"Special trick? Is Brother Hu Ma going to break it apart?"
Although Zhou Datong and the others had decided to stand with Hu Ma, how could they not be afraid when faced with such sinister sorcery?
Seeing that Hu Ma seemed to have a plan, they mustered some courage and hurriedly retreated to the inner courtyard.
At this moment, Hu Ma could no longer afford to hesitate.
If it were just about dispelling evil spirits, relying on the workers in the manor and Zhou Datong's group, who had some cultivation, they might barely hold on.
But once the Altar Auntie made her move, things would get troublesome.
Earlier, when they encountered the flashy peddler, Hu Ma had to fight desperately even with his three incense sticks of cultivation.
How could Zhou Datong and the others, facing such invisible and malevolent dark arts, possibly save their lives?
Helpless, Hu Ma could only turn his gaze to the Eight Immortals table inside the room.
Now, the only light left in the entire manor was in the inner courtyard's main hall.
Outside the manor, a bone-chilling wind swept through, extinguishing the torches that had been lit in advance in the inner courtyard.
A cold, eerie laughter echoed in the courtyard, and something seemed to have surged into the yard.
They weren't sure if it was their imagination, but the night itself seemed to come alive, step by step pressing into the inner courtyard.
Within the shadows enveloping the courtyard, something sinister was crawling around.
Little Hong Tang no longer dared to charge out, and even the Yellow Immortal, who had just delivered a message, fled at the first sign of trouble...
...
Quite loyal, though—before running, it threw Li Wa'er to the base of the wall.
"This is the only way..."
Hu Ma thought to himself, then shouted, "Protect the lantern!"
With that, he handed the lantern to Zhou Datong, gritted his teeth, and strode into the formation.
It seemed everything should have gone according to the old shopkeeper's plan.
The Altar Cult's sorcerers would inevitably extinguish the lantern, and Hu Ma and the workers, who had just become Night Watchers, would surely be unable to withstand it.
Unable to withstand it, they would naturally enter the prepared formation, where the Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique would be activated.
If Hu Ma hadn't received the warning from the reincarnator, regardless of his doubts, he would have entered.
But with the warning?
"Of course, you still have to go in."
That's what Erguotou had told him: "You have no reason not to enter that formation because you shouldn't understand these things."
"So, even knowing it's a trap, you have to go in first."
"But once you're inside..."
"..."
Zhou Datong and the others clenched their teeth, holding the lantern, trembling as they felt the overwhelming yin energy surging in from outside, like invisible blades scraping their skin.
They were somewhat puzzled.
Was Brother Hu Ma really so loyal that he had to protect the Red Lantern Lady's lantern?
"Grandpa said before that we should act diligently in normal times, but when real trouble comes, we should run..."
"..."
"It's time..."
After Hu Ma retreated into the formation, he indeed felt a sense of relief.
The pots and jars arranged by the old shopkeeper seemed to emit a strange power at this moment, protecting him.
Even the yin wind, ready to surge into the room at any moment, seemed to be blocked.
Immediately, Hu Ma stood firm, formed the yin-yang seal with his hands, and bowed forward, activating the Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique.
Sister Wu He had warned him not to use this technique, but he still did.
After bowing, the surroundings seemed to turn gray, as if an invisible gate had opened.
Hu Ma heard a series of mournful wails, and the yin wind began to swirl around him.
The sinister resentment that had surged into the room was blocked by the oil lamp's light in the formation and weakened by his bow, retreating from the doorway.
The room seemed to have gained a temporary peace.
Zhou Datong and the others were shocked and turned to look at Hu Ma in pleasant surprise:
"Brother Hu Ma, this technique works..."
"..."
"Yes, it really works..."
Hu Ma also silently thought that this formation could indeed help resist the Altar Auntie's resentment.
Perhaps the old shopkeeper had prepared many methods during the year he waited for the Altar Cult's return, and this formation was one of them.
It could weaken the Altar Auntie's resentment's assault on people, and by using this technique, Hu Ma could indeed help the old shopkeeper keep the lantern from extinguishing.
But the next moment, a series of cracking sounds came from Hu Ma's body.
Zhou Datong and the others turned pale with fright.
Hu Ma, who had been sitting by the Eight Immortals table, suddenly had his left hand and right leg burst with blood, bones protruding, as if struck by some unknown force.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and the yin wind swirled incessantly in the room.
"Brother Hu Ma, what's happening..."
Zhou Datong and the others, frightened by this incomprehensible change, shouted at Hu Ma.
"Repaying a debt."
Despite the severe injuries to his left hand and right leg, Hu Ma could still feel the eerie resentment invading his body through the wounds.
Layer by layer, it felt like being flayed alive.
He could resist the Altar Auntie's resentment outside the manor, but he clearly couldn't withstand the resentment from the old shopkeeper's side.
The two resentments were not on the same level, and neither the formation nor his Four Ghosts Salute the Gate technique could block it.
Hu Ma's face was pale, but his expression was calm, even composed.
Enduring the resentment's assault on his body, he looked at Zhou Datong and asked lightly:
"Datong, do you know what I've really learned from the old shopkeeper all this time?"
"..."
"About to die, and still thinking about this?"
Zhou Datong was too scared to even speak.
"At this point, asking Datong to play along is a bit much..."
Hu Ma smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "From now on, this will be our own skill."
The next moment, his left hand and right leg were struck again, the resentment tearing through layers of flesh.
But Hu Ma gritted his teeth, trying to stand up, only to feel as if his left hand and right leg were stuck in something.
He could feel his injured limbs sinking into a cold, muddy pit, as if something was pulling them down.
"The old shopkeeper not only made me a scapegoat but didn't even let me escape at the last moment?"
A hint of self-mockery flashed through Hu Ma's mind.
He understood why Sister Wu He had left him that message.
In his past life, loyal bodyguards would take bullets for their employers, but being chained and used as a shield—was that still loyalty?
Fortunately, he had trained not just his left hand and right leg; he could break free.
But at this moment, he didn't plan to use that method.
Instead, he endured the excruciating pain and suddenly shouted at Zhou Datong, "Give me the lantern!"
Without thinking, Zhou Datong handed over the lantern they had desperately protected.
Hu Ma took the lantern, placed it on the Eight Immortals table, and quickly pulled out a talisman from his pocket.
It was the one the old shopkeeper had given him, and he stuck it on the lantern.
"The debt is repaid, but my life isn't yours to take."
Hu Ma endured the intense pain in his arm and leg, only now able to use the Night Watcher technique to slowly repair the wounds corroded by resentment.
But his eyes were fixed on the red lantern with the talisman.
He waited quietly until, suddenly, a surge of resentment rushed from the talisman into the red lantern.
The resentment was so strong that if Hu Ma had taken it directly, he would have died on the spot.
But this resentment flowed into the red lantern, causing it to dim, almost extinguishing.
Then, the flame inside the lantern brightened again, growing brighter and redder.
It seemed as if blood was spilling from the lantern, casting an eerie, bloody red light around, as if the lantern had turned into an eye.
"Giggle..."
A strange woman's voice came from the lantern.
...
...
"Tsk," "Tsk..."
As Hu Ma leaped out of the formation, Shopkeeper Wu had already slapped the Ninth Grandpa's face crooked, and the jar on his body had fallen off.
Shopkeeper Wu acted ruthlessly, without hesitation, and stepped forward.
The Ninth Grandpa, trembling under the pressure, felt that even his life sacrifice wasn't enough and began screaming desperately...
"Altar Auntie, Altar Auntie, we offer you our intestines, we feed you our organs..."
"Save our lives..."
"..."
"Organ sacrifice?"
Hearing this, the old shopkeeper was also shocked.
The most powerful method of nurturing the Altar Auntie was organ sacrifice, feeding her with one's own organs.
Normally, sacrificing organs would kill a person, but those who fed the Altar Auntie didn't die.
Instead, with each organ sacrificed, the Altar Auntie took over a part of their body.
After five sacrifices, the body would belong entirely to the Altar Auntie.
But this also granted terrifying power.
The old shopkeeper definitely didn't want to face this resentment head-on, but at this point...
"It's just that kid's fate..."
He thought silently, then gritted his teeth, not dodging or avoiding, and bowed forward, his ghostly aura surging toward the jar in front of the Ninth Grandpa.
"Thud..."
But as he struck, he suddenly froze.
Because as he bowed, before his ghostly aura could reach the jar, his own body suddenly split open, as if being flayed by an invisible blade.
"You..."
The Ninth Grandpa, who had been severely injured by the old shopkeeper, was stunned, then laughed while spitting blood.
"Your scapegoat is dead..."
He crawled desperately toward the jar on the ground, pressing his hand on it, shouting, "Altar Auntie, Altar Auntie..."
"Kill him, eat him..."
"..."
"Could he really be so useless, already dead?"
Shopkeeper Wu looked up, equally bewildered: "Or is it him..."
Before this thought could fully form, he suddenly shivered, sensing a terrifying, unknown presence.
The pressure came silently, causing both him and the Ninth Grandpa to freeze, then turn in shock toward the manor, seven or eight miles away, where a strange red light suddenly lit up, its eerie aura piercing to the bone.
(End of Chapter)