Twilight Boundary-Chapter 528 - 519: Mountain Sacrifice Ceremony

"Orders, slaughter, and war..."

"At dusk, yin and yang divide; humans and evil spirits each walk their path..."

Hu Ma held the mace, seemingly frozen in place for a long time. The weight was such that even his body, despite having undergone Entering the Mansion and Shousui, could barely support it, yet he still felt the weight of the mace continuously increasing.

Before this moment, he did not know the origins of the mace, only that it was a token of the Hu Family. It wasn’t until now, when he lifted it, that he felt the overwhelming murderous aura contained within it. Inside, there were even some of the oldest and most grandiose elements, pointing directly to the deepest secrets and logic of this world.

The cause and effect on this mace were far larger than he had imagined, even far beyond what a family like the Zhen Sui Hu Family, one of the Ten Surnames, should possess. Many things seemed impatient, vying to press down on his shoulders once he raised the mace.

From the moment he lifted the mace, certain deep-seated elements of this world had already started to be affected, layers of cause and effect intertwined.

In a remote village, Aunt Zhang, as usual, helped send off an elderly local. After declining the funeral banquet, she returned to feed the listless chickens in her yard. She pondered why the chickens had become listless and stopped laying eggs after her return from Mingzhou, but suddenly heard a faint noise from the house.

She hurriedly put down the winnowing basket and went to the house, only to be shocked. The Token she brought back from Mingzhou, placed on the table, was gently swaying. The three incense sticks in front of the Token had burned to the end.

Quickly adding another three incense sticks, she murmured a spell to the Token for a while, finally seeing it steady again. However, she was pensive. Perhaps I should make another trip to Mingzhou?

Beside Green Stone Town, because this family hadn’t had a new child in a long time, Seventh Aunt’s whole family was gathered in their den, happily drinking and teasing the golden and silver dolls raised beside them.

Seventh Aunt, who always had good teeth, suddenly paused while gnawing on a chicken bone, shrugged her shoulders, feeling an uneasy sensation.

"What’s wrong, Aunt?"

Nearby, San and Si, who usually only knew how to eat greedily and sleep, noticed something was amiss and glanced at her, asking.

Seventh Aunt was dazed for a moment, sensing something was wrong, but couldn’t pinpoint it. She simply shook her head, saying, "Nothing, nothing, keep eating your chicken and drinking."

However, the two golden and silver dolls raised beside her, originally Spiritual Treasures, seemed to sense something and shivered, hugging each other, exclaiming, "Seventh Aunt, there’s a government aura..."

"..."

Farther away, a man with a square face and a thick beard, hiding by a grave practicing bitterly, silently practiced on his Magic Altar for a long time. Suddenly, he was hit by a wild impulse, opened his eyes, and his expression changed drastically.

The oil lamp on the altar was as small as a fly bean. He hurriedly reached out to protect it, scrambling to add oil. "Just borrowing something to cross the bridge, why such a big reaction?"

Then suddenly, the oil lamp flared up, scorching his eyebrows, scaring him into letting out an "OW!" and jumping up, pale-faced, trembling all over. "Something’s wrong, why did it suddenly give so much?"

"Just borrowing something from your house, and you’re acting like you’re transferring the house to me?"

"I’m a thief, not your son..."

"..."

"..."

Senior, the Hu Family’s Token is now in my hand...

Hu Ma had no time to attend to changes happening everywhere. He gritted his teeth and, upon confirming the mace’s ownership, gathered all his strength, loosened his grip, and slowly placed the mace back into the Stone Box.

It seemed only then did his stiff body slightly improve. The bones inside him felt as if they had been broken and reconnected, leaving him in a state of severe fatigue he hadn’t experienced since Entering the Mansion.

"No rush, no rush..."

He softly reassured the Iron Mace within the box, "I only took the mace; it’s not yet time for the hearing. No need to rush it all onto me..."

After calming down for a moment, he took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and looked at his surroundings. Although he had merely lifted the mace for a moment, he strangely felt reborn.

After a long while, he steadied his stance, first bowed lightly to the box, then turned around.

In that moment, something inexplicable changed within him. As he turned, he saw the mountain lord’s face clearly. Refined and graceful, the mountain lord was no ordinary mortal, yet Hu Ma could now perceive him as clearly as a common person.

Perhaps holding this mace held power beyond his previous imagination; perhaps with one stroke, the mountain lord...

"Even if it’s just in your mind, could you show me a little more respect?"

The mountain lord, meeting the gaze of Hu Ma turning with the mace, suddenly furrowed his brows, slowly retreating. It wasn’t out of caution but rather seemed like a better angle to assess Hu Ma. With a soft sigh, he quietly said, "Demon Suppression Golden Mace..."

"Forged with Seventy-two Paths of copper, eighty-one mountains of iron, refined from the timber of the world’s three hundred seventy prefectures... Though I long looked forward to witnessing you lift it, seeing it truly does leave me with some sentiments..."

"And you?"

With that reflection, he suddenly turned serious, looking at Hu Ma. "This item was destined to shake the world once it appeared. Now that you’ve taken this mace, are you..."

"...preparing to strike whose head first?"

"..."

Confronted by this question, even Hu Ma paused, unable to resist looking outside.

Nowadays, Mingzhou is already showing signs of chaos: collateral branches of the Hu Family, the man-eating Heavenly Destiny General, and the ambitious Tongyin Meng family lurking in the shadows, hungry for power...

But after countless figures flashed through his mind, Hu Ma still delayed answering. Only when a massive thought rose in his heart did he slowly look up at the mountain lord, saying softly, "The emergence of the Demon Suppression Golden Mace... the first strike is indeed crucial."

"Perhaps it should be the harshest hit, perhaps the most accurate hit..."

"..."

Listening to his words, the mountain lord couldn’t help but grow curious. Staring at him, he asked, "So how do you plan to strike?"

Hu Ma breathed a quiet sigh, a smile appearing on his face. "I’d say the first hit should be the loudest one."

"So, I need to see whose head is tough enough!"

Hearing this, the mountain lord suddenly laughed as if seeing something amusing, his laugh filled with anticipation.

"..."

"..."

"What? We have to pay government taxes?"

"What’s a government tax?"

"Tax is like rent. You farm the Landlord’s land, shouldn’t you pay rent?"

"But we’ve already paid rent to the Landlord. Why pay taxes again?"

"If the Landlord doesn’t pay, then you have to, don’t you?"

"..."

Meanwhile, as Hu Ma entered Juehu Village and took the Demon Suppression Golden Mace, affecting many things deeply and secretly, quiet changes were also happening within Mingzhou Prefecture.

The long-absent tax officials of the government began appearing between villages and fields, in front of Landlords’ granaries. Holding ledgers and abacuses, they politely yet firmly insisted on collecting taxes.

The unexpected tax collection prompted many disputes, swiftly drawing even the Government Officials from Mingzhou Prefecture City into the scene. Everywhere, village chiefs were summoned, and local able-bodied men were called out to receive government grain and collect grain from the people.

It seemed as if the Mingzhou government, nearly forgotten and dormant for two decades, had suddenly awakened overnight, revealing its daunting presence.

Apart from officials visiting villages and fields, in front of Old Yin Mountain, several influential government lords, who often stayed in Mingzhou City and were rarely seen, as well as a host of officials in charge of punishments and political affairs, and prominent nobles, also appeared.

They set up an incense table in front of Old Yin Mountain, laid out livestock offerings, burned incense, and prayed solemnly, "By Heaven and Earth, bestowed with imperial orders, we collect taxes and administer laws. Now informing the ghostly gods, we pray for our dynasty’s favorable winds and smooth rains..."

Officially, it was a divine offering, but it felt more like a proclamation of rights and duties. This was the duty-bound exercise of authority by the mortal Lord, which even the underworld Lord couldn’t interfere with arbitrarily.

Yet this act hadn’t occurred in Mingzhou for twenty years, leaving the praying officials apprehensive, while the observing members of the Truth Sect widened their eyes, holding their breath.

After the prayers, there was a prolonged silence.

Although this grand ceremony was unprecedented, and all the government officials were devout, they waited a long time only to see the incense on the table burning quietly without any unusual changes. The offerings on the incense table remained untouched, even attracting flies after being there for a while.

"Does it mean they don’t accept our offerings?"

The officiants of the prayer, full of unease after waiting so long without any reaction, felt uncertain about what to do next. Some, unable to suppress their concerns, glanced towards the Heavenly Destiny General draped in a Big Red Robe beside them, hesitant to persuade him.

The Heavenly Destiny General hesitated slightly, then turned to look at a curtained sedan chair behind him, which was surrounded by servants. He saw no movement from within, but in the palpable silence, one could sense the occupant of the carriage growing agitated.

Thus, he furrowed his brow and slowly rose from the ground, patting the dust off his knees before walking to the incense table. He picked up a fruit from the offering stand, wiped it on his sleeve, then ate it, saying coldly, "Whether they accept the offering or not, the rites are already complete. So why still be courteous to them?"

"Tomorrow, we’ll go to the countryside, and my people will join you!"