That day, Hu Ma stayed in the village, had a meal with Second Master, and returned to the village before dusk.
He lit an oil lamp, read for a while, and then went to bed early.
Now, with the help of that Second Brother, he had found a way into the world of the Night Watchers.
The rest was just a matter of careful planning and steady progress.
But Hu Ma, who slept soundly and dreamlessly that night, had no idea that in the village, at the house of the Cui family's eldest son, the Cui brothers, along with Cui Xie's mother and sisters-in-law, had gathered around the Eight Immortals table.
Only one oil lamp was lit on the table, casting flickering shadows on their faces.
Cui Xie had been sent outside, and the eldest Cui brother, with a cold expression, slammed his fist on the table.
"The clan leader sent his own grandson in, and now he's pretending to be a good guy. Taking down that Hu kid and putting our Xie in his place should be easy, but he just won't agree."
The others also felt indignant.
The Cui family had already offered a hefty price, but that old fool of a clan leader still refused.
"Heh, the Zhou family is afraid of us too," the Cui grandmother, sitting on the bed with disheveled gray hair, suddenly sneered.
"Our Xie is a sensible child. If he joins the Red Lantern Society, he'll definitely outperform their grandson. At the very least, he could become a manager, maybe even a shopkeeper. The Zhou family only became clan leaders because of their second son's skills and their large numbers. But our Cui family isn't far behind. He's worried that our Cui family will surpass the Zhou family!"
At first, the Cui brothers were puzzled as to why the old clan leader, who seemed tempted, had ultimately refused.
But after hearing their grandmother's words, they suddenly understood.
"That old man is still playing such tricks, how shameless..."
After cursing, they looked at each other, feeling that the matter was now difficult to achieve.
Hesitantly, they asked, "What should we do then?"
"A bunch of useless things, still relying on this old woman to step in," the Cui grandmother scolded, slamming the bed board.
"Eldest, don't just stand there. Come here and help me move that black-wrapped box from under the bed."
The eldest Cui brother was momentarily stunned but then understood, feeling a bit excited.
He was old enough to remember that his mother knew some things.
In her youth, she had been quite remarkable, but after the Hu family came to the village, something happened, and she stopped using her knowledge.
Earlier, when Cui E had an accident, it was the grandmother who had spoken up to keep the small gold nugget, saying it would be useful for Xie's future marriage.
Unfortunately, the Hu family's misdeeds later led to the death of the girl.
The box was pulled out, and the grandmother took a key from under the bed and opened it.
Inside were red papers, white talismans, and some strange objects—some resembling bones, others like hair.
Seeing these items, the grandmother's eyes grew deep.
She slowly scanned the contents of the box, her demeanor becoming somewhat authoritative.
After a long pause, she took out a black, dried meat-like object and said to Cui Xie's mother, "Second daughter-in-law, aren't you pregnant again? Tomorrow, go to the old fire pit and burn some paper to thank our ancestors... and burn this thing along with it."
The second daughter-in-law, not understanding, tremblingly accepted it and agreed.
"Eldest, third son," the grandmother then took out paper figures and some hair, "you two, go bury these things under the crooked-neck tree behind the Hu family's house. Remember to do it after the second daughter-in-law burns the paper, and don't let anyone in the village see you."
The eldest and third son quickly agreed.
The grandmother then looked at the fourth Cui son, "You, don't just stand there. Don't you like drinking and gambling? Go do that, get into a fight if you have to."
The fourth son, surprised by this turn of events, excitedly nodded.
After all the instructions were given, the family felt a bit nervous.
"Will Xie be able to go if we do this?"
The grandmother glared at them, "If you had a way, would you need this old woman?"
The room fell silent.
...
Hu Ma tidied up his house and prepared his belongings, ready to go to the city.
Everything else was fine, but the pouch containing the ashes from the old fire pit had to be kept close to his body.
Simply and neatly, he packed up, ready to leave at any moment.
But unexpectedly, when he woke up that morning, he felt dizzy and parched.
His throat felt like it had swallowed a burning coal, dry and painful.
Touching his forehead, he found it frighteningly hot.
"Am I running a fever?" he wondered, feeling a bit incredulous.
Well, when he didn't eat enough Tai Sui meat, his body was as cold as ice, with no warmth at all.
Now, perhaps because he had enough blood food, he was actually burning up...
Feeling groggy, he struggled to get up, wanting to scoop some water to soothe his throat, but his body felt heavy, and he could barely walk.
It seemed he wasn't just sick, but seriously ill.
After drinking some water, he thought about making some porridge but had no appetite, so he lay back down to rest.
At noon, Zhou Datong came over, pushing the door open, "Brother Hu Ma, Grandpa said we should all go to my house for dinner tonight. He wants to talk to us about the rules for when we go to the city."
"... Huh? Why aren't you up yet?"
Hu Ma weakly waved his hand, "I think I'm sick."
"Of all times, just a few days before we're supposed to go to the city."
Zhou Datong came over and touched his forehead, feeling the heat, and quickly went out.
Soon, the clan leader came to check on him, followed by Second Master, both looking worried.
But after examining Hu Ma, they found no signs of evil spirits and concluded it was just a cold.
Thinking that since the old lady had entered the old fire pit, no evil spirits in the village would dare mess with Hu Ma, they sighed and comforted him.
"Your grandmother is gone, and you're just a half-grown boy. It's not easy to take care of yourself. We'll get you some herbal medicine, drink it hot, and you'll be fine."
So Zhou Datong ran around, getting herbal medicine for Hu Ma and even bringing him two steamed buns from his own home.
After drinking the medicine, Hu Ma felt a bit better and thought about going to the clan leader's house to learn the rules.
By evening, he got up.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt dizzy again.
Somehow, the air he breathed felt scorching hot, and his vision was filled with stars.
He struggled to stand, but after a few steps, he nearly collapsed.
Looking up, night had fallen, and the trees around the village seemed like menacing ghosts in the swirling darkness.
Strange laughter echoed in his ears, and a chilling cold pierced his bones.
In his daze, he suddenly saw Little Hong Tang jumping in front of him, baring her teeth at the surrounding darkness.
Hu Ma felt something was wrong and quickly asked Little Hong Tang, "Who are you growling at? What's over there?"
"I don't know," Little Hong Tang seemed confused, shaking her little head.
"But Little Hong Tang feels... there's something there. But I don't know what it is."
"Something there?" Hu Ma's heart tightened.
"Am I really sick, or is it something else?"
He tried to stand up, but his body was too weak, and he collapsed, passing out.
Little Hong Tang grew anxious, dragging Hu Ma back into the house.
The village was quiet, the deep night swirling around, hiding who knows what.
The villagers had all closed their doors early, unaware that near the old fire pit, the second daughter-in-law of the Cui family, who had come to burn paper for the ancestors during the day, had left behind black smoke that drifted around, as if concealing something.
After the old lady passed away, the clan leader had arranged for strong men to patrol the village, but today they were distracted, hearing that some families were gambling and had gotten into a fight.
No one in the village noticed the small house where Hu Ma lay unconscious.
"Go, learn the rules at the clan leader's house," the Cui grandmother was instructing Cui Xie at their home.
"If you don't learn the rules, how will you know who to mess with and who not to in the city?"
Cui Xie, sulking, said, "I wasn't chosen, so why should I go listen?"
"You still need to listen," the grandmother sneered.
"What if the chosen one can't go? Then you'll have to step in. Listen to your grandmother, go!"
Seeing the grandmother angry and being kicked by his uncle, Cui Xie reluctantly went.
At the clan leader's house, Second Master was explaining things to Zhou Datong and a few other children when Cui Xie arrived, causing a moment of surprise.
The second Cui brother, who had brought Cui Xie, quickly explained with a smile, "We heard you were teaching the rules, so we thought Xie should listen too, in case he gets a chance to go to the city."
Second Master frowned slightly, feeling a vague sense of unease.
Meanwhile, the eldest Cui brother, worried, asked his mother when no one was around, "Mother, will this be alright? What if Second Master finds out?"
"Even a mouse has more guts than you," the grandmother scolded, snorting.
"With you all being so timid, how can anything get done? Don't worry, your mother has taken heavy measures. By the time they figure it out, it'll be too late..."
...
At the same time, as Hu Ma lay unconscious, he felt like his body was a burning coal, as if his furnace had broken and the fire inside was consuming him, making him delirious.
But then, he felt a cool sensation in his chest.
In his daze, he seemed to see his grandmother's figure appear beside him, looking at him with pity, saying, "Grandson, my dear grandson, don't sleep. Get up, go to the back of the house and find that crooked-neck phoenix tree. Cut it three times. Get up! Cut it three times, and you'll be fine."
(End of Chapter)