Chapter 264: The Nether Scroll
Chapter 264: The Nether Scroll
"How is it?"
The confrontation with Zhou Manager was extremely perilous, a fierce battle between dragons and tigers, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
Since the Deception Sect had many members, and they were all incredibly bizarre, Hu Ma didn't dare charge at them as he would with other sect members. Instead, he drew his sword and slowly approached.
As he got closer, he noticed Zhou Manager's face turning dark, his limbs contorting.
Zhou Manager seemed to have already died, almost hopelessly waiting for Hu Ma to take his life. But just as Hu Ma approached, he stopped halfway and stood still, leaning on his sword and maintaining a distance of three zhang. He stared at Zhou Manager the entire time.
Gathering his last bit of strength for a final strike, Zhou Manager felt despair. In the end, he was stared down by Hu Ma until he died.
"So terrifying..."
Only after Zhou Manager completely collapsed, his body curled up into a ball without a trace of life, did Hu Ma approach again. He waited for a moment, then cut off Zhou Manager's head. After observing for a while, he confirmed that Zhou Manager would not reattach his head, and only then did he truly relax.
Fortunately, Zhou Manager didn't fight back for the snake venom remedy in Hu Ma's possession...
...Otherwise, Hu Ma would have had to deceive him again, as he hadn't actually brought the snake venom remedy with him; it was still down below!
Relieved, Hu Ma's curiosity got the better of him. He used his sword to lift Zhou Manager's clothes and examined him, only to find that he didn't have a third arm after all.
Then where did the third arm that reached out for the medicine bottle come from?
The more he thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed. The Deception Sect members were indeed formidable, and Hu Ma was lucky to have survived. He had thrown the incredibly venomous two-headed snake onto Zhou Manager, who was both shocked and scared. His mind working slowly at that moment, Zhou Manager mistook the bottle of venom for the snake remedy and swallowed it.
If it were any other time, the Deception Sect members would have been more cunning and experienced, and such a simple trick might not have fooled them.
After examining Zhou Manager, Hu Ma hurried towards Zhang Agu.
Seeing her pale face, he was slightly startled. "What's wrong, Agu?"
Zhang Agu, who was naturally fair-skinned, had turned even paler, almost bloodless. "I'm fine," she said, waving her hand. "Some things are useless to me, and it's no big deal if I lose them."
This confirmed Hu Ma's earlier suspicion.
The two-headed snake's venom was potent, but the most crucial thing was its evil aura. Once this evil energy entered the vessel, it wouldn't be easy to expel. It seemed that Zhang Agu had taken the blow for him.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been extremely worried.
Such an evil thing could ruin one's fate, and who knows what consequences it might bring in the future.
But Zhang Agu didn't care. In her opinion, it didn't matter whether she had these things or not since her wedding day was approaching.
A condemned prisoner isn't afraid of having blood on their hands, and a terminally ill person isn't afraid of gambling with their life.
Looking at Zhang Agu, Hu Ma spoke softly, "Agu, don't talk like that. You should cherish your life. Later, we'll figure something out together."
Zhang Agu just waved her hand, taking Hu Ma's words as comfort.
She turned her head slightly and glanced at the manager on the ground, sighing, "Such a good man, how did this happen..."
"Those who wander the jianghu rarely have it easy," Hu Ma said, frowning as he looked at Zhou Manager. "Throughout this journey, I couldn't find his weakness. Fortunately, I used the fake death medicine my master left behind to trick him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to expose his true nature."
"Can a single fake death medicine extinguish the oil lamp on the vessel?"
Zhang Agu realized Hu Ma was explaining why the oil lamp had gone out earlier. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but it sounded a bit far-fetched.
However, she wasn't one to pry, and since Hu Ma didn't offer an explanation, she didn't press further. After hearing his explanation, she sighed softly, "The Blood Feast Guild's manager is indeed full of tricks..."
"..."
Hu Ma, feeling a bit embarrassed, changed the subject. "Agu, have you heard of the Nether Scroll?"
"I heard what you were talking about just now."
Hearing this, Zhang Agu shook her head and said softly, "The Nether Scroll is a legendary document used by soul reapers from hell to capture souls in the human realm. It is said that in the past, soul reapers would come from hell to collect souls in the human world."
"With the Nether Scroll, one can pass through checkpoints and bring the living to the underworld for judgment. City gods and temple deities cannot stop them, and even ghost walkers must hide from soul reapers. But for a living person to possess the Nether Scroll..."
She paused, shaking her head, "I've never heard of such a thing."
"In the Execution Soul Sect, there is a method to cultivate a ghost body. Once the cultivation reaches a certain level, one can leave the physical body and roam at night. The physical body remains human, while the separated spirit becomes a ghost."
"But this method is different from what he just mentioned about the Nether Scroll..."
"..."
"I guess we'll have to inquire further."
Hu Ma sighed softly, "Let's leave this place first. I have a feeling it's not safe here."
"Yes."
Zhang Agu immediately agreed, whispering, "After a battle like this, who knows what might be attracted here!"
"But if even the manager is..."
"..."
Hearing her question, Hu Ma fell silent for a moment, then laughed, "Of course we'll continue towards Anzhou."
"Fragrant Girl is a pitiful soul, harmed by her family's servants. We can't let her suffer further."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Agu let out a soft sigh and fell silent.
Hu Ma, however, had other thoughts. With the unexpected turn of events in the Li family, he felt an even greater urgency to head for Anzhou.
After delivering the message for Miss White Wine, he would contact the Reincarnator there and see what happens.
As Hu Ma spoke, he hurried over to check on the donkey cart, the coachman, and the companion. To his surprise, they were all unconscious, and upon closer inspection, he recognized the same technique used by Zhou Manager.
It seemed that Zhou Manager had knocked them out in preparation for dealing with Zhang Agu and himself. The reason they were left alive was probably because he needed them to help transport the large coffin.
Hu Ma didn't understand the methods of the Deception Sect, but he quickly helped them by stimulating their blood energy, using the Shou Sui person's technique to invigorate their meridians. After his efforts, they gradually regained consciousness, but it took a moment for them to fully recover and frantically look around.
They thought they had just been scared into a faint.
Hu Ma quickly reassured them, "Don't be afraid. The demon is dealt with. Let's get the cart ready and leave immediately."
"Oh my..."
The coachman and his companion spoke with a hint of tears in their voices, "Young Master, this money is hard-earned..."
"We're used to traveling, but in all our trips, we've never encountered as much as we did on this journey."
"..."
As they spoke, they suddenly spotted the dismembered body of Zhou Manager, and their faces turned pale with fright. "Oh no, even this old brother was killed by the demon?"
"..."
Hu Ma couldn't explain at the moment, so he spoke softly, "You three have worked hard. I'll give you extra pay when we return. First, help me hitch the cart, and we'll leave this place!"
He quickly pulled them up and harnessed the cart, then swiftly scanned the surroundings.
In the forest, many people had died, but Hu Ma had already cleaned up and collected some useful items, which were now in Little Red Tang's basket. On this side, aside from the snake corpses on the ground, there was nothing else.
Zhang Agu had already packed up the items from the spell altar. Hu Ma's current dilemma was the corpse of Zhou Manager.
The others could be left here, but this manager needed to be dealt with.
Since he had made an appointment with someone, it was possible that someone might come to investigate.
Hu Ma needed to hide the old manager's body to prevent the other party from finding him, causing them to speculate wildly.
Of course, if the other party had the ability to summon spirits and question ghosts, Hu Ma would be at a loss.
When the opportunity arises, he'll ask Earthen Gourd to teach him a method to scatter a person's soul.
Naturally, even if one becomes a ghost, it doesn't happen instantly. When a person dies, their seven souls disappear, and only after the seven souls are gone does the spirit fully leave the body. This is the concept of "soul scattering and spirit flying" that people often refer to.
The process of the seven souls dissipating also takes time, so normally, a person doesn't turn into a ghost immediately after death. There's a process similar to a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
As Hu Ma contemplated whether to move the body to the forest and bury it, he suddenly heard a panicked shout from the coachman.
Hu Ma thought something might have been left unhandled and quickly took a step forward. He saw the coachman and the two companions standing far away from the coffin, their voices trembling as they pointed at it, "Inside... there's something moving inside..."
"Hmm?"
Hu Ma was also surprised and quickly moved closer to the coffin to listen.
As expected, not long after, the sound of kicking and pounding against the coffin could be heard from within.
He immediately realized what was happening and quickly opened the coffin lid.
The nearby coachman and companions were already terrified. They didn't know that the coffin originally held a living person.
Thinking that there was movement inside the coffin, they wanted to open it and take a look instead of burying it immediately. How could they be so careless?
When Hu Ma opened the coffin lid, he saw Fragrant Girl sitting up inside, looking dazed and confused. He felt a mix of surprise and understanding.
Earlier, a nail had been hammered into her head, and judging by the technique, it seemed that the person in the forest had used the puppet to cast a spell on her. Grass Heart Hall hadn't removed the nail, but now that the puppet was broken, the nail had disappeared.
"You..."
Hu Ma looked at Fragrant Girl, unsure of what to do.
Not only did Fragrant Girl have a nail in her head, but her vital spirit also seemed to have left her body, and he didn't know where it was.
Miss White Wine had mentioned that if the nail was removed, she might wake up, or she might not.
Although Fragrant Girl seemed to be awake, Hu Ma wasn't sure if she was fully conscious.
Fragrant Girl, sitting up in the coffin, also looked around in a daze, then rubbed her eyes vigorously as if unsure of how she got there. Her eyes slowly turned, and they finally rested on Hu Ma.
She suddenly spoke, "Sir..."
"I... I remember everything..."
"I... I met Manager Zhou, and I remembered everything, but he chanted a spell and made me faint..."
(End of Chapter)
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