"Grandma..."
As Hu Ma rushed into the cave entrance, he heard Little Hong Tang's anxious cry.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he saw that this wasn't really a cave, just a shallow recess about ten feet deep.
Grandma was lying inside, half of her body covered in blood, her spirit weak and listless.
In front of her, two candles were burning, along with an incense stick, and some broken bone talismans and jars were scattered around.
The candles were almost burnt out, but the light they emitted seemed to have an invisible power.
Outside the range of the candlelight, three or five infant spirits were desperately trying to bite their way in but couldn't get close.
It seemed that Grandma had been injured and was forced to hide in this cave, hastily setting up this simple barrier to fend off the infant spirits.
Hu Ma didn't have time to think too much.
With a knife in one hand, he quickly rushed into the cave.
Behind the candlelight, Grandma was extremely weak.
She struggled to lift her head and saw Hu Ma's fierce expression as he charged in with the knife.
Her heart skipped a beat, but she was too weak to do anything, only able to watch as Hu Ma rapidly approached.
"Whoosh..."
He suddenly swung the knife with force, the wind from the blade causing the candle flames to flicker and nearly go out.
In her dazed state, Grandma even felt a sense of resignation, ready to close her eyes and wait for death.
But to her surprise, Hu Ma's knife swings were powerful and full of masculine energy.
The infant spirits, which had been desperately trying to get close to her, sensed the danger and turned to pounce on him.
But under the wide, sweeping arcs of his mountain-cleaving knife, they were easily dispatched, one by one, dissipating into nothingness.
Then, Hu Ma took two steps forward, reached Grandma, planted the knife into the ground, and reached out to support her.
"Grandma, are you okay?"
"..."
Grandma's somewhat cloudy eyes stared blankly at Hu Ma, and deep within them, there seemed to be a tumultuous, earth-shaking change.
Looking at Grandma's sallow face and sunken eyes, Hu Ma's heart trembled inexplicably.
From the moment he had woken up, Grandma had seemed eerie and terrifying, yet later appeared almost omnipotent.
She had chanted sutras to drive away evil spirits, just to let him sleep well.
She had ventured deep into the mountains to cut the blood fungus, as precious as gold, to extend his life.
Finally, she had even gone alone into the forest to find the ghost sent by the Meng family, to eliminate the threat for him.
Despite her age, she seemed tireless and strong.
But now, she was so weak.
This old woman, severely injured and exhausted, like a candle flickering in the wind, gave him an unreal feeling.
"Grandma, it's okay now."
He instinctively comforted her: "Second Uncle and I came to find you. I also brought... a noble from the city to help."
Grandma just stared at Hu Ma, her eyes filled with endless emotions.
Suddenly, she flipped her hand, her thin, bony fingers gripping Hu Ma's wrist with unusual strength.
In a low, strained voice, she asked with great difficulty: "You... what are you really?"
"Whoosh!"
Hearing this question out of the blue, Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Grandma in disbelief.
At this moment, Grandma was very weak and no longer gave off the oppressive and eerie feeling she had when they first met.
But this time, he could clearly see her eyes.
Those dim, sunken eyes were clear, as if they could see everything.
His heart thumped slowly but loudly.
Hu Ma slowly said: "I'm Hu Ma, Grandma..."
"You're Hu Ma, you're Hu Ma..."
Grandma murmured, her grip on Hu Ma's arm tightening even more, as she whispered: "But I know my grandson."
"He... was never this sensible."
"..."
"Buzz..."
In that instant, Hu Ma felt a shiver that seemed to reach the depths of his soul.
So Grandma had already figured it out.
He couldn't help but think of the taboo the first reincarnator he met had told him about, and he also remembered that even the noble from the city, with such high status and power, didn't dare to show the slightest hint of suspicion.
Even in front of her subordinates, if she wanted to help him, she had to stage a show for others to see.
And all of this was because...
...secrets!
The biggest secret of a reincarnator was their identity.
Once exposed, no matter their status or cultivation, they would die a terrible death.
To keep this secret, he had been treading on thin ice, being extremely careful.
But Grandma had seen through it.
Second Uncle was outside the cave, and he could come in at any moment after dealing with the things outside.
Little Hong Tang was by his side, and he didn't know if she had heard.
If the nobles from the city got curious and came over to take a look, wouldn't they hear about this too?
His palms grew slightly warm, and a hint of violence stirred in his heart.
It seemed like he wanted to reach out and grab the mountain-cleaving knife he had planted beside him...
But just as this thought arose, Hu Ma noticed Grandma's eyes again, seeing the deep worry and hope in those dim eyes.
In his previous life, he had seen such eyes before.
In this life, he was a reincarnator, and the blood relationship between him and Grandma was fake, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that the emotions in those eyes were fake...
So, his eyes gradually calmed, and he reached out to place his hand on Grandma's, which was gripping his wrist.
Rubbing the rough, bark-like skin of her hand, he looked into Grandma's eyes and slowly said: "I'm Hu Ma, Grandma."
"I just... remembered some things from before I was born, and forgot some things from this life."
"But I remember, you're my Grandma..."
"..."
Grandma stared at Hu Ma, her pupils slightly dilated.
After a long while, Hu Ma suddenly saw an endless joy fill her eyes.
She slowly sat up, her dim eyes glowing with an unusual light.
She was no longer the frail, elderly woman from before.
She was still strong, mysterious, and inscrutable, but now there was a loving light in her eyes.
"Yes, my little grandson..."
Grandma tightly held his hand, as if afraid he would run away, her voice trembling: "You are my little grandson, my little grandson has grown up..."
"Heaven has eyes, our Hu family has suffered disasters, but our Hu family has not been wiped out..."
"..."
"..."
"I..."
Hu Ma, with Grandma holding his hand, suddenly felt a chill and broke out in a cold sweat.
Grandma...
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he clearly realized that the Grandma he had seen earlier seemed to be on her last breath, like a candle flickering in the wind, so out of pity, he had said something he didn't quite believe to comfort her.
But now, he realized that Grandma wasn't as weak as he had thought.
She might be tired, but she hadn't become weak at all.
So, that was actually...
...a test?
He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had truly harbored murderous intent at that moment.
"Don't be afraid, my grandson..."
Seeing Hu Ma like this, Grandma's face instead showed a comforting smile.
She gently stroked his head and whispered: "I actually knew you were different from before, back when you were first summoned and still not fully conscious..."
Hu Ma didn't know how to respond, and fear inevitably showed in his eyes.
But Grandma's gaze was filled with unprecedented affection.
Holding his hand, she said in a low voice: "But I never doubted that you weren't my grandson, because I was the one who summoned you back. I know I didn't summon the wrong person."
This answer caught Hu Ma off guard, and he didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his expression, Grandma seemed even more reluctant to press further.
She sighed softly and said: "The soul is right, the birth chart is right, even the fate is right. If you're not my grandson, then who is?"
"However, you did walk through the gates of hell, and being forcibly summoned back, there are bound to be some issues."
"But these issues aren't your fault..."
"..."
She spoke slowly, and a deep sense of guilt seemed to well up in her eyes: "This is Grandma's fault. Grandma didn't protect you well enough. When I found you, it was already too late..."
"Just like..."
Her gaze slowly turned towards the cave entrance, pausing for a long time before she whispered: "Just like the dolls on the locust tree."
"They didn't even know what was happening before they experienced the suffering of reincarnation. Who can they blame?"
"..."
Listening to her, Hu Ma suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Earlier, when he had spoken to her, he had indeed wanted to comfort this old woman, not wanting her to bear such a blow after all her hard work.
But now, he suddenly realized that it was he who didn't understand these things.
Grandma had already confirmed his identity from another level, she just didn't quite understand why he had changed.
So, who was he really?
"Grandma, how are you?"
At that moment, hurried and heavy footsteps sounded outside the cave.
Second Uncle, panting heavily, rushed in.
His forehead was covered in blood, and there was a big bump, making him look somewhat comical.
"Huh?"
As soon as he looked up, he saw Hu Ma holding Grandma's hand, with Grandma leaning against the cave wall.
He couldn't help but exclaim, quickly taking two steps forward, raising his hands but not daring to touch anything, and said in a trembling voice:
"You... are you... okay?"
"..."
"Second Uncle, your loud voice is giving me a headache..."
Grandma seemed to be in a good mood, looking at Second Uncle with a hint of teasing: "The thing the Meng family sent was indeed powerful, but I can handle it. Why are you so reckless, bringing him to such a dangerous place to find me?"
"This..."
Second Uncle was stunned, awkwardly saying: "It's not my fault, he insisted on coming."
"As soon as he heard you were in trouble, look how anxious he was..."
"..."
"Yes..."
Hearing Second Uncle's praise, Grandma's eyes narrowed with joy: "My grandson was just young before, he hadn't grown up yet."
She slowly sighed, leaning against the stone wall, her eyes filled with endless joy as she looked at Hu Ma, and said softly: "Second Uncle, you're a grown man, crying in front of me doesn't look good."
"Wait outside for a bit, I still have some things to tell my little grandson."
(End of Chapter)