Chapter 234: Zhang Agu
Chapter 234: Zhang Agu
"Indeed..."
Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat, and he was amazed by Zhang Agu's exceptional eyesight. She was indeed a great spirit walker, able to see things without opening the coffin.
Hu Ma had initially planned to hire a spirit walker to escort him on the road, pretending to be a spirit escort. Since Zhang Agu had already discovered the truth, he decided to be honest with her. "You've seen through it, are you willing to help me?"
"You're a good person," Zhang Agu said, looking at Hu Ma with a serious expression. "I've heard about the incident with the blue-robed ghost. The villagers all say you're a kind person, and I'm willing to help you."
Hu Ma was touched by her words. "I'm not trying to harm anyone. The girl in the coffin has lost her soul and needs to be taken back to her hometown for treatment. I'm using the spirit escort method to avoid any trouble on the road."
Zhang Agu's eyes widened as she listened to Hu Ma's explanation. "I was prepared to use a corpse-calming talisman, but since the girl is alive, I'll use an evil-warding talisman instead. I don't want to attract any evil spirits and disturb the peace."
Hu Ma was impressed by Zhang Agu's thoughtfulness. "That's great. Since you're using an evil-warding talisman, can you add a layer of corpse-calming talisman on top? That way, we can avoid any trouble from people who might discover our true intentions."
Zhang Agu looked at Hu Ma with a hint of surprise. "Alright, I can do that."
Hu Ma was relieved that Zhang Agu was willing to help. He realized that the Blood Food Gang's reputation was not good in some people's eyes.
As they prepared to leave, Hu Ma asked Zhang Agu if she had anything else to bring. She replied that she had only brought a small package and was ready to depart.
Hu Ma invited Zhang Agu to sit down and eat with him. He had prepared a meal of steamed buns, and they ate together before setting off.
Before leaving, Hu Ma reminded the people in the village to take care of things while he was away. He instructed them to find Lee Wa if they encountered any evil spirits and to contact Yang Gong if they needed help with anything big.
As they set off, Hu Ma and Zhang Agu were accompanied by two hired helpers and a carter. They used a donkey to pull the coffin, rather than a horse, to avoid attracting attention.
Hu Ma used two maps to navigate their route, one provided by the mule and horse caravan and the other by the escort service. Although the routes differed slightly, they were generally similar.
The afternoon had already seen them travel dozens of miles, and as dusk approached, they needed to find a place to rest for the night.
During the journey, Zhang Agu, who had been silently carrying her own bundle and walking beside the donkey cart, refused to ride in the cart or let her bundle be placed on it. Now, she had a different opinion.
According to Hu Ma’s plan, they could find an inn in a town a few miles away. However, Zhang Agu said, “We are here to escort the spirit, and staying in an inn would not be appropriate. We must follow the rules of spirit escorting.”
“Spirit escorting is different. Staying in a place where the living reside can easily attract disease and evil spirits, and the living would also be wary of it.”
“So, when we escort spirits, we have our own ways of resting. We can stay at a Righteous Village, a Corpse Escort Shop, or even an Ancestral Hall or a wild temple. If there’s nowhere else, we can spend the night in the wilderness. Dragging the coffin into an inn would invite disdain.”
“...”
Hu Ma, hearing this, was curious. “But wouldn’t staying in the wilderness with a corpse attract more evil spirits?”
Zhang Agu replied, “As long as we follow the rules, it will be fine.”
Hu Ma nodded and immediately followed her arrangements. He had come out this time to learn, so he asked many questions, but once he understood, he did not interfere.
The Zhou Manager, who had already deeply felt Hu Ma’s kindness, now followed his every word and deed, putting aside his inherent arrogance. He refused to stay in the town’s inn, staying close to the young maid.
On the first night out, they stayed in the wilderness, which seemed better than staying in an inn. The cart driver and the others also decided not to enter the town.
Stopping the donkey cart on a desolate slope outside the town, they prepared to spend the night in the open.
While Hu Ma and the old manager prepared to boil water and cook, Zhang Agu gathered some dry wood. She arranged the wood in a circle around the coffin, leaving an opening and placing a thick branch across it, serving as a threshold.
Hu Ma vaguely remembered that Second Uncle had done the same thing before. This was to create a temporary Yang House in the wilderness to avoid attracting disrespectful evil spirits.
He watched patiently as Zhang Agu laid everything out, setting up the temporary Yang House. She then lit incense and whispered prayers to the wilderness. The incense burned quickly, and a cold wind swept through, causing the incense to smoke and swirl.
Zhang Agu knelt in the smoke, bowing several times to the wilderness.
Hu Ma could faintly see shadows gathering around the incense, some squatting and others kneeling, greedily inhaling the smoke.
This scene surprised Hu Ma, and the Zhou Manager, the cart driver, and the helpers were also startled.
Staying in the wilderness with a coffin was already scary enough, but how did Zhang Agu manage to attract so many wandering ghosts by burning incense?
They dared not breathe loudly, watching as the wandering ghosts greedily fed on the incense smoke. Once they were satisfied, they slowly drifted away into the night, leaving the area quiet. Only then did Hu Ma dare to ask quietly:
“Although we set up a temporary Yang House in the wilderness, we are still occupying someone else’s territory...”
Zhang Agu replied, “When we arrive at a place, we first offer a few sticks of incense to pay our respects. By feeding the wandering spirits, the night will be peaceful.”
The others, it would be a different story. They listened, still not fully understanding but not daring to interrupt.
Turning to look at the incense, they saw that it was almost burned out, the smoke growing faint. Suddenly, Hu Ma saw a headless little ghost appear in front of Zhang Agu, slowly extending two pale little hands towards her.
“Is this a powerful one?”
Hu Ma was startled and quickly drew his red wooden sword.
But before he could decide whether to strike, Zhang Agu scolded, “Where’s your head? How could you lose it again? Go pick it up.”
The headless little ghost sheepishly retracted its pale hands and vanished in a gust of cold wind. A moment later, it returned, holding a paper head in its hand.
Zhang Agu said, “Put it on!”
The little ghost placed the paper head on its neck. Its pale face was painted with two bright red cheeks and a grin that looked eerie.
“Much better...”
Zhang Agu praised it, then lit another stick of incense and placed it on the ground, letting the little ghost enjoy the scent.
Turning back, Hu Ma and the Zhou Manager had strange expressions. She explained, somewhat embarrassed, “This is a little servant ghost I keep. It was killed by bandits in life and has been looking for its head ever since.”
“I was afraid it would scare people, so I made it a paper head. But the paper head is too heavy for it, so it often loses it…”
“…”
“Ah, I see…”
Hu Ma thought to himself, “But with a paper head, it doesn’t look much better…”
“…The key is, how does your little servant ghost talk without a head?”
(End of Chapter)
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