Chapter 11: Second Master Meets a Ghost
Chapter 11: Second Master Meets a Ghost
In the gloomy forest, Hu Ma had nearly lost all sense of time and space.
He didn't know how long he had been wandering through the woods, but finally, when his whole body was drenched in sweat, he emerged from the forest. Looking ahead, he saw a low hill, and beyond it, a larger expanse of forest.
Straining his eyes, he thought he could see something dark red and massive, a bloated, writhing mass of flesh deep within the forest.
Perhaps it was just a trick of the eye.
But as he refocused on the hill, he noticed a few low stone huts, and faintly, some moving figures. He glanced at the old woman, confirming that this was where she intended to take him.
He quickly gathered his strength and hurried forward.
As he approached, he realized this place resembled a small farm. Around the huts were several vegetable patches, and a large, compacted area of soil with a millstone in the center.
On the walls, there were two rows of weapon racks, holding large knives, spears, lotus hooks, and whips, as well as several heavy stone blocks.
In front of one of the huts, a tall, robust old man sat on a bench, a small teapot and a plate of tobacco by his side.
In front of him, a dozen or so young boys, bare-chested and wearing black pants, were practicing their punches with precision.
"This is a place for training?" Hu Ma thought, surprised.
What surprised him even more was that he had already witnessed the endless dangers outside the village. If the old man had exceptional skills, it made sense that he could live outside the village, but how could he have a group of boys with him as well?
Aren't the village's young people usually not allowed near the edge of the village?
Or did the old man have some powerful abilities that allowed him to keep these boys safe outside?
"Brute force won't help us much, and it won't be enough to deal with the Meng family," the old woman seemed to read Hu Ma's thoughts and turned to him, saying, "I brought you here to learn a different skill from Second Master. If you can master it, even without the protection of the old fire pit, those evil spirits won't dare to come near you."
"Besides, you'll be safer with Second Master than with me."
"In a few days, I have some matters to attend to, and I'm worried that I might not be able to take good care of you."
"..."
"Ah?"
Hu Ma's mind raced: Was she leaving him here?
At first, his only thought upon waking was to escape that room and get away from the eerie old woman. But in the end, he found that staying with her was the only way to feel safe. Now, just as he was starting to get used to living with her, he had an unexpected opportunity to leave?
Also, it seemed the old woman wasn't bringing him here to show him off, but to find someone to take care of him.
"Old sister, you really brought the child?"
At that moment, a booming laugh echoed, and the tall old man walked over.
He laughed as he approached, giving Hu Ma a stern look. "Boy, why aren't you greeting me?"
"Call him Second Master."
The old woman told Hu Ma, then turned to the old man, "He was badly injured before. Although we saved him, he doesn't remember much."
"Ah, that family is truly ruthless."
Second Master frowned and glanced around the vast, dense forest.
He lowered his voice. "Is that thing still around?"
"The Meng family is like that. They won't stop until they succeed."
The old woman shook her head, took the bundle from Hu Ma's back, and told him to wait a bit further away. Then, she turned and handed the bundle to Second Master, saying, "I injured that thing a while back, but I didn't kill it."
"I think it's almost recovered. If we don't get rid of it, I won't feel at ease..."
"..."
Second Master lifted the bundle with one hand, weighed it, and frowned. "Old sister, you saved my life back then. I would have taken care of Little Hu Ma even without these things..."
"..."
"Business is business."
The old woman said, "I brought my grandson to learn from you, not to ask for favors."
"I took him to the old fire pit, but our ancestors didn't recognize him. Now, he can only learn from you."
"..."
"But I..."
Second Master frowned and lowered his voice. "Old sister, I have no problem teaching Little Hu Ma."
"But my skill isn't something everyone can learn..."
"..."
"He will learn it."
The old woman's tone became more severe as she said, "He must learn your skill."
"Our Hu family..."
She paused, sounding somewhat dejected, and sighed. "Has no other choice."
Seeing the situation, Second Master didn't know what to say and quickly reassured, "Old Sister, don't worry. This is one of our own, and I will definitely teach him with all my heart."
"But, what about that strange fellow sent by the Meng family?"
"..."
He seemed eager to volunteer.
"That's our Hu family's business."
But the old woman interrupted Second Master, saying, "Letting outsiders interfere is not proper."
"Alright then!"
Second Master didn't argue further. He tucked the bundle under his arm and said, "I won't be formal with you, Old Sister."
"Rest assured, your child will be safe with me. Go about your business. If I need anything, I'll send Little Hongtang to let you know."
"..."
The old woman didn't linger any longer. She gave Hu Ma a few more instructions, mostly to eat more meat, learn well from Second Master, be obedient, and not to leave the mountain. Then, she made Hu Ma bow three times on the muddy ground to Second Master. As he stood up, she patted the dirt off his knees, pulled a few small silver coins from her pocket, placed them in his hand, and left.
Hu Ma held the warm silver coins, watching her hunched back slowly descend the mountain. For some reason, he felt a sudden pang of emotion, thinking about the truth he had hidden. He felt a twinge of guilt.
...
"Hey, you little crybaby, you're crying just because you left your grandmother?"
Second Master noticed Hu Ma's sadness but misunderstood, laughing and patting his head. "You'll go back once you've learned some skills. What's there to cry about?"
"..."
With that, he led Hu Ma to the front of the house. The group of boys who had been practicing their punches had stopped and were now looking at Hu Ma with wide eyes.
One of them glanced at Hu Ma's scrawny arms and sneered, "This new kid? He's way too thin."
"He doesn't have an ounce of muscle. If he encounters an evil spirit, a single gust of cold wind will carry him away."
Another boy grunted, "He's the grandson of Old Woman Ghost, who dotes on him like a treasure..."
"He complains of headaches when he reads, finds practicing martial arts tiring, and even complains about the sun when he works in the fields."
"Sometimes, when his grandmother goes out to treat people and doesn't come back until noon, she has to ask the neighbor to cook for him, and he still picky."
"..."
"..."
"These boys are also from the village?"
Hu Ma listened but didn't take their taunts to heart. Instead, he felt a slight stir in his heart, realizing that these boys seemed to know a lot about his original self. Because of his fear of his grandmother, he had never dared to ask directly about what had happened to him or what his life was like before. Now, he thought, he could try to gather information from these boys, piece by piece, to understand his past.
"Alright, all of you, stand up straight."
Second Master frowned at their chatter and shouted. The boys immediately stood at attention.
"You too."
He gave Hu Ma a light kick on the behind, making him stand with the other boys, and then said loudly:
"What's this talk about evil spirits?"
"It's just a gust of cold wind. Your grandmother said to bring you here to get some sun and build up your fire spirit. If you ask me, you're in the right place. You should have come sooner."
"I've never cared about those so-called evil spirits. In my opinion, they're just cowardly things that prey on the weak. You encounter them because your body is too frail. Once you've trained and become strong, you can blow them away with a single breath."
"..."
"Second Master..."
A slightly chubby boy in the crowd chuckled, "Hu Ma encountered something really powerful."
"Even the ancestors in the old fire pit wouldn't dare to protect him!"
"..."
"Then he needs to train more."
Second Master glared at him and said, "If you train well, you won't need the ancestors' protection."
"How can a living person rely on the dead to live?"
"..."
As he spoke, he sat down, rolled some tobacco, stuffed it into his pipe, and continued:
"When I was young, I too was haunted by one of those spirits. I was in my twenties, carefree, and had forgotten to bring the ashes of my ancestors on a business trip. One night, I stayed in an empty house and was unexpectedly entangled with a hanging widow. She slipped through the door crack, her face deathly pale, climbed onto my bed, and began to loosen my waistband to... you know..."
"Guess what happened next?"
"..."
The boys were instantly curious, stretching their necks to hear more.
"Ha..."
Second Master leaned back on a small stool, holding his pipe, and said proudly, "Twenty times in one night!"
"It was exhausting!"
(End of Chapter)
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