Chapter 2 The Next Day

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

He asked the farmhands, who all said that Aunt Zhang had gotten up early, before dawn, and left. She only said not to disturb Hu Ma, but if anything happened on the farm in the future, just have Little Messenger Devil tell her and she would definitely come to help.

Hu Ma simply nodded. After washing up, he put on a decent cloth jacket and shoes, then left the farm and looked around.

He hadn't gone far when he saw a commotion ahead. The neighbors had all gathered around, forming a circle.

The slaughter the night before had terrified the surrounding people, leaving them feeling lost and afraid to show their faces. But seeing that the day had passed without incident, they had mustered the courage to come and see what had happened.

The yamen had sent a team of constables and laborers overnight. They were now gathering the unclaimed 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 cordoned off with red string, like some kind of attraction for people to point and stare at.

Everyone was discussing the vicious bandits who had come out of the mountains the day before, the headless statue that had fallen from the sky, and Master Yang Gong, who claimed to be a disciple of the gods.

The fact that a headless statue had fallen from the sky was already incredible, and someone had spread the story of dreaming of golden-armored deities dragging evil gods through the villages, parading as a warning. This made the surrounding people even more fearful and reverent, prostrating themselves in worship.

Now everyone speculated that the evil bandits from the mountains were acting under the orders of this evil god.

But because the evil god had committed crimes, he had been slain by the immortals of Mingzhou, who had dragged him back from afar as a punishment.

As for Master Yang Gong, he was even more mysterious.

The villagers all said that Master Yang Gong was a disciple of the gods, who knew that bandits were causing trouble in the mountains, threatening the people here, so he had been specially sent down to help the villagers eliminate them.

Bit by bit, Yang Gong's image became more and more mysterious. It was hard to imagine what those in the mountains who had benefited from him, or who had followed him to kill bandits, would say, since even the people outside the mountains were talking about him like this.

"People in high places can easily throw a place into chaos, and the descendants 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. Some forces in this world were truly magical...

However, the most urgent thing was for him to go into the mountains and ask the Mountain Lord about some things.

Now that he had killed the Five Fiends, it was necessary to meet with the Mountain Lord again. But Hu Ma was not in a hurry to enter the mountains. Instead, he patiently waited a few days to see if the killing of the Five Fiends would cause any unexpected changes. But the result was surprising.

Killing the Five Fiends and a divine statue falling from the sky sounded like extraordinary events. The bandit disaster in Mingzhou, with countless deaths, also seemed like a cruel affair. But these things happened and then they were over.

The fallen statue was cordoned off and left for people to admire and discuss.

The dead were buried. At most, a few wandering monks would come to chant scriptures, burn incense, and help them find peace, lest they cause trouble.

Of course, even these actions seemed superfluous. Although many people had died this time, they were all well-behaved. Not only were they unwilling to cause trouble, they even covered their mouths when crying by their graves at night.

The surrounding villagers didn't know the answer to who had killed the headless statue. Those who knew the answer didn't dare to speak indiscriminately, so they could only let the villagers speculate and gossip in the streets and alleys.

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

Anyway, in the territory of Mingzhou, they couldn't 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 and entered Old Yin Mountain.

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

"No need for formalities."

Before, he had needed to chant three times, but this time he had only chanted once when he heard a faint voice behind him.

Hu Ma turned around quickly and saw the familiar tree stump. The figure of the Mountain Lord was sitting on it, sighing softly, "You just finished dealing with those Five Fiends, and now you're in a hurry to come into the mountains again."

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

"..."

Hu Ma smiled and said, "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 get hung up on it, and didn't even say a word of nonsense before eliminating them, I already thought you were very good."

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

"..."

Hu Ma felt a little helpless when he heard this. After a pause, he smiled and said, "I didn't really come here to ask for praise. Actually, I can figure out the general outline of this matter from beginning to end. There's only one thing I'm not very sure about."

The Mountain Lord was slightly stunned, "Oh?"

Hu Ma sighed softly and said, "What's the matter with the emperor selection? What does the so-called emperor's fate refer to?"

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

The Mountain Lord smiled when he heard him ask this and said, "This 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 Surnames and the aristocratic families, those in the sect and those in the hall, all have different opinions and candidates."

"This chaotic world will either not start, or it will erupt all at once. All kinds of extraordinary people, aristocratic families, and evil beings will come down to place their bets. The more they bet, the more emperor's fate there will naturally be."

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

"This time, you chose someone with insufficient fate in order to break the Five Fiends formation. It can be considered a lesson for Plum Blossom Lane. But now that the matter is over, you can actually consider whether to choose someone to enter this game and play."

"..."

Hu Ma listened carefully and nodded slowly. Then, after hearing the Mountain Lord's last words, he smiled and said, "Isn't there already someone? Why do I need to choose?"

The Mountain Lord was a little surprised when he heard this, "You really want to let him go up?"

"That kid Yang, after all, has no foundation. In the eyes of the living, he's penniless, without the protection of family elders, without the support of brothers, his life is thin and lonely."

"In the eyes of the sect, he doesn't know his origin, abandoned his bloodline, without the blessings of his ancestors, nor the protection of the yin gods in the dark, his life is light and shallow. Although you helped him cultivate his fate this time, to enter this game, I'm afraid it's still far from enough..."

"..."

Hu Ma could only say that he had a smattering of knowledge about yin blessings and fate. He vaguely felt it, but couldn't logically sort it out. After hearing the Mountain Lord's words, he just smiled and said, "I haven't considered who to let go up or not. It's just..."

"This emperor's fate was originally earned by him. How can I not respect someone else's fate? Although he's a mud-legged farmer, he's a mud-legged farmer who dares to fight and take risks, who uses his life to gamble for wealth."

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

"..."

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

After a long time, 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 prestige."

The Mountain Lord said frankly, "You were just using this method to tell others that the Hu family doesn't care. What Plum Blossom Lane, what emperor's fate? As long as the people of the Hu family are willing, even a beggar can have the fate of an emperor."

"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 prestige. If you start from a practical point of view, after establishing your prestige, you should start choosing someone who is truly suitable for the Hu family to cultivate. But looking at you now, you're actually considering... don't you think..."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "... a mud-legged farmer is not qualified?"

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

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

The Mountain Lord sighed softly and said, "Mingzhou is suffering from evil, everything is in chaos, it is reasonable for Plum Blossom Lane to take action. It is also reasonable for those aristocratic gentlemen who have lived in the city for a long time to recruit soldiers and buy horses to eliminate bandits."

"If the Town Suppression Prefecture is used to disperse this evil 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 and said, "An official is an official, a mud-legged farmer is a mud-legged farmer, you can use him occasionally, but if you really let him enter this game..."

Hu Ma couldn't help but frown when he heard this, and smiled, "I didn't see any official or mud-legged farmer. If the people above don't care, naturally someone below will."

"What's wrong with doing what is right and proper?"

"..."

The Mountain Lord looked at Hu Ma, as if he was listening to some of his inner thoughts, but the result surprised him a bit. He could actually feel the firmness in Hu Ma's heart.

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

Hu Ma quickly said, "Who?"

The Mountain Lord was silent for a long time before whispering, "An evil ghost..."

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

I planned to update more today, but I had chest tightness yesterday and went to the hospital. I have to do an ultrasound today. I don't know how long it will take, but I will continue to write as soon as I get back and try to update it as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)