Hu Ma swore he hadn't expected things to turn out this way. In fact, even he had been completely stunned; his gaping astonishment was not faked.

Before his very eyes, a stream of yellow liquid poured down, and the roaring fire in the brazier instantly dimmed.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze. Hu Ma blankly raised his head, staring in a daze. Only the horse, having finished its business, gave a shake and lifted its head slightly, as if anticipating something wonderful.

"You..."

Suddenly, a voice filled with utter fury rang out.

The kneeling figures around them scattered in alarm, all staring in shock, even terror, at the scene before them.

It had to be said, few living people, or living beings, had ever enjoyed such undivided attention from so many evil spirits in Ming Prefecture.

And when they simultaneously looked at the horse, they suddenly realized something. They all turned their gaze towards Hu Ma and Seventh Grandmother at the table. What would a horse know? This had to be someone's doing...

Hu Ma himself was still in shock. When he noticed all those eyes on him, he abruptly came to his senses, even more surprised than before. He looked at Seventh Grandmother.

Seventh Grandmother hadn't reacted yet, still puffing on her pipe. Suddenly receiving so much attention, she was baffled. She turned to ask Hu Ma what was going on, only to see him staring at her in astonishment. She couldn't help but feel confused:

"What are you looking at me for?"

"..."

Hu Ma hastily turned his head away, feigning fear. The gazes that had been on Seventh Grandmother hurriedly retracted, each of them as nervous as a drum beating in their chest, barely daring to breathe.

Was this the power of a magistrate?

The envoy of the Caishen Altar almost seemed to bleed from his eyes. He abruptly raised his hand, ready to slap the audacious horse to death, venting his anger for Lord Five Fiends.

This wasn't just a thought, but a genuine intention.

But when he saw the horse's dark, seemingly emotionless eyes, not showing a hint of fear, even a bit expectant, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Life Fiend Altar envoy still tied with grass rope not far away, and he quickly calmed down.

"Good, very good..."

"Today, we've suffered more than just this one insult and provocation. Even the altar envoy has been sent as a gift, hasn't he?"

"They're deliberately using these methods to provoke me. Could it be that they're looking for an excuse to kill me?"

"I can't fall for it. I still need to invite Lord Five Fiends over..."

"..."

He just hadn't expected the opponent to use such disgusting and provocative tactics. It was truly unexpected...

Most importantly, he was enduring it here, but to his surprise, Lord Five Fiends had suffered such a humiliation, and the brazier remained silent the entire time.

"Hah..."

He silently sighed, suddenly made a decision. He actually ignored the horse and abruptly turned around, going to the table covered with red cloth. He respectfully knelt down, kowtowing.

He kowtowed with such force that there was a loud thud, as if he were about to crack his skull. By the second kowtow, his forehead was already bleeding. By the third, blood was streaming down, smearing his eyes and running down his cheeks.

At the same time, the torches stuck on both sides of the wooden platform suddenly turned a ghastly green, casting an even more sinister light on the surroundings.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

The figures who had just knelt down all knelt again, silently and frantically kowtowing towards the red-cloth-covered platform.

The chickens and ducks raised in Yellow Dog Village suddenly became restless, gradually shrinking into balls and dying silently.

The water in the water tanks in people's homes became murky, even emitting a rotten, foul, bloody smell.

Those who had hidden in their homes due to the bizarre wedding feast, locking their doors, suddenly felt weak without any illness, coughing up blood. Those who were already sick or elderly all let out a muffled roar and died stiffly in their beds.

Vaguely, in the sinister atmosphere, several large, ten-foot-tall flags appeared, fluttering around, protecting the area. Then, as the flags waved, a black seat seemed to appear inside, with a tall, imposing shadow sitting on it.

A pair of eyes that seemed to pierce through people's hearts coldly swept across the surroundings.

Everything was silent. Almost no one dared to meet its gaze. Only the invisible yin wind blew, gently shaking the lanterns on either side.

Only the horse, as if welcoming hope, once again raised its head high, facing the wooden platform.

But still, no one paid it any attention.

The Weijia family's servants and guards, however, suddenly reacted and hurriedly knelt down. The old servant's heart leaped into his throat. He opened his mouth, about to shout, begging the lord invited to the platform to save his master.

It had been agreed upon that after seven days, when this lord arrived, he would save his master. Now that the person had come, shouldn't he fulfill his promise?

Unexpectedly, before they could finish three kowtows, they suddenly heard the suona sound loudly, ghostly and soul-stirring.

The sound was strangely abrupt, seemingly without any warning. Everyone around, whether sitting or standing, human or not, was startled by the sudden sound.

Looking again, the surroundings were already extremely strange.

One glance revealed that the village was now filled with little ghosts with stiff expressions and pale faces, all holding suonas in their hands, puffing out their cheeks and blowing out the ghostly, extremely eerie sound.

But looking again, the surroundings were empty. But the faint suona and playing sounds were still endless. Another group of high-pitched children's voices shouted loudly:

"Cleaned the stove and swept the ashes, put on rouge and lipstick,"

"The auspicious day has finally arrived, the Zhang family's daughter is getting married..."

In the cries, the sound of galloping hooves echoed in the vast night, along with the dark, sinister music and a large group of faint shadows, rushing into the distance.

"..."

"..."

"The time has come."

At the same time, in a gully not far from Yellow Dog Village, the oil lamp on the table illuminated half of the face of Zhang Agu, the ghost walker.

She had been plagued by nightmares these past few days. When she heard the suona sound early in the morning, she knew the time had come.

Now, disasters were constantly happening in the four regions of Ming Prefecture, and there were many bandits. Even a few familiar ghost walkers were busy in various places and not at home. Moreover, she knew what she was dealing with, so she hadn't told anyone in her own line of work.

She occasionally mentioned it to outsiders.

But therefore, on this day, she was still alone at home. She got up early, fed the chickens, cleaned the yard, and tidied the room.

As it got dark, she offered incense to her deceased mother, but didn't complain or say anything else. Then she cooked some soup for herself and ate it. Then she busied herself in the house, preparing various items.

There were copper coins, cracked black bones, newly made banners, and most importantly, a jar, polished until it gleamed.

She busied herself until night. Then she simply held the jar and sat quietly in front of the bed. Everything was silent around her. Ghost walkers were used to living alone outside the village. She lived far from the village, in a very secluded place. On this night, she didn't even hear the sound of insects.

Until midnight, she suddenly heard the distant sounds of music coming from the night.

She took a low breath, held the jar, and blew out the oil lamp.

The room suddenly became pitch black, but the sound of the wind outside grew louder. A gust of wind blew the dead leaves off the trees. Then, suddenly, the wind roared, and even the door was blown open violently.

There was a rustling sound in the darkness. She didn't know how many strange things had crept in. They giggled, crowding in front of Zhang Agu, groping at her with their hands.

It was as if they were matchmakers, putting powder on her face, dressing her in red clothes, and covering her with a veil.

Some hands even tried to pull her away, trying to snatch the jar she was holding.

But Zhang Agu let them do whatever they wanted. However, the hand holding the jar didn't move at all, so they gave up.

Before long, after being dressed, they escorted Zhang Agu out of the door. In front of the farmhouse courtyard, there was a paper sedan chair. In front and behind it were densely packed paper-figure musicians. The chickens, ducks, and livestock in the courtyard and the nearby village were dying in large numbers.

The ghost matchmakers escorted Zhang Agu, pushed her into the sedan chair, and then there was another burst of music, drifting away.

Yellow Dog Village was also silent, or rather, only the living were silent.

But vaguely, countless things jumped around, cheering and rejoicing, only making people feel a chill down their spines.

The Weijia family's old servant, who had been holding on for the past few days, was nearing his limit. In the Weijia family, although he was a servant, he was well taken care of. Who knew that returning to the ancestral home with his master would mean dealing with such evil things.

Especially since he had done everything that Lord Five Fiends had instructed. Now that it had descended here, why hadn't it saved his master?

At this moment, a gust of yin wind came from the distance, drifting over, and the sound of music rang out again beside them.

Everyone had been blown out of their minds. Their eyes were blurred, unable to see the world of the living. But they saw a red paper sedan chair, floating from the distant sky, drifting leisurely to the front of the banquet.

Beneath the mahogany platform, countless ghosts welcomed it with joy, singing happily: "Red paper扎, sprinkle happy money, the bride arrives with a smiling face." (Zha means paper effigy.)

"Step over the fire basin, lift the sedan curtain, the groom shouts happily at night..."

"..."

The bizarre scene made everyone present feel cold, but the most surprised was Hu Ma.

He had patiently waited with Seventh Grandmother all night, just waiting for something big to happen. Unexpectedly, he had finally looked forward to the descent of this Five Fiends evil ghost, but it actually...

...was really going to get married?

This was the dignified Five Fiends God. Who would have thought that it was actually a wife fanatic?

(End of Chapter)