In the afternoon, Hu Ma noticed that the peddler was acting strangely.
How could someone be so kind-hearted over such trivial profits? Moreover, when he quietly approached, he vaguely saw the peddler brushing his hand over a child's head while giving them candy, as if plucking a strand of hair.
Although he couldn’t see clearly from a distance, Hu Ma had been tricked like this before in the village.
Hair, skin, and personal belongings could all be used for malicious spells, so he had to be cautious.
However, since he wasn’t entirely sure, the man might just be an ordinary peddler.
If he rushed back to the village to call for help, it might cause unnecessary alarm, and the peddler could simply stop his actions, leaving Hu Ma to take the blame.
So, he decided to quietly observe and see if there was indeed something suspicious.
If he confirmed his suspicions, he would send Little Hongtang back to report.
He woke Zhou Datong not because he expected him to help, but to have him quickly inform the shopkeeper.
While it was good to stand up for justice, Hu Ma didn’t plan to act alone.
Doing good deeds was commendable, but it was better to share the credit.
Once he confirmed the peddler’s suspicious behavior, Hu Ma didn’t rush to expose him.
Instead, he quietly followed the group of children.
They stumbled and swayed as they walked out of the village, looking like clumsy little animals under the dim moonlight.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they reached a dirt road outside the village.
In the distance, a two-wheeled wooden cart pulled by a person stood there, with someone shaking a rattle drum beside it.
It was the same peddler from the day, but his face was painted pale, and he wore a stiff, eerie smile that looked particularly unsettling in the dead of night.
As the children approached, the peddler’s smile widened, and he shook the rattle drum more vigorously.
Strangely, the faster he shook it, the quieter the sound became, defying logic.
Hu Ma hid in the shadows under a tree by the roadside, watching as the peddler danced around the cart, shaking the drum and gesturing wildly.
The children mimicked his movements, stretching out their little hands and spinning in circles.
After completing a full circle, the peddler stood aside, grinning as the children clumsily climbed onto the cart.
Hu Ma squinted and noticed that the cart seemed to carry a dark, coffin-like object.
The lid was half-open, revealing a black void.
The children, oblivious to fear, clumsily climbed into the coffin.
“I’ve heard from Second Uncle about some wicked people who disguise themselves as peddlers or knife sharpeners, wandering the streets to lure women and children, only to sell them to brothels or traffickers for profit. These scoundrels aren’t particularly powerful but are skilled in sinister tricks, like using spells to control people’s souls. They’re the lowest of the low in the martial world…”
“It seems I’ve encountered one of these today.”
Hu Ma glanced toward the village.
There was still no movement, and Little Hongtang hadn’t returned yet.
Logically, he shouldn’t act hastily, but he couldn’t guess what was inside the coffin or what would happen to the children once they entered.
“I’ll test him first…”
Having made up his mind, Hu Ma suddenly cleared his throat and called out, “Business must be good if you’re working so late at night!”
In the dead silence, Hu Ma’s voice rang out sharply.
The peddler was startled, and the rattle drum stopped abruptly.
The children froze in place.
After listening intently for a moment, the peddler suddenly looked in Hu Ma’s direction and said, “Which friend from the martial world is there? Why not come out and show yourself?”
“He’s got some skills!” Hu Ma thought, startled that the peddler had spotted him from such a distance.
He stepped out from the shadows and walked forward slowly, smiling. “We just met this afternoon. Have you forgotten already?”
The peddler remained tense until Hu Ma got closer, then his eyes lit up in recognition.
He forced a smile and said, “Ah, it’s the young manager from the shop. You gave me quite a scare. What brings you out for a stroll so late at night? But we’re not enemies. Your Lady of the Red Lantern takes her share of blood offerings, and I make my living from these children. Let’s each go our own way, alright?”
“Go our own ways?” Hu Ma shook his head with a smile. “Friend, that’s going too far. The villagers trust our Lady of the Red Lantern and offer incense daily. How can I stand by and watch their children be taken? Listen to me—leave the children, undo your spell, and get out of here.”
The peddler stared at Hu Ma for a moment before chuckling. “Taking someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents. Don’t you understand that? If your shopkeeper were here, I might give him some face, but you? Forget it…”
As he spoke, he reached into one of the baskets on the cart and pulled out a cloth doll, slipping it onto his hand.
He turned to Hu Ma and said, “How about this? Since you’re here, I’ll leave you a small silver coin as a token?”
With that, he raised his left hand, which was now wearing the tattered cloth doll.
The doll’s face was crudely stitched, but it had eyes and a mouth that seemed capable of expression.
The peddler’s hand moved inside the doll, making it wave at Hu Ma.
The doll even blinked and grinned eerily.
“A small silver coin?” Hu Ma glanced at the creepy doll under the moonlight, feeling a chill but keeping his composure. “How much is it worth?”
Before the peddler could respond, Hu Ma suddenly drew his knife and lunged forward.
He had revealed himself and approached the peddler for this very purpose.
He didn’t know what kind of dark arts the peddler possessed or if he had the same ability as Granny Cui to harm people without being seen.
But Hu Ma knew his own strength lay in close combat.
So, while talking, he had been inching closer.
Now that he was within striking distance, he struck without hesitation.
His movement was swift, using the “Mountain Splitting” stance taught by Second Uncle.
Though simple, this stance was highly effective when mastered.
As he closed the distance, his feet kicked up a cloud of dust, which he then flung toward the peddler’s face.
Using the dust as cover, he swung his blade in a wide arc.
“What’s going on?” The peddler was caught off guard.
One moment, they were talking, and the next, Hu Ma was attacking with deadly intent.
He had planned to use the doll to silently strike Hu Ma, but Hu Ma was faster and more ruthless.
Before he could react, the blade was already at his face.
In a panic, the peddler stumbled backward toward the cart, raising the doll as if to spit something out.
“Sss!”
Hu Ma’s blade connected, and he quickly steadied himself.
Under the pale moonlight, he saw a streak of red on his blade—he had landed a hit.
But he didn’t let his guard down.
Raising his left hand, he noticed a few nearly invisible silver needles embedded in it.
The peddler had reacted quickly, and in the darkness, Hu Ma hadn’t seen what was coming.
He had instinctively raised his hand to block.
“Haha, haha! Let’s see if you survive this!” The peddler leaned against the cart, clutching his chest and arm, which had been slashed.
He was sweating from the pain but couldn’t help taunting Hu Ma. “No matter how fierce you are, you’ll still fall!”
Though injured, the peddler was confident that the poison from the doll’s needles would take effect.
“Poison?” Hu Ma felt a slight sting in his arm.
Hearing the peddler’s taunt, he swayed as if about to collapse.
But instead of falling, he used the momentum to lunge forward again, swinging his blade with full force.
“What?!” The peddler’s confidence shattered as he saw the blade coming down on him.
Hu Ma’s hand was steady, his eyes filled with a murderous glint.
There was no sign of him being affected by the poison.
Fear surged through the peddler, and without thinking, he turned and reached into the coffin.
“Auntie Jar, save me!”
“The techniques of a Night Watcher are truly useful…” Hu Ma thought with satisfaction.
His left hand, though newly refined, was already resistant to poison, fire, and blades.
Seizing the opportunity, he pressed his advantage.
But just as his blade was about to strike the peddler’s neck, a cold, eerie wind swept over him.
His blade missed its mark, and he felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
He quickly retreated, his hair standing on end.
When he looked again, he saw the peddler pulling a round object from the coffin.
It looked like a wine jar, about thirty pounds in weight, covered with a red cloth.
The peddler’s left arm, nearly severed from his body, hung limply as he used it to smear blood onto the jar.
The blood didn’t drip to the ground but was absorbed into the jar, which began to emit an increasingly heavy, sinister aura.
A strange gulping sound came from within.
(End of Chapter)