Twilight Boundary-Chapter 771 - 762: Descendants of the Ten Families (Today’s Makeup Update)

He couldn't see through it.

The waters of Shangjing City were frighteningly deep. Even though he had now acquired a wealth of skills, he still felt they were unfathomable.

With Calculation leading the way, they came to a rather elegant place in the city. Along the way, they learned that this was the property of the Undying Wang Family.

Of course, the words "Undying King" were only used by those in the Path; in Shangjing City, the Life-Knowing Hall was merely an old medical hall of long standing. It was just that the Wang family's descendants were exceptionally capable, having built a powerful estate here in Shangjing City.

Although it was nominally just a hospital, when they entered, they found the interior to be very spacious, with rockeries and flowing water, green bamboo, and a green lake. Stone-paved paths interwove, and without a guide, one might easily get lost in this seemingly endless garden.

After walking for quite a while, they arrived at a place shrouded with incense, where there was unexpectedly a small Taoist temple in the garden.

Hu Ma examined it closely and confirmed it was indeed Taoist in style, which he found quite intriguing.

But then he thought of how this State Preceptor Dongxuan had once been on intimate terms with the Reincarnators, and it was no longer surprising.

Calculation hurried to the front of the temple to inquire on behalf of Hu Ma. After a while, he returned somewhat awkwardly and whispered, "We've come at an inconvenient time. The master is said to be in seclusion, preparing for a ritual."

"Seclusion?"

Hu Ma listened, slightly furrowing his brow. He had originally just wanted an excuse to visit the Life-Knowing Hall, so this delay didn't particularly bother him. However, he found it a bit suspicious that the State Preceptor would go into seclusion at this specific time.

Just as he was wondering where to find Miss White Wine, he heard a laugh beside him. "Brother Hu from the Hu Family, you're here too?"

He turned his head and saw Zhao Sanyi and Chen Abao emerging from a small path.

Zhao Sanyi walked up to Hu Ma, looked him up and down, then suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Brother Hu, you truly possess tremendous skill! Our Zhao Family is renowned for grand transformations, but your Hu Family is certainly not lacking either!"

"Who would have thought that the Great Sword Catching Sect of the Walking Ghosts, with which we had dealt for so long, turned out to be the master of the Walking Ghost Family? You've really made a fool out of me!"

"When the State Preceptor first mentioned this, I even reflexively argued against it…"

"…And then my father slapped me across the face for my lack of discernment and punished me by making me watch the incense for three days."

"..."

"I never said any of those things; you all were the ones talking back and forth, weren't you?"

Hu Ma, having a generally good impression of him, smiled and said, "Now look at me again. Do I look like I'm from the Walking Ghost Family?"

"Of course not."

Zhao Sanyi replied, "Whoever heard of an ancestor of the Walking Ghosts mastering the art of Shousui? But that doesn't mean you're not one of them!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Chen Abao, who was also observing Hu Ma, suddenly asked, "If you're the head of the Walking Ghost Family, then who was pretending to be Young Master Hu of the Hu Family at that time?"

Hu Ma just gave her a faint look and said, "What do you think?"

Chen Abao immediately rolled her eyes at him in displeasure.

Zhao Sanyi quickly laughed. "Let's not discuss this here. Were you looking for the State Preceptor?"

"He entered the underworld last night, and several elders accompanied him. We are also here in attendance. Since you've made it, why not come over and sit for a while? I'll introduce you to some friends."

Lowering his voice, he chuckled softly, "You've come at just the right time. There are some novel amusements worth seeing together."

Hu Ma wasn't originally interested, but as he turned his head, he caught sight of several figures on a stone path in the distance. He particularly noticed a woman standing quietly among them, holding a cat in her arms, and was momentarily stunned.

Then, glancing over again by chance, he was startled to see this woman, dressed in white and holding the cat, standing there with a distant gaze.

He slowly retracted his gaze and said, "Alright then."

For the past twenty years, the Hu Family's movements had been mysterious, the events they experienced strange and enigmatic, and their temperaments odd as well. Zhao Sanyi, entrusted by friends to invite Hu Ma over, was initially worried he wouldn't agree. Seeing Hu Ma acquiesce, Zhao Sanyi was overjoyed.

He eagerly led Hu Ma over to join the group in another circle. In the garden, there was a green lake, flanked on both sides by exquisite, leisurely pearwood pavilions.

There, a Young Master with a fair complexion, dressed in a light white silk shirt and appearing to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, clapped lightly. Suddenly, a procession of servants brought zithers, chessboards, books, paintings, fine wine, delicious food, and even a few intricately crafted incense burners.

Wisps of Purple Qi drifted out from the incense burners, refreshing everyone's spirits as they inhaled.

Hu Ma frowned slightly, then he was impressed; the craftsmanship of the Ten Surnames was indeed extraordinary. Inside the incense burners was Purple Tai Sui.

"This is the Young Master of the Life-Knowing Hall, Wang Zisheng."

"This is Zhu Youqin from the Guan Mountain Zhu Family. Those two are the Li sisters, Li Qingbai and Li Zhongmo."

"..."

On the way over, Zhao Sanyi had enthusiastically introduced everyone. Hu Ma listened and realized that most were descendants of the Ten Surnames. In fact, he had already encountered many of them when he returned to Shangjing, as they had come a hundred miles out of the city to greet him.

Aside from the Ten Surnames, there were also people of significant backgrounds who, outside this group, would all possess notable identities. However, with the Ten Surnames' descendants forming the majority, these others were of a tier that might or might not warrant a formal introduction. Miss White Wine was one such example.

She still wore that indifferent expression, sitting quietly with the cat in her arms, showing no intention of speaking with others.

Most of those around her, who presumably considered themselves of slightly lesser status, also dared not speak casually.

Of course, she alone displayed none of that subtle fawning; she truly possessed an outstanding character, aloof and detached from the crowd.

Zhao Sanyi only spoke up when he saw Hu Ma glance over. "This is... uh... who was she again?"

The Young Master of the Life-Knowing Hall beside them spoke politely, "This is the Holy Hand Young Master of Grass Heart Hall, Miss Zeng Shengbei. She is famous in our Si Ming Sect as the Da Siming."

"But several years ago, she decided she no longer wished to stay in the Capital and chose to travel far to gain knowledge, so she was rarely seen. She only returned a short while ago."

"..."

Everyone listened and understood her background.

Every Path had a few distinguished major lineages and prominent sects. Even the core family of such a Path had to treat them with courtesy. Grass Heart Hall was precisely such an entity within the Siming Path.

They all sat down and had tea, engaging in polite conversation, although many eyes lingered on Hu Ma's face.

Seeing others subtly exchanging glances, Zhao Sanyi couldn't hold back any longer. He put on a smiling face and said to Hu Ma, "Brother, the way you Hu Family people do things is truly different from others. In fact, I've always been fascinated by those legendary…"

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "'evil spirits.' I've heard a lot about their actions, but I have yet to encounter one in the jianghu."

"You must have witnessed grand events. Why don't you tell us if those evil spirits really have three heads and six arms?"

"..."

"Evil spirits?"

Faced with the expectant gazes of the crowd, Hu Ma understood.

It seemed the State Preceptor had not only revealed his identity but had also spoken about the Hu Family's affairs.

Now, in the eyes of these people, they probably all knew that the Hu Family had endured humiliation and infiltrated the ranks of the evil spirits, right?

With a slight lift of his eyes, he smiled and said, "Why ask me?"

"Your Trick Door sect also has them, and you've probably seen them without realizing it."

"..."

"Hm?"

Zhao Sanyi immediately became slightly wary.

Hu Ma continued slowly, "When you were acting arrogantly, flaunting your status as the Zhao family's Eldest Young Master, perhaps they had already slipped arsenic into your teacup."

Zhao Sanyi, who was holding his teacup, looked slightly awkward and slowly put it down.

"Just kidding."

Hu Ma looked at him and said, "At most, they would only cut off your head while you're asleep."

"Or, they might be knocking gongs and beating drums while digging up your family's ancestral graves…"

"..."

Zhao Sanyi naturally realized Hu Ma was joking. However, those in the Trick Door sect were accustomed to taking on the responsibility of livening up a crowd and preventing awkward silences, so he simply laughed along. The others, finding it amusing, also joined in the laughter.

However, the twin sisters in white and black dresses in the crowd suddenly looked slightly angry, their expressions changing as they coldly snorted.

One said, "They really would do such things."

The other chimed in, "And it's not just that their arson attempt failed; they keep lurking around, looking for another chance."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly recalled something and instinctively recoiled a bit.

Recently, rumors—their truthfulness unknown—had indeed been circulating extensively. It was said that the Impermanence Li Family had encountered some serious trouble, so angered that they had even dispatched White Impermanence. Despite the significant commotion, it seemed they hadn't managed to catch anyone in the end, and they were reportedly still furious.

"These evil spirits are lawless and truly a great scourge."

At this point, one person spoke up. It was Zhu Youqin from the Guan Mountain Zhu Family. Most of his hair was loose, held in place by a single wooden hairpin. He appeared to be the eldest among them and spoke lightly,

"Sometime ago, my family noticed these evil spirits were beginning to emerge again and wished to eradicate them. It is only now that we learn of the Hu Family's foresight and their long-standing arrangements. Perhaps, with their help, we can completely root them out."

Hearing this, everyone clapped and laughed, saying, "Exactly!"

"Previously, it was said that the Hu Family, over the past twenty years, only cared about staying in seclusion. But now, after hearing the State Preceptor's words, we realize the Hu Family has actually been the most hardworking. Twenty years ago, it was the Hu Family that made significant contributions, causing those evil spirits to vanish. And now, they've taken the lead once more."

Everyone was flattering, their faces filled with smiles, and the atmosphere was excellent. But Hu Ma just sat quietly, glancing at Miss White Wine.

She still remained expressionless, holding the white cat in her arms, seemingly having not heard a thing.

As for what she had mentioned he should see, there was no sign of it yet, and it didn't feel like the right time to find an opportunity to ask.

At that moment, more laughter sounded. When he looked over, he saw Fourth Miss Zhou. Further away, a skinny, raggedly dressed man was silently following her.

He realized Fourth Miss Zhou had finally been retrieved by the Zhou family and had received an invitation from the Life-Knowing Hall to attend. To his surprise, he was meeting her here again, having just parted ways that morning.

After they had taken their seats, someone again addressed the Young Master of the Life-Knowing Hall, "You said you have some novel amusements to show us. It's rare for everyone to gather like this, and even Brother Hu from the Hu Family is here. If you don't bring them out now, when will you?"