Chapter 138: Inviting It Out
Chapter 138: Inviting It Out
Indeed, doing things requires the right approach.
Hu Ma estimated that if he and Zhou Datong had come over rashly, the villagers might not even provide them with food. They might just give them a few steamed buns and a bit of pickled vegetables to send them off.
Just as Mr. Ouyang once said, a killer in shoes is priced differently from one without shoes.
But now, they were welcomed into the house with respect, served good wine and food, and even the honorable Mr. Zhao invited Hu Ma to sit at the head of the table, accompanying him with earnest hospitality.
Zhou Datong and the other apprentices, who had traveled all day and were already hungry, started eating without hesitation. Hu Ma, however, was more concerned about his manners, and after eating a few bites, he listened to Mr. Zhao's detailed account.
Indeed, the village had started experiencing drought two years ago. Last year, the rainfall was even less, and the harvest was significantly reduced. This year, they had not seen any rain at all.
The crops in the fields were withering, and it was unbearable to look at them. They were about to face a year of reduced grain and hunger.
However, the drought was only affecting this area of a few dozen miles. The neighboring county, on the other hand, had been blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests for the past two years.
Some of the more knowledgeable villagers believed that a drought demon was causing this and needed to be dug out and burned. But despite digging countless graves, nothing worked.
Now, the villagers were digging graves frantically, and even Mr. Zhao's family tomb was almost desecrated. The laborer who had been sitting in the wall corner had died while helping Mr. Zhao protect the family tomb.
If this continued, the villagers might die from fighting each other before they died of hunger. This was why the wealthy families in the surrounding villages were willing to spend the money.
"This is a great act of saving lives..."
Mr. Zhao's voice grew more sorrowful as he spoke, almost tearing up. He held Hu Ma's hand, saying earnestly:
"To be honest, we've already begged everyone we could. If you can help solve this problem..."
"...we will offer you fifty taels of silver as a token of gratitude!"
"..."
"?"
Hu Ma was a bit stunned: "This is clearly supposed to be two hundred taels!"
But he couldn't argue about this. He gave Zhou Datong a meaningful look, and Zhou Datong, who was about to bite into a chicken's rear, understood. He wiped the oil from his mouth and said coldly, "Fifty taels? Our Master only takes on jobs for no less than five hundred taels."
Hu Ma sighed softly, "They've inflated it..."
Mr. Zhao, upon hearing this, looked a bit troubled, but surprisingly, he did not haggle. Instead, he paused and said to Hu Ma:
"Well, the token of gratitude can be discussed. I can talk to the people in the surrounding villages, but..."
"...do you really have the confidence to handle this?"
"..."
"No."
Hu Ma shook his head directly, and Mr. Zhao was stunned.
"Who would dare to say they have the confidence without seeing it?"
Hu Ma laughed coldly again, "We're here to solve the problem, not to scam you. Why would we lie to you?"
"Ah, this..."
Mr. Zhao's face showed relief. The few people who had come looked young, but they didn't seem as slick as the previous groups who had promised solutions and turned out to be frauds.
Thus, he busily offered more toasts and said to Hu Ma, "Then I'll entrust this to you, Master. It's late today, so please rest here. Tomorrow morning, I'll send people to the surrounding villages to collect the token of gratitude..."
"And you..."
"..."
"Take your time discussing it."
Hu Ma said, "I need to look around first tomorrow and get a clear idea before taking action."
Mr. Zhao was relieved and ordered more food to be served. He then had a room prepared, and hot foot-washing water was brought for the masters and apprentices to relax before sleeping.
After the meal, it was already quite late. Zhou Datong and the others went to sleep, while Hu Ma stayed to drink tea with Mr. Zhao and ask more detailed questions. Finally, he returned to the room, and the others immediately gathered around, worriedly asking, "How did it go?"
"Brother Pockmarked, you really have a solution, right?"
"If we can't handle it, let's ask for a deposit and find a chance to run?"
"..."
"What nonsense?"
Hu Ma's expression changed as he looked at Zhou Datong. Where did he learn this trick of deceiving people?
"We can't run."
At this point, the more steady Zhou Liang shook his head and said, "I saw their laborer take our horses to the front stable. They're watching us..."
"Ha, they're not fools."
Hu Ma also laughed coldly, "But we came here to make money honestly."
"I have confidence in this. I've heard Second Uncle talk about dealing with drought demons before. We just need to find and burn the drought demon to solve the problem."
"..."
The others were stunned, and Zhou Datong even asked, "Why didn't Second Uncle tell us about this?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Hu Ma was irritated by Zhou Datong's question, "Whenever you're with Second Uncle, you only talk about lewd things..."
Zhou Datong felt guilty, and even Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu looked embarrassed.
... Indeed.
But Hu Ma, seeing their expressions, didn’t bother to explain. He only urged them to rest quickly and get ready to help with the task the next morning.
In fact, what he had said was three parts true and seven parts false. The story about driving the dry bone stakes was something he had heard from Second Uncle. After all, when he first arrived in this world, he knew nothing about it and relied on Second Uncle’s tales of strange events to gain a deeper understanding.
However, Second Uncle only casually mentioned local anecdotes and legends. The real solution to the drought demon came from the Town Guard Book.
But the Town Guard Book was very brief in its description of how to deal with a drought demon, especially one that hadn’t fully matured, with only a few sentences.
Now, he had to rely on these few sentences to solve the problem. It would be a practical application of theory, deepening his understanding.
The next morning, the laborers from the Zhao Family brought water for them to wash up. The kitchen had already steamed white buns, and after a hearty meal, Hu Ma and the apprentices set out with Mr. Zhao to inspect the surroundings, followed by a crowd of onlookers.
After circling the village, Hu Ma couldn’t help but be shocked.
In the area around the village, it always felt as if they were in a scorching heat, even though it was only June, yet the air was dry and hot, as if it were August.
The most shocking sight was the desolate fields and wild lands around the village, where graves had been dug up, and coffins and bones were scattered everywhere. Some were left to bake in the sun, while others had been dragged away by wild dogs.
It was clear that the villagers were so afraid that they had started a indiscriminate attack, digging up graves regardless of whether they were related or not, smashing them all to pieces.
However, the graves of the wealthy families, including Mr. Zhao’s, were still intact, with people watching over them.
But the villagers were watching closely, ready to pounce and dig them up at any moment.
The weather was dry, and the fear of a real drought was palpable, making everyone on edge.
“Master, how is it?”
After a morning of inspection, they rested in the fields, and someone had arranged for food to be brought from the village.
The number of people following Hu Ma had not decreased but increased. Mr. Zhao had invited several wealthy families from the surrounding villages to discuss the offering money. No one argued much about the money, but they were all worried whether Master Zhou could solve the problem.
Hu Ma answered truthfully, “I haven’t seen anything suspicious yet.”
Mr. Zhao, upon hearing this, felt both worried and somewhat relieved.
He was worried that they might not find anything, but relieved because he had always feared that the villagers would dig up his family’s graves in a fit of anger. So, he had specially taken Hu Ma to see his family’s graves early in the morning.
But after observing, Hu Ma stated that the drought demon could not be there.
The Town Guard Book was clear: “The drought demon’s presence is like a raging fire.”
Once a drought demon is born underground, the surrounding area becomes a wasteland, but the grave where the drought demon is born remains moist, with green grass growing. Mr. Zhao’s family graves were almost dry and smoldering, so it was clear that no drought demon could have been born there.
But the key was that after searching for so long, none of the other graves seemed to fit the description of where a drought demon would grow.
“Perhaps this method isn’t working.”
Hu Ma thought to himself that he might need to try a different approach.
It was already the sixth day since he had left the village, and he didn’t know if the duel had already started. But time was pressing, and he couldn’t stay here for the sake of two hundred taels of silver.
Moreover, the villagers around didn’t know the methods in the Town Guard Book, but they had their own ways. They had indiscriminately dug up all the suspicious graves but found nothing.
This indicated that the burial site of the drought demon was indeed well-hidden and hard to find. In that case...
“Since we can’t find it, I think the only way is to invite it out.”
“...”
The villagers were all taken aback by this.
They had just been worried that Hu Ma would have no solution, but who would have thought that his solution would be so terrifying?
“H...”
Mr. Zhao stammered, “How... how do we do that?”
“Let’s start with your village.”
Hu Ma explained, “Since it’s still early, go back to the village and tell everyone to keep a few livestock. Those who can should also repair their doors and windows and cover them with paper.”
“After dark, close the house doors and open the main gates, sprinkle white lime at the door, and then go to bed. If you hear any noise at night, don’t come out and don’t make a sound.”
“With this, combined with my nighttime ritual, we should be able to find the thing.”
(End of Chapter)
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