Chapter 1 What Drips

"Chi la!"

Where it landed, it actually made the sound of hot oil splattering, as if it weren't blood, but a cauldron of oil from hell.

For ordinary people, touching it would indeed be no different from touching hot oil in a cauldron. Master Ma's head was still spinning from the earlier collision, full of blood.

Now, being splashed with this hot oil, his body was covered in blisters, and he even staggered, snorting with pleasure, his hair trembling with excitement.

"Negative Spirit Demon Arts!"

Facing this strange blood, Hu Ma couldn't tell what it was, but he went straight for it, his spirit stirring, his whole body turning to death: "Even if it's really hot oil, so what? Even a shousui ren (year-keeper) dares to drink boiling oil, do you think I'm afraid of your little tricks?"

"Hua la..."

This saber strike was even more solid, chopping straight into his body, and he clearly felt that he had hit something, but black smoke billowed up in front of him.

Looking closely, he saw that this saber was actually blocked by a bloated and grotesque big-bellied evil ghost. The Meng family's young master, who was originally handsome and young, had become pot-bellied at this moment, his stomach almost bigger than his body.

The saber had struck his stomach, and the force directly split it open.

But no blood gushed out. Instead, countless messy hands stretched out from inside his stomach, trying to pull Hu Ma into it. In his confusion, he could even see countless faces, laughing as they squeezed inside his stomach.

"A headless ghost, a big-bellied ghost?"

In that instant, Hu Ma suddenly realized that this was the true skill of the Negative Spirit school.

The Meng family's second young master initially wanted to show off his true skills and fight with him, but after suffering a loss, he had to rely on the Meng family's abilities to cover his back...

Just like how he had to rely on the Zhen Sui Shu (Town Guardian Book) to cover his back whenever he suffered a loss...

But the key was that the Meng family's abilities were too strange. Beheading didn't kill them, disembowelment didn't kill them. Could it be that the Tong Yin Meng family's disciples were unkillable?

He didn't believe it. There was no such thing as an unkillable person.

He firmly held the saber horizontally, then blew a breath at the black bone on the hilt.

Rolling baleful aura suddenly spread out, sending the Meng family's second young master, whose stomach had been split open, staggering backward. The next moment, Hu Ma leaped off the horse, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and used the momentum to rush forward.

He unleashed a mountain-splitting strike he had learned from Second Master, using this fierce saber.

This saber strike could split mountains and people alike. Even if you were a ghost, you would be annihilated.

"You dare..."

The Meng family's young master, upon recognizing that Hu Ma was the one who had slain the Caotou Ba Shuaishen (Eight Decaying Gods of the Grass Head), was initially furious and wanted to kill Hu Ma to vent his anger.

But unexpectedly, as soon as the other party revealed his identity, he was repeatedly beaten and had to rely on the evil ghosts he had nurtured to survive. Now, seeing the saber strike coming, he even felt a threat to his life.

His courage was completely lost, and even the will to fight Hu Ma with his martial skills was gone. He only wanted to get away from the saber in his hand as quickly as possible.

"Young Master..."

At the same time, his personal maidservant was also shocked. She quickly picked up three sticks of incense. These three sticks of incense were not lit, but when she flipped them in her hand, three sparks immediately appeared, and smoke rose.

She had been standing by, so it was impossible for her to do nothing. She had been prepared, and now that the three sticks of incense were burning, a howling wind immediately arose, with countless wronged souls rushing towards Hu Ma.

"The Tong Yin Meng family's disciples are nothing more than this..."

Facing the yin wind, Hu Ma merely turned the saber, and the baleful aura instantly dissolved the wronged souls that rushed towards him. With a grim shout, his spirit condensed above his head, revealing a dharma form, one of whose hands held a token.

"Peng!"

At the same time, a heavy iron coffin flew out of the forest and landed with a bang. Immediately, the coffin lid flew off, and a stiff figure, with arms outstretched, stood up from the coffin, accompanied by rolling wronged souls.

It rushed forward and blocked the wronged souls and yin wind summoned by the maidservant, like a black wall.

At the same time, the air in its chest surged, as if it were emitting a roar that was neither human nor ghost. The yin soldiers who followed behind him surged forward in a rolling tide.

"Chi la..."

The wronged souls summoned by the maidservant were no ordinary beings, but when they were struck by the ghost shadow behind the Yin Jiangjun (Yin General), they immediately collapsed and turned into a chaotic yin wind, blowing in all directions. Even the maidservant holding the three sticks of incense was sent flying without a sound.

At the same time, as the rolling yin soldiers surged forward, the incense altar set up by the Meng family's young master, and the flags standing beside it, all fell down. The incense altar was even completely shattered, looking as if it had been easily destroyed.

"You..."

Upon seeing the Yin Jiangjun, the Meng family's young master was even more certain of something and shouted in shock and anger, "The one who received my bow..."

"That's right, it's me!"

Hu Ma also shouted grimly as he summoned the Yin Jiangjun, relying on the power of the saber in his hand to force his way forward, "Moreover, I will take your life!"

Since he had already used his trump card, he couldn't care about anything else. His killing intent was awe-inspiring, and he was truly prepared to use the Meng family's people to consecrate the saber.

It was him who stole the General's Order earlier and received my bow, taming the Yin Jiangjun...

It was also him who held the fierce saber and slew the Caotou Ba Shuaishen...

But the key was that the baleful aura on the saber was so heavy. How did it look similar to the Five Fiend Evil Ghosts who died in Mingzhou earlier? How could such a powerful figure suddenly emerge from the ground? Could it be that he...

A terrifying thought suddenly emerged in the Meng family's young master's mind: "...Could it be that he is working for the person in Mingzhou?"

It wasn't that he didn't dare to think big, but he didn't think it would be such a coincidence. More importantly, Hu Ma had used the skills of a shousui ren (year-keeper) since he appeared, but he had not revealed the means of a zougui ren (ghost walker).

But in any case, the anxiety in his heart was real, and his courage was completely lost.

Looking at the sky-high fierce saber and the person wielding it, he uttered a series of unintelligible cries, which was equivalent to asking for help. The Meng family's disciples also had a backbone of pride, and they couldn't directly shout for help, but the meaning of the cries was already there.

"Hua la..."

But just as Hu Ma truly saw the Meng family's disciples' abilities and had the confidence to kill him with one saber strike, a strong yin wind suddenly arose beside him, and he suddenly heard a stern shout in his ear: "Who dares to offend the Meng family's distinguished guest?"

With this shout, even Hu Ma felt a bit surprised, and an indescribable sense of crisis arose beside him.

He quickly pulled back the saber to protect himself, then retreated quickly, realizing that the place where he was standing was dangerous. Not only did he retreat, but he also picked up Master Ma, who was looking at him with a dazed expression, and exerted force with both feet, carrying Master Ma's huge body, and dashed out three or four zhang before looking back.

This look was not good.

At the place where he had just stood, black mist was rolling, and he didn't know how many dark figures had appeared. Some held large black umbrellas, some held fans, some carried horse benches on their backs, some held drums and gongs, and some held flags, each different.

Standing at the very front was a tall, thin man wearing a tall hat, his gloomy eyes staring straight in Hu Ma's direction.

Beside him, the maidservant, whose bones had been broken in countless places by the Yin soldiers, had a look of joy on her face and screamed hoarsely, "Da Zhangsui (Head Steward), it is this person who is disrespectful to the young master, quickly kill him!"

Seeing this, Hu Ma was also quite surprised.

He had underestimated the Meng family's young master's pomp. As a direct descendant of the Meng family and on a mission, he had more than just a maidservant and a few servants by his side.

In fact, he had a Da Zhangsui, two big maidservants, eight young servants, and eight maids, half alive and half dead, who had been serving him all along.

When he slew the Caotou Ba Shuaishen earlier, he killed four servants and four maids, but it happened to be the living half.

The other dead ones were waiting in the underworld, mainly to carry sedan chairs and run errands, hold umbrellas and beat gongs. As for the Da Zhangsui, he was the etiquette officer in charge of the ceremonial guards, not responsible for specific errands, but only to protect the Meng family's young master's life and ensure the Meng family's prestige and reputation outside.

"Hua la..."

Feeling the strange aura on them, Hu Ma's heart was shocked. He pulled away, placed Master Ma, who was looking at him with a confused expression, in a safe place, and tightly gripped the fierce saber in his hand.

The Yin Jiangjun, however, didn't care and had already led the yin soldiers beside him to rush towards the Meng family's young master.

But facing the terrifying Yin Jiangjun, the group of yin people only stood there and didn't come forward to fight. The Yin Jiangjun, however, appeared in a strange state.

He held his arms out horizontally and kept trying to jump forward, but every time he jumped, he would fall back, as if those people were standing there and there were invisible steps that he couldn't jump over, his appearance strangely comedic.

"What a fierce person..."

The Da Zhangsui also glanced at the Yin Jiangjun, then at the saber in Hu Ma's hand, and finally looked at Hu Ma's face. Seeing that he couldn't see his features clearly, he didn't try to force it. Instead, he sighed softly:

"I suppose a rustic demon like you doesn't understand what you're doing. No matter how fierce the saber in your hand is, it can't be suppressed by the Meng family's fate."

"No matter how many yin soldiers you bring, they can't jump over the Meng family's threshold."

"Please help the young master into the sedan chair and send him away..."

As he spoke, he shook his sleeves and slowly walked forward, saying in a low voice, "I will explain the offense against the Meng family!"

(End of this chapter)