“What's with the flames on the ground? Why do they smell of sulfur and white phosphorus?”

Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang returned, smelled the peculiar odor, saw the proud look on Butler Zhou's face, and the reverent gazes the cart driver and helpers cast upon him, and immediately grew curious.

Butler Zhou chuckled and said, "Forgive my poor skills. I did dabble in these arts once, but after so many years in the Li residence, I've become a bit rusty. I thought the road ahead would be dangerous, so I used the young shopkeeper's money to buy some things in preparation, hoping they might be of some help."

Hu Ma now understood. The work of a zougui ren (ghost runner) was plentiful, but the work of a baxi men (illusionist sect) was even more so, and each skill appeared incredibly magical.

But how much of their skills were real was another matter…

He didn't dwell on it, just glanced at him and asked with a smile, "Then tell me, what are you good at?"

Butler Zhou looked a little embarrassed. "The specifics are hard to say, but I know a little about disguise and ventriloquism. If I had enough preparation time, I could even perform the legendary Rope Trick of the Gods."

"But there's not enough time to prepare; I can't do it right now."

"..."

"Sounds good…"

Hu Ma nodded and said, "Teach me how to use those tricks later."

Butler Zhou's expression froze. 'This young shopkeeper from the blood food gang who saved the young lady is a good person, but… he's too eager to learn!'

'That zougui (ghost runner) aunt is an honest person; she doesn't mind him digging up all her secrets.'

'But we from the baxi men (illusionist sect) are different. Every trick requires real gold and silver to learn. Some people have to work for three years without pay just to learn one basic trick. He's just asking me for it directly; should I give it to him or not?'

Fortunately, although he was worried, Hu Ma didn't really ask him for any tricks.

After all, the shousui ren (night watchman) only recognized tangible things. Shopkeeper Hu might not even look twice at the illusionist's paltry skills!

In any case, having dealt with the wild dogs that begged for corpses, they hurried on their way. Looking around, everything was dilapidated, with overgrown weeds, crows with red eyes, scattered bones, and the wind carried the sound of wailing ghosts.

Even if they didn't encounter wild dogs begging for corpses, who knew what else they might run into? It was best to get through this ghostly place as soon as possible.

Of course, the cart driver and two helpers were now emboldened.

With such an old immortal following them, what was there to fear?

They immediately urged the donkey onward, the wheels rumbling over the loose stones on the ground.

They didn't reach a village or town that night, so they rested in the wilderness. But it was quiet, except for an old woman with an ashen face who crawled out of a grave mound, glanced at them, and then crawled back in.

The next day, around noon, they skirted around a mountain in the distance.

The stench of decay spread for miles, and the yin qi (negative energy) soared into the sky even in broad daylight. They could vaguely see banners fluttering and what seemed like lackeys patrolling.

But when they looked again, there was nothing there.

Only scattered bones, broken carts, and snapped spears could be seen by the roadside. They vaguely guessed that this might be Niang Men Danzi Mountain, and that the mountain was the bandit stronghold that the expert had wiped out overnight?

A sense of terror filled their hearts, and they urged the donkey cart to move faster, not daring to linger.

"Sigh…"

Even Aunt Zhang couldn't help but look back after they had passed it, saying, "It seems that the bandits who were slaughtered have resentment in their hearts and still want to be kings of the mountain even after death."

"However, if that expert had the ability to kill all these bandits overnight, how could he not know that simply killing the bandits would only result in their resentment soaring, making it even more likely to cause disaster?"

"The people who lived here moved away before. It will be difficult for them to move back now."

"Another place of misfortune…"

"..."

Hu Ma paid close attention to how Aunt Zhang did things and spoke, and immediately said, "Aunt, what is a place of misfortune?"

"A place of misfortune is a place where evil spirits thrive and are deeply rooted, a place where living people cannot stay."

Aunt Zhang said, "Earlier, the Green Robe hauntings in our Ming Prefecture were similar to a place of misfortune, but after all, there were still living people there, as well as zougui ren (ghost runners) and kind-hearted people like you, Shopkeeper, who worked hard for the people, so we finally survived that disaster."

"But there are also some places where there are hardly any living people, let alone those who can manage evil spirits."

"Looking at that ghost stronghold, it's full of evil and ghostly energy, a veritable den of ghosts. I'm afraid that before long, no living person will dare to come near it."

"..."

"Indeed, it's powerful…"

Hu Ma also looked back, but he could no longer see the mountain, although he could still see that the weather there was gloomy, which made him shudder.

He vaguely felt that it was similar to the desolate village in Old Yin Mountain.

He just didn't understand whether the expert who eliminated the bandits could kill bandits but not deal with ghosts, or…

…was it intentional?

If he were to investigate, he didn't know what answers he would find, but since they were now escorting the coffin back home, they could only sigh and hurry on their way.

It was already noon, and they had to travel as fast as possible, determined not to rest within fifty li (approximately 25 kilometers) of that ghost stronghold, since the bandits were ruthless killers when they were alive, who knew how ferocious they would be after death?

Hurrying on their way so anxiously, they didn't even stop to rest at noon, but the journey became more and more difficult.

Especially since this area was full of overgrown weeds and the roads were rugged. In several places, there were logs and stones randomly placed, and some wooden bridges had traces of being chopped down with axes, as if they had been destroyed by someone. These must have been the handiwork of the bandits when they were alive.

The group became increasingly anxious, but the donkey cart began to move more and more erratically.

Either the wheels got stuck, or the donkey tripped. Once or twice was fine. Even when the wheels got stuck in a mud pit, Hu Ma simply lifted the cart with one hand and set it back on the road, then continued on.

But after it happened repeatedly, his expression became a little strange, and he looked at the donkey: "Are you being disobedient?"

The donkey, which had been beaten once before, had eyes full of grievance.

"It's not the donkey's fault."

Aunt Zhang had been watching with a cold eye, and quietly tugged at Hu Ma's sleeve, whispering, "Something doesn't want us to leave and is pulling on the donkey's hooves!"

"..."

Hu Ma was shocked and quickly looked down. He happened to see a greenish hand flash under the wheel, pulling on the donkey's hoof, and the donkey almost fell again.

Its big head was full of confusion, and it looked at Hu Ma pitifully.

"Is it that stronghold?"

Hu Ma was alarmed and looked back. Could it be the ghosts in that stronghold who didn't want them to leave and wanted to keep them until night?

"The baleful aura here is too heavy."

Aunt Zhang also sighed softly and stopped temporarily. She took out the incense she had exchanged from the merchant caravan from her package, inserted them in bunches around the cart, and even stuck a bunch on the donkey's head.

The others each took a stick and held it, and only then did they set off again, quickening their pace and heading forward with wisps of incense.

Aunt Zhang's incense formation could block the evil spirits in the forest from seeing them, and it seemed to work well here too.

Now that they were on their way again, they didn't encounter any more little ghosts pulling on the donkey's hooves. They felt a little repressed and quickened their pace even more.

When they reached a small river where a wooden bridge had been cut down, they didn't bother to find another route.

Hu Ma first had the cart driver lead the donkey across the river. Then, in two trips, he and Butler Zhou carried the coffin across the river. He then called the other two helpers to assist, with him carrying one end and the two young and strong helpers carrying the other, and they managed to carry the cart across the river as well.

This was the benefit of having strong laborers and a shousui ren (night watchman) with them. Otherwise, even a small river could cause a lot of trouble, and everyone was relieved by Hu Ma's amazing strength.

They hurried on, not knowing how long they had traveled, and before they knew it, it was already dark, and the surroundings were still a jumble of rocks.

"Ah yo…"

Just as they were traveling, they suddenly heard a low cry. Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw that it was Butler Zhou, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

Before anyone could ask, he pointed forward with trembling fingers and said, "How did we come back here again?"

Looking closely, everyone was shocked to find that there was a burnt circle in front of them.

"Is this the one he burned when he drove away the wild dogs before?"

Hu Ma was greatly alarmed and immediately turned his head left and right, looking at the surrounding wilderness. It was now dark, and he couldn't see clearly, but through the shadows, it looked more and more like the roadside where they had stopped when they were dealing with the corpse-begging hounds.

"No, can't be…"

Even the cart driver and helpers could see it and said tremulously, "Sir… you must be mistaken?"

"Right, right, when country people burn paper money, they draw a circle of grass ash around it, for fear that the paper money will be picked up by others."

"This… this must be burned by people from the surrounding villages, right?"

"..."

Butler Zhou listened to their self-comforting words and was both annoyed and terrified. "I drew the circle myself, don't I know? What country people burning paper money? There aren't any country people along this road!"

As he spoke, he looked at Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang as if asking for help.

Logically speaking, he was the butler of the Ghost Cave Li residence and shouldn't be so afraid, but the surroundings were too ominous, and even the wind carried a sinister and fierce aura, which weakened his courage.

"We've been traveling for most of the day, but I didn't expect us to have circled back…"

Hu Ma was also a little dazed at this moment. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly whispered, "Isn't that ghost stronghold just ahead?"

"..."

Hearing this, everyone present became worried. They had been hurrying on their way before, without resting for a moment, just to get away from that ghostly place. Who would have thought that after traveling for so long, they would have returned to the starting point?

If they went further, wouldn't they run directly into the ghost stronghold?

Or should they stop and rest on the spot?

But this place was only a few li (approximately 1.5-2 kilometers) away from the ghost stronghold. How could they have a peaceful night if they rested here?

As everyone was uneasy, even Aunt Zhang sighed softly and said, "It seems that our nemesis insists on inviting us into the stronghold for a visit…"

Chapter End