Chapter 33 The Old Ram Kowtows

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 The Old Ram Kowtows "Is this the place?" Hu Ma stood still, looking around cautiously and worriedly. He gazed at the big locust tree, noticing that half of its body had turned charred and black, with scattered bells on the ground and drooping branches and leaves. "Was Granny having a duel with it just now?" "This is the famous Grandma Huai from Old Yin Mountain." As Second Master approached the old locust tree, he slowed his steps and whispered to Hu Ma, "In this ten miles and eight villages, whenever a family loses a child, they used to just toss it into the pigsty, grind it up and bake it together, then later throw it in the field as fertilizer." "But ever since Grandma Huai revealed her spirit, people have started bringing the babies here to bury them, and if a family couldn’t conceive, they would come here to pray and eventually get pregnant." "What kind of ghostly trick is that?" Hu Ma recalled the image of Granny dueling this old locust tree in the mirror, with its branches covered in black orbs resembling infant shapes. He felt an eerie and unsettling fear, trembling as he looked up. Why would it have a duel with Granny? "That’s the strange part..." Second Master’s voice carried a hint of oddity. "Grandma Huai is the well-known good god in our ten miles and eight villages, who specially sends deceased children to reincarnate." "Before, when families in our village couldn’t have children, Granny would urge them to worship Grandma Huai here. As long as their hearts were sincere and they offered sacrifices, then kowtowed three times, if the bells rang, that meant a child was willing to follow the couple..." "The more bells ring, the more are willing to follow." "They’re all kind-hearted, so why would they start fighting?" Sending infants to reincarnate? Hu Ma listened, and suddenly thought of something peculiar, but in his anxiety, he didn’t have time to think deeply. "Ha-ha, they’re not the ones fighting." At this moment, a laugh was heard. Turning his head, he saw the old shopkeeper and the porters arriving in the distance, standing far back. The old shopkeeper, with his hands behind his back, glanced left and right at the chaos and sneeringly said, "This old locust tree’s spirituality is scattered, and the evil qi is overflowing. It must have been possessed by something formidable, turning it into a puppet and fighting with your Granny." "And then?" Upon hearing his words, Hu Ma thought of the White-faced Mountain Demon that had been driven to the Manor to find him in the past. It seemed that the thing sent by the Meng family was very skilled at this kind of ability. He immediately felt worried about Granny’s condition, and in his anxious gaze, he saw the old shopkeeper examining left and right as if he had discovered something, letting out a light sigh and saying, "That Granny of yours has a good heart. She knows this old locust tree is actually innocent, as are those little figures residing on the tree." "So she summoned the yin thunder but only struck half of this old locust tree, leaving it with its life." Hu Ma and Second Master beside him listened, feeling a slight tremble in their hearts. They vaguely understood that this indeed was Granny’s style of doing things. But before they could feel relieved, the old shopkeeper added, "Ha-ha, in a duel between Ghost Walkers, one must not be soft-hearted." "By sparing this old locust tree, she herself must have suffered greatly." "Huh?" Hu Ma was taken aback, immediately asking, "Then... where is Granny now?" The old shopkeeper frowned slightly, his eyes scanning around, seemingly calculating something in his mind. It was then that Little Hongtang, who had come over with Hu Ma, suddenly lifted her head. Her nostrils flared, and she quickly exclaimed in delight, "Granny!" Before the sound faded, a red shadow flashed as she swiftly ran toward a direction in the nearby woods. The others were puzzled, but Hu Ma caught a glimpse and immediately hurried to follow Little Hongtang. Second Master, too, nervously grabbed the Mountain Opening Saber on his back and followed quickly. The old shopkeeper glanced and knew they had received a message from the ghost. He didn’t bother calculating further, while the curious porter wanted to follow but was stopped by him: "Don’t join the commotion. There’s still something unresolved in there!" Hu Ma followed closely behind Little Hongtang, treading a path overgrown with wild grass. He faintly saw a cliff ahead, and behind sparse trees, he could vaguely see what seemed to be a cave below. Wisps of smoke drifted out from within the cave. Is Granny over there? He felt a slight joy, quickening his pace, but suddenly, without warning, he saw Little Hongtang in front being pounced on by a dark shadow. The red shadow twisted with the black shadow, emitting the sounds of tearing and gnashing, much like wild animals. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a little person about the same size as Little Hongtang, entirely pitch-black, exuding a chilling, twisted aura. Startled, Hu Ma rushed forward to help, but suddenly heard a bizarre laughter. He stopped in his tracks, turning to see, and felt a slight prickling sensation down his spine. He saw four or five of those creatures squatting on the ground or on the trees to the left, slightly tilting their heads, staring at him with pale eyes. But the laughter didn’t come from them. It came from a goat that emerged from behind a tree, its horizontal pupils making him instinctively fear, realizing the laughter he heard was actually the goat’s bleating, echoing like a sinister chuckle. Upright sheep! This was one of the monsters he had seen before, seemingly normal yet the most unsettling. "It’s controlling the spirits on the locust tree." Just as he felt a slight shock, Second Master’s voice came from behind, "These infants weren’t evil spirits, but someone turned them into evil spirits." "They have no hope of reincarnating anymore..." Second Master lightened his steps, gradually moving to Hu Ma’s side, handing him the Mountain Opening Saber, and whispered, "Little Huma, this creature is beyond your capability. Let your Second Master handle it, you go quickly and check on how Granny is..." Hearing Second Master’s voice, Hu Ma felt a surge of security. He vaguely believed Second Master could surely handle this ghostly goat, so he nodded, took the Mountain Opening Saber, and suddenly dashed forward. The ferocious, twisted baby ghosts sprang up from the ground as soon as Hu Ma moved, pouncing on him. Hu Ma only heard the sound of wailing infants around him, causing an inexplicable irritation, dizziness, and nausea. But as soon as he moved, the stove fire in his belly ignited, making his actions nimble as he charged forward. Behind him, Second Master leaped forward, let out a low growl, and repelled the baby ghosts. His sixty years of childhood skills filled even his roar with a touch of yang qi to dispel evil. However, it only repelled the baby ghosts temporarily. Their small bodies were fierce and terrifying as they charged once more. Second Master knew these baby ghosts, originally adopted by Grandma Huai in hopes of giving them another chance to reincarnate, were now left with no way out and tainted by evil qi, having no kinship ties and being ferocious and terrifying. He dared not be negligent, using a Banlan Hammer move to block before him. Those baby ghosts couldn’t stop in time, their sharp teeth biting into Second Master’s arm like a string of rats. Second Master’s arm bled, and his chiseled face flashed with pain, but compared to him, the baby ghosts seemed to suffer even more. They wouldn’t let go, but after getting stained by Second Master’s blood, they suddenly emitted white smoke as if doused with acid, in severe pain, and then Second Master swung his arm, flinging them along with blood. Even in mid-air, some had already dissipated. However, at the same time, a ghostly laughter sounded. That goat, coldly watching, suddenly bent its forelegs. It seemed to lower its head, bowing like it was about to kowtow. "Old sheep kowtowing..." Second Master didn’t pay much attention to the baby ghosts, focusing entirely on the goat. When he saw it preparing to kowtow, he was greatly alarmed. In the village, sheep, pigs, and livestock do not usually live long before being slaughtered, but some, due to eating something or simply living too long, become somewhat sinister. Like this old goat, having lived long enough to stand up like a human, even kowtowing. But this kowtow was no good omen; one kowtow could knock someone’s soul away. In a village neighboring Dayang Village, a shepherd was killed when his soul was knocked away by an old goat’s kowtow, causing him to mindlessly walk off a cliff. Faced with such a sinister being, Second Master dared not be careless. Seeing it bow its head for a kowtow, Second Master also stepped forward fiercely, kneeling on both knees, bowing his head toward it. The two heads collided with a BANG. Both heads were left dizzy, and the goat’s gaze at Second Master changed. Second Master’s swift kneeling turned a sheep’s kowtow into a confrontation. You could turn it into mutton stew, make it lie quietly for milking, even hug it for warmth during sleep, but you must never insult it by crashing heads. In a sheep’s world, this was the ultimate provocation, without peer. So the goat’s fury erupted, its hooves jumping high, launching its head at him again. Second Master steeled himself, continuing to collide heads with it. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The two clashed back and forth, evenly matched. And during this time, Hu Ma charged forward, grabbing Little Hongtang from the ground. With a toss, he flung away the baby ghost entangled with her, and as it flew through the air, he opened his mouth and roared. POOF! The intense stove fire surged within him, unleashing a Yang Qi Arrow that pierced through the baby ghost, dissolving it into nothingness. And Hu Ma, holding Little Hongtang in one hand and the Mountain Opening Saber in the other, dashed toward the cave entrance.