Twilight's Threshold Chapter 240: The Ghost Village (Second Update) - Novel Cool

Chapter 240: The Ghost Village (Second Update)

Chapter 240: The Ghost Village (Second Update)

"What are these flames on the ground for? Why do they smell like sulfur and white phosphorus?"

Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang returned, smelling the peculiar odor and noticing the smug look on Zhou Manager’s face, as well as the reverent gazes of the cart driver and the apprentices. He was immediately curious.

Zhou Manager chuckled, "I might be a bit rusty, but I did learn a few tricks back in the day. I’ve been in the Li Family for so many years, and my skills have gotten a bit rusty. But thinking about the dangers on this journey, I used some of the young shopkeeper’s silver to buy a few things to prepare. At least I can lend a hand."

Hu Ma now understood. The Ghost Walker’s tricks were plentiful, and the Play Sect’s tricks were even more numerous, each one seeming incredibly magical.

But how many of these tricks were genuine was hard to say...

He didn’t mind, just giving him a glance and smiling, "So, what are you good at?"

Zhou Manager looked a bit embarrassed, "It’s hard to say specifically, but I know a bit about disguise and ventriloquism. If I had enough time to prepare, I could even perform the legendary Immortal Search."

"But with the time I have, I can’t manage it now."

"..."

"Sounds impressive..."

Hu Ma nodded, "Can you teach me how to use these tricks?"

Zhou Manager’s expression froze: 'This young shopkeeper from the Blood Food Gang is good, but... he’s too eager to learn!'

'Aunt Zhang is a straightforward person and doesn’t mind being probed, but our Play Sect is different. Each trick is worth real money. Some people have to work for three years to learn one trick, and he just asks me directly. Should I teach him or not?'

Fortunately, though he was worried, Hu Ma didn’t really press him for the tricks.

After all, the Age Keepers only recognize tangible things. The Play Sect’s tricks might not even impress Hu Ma.

In any case, after dealing with the corpse-seeking wild dogs, they hurried on their way. Looking around, everything was in ruins, with overgrown weeds, red-eyed crows, scattered bones, and distant winds carrying the sounds of ghostly wails.

Even if they didn’t encounter the corpse-seeking wild dogs, they might run into other things. It was best to get through this ghostly place as quickly as possible.

Of course, the cart driver and the two apprentices now felt bolder.

With such an old immortal along, what was there to fear?

They immediately urged the donkey, and the wheels rolled over the scattered pebbles, moving forward.

That night, they didn’t reach a town and had to rest in the wild. It was quiet, except for an old lady with an iron-blue face who crawled out of a tomb, glanced at them, and then crawled back in. Nothing else happened.

The next day, around noon, they skirted around a mountain in the distance.

The mountain reeked of decay for miles, and even in broad daylight, the Yin Qi was overwhelming. They could vaguely see flags fluttering, as if there were bandits patrolling.

But when they looked more closely, nothing was there.

All they could see were scattered bones and broken cart frames, and broken spears. They guessed that this might be the Egg Mountain, where a high person had killed all the bandits in one night.

They were momentarily terrified and urged the donkey to move faster, not daring to stop.

"Ah..."

Even Aunt Zhang, after passing by, couldn’t help but look back, saying, "Those bandits, even after being slaughtered, still harbor resentment and continue to rule the mountain in death."

"But if that high person had the ability to kill all the bandits in one night, why wouldn’t they know that merely killing the bandits would leave them with overwhelming resentment, potentially causing even greater disasters?"

"The people here moved away long ago, and it will be hard to bring them back now."

"Another evil land..."

"..."

Hu Ma paid close attention to how Aunt Zhang acted and spoke, and immediately asked, "Aunt Zhang, what is an evil land?"

"An evil land is a place where evil spirits abound, deeply rooted, and where living people cannot survive."

Aunt Zhang explained, "In the past, when the Blue Robe Sect caused disturbances in Mingzhou Prefecture, it was almost as bad as an evil land. But we had living people, Ghost Walkers, and kind-hearted people like the shopkeeper who worked hard for the people, so we managed to get through that disaster."

"But there are some places where there are almost no living people, let alone anyone to deal with evil spirits."

"Look at that Ghost Village, with its overwhelming malevolent aura and ghostly Qi. It’s a living ghost den. Soon, no living person will dare to come here."

"..."

"Indeed, that’s impressive..."

Hu Ma also looked back, but he couldn’t see the mountain anymore. He could still see the gloomy weather, which was quite unsettling.

He vaguely felt it was similar to the Village of Extinction in Old Yin Mountain.

But he wasn’t sure if the high person who eliminated the bandits knew how to deal with ghosts, or if it was...

...done on purpose?

If they investigated, they might find some answers, but for now, they were escorting the spirit back home. They could only sigh and hurry on their way.

It was already noon, and they needed to move as fast as possible. No matter what, they were determined not to rest within fifty miles of the Ghost Village. Who knew how dangerous the spirits of those ruthless bandits might be after death?

They hurried along the path, not even stopping for a midday rest, but the journey grew increasingly difficult.

Especially in this area, where tall grass grew abundantly and the road was rugged. In several places, logs and stones were haphazardly strewn about, and some wooden bridges showed signs of having been hacked with knives and axes, likely the work of the bandits before their demise.

The group grew increasingly anxious, and at this moment, the donkey cart started to encounter more and more obstacles.

Sometimes the cart wheels would get stuck, or the donkey's hooves would be tripped. Initially, this was manageable. When the cart wheels sank into a muddy pit, Hu Ma simply lifted the cart with one hand and continued on.

But as this happened more frequently, his expression became increasingly strange, and he looked at the donkey, "Are you being disobedient?"

The donkey, having been beaten once, looked at him with large, sorrowful eyes.

"It's not the donkey's fault."

Zhang Agu had been observing the situation with a cold eye. She discreetly tugged at Hu Ma's sleeve and whispered, "Something doesn't want us to leave. It's pulling the donkey's hooves!"

"..."

Hu Ma was startled. He looked down and saw a green hand flash beneath the cart wheel, tugging at the donkey's hooves, nearly causing the donkey to stumble again.

The donkey, with its large head full of confusion and sorrow, looked at Hu Ma.

"Is it the village?"

Hu Ma was startled again. He looked back, wondering if the ghosts from that village were trying to keep them from leaving, wanting to trap them until nightfall.

"The sha qi here is too heavy."

Zhang Agu sighed softly. She stopped and took out some incense from her bundle, which she had traded from a caravan. She stuck the incense around the cart and even on the donkey's head, lighting them all.

Everyone else was given a stick of incense to hold. With the faint scent of incense in the air, they resumed their journey, quickening their pace.

Zhang Agu's incense array could ward off the evil spirits in the forest, making them invisible. It seemed to be effective here as well. They no longer encountered the small ghosts tugging at the donkey's hooves, and their spirits were somewhat lifted as they quickened their steps.

When they reached a small river where a wooden bridge had been cut, they didn't detour to find another path.

Hu Ma first had the cart driver lead the donkey across the river. Then, he made two trips, first carrying the coffin with Zhou Manager, and then calling on two other apprentices to help him carry the cart across.

This was the advantage of having strong laborers and Year-Guardians by their side. Otherwise, even a small river could have caused significant trouble. Seeing Hu Ma's incredible strength, the others felt a bit more at ease.

They hurried along, not knowing how long they had been traveling, until they noticed the sky had already turned dark, and the surroundings were a rocky wasteland.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a low cry was heard. The group turned to see Zhou Manager, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost.

Before anyone could ask, he trembled and pointed ahead, stammering, "How did we end up back here?"

Upon closer inspection, they were shocked to see a scorched circle ahead.

"Is this the circle he burned to drive away the wild dogs?"

Hu Ma was greatly startled. He looked around the desolate land, but in the dim night, he could not see clearly. However, the shadows seemed to confirm that this was indeed the same place they had stopped to deal with the corpse-eating dogs.

"No, it can't be..."

Even the cart driver and apprentices noticed, and one of them stammered, "Great Master... you must be mistaken?"

"Yes, yes, villagers often surround their burnt paper offerings with ash to prevent them from being taken."

"Perhaps... this is from the villagers in the nearby village?"

"..."

Hearing their attempts to reassure themselves, Zhou Manager felt both frustrated and terrified, "I drew that circle myself. How could I be mistaken? There haven't been any villagers along this entire route."

As he spoke, he looked at Hu Ma and Zhang Agu as if seeking help.

Logically, as the steward of the Ghost Cave Li Family, he shouldn't be so afraid, but the atmosphere was too sinister, and even the wind carried a chill of yin qi, weakening his courage.

"We've been traveling for most of the day, and we end up back where we started..."

Hu Ma, feeling somewhat numb, thought for a moment and then whispered, "Doesn't that mean the ghost village is just ahead?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the group became worried. They had been hurrying along, not stopping for a moment, to distance themselves from that ghostly place. Who would have thought that after all this time, they would end up back at the starting point?

If they continued forward, they would surely run straight into the ghost village.

Or should they stop and rest here?

But they were only a few miles from the ghost village. Resting here would mean no peace at night.

As they all felt uneasy, even Zhang Agu sighed softly, "It seems the enemy is determined to invite us into the village for a visit..."

(End of Chapter)

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