Chapter 112 - 111: Four-sided Town Gate Stone (Extra - for Votes)

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Four-sided Town Gate Stone (Extra Chapter for Votes) The decision was made quickly, and the two groups that had been on the verge of conflict now joined forces, trudging through rough terrain toward the direction of Juehu Village. Some were familiar with each other, so they gathered together, greeting warmly, "Hey, cousin, you came too. I was planning to visit your village this afternoon to wish you a happy new year..." "I was on my way to see Grandma at your house when I got called. See, I’m still carrying the brown sugar I brought." Hu Ma walked at the front, overhearing the conversations behind him, finding them both fresh and absurd. Thankfully, it was Second Master who stepped in to prevent the two sides from fighting. Otherwise, among these cousins, who knows which family would be mourning. As they walked on, they indeed saw people with their weapons, coming to support. But seeing that peace had been made, they all put their weapons away, greeting each other. The more people there were, the stronger their presence, striding forward and startling countless creatures in the forest. Yet, as the group chatted and laughed, the previously good atmosphere faded into silence as they got closer. Before long, after descending a slope, a sudden chilling wind blew over them, sending a shiver down everyone’s spine and leaving them speechless. Old Yangpi lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing something, and whispered, "We’ve arrived." Hu Ma hardly needed the reminder as he already looked up ahead, seeing the wild grass overgrown, the forest deep and rocky, with a glimpse of some desolate, yellowish huts in the distance. There seemed to have been a village there, but it had been so long since anyone visited that the nearby fields and paths were overgrown. The trail once treaded by their ancestors was nearly invisible, and there wasn’t a single insect sound around; the silence was unnerving. He dared not enter the village and first looked around, noticing a few steles standing around the village. They were square, blue stones, covered with engraved names. Second Master came over and quietly said to Hu Ma, "These steles were commissioned by your granny back in the day. She found stonemasons from the surrounding area to engrave them, setting one on each of the four sides of Juehu Village with the names of the deceased from this village on them." "Your granny said as long as there are names on the steles, the things inside won’t easily come out to harm people." Hu Ma silently listened to Second Master’s explanation, keeping it all in mind. Granny’s method was clever. However, since everyone in this village had perished, outsiders had to recall the names of those who lived here to have them engraved. However, no matter how good the memory of outsiders was, there would always be omissions, so occasionally wandering ghosts would emerge from this village to cause mischief. Python Village, being the closest to Juehu Village, suffered the most. However, this also led to the emergence of a capable figure from there. This Old Yangpi, who had come to cause trouble, was originally just a shepherd in the village. But because wandering ghosts and evil spirits occasionally caused issues in Python Village, and a Ghost Walker like Granny wasn’t from their village and couldn’t always arrive promptly, he began to ponder handling things himself. After dealing with such incidents multiple times, he accumulated more and more skills, eventually becoming the village’s Divine Man. At this time, the people from the two villages dared not approach, merely watching Hu Ma from afar. Even just standing outside this village made one’s skin crawl, as if strange eyes were watching from within. Granny’s method was too ingenious. These four steles were just the largest part of the project; who knows how many other methods were used to pacify them! The more Hu Ma looked, the more amazed he became. To seal the evil spirits of an entire village and prevent any major incidents for so many years truly showed how skillful Granny was. He had learned the skills of a Shousui man and didn’t understand the methods of a Ghost Walker, so naturally, he couldn’t comprehend it. However, as he walked around the outskirts of the village, an idea began to stir in his mind. The Four-sided Town Gate Stone? The more he observed these four square steles, the more familiar they seemed, yet he was certain he hadn’t seen them before. Then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly recalled a dharma method mentioned in the Qingyuan Hu’s Age Suppressing Book that Granny had left him. He had memorized the contents of the Age Suppressing Book but couldn’t understand it. Later, after studying some basic theories with Sister Wu He, he had been slowly trying to digest the vast and profound dharma methods within the book. These four steles were one such method. Hu Ma originally couldn’t imagine what the Four-sided Town Gate Stone looked like just from the book, but now, seeing the steles, he recognized it. If the Four-sided Town Gate Stones are set outside the village, then inside the village, isn’t there likely to be an item to dissolve resentment? His thoughts began to clear. These Four-sided Town Gate Stones were merely part of that dharma method. If, as the Age Suppressing Book stated, the most critical component should be inside the village, working in conjunction with the stones to dissipate the village’s resentment. Moreover, it should be something that could be called a ’Magical Treasure,’ an extremely powerful item. Hu Ma felt a slight stirring in his heart but wasn’t hasty. He first observed carefully to understand the level of yin qi in the village. After some silent calculation, he gradually gained some confidence. Only then did he stop and say to Second Master, "I have to go inside and take a look!" "What?" Not only Second Master but also Old Yangpi, who was following beside them, was taken aback. "Don’t be reckless..." They quickly added, "This Juehu Village, even in broad daylight, just getting close can cause trouble, let alone going inside!" "In past years, it wasn’t unheard of for people to be lured inside. Once in, they never came out, and outsiders didn’t even dare to go in to search for them." "It’s good enough that you’re here to take a look; we didn’t expect you to solve the issue right away..." "I know." Hu Ma nodded. How could he not perceive the terror of this village? He was also fully aware that it was too soon for him to resolve this village’s troubles, but he had to at least go in and see that item inside. Only by doing so could he find the corresponding dharma method in the Age Suppressing Book to deal with it specifically. Besides, according to the Age Suppressing Book, as long as he didn’t touch the steles, he should be able to come out safely. "Do you have a rope? Find a long one." But Hu Ma also knew the danger and dared not be careless. He turned to the others and asked. When he entered the village, theoretically, if things looked bad, he should be able to get out. However, he needed to be extra cautious. So, he asked for a rope to tie around his waist. If something really went wrong, he could rely on the people outside the village to pull him out. "Yes." Many people had come along, and they carried all sorts of things. Sure enough, someone gathered several ropes and tied them together. Hu Ma tied one end around his waist and made an agreement with Second Master: if he tugged the rope three times, Second Master would pull him out. Only then did he brace himself and stoke the fire qi within his body. For safety, he had already inserted two and a half sticks of Life Incense into the incense burner. He then had Zhou Datong bring him his Wooden Sword, which he tucked at his waist before slowly stepping forward into the village. A gust of yin wind suddenly blew against him, and Hu Ma felt as if more than half of the fire qi within him had been extinguished by it. Approaching this village in broad daylight was almost scarier than encountering a ghost in the dead of night. If someone with less than one Column of cultivation were to be hit by that gust, their stove fire would likely be extinguished completely. But Hu Ma’s cultivation was deeper; his stove fire flared and quickly burned brightly again. Just like that, he stepped past the steles and entered the village. In this village that hadn’t seen daylight for many years, the low grass huts, the small paths overgrown with weeds, the stone mill entwined with vines, and the dilapidated spinning wheel covered in cobwebs all came into view. The air itself seemed to thicken, and he faintly heard some illusory, clamorous noises. "CREAK..." Suddenly, he halted. He saw a woman, simply dressed yet refined and beautiful, emerge from a dark, shadowy hut ahead, holding a clay basin and clucking softly, as if intending to feed chickens. Hu Ma stood still. The woman also saw him and turned her head to look. A sudden gust of yin wind blew past. Hu Ma focused his gaze, only to find no one there at all—just a half-open wooden door swaying back and forth in the wind, a shattered earthenware pot discarded by the doorway, and a few piles of dried chicken bones in front of the hut. No wonder it’s a Ghost Village, truly bizarre... Hu Ma let out a soft breath, trying hard not to dwell on these things, and continued forward. He couldn’t afford to linger too long in this eerie place. Otherwise, if the yin qi grew too heavy, even his high level of cultivation might be completely worn away, and then he would be in trouble. Before entering, he had already noted the positions of the four steles. He knew that if the item for dissolving resentment truly existed, it must be located in the central area between these four steles. He didn’t need to do anything else; just a glance would suffice, and then he could return. As he quickened his pace, the surroundings seemed to grow even more "lively." In his peripheral vision, all sorts of strange and grotesque shadows flitted back and forth. He had intended to make quick work of it—take a look inside and then get out—so he ignored all the strange sounds around him. However, he hadn’t expected that the further he walked, the heavier his body would feel, as if he were carrying hundreds of pounds. His legs grew weak and sore, he gasped for breath, and it felt like he was shouldering a mountain. A sense of hesitation arose in his heart, and he slowly walked towards a stone trough by the side of the path. It seemed to have originally been a trough for watering donkeys. A few weeds grew inside it, and accumulated rainwater lay like a yellowed, murky mirror. Hu Ma leaned over to look, and his heart jolted in shock, nearly stopping altogether. In the blurry reflection on the water’s surface, he was horrified to see seven or eight dark, indistinct shadows with obscured faces piled on his shoulders and back. Unknowingly, his own back had been pressed into an arch. "Instead of kowtowing for the New Year, you jump on people’s backs?" He was actually terrified, but he forced himself to remain calm and even muttered this quip to himself. Of course, he had no time to consider whether ghosts climbing on one’s shoulders or ghosts kowtowing was more frightening. As he spoke, he took the Wooden Sword from his waist, gripped it firmly, and secretly channeled his stove fire into it. The Wooden Sword instantly emanated an intensely scorching aura. Startled, the black shadows on his shoulders scattered in all directions. Hu Ma immediately felt lighter. He straightened his back and strode forward boldly, Wooden Sword in hand. The dim, hazy light before him suddenly vanished. He saw, in the very center of the village ahead, a large millstone upon which sat a stone box bound with iron chains. Is that the resentment-dissolving item Granny left behind? He widened his eyes, searing the object’s size, dimensions, and external patterns into his memory, then swiftly turned and left.