Chapter 105

The decree from the Zhenchong Bureau was Zhang A'gu's last resort.

Back then, it was her mother who used a decree left behind by the Zhenchong Bureau to scare away the Five Fiends, exchanging it for ten years of her own life.

She had thought that finding the items and the decree left behind by the Zhenchong Bureau would be enough to subdue this evil spirit…

Perhaps she wasn't confident, but she had no other choice.

But now, events proved that it didn't work, that there really was no way.

She could only watch as that evil spirit reached out a large hand towards her, the rolling evil aura pressing down on her, dimming her spirit and rendering her unable to move. No one could control this evil spirit, and no one dared to. So, no matter how unfair it was, perhaps it was just fate?

But at that moment, Hu Ma's gaze had already turned to his Seventh Great-Aunt beside him, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Seventh Great-Aunt, it's time for you to say something."

"Huh?"

Seventh Great-Aunt was staring with her beady eyes, getting angrier the more she looked, but also looking a little scared. Hearing Hu Ma's words, her eyes nearly popped out.

"You are a Tangguan (hall official)…"

Hu Ma said softly, "What is a Tangguan? It means that wherever you go, people will kowtow to you, and you'll always be seated at the head of the table. Most importantly, in this area, if anyone has a dispute with an enemy, won't they rely on you to step in and reason with them?"

"That's right…"

Seventh Great-Aunt suddenly understood. Isn't that what she usually does?

Since being officially appointed, she had been living this kind of life in the surrounding villages for the past half-year. She vaguely felt that Hu Ma's words had struck a chord with her, but she was still a little hesitant, "But that guy looks a bit fierce…"

"Fierce?"

Hu Ma said, "No matter how fierce or powerful he is, could he possibly be greater than reason?"

Seventh Great-Aunt looked at Hu Ma's meaningful face, and it was as if she had received great encouragement and affirmation, and her Ren and Du channels had been unblocked!

Well said…

Our Seventh Great-Aunt always speaks reason, but who is she afraid of?

Our family has always been one that values reason. When we first came here, we dared to challenge the old manager of the village. The reason? It's because you made us leave without even offering us a full meal. How could we give you that face?

She already had a bit of a reckless personality, but now she couldn't suppress it any longer. The little bit of fear in her heart had long been thrown to the four winds. Looking at the desperate expression on the bride's face, Seventh Great-Aunt suddenly stood up indignantly and slammed her hand on the table.

"Take that dog paw back!"

"…"

This angry reprimand immediately startled all the surrounding ghosts and spirits. Even the joyous music stopped abruptly, and the surroundings became extremely quiet.

Even Wei Family's son-in-law, who was reaching out to grab Zhang A'gu, suddenly stopped, his head turning stiffly and abruptly towards the head table, a strange smile on his face, as if he had been waiting for Seventh Great-Aunt to speak.

"Walking ghost, little Tangguan, what do you have to say?"

"…"

When speaking to Zhang A'gu, his voice was fierce and terrifying, but now, facing Seventh Great-Aunt, it sounded sinister and strange.

Unexpectedly meeting those strange, seemingly all-black eyes, Seventh Great-Aunt was also a little timid, but her courage quickly grew again, and she stretched her neck and said, "I want to talk to you about reason!"

"The young lady doesn't want to marry, and you're forcing her into the bridal chamber like this?"

"Listen to Seventh Great-Aunt's advice, a forced melon is not sweet…"

"…"

She really wanted to reason with the Five Fiends, but in the eyes of the surrounding people, everything had changed. The Five Fiends' descent had plunged the entire village into chaos, with rolling evil aura making everyone's minds unclear, let alone able to speak.

Seventh Great-Aunt's down-to-earth reasoning seemed unaffected by the Five Fiends' evil aura.

The Five Fiends also clearly scrutinized Seventh Great-Aunt, not taking this little Tangguan seriously, but since she dared to speak at this time, she must be representing the family's intentions, so the smile on his face became even more exaggerated.

"You are the little Tangguan appointed by their family. It's acceptable for you to sit at the head table at my feast, but may I ask, who do you represent? Which hall do you belong to?"

"…"

Crap!

This question immediately hit Seventh Great-Aunt's blind spot. She didn't even know what a Tangguan was, let alone which hall she belonged to.

But not knowing didn't matter. Seventh Great-Aunt knew how to quarrel and scold. If the Five Fiends directly unleashed his ferocity and reprimanded her, she would be afraid, but this kind of smiling dagger fell right into Seventh Great-Aunt's strength.

She couldn't see the knife, only his smile, which weakened his aura.

"What do you care which hall I belong to?"

Seventh Great-Aunt's voice suddenly became louder, "You're doing things unreasonably, so Seventh Great-Aunt has to come and take care of it. Quickly let go of that young lady, otherwise…"

She paused slightly, then angrily cursed, "…otherwise, Seventh Great-Aunt will slap you with my shoe!"

"…"

This sentence seemed to have a deafening effect, and at the same time, the horse that had been standing to the side, ignored, had not given up its hope. It suddenly raised its hind legs and kicked out violently, sending the tables and chairs around it flying.

With a crash, it smashed several red lanterns, overturned countless bowls and chopsticks, and even the flames in the brazier next to it flickered violently.

The surroundings suddenly became completely silent. Not to mention those who had been forcibly brought here, even Zhang A'gu was now confused, staring blankly at the old woman who dared to speak up for her at this time, somewhat puzzled.

She was a zougui (ghost handler) with too much experience dealing with things. Of course, she could see that the old woman… was a yuanyou (ghost/spirit) without much cultivation, right?

How could she dare to speak up for her like this, and even want to slap this evil Five Fiends with her shoe?

But amidst her confusion, her eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly saw Hu Ma, who was sitting beside Seventh Great-Aunt, inconspicuous and unassuming, only serving tea.

He noticed her gaze, then raised his head slightly and smiled at her.

Zhang A'gu's eyes widened, her heart filled with shock.

Even Wei Family's son-in-law, or rather, the Five Fiends, was visibly stunned. He never expected such a twist, and his voice was a little unconfident, "You… slap me with your shoe?"

This was extremely unprofessional. In a village quarrel, if the other party said they would slap you with a shoe, you had to immediately retort, "I'm the one who's going to slap you with my shoe!"

But his counter-question made him seem extremely lacking in confidence, and Seventh Great-Aunt became even more emboldened, slamming the table again, her voice even louder than before, "I'll slap you, you bastard…"

The Five Fiends was directly dumbfounded by the scolding.

The surrounding evil spirits were also deeply shocked by this scene. Seventh Great-Aunt's imposing manner of cursing and scolding was deeply imprinted in their hearts, never to be erased.

"Haha, haha…"

The Five Fiends was silent for a long time before suddenly laughing. He really didn't know how to describe his feelings, and for a moment, he found that he couldn't say anything other than laugh.

Originally, the most important thing was to capture Zhang A'gu, but now he suddenly felt that Zhang A'gu was no longer important. He just laughed loudly, his voice becoming increasingly fierce, and he suddenly shouted, "Good, very good. The little Tangguan appointed by this family is also so domineering!"

"Since that's the case…"

As he spoke, without any warning, he suddenly turned around and grabbed Seventh Great-Aunt at the table.

When he reached out to grab someone, it felt as if the surrounding evil aura was rolling, and the yin wind was howling. Even in this simple grab, not only Seventh Great-Aunt, but also the horse that had peed on the brazier and kicked the table, were shrouded within.

On the other hand, Hu Ma, who was sitting next to Seventh Great-Aunt, was not targeted, only affected by the incidental evil aura.

"I am the Dharma Protector whose name was taken by that family, and you are the newly appointed Tangguan!"

As he grabbed Seventh Great-Aunt, the Five Fiends' voice echoed around, as if one could hear a complex emotion of jealousy, "I want to see if they expelled me and promoted you, just how capable are you?"

The surrounding people were frightened by this anger, shrinking their heads and covering their eyes in panic.

But facing this evil aura, Seventh Great-Aunt and the horse beside the brazier remained motionless.

One was frightened silly, and the other was full of anticipation.

"Eh?"

Originally making a move in a fit of rage, even with some venting of anger, the Five Fiends felt a slight sinking in his heart, as if he sensed some unexpected change, "So tough?"

Pausing slightly in his heart, the evil aura also slightly slowed down. Then, at this moment, a faint sigh suddenly sounded outside the village.

This sigh seemed very soft, but everyone present could hear it, and at the same time smelled a scent of incense, floating in gently, instantly dispelling the evil aura that was pressing on everyone's hearts.

Even the Five Fiends, in the midst of his rage, suddenly reined in his anger and slowly turned around, looking at the table next to him, the one who had appeared beside Seventh Great-Aunt, a man wearing a green robe, loose and flowing, with a refined demeanor.

Ordinary people couldn't see this person's face clearly, and even when they tried to look closely, they felt as if this figure didn't exist. But the Five Fiends undoubtedly could see him.

The anger on his face had completely disappeared, replaced by a faint mockery, "So, you dare to come out of the mountain?"

"There are too many troublesome things outside the mountain, I naturally wouldn't dare to come out."

The green shadow answered indifferently, "But someone set up an altar and invited me to meet an old acquaintance, how could I not come?"

"Set up an altar?"

The Five Fiends suddenly laughed, his gaze sweeping around, "Is it someone from that family? They only dare to invite you over to deal with me now, but they don't dare to show themselves in front of me?"

He suddenly laughed loudly, his voice suddenly filled with ferocity, "Even if it's you, you're outside the mountain now, and now that the Five Fiends are converging, half of Ming Prefecture is my altar, what can you do to me?"

"Indeed, half of Ming Prefecture is in chaos now, evil aura is born spontaneously, and there is no place more suitable for you to descend…"

Facing the Five Fiends' wild laughter, the green shadow only smiled faintly and said, "But if it weren't like this, where would you dare to come?"

"If you didn't come, how would that person meet you?"

(End of Chapter)