Chapter 24: A Half Incense Stick
Chapter 24: A Half Incense Stick
In this wild village, the young boys grew up untamed and fierce.
Hu Ma's fight with Cui Xie'er showcased his dominance, reducing the cold and mocking words from the other boys and increasing their respect. As the grandson of the Old Lady, he already had a mysterious aura, and his fierce battle with the village's most skilled fighter, Cui Xie'er, added an eerie and terrifying edge to his reputation. The brutal and ruthless nature of the fight made everyone wary.
"Is it true that the Old Lady raises ghosts? Could he have a ghost by his side as well?"
"..."
Thinking about these rumors, the boys began to look at Hu Ma with a mix of fear and respect.
The next morning, when the porridge was being served, the person in charge had already changed. He gave Hu Ma the largest portion right away.
As for Zhou Datong, his admiration for Hu Ma had grown even more. He was the second laziest among those learning from Second Master, with Hu Ma being the laziest. Even the martial arts techniques Hu Ma had learned were taught by Zhou Datong, who knew exactly how far Hu Ma had come.
But so what?
Hu Ma had dark magic!
They, with their limited skills, couldn't see the crucial details but were frightened by the way Cui Xie'er stumbled and fell whenever he got close to Hu Ma. This made Hu Ma's close friends, like Zhou Datong, gain respect among the boys and receive fewer beatings.
However, Hu Ma himself didn't dare to relax. He understood his current state and knew that the most important thing was to use the abundant blood food to quickly and effectively fuel the fire in his furnace.
Due to his physical condition, he couldn't train as intensely as the other boys, but he still diligently practiced the techniques taught by Second Master.
Xiao Hongtang continued to bring him food, and with the abundant blood food, the fire in his furnace grew even more vigorous.
Second Master took him to the forest again to visit his foster mother. They lit three incense sticks and offered two steamed buns as sacrifices, then cut four or five willow branches from "Foster Mother."
Because the fire in his furnace was so strong, he needed to change the talismans almost every two to three days. Each time, the amount of Yin energy consumed increased. The first time, only half a willow branch was needed to draw the talisman, the second time a whole branch, and the third time several branches together.
Second Master often clicked his tongue but didn't dare to be negligent. Whenever the willow branches ran out, he would take Hu Ma to cut more from his foster mother.
On one such visit, they suddenly couldn't find his foster mother by the stream. After a thorough search, they finally found her trembling behind a large tree a few dozen meters away.
"What are you running around for?"
Second Master was unhappy. "I brought your foster son to visit, and I can't even find your home."
He then cut another bundle of willow branches and, fearing she would run again, tied her with a red rope.
After a few visits, even Hu Ma felt a bit sorry for her. He cautiously said, "Second Master, if we keep cutting, Foster Mother will be bald..."
Second Master replied, "It's fine. If it comes to that, we can just change the title to Foster Father..."
The old willow tree, stripped of its branches, shivered in the cold wind, rustling as if cursing.
Despite the injustice to his foster mother, the fire in Hu Ma's furnace grew even stronger, the flames rolling and his energy abundant, making him feel like a new person. Now, he was not only brave enough to leave the village but also to venture into the forest alone.
He practiced the skills taught by Second Master with great dedication, never slacking off.
The only thorn in his side was still Cui Xie'er.
After the beating, he lay in bed for half a day, looking severely injured, but by the third day, he was lively again, thanks to the black ointment.
However, although his body had healed, his anger and resentment were still evident. The other boys thought he would challenge Hu Ma again, believing he had been bewitched the first time, but surprisingly, he became more obedient.
Second Master saw the key to the situation, and Cui Xie'er himself was also aware, so he didn't dare to cause trouble for Hu Ma.
He would occasionally cast a sinister glance at Hu Ma from behind, but Hu Ma didn't mind. Since coming to this world, he had been under constant scrutiny. This pressure was nothing new.
Dedicated to his practice and maintaining the fire in his furnace, Hu Ma had been with Second Master for nearly a month. After finishing a bowl of blood food sent by Xiao Hongtang, he suddenly felt a change. The fire in his lower abdomen surged to a new level, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
If one were to describe it in detail, it was as if the fire was so intense that it had melted something within him.
At that moment, Hu Ma was lying on his bed, silently guiding the fire in his body. As this feeling emerged, he felt a drowsy haze, surrounded by a dark red mist.
Before he knew it, he found himself back in the dark and eerie temple. The mist parted, and he saw a single incense stick standing in the incense burner.
The last time he left this dream, he remembered pulling out the incense stick. But now, he saw that a single incense stick, about three feet long with golden threads, still stood in the burner. The flame flickered, and the dark red mist around it seemed denser than before.
"Huh? That's strange!"
Hu Ma felt a twinge of surprise as he glanced to the side. There, next to the incense burner, was another stick of incense, about two or three fingers long, dark red and thin. It was the one he had pulled out last time.
"Was one stick of incense now two?"
He had a vague feeling that this change in the incense was somehow related to the sensation he had just experienced.
It seemed that his fire had reached a certain level, entering a new realm. As a result, one of the incense sticks in the temple had also reached its limit and had sprouted another stick.
Could this incense be related to the flesh I eat every day?
He suppressed his excitement and moved closer to the incense burner, examining it closely.
The flame on the incense seemed to illuminate the surroundings, revealing a large, dark shadow behind the altar. The vague outline of a statue could be seen, but it was still indistinct.
Trying to walk around the altar to get a better look, he found that the mist followed his movements, the space shifting as if he would never reach the front of the statue.
Hu Ma stopped, his doubts growing:
"One stick of incense turned into one and a half. If I continue to progress, will it become two sticks, or even more?"
"What is this temple, really?"
"The reincarnated soul I connected with last time mentioned many people like me in this world..."
"Are they also summoned here by mistake like me?"
"..."
These questions floated through his mind, but no one could give him answers.
He didn't know if every reincarnated soul had a temple like his.
"Does this incense becoming thicker and longer mean my ability to communicate with others has grown stronger?"
He moved slightly, observing the incense stick.
The one in the incense burner was now the size of a fist, about half a meter long, a far cry from the thin stick he had first seen.
The smoke it emitted was much denser, swirling and drifting with the red mist, disappearing into the unknown.
Though he knew it would burn the incense stick, Hu Ma had no intention of pulling it out.
Logically, the reincarnated soul from Old Yin Mountain should be in a deep sleep, making it unlikely for him to find anyone else. But he still held onto a sliver of hope, much like keeping his phone on even when he knew no one would call.
Perhaps someone would find him?
Moreover, his three experiences entering the dream world had hinted that the incense stick would continuously burn while he was in the temple, seemingly searching for others to connect with.
But when he woke up, the incense stick would stop burning on its own.
So, by placing the incense stick in the burner, was he essentially turning on his phone and waiting for a call?
In this strange and alien world, he yearned to hear the voice of another human being...
...
...
"Ssssh..."
While Hu Ma was lost in the strange temple, pondering these connections, the door to his room was quietly opened. A figure slipped in, it was Cui Xie'er, who slept in the other room.
Tall and thin, he moved silently, his body stiff and wooden, inching toward Hu Ma's bed like a puppet.
Looking at the sleeping Hu Ma, his face grew even paler, his eyes filled with venom and malice.
His hands slowly rose, gripping a rusty knife.
The blade pointed at Hu Ma's sleeping face, raised high above his head, his face twisted in a bizarre, cruel expression.
...
...
"That guy trapped in Fox Coffin Village said he could hold out for a month, but it's already been half that time."
Hu Ma, still in his dream, thought to himself, "I've learned some skills, but I'm not even strong enough to protect myself, let alone save someone. If I could connect with a third reincarnated soul, maybe I could find someone to help that guy, but there's no sign of anyone!"
"Should I just forget about him for now and wait until I can leave these mountains to find other reincarnated souls and learn more?"
"..."
Through their brief conversation, he had learned that the reincarnated soul knew a lot.
If he could talk to him again, many of his questions might be answered.
But the guy was in trouble, and so was he. How could he help?
"Hisss..."
As Hu Ma pondered, the dark red mist around him began to flow, the movement growing faster and faster.
When he finally noticed, he was shocked to see the mist swirling like a storm, a sharp blade suddenly emerging and lunging toward his face.
He jolted awake, his eyes snapping open.
To his horror, he saw Cui Xie'er's pale face right in front of him, the sharp knife in his hands aimed at Hu Ma's face.
(End of Chapter)
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