The commotion eventually settled, and the matter was resolved.
Hu Ma listened as the village elders scolded Li Da Nao for his lack of filial piety, accusing him of starving his own mother to death.
He heard the neighbors smashing the windows of Li Da Nao's house and the Dong family couple blocking the entrance, demanding compensation for their pig.
Gradually, Hu Ma pieced together the whole story, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Indeed, there had been a haunting, but it was ultimately the living who had caused the trouble.
The person lying on the ground, barely alive, was Li Da Nao's wife.
The villagers who had rushed to the scene had heard her cry out before she fainted, and the voice and movements were unmistakably those of Li Da Nao's mother.
The situation wasn't hard to understand.
The haunting was indeed caused by Li Da Nao's mother, but it was his wife who had been eating the pig's food.
Li Da Nao's mother had been mistreated by the couple, never getting a full meal.
Every night, she would hear the Dong family's pig being fed in the backyard, while she went hungry.
Her envy turned into resentment after she died of starvation.
Her resentment had possessed Li Da Nao's wife, who would come at night to fulfill her mother-in-law's wish.
However, the haunting wasn't particularly powerful.
The shock and the presence of the villagers had dissipated the resentment.
Of course, Li Da Nao's wife, having been possessed and exposed in such a manner, would likely fall seriously ill.
"Little Master, we apologize for the disgrace. Who would have thought such an unfilial act would happen in our village?" The village elder, having seen the state of Li Da Nao's mother after her death, couldn't help but believe.
After berating Li Da Nao, he hurried over to Hu Ma, bowing repeatedly.
"Rest assured, we won't let him off easy."
"His mother raised him well, always saving the best for him, feeding him until his head grew as big as a pig's. And yet, he starved her to death!"
"I must teach him a lesson. Our village won't tolerate this."
Hu Ma could only nod in agreement.
Perhaps Li Da Nao's act of starving his mother wasn't a secret in the village.
Earlier, it was his family's business, and outsiders didn't bother to interfere.
But now that his dead mother had caused a haunting, they couldn't ignore it.
What if a greater haunting occurred if they didn't act?
"Elder, you must keep an eye on this. Burn some incense and offer more sacrifices," Hu Ma said softly.
"If she didn't get enough to eat in life, at least let her have a full meal in death."
"Yes, yes," the village elder agreed repeatedly.
"This incident will surely spread to the neighboring villages. Who would dare to marry into our village now?"
Hu Ma thought his concern was valid, but what more could he say?
As he pondered, the village elder sighed deeply and finally got to the point: "We owe you our thanks, Little Master. We will go to the Red Lantern Lady to burn incense and kowtow. But regarding the offering for this time..."
"Offering?" Hu Ma recalled that when the old shopkeeper dealt with the yellow immortals, he had mentioned this as well.
The so-called offering was essentially a reward for helping the village deal with the haunting.
It wasn't a big deal, and Hu Ma had already enjoyed a good meal.
Whether to accept it or not was up to him.
But remembering the shopkeeper's previous approach, Hu Ma nodded and said, "Have the village head calculate it and send it to the manor."
"Yes, yes!" The village elder agreed eagerly and offered to host another feast for Hu Ma and his companions.
But Hu Ma, seeing that the matter was resolved, didn't linger.
He called Zhou Da Tong and the others, and they left the village that very night.
When they returned to the manor, the inner courtyard was already dark, so they didn't disturb anyone and went to bed early.
The next morning, Hu Ma reported the previous day's events to the old shopkeeper.
The old shopkeeper seemed numb to such matters, silently sipping tea as he listened.
Finally, he suddenly asked Hu Ma, "How was the offering calculated?"
Why would he ask that?
In a small village, even if they gave money, it would only be a few copper coins.
The old shopkeeper's concern surprised Hu Ma.
But he replied, "It was my first time, so I didn't know the standard. I told them to calculate it as before and send it to the village head, who would deliver it to the manor."
"Well done," the old shopkeeper said, a rare smile appearing on his face.
"You're quite astute."
Hu Ma wasn't sure how to respond to the praise.
The old shopkeeper seemed to sense his confusion and chuckled, "Are you curious why we collect these offerings?"
Hu Ma didn't hide it and nodded.
Even the lowest-ranking members of the Red Lantern Lady's association received a decent monthly allowance.
Of course, for ordinary workers, it was less than half a tael of silver, which wasn't much.
But compared to the ordinary families in the village and the surrounding areas, it was a significant amount.
"Why do we collect these offerings?" the old shopkeeper explained, seemingly in a good mood.
"Because if we don't, it would cause more trouble."
"Every little thing would come to us. We work for the Red Lantern Lady. Should we handle these matters?"
"If we don't, we'd be scolded!"
Hu Ma understood this and nodded.
"Moreover," the old shopkeeper continued with a smile, "if we didn't collect offerings, we'd be doing favors for all the surrounding villages."
"They already come to the manor to burn incense and kowtow to the red lantern. If we helped them with everything, even giving them jobs when they were desperate, they wouldn't just burn incense—they'd build a temple for the Red Lantern Lady!"
"Ah..."
Hu Ma could understand the first reason, but the second one was unexpected.
Building a temple for the Red Lantern Lady seemed like a good thing, right?
Even if the higher-ups found out, they would only reward the manor, wouldn't they?
Hu Ma tried to digest this, sensing that the old shopkeeper's words held deeper meaning.
"Heh, the waters run deep here," the old shopkeeper said with a faint smile.
"Building a temple is easy, but can she bear the responsibility?"
But he said this last part very softly, and Hu Ma didn't catch it clearly.
The old shopkeeper then changed the subject, saying, "We can't afford to offend the people in these surrounding villages, but we also can't spoil them."
"Next spring, who knows what might happen? If we're too distant, they won't respect us and won't help. If we're too close, they'll have too many demands and won't work efficiently either."
"I still have much to learn," Hu Ma said with a smile.
"I'll need the shopkeeper to guide me more."
"You'll learn by doing more," the old shopkeeper said with a faint smile, looking at Hu Ma.
"Although you're from the village, I see you handle things quite steadily."
Hu Ma felt a slight chill but responded quickly, "My family taught me to be careful in everything I do."
The old shopkeeper smiled, "Your family seems quite knowledgeable."
This conversation seemed to come out of nowhere, but Hu Ma had rehearsed it many times in his mind.
He answered honestly, "My grandmother was a ghost walker in the village. She passed away before I came here, but she taught me many things while she was alive."
"Oh?" The old shopkeeper seemed to have suspected this and wasn't surprised.
"Then why didn't you learn the ghost walker's skills?"
"I couldn't learn them," Hu Ma said.
"I've always been timid. Even now, I'm afraid of hauntings. Besides, my grandmother said there was nothing good to learn from it."
"She spent twenty years as a ghost walker in the village and didn't gain much from it."
Having been here for a while, Hu Ma had come to understand the role of a ghost walker.
In the surrounding villages and the old Yin Mountain, there were quite a few ghost walkers who acted as healers and dealt with hauntings, much like shamans in his previous life.
It wasn't anything special.
Of course, Hu Ma knew that his grandmother, who could cut the blood of the Tai Sui alone, was different from the others.
But he wouldn't tell anyone about her skills.
Even if he did, the old shopkeeper might not believe him.
"Heh, that's quite true," the old shopkeeper said, seemingly moved by Hu Ma's words.
"Ghost walkers are the most entangled in karma."
Hearing the old shopkeeper's tone, Hu Ma felt a stir in his heart and boldly asked, "Then... what about us, the Night Watchers?"
The old shopkeeper looked up at Hu Ma and sighed softly.
Hu Ma suddenly felt that the old shopkeeper's gaze was heavy and complex.
At the same time, he sensed that someone was watching him from behind the wooden lattice window in the inner courtyard.
Was it that woman?
"We, the Night Watchers," the old shopkeeper paused before speaking softly, "are theoretically the least entangled in karma."
"But living in this world, who can truly avoid it?"
"Just focus on learning your skills. You've only just begun. Troubles are still far off."
The most entangled in karma, and the least entangled in karma...
Hu Ma pondered the difference, but seeing that the shopkeeper didn't want to elaborate, he left, still contemplating.
He felt that Shopkeeper Wu would have asked him these questions sooner or later.
Now that he had passed on the teachings, it was later than he had expected.
Having answered truthfully, Hu Ma felt a sense of relief.
Now that he had openly stated he was the grandson of a ghost walker, it would be easier to explain things in the future.
He had obtained the teachings, secured the old artifacts, and handled things to the shopkeeper's satisfaction.
It seemed everything was going smoothly.
But deep down, he felt like he had forgotten something.
Thinking carefully...
...
The brown sugar eggs?
(End of Chapter)