Chapter 24 He is Called Meng Si Chong

His heart skipped a beat. The movements of chanting the killing curse faltered, and the zao robes man's blade remained suspended in mid-air, failing to descend.

Hu Ma glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the flames in front of him, which had been burning vigorously, were now rapidly shrinking, as if about to disappear entirely. Fortunately, at that moment, the old tree stump sighed softly, and the flames suddenly stabilized and flared up again.

Hu Ma immediately understood that the Meng family had arrived.

He had known that this person would come ever since he had decided to use the method from the Town Guardian Book to eliminate this green-robed evil spirit.

But now, looking around, he saw no one. Instead, within the rice circle, a talisman on the green-robed evil spirit's body faintly glowed.

The golden light emitted by the talisman vaguely transformed into a small figure, who bowed towards him with cupped hands and chuckled, "I came specifically to visit the descendants of the Hu family."

"I didn't expect that without inviting my esteemed brother to show himself, I would witness the long-lost secret method of the Town Guardian. How fortunate..."

"..."

Upon seeing this person appear, Hu Ma's heart pounded, but he forcibly suppressed his nervousness and looked at him with cold eyes. "Driving evil spirits, harming the people, forcing me to show myself..."

"...was that your doing?"

"..."

"How could it be?"

The figure smiled faintly and said, "I am a member of the Meng family. Although I can communicate with yin and drive ghosts, how could I do such a thing to harm a region?"

Hu Ma could guess the nature of such people. They were clearly reckless, yet they always cared about their reputation. He drove the green-robed evil spirit to do such a thing, but he would not admit it, as if concerned for his own face.

Of course, it was also possible that he was only a member of a distant branch of the Meng family, beyond the fifth degree of mourning, and was indeed afraid of bearing this reputation.

Too lazy to cooperate with him, he simply sneered, "You've already done it, and you still want to save face?"

"Then tell me, what's the purpose of going to so much trouble to get me out here?"

"..."

Hearing this, the figure became slightly solemn and said seriously, "I came to visit because I have important matters to discuss."

"I hope my esteemed brother will not mind and will spare some time for a meeting."

"..."

Hu Ma sneered, "I will meet your Meng family, but I don't have time right now."

"If you won't meet, it's fine to hear me out."

The Meng family member, hearing this, did not seem surprised and immediately said, "Esteemed brother, to be honest, before coming here, I had already met with the White family's grandmother. The old woman is stubborn, clinging to old grudges, and unwilling to prioritize the overall situation, but esteemed brother should know the stakes..."

"The other nine clans have been waiting for the Hu family to return, so they can plot that great matter."

"..."

"Return?"

Hu Ma was actually shocked by his words.

The White family's grandmother he spoke of must be his mother-in-law, who had returned to the ancestral shrine, right?

How is she now?

Also, the way this Meng family member speaks is so strange. He says they're waiting for him to return. Weren't the Meng family the ones who wanted to harm him earlier?

As long as he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't go back. Shouldn't this person understand this? Why would he say that?

The other nine clans are waiting for the Hu family to return to plot that great matter...

...what great matter?

He was anxious and almost asked, but he immediately reminded himself that he could tell that this Meng family member seemed to think he knew something.

But in reality, he, who had been reincarnated, knew nothing about the Hu family's and Meng family's affairs. Even in the eyes of the old tree stump senior, he had lost his memory and did not understand those grudges, but they did not know.

If he asked now, he would only alert the other party, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity. His mind raced, and he sneered,

"Your Meng family is so capable, why do you need me to return? Wouldn't it be better for you to do that thing yourselves?"

"..."

The Meng family member heard the sarcasm in Hu Ma's words and smiled wryly. "Esteemed brother is joking..."

"How can we accomplish that great matter without you?"

"..."

"Me?"

Hu Ma was even more puzzled, but as he wanted to probe further, he felt the old tree stump's gaze looking at him.

He knew that this was the senior reminding him not to delay.

So, he paused slightly and said grimly, "You used this method to force me out here just to say this?"

"Then I have something to tell you too."

"..."

The Meng family member was slightly stunned and quickly said, "What is it?"

Hu Ma took a deep breath and shouted, "Get out of Ming Prefecture immediately, and never come back!"

This shout carried the resentment of the past few days. His voice was stern. If his cultivation wasn't lacking, if the old tree stump wasn't willing to help, Hu Ma would have already had the idea of leaving this Meng family member here and chopping off his head.

However, even after shouting, he still felt unsure and worried that he wouldn't be able to scare him off. Unexpectedly, the Meng family member simply sighed softly after hearing him.

"After delivering this message, I will naturally leave."

He said calmly, bowing to Hu Ma again. Hu Ma didn't know if he was truly being polite or secretly using some means, but with the old tree stump standing in front of him, he wasn't afraid of him.

He only heard him lower his voice and say, "Esteemed brother, there's no need to be so angry. I only hope you can understand that the affairs of the Hu family and the Meng family are just minor matters."

"The matters decided in the Stone Pavilion cannot be ignored due to temporary willfulness..."

"..."

"The matters decided in the Stone Pavilion are not an alliance? Is there something else?"

Hu Ma was curious, but he also knew that he couldn't delay. The Meng family was capable and had many methods. He seemed safe now, but he couldn't guarantee that the other party had no way to spy on him. He immediately sneered at the other party and said coldly, "When did it become your place to interfere with the Hu family's decisions?"

"Get out now!"

"..."

"You..."

The golden little man, having been scolded twice in a row, was also visibly unable to suppress his anger.

He had come to deliver a message and had tried his best to be polite, but being scolded once could be ignored, being scolded twice made him somewhat restless.

In this regard, he was not as good as Zheng Xiangzhu. When Zheng Xiangzhu was scolded by people like Hu Ma and Yang Gong for the first time, he was also angry, but after being scolded more often, he became calm and didn't take it to heart at all.

But unable to suppress his anger, he still intended to endure it. Seeing that Hu Ma was indeed unwilling to communicate and that the message had already been delivered, he planned to leave.

But at this moment, Hu Ma noticed that he seemed to be really leaving and sensed his indignation. He suddenly spoke softly, "Wait."

The golden little man was slightly stunned and turned to look at Hu Ma, or rather, at the brazier. "Esteemed brother..."

Hu Ma said, "What is your name?"

The golden little man's expression changed slightly, and he said faintly, "I am a member of the Meng family, and I came with sincerity to deliver a message. Esteemed brother doesn't need to ask my name..."

"Indeed, there's no need to ask the name of a messenger."

Hu Ma said grimly, "But to wreak havoc in a prefecture and harm countless people, I must ask for a name to know who to look for."

"You..."

The golden little man was greatly startled. Even as a phantom, one could see that his expression had turned cold. He said in a low voice, "The evil deeds were done by the green-robed evil spirit, the ghost-walking shopkeeper under the Red Lantern's name, it has nothing to do with me..."

"This grandson's swagger is dropping..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma understood a lot. This Meng family was indeed afraid of bearing the reputation of wreaking havoc in a state.

But with that thought, his tone became even more fierce, and he shouted, "Whether it is or not, you know it yourself. Now, I just want you to report your name."

The golden little man's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly said, "The message has been delivered, farewell!"

As he spoke, he turned into a wisp of golden light and seemed to escape into this eerie altar. This altar, which could trap the green-robed evil spirit, seemed to allow him to come and go as he pleased.

"You think you can come and go as you please after entering my altar?"

But at the same time, Hu Ma shouted sternly, and a sudden gust of wind rose from the altar in front of him. "Bring him to me!"

At the same time, the old tree stump seemed to look at Hu Ma with some appreciation. Whether he did something or not, the golden little man, who seemed about to leave, suddenly crashed into something, and wandered around the altar in confusion.

And the golden little man was indeed startled by this, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Esteemed brother, the ten ancestral clans have a Stone Pavilion Alliance, you don't want to kill me, do you?"

Hearing the panic in his voice, Hu Ma was even more relieved.

In fact, at first, he just wanted to drive him away. After all, this was a member of the Meng family, someone he, a small shopkeeper of the Red Lantern Society, could not hope to associate with. It would be good enough to scare him away.

Normally, even if he went up to kowtow, the other party might not even acknowledge him.

But now, after all, he was performing a ritual, and the other party had tampered with the green-robed evil spirit in order to talk to him.

He did have a conversation, but it also meant that a part of him had entered his altar, and this altar was also guarded by the old tree stump, so how could he let him leave as he pleased?

As for the Stone Pavilion Alliance, he didn't know what it included, so following his words would inevitably reveal his ignorance.

But thinking of the old tree stump's previous words, he immediately sneered at the other party, and only coldly uttered a sentence: "The ten ancestral clans have their own Stone Pavilion Alliance, but what does that have to do with you?"

"..."

"Ah?"

The golden little man, or rather, the Meng family member, was really frightened by this. "He saw that I'm not from the main family?"

Originally, he had been very confident and sure of coming to talk to Hu Ma, thinking that he had arranged everything and was very calm, but now, suddenly hearing these words, it was as if a certain face had been torn off.

His courage broken, he was even more eager to escape, but within the altar, the zao robes swayed and the chains rattled, and he was forcibly entangled.

The golden little man seemed to lose control at this moment, and knelt down honestly in the altar, saying, "My name is Meng Si Chong, I live in Blindman Ridge, Stove Mountain, my birthday is..."

But just as he said this, the golden little man suddenly cracked open, and sparks flew out.

Normally speaking, even if only a wisp of divine soul was detained in the altar, one could ask for his origins, and he would not dare to disobey. Now, the golden little man exploded, as if the other party had used some means to forcibly sever the connection, which showed that the Meng family's abilities were not shallow.

Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat, and he realized that this Meng family member was not easy to deal with, but he firmly remembered his name.

"Pfft..."

At the same time, in Zhu Gate Town, in a large mansion personally guarded by the Red Lantern Goddess, the noble of the Meng family suddenly opened his eyes. His face was pale, his eyes were filled with shock and anger, and he said in a low voice:

"Hu..."

As soon as he uttered a word, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and after closing his eyes for a long time, he said the following words:

"The Hu family is so overbearing..."

It's not that I want to cut it off, but this part of the plot, it's a cliffhanger wherever it is put. I originally wanted to add another chapter, but cutting it off in the previous chapter is even more uncomfortable. Let me post the last chapter, let everyone enjoy it first, and I'll stay up late tonight to work overtime.

Vote!

(End of this chapter)