Hu Ma had almost lost all sense of time and space in this gloomy forest.
He had no idea how long he had been walking through these woods, but by the time he was drenched in sweat, he finally emerged from the forest.
Looking up, he saw a low hill ahead, and beyond it, an even larger forest stretched out.
In the distance, deep within that forest, it seemed as though there was a massive, dark red, bloated mass of flesh writhing and squirming.
He wasn’t sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
When he turned his gaze back to the hill, he noticed a few small stone huts and faintly saw some moving figures.
He quickly glanced at his grandmother, confirming that this was the place she had brought him to.
He straightened up and hurried to follow her.
As they approached, the area looked like a small farmstead.
There were a few vegetable plots nearby, a large flat area of compacted soil, and a grinding stone in the middle.
Along the walls, there were two rows of weapon racks holding items like broadswords, spears, lotus hooks, and chain darts, as well as a few heavy stone weights.
At that moment, an elderly man with a tall and sturdy build was sitting on a bench in front of one of the huts.
Beside him was a small teapot and a plate of dry tobacco.
In front of him, a group of about a dozen young boys, shirtless and wearing black pants, were practicing martial arts with precision.
“Is this a martial arts training ground?” Hu Ma thought to himself, surprised by what he was seeing.
What puzzled him even more was that he had already witnessed the endless dangers outside the village.
If the old man was skilled enough to live outside the village on his own, that was one thing, but how could he have a group of young boys with him? Weren’t the village youths forbidden from approaching the village’s edge? Or did the old man possess some extraordinary ability that allowed him to keep these boys safe outside the village?
“Fighting and killing won’t help us, and it won’t deal with the Meng family,” his grandmother said, as if reading his thoughts.
She turned to him and added, “I brought you here to learn Second Uncle’s other skills. If you can master them, even without the protection of the old fire pit, those evil spirits won’t dare to come near you. Besides, staying with Second Uncle is safer than staying with me. In a few days, I’ll need to handle some matters, and I’m worried I might not be able to take care of you properly.”
“Huh?” Hu Ma’s mind raced.
Was she planning to leave him here?
When he first woke up, his immediate thought had been to escape that room and get away from this eerie grandmother.
But as it turned out, he had been so frightened that he felt safer staying by her side.
Now, just as he was starting to get used to being around her, he was unexpectedly given a chance to leave her?
Moreover, it didn’t seem like his grandmother had brought him here just to show him off.
It was more like she was finding someone to take care of him.
“Old sister, you’ve really brought the child here!” A hearty laugh rang out as the tall old man approached.
He walked up to them, glanced at Hu Ma, and said, “Kid, why aren’t you greeting me? Call me Second Uncle.”
His grandmother turned to Hu Ma and said, “He was badly injured before. Although he’s recovered, his memory isn’t so good.”
“Ah, that family really went too far,” Second Uncle said, frowning slightly.
He glanced toward the dense forest in the distance and lowered his voice. “Is that thing still out there?”
“The Meng family never gives up until they get what they want,” his grandmother replied, shaking her head.
She took the bag from Hu Ma’s back and motioned for him to wait a little further away.
Then she handed the bag to Second Uncle and said, “I injured that thing a while ago, but I didn’t finish it off. I’ve been thinking that it’s probably almost recovered by now. If we don’t deal with it, I won’t feel at ease.”
Second Uncle took the bag with one hand, weighed it slightly, and frowned. “Old sister, you saved my life back then. Even without these things, I’d still take care of little Hu Ma.”
“One thing at a time,” his grandmother said firmly. “I brought my grandson here to learn from you, not to ask for favors. I took him to the old fire pit, but the ancestors didn’t accept him. Now, he can only learn your skills.”
“But…” Second Uncle hesitated, lowering his voice. “Old sister, I have no problem teaching Hu Ma, but my skills aren’t something everyone can learn.”
“He will learn them,” his grandmother said sternly. “He must learn your skills. Our Hu family… we have no other choice.” She sighed, her tone heavy with resignation.
Seeing this, Second Uncle didn’t press further. “Don’t worry, old sister. He’s family, and I’ll teach him with all my heart. But what about that evil thing the Meng family sent? Should I…”
“That’s our Hu family’s business,” his grandmother interrupted. “It wouldn’t be proper for outsiders to get involved.”
“Alright then,” Second Uncle said, tucking the bag under his arm. “I won’t stand on ceremony with you. You can leave the child here with peace of mind. Go take care of your business. If you need anything, just send Little Hong Tang to let me know.”
His grandmother didn’t linger.
She gave Hu Ma a few more instructions—eat more meat, learn well from Second Uncle, be obedient, and don’t go down the mountain.
Then she had Hu Ma kneel on the dirt and kowtow three times to Second Uncle.
When he stood up, she brushed the dirt off his knees, took a few small silver coins from her pocket, and placed them in his hand.
With that, she turned and left.
Hu Ma clutched the warm silver coins, watching her hunched figure slowly descend the mountain.
For some reason, he felt a pang of emotion.
Thinking about the truth he was hiding, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.
“Hey, kid, why are you acting like a girl? Crying just because your grandmother left?” Second Uncle noticed Hu Ma’s sadness but misunderstood it.
He patted Hu Ma’s head and said with a laugh, “Once you’ve learned some skills, you can go back. What’s there to cry about?”
With that, he led Hu Ma to the front of the hut.
The group of boys who had been practicing martial arts had stopped and were now staring at Hu Ma with wide eyes.
One of them glanced at Hu Ma’s thin arms and sneered, “Is this the new guy? He’s not exactly strong. If he runs into an evil spirit, a gust of wind would blow him away.”
Another boy chimed in, “That’s the Ghost-Walking Granny’s grandson. She spoils him rotten. He hates studying, hates training, and even complains about the sun when he’s out in the fields. Sometimes when Granny is out treating patients and can’t come back for lunch, she has to ask the neighbor to cook for him, and he still picks and chooses what he eats.”
Hu Ma listened but didn’t take their teasing to heart.
Instead, he felt a flicker of interest.
These boys seemed to know a lot about his past.
Because of his fear of his grandmother, he had never dared to ask directly about what had happened to him.
Now, he thought, he might be able to piece together some information from these boys and figure out his past.
“Enough! Stand straight!” Second Uncle barked, and the boys immediately fell into line.
“You too,” Second Uncle said, giving Hu Ma a light kick on the backside to get him to join the group.
Then he declared, “What’s all this talk about evil spirits? It’s just a gust of wind. Your grandmother sent you here to toughen up under the sun and build up your energy. If you ask me, you should’ve come sooner. I don’t care about evil spirits. Those things are just bullies. If you’re strong enough, you can blow them away with a single breath.”
“Second Uncle,” a slightly chubby boy in the group said with a grin, “Hu Ma ran into something really scary. Even the ancestors in the old fire pit wouldn’t protect him.”
“Then train harder,” Second Uncle shot back. “If you’re strong enough, you won’t need the ancestors’ protection. The living shouldn’t rely on the dead to survive.”
As he spoke, he sat down, pinched some tobacco, and stuffed it into his pipe. “When I was young, I got tangled up with one of those things too. I was in my twenties, bold and careless. I went out trading and forgot to bring my ancestors’ ashes. One night, I found an empty house to sleep in, and a hanged widow slipped in through the door crack. Her face was pale as a ghost, and she climbed onto my bed, trying to undo my belt…”
The boys leaned forward, eager to hear what happened next.
Second Uncle puffed on his pipe, sitting proudly on his small stool. “Twenty times in one night! I scared her off!”
(End of Chapter)