Blood Tai Sui...
The thing I've been eating all this time is actually the Blood Tai Sui that old man mentioned?
Isn't this supposed to be an extremely rare treasure, something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of? And here I am, eating it like it's regular food?
Is this village just that wealthy, or is my grandma actually a hidden rich old lady?
For a moment, I couldn't help but feel a deep curiosity about this incredibly precious Blood Tai Sui.
What does eating it do?
Why haven't I felt any significant changes in my body?
...
Well, my injuries do seem to heal a bit faster than usual.
But even though I was shocked inside, I had to keep a straight face.
After all, in theory, I'm still in a state where I shouldn't remember anything, so I shouldn't know how valuable the Blood Tai Sui is.
So I just kept my head down, trying to control my slightly trembling hands as I helped grandma pack up the bundle.
Along with the two roosters tied with hemp rope, I carried everything.
I casually said, "Oh," and then changed the subject.
"Grandma, where are we going with all this stuff?"
"Taking you out to find a master and learn some skills," grandma replied slowly, not even looking at me.
"The ancestors in the village don't accept you, so we'll find another way to keep the evil spirits away from you."
"Learn skills?"
Now I understood.
Grandma was preparing these things as gifts for a master.
I quickly took this opportunity to shift my focus.
I couldn't dwell too much on the Blood Tai Sui, afraid that my shock would show on my face.
After failing at the old fire pit and rejecting that ghost marriage, grandma had been very worried about me.
Besides using that Tai Sui meat—no, the best Blood Tai Sui—to stabilize my condition every day, she seemed to have been thinking of other ways to help me.
So, the master she was taking me to see now must be her third solution.
But what kind of master was she taking me to?
If we're talking about skills, in this strange world, grandma herself seems quite capable.
Is there someone even more powerful than her out here?
Though I had many doubts, I didn't ask any questions.
I had already figured out a survival rule in this world, especially around grandma: ask less, inquire less, observe more, and think more.
After all, in my current state, I had no other options.
So I just behaved obediently, changed my clothes, and helped grandma as we walked out, step by step.
Looking at the direction, we weren't heading into the village but rather out of it.
"Not someone from the village?"
By the time we reached the edge of the village, I was slightly surprised.
Was she really taking me out of the village?
After being here for a while, I had learned that the evil spirits outside the village were far more numerous than those inside.
This was actually the first time I had left the village since coming to this world.
Looking at the towering trees and the deep, dark scenery in the distance, I couldn't help but feel a slight shiver.
Who knows how many evil spirits like the upright goat or the white-faced monkey are hiding in these dense woods...
But then I thought, with grandma and Little Red Tang by my side, it should be fine, right?
Once we left the village, I could see a small path trodden by people, leading into the overgrown, towering forest.
It was eerily quiet, as if even the birds had stopped chirping.
The forest was too deep, too dense.
I don't know what this world has gone through, but the mountains now felt suffocatingly lush.
Even though it was midday, the forest was dark and oppressive.
The thick undergrowth almost completely covered the small path that countless people had walked on.
The thin, winding branches on either side seemed to have a life of their own, silently reaching out, climbing onto my shoulders, wrapping around my legs.
But when I turned to look, there was nothing unusual about them.
I could only suppress the unease in my heart and follow grandma closely as we ventured deeper into the forest.
The deeper we went, the denser the trees seemed to become.
The branches and vines tangled in front of us, making it feel like we were walking through a thorny thicket.
In the depths of the dense forest, it always felt like something was watching me.
"Stop here."
Just then, grandma, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and said quietly.
I immediately stood still, holding my breath.
Glancing around, I felt a sudden chill.
Without realizing it, the area around us had become filled with scattered branches, densely tangled, almost wrapping around both me and grandma.
But when I looked ahead or behind, the path we had been walking on was still clear, without so many branches.
"Are these branches alive?"
I felt a cold fear in my heart.
They had wrapped around me and grandma, tightening more and more without us noticing.
What were they trying to do?
"This is my grandson. Everyone, take a good look, so we don't end up fighting among ourselves later."
Just as I was thinking this, grandma suddenly spoke coldly, then slammed her cane heavily on the ground.
With a rustling sound, a cold wind swept through.
The dense branches wrapped around me and grandma were cut as if by an invisible scythe, falling to the ground in a heap.
Faintly, I thought I heard something whimpering in pain, a mournful sound.
Whether it was an illusion or not, after that wind, the surrounding branches seemed to sway in fear, retreating to the sides.
The path ahead of me and grandma became much clearer.
"So powerful..."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
I didn't know whether to be amazed by grandma's sudden display of power or terrified by the fact that the forest seemed to have a life of its own.
I had heard that it was dangerous outside the village, but I hadn't realized just how many dangers there were.
Thankfully, I hadn't actually tried to escape the village before, and thankfully, this time, I was with grandma.
In this world, my rational, non-superstitious worldview from my past life had completely vanished.
I didn't dare speak loudly, just silently followed grandma as we walked deeper into the dark forest, careful not to touch anything.
This world filled me with awe, especially since even grandma seemed to be cautious.
Besides the eerie branches and trees, the forest was filled with all sorts of strange things.
There was a small puddle that looked completely normal, but when it appeared in front of us on the path, grandma frowned and led me around it.
But not long after, we saw the same puddle again, exactly the same as before.
We went around it again, but the puddle stubbornly reappeared.
Grandma sighed helplessly and had me hand over the live chicken I was carrying.
She made a quick cut on the chicken's neck with her nail, slit its throat, and tossed it into the puddle.
Then she told me to turn around and not look at what was happening in the puddle.
Not long after, I heard strange chewing sounds from behind.
A few minutes later, grandma said, "You can turn around now."
When I turned back, the puddle was gone, and we continued walking on the now clear path.
Later, when we passed a tree stump that looked like it had been struck by lightning, grandma stopped again.
She had me bow to the stump, then walk fifteen steps ahead and wait for her.
She stayed behind, muttering as if she was having a conversation with the stump.
"Are there really this many strange things out here?"
I couldn't understand these bizarre phenomena, feeling both a bit scared and slightly intrigued.
I couldn't help but ask Little Red Tang, who was beside me, "How do people from our village dare to come out here usually?"
Little Red Tang seemed to be very cautious in this forest, speaking little.
When I asked, she poked her little head out from behind a tree and said, "Others don't encounter so many when they come out. They have strong yang energy and carry ashes from the fire pit."
"Brother Hu Ma is different. You smell... special."
"..."
"?"
I couldn't help but shudder, then asked, "If grandma is so powerful, can't she just drive these things away?"
"Grandma is a Ghost Walker," Little Red Tang said.
"Ghost Walkers don't usually drive away evil spirits; they guide them."
"Ghost Walker?"
I thought silently, "Is that a title, or the name of some kind of skill?"
Seeing that grandma was still chatting with the lightning-struck stump not far away, I took the chance to ask, "Do you know which master grandma is taking me to see?"
"..."
"After we leave the forest, we'll head south..."
Little Red Tang thought for a moment, then said, "Grandma must be taking Brother Hu Ma to see Second Grandpa!"
I felt a stir in my heart.
If this "Second Grandpa" lived outside the village, he must be quite powerful.
Curious, I asked, "Between Second Grandpa and grandma, who's more powerful?"
"I don't know," Little Red Tang said honestly.
"I'm closer to grandma, but I'm scared of Second Grandpa."
"I've delivered things to Second Grandpa for grandma before, but I never dared to go inside. I just threw them at the door and ran."
"..."
I thought silently, "If even Little Red Tang is scared of him, he must be quite formidable..."
Then I suddenly felt a chill.
If grandma hadn't noticed anything unusual about me, would someone even more powerful be able to see through me?
"Let's go!"
Just then, grandma finally returned and said, "I ran into an old acquaintance and caught up a bit. Let's hurry now!"
"We'll be there in about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense."
(End of Chapter)