Twilight Boundary-Chapter 705 - 696: Inviting Calamity, Sending Calamity (One More)
The Eldest Master Meng's panic caused quite a commotion. When Little Hongtang tried a few kicks to no avail, Hu Ma was in the village, guiding Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu as they learned their skills.
The two of them, after a period of intense combat in battle formations, had honed their foundations well. In addition to their Yuan Yang Body, they had also acquired a palpable aura of battlefield ferocity. In the Shousui Path, such talent was already considered quite good.
However, even within the Food Protection Army, the supply of Blood Food was not ample. It was only after the food-protection general quelled bandits and suppressed unrest before the New Year that they seized two or three hundred pounds. These were then distributed as rewards according to merit, and Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu had finally earned enough to gradually complete their limb techniques.
Now that they had begun to grasp the threshold of the Five Organs, Hu Ma taught the two of them new trump cards.
One was the Golden Toad Five Thunders Roar, the other was Half-step Sneezing.
It had to be said, Master Ping still had his uses. Under his guidance, these two trump cards had been modified to be quite formidable.
The Golden Toad Five Thunders Roar originally required one to begin refining the Five Organs to learn, but now it could be explored in advance. This allowed for the training of the Five Organs, enabling both the trump card and cultivation to progress without delay.
Hu Ma taught this trump card to the calm and composed Zhou Liang. Of course, he also told Zhou Liang that he could later discuss it with Bald Zhang. Since they were both generals under the food-protection general, there was no need to be stingy with this technique, as sharing it could foster good relations.
As for Half-step Sneezing, it was not only completed but also renamed to Nine Nether Bull Sound.
Perhaps deep down, Hu Ma thought it would be good to train a pair like the Heng and Ha Two Generals, so he had them earnestly work hard to learn.
During this time, Second Master, who was busy instructing people to prepare for the Sacrificial Mountain, noticed and came over to listen for a while, feeling quite pleased.
Yet, after all, he did not understand much, so he sat for a moment before leaving.
Upon hearing Little Hongtang's shout, Hu Ma hurried back to the house. The villagers could not hear the noise from the altar, but they could see the jet-black altar shaking incessantly and could sense that whatever was inside was terrified to the point of madness.
"Stop shouting."
Hu Ma walked around it and curiously asked, "Is my altar not sealed tightly? How did you know catastrophe was coming to the Hu family?"
"This isn't a matter of whether it's tight or not!"
The Eldest Master Meng's voice came from inside the altar, filled with endless panic, "Which member of the Meng family's bloodline cannot feel it?
"Hu family child, don't delay any longer. I am absolutely not trying to scare you; this time, this time disaster is truly approaching...
"That unfilial child, that unfilial child has completely gone mad...
"It turns out my wife guessed right. He really went to solicit disaster, and moreover, if he had only solicited one path, it would have been fine, but I distinctly feel it weighing on me eleven times over...
"You... you must quickly—only by releasing me can he be suppressed! Otherwise, otherwise, if you release my wife, she can still stop him. If you delay, and he sends disaster here, both our clans will face annihilation!"
"..."
"Is it really so ruthless?"
Hu Ma wore a faint smile, but the Eldest Master Meng couldn't see his expression. He could only hear his voice, which seemed somewhat surprised, "Ha, I don't believe the Meng family truly has the guts to suffer mutual destruction with the Hu family..."
"He has already solicited disaster..."
The Eldest Master Meng, anxious and fearful, said, "Blessings bring disaster, connections forged by blood! I am a living ghost, and moreover, the Meng family's Lord; no one knows better than I...
"That unfilial child has used the Meng family's blood relatives as a medium to invite eleven disasters!
"The Thirty-six Ghost Caves all have life and death boundaries. Once he truly sends the disaster beyond those boundaries, even into the territory of your Hu family, then it's all over..."
"..."
Hu Ma said, "Really? I don't believe it."
"However, as distinguished offspring of the Ten Surnames, how can they be so lacking in measure?"
The Eldest Master Meng's voice, its urgency now tinged with weariness, replied, "I've disliked that unfilial child since he was young. He's too pretentious, always pretending to care for his siblings, but then he'd turn around and make his younger brother and sister kneel on the ground to serve as his mounting block.
"Every time he saw me, he would kowtow dutifully, full of respect and filial piety. But the moment I left, he wouldn't even bother to offer me a single stick of One Incense. He is the most cold-hearted person in the world. Is it any surprise he would do such a mad thing?"
"..."
"Wait, this child... he is your biological son, right?"
Hu Ma listened, feeling his eyes had been opened. "Why do you speak more harshly about him than when you curse me?"
"Is this really the time for sarcasm?"
The Eldest Master Meng was almost begging, "If that brat indeed brings disaster, destroying both our family foundations, do you think your Granny wouldn't scold you?"
Hu Ma said, "No."
The Eldest Master Meng: "..."
Hu Ma slowly said, "After all, it was your Meng family that first acted against the Hu family back in the day.
"Now the Hu family is also in decline. While you still dream of becoming immortal, we struggle just to survive. As you said, even though the Hu family is among the Ten Surnames, our fate is heavy and lacks blessings. Yet everyone seems to hold some leverage that could bring doom to the Hu family...
"Haha, now the Meng family tries to scare me, and I'm supposed to just let you go, swallowing this silent loss? If I do that, won't the other eight Surnames think they can come and try to scare me whenever they please?"
"..."
The Eldest Master Meng hurriedly said, "The others wouldn't..."
"Shut up!"
Hu Ma cut in sharply, then said slowly, "A bet of lives is a bet of lives. The Hu family's foundation may not be as deep as your Meng family's, but we're not afraid to gamble with you.
"My one life in exchange for yours and the Elder Grandmother's would already be a gain. Not to mention making your Meng family lose so many of its descendants as well! If, by sacrificing the Hu family, we could also topple the Meng family, I'm afraid I'd wake up laughing in my sleep.
"Moreover..."
He said leisurely, "Without the Hu family, there would be no Zhensui Mansion. You all yearn for the Stone Pavilion? Then continue yearning!"
"You..." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The Eldest Master Meng was rendered utterly speechless by his words.
His heart suddenly recalled the ferocity of the Hu family. The Meng family had produced one madman, which was already enough to frighten people. Now, this madman had suddenly encountered someone utterly ruthless; even a person like him felt only despair.
Seeing the time was ripe, Hu Ma spoke slowly, "Besides, even if I wanted to make peace and let you go, a disaster, once invited, must be able to be retracted."
"This..."
The Eldest Master Meng saw a glimmer of hope in Hu Ma's words and was instantly overjoyed, quickly saying, "Yes, yes! As long as we return, we can suppress that unfilial child! We can use the karmic blood ties of the Meng family to guide the disaster back into the cave."
Hu Ma was surprised. "It can still be guided back?"
The Eldest Master Meng, fearing Hu Ma didn't understand the gravity of the situation, explained in painstaking detail, "This is related to the rules of soliciting disaster.
"With the direct bloodline of the Ten Surnames, as long as incense is burned, the entities in the Ghost Cave must emerge. Using the bloodline as a debt, it first seeks out the disaster-seeker, then captures those with shallow blessings. The further the disaster is sent, the greater the cost to the disaster-seeker.
"It first harms the disaster-bearer, then harms their blood relatives. Now, if we send the disaster back, it harms the disaster-worshiping's descendants, not the wider kin.
"Alas, when you think about it, our Meng family can bear the burden of our ancestors, making us the prime choice for soliciting disasters. Those demon people from the Sun Family have always been pestering our Meng family, but who would deal with such demon people? The cost of soliciting disaster is unimaginably great each time...
"But now, with these eleven disasters descending—though they haven't yet crossed the boundary—it's like an arrow on the bowstring. Once they are beyond our territory, then even if the Meng family and several other families combined forces, it couldn't be taken back..."
"..."
From the Benefit Sun family to the Tongyin Meng family, as well as matters related to the Hu family, all were disclosed in detail. During this, Hu Ma seemed to have some questions, pressing for details regarding the disaster solicitation—asking about everything from how to invite, send, and collect a disaster.
Was this Hu Ma contemplating how to respond?
The Eldest Master Meng didn't mind at all, only wishing for the Hu family boy to believe that this was indeed beyond the Hu family's ability to handle.
Once Hu Ma understood everything clearly, he slowly said, "From what you've said, it seems absolutely necessary to let you go back?"
The Eldest Master Meng was thrilled. "Isn't that the truth?"
Hu Ma, having spoken to this point, suddenly let out a cold laugh. "But after going through so much trouble to capture you, if I just let you go, wouldn't all my effort have been for nothing?
"The Eldest Master Meng must also abide by the rules of the jianghu. You'll need to offer something of real value in ransom."
"..."
"I..."
The Eldest Master Meng realized what was happening. He became completely dumbfounded, trembling as he said, "I'm trying to save your life, save the lives of your Hu family, and now you're turning around to extort me?"
"You just want to protect the Meng family's foundation."
Hu Ma snorted coldly. "This deal is simple. The things I want to ask about—will you tell me or not?"
The Eldest Master Meng was momentarily choked with anger. Even back when he was being tortured, he hadn't shown an ounce of weakness. But now, he was like a defeated rooster, unable to endure another second of this torment. After contemplating for a long time, he finally seemed to resign himself to his fate.
After a long pause, he finally said in a low voice, "I can tell you, but will you... let me go?"
"..."
"What are you thinking?"
Hu Ma said directly, "You are the Eldest Master Meng, with immense Divine Skills and boundless mana.
"If I release you, you'd come back to kill me?
"However, your family's Lady, she has no skills and doesn't really count as someone of the Path. Besides, she is, after all, a woman. Keeping her here isn't good. I have too many bachelors around, and I'm genuinely worried something inappropriate might happen. It's better to send her back."
"This..."
The Eldest Master Meng hesitated slightly, then sighed. "Fine, fine. Since she married me, she hasn't enjoyed many good days. Letting her go is fine. Besides, she can also manage that unfilial child...
"But, can you keep your word?"
"..."
Hu Ma said, "I swear on the name of the Zhen Sui Hu Family. How's that?"
Upon hearing this, even the Eldest Master Meng fell silent. He had to admit that the Hu family's reputation indeed exceeded that of the Meng family. Just the words 'Zhen Sui Hu Family' were enough for him to believe.
With a low sigh, he said, "Then... then ask what you will..."
Hu Ma smiled, slowly saying, "The first thing I want to ask about concerns Uncle Meng in the City of the Dead. His mana was so vast, commanding ten thousand ghosts. When I saw it, I was quite awestruck, and very envious.
"So, start by telling me: how do your Meng family cultivate and accumulate your cultivation? How about it?"
