https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-16-The-Hearth-Fire-Wards-Off-Evil/12834396/
Chapter 15: The Fire Furnace
Chapter 15: The Fire Furnace
Having witnessed the bizarre phenomena of this world and the astonishing abilities of Second Uncle, Hu Ma has now developed a strong interest in the powers of this realm. Eager to learn, he was about to beg Second Uncle to teach him when a crucial question suddenly came to mind. Suppressing his excitement, he asked with a serious expression:
"Second Uncle, do you need to maintain the state of a pure youth forever?"
"..."
This ability is indeed impressive, but if that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just marry that ghostly wife?
"Of course not."
Second Uncle was taken aback by Hu Ma's question and shook his head. "If all of you stayed pure youths, who would bear the children in the village?"
"Besides, Grandma only has you as a grandson. If I didn't let you marry, do you think she would let me off the hook?"
"..."
He continued, explaining: "This is just a method to seal the fire within your body and accumulate it. The more you save, the stronger you will become, and the more energetic you will feel. Of course..."
He paused, "You'll also have a stronger desire for women."
"In short, once you have enough fire, you can move on to the next step."
"Look at those young men outside. They work on the flesh mountains for a few years, earn enough money, and then get married and have children."
"Of course, once they marry, they can no longer work on the flesh mountains because their yang energy is depleted, and the furnace breaks. So, working on the flesh mountains is a young man's job, only lasting a few years."
"Only I, your Second Uncle, have been doing this for sixty years..."
"..."
"How come the more proud you sound, the more I feel sorry for you..."
Hu Ma couldn't help but think, then asked the most crucial question: "When will I be ready?"
Second Uncle looked at him deeply. "When you see a pig's butt and feel the urge, you'll be ready."
"..."
Hu Ma imagined the scene and couldn't help but shudder. However, since he didn't need to remain a pure youth forever, he mustered his courage and asked, "So, what do I do?"
"It's simple. I'll draw a talisman on your body."
Second Uncle explained, "I'm telling you this in advance so you can be prepared. Once the talisman is drawn, you need to eat more meat to build up your strength, exercise more, and get plenty of sunlight to enhance your fire energy."
"Logically, you were recently possessed by a ghost, so it's not advisable to rush into this. Forcing the furnace open might cause you to become too weak to benefit from it..."
"But Grandma is right, and with all the flesh mountain meat you've eaten, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Of course..."
He became more serious, "You must be mentally prepared. Once the seal is in place, you must not break it."
"I heard you used to sneak peeks at widows bathing in the village... You can't do that anymore."
"..."
"How could I?"
Hu Ma was embarrassed by the comment.
He wondered what his former self must have been like, seemingly not very well-liked in the village. However, seeing how serious Second Uncle was, Hu Ma remembered another question: "Just not breaking it, right?"
"What about... doing it yourself?"
"..."
As he spoke, he formed a circle with his thumb and index finger and moved it up and down.
Second Uncle took a moment to understand, then shook his head sternly. "Absolutely not. You must resist!"
"It will weaken your fire!"
"..."
"Alright..."
Hu Ma agreed but then remembered something else. "What about in dreams? What if I can't resist in my dreams?"
He knew from his past life that at his age, who hasn't had to wash their underpants in the middle of the night?
"Dreams?"
Second Uncle scoffed. "Those are evil spirits trying to make you lose your fire. Once I draw the talisman on you, you shouldn't have such dreams. But if it happens, if you have any awareness, resist it. If you lose control, a little bit won't matter... Otherwise, how did I maintain my sixty years of purity?"
Hu Ma immediately recalled Second Uncle's youthful feats and nodded firmly. "I understand."
With everything explained, Second Uncle took a basket of grass and had Hu Ma sit opposite him. Hu Ma, facing such an important moment, was naturally nervous and tried to control his breathing. Second Uncle, however, was experienced and remained calm.
After all, this was just the first step in learning the art, not a major event. Both of them remained relatively composed.
Meanwhile, not far from the stone house, on a low hill, Grandma, who should have returned to the village, was still standing there. She had seen Second Uncle take Hu Ma out at night to visit the Lord of the Flesh Mountains and recognize a godmother, frowning several times.
She had always thought Second Uncle was rash and unreliable, but she never imagined he could be this irresponsible.
But she only watched from a distance, never saying a word.
"Grandma doesn’t approve of Second Master’s skills and doesn’t want Brother Hu Ma to learn from him."
Suddenly, Little Hongtang said, "Little Hongtang doesn’t want Brother Hu Ma to learn from Second Master either. I’m afraid to get close to Second Master, but I feel comfortable around Brother Hu Ma. If Brother Hu Ma learns Second Master’s skills, I won’t dare to get close to him anymore…"
Grandma slowly lowered her gaze and, after a long pause, whispered, "It’s not that Grandma disapproves of Second Master’s skills."
"Second Master’s skills are inherently good, but he hasn’t mastered them fully."
"You don’t need to worry about being afraid to get close to Brother Hu Ma. No matter what he learns, he won’t scare you…"
"…"
Little Hongtang tilted her head, seemingly not quite understanding.
...
...
"Others light their furnaces using the ashes of their ancestors from the old hearths."
In the stone house, Second Master had already made Hu Ma take off his coarse cloth jacket, revealing a pale, thin chest with prominent ribs. "But the ancestors don’t recognize you, so I need to take you to a godmother and borrow this willow branch."
As he spoke, he took out the willow branch and placed it in the fire.
He mumbled some words, seemingly prayers for the ancestors to bless them.
Hu Ma figured that since he hadn’t used the ashes from the old hearth, the prayers Second Master was reciting didn’t really concern him.
Perhaps Second Master always recited these prayers when helping others light their furnaces, so he was doing it now out of habit.
After a while, the willow branch dried out, and a section of it caught fire.
Second Master suddenly looked up, picked up the burning branch, and quickly drew on Hu Ma’s chest with it.
Hu Ma instinctively flinched but found that the burning branch wasn’t hot at all; instead, it was icy cold.
Even colder than when he touched the ghostly wooden stake earlier.
This coldness seemed to penetrate his skin, searing into his soul.
As the ash marks formed strange runes on his chest, he felt a cold line rapidly moving across his torso. He vaguely heard countless eerie laughs and jeers, and his vision blurred.
Suddenly, he looked down and, in a daze, saw pale hands reaching out from the darkness, pressing against his chest and caressing him.
"Ah?"
Hu Ma jolted upright, startling Second Master, who was just finishing the last stroke of the rune.
"What’s wrong?"
"…"
Hu Ma focused and realized there were no pale hands on his chest; it was just an illusion.
The shallow ash marks Second Master had drawn on his chest gave him an unusually clear, cold sensation.
The runes also left him with a strange feeling.
It was as if an invisible coat had been draped over him, blocking the heat from escaping his body.
Completely isolated from the outside world.
Whenever the heat tried to escape through his skin, it was pushed back into his body, circulating endlessly.
"Remember the pattern I drew."
Second Master gave Hu Ma a curious look but, seeing the rune was complete, quickly instructed, "From now on, the fire energy inside your body will be continuously blocked and redirected. Follow the pattern of the rune to accumulate this fire energy, bit by bit, and guide it to your lower abdomen. Over time, a massive furnace will form there."
"This is your furnace. The fire will grow stronger, and you will become more powerful until you start learning new techniques."
"Once you have this furnace, you won’t have to worry about encountering those ghostly things anymore."
"They’ll keep their distance when they see you."
"…"
"…"
Hu Ma suddenly thought of a question and cautiously asked, "What if an evil spirit enters my body?"
"Ha ha…"
Second Master chuckled. "Even if one dares to enter your body, it will feel like being trapped in a furnace, burning and desperate to escape. If it can’t escape, it will be burned to ashes by the furnace’s fire…"
"Ah?"
Hearing Second Master’s serious tone, Hu Ma quickly checked and felt reassured.
"It’s fine…"
"I don’t feel like I’m being burned to ashes. Instead, my body feels warm and comfortable…"
"Does this mean I’m not an evil spirit?"
"…"
"…"
At the same time, Grandma watched the light from the stone house from a distance. After a long moment, she sighed softly and said no more.
"Let’s go!"
"…"
Her hunched figure, accompanied by the small red-clad girl, slowly disappeared into the deep forest.
(End of Chapter)
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