Twilight Boundary-Chapter 506 - 498 Little Ghosts Carrying a Sedan Chair and Heaven Measuring Boots
"This girl..."
Hu Ma hadn’t expected Sweet Potato’s eyes to be so sharp, nor for her to greet him so openly. He felt a bit helpless. The reason he’d waited for Sweet Potato, intending for them to travel around the same time, was precisely because he worried she might be unreliable and cause delays.
But as Reincarnators, even if they knew each other, it was best to have minimal interaction—perhaps just a nod before they each went about their own business.
Sweet Potato, however, didn’t seem to care about this at all. Instead, she yelped with excitement, waving the Willow Whip in her hand high as she laughed, "Faster, faster! Let’s get ahead of him!"
Hearing this, the little ghosts carrying her sedan chair cried out, "Grandma, we’re already running as fast as we can!"
"Grandma just whipped us yesterday! Our backs still ache today; we can’t run any faster!"
"..."
When Sweet Potato heard this, her eyes widened. She grabbed a handful of paper money, tossed it high into the air, and declared, "I told you yesterday, listen to me, and there will be plenty of rewards!"
"In my left hand, I, your Grandma, have a willow whip. In my right, handfuls of money. Tell me, which do you want?"
As she spoke, the paper money rustled down, landing on both sides of the sedan chair and covering the heads of many little ghosts.
These little ghosts, though bruised and dispirited, perked up instantly when the paper money struck them. Their eyes even began to sparkle, and their short legs scrambled faster as they yelled at the top of their lungs, "It doesn’t hurt anymore!"
"Grandma is so generous with her reward money, much better than our last master! And Grandma is light too! We don’t need Grandma to use the Willow Whip on us; we’ll run faster than anyone!"
"..."
As they spoke, the yin qi around them howled, and they moved faster and faster, looking as if they were about to leave Hu Ma far behind.
"Heh, childish!"
Watching from behind, Hu Ma found it rather amusing. Is she trying to compete with me?
As a descendant of the Hu Family and the Not Eating Beef Lord, he, of course, wouldn’t engage in such childish antics...
...Yet, even as he thought this, he quickened his pace. It was as if the wind itself carried his feet, allowing him to catch up in an instant and even leave Sweet Potato, seated in her sedan chair, behind.
It wasn’t that he wanted to compete with Sweet Potato; rather, he wanted to see which was faster: his Heaven Measuring Boots or the Little Ghosts Carrying a Sedan Chair.
He had actually raced Second Young Master Meng once before. However, at that time, when Second Young Master Meng had boarded the sedan, those little ghosts had already been injured, their fundamental strength damaged, so they hadn’t been as fast. Now was the perfect opportunity to truly compare their capabilities.
"As expected of a senior! Even your traveling Magic is so brilliant!"
Watching from behind, Sweet Potato was deeply impressed. She threw out large handfuls of paper money, urging the little ghosts carrying her sedan to give chase at full speed.
Did this young woman only obtain this Little Ghosts Carrying a Sedan Chair Method last night? Hu Ma mused, noticing Sweet Potato catching up quickly. He felt a bit puzzled. Only one day, and she’s already this fast?
He relaxed his guard slightly and took a closer look. Using his Entering the Mansion-level vision, he finally discerned the trick.
Good heavens! Those handfuls of paper money... they all carry Mana?
Previously, to fully commit to his act, he had let Sweet Potato’s paper money hit him on the head, instantly losing an unknown amount of his cultivation.
Cultivation was life force, inextricably linked to a person’s life and death. Thus, for ordinary people, this paper money was essentially purchasing their lifespan.
And now, the money she was scattering by the handful was all paper money that had already bought lives!
This paper money, when scattered, bought the lives of the living. But when given to these little ghosts, it became their reward. Truly, how extravagant could one be? What wealthy family could afford to waste resources like this?
No wonder these little ghosts carrying Sweet Potato were so energetic. Despite looking bruised and having clearly suffered, they were now carrying her with such vigor that if he let his guard down even slightly, she would catch up.
In a way, it was almost like using handfuls of Blood Food to command little ghosts.
Sighing inwardly at this thought, he accelerated slightly once more, his speed increasing, and soon left Sweet Potato behind again.
This little contest gave him some understanding of her particular secret technique. In this world, ordinary people traveled on their own two legs; even the wealthier ones relied on mules and horses. Those in the Path had their own secret techniques, but each came with its own costs.
Sweet Potato’s traveling dharma method relied on paper money that had bought lives, while his own use of the Heaven Measuring Boots for travel continuously consumed his cultivation.
Previously, when he’d used the power of the Heaven Measuring Boots to chase Second Young Master Meng, the distance had been short, so he hadn’t noticed the drain. Now, however, he realized it consumed cultivation quite rapidly—the amount used was comparable to the energy expended to perform a trump card over the duration of One Incense.
But when it came to the most formidable traveling dharma method, it seemed to be borrowing a path from the underworld?
That dharma method was the most elusive and potent; it was just that he didn’t understand it well. He resolved to ask Er Guotou for guidance on it later.
The Skills of this world, especially those involving the underworld, were mysterious and bizarre, beyond the imagination of outsiders. This was particularly true within the Shousui Path, which had no connection to such things whatsoever.
Currently, Hu Ma knew of the "underworld" but couldn’t clearly explain what it was. Long ago, he had heard Ghost Walkers say that the Ghost Gate to this world was closed, which was why so many strange evil spirits lingered in the human world.
Yet, in reality, there were underworld guides like Xiang who could lead a Living Soul to a great black door. There was also the Borrowing Soldiers Token, which could be used to borrow ghost soldiers from the underworld.
There was even the underworld entity Sweet Potato had mentioned, capable of recording people’s karmic debts...
...All he could say was that it was a bizarre and vast world. And he, as he was now, wasn’t ready and dared not delve deeper into it.
Lost in thought, he continued to familiarize himself with the trump cards and abilities of the Entering the Mansion level, all while heading towards Mingzhou.
He and Sweet Potato chased each other, back and forth, covering more than two hundred miles in a single night.
They only slowed down when rooster crows drifted from a village by the roadside. Then, they looked for a place to rest on either side of the official road.
From the Blood Food Mine to his family’s Manor, traveling by mule and horse would normally take eight or nine days. Even pushing the animals relentlessly and traveling day and night, as Sweet Potato had done previously, it would still take more than three days.
But now, using the Heaven Measuring Boots, it seemed two nights of travel would suffice.
However, now that he had stopped to calculate, he realized that traveling this way, by borrowing power, consumed a significant amount of cultivation. If he were to travel at full speed relying solely on his Three Column Tao, he would probably have to stop and rest roughly every four hours.
When compared to Sweet Potato, the advantages and disadvantages were quite clear.
Over short distances, he far surpassed Sweet Potato and could leave her behind at any time. But when it came to long-distance travel, it seemed he couldn’t match her.
However, her method of using handfuls of paper money consumed her accumulated reserves. In comparison, borrowing the power of the Heaven Measuring Boots for travel was less demanding and more effortless.
Since it was already daylight, he just wanted to find a place to nap and regain some stamina. He decided against entering a village and instead found an Ancestral Hall to rest. There, he nibbled on some green food and drank spring water from a nearby stream, managing to sate his hunger.
Traveling with the Heaven Measuring Boots meant he could also use this Magic during the day. However, doing so would likely cause a stir and attract unwanted attention. Besides, continuous use day and night would consume his cultivation far too quickly. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
This gave him an advantage over Sweet Potato, as her Little Ghosts Carrying a Sedan Chair Method could only be used at night.
After resting for a day, dusk fell, and night descended once more. Hu Ma returned to the official road, performed his Magic again, and strode swiftly towards the Mingzhou region. He was much more skillful now, moving even faster than the previous night.
By the latter half of the night, he had already entered the Mingzhou region. He then slowed his pace. When the morning mist began to swirl and daylight fully broke, he returned the Heaven Measuring Boots.
He estimated that the Old Yin Mountain region was now only twenty or thirty miles away, a distance he could easily cover on foot.
"Huh?"
As soon as he arrived, he looked into the distance and was surprised to see many green banners erected high up in various places between the villages and along the official road.
Some were positioned at village entrances or beside trees. Others were held high by believers in green robes and headdresses, who followed slowly behind the banners, winding their way along country paths. In the fields on either side, peasants busy with their work would hurriedly kowtow when they saw them from afar.
Without exception, all the green banners bore the word "Truth." Combined with their attire and demeanor, Hu Ma easily guessed they belonged to some religious sect.
However, such sects usually operated with extreme caution, avoiding public exposure. Even the One Coin Sect, despite its strength and determination to rebel, only dared to hide in the mountains. So how could the Green Lotus Sect be so brazenly operating out in the open?
He found it strange but had no intention of getting involved. He hadn’t even spared it a second glance when suddenly, a gust of yin qi swirled towards him from the distant fields. It was Sweet Potato, shouting excitedly, having arrived only half an incense’s burning time after him.
She was currently exhilarated, and the little ghosts carrying her sedan chair were even more so, rushing directly forward.
Unexpectedly, on the Great Path, a group holding green banners was walking right in the middle of the official road. Passing mules, horses, and pedestrians all gave them a wide berth. Sweet Potato, however, barged in recklessly, heading straight for a collision.
Beneath one such banner, a believer holding an incense burner sensed the gust of yin qi. They slowly raised their head and boomed in a deep voice, "The Truth Magic Altar! No trespassing!"
"..."
As they spoke, an invisible yin qi suddenly rippled out sideways from the banner behind them.
"WHOA!"
It looked dangerous, but Sweet Potato knew what she was doing. Just as they were about to collide, she let out a sharp cry, flicked her Willow Whip in a mock slash through the air, and the little ghosts carrying her sedan immediately stopped in their tracks—still a considerable distance from the banner!
However, they had also heard the deep shout from the believer beneath the banner, and especially that wave of yin qi that had swept out—it was quite rude.
These little sedan-carrying ghosts, after spending two days with Sweet Potato, had long since pledged their loyalty to her. They immediately began to clamor and curse:
"Where did these demon people come from, daring to offend our Grandma?"
"Then let’s beat them up!"
"..."
From her seat in the sedan, Sweet Potato also stretched languidly. Looking down from her vantage point at the figure beneath the green banner, she sneered, "I happen to be a White Belt Junior Worship of the Red Lantern Lady’s Club. Who do you think you are, daring to bully me on Red Lantern Society turf?"
