Twilight Boundary-Chapter 521 - 513: A Bow to Express Thanks

What should have been a joyous homecoming feast took a somber turn. With the mention of Juehu Village and past dealings concerning that place, a sudden, oppressive atmosphere descended. Even the wind outside seemed to turn colder, its mournful cries like mocking laughter.

No one in the room dared to speak further, their eyes filled only with apprehension.

Juehu Village was renowned among the local settlements as an infamously sinister place within a hundred-mile radius. The mere mention of it would cause many people’s expressions to change drastically. Hu Ma himself had only been away from his own village for a little over three years; he was still just a young man...

"All right."

Second Master, however, gazed deeply at Hu Ma. Seeing neither pretense nor insecurity in the young man’s face, he made up his mind and said resolutely, "There’s no time to lose. If we say we’re going, then we go. The nights are restless out there; no need to send word ahead."

"You rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, the two of us will go together."

Hu Ma was somewhat surprised by these words. He paused for a moment, then smiled. "Second Master, I travel fast, and I’m quite confident in my ability to handle whatever is there. There’s no need for you to come along..."

Before he could finish, Second Master cut him off, his displeasure clear. "You say you’re fast? Well, I don’t run slow either when I get going."

"Besides, don’t think that just because you’ve learned a few tricks out there, you’ve grown arrogant. I’ve spent my entire life at the blood food mine. I’ve encountered more evil spirits than you’ve ever heard of, and my experience far surpasses yours."

"With something this important, don’t I need to go and keep an eye on things for you?"

"Alright then..."

Seeing Second Master’s seriousness, Hu Ma could only manage a wry smile. A peculiar sense of reassurance settled in his heart.

Having been away for so long, he rarely had the experience of being treated like a child anymore.

Seeing that the two had made their decision, the Old Clan Chief and the others also grew serious. That very evening, the Old Clan Chief decided to notify the young and able-bodied men of the village to accompany Hu Ma the next morning.

For one thing, Old Yangpi had brought people over from his village from time to time in recent years. Dayang Village and Python Village had a good relationship, so when trouble arose, it was natural to send people to help.

Thus, Hu Ma, who had initially planned to take only Second Master, found himself surrounded by the village’s youths the following day.

With so many people watching, he couldn’t very well use his Heaven Measuring Boots. Furthermore, the livestock in the village were too unruly to ride. So, he had no choice but to join the throng of villagers, who were armed with dung forks and hoes. They actually looked quite imposing, like a mob heading for a brawl.

Because no advance warning had been sent, when Old Yangpi of Python Village heard that a large, noisy crowd was approaching, he nearly fainted, fearing another village was coming to plunder their grain.

He hastily roused everyone in the village who could still move, and they went out armed to meet the arrivals. But when he saw clearly that it was people from Dayang Village, with Hu Ma at their head, he was so overcome with emotion that he nearly burst into tears.

"Little Forebear, Great Benefactor! I’ve finally, finally awaited your arrival..."

Hu Ma quickly stepped forward. He saw that Old Yangpi seemed to have aged twenty years in an instant. His face was deathly pale, he needed support to walk, and a palpable yin qi seemed to emanate from beneath his skin.

Recalling what Second Master had said earlier, he understood the situation:

It was clear Old Yangpi had previously forced himself to deal with the things seeping out of Juehu Village. Lacking the proper methods, he had been afflicted by the yin qi.

Technically, Old Yangpi wasn’t even considered a person of the Path; he only understood some ghost treatment methods. These methods weren’t taught by a Master. Rather, living so close to Juehu Village and frequently encountering strange occurrences, he had become self-taught.

Perhaps due to the connection between the Zhen Sui Hu Family and the Ghost Walkers, Hu Ma held such men in high regard. He promptly stepped forward, retrieved a thumb-sized piece of Blood Food from his sleeve, and pressed it into Old Yangpi’s hand, comforting him, "Don’t worry. I’ve come specifically for this matter."

Hearing this, Old Yangpi grew even more agitated.

However, when Hu Ma pressed the piece of dried meat into his hand, Old Yangpi, mistaking it for ordinary green food, hastily tried to refuse, "There’s no need for this. We have some at home as well..."

You probably don’t *really* have this at home...

Hu Ma didn’t elaborate, merely pushed it firmly into the old man’s hand. Then, he led the group, turning towards Juehu Village.

Old Yangpi and Second Master quickly led their own people to follow. As their party drew nearer to Juehu Village and Hu Ma still showed no signs of making any preparations, both old men couldn’t help but worry.

Still, they understood that Hu Ma’s abilities had greatly increased. Possessing a certain awe that the old often feel for the young and capable, they dared not question him and could only strive to keep pace.

At some point, the sky had grown dim, and a cold, eerie wind began to whistle through the forest.

The closer they got to Juehu Village, the more a hazy, dark, and oppressive atmosphere seemed to permeate the woods. Vague shadows flickered in the gaps between the trees, their distant, eerie gazes fixed upon the group.

The young stalwarts from both villages who had come along gradually grew frightened, and a hush fell over them.

Having grown up in these forests, most had, at one time or another, encountered Wandering spirits or vindictive souls.

But to see so many gathered in one place was rare. The surrounding wind felt increasingly sinister, its chilling drafts seeming to interweave and slash at them.

It felt as if the very living qi within their bodies was about to be snuffed out.

When they were nearly a mile from Juehu Village, Hu Ma halted.

Turning, he saw that the faces of the young men following him were beginning to take on a faint bluish tint; they were clearly struggling. Old Yangpi, who had previously been afflicted by the yin qi, was now almost curled into a ball, relying entirely on Second Master’s support.

Compared to these youths, Second Master was clearly faring better. The foundation of his sixty-year-old ’fiery furnace’ was on full display, performing admirably at this moment.

At this point, Hu Ma could have drawn upon the fiery vitality of these young men to counter the yin qi emanating from Juehu Village.

He would only need to use words to dispel the fear in their hearts and stir their courage.

But Hu Ma had no intention of doing so this time. Instead, he turned to them and said, "Second Master, Old Yangpi, lead the men and wait here. Find an open space, build a bonfire, and light any incense you’ve brought. If you have any offerings, lay them out too."

"Consider this distance your boundary. Do not come any closer."

"I will go in alone shortly. No matter what commotion you hear from inside, pay it no mind. Just wait for me to come out."

"Alright..."

Second Master nodded, his voice trembling. He hurriedly fumbled behind him and produced two bundles of rope. "Should you tie these on?"

"If anything happens, I’ll pull you out."

"Last time you went in, the rope snapped. This time, tie two..."

"That won’t be necessary."

Hu Ma shook his head with a smile. "Second Master, don’t worry about me. I’ve come fully prepared this time."

With that, he turned around. His cultivation surged, drawing upon his cultivation equivalent to three incense sticks. Facing the misty, ghost-ridden forest, he pressed a hand to his ribs, and then his tongue cracked like spring thunder as he let out a deep bellow.

As his Five Organs resonated in unison, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. The potent yang qi surged forth, instantly shattering the surrounding endless yin wind and ghostly shadows.

Even the men from the villages were momentarily dazed by the shockwave, and Hu Ma’s figure before them seemed to blur.

Then, Hu Ma fixed his gaze forward. Secretly practicing his technique, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood imbued with his body’s fire qi.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it was merely a remarkably long and powerful exhalation, beyond the capabilities of any common man.

However, to those on the Path, or to the vindictive souls and evil spirits watching, it was a different sight. They saw a streak of blood-red flame shoot straight forward. Though Juehu Village was still a mile away, this scarlet flame seemed to traverse the entire deep forest, burning a clear path through it.

Hu Ma lifted the hem of his robe and strode down this newly forged path, straight towards Juehu Village.

Behind him, Old Yangpi and Second Master, hearing the commotion, were already pale with fright, scarcely daring to imagine what they had witnessed. "Second Master, this... this young disciple of yours, has he learned the skills of an Immortal?"

Even Second Master was struggling to maintain his composure. He stammered, "What he learned out there, I... I don’t know..."

"But that Blood Yang Arrow just now... I think I might have actually taught him that..."

A single Blood Yang Arrow had opened the Yin Road. As Hu Ma walked slowly along the path to Juehu Village, a tumult of emotions rose within him.

Returning to Juehu Village after two years, his feelings were different once again.

The first time he ventured into this village, he had found it terrifyingly dense with ghosts, a breeding ground for resentment, incredibly difficult to handle.

But now, he sensed that the village harbored not just resentful qi and yin qi, but something far heavier, more oppressive. This explained why, despite the many capable individuals in the deep mountains, none could resolve the Juehu Village problem; indeed, none even dared approach.

They couldn’t identify what this ’thing’ was. Thus, their methods of dispelling resentful qi and exorcising fierce ghosts were not a true remedy for the situation here.

Of course, the current him was all too familiar with this ’thing.’ He even felt a strange sense of affinity with it.

Because this was sha qi.

As he drew closer to Juehu Village, the billowing yin wind, thick with sha qi, began to encroach upon and fill the path Hu Ma had carved open with the Blood Yang Arrow. It even felt like invisible blades slicing at his body.

Lifting his gaze, he could already see the Four-sided Town Gate Stone up ahead. Within the village, amidst the baleful, swirling dark clouds, tall and imposing figures coalesced and dispersed, exuding a sinister, eerie aura.

The resentful ghosts, trapped within Juehu Village for so many years, seemed to have sensed his arrival.

They slowly revealed their forms. Though confined by the Four-sided Town Gate Stone and unable to emerge, their venomous gazes were locked onto Hu Ma.

To be stared at by so many of the dead would make any living person profoundly uncomfortable; even their life force would gradually weaken.

However, Hu Ma, possessing the Entering the Mansion ability and a cultivation of four columns, was unaffected. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He walked step by step to the edge of the village but did not rush in. Instead, he stood outside, calmly surveying the swirling yin wind and the dense miasma of resentment within. Gazing at the tall, grotesque figures, he slowly exhaled.

Then, he slowly raised his hands, made a deep bow, his expression solemn and respectful, and announced in a resonant voice, "Descendant of the Zhen Sui Hu Family, Hu Ma, has come today to retrieve a treasure! This bow is to thank all you fellow villagers for safeguarding the token on my behalf!"