The previously soft and weak Manager Wu suddenly became filled with murderous intent, leaving the members of the Altar Sect utterly shocked.
The Altar Sect was feared by all because they were skilled in dark arts.
Whether it was bewitching people to steal children, scaling walls to plunder homes, or bringing calamity and misfortune upon others, their methods were unpredictable and hard to guard against.
If they hid in the shadows, even the most skilled individuals could fall victim to their schemes.
Last year, they pulled off a major heist by placing a lost child on the street, crying.
Manager Wu, being kind-hearted, approached to help, only to be caught off guard when the child spewed a mouthful of sinister energy at her.
Though she had some training, she was completely incapacitated and woke up to find boiling oil being poured over her body.
The old manager, heartbroken for his daughter, used his skills to rescue her but was ambushed by the Altar Sect.
Despite being a third-tier Shousui practitioner, he lost seventy percent of his strength in the process and barely managed to escape with Wu He.
After ensuring his daughter's safety, he rushed back to the estate, only to find the red lanterns extinguished, his workers tortured beyond recognition, and the blood offerings stolen.
That time, he was utterly defeated, played like a fool from start to finish.
But back then, they were in the shadows.
Now, it was a face-to-face confrontation.
The old manager had waited a year, keeping the secret of the blood offerings, and finally had the chance to confront them head-on, seizing the initiative.
In this situation, many of their usual tricks were useless, and they had no choice but to resort to their altars.
Some chanted incantations, while others bit their fingers to drip blood onto the altars, each using their own methods.
In a direct confrontation, the Altar Sect relied on their "Altar Auntie."
Though their methods were limited, the Altar Auntie was indeed a formidable and troublesome entity.
The Altar Auntie, created through dark arts, was born with a fierce and resentful aura.
The more she suffered, the stronger her hatred and resentment grew.
But the Altar Auntie's greatest hatred wasn't for others—it was for those who raised her.
Thus, these people knew how to maximize her resentment and control her through four methods.
The first was chanting incantations, which could command the Altar Auntie to unleash her resentment and harm others.
If her resentment wasn't strong enough, they would feed her with their own blood to increase it.
If that still wasn't enough, they would offer limbs, further boosting her resentment.
Of course, this method had its limits.
Each time a finger was offered, the number of times it could be used decreased.
The peddler Hu Ma had encountered was forced to offer an arm, causing a sudden surge in resentment.
Chanting incantations was one method, feeding with blood was another, and offering limbs was yet another.
The most advanced method was the "filth offering."
Currently, they were unwilling to offer limbs, let alone filth, so they only used blood to increase the Altar Auntie's resentment.
As the Altar Sect members stirred the Altar Auntie's resentment, sharp as a blade, cutting through flesh, Manager Wu remained unfazed.
With a wave of his arms, he opened the Ghost Gate and strode forward as if walking through the underworld.
"Whoosh," "whoosh," "whoosh."
The air around him was filled with chaos as the Altar Sect members unleashed a barrage of needles, hidden weapons, lime, and poisonous smoke, all aimed at the old manager, threatening to overwhelm him.
But the old manager was a Shousui practitioner, skilled in genuine techniques.
Having long prepared for the Altar Sect's dirty tricks, he waved his sleeves, deflecting everything.
In the midst of the chaos, his heavy hands and feet shattered the bones of several attackers.
The once-arrogant Altar Sect members were now panicking, screaming in fear.
Meanwhile, Wu He, now draped in a dog skin, had initially been filled with hatred for these people.
When Manager Wu had bowed to them earlier, she couldn't accept it.
Now that the fight had begun, she should have been giving her all.
But Manager Wu's words had shocked her: "Father's plan is to take revenge and then flee with the blood offerings?"
"Does that mean he never intended to leave a way out for Hu Ma and the others?"
Her mind was in turmoil.
Draped in the dog skin, she couldn't speak, but her attacks noticeably slowed.
"Foolish girl..."
Manager Wu, alert and cautious amidst the Altar Sect's encirclement, noticed Wu He's hesitation and understood her thoughts.
She had never fully grasped why he kept things from the young man from the village.
She thought this was all about revenge, not realizing that survival was the true goal.
If he could block the Altar Sect, bow his head, and offer the blood offerings in exchange for a cure for her transformation, that would be enough.
There would be no need to fight the Altar Sect, and Hu Ma wouldn't have to bear the brunt of the resentment.
If the Altar Sect had no cure, he would take the blood offerings and seek help elsewhere.
Without the offerings as a bargaining chip, who would help them?
To seize the blood offerings, he couldn't alert the Red Lantern Lady and had to deal with these people himself.
Thus, he had to rely on the young man from the village.
After his previous defeat at the hands of the Altar Sect, the old manager had pondered how to counter the Altar Auntie's resentment.
Among countless methods, only the substitution technique from the Soul Punishment Sect seemed viable.
As for Hu Ma...
"It depends on his luck..."
As he moved like a vengeful ghost, striking down enemies, the Altar Sect members panicked, frantically invoking dark arts, sending waves of resentment towards him.
But the resentment, usually unstoppable, seemed to have no effect on Manager Wu.
"Having endured so much resentment, it seems he's activated the formation and used the Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique..."
Manager Wu calculated silently, feeling more at ease.
"Once he uses it, he won't be able to escape..."
"The Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique involves opening the Ghost Gate with one hand and preparing to close it with the other."
Stepping into the Ghost Gate with one foot, the other must be ready to step out.
"The old manager's expression tightened, sensing everything was going as planned, and he fought with even greater calm. He had indeed kept some things from the young man. A normal Shousui practitioner would first train both hands, not one hand and one leg.
Training both hands was necessary to open and close the Ghost Gate. The techniques he taught were correct, but the methods were deliberately skewed so that the young man could open the gate but not close it, enter but not exit.
Once he used the Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique, he would be trapped, bearing the brunt of the resentment. Until the old manager won, or he died."
It's all up to fate!
""Did I really not foresee that Xu Ji's redwood sword would be so easily found by him?
""Even now, I'll do my best to eliminate the remnants of the Altar Sect, but whether he can hold out until then depends on his luck!
""...""...""The enemies are coming fast...
"Earlier in the village, Hu Ma, Da Tong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu had taken down the red lanterns hanging on high poles, each holding a weapon to protect them. They had anticipated that once the fight broke out elsewhere, the Altar Sect would realize the old manager wasn't in the village and would attack to extinguish the lanterns.
But they hadn't expected the attack to be so fierce. It made sense. No one knew the old manager's true intentions, but the Altar Sect was determined to extinguish the lanterns.
Once the lanterns were out, they would have nothing to fear. The sound of wooden clappers echoed clearly in the silent night. The village gates, blown open by a sinister wind, allowed ghostly women to float in, their powdered faces twisted into eerie smiles.
At the same time, Little Hong Tang, who had been behind Hu Ma, suddenly pounced on a shadow sneaking up on him, tearing and biting at it."
These women... they're a bit creepy.
"Amidst the danger, Hu Ma felt anxious. Seeing the women floating towards them, Zhou Da Tong and the others slowed their movements."
Shadow puppets!
"Hu Ma shouted."
Look, their feet don't touch the ground! Don't let them get close, or they'll drag you away!
""Ah, what do we do?
"Zhou Da Tong and the others looked down, realizing it was true, and trembled in fear. Hu Ma yelled,"Take off your pants and pee on them!
"Zhou Da Tong and the others hesitated for a moment before hastily undoing their belts and unleashing streams of urine at the shadow puppets. The young men's vitality was strong, and their urine flew against the wind. Being true virgins, their urine had the power to ward off evil spirits, a common belief in the village. Hu Ma swung his wooden sword, knocking away the shadow fighting with Little Hong Tang, then quickly picked her up, covering her eyes. Turning back, he saw the shadow puppets retreating, their bodies deflating and some even revealing bamboo frames and vines inside."
Little Manager, be careful...
"Before they could catch their breath, Li Wa Zi, pale-faced and trembling, appeared behind them, whispering urgently:"Those outside are dripping blood on the altars... something big is coming...
"Before he could finish, a chilling wind swept through the village, and ghostly figures began crawling in, scurrying around the courtyard."
The Altar Auntie's resentment is here...
"Hu Ma's heart sank as he shouted,"Fall back to the inner courtyard!
I'll use my ultimate move to deal with these 'friends' of ours."
After staying up all night, here are three chapters.
As usual, I'll add more during the climax to keep you from waiting too long.
Also, I'm seeking votes! Old Ghost is going to take a nap and will continue fighting when I wake up.
(End of Chapter)