"Why is it taking so long?"
Outside the cave, near the old locust tree, the shopkeeper from the city's Caoxin Hall was pacing slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.
Seeing that Hu Ma and Second Master had been gone for quite some time, he had a rough idea of what was happening.
Out of consideration for human emotions, he didn’t rush to urge them, but his impatience was evident.
He looked up at the sky and sighed, "It’s getting dark again..."
"Whether it’s collecting bones or delivering final words, it takes time, doesn’t it?"
The person inside the sedan chair nearby, however, seemed extremely patient.
After a long wait, she finally spoke in a calm voice.
"Yes, yes, the young lady is kind-hearted. Otherwise, he might not even have found his elder’s remains."
The old shopkeeper quickly put on a flattering smile.
His anxiety stemmed from worrying about delaying the important matters of the person in the sedan chair.
Now that she wasn’t in a hurry, why should he be?
"Shopkeeper Xu..."
At this moment, the person in the sedan chair suddenly spoke, "What do you think of the cultivation levels of those two who were fighting?"
"Hmm?"
The old shopkeeper was taken aback.
He looked again at the traces he had already observed earlier, frowned, and then smiled, "It’s just the old tricks of exorcists and ghost summoners. The old lady was able to summon yin thunder, which shows she had opened her spiritual gate. But being driven to such a desperate state by an old locust tree indicates that while she had some skill, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. How could someone like her catch the young lady’s attention?"
"Yes, just the same old tricks..."
The person in the sedan chair fell silent for a moment.
It seemed as though her gaze penetrated the sedan curtain, looking out at the vast, misty mountains in the distance.
A dark cloud hung low on the horizon, slowly rolling in.
Within the mist, shadowy figures in colorful clothes seemed to be dancing, beating drums, and carrying banners, as if leading a procession.
Even she couldn’t help but feel a slight unease and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look further.
The old shopkeeper and others beside her didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
"..."
"..."
"Second Master..."
Standing outside the cave, Second Master, who had been waiting anxiously, finally heard Hu Ma’s voice after a long while.
He quickly turned around and saw Hu Ma standing there, looking dejected.
He wanted to say something but hesitated.
Hu Ma stood silently for a while before finally speaking, "Grandma said... she wants me to take her back to the old fire pit."
"What?"
Second Master was shocked.
He rushed into the cave and saw that Grandma had already closed her eyes.
However, there was a faint smile on her lips, and she looked peaceful and content.
"My poor old sister, you’ve suffered all your life..."
Second Master’s voice trembled with grief as he spoke in the cave.
Hu Ma stood silently for a long time, thinking about what had just happened.
After Grandma had given him the items, she had repeatedly instructed him, as if she still had many things to say.
But as the candles in front of her burned out, she gradually stopped speaking.
She looked at him with reluctance, then straightened her back and stared ahead.
Suddenly, she scolded in a deep voice, "What’s the rush? Don’t I know the time?"
"..."
Hu Ma’s heart sank, and he looked at Grandma with concern.
But she just sighed softly and waved her hand.
In a low voice, she said to Hu Ma, "They’ve already started burning incense over there. If I don’t go soon, they’ll get suspicious. But once I go, my dear grandson, you’ll have to bear the hardship..."
"..."
By this point, Hu Ma didn’t know what to say.
But Grandma seemed to have made up her mind, saying, "It’s fine. My grandson has grown up. The Hu family still has someone to carry on..."
"..."
Her voice gradually faded.
Hu Ma couldn’t hold back any longer, and his heart tightened.
After what felt like an eternity, he faintly heard a sigh.
He felt as though a figure slowly stood up, looked at him for a while, then walked over to Little Hongtang at the cave entrance and patted her head.
Outside the cave, the sky seemed to darken, and a black wind began to blow.
In the distance, a luxurious sedan chair, even grander than those used by the city’s nobility, appeared and stopped at the cave entrance.
Grandma got into the sedan, and a long, drawn-out call echoed, accompanied by the sound of drums and gongs, as the sedan slowly moved away.
Only then did Hu Ma look up and see that Grandma had closed her eyes.
The two candles beside her had burned down to the last bit of wax, and the flames were slowly extinguished.
"Grandma has gone to the ancestral shrine. But where is the ancestral shrine?" Hu Ma thought silently as he looked at the extinguished candles.
"She said she’d call me back, but when?"
The final conversation, though fraught with danger, had finally put his mind at ease.
"Grandma has acknowledged me. There’s no danger."
"But the things I need to do, Grandma can no longer do for me..."
"..."
After thinking for a while, he composed himself and, with a sorrowful expression, went to invite Second Master inside.
Only Little Hongtang at the cave entrance remained dazed, feeling a bit wronged.
"Grandma really left me behind. She didn’t even take me in the sedan chair."
"Child..."
Just then, a voice called out from nearby.
It was the shopkeeper, who had slowly walked over.
He looked at Hu Ma, as if he had guessed something, and sighed softly, "You found your elder, didn’t you?"
"Yes."
Hu Ma nodded silently.
"Grandma has passed away."
"Poor child."
The old shopkeeper sighed softly.
"Although we didn’t know your grandma, anyone who ventures into the forest to eliminate evil spirits and, even while injured, spares the life of a benevolent old locust tree must be a respectable person. Our young lady said that such a person deserves admiration. Here, take this bolt of cloth to prepare your grandma’s body for burial..."
As he spoke, one of the guards behind him stepped forward, carrying a roll of black cloth.
Hu Ma thanked him and couldn’t help but glance at the sedan chair.
Now that his matters were settled, it was time to fulfill his promise and tell her about the Hundred Corpse Tomb.
However, she had repeatedly warned him in the dream not to mention it in reality.
It seemed he would have to wait until nightfall.
As it was already late, the group settled down nearby.
The people from the city gave Hu Ma some candles and paper money to keep vigil for Grandma throughout the night.
When Hu Ma finally fell asleep, he connected with the reincarnated person.
"Thank you."
His spirits were low, but he still spoke to the other person.
"I found my grandma, so I should give you the information you need."
"The place you’re looking for is called the Hundred Corpse Tomb, right?"
"I do know about it. It’s located at the Fox Coffin in Old Yin Mountain, under the East Bridge. But I need to tell you that a month ago, a reincarnated person with the code name 'Erguotou' had already gone there."
"However, you should be careful. There seems to be some danger there. When I connected with him, he was already at his limit. He used some method to seal himself and can only hold on for another month."
"If you go now, you might be able to save him. As for how to divide the spoils, that’s up to the two of you."
"..."
"Oh?"
The reincarnated person with the code name "White Wine" sounded slightly surprised.
"Aren’t you coming?"
"According to the unwritten rules among reincarnated people, even if your cultivation is lacking, you’re still entitled to a share if you participate."
"..."
"Reincarnated people have such rules?"
Hu Ma found it a bit strange, but after thinking for a moment, he still declined with a bitter smile.
"No, it’s fine."
"I don’t know what’s there, but since you’re all so interested, it must be something extraordinary."
"Unfortunately, I have more important things to do now."
"At dawn, I’ll be setting off to take Grandma back to the village."
"..."
It wasn’t that he wasn’t tempted, nor was it that he didn’t feel closer to or more trusting of these people who came from the same world as him.
But would they really willingly share something they had worked so hard to obtain? Hu Ma wasn’t so sure.
Besides, Grandma had already instructed him, and it would be too disrespectful to ignore her words so quickly.
The other end of the connection remained silent for a long time, as if Hu Ma’s words had struck a chord.
"You’re a smart one..."
After a long pause, she suddenly sighed, her voice turning hoarse as she chuckled.
"You might live a long life."
"Now I believe we’ll have more opportunities to work together in the future..."
"..."
"Hmm?"
Hu Ma was slightly surprised when her voice suddenly changed back to the hoarse tone.
He had heard her say before that she had deliberately altered her voice to sound hoarse for caution’s sake.
Now, the sudden change gave him a different impression, as if her voice had always been this rough and strange, and the clear, melodious tone was the disguise.
"We reincarnated people are born guarding our secrets. We can’t fully trust those around us."
Her voice remained hoarse, almost inhuman, as if something else was trying to mimic human speech.
"On top of that, we wake up in a strange world, facing unfamiliar people, some of whom might even be younger than us, calling us parents and seeking closeness. There aren’t many of us, so we tend to be reclusive, preferring to find some warmth among our own kind..."
"But among our own kind, there are no rules. How much to trust, and how far to trust, is up to each individual to decide..."
"You’re so kind to the people of this world. In my eyes, you’re trustworthy. We’ll have more chances to work together."
"..."
As Hu Ma listened, he felt a stir in his heart.
"What about you? Do you not get along with your family in this world?"
"Get along?"
Her voice was low and hoarse, almost eerie.
"I’ve almost killed them all..."
"Most of us reincarnated people are orphans from the start. Even if we weren’t at first, we become so later. Can you guess why?"
(End of Chapter)