Chapter 1 Hwah!

The earlier shocks and impacts were nothing compared to the astonishment caused by Old Stump's final words. Hu Ma almost lost his composure.

A spirit deterrent?

Spirit deterrents were necessary for zougui ren (ghost walkers) or those recorded in the Zhen Sui Shu (Tomb-Suppressing Book) who wanted to set up altars and cast spells. They were objects, and their spiritual energy was closely related to the outcome of the spell. Hu Ma had always been careful to collect them.

But Old Stump...

What level of cultivation did it possess? A handful of soil beneath its feet held boundless magic. Yet, it was willing to become his spirit deterrent?

This was tantamount to lowering its status. Once it became his spirit deterrent, he would be above the altar, while it willingly placed itself beneath it.

If it had directly intervened to help him solve his problems, Hu Ma wouldn't have been so shocked.

Meeting Old Stump's seemingly smiling gaze, Hu Ma felt his scalp tingle. Countless questions flooded his mind, but he could only stammer, "Senior, why..."

Why was this Old Stump senior, who had previously been unwilling to get involved in the Hu-Meng family matters, now willing to help?

Why had it only promised to protect his life but now done so much?

"It's simple..."

Old Stump, understanding human nature, guessed what Hu Ma wanted to ask. It smiled gently and said, "Originally, you weren't a Hu, so I was merely helping you out of consideration for your grandmother."

"But when you went into the mountains to find me for those zougui ren..."

"...you were already a Hu."

"..."

Hearing its words, Hu Ma felt another wave of complex emotions.

Ever since leaving the village, he had been observing, preparing to escape at any moment. He was only helping when he could, only losing his composure when he saw the zougui ren in danger...

This moment of recklessness, once he calmed down, might make him regret it to the point of tears.

If other transmigrators found out, they would probably laugh at him, right? This was even more ridiculous than being tricked and walking around with a plaster on your head...

...But Old Stump valued it so highly?

If this kind of behavior made him seem like a Hu, then what were the real Hu like?

But meeting Old Stump's gaze, he quickly calmed down. Now was not the time to think about these things.

He couldn't worry about it. He would set up the altar!

He had only just entered the door of the Zhen Sui Shu and had only learned the Five Suppressions Technique (Wu Zhen Zhi Fa) and used it once.

And he already had the five spirit deterrents needed to set up the altar.

Earlier, he had cooperated with Diguashao (Sweet Potato Wine), earning a lot of good things from the young master of the Lu family, including things he could use as spirit deterrents.

This time, when he came out to exorcise the evil, although he knew he couldn't use the Tomb-Suppressing Method, he still brought them with him for safety reasons, putting them on the donkey cart and, finally, in the bag he carried when he rushed to Old Yin Mountain.

But bringing these things was just for a sense of security. Who would have thought he would actually use them?

Old Stump simply sat beside him, watching him with a smile, seemingly not intending to give him any guidance.

It was already acting as a spirit deterrent, so of course, it wouldn't teach him how to set up the altar.

Hu Ma could only do it according to his own understanding.

He first placed the brazier he had taken from Young Master Lu in front of him. It was filled with yin energy, and he didn't know what it had been used for before. He put some dried grass he picked up nearby, then some dry branches, and finally a few pieces of wood, and carefully lit it.

Then, he sprinkled a circle of rice he had taken from Young Master Lu in front of the brazier.

For safety reasons, he also took a few pieces of yingu yu (yin bone jade) and pressed one into each corner of the rice circle.

Then, there were the scarecrows. There was no straw nearby, but there were vines, so he pulled them over, braided them slightly, and placed them on both sides.

Then, three incense sticks were placed beside him.

Finally, one more spirit deterrent was missing, and that was a sacrifice...

He hadn't prepared this, but fortunately, Old Stump was still waiting beside him to fill the gap...

...Hu Ma turned to look at it: "You said you would help me as a spirit deterrent. Are you going to fill the gap of the sacrifice?"

"I can feel your disrespect for me right now..."

The figure on Old Stump sensed Hu Ma's gaze and sighed softly. Its gaze seemed to move slightly, sweeping over the five spirit deterrents in front of him, and said softly, "A pot for sending sacrifices, rice from the Three Forbidden Lands, and yingu yu burned from a Jiang Shi's body..."

"It seems you've put in the effort to understand the Hu family's methods, but it's clear that your understanding of the Hu family's methods is still shallow."

"...You're trying to bind spirits, not summon them. Why do you need sacrifices?"

"..."

"?"

Hu Ma vaguely understood Old Stump's words, but he still had questions.

But now was not the time to get to the bottom of things. Time was of the essence, so he looked at Old Stump and whispered, "Then I..."

"...Can I start?"

"..."

Old Stump smiled and seemed to reach out and make a "please" gesture.

Seeing it so calm, Hu Ma felt relieved and walked over, sitting behind the brazier. Then, he took a piece of wood from the brazier and lit the three incense sticks beside him.

Seeing the red dots appear on the incense sticks and the fragrance begin to spread, he took a deep breath and looked outside Old Yin Mountain, where the yin energy was thick within dozens of miles, and evil ghosts were rampant. The zougui ren who had rushed from all over to help were struggling to hold on.

There, the boundary between yin and yang was in chaos, and someone was obscuring the sky with one hand, treating human lives like grass.

The unwillingness and astonishment on the head of the zougui ren flashed before his eyes, and a surge of anger rose in his heart. He suddenly shouted:

"Heaven bears witness, Earth is the proof. The living must not open their eyes, the ghosts and gods must not linger!"

"I now scatter rice to form an altar to question evil spirits. The guardians of the eight directions come to receive orders. The soldiers and horses of the upper altar listen to commands."

"Quickly summon the green-robed one to meet, to question their crimes and bring them to the altar!"

"My words are orders, my orders are law... Go!"

"..."

This was the Detain Command (Ju Zi Ling) from the Tomb-Suppressing Book. It was not summoning, nor decreeing, nor inviting!

This method was similar to the Summon Command (Zhao Zi Ling), but the words were much more severe. Hu Ma didn't know what the consequences would be, but he felt that everything around him seemed to become blurred as he chanted.

Even the forest in Old Yin Mountain began to fade.

Vaguely, it was as if he had come to a solemn place with tall houses and large tiles, sitting high above, throwing down tokens, and shouting sternly to those below.

"Whoosh..."

With his shout, a bone-chilling yin wind blew up, rolling and spreading into the distance.

...

...

At the same time, on the barren mountain outside of Vermillion Gate Town, the Qingyi Tongzi (Green-Robed Attendants) had already been dispatched to various places of chaos. Only Hall Master Zheng and the evil ghost mask placed on the hillside, shielded from the sun by a green staff, remained on the mountain.

Hall Master Zheng guarded the yellow banner fluttering behind him, feeling the chaos around him and the slight pleasure brought about by the extreme tension in his heart.

He was a zougui ren, and zougui ren were those who asked spirits and drove ghosts.

But in his life, when had he ever driven an evil ghost like Qingyi Laoye (Lord Green Robe)?

It seemed that Qingyi Laoye was handling the errand, but in fact, he was the one handling it. With one order from him, it would wreak havoc wherever he wanted, and he didn't even need to pay the price of sacrifices or backlash, because there was that nobleman in...

Of course, as a zougui ren, he also knew very well what the consequences of such chaos in one place would be.

No zougui ren would do this, and of course, none could do it.

Afterwards, let alone whether the Red Lantern Madame (Hong Deng Niang Niang) would be able to tolerate him, even if she could, how could she protect him?

"Damn noble young master..."

He cursed in a voice that only he could hear.

He didn't know if he regretted it now, only because he had said a few words with the intention of getting rid of that small shopkeeper, he had angered that nobleman and put himself in this irredeemable situation.

But if he had to do it again, perhaps he would still do it. After all, this was the best opportunity for him to get rid of that small shopkeeper and take revenge.

It was just that the nobleman was too shrewd, not what he had imagined.

He also thought of his wife's family, sighing in a low voice, "When your family fished me out of the stinking ditch, I thought about making your family rich, but my ability is limited, and I really can't take care of your family..."

"Every day, you're either greedy, stupid, or offending people. I patch things up for your family, but for how long can I patch things up?"

"Since you can't be rich in this world, then go down and reunite..."

"..."

Thinking this in his heart, he stood up, tightened his grip on the wooden sword in his hand, and stared at the small village to the south.

He didn't know whether the person hiding in Mingzhou City, the person that the nobleman was spending so much effort to find and force out, would make a move. He only knew that once that person made a move, it would be his death.

Therefore, before that, he had to get rid of the small shopkeeper in Qing Shi Town.

He had been tormented for so many days, and killing him now would be considered him tasting the flavor of his cock, right?

"Qingyi, let's do it!"

As the branch in his hand pointed, a yellow banner on the shelf behind him immediately fluttered towards the south.

That was the direction of Qing Shi Town, which meant adding more pressure there.

However, he didn't expect that as he used wood as a sword, commanding the Qingyi evil ghost, with the nobleman's name suppressing it, there was no reason for the Qingyi evil ghost not to obey his orders. As a zougui ren, this could be considered the most praiseworthy thing in his life.

Vaguely, he had a feeling of omnipotence in Mingzhou.

But precisely because of this, the sword he now pointed, filled with determination, made the Qingyi evil ghost roar, but suddenly, he heard a tearing sound, and the banner fluttering above his head broke.

"Hmm?"

He was startled and raised his head, only to see that the sky had darkened.

The yin wind was surging around the barren hill, and the rolling aura of slaughter made his body instantly cold.

His eyes flashed, and he saw that four Zao Yi Ren (Black-Clad Enforcers) holding swords and chains had appeared in the rolling yin wind, vaguely resembling constables.

They came riding the yin wind, unable to see their appearance clearly, but he could feel their astonishing coldness and dominance. From afar, they glared with their eyes wide open, and the chains in their hands clattered, directly locking onto the evil ghost mask.

As if arresting a criminal.

(End of Chapter)