Chapter 187: Black Mirror Reflects People
Chapter 187: Black Mirror Reflects People
On this day, the village opened its gates early in the morning and hung the Red Lantern Lady's lantern in the courtyard. Even the nearby villagers who came to burn paper and make offerings were asked to wait, to come back the next day.
Originally, everyone in the village was prepared to welcome them, but unexpectedly, from morning till night, not a single trace of the Blue Robe Boys or Chief Zheng was seen all day.
It wasn't until dusk, when Hu Ma was about to arrange for the night patrol, that a sudden drumbeat rang out from outside the village.
The apprentices in the village hurriedly looked out, only to be suddenly greeted by a cold wind, causing them to shiver.
Outside, a thin mist had risen, cold and bone-chilling.
The light from the lanterns in the village and the gazes of the people seemed to be blocked, unable to reach more than a few yards ahead.
As the mist surged into the village, vague figures of about seven or eight people appeared, hopping and jumping. They all wore green pants, were bare-chested, and had peculiar small braids tied behind their heads. Their cheeks were painted with striking red, and their shapes were bizarre and comical, not like living people.
They surrounded a sedan chair, and atop the chair was not a person but a rusty iron mask, vaguely resembling a demonic ghost.
Hu Ma had seen this mask during the magical duel between the Red Lantern Association and the Blue Robe Gang; it was the mask of the Blue-robed Evil Spirit, just like the Red Lantern Lady's lantern.
"This..."
Seeing this group of ghostly figures suddenly rush into the village, the apprentices were all trembling, turning to look at each other.
"Esteemed guests have arrived; don't lose face or courage."
Hu Ma sternly called out, reprimanding the apprentices in the village, then slowly stepped forward.
"Hu Ma, the manager of the Blue Stone Branch of the Red Lantern Lady, respectfully awaits the arrival of the Blue Robe Lord and the Blue Robe Elder Brothers..."
The necessary formalities must be observed.
The Blue Robe Gang and the Red Lantern Association were in fierce conflict; privately, the Red Lantern Association called the Blue Robe Lord the Blue-robed Evil Spirit, and the Blue Robe Gang called the Red Lantern Lady by an unflattering name, but that was in private. In public, they still had to be courteous and address each other as Lord.
"Hehe..."
The Blue Robe Boys laughed at Hu Ma's courteous words, nodding and swaying their heads.
But before they could respond, a man with a square face and wearing a brocade robe emerged from the thick fog.
He looked at Hu Ma with a cold smile and said, "Little Hu Manager, how are you..."
"Since our last encounter at the Zhu Men Town duel, I've been thinking of you all the time..."
"..."
"Chief Zheng..."
Hu Ma looked at this person and slowly exhaled, meeting his gaze and said calmly, "I've been thinking of Chief Zheng too, but I didn't expect your important affairs to keep you so busy that you only arrived at my village at this hour..."
"Hehe..."
Chief Zheng slowly stepped forward, looking around, and said mildly, "I was ordered by the Lady to search for people with the Blue Robe Elder Brothers."
"We searched all seventeen villages of our Red Lantern Association, starting from the villages with more people and greater capabilities, and so we came to you last..."
"Are all the people here? Is there anyone hiding?"
"..."
Hu Ma said, "Including me, there are nine people at the Blue Stone Branch, and we are all here."
"Chief Zheng is handling matters for the Blue Robe Lord so diligently; how could I dare to delay your great task over such a trivial matter?"
"But I wonder, what kind of people are you looking for?"
"..."
Hearing Hu Ma's unyielding and slightly mocking tone, Chief Zheng was not upset.
It was a strange situation; before the conflict, he would have reprimanded Hu Ma harshly for any slight indiscretion. Now, with the conflict out in the open, even if Hu Ma spoke rudely, he wouldn't care.
"Only nine people?"
He just smiled coldly and said, "Then bring out everyone between the ages of fifteen and twenty!"
"There's no need to ask what kind of people you're looking for; the Blue Robe Elder Brothers will know once they see."
"..."
"From fifteen to twenty-five, everyone in our village will need to be checked, so we all need to come forward..."
Hu Ma had already known their process at each village before they arrived, so he was not surprised. Moreover, he had already applied the soil from the old tree stump to his chest, feeling more at ease with the old tree stump's protection.
So he stepped forward and said, "Everyone in my village needs to be checked, including me, the manager. Let's start with me!"
Chief Zheng was somewhat surprised.
While searching in other villages, they rarely checked the managers, as most were past this age. But here, he wanted to check Hu Ma, and he didn't expect Hu Ma to step forward without needing any persuasion.
After a moment's thought, he smiled and turned to the ghostly Blue Robe Boys, bowing and saying, "Elder Brothers, please!"
"Of course, of course!"
The Blue Robe Boys laughed and responded, their voices sharp and childlike.
These people were on par with the Red Fragrance Disciples, or perhaps even closer to the Blue-robed Evil Spirits. They were the most loyal of the Spirit Bearers, comparable to the Incense Burners.
Each of them was heavily tainted with evil aura, appearing more like ghosts than humans. When Hu Ma stepped forward, two of them hopped up and approached, each holding one end of a peculiar round mirror, pointing it directly at Hu Ma and shining it on him.
"Hmm?"
Hu Ma maintained a calm exterior, but his heart was pounding. The old tree stump had given him some mud, saying it could help him avoid the other party’s scrutiny, but he had only said it "should work."
If something went wrong, it would be a huge problem...
But some things couldn’t be avoided. He had to face it head-on, so he straightened his chest and looked at the mirror.
As he looked, he felt a sudden surge of ghostly aura, a wave of yin qi rushing towards him, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head in the dead of winter.
He felt as if he were being thoroughly examined by some powerful existence, but he stared back at the mirror. The mirror’s surface seemed to ripple with black waves, and something flashed across it, disappearing in an instant.
Below the mirror, a faint red line rose to the height of a finger and then stopped.
"It’s not him, it’s not him."
The Blue-robed Boys, after inspecting the mirror, said repeatedly, "Far from it, far from it."
Chief Zheng slightly narrowed his eyes, slowly shook his head, and then smiled, "Then please have the seniors check the others."
"Did I pass this round?"
Hu Ma felt a slight relief and stepped to the side.
It would have been a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. The old tree stump hadn’t given any guarantees, and if something had gone wrong, he didn’t know if he would have been able to resist in front of the Blue-robed Evil Spirits.
Even if the senior in the Old Yin Mountain had agreed to help, he would still need to get there first...
However, it seemed the old tree stump’s magic was profound. Though he said he wasn’t sure, the mud he gave easily broke through the other party’s technique.
This test, which had hung over his heart for over half a month like a sword, had been passed so easily.
He glanced at Chief Zheng, who also had his eyes lowered, seemingly unbothered by Hu Ma’s passing this test.
It seemed that regarding the matters of the noble above, he wouldn’t dare to do anything rash.
But as his heart relaxed, curiosity also arose.
What were these people looking for with the mirror? The red line that rose from the mirror, and the markings like zi, chou, yin, and mao on the frame, what were they measuring?
As he thought, the other apprentices also came up one by one to be inspected. The process was quick, with each person only needing a few breaths to be done.
Hu Ma noticed that the length of the red line that appeared for each person varied, some three fingers long, some a foot, or even a foot and a half.
The Blue-robed Boys didn’t even bother to look at most of them, just giving a quick inspection and then shooing them to the side.
Once all the apprentices had been inspected, Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu, who had helped organize the process, also came up.
First, Li Wa Zi from the kitchen stepped forward. He was so thin that he seemed like he could be blown over by the wind. No one took him seriously, but when he stood in front of the mirror, everyone was shocked.
The red line suddenly rose, exceeding two feet, the highest among those already inspected.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze fell on his face.
Li Wa Zi panicked and looked at Hu Ma, "Brother Pockmarked, what...?"
Hu Ma was also startled. He quickly scanned the faces of the Blue-robed Boys and then looked at Chief Zheng, trying to see if he was playing a trick.
Chief Zheng kept his eyes lowered and said slowly, "There are a few more, let’s check them together!"
The last ones to be inspected were Zhou Datong and his group. They had been helping maintain order, so they were naturally at the back.
With Li Wa Zi’s unexpected result, the Blue-robed Boys seemed excited, quickly bringing the mirror over and shining it on Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu.
A shocking scene unfolded. The red line in the mirror suddenly shot up.
Zhao Zhu was fine, just a bit over two feet, similar to Li Wa Zi.
But when it came to Zhou Liang, the line reached two and a half feet, and when it was Zhou Datong’s turn, it almost reached three feet, the red line barely stopping.
This sudden silence fell over the entire manor. Everyone was speechless, and only the cold wind blew.
"Four, four..."
On the other side, the Blue-robed Boys were almost overjoyed, grinning and shaking their heads, jumping and pointing at Zhou Datong and his group, shouting, "Three, three..."
As they spoke, some of them even pulled out chains.
Chief Zheng kept his eyes lowered, and after a moment, a faint smile appeared on his lips. He said softly, "Since they’ve been identified, take them away!"
(End of Chapter)
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