Chapter 1 Formerly

In the past, this manor never closed its gates during the day.

But now, the gates were shut early in the morning. What did that signify?

The people of Ganzi Village didn't understand, nor did they want to think too deeply, but they were all afraid. They cried in front of the manor, begging the stewards inside to save the people of their village, but no one dared to knock.

Their commotion also attracted people from neighboring villages. Hearing that Ganzi Manor was haunted by a great evil, and the manor's stewards had not yet emerged, they too began to worry.

Among them were enthusiastic individuals, or those from Ganzi Village who were bold. Unable to wait for the manor to open, and with loved ones trapped in the village, they mustered their courage, called on friends, and returned to the village together to search for people. But once inside, they never came out again.

Over time, not only Ganzi Village but also other villages had people trapped inside, and everyone became increasingly frightened.

Ordinary people had almost no power to resist such events. All they could do was plead with the people in the manor.

But with the manor doors tightly shut, how could they not despair?

This despair and resentment seemed to darken the sky, and everyone felt as if a mountain was pressing down on their hearts.

It seemed that this gloominess would eventually ferment into something.

"Creak..."

But before these things could ferment, just as the people outside the manor were about to lose hope, the tightly closed gates suddenly opened.

A steward wearing a cloth robe, cloth shoes with a thousand layers of soles, and a buzz cut, but with a steady demeanor, walked out of the manor. He carried a rosewood sword on his back and held a waist knife in his hand, his face grim.

Behind him, the manor's workers, who usually interacted with the surrounding villages and towns, held knives, spears, and pitchforks. They also drove a donkey cart loaded with bottles and jars, some of which were seeping blood.

The hearts of the despairing, pleading people sank, and they subconsciously took a step back in awe.

Their lips moved, but they didn't dare to utter a sound.

At this moment, the small steward in the middle strode forward, looked at the uneasy people around him, and said in a deep voice, "We have always been grateful for the care of our neighbors. Now that the village is in trouble, we can't just stand by."

"But we haven't been in the manor for long, and our skills are not yet up to par. We'll help as much as we can!"

As he spoke, he strode forward.

He was clearly not old, and his face was still somewhat childish, but the people on both sides made way for him, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Yes, yes, let's all follow..."

Someone quickly reacted and waved his hand vigorously. "The little steward is here to help us get rid of the evil spirits! Everyone, follow along and see..."

Only then did more people react, wiping the snot and tears from their faces, and extinguishing the paper money and incense candles they had burned at the manor's gate. According to the old rules, when they encountered trouble, they would burn paper and pray to the red lanterns, and then someone from the manor would come to help.

But this time, they saw Hu Ma and the workers, and suddenly felt that burning paper to the red lanterns was unnecessary.

More and more people followed behind Hu Ma, Zhou Datong and the others all wearing solemn and serious expressions.

Even the donkey pulling the cart followed obediently, as if it knew where to go without being urged...

...Of course, it was also possible that the people couldn't see the one urging the cart.

The manor did have two horses, but Hu Ma still chose this donkey to pull the cart, because the manor they were going to was too evil, and horses were easily frightened.

And this donkey, at least, had seen the world, and had been beaten by him once. It also got along well with Xiao Hongtang. Driving it to pull the cart, ordinary things shouldn't be able to scare it.

As he strode toward Ganzi Village, Hu Ma looked back and saw the people following, and felt a little more confident.

Exploring Ganzi Village without the people was to prevent them from being confused and causing trouble.

But now, the trouble was already big enough, so he needed to bring more people with him to strengthen their morale.

The group of people surged forward, and soon arrived at Ganzi Village again. Compared to the morning, the yin energy here was even heavier. Before they even got close, they felt a gust of yin energy rushing towards them.

Looking into the village from the outside, the sky inside seemed darker than elsewhere. Some blurry figures were wandering around the houses.

Hu Ma walked in front, the donkey cart followed behind, Zhou Datong and the others were on both sides of the donkey cart, and the people followed further behind.

Seeing Hu Ma walking to the front of the village, Zhou Datong and the others followed, but the people hesitated.

"Datong!"

Hu Ma glanced at the gloomy village and suddenly shouted, "Sing the name of our Red Lantern Goddess!"

"Name?"

Zhou Datong was stunned. They only shouted during patrols, not singing names.

But he had seen the slogans sung by Da Yang Stockade every year when opening the mountains or when going into the mountains to cut timber. Hearing Hu Ma's shout, he knew what he was going to do, and immediately raised his voice towards the yin energy filled village, shouting loudly, "Red Lantern illuminates the night...Hey yo!"

"Peace and tranquility...Hey yo!"

"..."

As he sang, the workers following him also hurriedly joined in.

At this moment, they all felt a heavy responsibility on their shoulders, and felt that they were great masters helping the people to get rid of evil spirits. This sense of responsibility was extremely encouraging, and when they sang, the voice was heavy and thick.

The people following behind were not stupid either. They heard that their singing was simple, so they followed the tune, shouting as they approached the village.

"Red Lantern illuminates the night...Hey yo!"

"Peace and tranquility...Hey yo!"

"..."

This patrol slogan used to sound somewhat ghostly, often accompanied by red lanterns and late nights.

Now, the workers sang it loudly, and the people echoed it, turning the tune of patrolling for evil spirits into a bit of masculine energy.

And this masculine energy was becoming more and more vigorous.

As Hu Ma strode forward, he directly dispersed the biting yin energy that was rushing towards them, and surged into the village.

"Slogans can gather people's hearts and strengthen morale!"

Seeing that this move was effective, Hu Ma thought silently in his heart. Of course, shouting this name now was not very appropriate. The Red Lantern Goddess didn't really want to take care of things here, but when we shout, it's as if she sent us here.

But was there a problem with that?

No!

The Red Lantern Goddess didn't want to take care of it, but we can't let her not take care of it.

After all, she was a goddess who had just built a temple, and she needed fame, merit, and incense...

Give it to her!

Be sure to create enough fame for the Red Lantern Goddess!

And as he thought in his heart, the workers behind him, and the people who followed in, really felt that with this shout, the mountain and tsunami-like shouts also had an invisible power.

This village didn't seem so scary anymore. The biting yin energy that had just been there seemed to have been weakened. They originally didn't dare to approach the village, but now that they came, so what?

"Mother..."

But just as this thought arose in their minds, a cry rang out in the village.

The cry was piercing and ethereal, as if it directly pierced into their heads. Everyone's eyes blurred, and they saw a little girl in a blue dress crying with tears in her eyes, floating towards them while shouting.

Behind her followed four or five adults with blue faces, male and female, but they had all lost their minds, their eyes were empty, they were walking staggeringly, and they were all twisting their waists strangely.

Not only the people, but even Zhou Datong and the others were taken aback, and their shouts weakened a lot.

They had just arrived and encountered this little girl looking for her mother. Now, looking at it, it seemed like she had found several...

"Looking for your mother everywhere, don't you even ask if your father agrees?"

Hu Ma noticed the changes in everyone, and strode forward, shouting, "I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your father."

If he encountered evil spirits in ordinary times, he would have to properly discuss the situation and see if there was anything to talk about.

If he could make friends, he wouldn't make enemies.

But now it was different. This village was too evil, and the yin and filth wandering spirits inside seemed to be affected by some mysterious force, becoming more powerful, but also somewhat abnormal. So Hu Ma didn't talk at all, and directly rushed up.

The serrated knife in his left hand was not unsheathed, but he took the rosewood sword from his back, and directly poured a pillar of incense firepower into it.

He was not polite, and directly used a pillar of incense.

If it were someone else, even if they had the power of a pillar of incense, they would be reluctant to use so much at once, fearing that they would not have enough strength later.

But Hu Ma wanted to take the lead, and besides, he still had two pillars as a backup, so he couldn't care less.

"Mother..."

Seeing Hu Ma coming towards her, the female ghost's voice suddenly became sharp and distorted, her face became ferocious, and she suddenly pounced on Hu Ma.

But she was caught off guard by the strong firepower on Hu Ma's rosewood sword, and was directly pierced by the rosewood sword. The yin energy on her body was shaken away a lot, but she was still not dispersed while being held in the air by the rosewood sword. She suddenly opened her mouth wide.

A ball of strange black air was spat out from her mouth and wrapped around Hu Ma.

Hu Ma snorted coldly, raised his left hand holding the knife, and transformed his entire left arm into death, blocking the black air.

The next moment, he unleashed the Spring Thunder with his tongue, and blew out a True Yang Arrow.

This True Yang Arrow was also used with skill, with firepower contained within. To ordinary people, it was just a breath, but when the evil spirit was blown on the face, it was like encountering a raging fire. With a strong struggle and scream, the girl had turned into sparks of fire and scattered in all directions.

At that moment, the four or five people following behind her woke up from their dreams, looking around in fear, their legs weak.

The surrounding people were both surprised and happy, looking at Hu Ma with admiration, as if they had seen their backbone.

"Folks, don't be afraid."

Hu Ma waved the rosewood sword, shaking off the sparks, and shouted loudly, "These evil spirits are just transformed from yin energy. If you are brave enough, you can blow them away with a breath."

"We usually worship them to give them face, but how can the living rely on the dead to live?"

"If they want to cause trouble today, we'll get rid of one for every one!"

As he spoke, he raised the wooden sword and walked towards the village, his voice low, as if he was also warning the things that were causing trouble in the village: "We can't control it if other places are haunted."

"But within ten miles of our village, no matter what you are, you all have to behave!"

(End of this chapter)