Chapter 17 Nail

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

Even from that distance inside the woods, Hu Ma could hear the sound of the craftsman hammering nails into the wooden puppet's head.

It wasn't just hearing; it felt like it was right next to his ear, or rather, as if someone was aiming at his own head, hammering nails into it, one after another.

He couldn't touch it, couldn't see it, but the sensation of the nail being hammered into his head was very real, causing excruciating pain, so painful that his mind became muddled.

"Careful, watch the lamp!"

Zhang Agu's voice suddenly rang out, reminding him.

Hu Ma looked down and saw that the oil lamp in front of him was about to go out. As the sound of hammering echoed, the oil lamp was also affected.

Each strike weakened the lamp. Now, only a tiny flame remained, as if it could be extinguished at any moment. He was immediately shocked. What kind of eerie sorcery was this, trying to take his life right from the start?

At the same time, he couldn't help but think of Xiang丫tou (Xiang Ya Tou), who had said earlier that she had a nail hammered into her head. Was this the same thing?

Although Zhang Agu wasn't the one conducting the ritual, she was even more nervous than Hu Ma, the one who was. Moreover, the altar Hu Ma set up used all her items. Because Hu Ma was a novice, she feared he wouldn't be able to handle it and was ready to take over at any time. So, she was considered half a participant in the ritual.

Now, seeing this, she vaguely guessed, "It is said that *hai shou ke zou gui* (harming the head counters ghost walking), but we are setting up a proper altar, and we are prepared to invite the spirits, so we are not afraid of him!"

Actually, Hu Ma was *shou sui* (watching the year), but now that he was setting up the altar, she said it out of habit, and also said "we" *zou gui ren* (ghost walkers).

"Yes."

Hu Ma responded, enduring the pain, steadying his mind. He looked into the bowl in front of him and saw the water rippling, vaguely revealing the figure of a person holding a hammer, swinging it and forcefully hammering a nail into the head of a wooden figure.

"They shouldn't know my name or birthdate, and they didn't even get a clear look at my face."

"How can hammering nails into a wooden figure make my head hurt?"

"..."

This method of *hai shou ke zou gui* was the first he'd ever heard of.

He vaguely discerned that the other party had initially used some method to turn his altar site into an *e di* (evil land), which also belonged to this school's methods.

Hu Ma's mind raced, but knowing what method the other party was using was good. Thinking quickly, he wanted to counterattack.

He felt another dull pain in his head. The nail being hammered in from between his eyebrows seemed about to penetrate directly into the depths of his brain. The oil lamp in front of him was extremely weak, on the verge of being extinguished.

It was hard to imagine what the consequences would be if the nail were completely hammered into his head.

He wanted to ask Zhang Agu how to handle this situation urgently, but suddenly, he saw a terrifying feeling rising from the forest ahead, and he vaguely saw black mist rolling, heading straight for this hillside.

Did the other party also have a powerful figure taking action?

Originally, in a duel of spells, both sides had to be careful. One wrong move could lead to complete defeat.

If the altar was broken, it would result in either death or serious injury.

But now, he didn't know how many demonic figures had come from the other side. Once they made a move, it was one attack after another, leaving people with no time to react.

And Zhang Agu, seeing that Hu Ma had been hit by a spell, was also anxiously thinking about how to deal with this spell. Unexpectedly, Hu Ma saw that the other party's momentum was fierce, and suddenly gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He had originally inserted one incense stick into his incense burner, but at this moment, he directly inserted two.

The sudden change caused the almost extinguished oil lamp to suddenly brighten.

Even Zhang Agu, who was helping to protect the altar, was taken aback, wondering if she was hallucinating. How could the shopkeeper's oil lamp suddenly become brighter?

At that instant, Hu Ma secretly circulated his energy, forcing it towards the center of his forehead. He felt the nail that was about to be hammered in being forced out instantly.

"Pfft!"

At this moment, in the woods, the craftsman had just obtained this treasure and was feeling triumphant.

Their *hai shou* sect had unique skills, but dealing with people wasn't so easy. Casting spells either had severe repercussions or was troublesome to prepare.

But now that he had this Qi Jia Xing Guan Mu (Seven Yoke Punishment Official Wood), it was different.

This was originally Cui Gan Niang's treasure, and he had coveted it many times, but couldn't find a way to ask for it.

Now that Cui Gan Niang was so generous and gave him this treasure, not only would that ghost walker be countered by him, but in the future, when he traveled on this Ping Nan road, no one would dare to underestimate his status.

The more he thought about it, the more pleased he became.

He was just about to hammer a nail completely into the wooden figure's head when suddenly, he felt as if his nail had hit a stone. No, it was harder than a stone and had a rebounding force.

When he hammered down, the force inside doubled and rebounded. With a *pfft*, the nail actually flew out of the wooden figure's head like a hidden weapon.

He cried out in agony, covered his eyes, and when he removed his hand, he saw that the nail had pierced his left eye, halfway in.

It was bloody and extremely terrifying.

His voice was filled with shock, fear, and resentment: "How did that person's cultivation suddenly increase?"

"Gan Niang, are you trying to harm me?"

"..."

On the other side, the man blowing the bamboo whistle felt increasingly uncomfortable as he blew. The whistle seemed to be broken, unable to produce any sound. He also felt slippery all over, as if he was entangled by countless things. His expression couldn't help but turn surprised:

"Why can't I feel my children anymore?"

"..."

Two sudden changes caused Cui Gan Niang, who was performing the ritual by patting the altar, to slow down her movements.

She had originally wanted to use the *hai shou* method to throw the other party into disarray, and then summon the four altar soldiers to wipe them out in one go. She hadn't expected that before her spell was completed, her own people had already suffered a loss.

After all, she had come in a hurry and didn't have time to investigate the origins of these people. In fact, she was also feeling apprehensive.

But now, she was caught in a dilemma. Even if she felt apprehensive, she could only make a move. She suddenly turned her head, glared at the scarred-face Shou Ye, and shouted, "This fellow is difficult to deal with, are you still going to hide your strength? Are you happy to suffer a loss?"

"Old brother, we invited you here, not to watch the show!"

"..."

"Alas, I am a doctor who diagnoses and treats illnesses, and I don't usually do these harmful things..."

Her hair was disheveled, like a ghost, and her eyes stared fixedly at the old man with the scar on his face.

But the old man was leisurely, speaking slowly. Cui Gan Niang's gaze was almost murderous before he said, "But who asked me to be so close to Gan Niang?"

"Helping you this time, I'll have to save a few more miserable young girls in the future to make up for this *yin de* (negative karma)..."

"..."

Cui Gan Niang sneered: "Yes, yes, go for a walk on the street later and see which family's young girl is suffering. I'll invite her over for you to enlighten."

"Gan Niang is too kind..."

The old man with the scar on his face smiled triumphantly. He had already walked to the side of the cart, reached out and touched the mule's head, and said to the snake charmer, "Brother Wang, I didn't bring enough tools, so let me borrow your green mule!"

"Anyway, your treasures won't be coming back, so let the children help you pull this empty cart back later... You can ask Gan Niang to compensate you later, that's all."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and stuck it on the mule's head.

Looking closely, it was full of writing, somewhat old, and looked like a prescription.

Immediately after, he quickly pinched and pressed on the mule's body, and also took out a strange porcelain bottle. He covered his mouth and nose with one hand and held the bottle to the mule's nose, then quickly recited a series of incantations, and suddenly reached out and pointed in the direction of the hillside.

"Go!"

"..."

The mule's eyes suddenly turned red, and clumps of white foam poured out of its mouth.

It panted heavily, and the air it exhaled had a dizzying, fishy stench.

With a flurry, it broke free of its reins and rushed towards the hillside like a madman.

...

...

"Another one has made a move..."

Hu Ma suddenly raised his head and vaguely sensed something. Above the forest, a mass of black mist had gathered, and he vaguely heard wailing ghosts inside, the *sha qi* (killing aura) extremely heavy. He didn't know when it would pounce over.

Now, the *sha qi* was still accumulating, slowly pressing down. No one knew what the consequences would be when it rushed over all at once.

Now that he was still far away, he couldn't see what it was clearly, but because he had set up the altar, he was very sensitive to the surrounding Yin-Yang order, centered on the altar.

The invisible and terrifying pressure had already made his heart hang in the balance.

Immediately after, he heard a sound of rushing and stampeding, as if some frenzied beast was rushing over.

He couldn't tell what it was for the time being, but he thought it was definitely not an ordinary thing.

It seemed that the other party had waited so long, waiting for them to become restless, but finally couldn't hold back and used all their abilities!

"Agu..."

He immediately turned his head and looked at Zhang Agu, who was helping him protect the altar.

Zhang Agu nodded: "It's time."

Hu Ma took a deep breath and immediately pointed the red sandalwood sword at the oil lamp in front of him.

The flame suddenly flared up and jumped onto the tip of the sword.

Then, Hu Ma moved the sword tip horizontally and pointed it at the half of the red incense stick. The red incense was immediately lit, and wisps of smoke rose up.

"May the heavens and earth be powerful, I invite the red lantern to descend with a Dharma body."

"The red lantern descends to drive away evil spirits, I offer money and rice to worship the red lantern!"

"..."

As he quickly recited the incantation taught by Zhang Agu, the red dot on the red incense became brighter and brighter.

"Whoosh..."

At that moment, the white lantern that Hu Ma had picked up next to him suddenly lit up automatically. Immediately after, the lantern, which was originally white, gradually burned with a red light, vaguely burning redder and redder, like blood.

A confused voice sounded: "Huh?"

(End of Chapter)