Chapter 35: 3 Pillars of Life

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: 3 Pillars of Life The Second Master suppressed his grief and left the cave first. He assumed this was Granny wanting to deliver her last words, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to remain and listen. Little Hongtang obediently went to the cave entrance, staying there. Initially, she was worried, but after she saw Granny, her mind was put at ease. She didn’t understand much of anything else and had no sense that anything was wrong with Granny’s condition at this moment. Perhaps in her perception, Granny at this time seemed even closer. As for Hu Ma, he held Granny’s hand, which was already losing strength, in silence, unable to speak. He could feel the closeness this elderly woman felt towards him and was grateful that he hadn’t made another choice earlier. Feeling Granny’s weakness, a slew of inexplicable emotions welled up in his heart. "Child, Granny is leaving." Granny looked at Hu Ma gently, but as soon as she spoke, Hu Ma’s heart fluttered. Disbelief made him raise his head. "You need not worry." Granny noticed the flash of concern on Hu Ma’s face and saw that it was genuine. She felt comforted and softly chuckled, "I’m not truly leaving you on your own. I just have to return to the ancestral hall to pave the way in advance. "The Meng family failed this time; they couldn’t wipe out our line, but their actions implicated many people. If I don’t go back, I’m afraid they’ll go too far. "But there’s no need to tell outsiders this, not even your Second Master. They wouldn’t understand..." "..." Seeing Granny’s gentle eyes, Hu Ma felt slightly relieved, vaguely sensing that Granny’s words involved something significant, though he couldn’t understand these things yet. "What a pity," Granny sighed softly. "I’m going back, but it will be hard on you. "My grandson, your issues remain unsolved, and Granny has to leave you in this Old Yin Mountain to struggle alone." "..." Her words were full of difficulty and reluctance, and strong self-reproach. Hu Ma felt a stir inside. He had come here looking for Granny to figure out his own issues. Was it possible that he’d have to rely on consuming Blood Tai Sui to prolong his life continuously? Granny saw his thoughts and sighed slowly. "You, ah, you were too gravely injured by the Meng family back then... Or rather, you truly... already died..." When she mentioned the word "died," she visibly recoiled, as if she still couldn’t accept this fact. After a pause, she continued, "But our Hu Family—your father, your mother, all of us—we’ve done nothing wrong. Why should we be harmed by others to the point of having our line extinguished? "So, I, Granny, refuse to believe it. No matter what, Granny must save you..." "..." Hu Ma just listened silently; he didn’t dare speak rashly at this moment. "But, in the end, Granny is still to blame—my cultivation is insufficient, I pushed myself too hard..." Granny said, her eyes filled with guilt as she looked at Hu Ma. "I could only bring you back, but this resurrection Magic was only half done. "Logically, Granny should stay and continue until you’re healed. "But the Meng family is pressing too hard. I have to return to the ancestral hall to handle things there. The remaining half, you’ll have to complete on your own..." At this point, Hu Ma was already a bit confused. But he had seen Granny’s hardships previously. Seeing her so guilt-ridden now made him even more uncomfortable. He hastily murmured, "You’ve already done so much for me, Granny." "Ah..." Granny simply stroked Hu Ma’s palm. Just moments ago, Hu Ma had stirred the stove fire and killed the baby ghost; the stove flame still burned. The warmth of this palm seemed to give Granny a sense of steadiness and warmth. She sighed slowly and said, "It’s not enough. Your father is gone. I only wanted to raise you, but I didn’t even manage that... "If it were the you from before, I would never feel at ease returning to the ancestral hall. But now..." "..." As she spoke, she seemed a bit hesitant, as if she couldn’t bear to say it, then paused before continuing, "Being sensible isn’t always good. Sensible children often endure more hardships." "I won’t suffer, Granny." Hu Ma felt a flutter inside, and his words emerged instinctively from compassion toward such an old woman who had exhausted her heart. "You’ve helped me drive away evil spirits, found so much Blood Tai Sui for me. You’ve done splendidly. "I’ve only been here with Second Master for a month, but my capabilities are stronger than anyone else’s. Second Master taught me all he knows... "Second Master was amazed. He said that though I’ve only tended the stove for a month, I’m more skilled than he is with his sixty years of childhood skills!" "..." "Well, isn’t that something?" Granny laughed, pride evident in her eyes. "After all, you’re a descendant of our Hu Family! "Old Second, he’s just a Meat Cutting Craftsman..." "..." Gossiping together was most delightful, even lightening the atmosphere in the cave. Granny wore a smile on her face, but as she watched Hu Ma, her heart softened again, and she gently said, "Good child, Granny believes you can do it too. "But Granny wants to tell you a few things that you must remember." "..." Hu Ma quickly gathered his spirit and nodded. Granny said solemnly, "First, take Granny back to the old fire pit. No matter who asks, just say Granny has gone. In the future, don’t mention Granny to anyone, don’t even mention the Hu Family, until I come personally to call you back one day." "Entering the old fire pit, wouldn’t that mean..." Upon hearing this, Hu Ma couldn’t help but tremble slightly, his concern surfacing. "Granny is different from you." Granny just smiled and said, "It’s just a discarded shell, no longer of use. It’s lighter to be rid of it." Hu Ma couldn’t comprehend these words yet, but looking into Granny’s clear eyes confirmed that she wasn’t fooling him; thus, he seriously nodded his agreement. "Once Granny enters the old fire pit, my grandson, you’ll need to quickly heal yourself." Granny sighed, looking tenderly at Hu Ma. "Now, how many columns of cultivation do you already have?" "How many columns?" Hearing her words, Hu Ma suddenly thought of the incense stick he had seen in his dream. Initially, he had less than a two-finger section, but later, after consuming more Blood Tai Sui and diligently practicing, he had a breakthrough. Now, he had one and a half incense sticks. So, he hesitantly replied in a soft voice, "Just the night before last, while practicing, it seemed like something changed..." He didn’t mention the changes in his dream, only describing the feeling at that time as if something had "melted." "That’s right." Granny’s face was filled with a gratified smile, and she nodded. "That means you’ve got one and a half columns of cultivation. "This indicates our Method is correct." Granny sighed softly. "Granny can’t help you with the latter half of the Method, but as long as you have Three Column Tao, you can solve the problem of your Half-Yin Body." "Three Column Tao?" Hu Ma felt a slight stir in his heart. "Once I have three incense sticks, I can solve the body’s coldness?" "One life amounts to one Column. If you possess the equivalent of three lives from others, and still can’t regain this breath of life, then God would be truly unreasonable..." Granny sighed quietly. "Having you learn skills from your Second Master was for this day. Actually, the skills he learned are from a proper path; it’s just that others were reluctant to teach him fully. "But you, you must continue learning." "..." As she spoke, she labored to turn around, appearing to retrieve a bundle nearby. Hu Ma quickly assisted her and handed it over, but she pushed it into Hu Ma’s arms again. She just opened it and said, "Keep these things, but be careful not to let others see them. That red paper..." Pointing to something resembling a talisman inside, she said, "That’s Little Hongtang’s Bazi Tie. Keep it, and Little Hongtang will always follow you." "Ah," she sighed, "she’s also a pitiable child. Don’t be harsh with her in the future." "..." "Of course not..." Hu Ma quickly shook his head, looking toward the cave entrance at Little Hongtang, who was idly resting her chin on her hands. "I really like Little Hongtang." "In the past, you loved bullying Little Hongtang, even coaxed her to steal things..." Granny couldn’t help but laugh, but Hu Ma was a bit tongue-tied by this. While Granny chuckled twice, she then pointed to a pot inside the bundle, softly saying, "In your current state, you can’t be without Tai Sui. "Granny has harvested all the Blood Tai Sui in this Old Yin Mountain, but I don’t know if it will be enough to sustain you until you achieve Three Column Tao. Yet, there’s no other way for now..." Aside from shaking his head to reassure Granny, Hu Ma could say nothing else. And Granny didn’t seem to give him any more opportunity to speak. She used all her strength to fish out an ancient booklet from the bottom of the bundle. Hu Ma saw that it seemed to have words like "Qingyuan Hu Family" and "Zhen Sui" on it. "This is our Hu Family’s Age Suppressing Book..." Granny solemnly placed this booklet into Hu Ma’s hand. As she spoke, her expression even seemed to turn a bit imposing. "Among our Qingyuan Hu Family, it’s just the two of us left. Granny has to go back to stop those Meng family schemes. With my limited skills, I don’t know how long I can hold them off; I’m pinning all my hopes on you, Grandson. "One day, my grandson will learn a full set of skills, and we’ll properly settle accounts with the Meng family..." "..." Looking at Granny’s serious expression, Hu Ma felt a vast pressure. A delicate feeling made him reluctant to take the booklet. He seemed to sense that accepting this booklet meant taking on some enormous vendetta as well. But facing Granny’s hopeful visage, he ultimately let out a silent sigh in his heart and received the booklet with both hands. "I will." He earnestly assured Granny, "I definitely will."