Twilight Boundary-Chapter 522 - 514: Laying Out the Star Battle Array
This bow, along with these words, was extremely sincere.
At first, Hu Ma had thought Granny left this as a test, to be claimed once he had the ability to resolve the issues in Juehu Village.
But later he realized that Granny never intended to test him. Regardless of his identity, he was a descendant of the Hu Family. No matter his abilities, he was still the only living heir of Zhensui Mansion; inheriting the family estate didn’t require a trial.
Since this was the case, there must have been a compelling reason for her to place the Hu Family’s token here. The resentful souls and fierce ghosts in Juehu Village, then, were effectively acting as guardians of the token for the Hu Family.
Even if they were not consciously aware of their role, and it wasn’t intentional on their part, as a descendant of the Hu Family, he had to show his gratitude.
After the bow, Hu Ma straightened up, no longer hesitating. He took a deep breath and stepped boldly into the village shrouded in black mist.
The four towering steles around the village stood like pillars, keeping the ocean-like surges of black qi and rolling resentful souls from spilling outward.
When Hu Ma, as a living person, stepped through the Four-sided Town Gate Stone into the village, the black qi inside began to seethe like boiling water. Countless vague ghostly figures emitted spine-chilling, sinister laughter, their faces filled with greed.
Even the four steles trembled slightly, as if warning outsiders, or perhaps the activity inside was so intense that the steles couldn’t stop quivering.
But Hu Ma squinted, ignoring all of it, and gently lifted his foot over the boundary formed by the steles. In the next moment, he felt a fierce wind, sharp enough to cut flesh, brush against his face.
He raised his sleeve to shield his face, quietly gathering his cultivation to block the yin qi. Only then did he open his eyes. Suddenly, the sunlight was blinding, the scene before him a brilliant white. With a focused gaze, he glanced around, feeling as though he had stepped into a paradise.
In his sight, the houses were orderly, and the air hummed with the bustle of people. Chickens and ducks ran amok. Children chased dogs and cats beneath the bright sun, as smoke rose from every household.
"Oh, a guest has arrived..."
Seeing his entry into the village, friendly voices rose as smiling villagers hurried to greet him, bowing from a distance and saying, "Please come inside and sit in the clan leader’s house."
Hu Ma briefly hesitated but said nothing, following them as his gaze swept the surroundings.
Everywhere he passed seemed vivid and lifelike. The houses were exceptionally clean, and the children’s clothes were tidy. The villagers leading him or on either side were feeding chickens, eating, or spinning cloth, all curiously observing him.
He had been to Juehu Village once before and vaguely recalled its layout, which matched what he was seeing now. Looking ahead, he saw the stone mill in the center of the village.
He remembered that back then, the stone mill had a Stone Box wrapped in chains, containing the Hu Family’s token.
But now, as he looked over, he couldn’t see the Stone Box. There was just a sturdy villager herding an ox, pouring millet from a bag into the mill, and turning it as white rice flowed out.
Seeing it all, Hu Ma remained silent, enveloped by these enthusiastic villagers. He was seated in what they called the clan leader’s house, where an elderly man with a round hat and a walking stick warmly welcomed him.
"To have a descendant of an old friend here, what an unexpected honor! Please, have a seat."
Hu Ma was helped to a seat. He looked at the elderly man and smiled, asking, "Which old friend are you speaking of, Elder?"
"Why, the most kind-hearted Walking Ghost Granny of all the surrounding villages..."
The clan leader’s face was full of gratitude as he sighed, "She has shown immeasurable kindness to our village...
"If not for her, after we abandoned our mortal shells, we would have been lost in darkness, drifting aimlessly with nowhere to go. How could we have found this joy, free from the mortal world’s suffering, aging, sickness, and pain, living so carefree and content?
"Currently, everyone in our Stone Box Village, old and young, has entered this immortal realm within the box. We are boundlessly happy, without desires or needs. Our only regret is not being able to repay Walking Ghost Granny’s kindness. Now that her own flesh and blood has come here, how could we not repay him generously?"
Clapping his hands, he said, "Quickly, bring the tea..."
As he spoke, a blushing maiden with a full chest entered with steaming, aromatic tea.
Outside the door and beyond the window frames, childish heads clustered together; the village’s mischievous children, curious about the guest, were all peeking inside.
The tea was brought before Hu Ma, but he did not take it. He just looked at the clan leader and said, "I don’t drink tea. I’m just curious about this happiness you speak of. How happy is it?"
"Want for nothing, dreams come true, free from sickness and disaster—what could be wrong with that?"
The clan leader laughed. "And those are just some of the advantages! There are many more, but I am unlettered and cannot describe them. Drink the tea, young benefactor, and you will understand."
He nodded, beaming, his sincerity clear. The villagers around him, the maiden serving tea, and even the children pressed against the window all nodded and smiled along.
The village basked in brilliant sunlight, a warm breeze drifting through the air. Everyone looked prosperous and wore broad smiles.
As Hu Ma watched silently, everything felt incredibly real. He glanced down at the tea offered by the blushing maiden. Floating in it were fresh green tea leaves, their scent so vibrant it seemed to have a life of its own, drilling directly into his nostrils.
He reached out, but not to take the tea. Instead, he grasped the maiden’s wrist. Her skin felt smooth, warm, and soft. He could find no flaw.
"Oh..."
The maiden blushed furiously as Hu Ma held her wrist but did not pull away, instead turning her head shyly.
The clan elder laughed heartily, prompting the villagers and the crowd of children outside to join in, "The maiden blushes, eager to wed! Marry her, marry her!"
The clan elder nodded and laughed. "Marry her, marry her! Drink the tea and marry her!"
Hu Ma felt a multitude of voices squeezing into his mind, as if he were submerged underwater, his eardrums aching from the pressure. He hesitated for a moment, then quietly began his cultivation, preparing to undergo Death Transformation.
But with this attempt came a shock. His body remained perfectly fine; it was as if he had lost the Shousui man’s ability to fully undergo Death Transformation!
It felt as if he truly were in a thriving and abundant village, basking under warm sunlight, with the real clan elder and tea-serving maiden nearby. Everything—every blade of grass, every tree, every teacup—was vividly real, with not a flaw in sight.
He slowly released the maiden’s wrist. His gaze swept over the smiling faces around him, and he said, "I won’t drink tea, and I won’t marry. If you truly wish to thank me..."
His eyes passed through the half-open door of the clan leader’s house, focusing on the mill. "I want what’s on that mill."
The clan leader stopped smiling, his face full of confusion. "You want farmland? Our village has farmland. You want maidens? Our village has maidens. You want chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs? Our village has an endless supply..."
"...But you insist on that one millstone?"
Hu Ma nodded. "Yes."
The clan elder’s expression soured. "Why insist on that thing?"
Hu Ma chuckled. "Because it’s the only thing that can grind away the husk to see if the grain inside has already rotted..."
WHOOSH!
As he spoke these words, the countless smiling faces around him abruptly fell blank. Even the children crowded at the door and windows went still. Only innumerable eyes stared fixedly at Hu Ma.
The clan elder rapped his cane. "We’ve treated you well, yet you demand our village’s blessing? If we give it to you, are we to eat unhusked grain from now on?"
"Someone, serve the guest his tea!"
At his command, the surrounding villagers surged forward, pinning Hu Ma’s arms and shoulders. The maiden holding the tea gritted her teeth and forcefully shoved the cup toward Hu Ma’s mouth, trying to pour it in.
Hu Ma sighed softly, then suddenly sprang to his feet and took a step.
The air filled with reaching hands and people pressing against him; the maiden was practically thrown into his arms. Yet, he ignored it all, taking just that single step.
Then, he twisted his body and took a second step.
As he moved, he heard a chaotic chorus of shattering and tearing, like cloth being ripped apart, rippling around him.
He took seven consecutive steps without looking where his feet landed. Tables or chairs beneath his feet shattered instantly. Any arms or legs in his way were kicked and broken. Even when iron nails pierced his soles, he let them, his steps remaining firm.
THUD!
As his seventh step landed solidly on the ground, everything before him rapidly faded. The brilliant white sunlight transformed into a gloomy, eerie wind.
Those lifelike faces dissolved into spectral, twisted, and monstrous apparitions.
Even the intact, crude teacup that had been forced toward his face became a broken shard of pottery. The fresh, green tea leaves turned into several grimy black teeth. The fragrant tea itself became dark red, foul-smelling, corrupted blood.
Around him were now only ghostly, pale faces. A child’s eyeball dangled beside its nose, swaying like a drop of mucus.
Outside, no one was milling grain. Instead, a swarm of sinister little ghosts surrounded the iron box, their bloody maws wide open, gnawing laboriously at it with grinding sounds. Who knew how long they had been at it?
PHEW!
Hu Ma, upon seeing this, finally exhaled a sigh of relief. "Now, this is a normal scene..."
