Twilight Boundary-Chapter 560 - 551: Announcing to the Ghostly Gods

"He didn’t have much skill; he was just dragging things out. And this, precisely, is why we must push him now."

In Mingzhou Prefecture, incense burned continuously in the heart of the city. Once a brazier burned out, a new one was lit. This incense, as if even the wind couldn’t disperse it, lingered within the city, refusing to dissipate. This caused the entire Mingzhou City to be shrouded in smoke, making it hard to distinguish day from night. The mist, seemingly alive, occasionally attempted to sneak in through door cracks, carrying whispers. The entire city was oppressed; households kept their doors shut, and no one dared to speak loudly, fearing that something within the fog would hear them.

Yet, at this moment, in the heart of Mingzhou City, behind an incense table, a man with disheveled hair and a sword in hand appeared relaxed as he casually picked a fresh fruit from the table to eat.

Noticing the fourth-generation eldest granddaughter of the Hu Family by the table, Hu Xi, seemed somewhat puzzled by their decision, her expression uneasy, he smiled faintly and explained, "Your previous guess was actually correct. Bringing you here was partly to gauge this child’s temper. But, after all, this is a major issue and cannot be governed by a child’s whims."

"Back then, if the eldest master of their lineage’s main branch, your grandfather Hu Xian, had not separated from us and taken over the Zhensui Mansion, everyone would have been at ease. Even if they had parted ways, if his father, your Uncle Hu Shan, had inherited the Zhensui Mansion—as he was always steady and was the eldest son of the eldest son—we would have had no cause for concern. But unfortunately, your grandfather Hu Xian parted ways with us and then perished. Uncle Hu Shan left Shangjing only a few years before he, too, was no more. This left this young boy, who had never even lived in Qingyuan for more than a day or two, to inherit the Zhensui Mansion... He doesn’t even know what an important burden the Zhensui Mansion is."

"Our Qingyuan Hu Family has served as Mace Guardian for the Imperial City for generations, dividing yin and yang, but that was only acting on behalf of imperial power. It wasn’t until twenty years ago that the Zhensui Mansion was formally handed over to us by decree of the late emperor. One could say that from that time on, our Hu Family’s title as Zhensui was solidified. However, because the burden was too heavy, fearing it would involve everyone in the family, we reluctantly parted ways to preserve our blessing. But this does not mean the Zhensui Mansion has nothing to do with us, much less that it belongs to him!"

Speaking, his face revealed some gloominess, and he coldly snorted, "It’s also that Grandma Bai was narrow-minded, truly thinking she had cut all ties with us. She didn’t send a single message for twenty years and even cast out the Five Evil—an artifact entrusted by the late emperor to safeguard the nation’s destiny...

"Kept hidden in the deep mountains for twenty years, never seeing the light of day! Look what the Walking Ghost Path has become now?"

"I know you still harbor some sentiment and don’t want things to get too ugly, but we didn’t come over here because we were envious of the Zhensui Mansion or anything of the sort. We just can’t let him act so willfully and ruin the name of the Zhensui Mansion.

"He can hold the Demon Suppression Mace, but he can’t act recklessly. There must be someone by his side to help. But he harbors grievances against us and doesn’t know how to handle them, so he keeps hiding.

"He’s been hiding for so long, exhausting people’s patience, and the situation has become increasingly urgent.

"Now that it has come to this, let’s see how much longer he can drag it out. When he’s truly in an inescapable bind, the burden of his wrongdoing will be immense."

Listening to her Third Uncle Hu Feng patiently explaining from behind the incense table, Hu Xi, the fourth-generation eldest granddaughter of the Hu Family, remained unable to shake off her concerns. She glanced up at her Third Uncle and said in a low voice, "But we can’t hold out either. In three days at most, people in the city will start dying."

This sentence hit the mark. Setting up such a large altar, yet only offering the three types of animal sacrifices and six ritual offerings on the incense table, was already a joke. With this Third Uncle’s cultivation, he couldn’t sustain such a large altar by himself. What truly supported this altar was the living energy of the entire populace of Mingzhou City, relying on their vitality to raise the altar. But precisely because of this, the longer the altar stood, the greater the depletion of this living energy among the city’s people. That Hu family cousin of hers had kept dragging his feet, avoiding a meeting, which made her matters increasingly difficult and exposed many problems. And now, if that cousin still delayed, the consequences would be even more dire; within three days, people in the city would start dying, and in large numbers...

Such a large altar actually had one best counter: to stall. If they stalled for three to five days, the altar would break by itself. She was genuinely worried that this cousin of hers would act recklessly and drag things to a point where the people of the city had no way out. Surely the great Qingyuan Hu Family wouldn’t actually let this entire city perish?

But the Third Uncle, who was in charge of the Magic Altar, heard her words and instead laughed. "If he truly manages to drag this out for three days, I’ll genuinely admire him. It’s just a pity; if that happens, Mingzhou will lose its standing. Can he bear those consequences? Moreover, the hungry ghost army needs two days at most to be completely drawn to Mingzhou. By then, when they feast on Mingzhou City, unhindered, can he really continue to hide and not act?"

As he spoke, he looked up at the building behind him. At the highest point of that building, two other Hu family uncles were guarding a clay sculpture, not moving an inch. Their expressions turned playful. "...And this is exactly what we are waiting for. Once, he had the courage to slay the Five Evil Ghosts. Now, we’ll see just how long he’ll hold out before he’s willing to strike down this Official Zhou Mansion God..."

For some reason, as Hu Xi looked at her Third Uncle’s confident expression, she couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

It was just at this moment that the deathly silence in Mingzhou Prefecture, previously filled only with the wafting incense smoke, was suddenly interrupted. At some unknown moment, a gust of cold wind blew up, causing the plume of incense smoke in front of the incense table to swirl and eerily ascend.

"So soon?" At the sudden commotion, Third Uncle Hu Feng quickly tossed aside the fruit in his hand and stood up abruptly. On closer inspection, his expression changed to one of astonishment. "Is this all he’s got?"

Not long before, in Zhu Men Town, after listening to Hu Ma’s detailed explanation, Aunt Zhang and Seventh Aunt were both shocked and confused, but they slowly firmed their resolve.

Aunt Zhang borrowed paper and pen from Left Protector Shen Hongzhi and wrote many letters. Each letter did not contain much text, but they formed a high stack. She wrote until late into the night, then asked Shen Hongzhi to help set up a large fire pit. Earnestly, she burned incense and kowtowed to the spirits. First, she took out the token from her bosom and bowed before the fire pit. Then, she knelt before it and slowly prayed, "I am Aunt Zhang from the entrance of the village in Feng County, Old Yin Mountain. Facing Mingzhou’s calamity, I ask all present to lend a hand. I send out these letters; I issue this token. The Evil Ghosts in Mingzhou run rampant, food supplies are cut off. To protect our village and neighbors, I set up an altar to drive away the Evil Ghosts..."

She was originally from the countryside and spoke with a thick village dialect. Now, having come to Zhu Men Town, she had encountered more people and witnessed more of the world. Unconsciously, she changed her accent, earnestly trying to speak the official dialect. Although her official dialect was not standard, her sincerity could be heard.

During her prayer, she slowly paused, silently pondering: The Shopkeeper’s words are too profound for me to fully understand. I just know that in this chaotic world, struggling to survive, one cannot break the rules. The rules, no matter how unfair they may be, are the only lifeline for the poor...

...So, this letter is not sent on behalf of the Zhensui Mansion. It is sent in my own name, seeking the aid of fellow villagers...

Having made sense of it, she then placed each letter she had written into the fire, watching them turn to ash as the flames licked them. In the darkness, an unknown number of little ghosts, having been invited, took the letters and vanished into the night.

"Seventh Aunt, where are we going?"

Meanwhile, a few yellow skins, who had been eating too well recently and had grown stout legs and big bellies, crowded around an elderly lady with bound feet wearing flowers on her head, hurriedly running towards the mountain. Confused, they asked the stern-faced Seventh Aunt beside them. But they saw that this Seventh Aunt, who usually seemed to know everything, now also wore a look of bewilderment. She merely feigned composure and said, "We’re attending a banquet! This time, it’s a grand occasion. Not only can we eat, but our good sisters from all over can also catch a whiff of the aroma..."

"Huh?" The few yellow skins around her grew excited upon hearing this. "How big must this banquet be?"

"I don’t know!" Seventh Aunt said. "But from what I’ve heard, it might be even bigger than that large city up north! We just need to invite a few people, and we can sit at the main table. How could we not give it our all?"

As she spoke, she climbed to the top of the mountain. She took an old suona from the hands of a nearby yellow skin and, puffing up her cheeks, began to blow into it with all her might.

In an instant, invisible fortune was stirred. The sound of the suona, carried by the eerie wind blowing from Old Yin Mountain, intertwined and spread far and wide. In a moment, it was unclear how many hidden spirits and creatures in the nooks and crannies of Mingzhou were startled awake. In Niu Family Bay, an old tortoise had hidden for years. In the forests of Old Yin Mountain, a toad had gained power. Southwest of Green Stone Town, at the foot of the mountains, a peach tree had achieved cultivation. And various others—foxes, raccoon dogs, spirits of rocks and plants—all stirred awake.

"What the hell? What kind of spirits are these? People of that stature are actually inviting us to a banquet?"

"Should we go or not?"

At the same time, in Zhu Men Town’s deserted courtyard, Hu Ma was also preparing to set up an altar.

He didn’t need anyone’s help. Even Little Hongtang only acted as his protector and wasn’t required to take action. He spent half an afternoon by himself making a few straw men and setting them aside. Then, he took a handful of rice and sprinkled it on the ground to form a circle. He didn’t set up an incense table, simply lighting three incense sticks and a lamp where he stood. He only prepared four talismans, which he simply pasted on the back courtyard wall. Then he borrowed the red Wooden Sword from Little Hongtang, holding it inverted in his hand. He slowly formed a Sword technique and gently pointed forward, "Set up the altar!"

Then, with a POP, a bean-sized flame leaped up from the oil lamp, extremely faint, shivering in the cold wind.

Hu Ma watched with satisfaction. He knew that the altar in Mingzhou City, which surveyed the entire Mingzhou region, might also see the small altar he was now setting up. They would probably be puzzled, wondering what use such a tiny altar could possibly have.

But it didn’t matter; this time, he was going to show them exactly what purpose this altar served.