Chapter 139: White-Haired Corpse
Chapter 139: White-Haired Corpse
Although Hu Ma’s story sounded bizarre and increasingly terrifying, Zhao Laoye and the others exchanged glances and, with a heavy heart, agreed to his proposal.
The longer they delayed, the more likely it was that the village would face a severe famine due to the ongoing drought...
Not only did they agree, but they also saw that Hu Ma was not as careless as the previous masters. He had spent an entire day diligently searching, and this gave them a glimmer of hope. With a heavy heart, they agreed. Of course, they couldn’t afford the five hundred taels Zhou Datong mentioned, but if the task was completed, they would initially pool together two hundred taels from several villages to pay the offering money to the peddlers for spreading the news.
"If that's the case, then I'll have to invest a bit more..."
Hu Ma thought to himself and returned to the village to give detailed instructions on what needed to be done.
Furthermore, he asked Zhao Laoye to organize a team to check every household. Those with livestock should take good care of their animals, and those without should borrow a couple from their neighbors. In short, besides humans, there should be other living beings in every household.
Lime should be evenly spread at the doorways, and the doors must be repaired, with the higher the threshold, the better.
If a household’s threshold was too broken, they should cut a thick branch, using the height of a knee as a standard, and place it horizontally in front of the door.
After a busy day of these preparations, it was already evening. Hu Ma told Zhao Laoye and the others to rest, while he took Zhou Datong and a few other apprentices outside. First, he had them slaughter the chickens and ducks collected from the village, collecting a large bucket of blood.
Then, with a heavy heart, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his chest, which contained a Blood Food Pill.
This Blood Food Pill was a reward from the Red Lantern Association, something that could be exposed to light.
Despite its small size, it was worth three taels of gold, equivalent to thirty taels of silver.
Using this method, he was indeed making a significant investment.
Hu Ma had to mentally prepare himself before pouring the Blood Food Pill into his hand. The smell of blood was overwhelming, and the pill, the size of a longan, was fresh and juicy. The blood scent could carry for miles, and Little Red Apricot, who was hiding under the eaves nearby, immediately poked her head out.
"Little Red Apricot, come over..."
Hu Ma beckoned to Little Red Apricot, who obediently ran over.
Hu Ma first squeezed the juice from the Blood Food Pill into the bucket of blood, then gave the remaining flesh to Little Red Apricot.
To solve the village’s drought, he had already used the juice from a Blood Food Pill... Was this not a significant investment?
Seeing Little Red Apricot’s excited eyes bend into a smile, Hu Ma felt much better.
"Eat up!"
He didn’t feel regretful about giving it to Little Red Apricot; after all, he would rely on her for his unique flying sword technique in the future.
After that, Hu Ma asked Zhou Datong to bring a bottle of wine.
This was also a reward from the Red Lantern Association, a bottle of Blood Wine. It contained the scent of Ta Sui and had been brewed into the wine, making the blood qi even more potent and intense. He poured half the bottle into the blood, had Zhou Datong seal the bottle, and put the rest away.
After completing these preparations, he ordered the apprentices to sprinkle the blood around the village before it got too dark.
The apprentices, though confused, followed his instructions, each taking a bucket and quickly sprinkling the blood before returning.
By the time they finished, it was completely dark, and Hu Ma and the others returned to Zhao Laoye’s house.
As usual, Zhao Laoye set up a table with wine and dishes, but the atmosphere was not as relaxed as the previous night. Everyone, including Zhou Datong and the others, felt heavy-hearted and ate quietly.
The entire village was locked down, with no one daring to go outside. Not even a single light was lit, and as soon as it got dark, they urged their families to go to bed quickly.
"Whoo..."
After an unknown amount of time, a cold wind began to blow outside the village, accompanied by the eerie sounds of ghosts howling.
Zhao Laoye, who hadn’t slept, stood by Hu Ma, his face pale from the sounds.
"Don’t worry, it will settle down soon."
However, Hu Ma shook his head at him, signaling that he should continue drinking and not worry. The blood he had sprinkled around the village was a good thing and would definitely attract some evil spirits.
But he had only sprinkled it outside the village, and the amount was small, so the scent would dissipate quickly. The spirits attracted would not enter the village but would only wander around for a while before returning to their places.
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, the village outside became quiet again.
It was an unnaturally quiet, a dead silence, even the village’s livestock made no sound.
"It should be close."
Hu Ma waited silently, and by midnight, everyone was already struggling to stay awake, but they patiently accompanied Hu Ma in his vigil.
"Mother of mercy..."
Just as they were all feeling drowsy and about to fall asleep, a sudden, terrified scream rang out from a place not far from Zhao Laoye’s house.
In the silent night, the scream was both shocking and terrifying, filled with sobs, causing everyone present to shudder.
"Swish!"
Zhou Datong and the others all jumped up, drawing their knives.
Zhao Laoye, who had been struggling to stay awake, was so frightened that he nearly fell over. His face was as pale as paper, and he trembled as he looked at Hu Ma.
Unlike the earlier ghostly howls, this scream was clearly human. The cold wind had sounded distant, coming from outside the village.
But this scream came from within the village, as if it was just a few houses away.
The air in the room had grown cold, and a layer of oil appeared on the vegetables. The oil lamp, though there was no wind, gradually diminished, until only a tiny lightdot of light remained.
The crowd's arms, meanwhile, were covered in goosebumps, and no one dared to breathe deeply.
"Don't panic, let's continue drinking."
But Hu Ma only whispered, "We'll talk about it when it's light, when it's light, we'll understand."
The crowd, including Zhou Datong, looked at each other with a faint smile, but no one dared to laugh aloud, nor did they have the heart to eat or drink. It was only a matter of time before the rooster crowd the room, and in the distance, a rooster’s cry was heard, Hu Ma then stood up and said, "Let's go!"
The Sleepless crowd was quickly on their feet, roused by the sounds, and together they held lanterns high, even Zhao Laoye, who was also forced to follow. They headed towards the spot where the tragic cries had been heard the night before.
On the way, they foundthat thehouse was already locked, and no oneopened the door, so theyslippedinamongthecrowd, anditlookedlike thevillageresidents, whohadn'tsleptsleeptogoodthatnight, werealllisteningtothe commotion. Hu Ma, holdingthehoe, quicklyfollowedwithin, andamongthem, hecouldseea womanofconsiderableappearance, carryingachild, crouchingatthethresholdandcrying.
TheManinthefamily, holdingahoe, wasshaking, andwhentheDooropened, hechargedforwardwiththehoe.
"It'syou……"
"……"
"Look carefully before youact."
Hu Ma thrustthehoeintotheDoor, seizingitfromHisHands, frownedandasked, "Didyoucome…tonight?"
"Cometo…night……"
TheManwasUnrecognizable, but afterbeingstaredbyHu Ma, heShrunkedandshuddered, tremblingandsaid, "Scary……Scary……"
"It'sonmybody, whitehairs,eyes…likearedboiledeggs,walking…can'twalk,justhop,, andOnceinside, hesaid…bitheSheeped……"
"BeforeIleave, IWarninghimaboutthehouse……I'mreallyafraidd, afraid itwillcomein……"
"……"
"Findit."
Hu Ma, hearingthis, immediatelyrelaxedandlaughed, wavinghisarms.
It wasdecidedthatitwashisilver, andwiththissilver, itwasacquired.
Thisdroughtwasburiedwiththecorpse, due tothewind'smisalignment, ortherebeingarevengefulaura, whichbroughtaboutchangesintheclimate. Yet, thiswasnotyetfullydeveloped, anditwasonlyawhile itwasdeveloping, itwouldleadtoadrought.
Anditscomingout, firstinjuriedthefamily, thenateandothervillagers, whocouldseeonlythetop ofthehouse, andthefollowingnight, theywouldeattheanimals. Onthesecondnight, theywouldknowwhohadlostaperson, andbyfollowingningingding, find,18,,,,,,,dry,'shadbeend.
TheMan, afterhearing this, immediately relaxeded, butthento,,,,,,,ed intothem, hehastenedhism.
, andlookedin, there was only a tinydot of light left.
Hu Ma, just as everyone was beginningtoUnderstand, heAsked, "Did youSprinklethelime ontheDoor?"
"Ah……"
TheMan Startled, shakingHisHead, "Rightthere……Right……Right……"
"Haha……"
Hu Ma laughed, but did not speak.
WhoseWindwasSoStrong, it BlewawaytheLime, but heKnewWhatWasWrong, soHeJustlaughedatZhaoLaoye, andSaid:
"TheThingIsDone, butTheVillagersinYourVillageWouldn'tlistenToAdvice, NowTheMatterIsDelayed, HowWillYouhandleit, sir?"
……
(End of Chapter)
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