Hu Ma and Erguotou patiently waited in the small courtyard until evening, without even a sip of tea. Only when it was dark did the coarse-clothed maidservant come out and lead them in.

Inside, they saw a prayer mat had been placed, next to it a wicker basket filled with gold and silver paper money, four weights, a pile of fresh pomelo leaves, a basin of cold water, and white talismans covered in strange writing.

"You two, come and sit down!"

The old woman in the cloth robe had already stood up, and only now could they see how thin and withered she was, her eye sockets deeply sunken.

Erguotou looked around and laughed, "Granny, don't trouble yourself. Just let my little brother go down alone."

"I'll be waiting up here to bring him back!"

"..."

The old woman gave Erguotou a gloomy look, saying nothing more, convinced that he was an old hand in the jianghu (martial world).

She'd seen plenty of people who were unfamiliar with the place and came to ask for help while also guarding against being tricked. It didn't surprise her at all.

She only glanced coldly at Hu Ma and said, "Then you come and sit down."

Hu Ma nodded and sat down on the prayer mat in front of her. The old woman pushed Hu Ma's shoulder, making him face the door.

Then she said to Erguotou, "Since you're not going down, wait outside. I have something to say!"

Erguotou wasn't worried. He just chuckled and obediently went out.

The old woman closed the door. The oil lamp was behind her, providing only a faint light. In Hu Ma's eyes, it was just a patch of darkness. He heard the old woman walk to his left and say coldly, "The time is almost here. Tell me first, what are you going down there for?"

"If you're seeking something unattainable, separated by life and death, if there are people you can't bear to leave, or if there are things you haven't explained clearly, or if you have grievances or debts, I can directly help you bring the person up to say a few words."

"..."

Hu Ma actually understood her very well. He just smiled and said, "Don't worry, old lady, it's not about debts or grudges."

"I just have something to do down there and will be back soon. I won't implicate you."

"..."

The old woman curled her lips slightly and snorted, "Then where do you plan to go?"

Hu Ma thought for a moment and said, "At least deeper than the Ghost Gate Pass."

"Then you'll need a ten-jin weight!"

The old woman hummed and said, "Young Master Xia brought you here, so I can't refuse to help. But remember, if the Yama (underworld officials) see this, it'll be a lot of trouble."

"If something happens to you, I can't escape. If something happens to me, you can't escape either. So, every word and action must be according to my instructions, otherwise..."

As she spoke, she suddenly came in front of Hu Ma and lifted her clothes. Hu Ma was startled by her movement. He smelled a faint stench and, afraid of a trap, quickly held his breath.

However, the maidservant next to her came over with an oil lamp and shone it on her body, revealing that she was covered in festering, bluish-green sores, some so deep they reached the bone, all over her lower back.

It was a shocking and terrifying sight.

"This is because I was seen by the Yama when I helped someone last time," the old woman sneered. "This time, do you know how much risk I'm taking to do this?"

Hu Ma sighed and said, "Thank you, Granny. But rest assured, I've prepared Cordyceps sinensis to help you remove the poison, and the brother who came with me has a family secret to dig out corns... and treat sores. He will definitely take good care of you!"

"Just don't owe me!"

The old woman said nothing more. She lowered her clothes and had the maidservant take the oil lamp back to its original place. Then she grabbed the gold and silver paper money from the wicker basket beside Hu Ma.

Some were shaped like ingots, others were cut into copper coins. She evenly scattered a circle around Hu Ma, then picked up the two weights beside her and tied them to Hu Ma's left and right feet with hemp rope.

She instructed the maidservant to bring the basin of clear water, and then handed Hu Ma an unlit white lantern. On her right wrist, she wore a black bell that didn't ring when shaken. Then she tied the pomelo leaves into a bundle and instructed Hu Ma:

"The money is for you to use on Huangquan Road (the road to the underworld), so that the little devils don't make trouble for you."

"When the paper money is burned, I'll open the door for you. Just walk forward and don't look back."

"Stop when the weights don't sink anymore. Don't look back if someone calls you on the way."

"Turning back will cause trouble."

"After you go down, hurry up. You have to come back before they complete a full circle."

"The method is simple. Shake the bell and kowtow upwards. When I receive the signal, I'll lower the belt. You can grab the belt and climb back up..."

"..."

Hu Ma listened carefully and nodded, his expression very solemn.

Seeing that he was obedient, the old woman seemed satisfied, but her face was dark and she couldn't tell if she was smiling. She just ordered the maidservant to place the chicken coop next to Hu Ma.

The rooster had been drooping its head, but after about an incense stick's worth of time, the rooster suddenly seemed to sense something and raised its head sharply, looking around vigilantly.

The old woman immediately took out a fire starter and burned the paper money around Hu Ma. Seeing the paper money quickly burn a circle, just as it was about to burn out, the maidservant, who was holding the clear water, poured the basin of cold water over Hu Ma's head.

"Don't breathe!"

A gust of yin (cold, deathly) energy came from above. Living people would instinctively gasp for breath, but the old woman warned in a deep voice.

The next moment, Hu Ma felt the pomelo leaves hit him on the head, and a voice sounded behind him: "The gates of the underworld are open, uninvited guests arrive, go down!"

As soon as Hu Ma heard this sentence, he immediately rushed forward.

Everything in front of him was pitch black, but he knew that it was the wooden door of the house, only that the light of the oil lamp was blocked by himself, forming a human-shaped black mass.

He rushed forward, and should have crashed into the wooden door, but he didn't expect that his figure passed through as if it were empty, and he rushed directly out of the house.

Remembering the old woman's words, he neither looked back nor glanced left or right, but just rushed forward with his head down.

Both feet were tied with weights, heavy, as if pulling his body down continuously, but the ground was soil, it shouldn't sink, or if it sank, he wouldn't be able to move.

But Hu Ma felt that the more his body sank, the more the ground sank with him, and he was running on a continuously descending steep slope. The whistling of the wind was in his ears, and he plunged into the darkness in an instant.

The sound of rushing footsteps, the recitation of opera actors, the sound of sobbing and wailing, the sound of chewing flesh, and the sound of bones tearing were endless, mixed in the yin wind that brushed past his ears, drilling into the depths of his heart from time to time.

In the corner of his eye, he seemed to see strange things crawling up beside him in this darkness, hanging their shadows, all kinds of different shapes, as if a thousand people were talking and arguing in his ear at the same time:

"You lost your money, look, look..."

"You're leaving such a good wife at home, can you bear to go?"

"The money hasn't been spent, the children haven't grown up, how dare you come here?"

"Turn back, turn back, once you pass the Ghost Gate Pass you'll be dead, the flowery world has no share for you..."

"..."

This voice seemed to have some kind of subtle, complex, evil and incomprehensible strangeness, but Hu Ma ignored it all and kept walking forward.

The deeper he went, the heavier the weights tied to his feet became, and he didn't know where he was.

The lantern he was holding, which hadn't been lit, gradually lit up at this time.

...

...

"Creak..."

At the same time, Erguotou, who was sitting in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air, saw the tightly closed wooden door suddenly pushed open, and the faint light of the oil lamp shone in.

The old woman in the black cloth robe walked out gloomily and stretched out her hand to Erguotou: "The person has been sent down, bring thirty jin of Cordyceps sinensis!"

"Ah?"

Erguotou was clearly taken aback: "Didn't you say twenty jin of Cordyceps sinensis, plus our special ointment for treating sores?"

"Don't bother yourself, my sores are a sin. Who told me to break the rules of the Yama? It can't be cured."

The old woman said gloomily, "The guest can just convert it into Cordyceps sinensis for me."

"Don't be stingy, that young man looks young, but once he gets there, he'll be gone."

"..."

"Ah?"

Erguotou looked even more surprised, with a frightened expression: "Then how much money do you want to bring him back?"

The old woman said, "I won't make extra money from you, just give me thirty jin of Cordyceps sinensis."

"This..."

Erguotou nervously touched his body, suddenly raised his head, but his rough face only showed a smirk: "You're giving it to me, right?"

The old woman was suddenly stunned: "Huh?"

Erguotou suddenly sneered, stood up tall, and said grimly, "A living person enters the underworld without reporting to the Yama, harboring evil intentions, taking the opportunity to extort money. Do you think I don't know? Even if I give you Cordyceps sinensis, the person you send down won't be able to come back..."

"You, a small soul-snatching errand boy, have broken the rules of the yin and yang worlds for a little Cordyceps sinensis..."

"What should be the crime?"

"..."

As soon as the shout came out, he seemed to have changed into a different person, majestic and awe-inspiring, scaring the old woman into a great fright.

She retreated vigilantly: "Who... who are you?"

"Me?"

Erguotou swung his robe, put one foot on the stone stool, rested his arm on his thigh, reached out and stroked his beard, and sneered grimly: "This old man is a ghost gate Taoist sharing incense... a small affairs official, who hates evil like the plague, and I'm just about to capture someone like you!"

(End of chapter)