"Hu..."
Hu Ma suddenly woke up, feeling a cool sensation in his chest.
He had dreamed of his grandmother, and the coolness seemed to have jolted him awake.
He found himself sprawled on the floor of the main hall, the room pitch dark, with no lights on.
It seemed Little Hong Tang had dragged him inside.
He reached for his chest and felt the source of the coolness—it was coming from the pouch filled with pond ash.
Unlike the chilling cold brought by evil spirits, this coolness cleared his foggy, feverish mind, bringing him a moment of clarity.
"Did Grandma come to save me in my dream?"
Thinking of the dream that felt both real and unreal, Hu Ma struggled to his feet.
He lit an oil lamp and, by its faint light, found the firewood axe leaning against the wall.
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the axe and stepped out of the house.
Little Hong Tang followed curiously, asking, "Brother Hu Ma, where are you going?"
"To cure my illness."
Hu Ma clenched his teeth and dragged his heavy body forward.
He was still weak, each step feeling like it might topple him, his mind threatening to scatter.
His body felt as if it were weighed down by something, and the shadows around him seemed alive, tugging at his arms and legs.
But he pressed on, forcing the fire within his inner furnace to burn brighter.
Step by step, he trudged through the oppressive darkness until he reached the crooked-neck tree.
Its twisted form stood bare, stripped of leaves, its branches swaying as if alive, emitting eerie, terrifying laughter.
Hu Ma's body grew heavier, as if the surrounding darkness was trying to crush him.
Yet, the fire within him kept him upright, allowing him to approach the tree.
He noticed traces of burnt paper near the base, and the soil looked freshly disturbed, as if something had been buried there.
But Hu Ma, his mind still foggy, didn't dwell on it.
He remembered his grandmother's words, tightened his grip on the axe, and swung it hard at the tree.
"Thud!"
A large chunk of bark flew off, revealing a dark, gaping hole that seemed to ooze blood.
At the same time, a sharp, agonized scream echoed in Hu Ma's ears, clearing his mind further.
His thoughts raced, and he suddenly understood.
"Someone's trying to harm me? What kind of trick did they use to make me fall into their trap without even realizing it? Did they want me dead so they could take my spot in the Red Lantern Society?"
The image of Cui Xie'er flashed in his mind, and a cold fury surged through him.
He raised the axe again and brought it down hard on the bleeding tree.
"Ahhh..."
Meanwhile, in the Cui household, the matriarch, who had recently gained great prestige, was enjoying a meal of stewed chicken and wine, served by her daughter-in-law.
She sneered, "Our descendants are useless, always getting into fights. There are plenty of ways to make people fear us. Back when the Hu family first came to the village, who dared to cross us? That old Hu woman once told me I was too ruthless, that I'd bring disaster upon myself. But look now—it's her family that's been wiped out, not mine."
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the Cui matriarch's white hair was disheveled, her expression smug.
"Yes, Mother," the daughter-in-law replied meekly, "We'll make sure to take good care of you from now on."
But as she poured the freshly heated wine, the matriarch suddenly clutched her throat, her face contorted in pain.
She threw the chicken bone aside, her body convulsing violently.
"Mother's choking on a bone!" the daughter-in-law cried out in panic.
The eldest and third sons rushed in, but the matriarch, her eyes bulging, struggled to speak.
"Not... not the bone..."
Before she could finish, Hu Ma, standing before the crooked-neck tree, raised the axe again and brought it down with a furious strike.
The tree trembled, its branches shaking violently.
The matriarch gasped, her body stiffening as she fell from the bed, spilling the chicken stew everywhere.
At the same time, Hu Ma struck the tree a third time.
The matriarch's body went rigid, and she vomited a mouthful of blood before collapsing, lifeless.
The Cui family was in chaos, terrified and unsure of what to do.
But Hu Ma, now fully aware of what was happening, continued to chop at the tree.
With each strike, the tree bled more, and Hu Ma felt a strange connection to the blood, as if it revealed the Cui family's sinister plot against him.
He saw the matriarch's twisted face as she devised the plan, and the family members conspiring to harm him so Cui Xie'er could take his place.
The more he chopped, the angrier he became, his rage turning into a desire for vengeance.
He struck the tree again and again.
In the Cui household, the eldest son suddenly collapsed, his eyes rolling in different directions, his mouth twisted as he drooled.
The third son, terrified, shouted, "Go get the clan leader!"
But before he could act, Hu Ma struck the tree a fifth time.
The third son tripped over the threshold, hitting his head on the stone steps, blood gushing from the wound.
At the sixth strike, the fourth son, who had been drinking and causing trouble, suddenly slashed his own neck with a sickle.
With the seventh strike, the second son's wife ran out of the house, screaming, "Don't blame me! It was my mother-in-law's idea! I didn't harm anyone!"
The eerie sound of the axe chopping the tree grew louder, each strike bringing down another member of the Cui family.
The old clan leader's house was in chaos as the second son collapsed, his body curling up in pain.
In the main hall, Cui Xie'er was listening to the second elder's lecture when the elder suddenly stopped, uneasy.
"I feel something's wrong. I need to check on Hu Ma, see if he's recovered."
Before Cui Xie'er could respond, a loud thud came from outside.
He rushed out to find his father curled up on the ground, lifeless.
Panicked, Cui Xie'er tried to help, but the second elder grabbed him, his voice trembling.
"Tell me the truth! Did your family do something?"
Before Cui Xie'er could answer, a group of people burst in, their faces pale with fear.
"Your mother's gone mad! She's outside, tearing off her clothes and crying!"
"Your family... something's happened to your family!"
The second elder and the clan leader exchanged glances, then bolted out of the yard.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of the axe chopping the tree grew louder, each strike carrying a chilling, deadly aura.
An eerie force swept through the village, and with each strike, another Cui family member fell, as if an invisible demon had seized their souls.
The old fire pit, the lifeblood of the village, remained shrouded in black smoke, unresponsive.
"Crash..."
Finally, the crooked-neck tree split down the middle and toppled over.
That night, Hu Ma chopped the tree thirteen times, felling it completely.
The Cui family lost five members, with three driven mad.
From that day on, the Cui family, once one of the four major families in the village, became subdued, their former arrogance gone.
(End of Chapter)