One, if you're going to do something, do it thoroughly, to avoid leaving behind any lingering poison.

Two, Hu Ma also needed to make himself seem more like a zou guiren (wandering ghost exorcist) than a shousui ren (New Year's Eve watcher).

Three, that meat seller was still nowhere to be found. If he wanted to ask him to return, he needed to show some sincerity.

Directly and completely destroying his Rou Sha (meat evil), and provoking him, was Hu Ma's sincerity.

Therefore, under the villagers' suspicious gazes, he saw large bubbles rising in the oil, and then he chanted a low curse, holding the roughly made large porcelain bowl he had just snatched in one hand, with the piece of meat inside, and steadily held it over the oil pot.

The pot was steaming with heat, scorching his arm, and occasionally oil splattered onto his wrist and the back of his hand, but he seemed unaware, just steadily holding the bowl of meat.

Gradually, the fresh red meat in the bowl seemed to be baked by the heat, and it was slowly squirming, as if it had come to life.

*Gududu*

As bubbles rose from the oil pot, a strange atmosphere began to permeate the entire village.

Gradually, the sound of swallowing saliva grew louder and louder. The people gathered around the pot were desperately suppressing their craving for meat, lowering their heads and daring not to look. Those in the shadows couldn't restrain themselves, rubbing their fists and palms.

Their eyes were only fixed on the bowl of meat in Hu Ma's hand.

""

Just then, the wooden door of a nearby courtyard creaked open, and a tall figure staggered out, crawling forward on all fours.

*Gugugu*, someone's stomach rumbled thunderously, as if a flesh-eating ghost inside was crying and howling for meat.

Seeing Da Niu come out, those hiding in the shadows couldn't restrain themselves any longer, and had emerged from the darkness, looking eager to try.

The villagers in the village had been acting like madmen, but the donkey's braying, coupled with the disappointed sigh from the ancestors in the ancestral hall, had awakened many who had eaten less meat. But there were also many who hurriedly ran back to their homes.

Seeing Da Niu getting closer and closer, already uncontrollably tempted by the meat aroma in the bowl, he suddenly quickened his pace, staggering toward the oil pot.

It was Da Niu, whose body was missing several pieces of meat. He was almost nothing but a skeleton, yet he had climbed out of bed and was slowly approaching the oil pot.

The red wooden sword stuck in his back suddenly flew up, held by Xiao Hongtang, who had received a signal, and she weaved through the crowd. This bizarre scene startled many people.

Hu Ma simply let the heat from the pot scorch the meat in the bowl, which gradually emitted an unusual fragrance, as if hooking the intestines in people's stomachs.

*Gezhi, gezhi*, someone was grinding their teeth.

"Swoosh!"

"Zhi Ya"

With his movement, those neighbors who had hidden in the surrounding shadows and eaten a lot of meat also couldn't help but rush over. Even the sober neighbors guarding the oil pot seemed to have lost their minds all of a sudden, and, fearing they wouldn't get any, they hurriedly reached out to grab it.

Xiao Hongtang became nervous and was ready to rush out and fight, but Hu Ma stopped her with a look.

"Flying Sword!"

Now those who were awake surrounded the big pot, staring wide-eyed. Those who had fled back to their homes were hiding in the corners, listening to the aroma, the sound of swallowing saliva in their throats echoing from the darkness.

At the same moment, Hu Ma's expression also became serious. He abruptly pinched a sword seal and pointed to both sides, shouting:

So Hu Ma quietly winked at Xiao Hongtang, while he still steadily held the bowl in his hand.

*Huala*

The people beside the oil pot fell backward like scattered lotus petals, only Da Niu rushed into the crowd.

Taking advantage of this moment, Hu Ma loosened his hand, and with a "pa," threw the bowl of meat into the oil pot.

The meat in the bowl was fried in the oil, and the aroma was even more fragrant, the meat aroma suddenly ten times stronger. A strange and extremely tempting aura instantly filled the entire village.

"Putong"

First, the reckless man named Da Niu rushed to the oil pot. In his dry, dim eyes, there was only the reflection of the bowl of meat. He was about to jump directly into the oil pot, but Hu Ma also raised his hand and pointed at the opportune moment.

The flying sword immediately made a turn and flew back.

Actually, it was Xiao Hongtang holding it, suddenly knocking it on the reckless man Da Niu's leg, and reaching out to grab his legs.

The reckless man Da Niu was only a foot away from the oil pot, but he couldn't reach it. Anxious and angry, he suddenly opened his mouth, and a small ghost with a big belly, a small head, and wrinkles all over its body crawled out.

Its mouth was full of saliva, its eyes were red, and it plunged into the oil pot with its hands and feet.

Instantly, it was fried and squealed.

But that wasn't the end of it. As Da Niu spat out that little ghost, stepped into the oil pot, the surrounding area rustled. The surrounding people, whether they ate a lot of meat or a little, all hunched over and vomited.

One little ghost after another was spat out of their mouths, some bigger, some smaller, and they rushed towards the oil pot impatiently.

Like a swarm of bees, it was like dumplings running and jumping into the pot, *putong putong putong*.

"Niang lei"

And those who vomited out the little ghosts, some fell to the ground and lost their breath, while others who vomited out the little ghosts had clearer eyes, and looked up blankly at the oil pot.

"Everyone get back."

Hu Ma shouted loudly, seeing that many little ghosts had entered the oil, he grabbed the big wooden pot lid from the side and put it on the oil pot.

There was a crackling sound in the oil pot, and the lid was constantly being pushed up. There were also faint sounds of crying and begging for mercy from inside.

But Hu Ma ignored it, just lifted his foot and stepped on the oil pot lid, not letting them escape.

Finally, the force of the oil pot being pushed and stirred gradually disappeared. He lifted his foot and released the pot lid, but the pot lid was still firmly covered, without movement. He knew that things had been done.

He grabbed the pot lid, put it aside, and then casually copied the colander on the side of the pot and scooped it into the oil pot.

Strangely enough, there was nothing in the pot except the rough porcelain bowl and the meat, but when he scooped it up, he scooped up a colander full of bugs, each about the size of a grain of rice, fried golden brown. If you sprinkle a little pepper, maybe

"Those who are still alive, grind them into powder and drink it, and you will recover quickly."

Hu Ma turned the colander to the side, put it in the big bowl, and said to the people around him, "As for those who are dead, bury them as soon as possible!"

The surrounding villagers seemed to have completely woken up at this time. In a trance, they looked around and found that nearly half of the people in the village were gone, and those who were alive were also gaunt and did not look like human beings.

"Aiya, benefactor ah"

Finally, someone reacted and hurriedly kowtowed to Hu Ma, but they were weak and looked like ghosts.

Hu Ma glanced and saw that even on the steps in front of the village's ancestral hall, there were still several old people wearing shrouds, diligently bowing to him from afar.

"No need, everyone get up quickly!"

Hu Ma couldn't help frowning, but it was easy to scare them just now, but it was not easy to stop them from kowtowing. Helplessly, he swept his eyes and saw Xiao Hongtang lazily holding his red wooden sword, standing in the crowd.

Then he pinched the finger formula again, and shouted, "Flying sword, come back!"

Everyone remembered the amazing scene just now and turned to look.

They saw that the flying sword that had just flown out from behind the mister was now flying up from the side again, crookedly, directly towards the mister. At first, it flew very slowly, and the mister glared at it, and then it flew quickly.

Accompanied by a gust of Yin wind, it jumped directly onto his back and automatically inserted itself into his belt, but it only inserted correctly after two attempts.

"Living immortal ah"

The villagers were startled and forgot about kowtowing. They just stared wide-eyed, surrounding Hu Ma. Some thought they were still dreaming, and some thought they had encountered an immortal descending to earth.

Among them, some of the older ones, because they couldn't grab it from others, and ate less meat, naturally had clearer minds than others at this time. They squeezed out of the crowd tremblingly and asked: "May I ask how to address you, sir? How much is the offering?"

"We, here, did we attract something?"

""

"Old man, you don't need to be so polite."

Hu Ma reached out and touched Xiao Hongtang's head, and then politely said to the people around him: "I'm just a passing zou guiren (wandering ghost exorcist). I just happened to help you get rid of the evil. According to the rules, twenty copper plates are enough."

"If you really want to thank me, you might as well burn a few more incense sticks in your ancestral hall."

"If you are sincere, after you finish burning the incense, someone will probably tell you the whole story in a dream. As for whether you will be beaten a few times in the dream, I don't know."

""

He had no intention of staying here any longer. After helping to get rid of the evil, he accepted the twenty copper plates, and declined the villagers' offer to let him stay. Instead, he led his donkey and left straight away.

He had helped to resolve the Rou Sha (meat evil), but the village's morality had already deteriorated, and no one could save it.

Staying here was useless. It was better to go out and see the main person.

After leaving the village, he walked for more than twenty miles, and saw a wooden house by the road, looking like a tea shed. He went to the wooden house and sat down, tied the donkey to the side, and waited patiently, knowing that sooner or later someone would come to his door.

He had used a heavy hand. It would be strange if that person didn't come to check it out.

Sure enough, he waited here for most of the night, and was drowsy, almost asleep, when he suddenly heard a gust of Yin wind, accompanied by a burst of clapper sounds. He opened his eyes and saw that in the dim moonlight, a wheelbarrow was being pushed over.

The cart was hung with strips of dark red meat, neatly arranged, and accompanied by the clapper sounds, it slowly came to him:

"Selling meat lei"

"Pork, mutton, venison, one copper plate a pound"

""

The person pushing the cart spoke slowly, his eyes under the felt hat looking at Hu Ma: "Customer, cut some meat to eat?"

Hu Ma also looked at him deeply, and then suddenly said, "Do you sell human meat?"

The other person was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Tender ones, old ones, strong ones, which one do you want?"

Hu Ma also smiled at him and said, "Fresh ones."

"I like to cut and sell now!"

End of this chapter