"That silly boy sure has some luck..."
Seeing the young lady, as radiant as a pearl, agree to help Hu Ma, the old shopkeeper chuckled and gave Hu Ma a once-over.
"But our young lady is kind-hearted. Since she's agreed to help you, consider it your good fortune. Now, tell us, what's going on?"
Witnessing this scene, the sedan carriers and others exchanged puzzled glances, finding the situation rather strange.
Second Uncle, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel a pang of worry.
"Although the noble lady in the sedan chair agreed to help Little Hu Ma, the shopkeeper doesn't seem too pleased. When the Caoxin Hall comes to our village to collect herbs later, I wonder if they'll give us a hard time."
"Ah, there's nothing we can do about it. If it were any other child from the village, they wouldn't be so clueless about their place."
"Little Hu Ma, he's just been spoiled by his grandmother, thinking everyone should help him."
"..."
"I..."
Hu Ma knew that this kind of "silly boy's luck" would happen, but he was still figuring out how to explain things properly.
Having realized the dangers and strangeness of this world, he naturally couldn't just spill everything.
So, he simply looked at the sedan chair and said, "My grandmother is a ghost walker. A powerful evil spirit appeared in the forest, so she went in to deal with it."
"But something happened, and I lost contact with her. I don't know how she's doing now."
"I want to know where my grandmother is."
"..."
"A ghost walker?"
The old shopkeeper frowned upon hearing this.
"Do you have anything your grandmother used? Or something she always carried with her?"
Hu Ma couldn't help but frown as well.
Everything his grandmother used was back in the village, and he hadn't had the chance to go back and get it.
Although he had some things his grandmother had given him, he hadn't seen her in almost half a month.
"Haha, nothing?"
The old shopkeeper couldn't help but sneer.
But suddenly, the woman inside the sedan chair spoke up.
"What about the basket in that little ghost's hand? Would that work?"
"..."
"A ghost?"
The old shopkeeper was startled and immediately turned to glare at Second Uncle and Hu Ma.
"You brought a ghost with you?"
Second Uncle's heart tightened.
"Little Hongtang has been following us all along? How did they see her?"
Dealing with these noble folk from the city came with many taboos.
We came out to guide them, but we brought an evil spirit along.
They might think we're up to no good, trying to harm them.
Not only might we not get any reward, but we could even end up dead.
"Don't be so nervous."
The person in the sedan chair spoke calmly.
"It's just a tamed little ghost, quite obedient. No harm done."
Since the person in the sedan chair had spoken, the old shopkeeper quietly let go of his anger.
"Fine, the basket will do. As long as it's been used recently, bring it here."
"..."
Hu Ma quickly nodded, turned around, and took the basket covered with a red cloth from the somewhat frightened Little Hongtang.
To others, it looked like he just turned around and suddenly had a basket in his hand.
The scene was quite eerie, like a magic trick.
The old shopkeeper watched this with a calm expression, but the sedan carriers couldn't help but be startled.
"They say the eight-hundred-mile-old Yin Mountain is full of strange things, and it seems to be true."
"Even a random kid from the village has such ghostly tricks up his sleeve."
"..."
Little did they know, Hu Ma's trick was something even Second Uncle couldn't do.
This was the skill of ghost walkers like his grandmother.
Hu Ma was just borrowing Little Hongtang's help to take the basket.
To those who could see Little Hongtang or knew what was going on, this was simple and ordinary.
But to those who didn't know, it seemed quite mysterious.
Just like that Cui Xie'er he fought with earlier, who probably couldn't figure out why he suddenly tripped for no reason.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid. Otherwise, we wouldn't bother with your troubles."
The old shopkeeper took the basket from Hu Ma, lifted the red cloth to take a look, saw it was empty, and then covered it again.
He then walked a few steps to the side, standing in front of a patch of wild grass.
Holding the basket in one hand, he raised the other hand, fingers together, and closed his eyes.
He began muttering rapidly, each syllable light and quick.
No one but him could understand what he was saying.
But as he chanted, the surroundings began to change.
A cold, eerie wind seemed to blow from nowhere, gently brushing past.
The wild grass around swayed and rustled, sometimes leaning east, sometimes west, as if an invisible hand was brushing over them, or as if unseen things were discussing something.
After a while, the grass shook violently, and then the eerie wind disappeared, and the grass gradually settled down.
Hu Ma was amazed, his eyes wide open.
He glanced at Second Uncle, who also looked awestruck, whispering to Hu Ma, "This shopkeeper is quite skilled. He's using ghost-summoning techniques to ask for directions and move wealth. It's a mysterious and unpredictable method."
"Huh?"
But as they were talking, the old shopkeeper opened his eyes, looking somewhat puzzled, and turned to the sedan chair.
"My Five Ghosts Technique doesn't seem to be working."
"The Old Yin Mountain is different from other places. Your Five Ghosts Technique isn't strong enough to work here."
The person in the sedan chair spoke calmly.
"Bring the brush. Let me try."
The old shopkeeper quickly complied, calling over a guard carrying a small bundle.
The guard opened the bundle, took out a brush case, an inkstone, and a small porcelain bottle.
Right outside the sedan chair, the liquid from the porcelain bottle was poured into the inkstone and carefully ground.
After a while, the brush case was opened, and the brush inside was dipped into the ink.
The brush was then handed to the person in the sedan chair with both hands, bowing respectfully.
Hu Ma didn't know what they were doing, but he caught a strange smell from the small porcelain bottle and turned to look at Second Uncle.
"It's probably the blood of the Tai Sui Lord..."
Second Uncle whispered to Hu Ma, "Refined through secret methods."
"I've seen ghost walkers and sect members use this for rituals. Most of the things they use are related to the Tai Sui Lord."
"..."
The flesh is eaten or used for healing, while the blood is used for rituals and spells...
Hu Ma silently thought to himself that the strange phenomena in this world seemed to all stem from the Tai Sui Lord.
"Alright, let's see how sincere you are."
After a while, a delicate hand with slender fingers extended from the sedan chair, holding a small, exquisite mirror.
"Look into the mirror and think of your grandmother. If you're sincere enough, you'll be able to see her."
"..."
Hu Ma nodded, about to reach for the mirror, but the old shopkeeper took it first and handed it to him.
Hu Ma nodded in acknowledgment, walked to the side, and looked into the mirror.
The mirror's surface was covered with strange, hastily drawn symbols.
The reflection was fragmented, making it impossible to see a complete image, let alone his grandmother.
Even his own face was only partially visible.
But Hu Ma could tell that the person in the sedan chair was no ordinary individual.
He took a deep breath and focused his thoughts on his grandmother.
Why was he so desperate to find her in the forest? Was it just because she was the only one who could give him that Tai Sui flesh?
It seemed there was more to it.
She genuinely cared for her grandson, staying up all night chanting sutras, pleading with the ancestors at the old fire pit, risking her life to enter the forest alone and fight the evil spirits sent by the Meng family...
He wasn't her real grandson, but he had reaped all the benefits.
He truly felt the selfless sacrifice and devotion of this old woman and was genuinely grateful...
As these thoughts filled his mind, Hu Ma's vision suddenly blurred.
It was as if he had been staring at the mirror for too long, and his eyes were tired.
But as the blurriness set in, the light reflected from the mirror and the crooked symbols on it began to shift.
The colors and lines rearranged themselves, forming a vague image in his vision.
He even thought he heard faint sounds in his ears.
He saw a massive ancient tree, its branches adorned with bells, swaying in the air like countless snakes.
His grandmother, hunched over, stood before the tree, loudly chanting incantations.
The tree's branches, each resembling a python, writhed and lashed around.
Clusters of dark shadows on the branches opened their gaping maws, biting at his grandmother.
The battle was fierce, the sky and earth seemed to churn.
Suddenly, one of the branches seemed to sense something and lunged toward Hu Ma.
Hu Ma was only peeking into the scene through the mysterious mirror, but the strange branch was trying to pull him into the battle.
"Snap!"
Just as the branch was about to reach Hu Ma, his grandmother grabbed the bell on the branch.
She turned, her gaze piercing through the mirror, looking at Hu Ma, and hoarsely said, "Don't look, and don't come looking for me..."
"..."
But amidst his grandmother's warning, Hu Ma saw the tree's branches trembling, as if a strange voice was calling out:
"Come, come quickly, your grandmother is going to die..."
"..."
"Snap!"
The chaotic voices flooded Hu Ma's mind, intertwining endlessly, until the mirror suddenly shattered.
Hu Ma staggered back a couple of steps, instinctively looking toward the sedan chair.
The sedan chair was silent for a long time before a calm voice finally spoke:
"You owe me a mirror."
(End of Chapter)