Chapter 1
“Either offer a sacrifice and cross the bridge, or…”

Hu Ma had a general understanding of the situation and glanced at the teahouse before silently returning to discuss with Aunt Zhang.

Aunt Zhang was squatting by the bridge, silently watching the water, and said in a low voice, “They all say there’s something on the bridge? But I see the bridge is clean.”

“Hmm?”

Hu Ma followed her gaze and saw her throw a copper coin under the bridge.

The copper coin had been used by countless people and was stained with human energy, but it was still made of copper. It fell into the water and slowly sank to the bottom. The blue-green river quickly submerged the copper coin, making it invisible.

“If there is something on the river, the copper coin won’t sink.”

Aunt Zhang said in a low voice, “But the bridge clearly looks clean.”

Hearing this, Hu Ma’s heart sank slightly. He looked up at the bridge.

It was just an ordinary stone bridge, consisting of stone piers and long bluestone slabs, spanning the river. It was about ten feet wide and several tens of feet long, with low rope railings on both sides.

Actually, the bridge wasn’t too long, but with the mist rising from the river, it had a hazy, ethereal feel. People’s vision was obscured by the water vapor halfway across, giving it a hint of mystery and strangeness.

“If there’s nothing on the bridge, do we just go straight across?”

Hu Ma thought for a moment and said in a low voice, “But since someone is blocking the way to sell offerings, it probably won’t be easy to cross.”

“With these people guarding it, even if there’s nothing on the bridge, it won’t be easy to cross.”

Aunt Zhang also looked at the bridge. After a long time, she slowly shook her head and said in a low voice, “However, Dongjia, we can’t think too much about this right now. We can only follow the rules.”

“We’re out here to escort the spirit back home. We walk instead of going into the mountains, cross bridges instead of taking boats, and stay in wild inns instead of entering taverns.”

“If we end up on a boat, and especially on the water, if something really happens, no matter how capable we are, our lives will be in their hands. It’s better to walk on the bridge, which is more secure.”

“…”

“Then we’ll listen to Aunt’s advice.”

Hearing Aunt Zhang’s hesitation, Hu Ma agreed directly.

Walking the bridge would only require adding an offering. He was already on edge this time, so being extra careful wouldn’t hurt.

So he first had Aunt Zhang watch here, while he returned to the carriage and quietly explained a few things to Steward Zhou, preparing this and saying that. Steward Zhou was a little embarrassed after hearing this:

“This… isn’t this, isn’t this disrespectful to Miss?”

“…”

Hu Ma said in a low voice, “Do you want safety, or do you want to consider your relationship with your young mistress?”

Steward Zhou immediately understood. After all, he had said on the way that he couldn’t hide anything from Hu Ma and had to listen to him if something happened.

He paused slightly, then suddenly shouted, “No, no, no.”

This shout immediately attracted the attention of many people nearby.

Steward Zhou angrily shouted at Hu Ma, “We absolutely cannot take a boat. My old wife lived to be over seventy years old and was born afraid of water. In the end, she still fell into the river and drowned. She’s already gone, so we can’t let her take a boat again. Absolutely no boats!”

“Cross the bridge. We must cross the bridge!”

“Go offer a sacrifice to the Bridge God. We’ll beg him nicely. We must go across the bridge!”

“…”

Hu Ma immediately looked helpless and sighed, “Alright, we’ll listen to Master.”

In his heart, he secretly praised, “As expected of someone from the opera troupe. He gets into character quickly and the emotions are on point…”

Pretending to be helpless, he returned to the shore. The people waiting to cross the river had all heard the commotion and were curious to see how Hu Ma would handle it.

Hu Ma could only bite the bullet and come to the teahouse. Looking at the fierce men, he didn’t know where they came from, and said with a smile, “Greetings, gentlemen.”

“We are accompanying Master to escort the spirit back home. We want to cross the bridge. I don’t know how to make an offering or what the rules are?”

“…”

In the teahouse, a burly man heard this and sneered, “Make an offering?”

“You have to offer the Lesser Three Sacrificial Animals. How you usually offer to your ancestors at home is how you offer to the Bridge God now.”

“…”

The Lesser Three Sacrificial Animals were chicken, fish, and a pig’s head.

The Greater Three Sacrificial Animals were pig, cow, and sheep, which were already quite a large offering.

Hu Ma looked troubled and said, “Where can I buy them?”

The group of people sneered and took them out, all prepared in advance.

The chicken was a plump hen, the fish was arranged on a plate, and the pig’s head was even black on the surface. He didn’t know if it had been offered before and then recycled. And the price wasn’t cheap. These things actually cost Hu Ma three taels of silver.

It was clear that they were all in cahoots. Hu Ma accepted it, paid the silver, and took the offerings back.

After handing them over to Aunt Zhang, he called Steward Zhou and the coachman over.

Steward Zhou nodded to Hu Ma, clearly prepared.

Aunt Zhang immediately set up the offerings at the bridgehead, lit incense, and silently prayed. She also burned some paper money.

The group went onto the bridge. The wheels of the carriage rolled over the bluestone bridge, making creaking sounds.

At first, it was safe. They had almost crossed halfway and everything was calm. But unexpectedly, just as they were about to reach the other side, the wheel suddenly slipped and rushed towards the river beside them.

The coachman was shocked and shouted “Whoa, whoa,” but he couldn’t stop the donkey pulling the cart.

Hu Ma hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed the donkey cart, and stood rooted to the ground, unmoving.

But for some reason, he hurriedly looked at Aunt Zhang and said in a low voice, “Aunt, what’s going on?”

“There are no evil spirits on the bridge, but there are things left behind by someone!”

Aunt Zhang said in a low voice, looking ahead, her voice a little low.

Hu Ma followed her gaze and was shocked to find a pair of worn shoes tied to the bridge pillar with silk thread.

The shoes were tattered, looking like they had been worn for several years, with several holes in them. Now they were inexplicably tied to the bridge.

“It’s strange to cross the bridge safely with worn shoes tied to it.”

Aunt Zhang said in a low voice, “But I think these shoes were tied on purpose. What do you think, little shopkeeper?”

Hu Ma didn’t rush to answer, just looked at the worn shoes. They looked ordinary, but looking at them made him feel dizzy. The sound of the river water rippling around him was extremely clear, and the road under his feet seemed to have turned into a python, constantly wriggling.

Looking ahead, the bridge was like a noodle. They felt unsteady even standing still. If they wanted to continue forward, they would become dizzy and fall into the river.

“Something on the bridge is acting up…”

The coachman and others were even more surprised. They didn’t hear Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang’s conversation and felt that the bridge was extremely strange.

At this moment, Aunt Zhang, who had clearly seen the problem on the bridge, suddenly said in a deep voice, “Bridge God, we’ve already given you the offerings!”

“Please be kind and let us pass!”

“…”

Everyone dared not speak, listening patiently. No one on the bridge answered, and the worn shoes didn’t move, but suddenly they heard voices behind them. It was the fierce men from the teahouse coming up.

They held knives and swords, sneering, “The Bridge God sees that your coffin is unclean and wants you to open the coffin and take a look.”

Aunt Zhang’s expression darkened slightly, shaking her head and saying, “What you’re saying is forcing our hand.”

“There are rules for people who escort spirits. Since we’ve taken on the job of escorting the spirit, we must send them home properly. We can’t open the coffin until we reach the grave. You’ve already received our offerings, but now you’re going back on your word and want us to open the coffin for you to inspect. What’s the reason for that?”

“…”

The group of fierce men immediately sneered. Someone on the opposite side of the bridge also noticed the commotion and ran up, blocking them in the middle.

Someone shouted, “Rules are rules. The Bridge God won’t make things difficult for anyone. If you open it and take a look, we’ll let you pass. If you don’t want to open it, then go into the water!”

As they said this, the bridge shook even more violently, and even the donkey had knelt down, not daring to move.

And the people running up on both ends of the bridge all looked murderous, not kind people.

Aunt Zhang was clearly a little angry. She saw the problem, but the other party was clearly pretending to be stupid, instead pressing closer and demanding that they open the coffin.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t really take a boat, otherwise wouldn’t they have snatched the coffin away?”

Hu Ma thought to himself. Seeing the fierce men running up from both sides, blocking the way, if they fought on the bridge, they would have to deal with the things on the bridge and also consider the lives of others, which might not be enough.

He quickly weighed the situation and suddenly shouted, “Aunt, let them see it…”

Aunt Zhang was slightly stunned and turned to look at him.

Hu Ma nodded to her and said, “It’s better than falling into the river.”

As he spoke, he tried to keep his body stable and walked towards the donkey cart, pushing the coffin lid open halfway with force.

The people running up on both ends of the bridge were also craning their necks to look inside.

They looked into the coffin and immediately covered their noses, cursing, “Ugh, it stinks.”

“The person has been gone for more than two months…”

Hu Ma said, “That’s why we’re in a hurry to send them home, but you… why do you have to make us open the coffin?”

“Go, go, they’re not the ones!”

The fierce men on the bridgehead retreated more than ten feet, waving their hands vigorously.

Looking again, the fierce men on the opposite side were also cursing and walking back, and the bridge, which had just seemed very strange, was now perfectly normal.

Even Aunt Zhang was greatly surprised and glanced at Hu Ma with some confusion, but she refrained from asking.

“Hurry up!”

Hu Ma said to the others, and hurried across the bridge, walking forward along the bridge for a long distance before looking back. He saw a group of people gathered at the bridgehead, discussing something.

A terrible thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He turned to look at Steward Zhou, “Do you see what these people do?”

(End of Chapter)