Twilight Boundary-Chapter 428 - 422 Righteous Manager Hu (Three Updates)
An abrupt mutation arose, and everyone scattered in panic. Calculation ran so fast that he even lost his shoes, but...
...he did not run as fast as Hu Ma!
Almost at the instant the mutation appeared, Hu Ma, with a WHOOSH, had already leaped onto the roof ridge. With a few swift steps, he significantly increased the distance. However, he then suddenly turned his head back.
In his field of vision, at the east end of the town, even the lanterns and torches brought by the One Coin Sect members had turned a ghostly green. Some, bewildered, still held them, while others had already dropped them to the ground, where they burned silently.
Wherever the firelight shone, shadows flickered, and an eerie unease permeated the air. Everyone, whether skilled or unskilled, was trembling violently from the strange commotion.
Behind Hu Ma, beneath the roof ridge and in the alley, a black shadow leaped high, seemingly intending to follow him. Beside it, countless vindictive souls, driven by some unseen force, poured toward him in a seemingly endless stream.
If half the sky over the town was shrouded in dark clouds, these clouds, though surging violently, were actually, subtly, directed at him.
Hu Ma immediately realized the problem: he couldn’t hide, and running was not an option.
If it were merely ordinary Vengeful Ghosts, he could have fled, escaped the town entirely, and left all this chaos behind. He could have retrieved his horse from the inn at most. He could even abandon Calculation here.
But in truth, the Yin General had its eyes on him. These countless vindictive souls actually had only one target—him. No matter where he fled, this thing would relentlessly pursue him.
Honestly, if this cursed General Order could just be discarded, Hu Ma would have thrown it away without hesitation.
Yet, the crucial issue was that the item wasn’t in his hands...
It resided in the Lifebound Spirit Temple. Hu Ma had tried; how could one retrieve it from there?
Clenching his teeth, Hu Ma was about to charge with his blade toward the Yin General. Unexpectedly, when the Yin General saw Hu Ma preparing to approach, it actually leaped back. Through the hazy, dense ghost qi, he could see its gaze, which appeared both greedy and cautious.
It’s afraid of me too...
Hu Ma instantly confirmed it in his heart: this entity was indeed afraid of him, but it could command the vindictive souls to deal with him. If he really left, he would be isolated and without support outside, making it even more troublesome to deal with it.
He gritted his teeth instantly: Then I’ll resolve it here!
As this thought crossed his mind, he quickly surveyed his surroundings, his mind racing like lightning for a countermeasure.
"Sect Hierarch..."
Meanwhile, witnessing the abrupt mutation, even the One Coin Sect Hierarch, Immortal Miaoshan, panicked. With her knowledge, she couldn’t explain why, after initially dealing with the Demon Corpse, so many vindictive souls had suddenly appeared.
Seeing ghostly figures floating and drifting about, it was as if they had entered a ghost realm. A layer of goosebumps rose on her skin. No one knew how many people in the town would die from the rampaging vindictive souls. The large vat she had just prepared was now utterly useless.
She could only grit her teeth and shout, "Quickly summon the Magic Kings! Call upon the Altar Protector God to subdue the ghosts..."
While shouting, she took out the horsetail whisk in her hand. With a flick, it became clear it wasn’t a horsetail whisk at all, but a mourning stick, adorned with three strings of white paper money.
Chanting incantations, she waved the paper money in her hand, attempting to forcefully lead these vindictive souls out of town.
This was a measure of last resort. She had initially prepared for the Demon Corpse, but since it had suddenly become an issue of vindictive souls wreaking havoc, she could only use this method of dealing with them to temporarily stall the situation, buying time for the Magic Kings to invoke a deity’s descent.
She was neither a Punishment Soul nor a walking ghost, but she possessed a treasure capable of dealing with vindictive souls. When the mourning stick appeared, never mind vindictive souls, even Table Guests had to show her respect.
However, when she swung it out now, it felt different immediately. The mourning stick, which she had wielded lightly and easily for so long, grew increasingly heavy, almost too heavy to lift. Looking down, her scalp tingled with horror.
She saw that the mourning stick, adorned with white paper money, was now stained with viscous threads of blood, turning it almost entirely red. This made it so heavy she couldn’t lift it, nor could she use her abilities.
Glancing around, she saw that all the experts in town had also realized the problem at that instant. They cried out one after another, "Not good! This entity is filthy! It can defile treasures! The bottom of my gourd has fallen off..."
"Careful, these aren’t ordinary vindictive souls! This stuff can’t be touched..."
"..."
"This isn’t filth, damn it! It’s the General’s blood! It’s not sullying your treasures; it’s suppressing them!"
Amidst the terror, only Calculation had clapped a pair of white underpants—clearly not his own—onto his head. Muttering to himself about using obscenity to counter righteousness, he fled. Of course, no one could hear him, but it wouldn’t have made any difference if they had.
During Immortal Miaoshan’s moment of distraction, countless vindictive souls surged toward her. She felt herself instantly engulfed by them, her own soul seeming to fly to the outer heavens.
Could it be that meddling with those things on the tree has truly brought this calamity upon me? she wondered.
"Senior Sister, do not panic!"
But at that very moment, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. Hu Ma rushed over, positioning himself directly in front of her. Raising his hands and pressing them against his waist and ribs, he let out a deep, low shout. Instantly, the surging vindictive souls that had drawn near were blasted away.
"It’s you?"
Immortal Miaoshan, who had been feeling immense pressure, suddenly felt it ease from before her. Fixing her gaze, she saw Hu Ma, and for a moment, her voice even quavered slightly.
"Senior Sister, you’ve treated me so well. How could I not repay your kindness?"
Hu Ma declared loudly with righteous indignation, "I will hold back these vindictive souls for you, Senior Sister! Quickly go summon the Guests to deal with the ghosts and eliminate these evil spirits attacking the town!"
"I..."
Immortal Miaoshan was nearly moved to tears. Glancing around, she saw Old Master Sun and Altar Master Tang clearly slacking off and trying to slip away. Most of the surrounding people had already fled, and as for Bai Shanzi...
...that scoundrel was already running so fast he was nearly out of sight, all while shouting, "Quickly summon the Magic Kings!"
At this critical juncture, it was this young manager from the Red Lantern Society who had rushed over, loyally shielding her from these vindictive souls?
She was truly touched for a moment.
However, Hu Ma detected the change in the One Coin Sect Hierarch’s voice behind him and shouted, "I’ll hold them off here! Senior Sister, why aren’t you hurrying?"
How on earth is she a Sect Hierarch, reacting so slowly?
...
While cursing inwardly, Hu Ma also felt anxious. Choosing to return wasn’t a decision made willingly; rather, he had no other choice. Instead of fleeing and facing this entity alone, he might as well leverage the power of the One Coin Sect to resolve this trouble once and for all.
And to leverage their power, he naturally needed to be by this Sect Hierarch’s side. Besides, repaying a favor was also good; after all, she had given him such a profound dharma method, hadn’t she?
As these thoughts ran through his mind, his Five Organs were already resonating intensely, and he didn’t know how many vindictive souls he had already dispersed.
At this point, it seemed that many Magical Treasures were ineffective against the Yin General and might even be tainted. However, the Shousui man’s own abilities were indeed formidable; the impact on him was minimal, still allowing him to contend with it.
However, despite saying that, the situation was different. It was still unknown where the Demon Corpse had drawn these vindictive souls from, but they came inexhaustibly, one after another, vaguely resembling a black tide.
The Five Thunders Golden Toad Roar he unleashed did scatter these vindictive souls, but the yin qi they transformed into still clung to him, refusing to dissipate.
Wave after wave, it was like a cocoon wrapping him inside. Hu Ma could only support himself with his Three Column Tao, using sixty years’ worth of Pure Yang Mana to forcibly resist the vindictive souls. It felt as if countless tiny, ice-cold hands were tightly gripping and pulling at him.
"ARGH..."
Not far away, Altar Master Tang and Old Master Sun, witnessing the situation clearly spiraling out of control, hesitated. When they looked back and saw Hu Ma, they were suddenly shocked. "Why didn’t he flee?"
"He’s a Shousui man, isn’t he..."
"..."
Old Master Sun caught sight of him, stomped his foot in frustration, and sighed, "He’s young. He hasn’t yet learned the true trump cards of us Shousui men..."
These youngsters are all foolishly straightforward, thinking that our Shousui men’s Path is all about being able to fight and endure, possessing trump cards for killing.
Little do they know, the real skill lies in knowing when to advance and when to retreat...
But just then, seeing Hu Ma already engaged in battle while the One Coin Sect Hierarch rushed off, frequently looking back, to summon aid, Old Master Sun and Altar Master Tang exchanged a glance. They knew they couldn’t just flee. Although this entity could defile others, the Shousui man was the least affected and could hold on for a while longer...
...At least they had to make a bit more of a show!
Just then, they saw that amidst the swirling, gloomy clouds, the eerie Demon Corpse was staring intently in Hu Ma’s direction. It slowly approached, emitting some kind of sound and directing the surrounding vindictive souls, much like a general commanding a vast army.
The two men immediately charged toward it, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, intending to give it a severe beating. Unfortunately, they were instantly engulfed by vindictive souls, their ears filled with the sound of ghostly wails.
"Quickly, immediately summon the altar protector deities... Call them all down!"
At this moment, the One Coin Sect Hierarch, Immortal Miaoshan, had already met the three Magic Kings who had arrived in a sedan chair. She urgently issued orders, glancing back repeatedly as she did so, seemingly worried about Hu Ma.
These Magic Kings, whose specific role was to summon these Guests, immediately leaped from the sedan chair. They lit three incense sticks, held Copper Coins in their mouths, and began stomping their feet and shaking their heads.
Seeing that the altar descents were about to be invoked, the onlookers quickly moved aside, their knees weak, preparing to kneel.
But at that very moment, wrapped in layers of yin qi, Hu Ma finally couldn’t endure any longer.
Being enveloped by such surging, pure yin qi was suppressive to anyone; even Shousui methods were powerless against it. It was like constantly having things piled upon oneself that couldn’t be shaken off. One or two such things might be negligible...
But the more that was added, the heavier one became, until a point where one would be completely overwhelmed.
Amidst his fury and exasperation, he wasn’t deaf to Immortal Miaoshan’s shouts from afar. He knew the Magic Kings capable of summoning the Guests had arrived. If he could just hold on a moment longer, the situation would turn around. Yet, precisely at this moment, a peculiar thought flashed through his mind.
The body is real, the soul is ethereal... Qi Eating to nourish the soul is wondrous, amazing, damn... incredible!
...
The words from the Great Mighty Sky General Seal Technique he had recently read suddenly surfaced in his mind at this instant, swiftly forming an irresistible craving.
Qi Eating... Isn’t this a heaven-sent opportunity for me?
