Chapter 7 The Trump Card? Hu Ma's Gambit?

"A trump card? Is Hu Ma trying to scatter it?"

Although Zhou Datong and the others had decided to advance with Hu Ma, how could they not be afraid when they saw these evil sorceries?

Seeing that Hu Ma seemed to have a countermeasure, they mustered their courage slightly and hurriedly retreated towards the inner courtyard.

At this moment, Hu Ma couldn't care about anything else. If it was just dispelling evil spirits, relying on the Zhuangzi's workers and the fiery energy within Zhou Datong and the others, they could barely hold on. But with Aunt Tan's move, it would be troublesome.

Earlier, when he encountered the peddler Hua Shaozi, he had to fight desperately even with his three incense sticks' worth of Daoist cultivation.

How could Zhou Datong and the others protect their lives when facing this kind of invisible, sinister, and malicious evil thing?

Helpless, he could only look at the Eight Immortals table inside the house.

Now, in the entire Zhuangzi, only the main room in the inner courtyard still had some light.

Outside the Zhuangzi, the yin wind was as cold as bone, sweeping in layers, blowing out the torches lit in advance in the inner courtyard.

The cold, eerie laughter echoed in the courtyard, and they didn't know what was crashing into the courtyard. They didn't know if they were hallucinating, but they saw the night seeming to become a living thing, step by step forcing its way into the inner courtyard.

And in the shadow that enveloped the entire courtyard, something was sneaking around.

Little Hong Tang didn't dare to rush out anymore. Even the Huang Xian (Weasel Immortal) who had delivered the message earlier, ran away when he saw things were going badly...

...Quite loyal, he threw Li Waizi into the corner of the wall before running.

"It can only be this way..."

Hu Ma thought to himself, and shouted, "Protect the lantern."

Saying that, he handed the lantern to Zhou Datong, gritted his teeth, and strode into the formation.

It seemed that everything should have gone according to the old shopkeeper's plan. The demonic people taught by Aunt Tan would inevitably extinguish the lantern. Hu Ma and the workers, who had just become night watchers not long ago, would definitely be unable to resist.

If they couldn't resist, of course they would have to enter the formation he had prepared, and in this formation, perform the Si Gui Yi Men (Four Ghosts Bowing at the Door).

If he didn't have the warning from fellow reincarnators, he would have entered, whether he was suspicious or not.

But now that he knew?

"Of course you still have to go in."

These were Er Guotou's words to him at the time: "You have no reason not to enter that formation, because you shouldn't understand any of this."

"So, even knowing it's a trap, you still have to go in first."

"But, after going in..."

"..."

Zhou Datong and the others gritted their teeth, hugged the lantern, and trembled as they felt the pressing yin energy pouring in from outside, feeling as if invisible blades were scraping their skin.

In their hearts, they were actually a little puzzled. Could it be that this Ma-zi ge (Pockmarked Bro) was really so loyal that he had to protect the Red Lantern Goddess's lamp?

"Grandpa said before he came, usually you have to pretend to do your best, but if you really encounter trouble, you have to run..."

"..."

"It's time..."

And after Hu Ma retreated into the formation, he actually felt a sense of peace.

The pots and jars that the old shopkeeper had placed around seemed to emit a strange power at this time. These powers protected him, and even the yin wind that was ready to pour into the house at any time seemed to be blocked.

Immediately afterwards, Hu Ma stood firm, pinched the Yin-Yang Seal with both hands, bowed forward, and used the Si Gui Yi Men (Four Ghosts Bowing at the Door) trump card.

Wu He Meizi (Wu He Sister) reminded him not to use this method, but he still used it.

After bowing, the surroundings seemed to become gray, as if some invisible door had been opened.

Hu Ma heard a shrill cry in his ear, and the yin wind blew around him. The eerie resentment that poured in from outside the house was blocked by the light of the oil lamp lit in this formation, and then weakened a lot by his bow, and withdrew from the house door.

The house seemed to have gained temporary peace.

Zhou Datong and the others were all taken aback, and looked back at Hu Ma in surprise:

"Ma-zi ge (Pockmarked Bro), this method works..."

"..."

"Yes, it really works..."

Hu Ma also thought silently, so this formation can indeed help to fight against Aunt Tan's resentment.

Perhaps the old shopkeeper had indeed prepared many tricks in the year he was waiting for the Tan Sect to return. This formation was one of them. It could weaken Aunt Tan's resentment's invasion of people. And with this method, he could indeed help the old shopkeeper watch over the lantern and prevent it from being extinguished.

However, the next moment, there was a cracking sound on Hu Ma's body.

Zhou Datong and the others turned their heads and were all frightened pale.

Hu Ma, who was sitting next to the Eight Immortals table, suddenly had blood spurting from his left hand and right leg at the same time, with bone spurs protruding, as if he had been suddenly struck by some unknown force. Blood splattered all over the house, and gusts of yin wind swirled in the house.

"Ma-zi ge (Pockmarked Bro), what's wrong with you..."

Zhou Datong and the others were frightened by this incomprehensible change and shouted at Hu Ma.

"Returning the favor."

But after suffering such severe injuries to his left hand and right leg, he could even feel the strange resentment eroding his body along the wound.

Layer by layer, like slow slicing.

He could defend against Aunt Tan's resentment outside the Zhuangzi, but he obviously couldn't defend against Aunt Tan's resentment that the old shopkeeper was fighting against. The resentment of the two sides was not on the same level. Neither this formation nor his Si Gui Yi Men (Four Ghosts Bowing at the Door) could block it.

Hu Ma's face was already pale, but his expression was extremely calm, even composed.

He endured the impact of resentment on his body, but looked at Zhou Datong and asked calmly:

"Da Tong, I usually learn skills from the old shopkeeper, do you know what skills I have learned?"

"..."

"You're about to die, and you're still thinking about this?"

Zhou Datong was already frightened and couldn't ask a single question.

"Asking Da Tong to help set me up at this time is a bit too much..."

Hu Ma smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "In the future, this will be our own skill."

The next moment, his left hand and right leg suffered another heavy blow, and resentment tore through layers of flesh, but Hu Ma also gritted his teeth and suddenly tried to stand up, but actually felt as if his left hand and right leg were stuck somewhere.

He could feel that these two already injured limbs seemed to be trapped in a cold swamp, and were being pulled by something.

"The old shopkeeper not only wants me to be a substitute, but doesn't even let me escape at the last moment?"

A ridiculous self-mockery flashed in Hu Ma's heart.

In his heart, he also understood the reason why Wu He Meizi (Wu He Sister) left him a note. Yes, in the previous life, there were loyal bodyguards who blocked bullets for employers, but being pulled over and locked with chains to block bullets, is that still called loyalty?

Fortunately, what he had refined was not only his left hand and right leg, he could break free.

But at this moment, he didn't intend to use this method, but just forcibly endured the excruciating pain, and suddenly shouted to Zhou Datong: "Give me the lantern."

Zhou Datong didn't have time to think and pushed the lantern he had desperately protected to him.

Hu Ma took the lantern in one hand, pushed it onto the Eight Immortals table, and quickly took out the calligraphy from his pocket.

It was the one the old shopkeeper gave him, and he stuck it on the lantern.

"I've returned the favor, but I can't give you my life."

Hu Ma endured the severe pain in his arms and legs. Only at this time did he have time to use the night watching method to slowly repair the wounds on his body that were corroded by resentment, but his eyes were only fixed on the red lantern with the calligraphy stuck on it.

He waited quietly, waited, until suddenly, a burst of resentment suddenly attacked from the calligraphy and instantly penetrated into the red lantern.

This resentment was so strong that if he received it, he would probably die on the spot.

But this resentment directly penetrated into the red lantern, making the red lantern suddenly dim, almost extinguished.

But immediately afterwards, the flame in the red lantern lit up again, even brighter.

Not only did it light up, but it even became redder.

It was as if blood was spilled from the red lantern, illuminating the surroundings in an eerie crimson, as if it had turned into an eye.

"Hee hee..."

A strange female voice came from the lantern.

...

...

"Chi" "Chi..."

When Hu Ma jumped out of the formation, Wu Zhanggui (Shopkeeper Wu) had already slapped Ninth Grandpa's face crooked with one palm, and the jar on his body had also fallen off.

Shopkeeper Wu was ruthless and did not hesitate at all. He stepped forward, and Ninth Grandpa looked at him with fear and trepidation. Under this pressure, even offering his body felt insufficient, and he shouted desperately...

"Aunt Tan, Aunt Tan, I offer you my intestines, I feed you my viscera..."

"Save my little life..."

"..."

"Visceral Sacrifice?"

Shopkeeper Wu was also shocked when he heard this.

The most powerful method to nourish Aunt Tan was the visceral sacrifice, using one's own internal organs to feed Aunt Tan.

Normally speaking, one would die after offering the viscera once, but it was not like this when feeding Aunt Tan. Instead, one's own five internal organs, each time a part was sacrificed, one's body would be taken over by Aunt Tan. At most five times, this body would be Aunt Tan's.

But because of this, the power was terrifyingly strong.

Shopkeeper Wu definitely didn't want to rely on himself to directly receive this resentment, but, things had come to this...

"It can only be said that it's that kid's fate..."

He thought silently, suddenly gritted his teeth, neither dodging nor evading, and bowed forward, with ghostly energy surrounding him, rushing towards the altar in front of Ninth Grandpa.

"Pu..."

But after this palm was struck, his whole person suddenly froze on the spot.

Because when he bowed, before his ghostly energy rushed to the front of the altar, his body suddenly burst open, as if he was being slowly sliced by an invisible knife.

"You..."

Ninth Grandpa, who had been severely injured by Shopkeeper Wu, was stunned for a moment, and then laughed while vomiting blood.

"Your substitute is dead..."

He desperately crawled towards the altar on the ground, pressed his palm on it, and shouted, "Aunt Tan, Aunt Tan..."

"Kill him, eat him..."

"..."

"Could it be that he's really so useless and actually died?"

And Shopkeeper Wu looked up blankly, also a little confused: "Or is it him..."

Before this thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly felt a shiver all over his body. It was a kind of unknown level of terror. Before he saw anything, he felt that strange and terrifying existence.

This pressure came silently, causing him and that Ninth Grandpa to first be stunned, and then turn their heads in shock, and saw that in the direction of the Zhuangzi seven or eight miles away, a strange red light suddenly lit up, and the eerie feeling seemed to penetrate straight into their bones.