“This is…”

Listening to this, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart, "This senior is promising to take action when necessary?"

Ever since the people from the Tongyin Meng family arrived, he had indeed been somewhat uneasy.

Now, after hearing his words, he finally felt a little more at ease.

However, on second thought, this senior said that he couldn't leave Lao Yin Mountain, but also said that he would make a trip over when necessary.

Could it be that he also had to pay a price to come over?

Having said this, he had already given an explanation, but Hu Ma's curiosity was now even stronger, and he was unwilling to leave. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly asked the old tree stump, "Senior, I have another question to ask..."

"I know that our Hu family must have some grievances with the Meng family, but I'm still confused about it…"

"I want to ask, when will I be able to understand all of this?"

“……”

Hearing Hu Ma's question, the figure on the old tree stump was silent for a while, as if a heavy gaze had fallen on Hu Ma.

After a moment, he said softly, "In the past, you wholeheartedly avoided it, not wanting to be a Hu family member. Your Hu family once fell to the point where you had to rely on the Bai family who married in to support the last vestiges of your clan. Even outsiders like us felt sorry for her."

"Now, you finally seem to understand things a little, but if you want to understand these things, or take over the burden on your mother-in-law's shoulders, you must first become a true Hu family member."

“……”

"Become a true Hu family member?"

Hearing the old tree stump's words, Hu Ma once again had a strange feeling.

Putting aside his biggest secret, he was originally surnamed Hu, and his mother-in-law had already accepted him, so why did he say that?

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Senior, I didn't learn the Hu family's techniques before, but now I've tried to understand them, and I've even used them once."

If not learning the Hu family's abilities meant not being a Hu family member, then he had at least entered the doorway now, right?

"I can see that."

The figure on the old tree stump said softly, "But you still can't be considered a Hu family member."

Hu Ma immediately frowned, "Then what does it take?"

Hearing this, the old tree stump suddenly smiled and said, "I don't know, because I'm not a Hu family member."

“……”

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment, and cursed inwardly, "Riddle-makers should all die..."

The old tree stump said faintly, "I can sense the good and evil in people's hearts, and I can also sense whether you're cursing me in your heart..."

"?"

Hu Ma silently thought, "Senior Old Tree Stump is invincible..."

"In short, the Hu family's situation is indeed not good, and the burden on your mother-in-law's shoulders is heavy. She is only an outsider who married in, so many hopes can only be placed on you."

The old tree stump ignored him, only sighed softly, and said, "You want to understand the Hu family's affairs, which is good, but you need to understand that once you understand, it will be time for you to take over the heavy burden from your mother-in-law's hands..."

"Are you ready?"

“……”

"This…"

From his ordinary words, Hu Ma vaguely felt immense pressure.

But he truly understood one sentence.

Yes, the Hu family was also one of the ten ancestral families.

Like the Tongyin Meng family who controlled the red lanterns and green robes, and the mysterious Divine Hand Zhao family, they also belonged to the ten ancestral families.

One of the ten most mysterious families in this world.

This kind of level of grudges was treacherous and terrifying. How could a small Sui Keeper who had just entered the path bear it?

Transmigrators all liked to make a fortune in silence, but the identity of this Hu family seemed to be pushing him to the very center of the storm. He had always been subconsciously curious about the Hu family's grudges, but such big grudges were also instinctively resisted…

"It seems you're not ready yet."

And the senior on the old tree stump seemed to have seen his thoughts through Hu Ma's expression, and sighed softly, "To be honest, I advised your mother-in-law before not to hold on to such a reputation. It's fine if the Hu family is gone."

"But your mother-in-law, whose original surname is Bai, is more like a Hu family member than any Hu."

"She ultimately refused to listen to me, so I can only look at you."

"If you are willing, then there is indeed one last Hu family member left in this world. If you are not willing…"

“…then a grievance will be settled.”

“……”

Hearing these words, Hu Ma also felt inexplicably heavy. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "I understand what senior is saying. Let's talk about the specifics first."

"These Meng family members are naturally not to be provoked, and there's no need to meet them. However, they're searching for people in each village one by one, shining a mirror on people. I can't always hide, so should I prepare some means?"

“……”

"That's simple." The figure on the old tree stump smiled faintly and said, "How about this? After I leave, dig a handful of soil from under my feet and take it back to the village."

"When they come, you can smear this soil on your heart, and their mirror shouldn't be able to reflect you..."

“……”

"Shouldn't?"

Hu Ma had something he was holding back from saying: 'Senior, shouldn't your tone be more certain about this kind of thing?'

As if seeing through Hu Ma's thoughts, the old tree stump smiled faintly and said, "The Tongyin Meng family has many methods, how dare I give you a guarantee?"

Hu Ma was also a little helpless, and quickly said, "Then what can this soil specifically defend against?"

The old tree stump seemed to be a little stumped by this question, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Theoretically, it can defend against a little bit of everything."

"?"

Hu Ma's heart stirred, and he was immediately a little tempted.

He glanced down slightly. Soil that could defend against a little bit of everything was much stronger than Yin Bone Jade, right…

"If you like, you can take it all back, although only the soil you dig out..."

The figure on the tree stump smiled softly, and was already slowly fading, as if it had merged into this Lao Yin Mountain. The empty ground didn't look like there had ever been a tree stump there.

No matter what the Meng family does, first stabilize your own position…

Hu Ma thought silently, squatted down, and in the place where the old tree stump had just appeared, he cleared away the weeds on the ground and rolled up his sleeves.

He was curious: Clearly it was all the soil under his feet, so why was only the handful he dug out useful?

If this handful was a little bigger, would everything that was scooped up be useful? If a little bit leaked through the fingers and was picked up again, would it still be useful?

For a moment, he couldn't figure out the reason. It seemed that many things in this world were a bit mysterious.

Never mind.

Although he didn't understand, he still carefully transformed his hands into the dead, forcefully inserted them into the soil, and firmly dug up a handful.

He wrapped it in his outer robe, carried it on his shoulder, and then strode away, sneaking out of Lao Yin Mountain, and returning to the village under the cover of night.

He stuffed all the soil, along with the robe, under the bed, and asked Little Red Tangerine to keep an eye on it, before feeling a little relieved.

"At least this Senior Old Tree Stump has promised me that he will take action at a crucial moment."

He thought to himself, "Of course, no matter what, I still have to carry things myself first, and I can't waste my mother-in-law's favors in Lao Yin Mountain for nothing."

He also guessed in his heart, what kind of cultivation was this Old Tree Stump at?

Listening to his words, he didn't seem to be that afraid of the Tongyin Meng family, but rather he felt a bit unwilling to get involved.

Although Hu Ma had never seen him perform magic, and couldn't feel his oppression because of the great difference between them, he vaguely remembered that these few meetings always gave him the feeling that this Old Tree Stump was different from other evil spirits.

When other evil spirits appeared, they were mostly accompanied by a gust of yin wind, sometimes mixed with a putrid and strange aura.

But this Old Tree Stump seemed to be accompanied by a fragrant wind…

He couldn't explain that feeling. It wasn't the fragrance of perfume, but rather a kind of scent like incense and paper money being burned, thick, and upright.

After all, he was an existence that could casually appear anywhere, and the soil under his feet could be dyed with a certain amount of magical power…

…although only a handful of it.

With great peace of mind, he only quietly dealt with the matter here.

Knowing that the green-robed child had begun to enter the Red Lantern Society's villages to search for people, Hu Ma was also cautious, paying more attention to this information.

This matter was upright, using the name that he originally had a feud with Zheng the Grand Incense Master, and had just become a shopkeeper, so he was uneasy, and he carefully learned about the green-robed child's behavior.

Knowing their actions when they arrived at each village, and knowing that they also took away some people indiscriminately after shining the mirror.

Their commotion made the shopkeepers in each village miserable, but they had nowhere to complain.

The green robes and red lanterns were originally at odds, and those green-robed children, having the power to investigate people in the Red Lantern Society, seemed to be taking the opportunity to retaliate, angering many people, but it was suppressed by the left and right protectors.

Moreover, Incense Master Zheng, as the incense master of the Red Lantern Lady Society, became a guide for the green-robed child in this matter, which made his reputation even worse.

"Things are probably not simple..."

After some investigation, Hu Ma had a general idea in his heart. They would come to his village sooner or later, but he didn't know why they were coming so late.

Anyway, it couldn't be avoided, so let them come!

Another seven or eight days passed, and the village finally received a message from a small messenger ghost, telling the people of the village to gather together and wait early in the morning. Hu Ma took a deep breath and ordered the shop assistants:

"Call everyone back, prepare wine, dishes, and incense candles. Someone will be visiting tomorrow, so take good care of them!"

Although the visitors were unwelcome, the necessary rules could not be lacking.