Twilight Boundary-Chapter 529 - 520 Granny’s Obsession

"Little Huma, are you alright? Say something..."

"Damn kid, don’t scare your Second Master! You’re still young; I can’t afford to lose you, my life wouldn’t be enough to compensate..."

"Which evil spirit is so bold as to conjure this demonic fog to block us? If I catch you, I’ll shove you into a dung pit..."

"PTOOEY, PTOOEY, BLECH!"

Outside the forest, Second Master, Old Yangpi, and the others waiting were already terrified.

Just a moment ago, they were outside burning incense and making offerings when they suddenly heard a gale rise from the direction of Juehu Village, accompanied by wails and howls. Before long, they even heard thunder rumbling. The sky above them grew so dim it felt as if night had fallen instantly.

Consumed by worry, they then heard a final, deafening boom. The earth trembled, sending sand and stones flying. Though they were a full mile from the village, the massive tremor knocked them flat on their backsides.

It took them a long while to recover. When they did, they saw the sky had cleared and a gentle breeze was blowing. The oppressive gloom that had emanated from the village had vanished. However, their primary concern was Hu Ma, so they hurriedly ventured in to find him.

Although Juehu Village was merely a mile away, they walked for a long time without reaching it. Deep in the forest, a dense fog had risen, though they couldn’t tell when.

They groped their way forward through the fog. But no matter which way they went, they couldn’t find Juehu Village, which should have been close at hand. Panic began to set in. As they searched, they shouted Hu Ma’s name, their calls laced with foul language.

"I’m here, I’m here! Second Master, stop cursing, I’m out!"

Inside the village, Hu Ma was startled. He hurriedly nodded to the mountain lord, shouldered the Stone Box, and strode out.

Mountain folk often encountered disorienting evil spirits, getting turned around by ghosts, and the like. Their solution was to curse viciously; the fiercer the curses, the easier it was to find one’s way. They had no idea, however, that the one obstructing their path this time wasn’t an evil spirit, but the mountain lord...

Hearing the barrage of profanities, the mountain lord began to look rather embarrassed...

"Oh dear..."

When the anxiously waiting crowd saw Hu Ma emerge from the rapidly dissipating fog, carrying a Stone Box, Second Master, Old Yangpi, and the able-bodied young men who had followed them in were instantly overjoyed. They rushed forward to inspect him from all sides.

They checked if he was injured, if all his limbs were intact; someone even gave him a discreet pinch...

...This was to see if he was already dead and only his soul had emerged.

Only after confirming Hu Ma was indeed alive and had come out whole did they breathe a collective sigh of relief. Second Master reached for the Stone Box on Hu Ma’s shoulder, asking excitedly, "We called you for so long, and you didn’t answer! What... what happened to the village?"

"It’s all taken care of."

Hu Ma looked at the concerned faces around him and replied with a smile, "The resentment in the village has been dispelled, and its people have all found their own way."

"...Second Master, stop pulling at it. I’ll carry this Stone Box myself. You won’t be able to lift it!"

This kid gets more arrogant as he gets older...

Second Master’s expression soured at Hu Ma’s words. "Who in a hundred-mile radius doesn’t know that I, your Second Master, am incredibly strong?"

"I can toss around three- to five-hundred-pound stone locks with one hand like they’re toys!"

Hu Ma couldn’t quite explain. He understood Second Master wanted to take the Stone Box because he saw Hu Ma’s cultivation was significantly depleted, his face pale, and his steps unsteady. The crucial point, however, was that Hu Ma himself knew just how heavy this Stone Box was.

With his four-column cultivation, even when Entering the Mansion for Shousui, he could only just manage to carry it by mustering all his strength. If he really handed this thing to Second Master, the old man’s bones would probably shatter instantly.

"It’s... it’s really resolved..."

As he was speaking with Second Master, Old Yangpi and the group of able-bodied young men standing nearby were stunned.

Dumbfounded, they turned to look inside. Now that the fog had dispersed, they could see clearly. The dark, swirling, sinister winds were gone. The oppressive, heart-pounding atmosphere that struck anyone who approached was gone. The eerie, rustling cries were also gone.

Before their eyes was a mountain village, shattered as if by an earthquake, yet otherwise ordinary.

They weren’t practitioners of the Path, but even with ordinary human intuition, they could see at a glance that this village was different.

"Yes."

Hu Ma nodded and said to Old Yangpi, "Juehu Village is no more. Now, there is only Stone Box Village."

"Then this... this..."

Old Yangpi’s lips trembled; he could hardly describe his current emotions.

For a full ten years, Juehu Village had weighed heavily on the hearts of the people of Python Village and the surrounding settlements, making it hard for them to breathe. The young women in the village only wanted to marry out, while outsiders, knowing Python Village was next to a Ghost Village, dared not move in.

If things had continued, Python Village itself might have vanished in time.

Old Yangpi had dreamed of resolving this village’s problem, but now, it was truly, so easily, solved?

Looking at Hu Ma’s youthful face, he couldn’t believe his eyes for a moment...

Then, when he finally processed it, he suddenly took a deep breath and stepped back, putting some distance between himself and Hu Ma. With trembling arms, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply, his forehead touching the ground firmly as he kowtowed to Hu Ma.

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was startled. He never dared to accept such a kowtow from anyone, let alone someone so old. Such a solemn, grand gesture towards me?

With the Stone Box still on one shoulder, he hurriedly reached out his other hand to help him up.

But Old Yangpi was determined to complete this kowtow. Before Hu Ma could pull him up, the able-bodied young men from Python Village, seeing Old Yangpi kneeling, also hurriedly knelt and began to kowtow to Hu Ma, imitating Old Yangpi.

In an instant, a large group was kneeling. Even a few young men from Dayang Village, who hadn’t quite grasped the situation, quickly knelt as well.

It wasn’t until others pulled them up that they said in confusion, "I saw everyone else kneeling, so I knelt too..."

"...So what? We’re not nobles. A kowtow doesn’t cost us anything."

Hu Ma couldn’t pull up so many people. Carrying the Stone Box, he couldn’t even jump aside. Thus, he was forced to accept these kowtows. Vaguely, he felt that the Stone Box on his shoulder seemed to have lightened somewhat.

A faint emotion stirred in his heart, and he remained silent.

I’ll just consider these kowtows as not being for me, but for the Stone Box on my shoulder, or perhaps for what’s inside it.

The Zhen Sui Hu Family had always been short on luck, but receiving such gratitude seemed like it could accumulate some yin virtue.

"Granny made a promise, and I was merely completing the task she didn’t have time to finish. Old Yangpi, you truly don’t need to honor me like this."

Sighing softly, Hu Ma said, "But in any case, it’s good that the matter is resolved. Second Master, Old Yangpi, shall we head back to the village to talk?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yes, yes! Back to the village! We’ll prepare a feast, a feast!"

Second Master saw Old Yangpi kowtow respectfully, his forehead touching the ground. Old Yangpi’s dark face remained extremely solemn, but inwardly, Second Master was bursting with joy.

He was an uninitiated Shousui, while Old Yangpi was a self-taught walking ghost. One had greater strength, the other a bigger reputation. One had wanted to learn skills in his youth but missed out on marrying. The other was too poor, his wife having long ago run off with a peddler.

Although both were essentially novices, the two old fellows had always competed earnestly, overtly and covertly vying for supremacy. And now, look! Haven’t I won by a landslide?

Therefore, his voice boomed even louder than Hu Ma’s. "The matter of Juehu Village... the Stone Box, is resolved! We must also give these old neighbors a proper send-off! Everyone, follow us back to the village! We’ll set up the tables, have some music and celebration..."

Actually, what Second Master was thinking was that someone from Dayang Village had emerged with skills even greater than Granny’s. That was what was truly worth celebrating!

Furthermore, with the Juehu Village matter resolved, the common folk living nearby could also live more peacefully. This was certainly worth celebrating. However, matters of the living should not publicly overshadow matters of the dead. Therefore, what he was shouting about could only be the send-off for these old neighbors.

Another point: Little Huma had now made something of himself. He was skilled and had become a manager at the blood food mine.

Shouldn’t I help build up his reputation in advance? If he really intends to take people to help at the mine next spring, where would I find capable hands on short notice? After all, this is our own business. If we’re taking people, we must take the most capable Meat Cutting workers. Usually, when going to other people’s mines, we’d bring more greenhorns. Even if they’re unskilled, if we can get a couple of them paid, we do. But for our own mine, we don’t want greenhorns.

When Old Yangpi heard Second Master shouting this, he also stood up and called out, "A feast, a feast! Our village will cover all the expenses!"

Second Master said, "Our village people will drink in our village!"

Old Yangpi retorted, "Even if it’s in your village, our village will provide the banquet!"

At this, everyone became cheerful. They crowded around Hu Ma, heading towards Dayang Village. Some bustled about, digging out home-brewed earthen wine from the kilns, while others went to Python Village to fetch sheep and catch chickens.

The older folk all hurried to the old fire pit for incense-burning, murmuring prayers about how the ancestors had blessed them, how a capable person had emerged in the village, and how the Juehu Village matter was now smoothly resolved. The entire village’s fortune was indeed profound!

Not only did they burn spirit money themselves, but Second Master also pushed Hu Ma to go to the old fire pit to kowtow and inform Granny’s spirit in heaven.

In the eyes of the old folks, Granny had left the matter of Stone Box Village unfinished in her lifetime. For their own village to complete it after her passing was an extremely honorable and significant event, even more so than Hu Ma’s personal achievements.

How could such a significant event not be shared to bring joy to Granny’s spirit?

Hu Ma, of course, wouldn’t refuse. He went over as bidden, kowtowed, and burned incense. However, as he watched the incense smoke slowly drifting upwards beside the old fire pit, he could sense a difference in his heart.

In truth, Granny was no longer in this old fire pit. Back then, my skills were meager and my insight poor, so I didn’t understand. But now I realize that what Granny had left here was a wisp of her Guardian Soul, existing through sheer willpower and attachment. Now that I’ve grown up and retrieved the keepsake, Granny’s lingering attachment has vanished, and she has left this place. If I want to see Granny again, I must truly go to the ancestral hall and meet her as a descendant of the Hu Family.