Twilight Boundary-Chapter 742 - 733: Disaster for a Hundred People

"Should we keep going?"

Hu Ma focused, pondering the changes brought by this One Incense. Inside, there was only a vague clarity, like the joy of almost glimpsing an answer.

But the people nearby were startled at his words. All they were doing was escorting an ancestor's coffin to Shangjing, without offending anyone along the way, yet they had suddenly encountered such a formidable assassin. Even with the combined skills of Hu Ma and the distinguished Fourth Miss Zhou of the Yangming Zhou Family, they had almost been overwhelmed. They had barely managed to fend off the attackers, only to discover that Hu Ma had been gravely injured.

After all, the assassin wasn't dead. Whatever their motives, they had to guard against another attempt.

"In any case, with all the chaos in the human world nowadays, there really isn't much good scenery to see out here," Immortal Miaoshan said, worried. She could only advise, "How about we head back to Old Yin Mountain first? You can recuperate properly there."

"Or else, why don't you write a letter for Big Senior Brother and have the Bean Official bring it, requesting your senior brothers to come and escort us?"

Fourth Miss Zhou opened her mouth, intending to suggest something. Many skilled individuals within her Shousui Sect could come to her aid if she summoned them. However, recalling the inherent conflict between Hu Ma and the Yangming Zhou Family, she deemed it inappropriate.

After hesitating a moment, she merely said, "Aren't you also a Ghost Walker, and from the Great Sword Catching Sect? Issuing a directive should summon quite a number of small hall officers for escort. I hear they're very capable within the Walking Ghost Sect."

"No need." Seeing their concern, Hu Ma just waved his hand and spoke softly, "This journey to Shangjing must proceed."

"I might not be able to use the advanced skills of the Shousui Sect, but with my four columns of cultivation recovered, I reckon I should be able to handle any trouble."

I still had the Zhensui Mansion on my side to ensure my safety, though I didn't say this to them.

Besides, the attitude of the Daluo Dharma Sect, or this Nu'er Hong, had stirred a sense of urgency in him. To resolve this urgency, he had to go to Shangjing, meet Granny, and get clarity on the events of the past. Compared to that, everything else seemed secondary.

Seeing Hu Ma had made his decision, the others didn't try to persuade him further.

Right there, they built a fire, cooked some food, and ate. After a night's rest, they regrouped, hitched the livestock to the carts, and set off again, escorting the coffin, rumbling northward.

The following few days were peaceful. With Immortal Miaoshan handling all the arrangements, their journey proceeded smoothly. If they encountered any evil spirits, bandits, or routed soldiers, Fourth Miss Zhou's skills were more than enough to deal with them.

Hu Ma, meanwhile, stayed quietly in the carriage, recuperating for several days. He slowly circulated his energy, gradually recovering his previous Three Column Tao, though the Purple Qi was gone. His previously cultivated purple-colored cultivation seemed to have vanished after that recent power dissolve. I wondered if I'd be able to regain it after acquiring the Purple Tai Sui again.

Regarding the Great Mighty Sky General Dharma Form, I had observed it during inward inspection while practicing. I could clearly sense its presence but dared not contact it excessively. This was particularly so because even my Lifebound Spirit Temple seemed to be pinned down along with the Great Mighty Sky General Dharma Form. That nail felt as if it had completely stripped away my identity as a Reincarnator.

This sensation was complicated. Shousui men always believe in the skills they possess. This Great Mighty Sky General Dharma Form was also something I had diligently cultivated, but now it showed signs of being stripped away.

No matter how complicated my mood, I felt a sense of unwillingness. I was determined to reclaim these skills, to make them truly my own, such that no one else could ever touch them.

After several days of smooth travel, Immortal Miaoshan's earlier words about the times being chaotic proved true. It was the era of the Heavenly Mandate manifesting, with various grasshead kings vying for power amidst the turbulence, each attempting to seize control of the world. Along their journey, they encountered skirmishes frequently. Displaced commoners were numerous, and they witnessed countless tragedies.

Yet, knowing Hu Ma was injured and had important matters to attend to, they focused on seeking safe paths. Additionally, with Immortal Miaoshan arranging for quick-witted scouts to go ahead, they managed to avoid many troubles.

Then, one day, their convoy suddenly halted. Looking into the distance, they saw that the road ahead was covered by a thick layer of herbal dregs. The dirt path was completely obscured. The livestock pulling the carts reached the edge of the dregs and, as if sensing something, reared and shied away, refusing to step onto it.

Sensing trouble, everyone dismounted to investigate.

Calculation sprang down from his donkey, took one look, and said with a sigh, "Let's take a detour. There's likely a plague ahead!"

"Villagers in these parts have a custom," he explained. "After brewing medicine, they pour the dregs onto heavily-trafficked paths. The idea is that travelers will carry away the sickness khí, helping their own family members to recover. Seeing such a large amount of dregs, many of them fresh, it's likely that an entire village has fallen ill."

Hearing there was a plague, the group decided to turn back and find a different route. Typically, when escorting a spirit, retracing one's steps is considered bad luck; it's believed to bring misfortune to one's own family. However, pressing forward and allowing the plague air to affect the coffin was even worse. It was better to turn back and find a more suitable path.

They hadn't expected it, but after a delay of more than a single shichen (a two-hour period), they finally found a detour. However, not long after setting off on a narrow path, they suddenly smelled a heavy scent of herbs, mingled with the putrid stench of festering wounds.

Lifting their eyes, they saw a village ahead, shrouded in a hazy mist. All around were figures in tattered clothing. As the carriage approached, they weakly opened their eyes to look.

Among the crowd, several large cauldrons had been set up. A man dressed as a doctor, his face covered with a mask of gray hemp cloth, was busy brewing herbal medicine.

"We didn't manage to avoid it after all?"

The group exchanged glances, and Calculation had no choice but to dismount from his donkey. Fourth Miss Zhou and Immortal Miaoshan, being women, naturally couldn't show their faces publicly at such a moment.

He first asked Immortal Miaoshan for twenty taels of Silver, tucked it into his sleeve, then, forcing a smile, approached the doctor and bowed courteously. "Esteemed sir, greetings. May I ask what has happened in this village that requires such large pots for brewing herbal medicine?"

The doctor glanced at Calculation, shook his head, and sighed. "Ai, this village has met with misfortune; a calamity has struck. As a jianghu practitioner who saves people, could I pretend not to see? Of course, my abilities are limited. I can only save them one at a time, at best."

"Calamity?" Calculation caught the key word, surprised. "It appears like a plague to me, so why call it a calamity?"

"Hah! If it were merely a plague, I would have cured it long ago," the doctor scoffed. "It's precisely this calamity that's so difficult to treat. You seem like someone who has traveled the jianghu. Haven't you heard that Si Ming overcomes Witchcraft, and Theft Disaster overcomes Si Ming? When one person is ill, it's an illness; when ten are ill, it's an epidemic; but if it's a hundred, or a thousand, then it's a calamity."

"I'm just a wild doctor, roaming the lands and brewing herbal medicine. It's easy for me to draw out the sickness from their bodies, but this calamity's influence, how can I possibly dispel that? I just cure one, and another falls. I cure that one, and this one dies. Then two more fall ill… This isn't treating illness; this is like trying to pay off God with Silver Coin!"

Calculation had initially intended to offer the twenty taels of Silver as a token gesture, inquire about the way, and then continue their journey. However, hearing the man's insightful words, he sensed that this doctor possessed real skill. Now, this Silver couldn't be given so casually.

He focused his gaze slightly and asked, "Then may I ask, how did this calamity in the village come about?"

"How did it come about?" the doctor retorted with an annoyed huff. "Who else could it be but those nobles from the various jianghu Paths?"

"Huh?" Even Hu Ma, inside the carriage, felt startled by this. With war raging everywhere, commoners were displaced and suffering was widespread. If these misfortunes were attributed to the calamities of war, that would be understandable. But what this doctor was saying seemed different.

"You ask how the calamity in this village came about?" the doctor sneered and continued, "It's because the people of this place believed in the wrong person!"

"In the jianghu, there's a faction surnamed Hu and another surnamed Meng. They are all high and mighty nobles. They got into some squabble, stirring up countless people in the jianghu to fight."

"This village, quite unfortunately, had an Old Walking Ghost. He led these villagers in incense-burning and blessing rituals. As a result, they were targeted by that group of fellows who carry ghosts on their backs. The Ghost Walker and the Negative Spirit bearers fought a world-shaking duel. But what did these commoners have to do with it?"

"The Ghost Walker won that fight, but this village was originally a blessed place. There was a magnificent large locust tree at the head of the village, and it was this tree that helped the village suppress ill fortune and retain its blessings, allowing them to survive this chaotic era of warfare and still grow food to eat. Such a fine thing was destroyed because of that duel. What was once a place with good fortune suddenly lost it. This, in turn, invisibly attracted disaster and illness. Now, half the people in the village are already dead!"

"That Ghost Walker wasn't very skilled, but he insisted on going to find the source of the calamity. As a result, he went off and never came back, leaving so many commoners here waiting to be saved. I, an outsider, can only brew a few pots of herbal medicine for them. What else can I do?"

"This..." Flustered, Calculation glanced back, worried that Hu Ma might have overheard. But then he realized that the doctor's voice was so loud that even someone sitting in the carriage would have heard everything clearly.

Was this the trouble stirred up when I borrowed the world's incense? When I borrowed the world's incense, I anticipated this chaos. But with the Hundred Ghosts from the altar and Not-Eating-Beef providing assistance, I knew the Walking Ghost Path would win this fight. Moreover, returning divinity to the common folk is a great act of merit in itself. It seems that although my calculations were generally correct, I didn't foresee the specifics of what would happen in these remote places. Since this is related to Ghost Walkers, I can't just turn around and leave now.

"It's happening again?"

Through the carriage curtains, Hu Ma observed the doctor brewing medicine. His heart stirred slightly, but he maintained an impassive expression. He only said to Little Hongtang, "Go and tell Sister Miaoshan. Isn't she from the Theft Disaster Sect? Have her take a look and see if this calamity can be cured or not!"