Twilight Boundary-Chapter 439 - 433 Run Fast

"Things are indeed quite serious..."

As he let out a slow breath, Hu Ma didn’t blame Little Hongtang for suddenly waking him up. Instead, he silently sorted through the information he had just received in his mind. An invisible pressure vaguely began to form.

The Shangjing Grand Ceremony, the first cleansing... It appears far from simple.

On the surface, that major cleansing was merely because the previous generation of Reincarnators was too ostentatious, causing trouble and scaring the other Reincarnators into behaving. But now, it seems it might be related to the Reincarnators’ goal of contesting destiny and slaughtering Tai Sui...

Yet, why is there such a severe informational gap for such an important objective and the opportunity secured at such great cost? Even I only heard about it from the mountain lord.

...

It would be understandable if only I were unaware; after all, I’m just a newcomer. I’ve been here for less than three years, and so far, I’ve met barely more than ten Reincarnators. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

But for veteran Reincarnators like Miss White Wine and Miss Red Wine to be completely unaware is somewhat odd.

Especially someone like Er Guotou, a seasoned old hand who had dealings with the previous generation of Reincarnators...

...It goes without saying, if he knew things were so urgent, he certainly wouldn’t be hiding away, leisurely playing a nurturing game, and claiming that for Reincarnators in this life, lifestyle and enjoyment are what matter most.

If that’s the case, then the situation is somewhat terrifying.

The more he thought about it, the heavier his heart grew, a vague sense of panic creeping in, and he quickly came to a decision: This matter can’t be delayed, and it’s not something I can handle alone.

The most urgent task is to hurry back to Mingzhou and have a serious talk with Miss White Wine and Brother Er Guotou about these things.

Perhaps this truly is a matter of life and death for Reincarnators...

...

As he was quickly mulling over these things, an eerie tremor suddenly washed over him. He vaguely heard strange sounds of terror and wailing in his ears, jolting him from his deep contemplation.

Looking outside, he saw that even the large tree covering the entire yard was rustling as if trembling. Its branches, affected by some unknown force, were falling one after another.

"What’s happening?"

Hu Ma frowned and looked up. He saw Little Hongtang also leaning against the window, staring outside with wide eyes, her small fists clenched tightly. "Outside," she said, "there’s a bad guy!"

"Hm?"

Hu Ma sensed that something had just happened in the town, but Little Hongtang’s reaction puzzled him slightly. Little Hongtang is naturally kind-hearted. Apart from her fondness for Blood Food and occasionally beating up little ghosts, she has no other faults. Why would she say there’s a ’bad guy’ outside?

She rarely used such strong emotional words. Was it because there was something outside that she hated?

While he was pondering this, he suddenly heard Old Calculation’s tense voice from behind the wall: "Little Manager, Little Manager, are you in there?"

Hu Ma let out a breath. He recognized Old Calculation’s voice coming from the back of the house, where there was a small window. He dragged a Taishi Chair over, stood on it, and peered out.

Sure enough, in the stone-paved alley behind the mansion, he saw Old Calculation holding a compass and leading a donkey. Beside him, a listless Master Ma was craning his neck, searching around and calling out softly.

Hu Ma asked, "What are you doing here?"

Old Calculation was startled. Looking up, he saw Hu Ma’s face behind the small window and exclaimed in a fluster, "Oh dear, what’s happened to you?"

"Has the Sect Hierarch of the One Coin Sect detained you here?"

...

"Not exactly detained..."

Hu Ma said, "She locked me in the room. I was just taking the opportunity to learn a few things. What was that commotion just now?"

"She locked you up?"

Old Calculation was stunned for a moment. "That little witch looks so aloof and ascetic," he said. "I didn’t expect her to have a thing for pretty boys like you... Wait, this isn’t the time to discuss this! Never mind that, let’s get out of here, quickly!"

"Run?"

Hu Ma was somewhat surprised. "Did you cause some trouble?"

"What trouble could I cause? At most, I’d try to wheedle a couple of Blood Food Pills out of her to boost my strength..."

Old Calculation said anxiously, "They’re the ones who’ve stirred up trouble! See? I told you before, with the One Coin Sect acting so arrogantly, they were bound to run into problems sooner or later. And now it’s happened, hasn’t it?"

"Tie Jun Xin, the sword-catching hall officer from West Ridge, has brought men to wipe them out. They’ve already sealed off the town and will launch a direct assault within three days."

"If we don’t run now, we might not get another chance..."

...

The West Ridge Hall Officer?

When Hu Ma heard this title, his heart skipped a beat. How did they manage to provoke a great hall officer?

In all his time wandering the jianghu, he had never even seen one of these legendary great hall officers!

For a moment, he felt it was both expected and surprising.

It was expected because, with no Emperor currently reigning, the various local governments were all keeping a low profile, biding their time and governing their own affairs. Yet, the realm hadn’t descended into chaos, largely because the Ten Surnames were suppressing unrest in various regions.

Earlier, on his way to Anzhou, he’d encountered a bandit den. Because they were too disruptive, they were wiped out. The One Coin Sect, however, openly expelled government officials, levied taxes, collected grain, and forged weapons and armor. They were far more audacious than that bandit den. Attracting a great hall officer was bound to happen sooner or later.

What was surprising was that, even though signs of rebellion were appearing everywhere, the One Coin Sect’s current level of influence hardly seemed significant enough to draw the attention of a great hall officer, did it?

Great hall officers weren’t easy to deal with. The Ten Surnames secretly maintained order in the world, but more importantly, they managed the people within the Path. Their authority rested on the Four Great Hall Officials under their command—those in charge of Sword-Catching and Inquiry, Reason, and Divine Incense Distribution—who were like four great protectors.

Under the Four Great Hall Officials were countless small hall officers, and under these small hall officers were numerous stewards and runners. To put it bluntly, these stewards and runners were the ones who did the actual work.

Take Mingzhou Prefecture, for example. Nominally, the Red Lantern Lady was the dominant power, but in reality, Plum Blossom Lane held the most capability. Yet, even Plum Blossom Lane only had a Divine Incense Distribute small hall officer overseeing Mingzhou Prefecture Mansion, and that was sufficient.

But now, the One Coin Sect had attracted a great hall officer? And a Sword-Catching one at that, specialized in killing?

While pondering these matters, he also considered the question of whether to leave.

Before seeing this painting, I would have decided to leave without hesitation. After all, I’m only here seeking Magic and have no intention of joining the One Coin Sect in rebellion. But now, a hint of hesitation has crept into my heart.

Not Eating Beef is a legacy left by the Great Virtuous Master—or rather, by the previous generation of Reincarnators who operated under the name of the Great Master Daliang. It surely contains many secrets of great importance to Reincarnators. This lead cannot be abandoned so easily.

After hearing Big Red Robe’s instructions, figuring out how to obtain more information from this ’Not Eating Beef’ connection has become paramount.

As he thought, he asked, "What’s the situation now? Have they really sealed off the town?"

"How were you planning to get out?"

...

"You’ll have to carry me..."

Old Calculation, his face pressed anxiously against the wall, urged, "The lockdown outside is incredibly tight! Those who tried to escape suffered heavy casualties. I reckon only you Shousui men, if you run for your lives, might have a slim chance of survival..."

Hu Ma raised an eyebrow. Hearing this, Hu Ma almost laughed out of exasperation. Shaking his head, he said, "My skills are limited. It’ll be difficult enough for me to escape on my own, let alone carry you. That would be too much..."

"Oh dear!" Old Calculation was thoroughly frightened and cried out, "Little Manager, you can’t be so disloyal! Don’t just run off by yourself!"

Hu Ma took a long breath. "Well, no need to panic just yet," he said. "Isn’t there still three days? I was just in the middle of learning something. Let me go see that Sect Hierarch of the One Coin Sect and get a clear picture of the situation before deciding what to do."

With that, he jumped down from the Taishi Chair and turned towards the door. Just as he was about to push it open, he paused, a slight jolt in his heart. He looked at the painting on the wall. Big Red Robe’s parting words flashed through his mind—something about taking a token...

But just now, Little Hongtang splashed me awake with that basin of water, and I didn’t get a chance to see what kind of token was in the Lifebound Spirit Temple. If it’s truly important, I’ll probably have to make another trip to that temple.

With this in mind, he made his decision. He walked back and reached for the painting on the wall. At that moment, a peculiar feeling stirred within him, as if taking this painting meant accepting some of the karma left behind by the previous generation of Reincarnators.

However, in his urgency, there was no time for sentimentality. He reached out, took the painting down, gently rolled it up, and tucked it into Little Hongtang’s basket.

A subtle change occurred the moment he took down the painting. For Hu Ma, it wasn’t particularly noticeable; he had merely taken down a painting and didn’t experience any other sensations.

But in many other places across the world—some in humble village huts, some in grand city manors, some in armories filled with weapons and armor, and some in coffins with withered bones lying in weed-covered graves—similar paintings were kept. Held by different individuals, many of these paintings had not seen the light of day for a very long time. Yet, at this very moment, they all suddenly emitted a spiritual light, instantly startling numerous Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples.

...

...

"Keep this safe. This painting is very important," Hu Ma instructed Little Hongtang, carefully covering her basket with its cloth flap. Then, he took a deep breath and kicked open the locked door.

"Hey! What are you going to see that woman for? Run!"

From behind the house, Old Calculation heard Hu Ma’s footsteps receding from the wall and called out anxiously, "If we don’t run now, we’ll be branded as rebels too! It’s one thing if you and I meet with misfortune, but you can’t drag our honest-to-goodness Red Lantern Lady into this!"

When Hu Ma didn’t respond to his shouts, Old Calculation could only stomp his foot in frustration. He looked awkwardly at the horse and said, "See? He won’t listen to reason..."

The horse let out a deep sigh, ignoring him completely, and merely gazed at the gloomy sky with an enraptured expression.

Old Calculation grew exasperated. Why are these two so difficult to handle?