded by the immortals of Mingzhou, who had dragged the body back from afar as a warning.

As for Yang Gong, he was even more mysterious.

The villagers said that Yang Gong was a disciple of the immortals, who knew that bandits were causing trouble in the mountains, threatening the people here, so they had sent him down specifically to help the villagers eliminate the bandits.

Gradually, Yang Gong's mystique grew stronger and stronger, and if the people outside the mountains were discussing him like this, it was even harder to imagine what those in the mountains who had benefited from his kindness or had followed him in killing bandits were saying.

"A noble guest can easily disrupt a place, and a descendant of the Hu family can change someone's fate with a single sentence."

Hu Ma, like an outsider, watched the various consequences of this disaster, and couldn't help but sigh at how magical some forces in this world truly were.

However, the most urgent thing was for him to enter the mountains and ask Mountain Lord some questions.

Having already beheaded the Five Fiends, it was necessary to see Mountain Lord again. But Hu Ma was in no hurry to enter the mountains, instead patiently waiting for a few days to see if the matter of beheading the Five Fiends would trigger any unexpected changes. The result, however, was surprising.

Beheading the Five Fiends and the statue falling from the sky sounded like bizarre events. Mingzhou's banditry and the countless deaths also seemed cruel, but these things had happened and then simply passed.

The fallen statue was surrounded and left for people to observe and discuss.

The dead were buried, and at most a few wandering ghosts would come to chant spells and burn incense to help them find peace and avoid causing trouble.

Of course, even these measures seemed superfluous. Although many people had died this time, they were all obedient. Not to mention refusing to rest in peace and causing trouble, even crying by their graves at night had to be done with their mouths covered.

The surrounding villagers did not know the answer to the question of who had beheaded the headless statue. Those who knew the answer did not dare to speak carelessly, so they could only let the villagers guess as they pleased, with discussions filling the streets and alleys.

Some guessed it was the Red Lantern Goddess, others guessed it was Seventh Granny.

In any case, within Mingzhou, it was impossible to avoid these two.

Of course, what the Red Lantern Goddess would think after hearing these rumors was another matter.

After waiting for two days and seeing no unusual activity, Hu Ma felt relieved. He found a time to enter Old Yin Mountain.

He tied the donkey outside the mountain, entered the forest alone, found an open space, lit three incense sticks, bowed deeply towards the open space, and chanted, "Respectfully invite Mountain Lord to descend."

"No need for formalities."

Previously, he had needed to chant three times, but this time he only chanted once before hearing a faint voice behind him.

Hu Ma quickly turned around and saw the familiar tree stump with Mountain Lord sitting faintly on it, sighing softly, "You just finished dealing with those Five Fiends and now you're rushing into the mountains again."

"Could it be that you think you did a good job this time and came here specifically to ask for praise?"

""

Hearing this, Hu Ma looked up and smiled, "Does Senior also think I did a good job this time?"

"From the moment you heard that there was a real way to kill the Five Fiends, you immediately decided on this plan, and when the time came, you didn't hesitate, didn't dwell on it, and didn't even say a word of nonsense before getting rid of them, I already thought you were very good."

Mountain Lord sighed softly and said, "Are you satisfied now?"

""

Hu Ma was a little helpless. He paused, then smiled, "I didn't really come to ask for praise. Actually, I can roughly understand everything about this matter, except for one thing that I'm still not sure about."

Mountain Lord frowned slightly, "Oh?"

Hu Ma sighed softly, "What exactly is this matter of choosing an emperor? What does the so-called imperial destiny refer to?"

"It's just as you see it now."

Mountain Lord smiled when he heard him ask this and said faintly, "The world has been in chaos for a long time. It always needs an emperor to clean up this mess."

"But who should be the emperor, the Ten Clans and the aristocratic families, those within the sect and those within the hall, all have different opinions and candidates."

"This chaotic world will either not arise, or it will suddenly erupt, and all kinds of strange people and experts, aristocratic families and evil beings, will all enter the game to bet on a treasure, and the more they bet, the more imperial destiny there will naturally be."

"Of course, no matter how much there is at the beginning, in the end there will only be one left."

"This time, you chose someone with insufficient destiny in order to break the Five Fiends formation, which can be regarded as a lesson for Plum Blossom Alley. But now that the matter is over, you can consider whether to choose someone to enter this game and play."

""

Hu Ma listened carefully, nodded slowly, and when he heard Mountain Lord's last words, he smiled and said, "Isn't there already one? Why do I need to choose?"

Mountain Lord was surprised when he heard this, "Do you really want him to go?"

"That Yang kid, after all, has no foundation. Speaking in the world of the living, he is destitute, without the protection of family elders, without the support of brothers, and his life is solitary and thin."

"Speaking in the world of magic, he doesn't know his origin, is abandoned by his bloodline, has no blessings from his ancestors, and has no Yin Gods to protect him in the dark. His life is light and shallow. Although you helped him cultivate his destiny this time, to enter this game, I'm afraid it's still far from enough."

""

Hu Ma could only say that he had a superficial understanding of Yin blessings and destiny. He vaguely felt it, but he couldn't logically sort it out. He smiled after hearing Mountain Lord's words, "I didn't consider letting anyone go or not. It's just that"

"This imperial destiny was originally earned by himself, so how can I not respect his destiny? Although he is a mud-legged man, he is a mud-legged man who dares to fight and take risks, taking his life to gamble for wealth."

"Since he can rely on the knife in his hand and a bold spirit to break the Five Fiends formation, who can guarantee that he won't become an emperor?"

""

Hearing these words, Mountain Lord was silent for a long time. Hu Ma even felt that his gaze towards him had become more solid.

After a long while, he sighed, "Your attitude is a bit scary."

Hu Ma was slightly stunned and smiled, "What do you mean by that, Senior?"

"Actually, I originally only thought you were establishing your authority."

Mountain Lord said frankly, "You are just using this method to tell others that the Hu family doesn't care, what Plum Blossom Alley, what imperial destiny, as long as the Hu family is willing, even a beggar can have imperial destiny."

"At that time, this person couldn't suppress the baleful aura and almost died. You were the one who changed his fate for him, weren't you?"

"You have already frightened everyone and established your authority. If you start from a practical point of view, you should start choosing someone who is truly suitable for the Hu family to cultivate after establishing your authority. But looking at you now, you are actually considering it, don't you think"

He paused, then suddenly said, "A mud-legged man is not qualified?"

Hu Ma frowned and looked at Mountain Lord, and said in surprise: "In the beginning, wasn't it Senior who first"

"I just knew you had this ability, but I didn't expect you to take this kind of thing seriously."

Mountain Lord sighed softly, "The evil in Mingzhou is in chaos. It is reasonable for Plum Blossom Alley to take action. It is also reasonable for those old aristocratic masters who have lived in the city for a long time to recruit soldiers and buy horses to eliminate the bandits."

"If the Town Suppression Bureau is used to open up this baleful aura and suppress the thousands of wronged souls, although it is a bit of a waste of talent, it is not impossible, but only"

""

Speaking of this, he sighed, "An official is an official, and a mud-legged man is a mud-legged man. It is okay to use him occasionally, but to really let him enter this game"

Hearing this, Hu Ma couldn't help but frown and smiled: "I didn't see any officials or mud-legged men. If the people above don't care, there will naturally be

"It's a matter of course. What's unreasonable about it?"

""

Mountain Lord looked at Hu Ma, seeming to be listening to some of his inner thoughts, but the result surprised him. He could actually feel Hu Ma's firmness in his heart.

After a long time, he didn't answer directly, but sighed: "I have to say, you remind me of someone."

Hu Ma said quickly: "Who?"

Mountain Lord was silent for a long time before whispering: "Evil Ghost"

"An evil ghost who dared to be an enemy of the entire dynasty, crawled out of hell, and hid in the human world"

(End of this chapter)