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Chapter 323: Planting the Meat Curse
Chapter 323: Planting the Meat Curse
"So, the truth is simple. That mighty man ate meat, but his wife and child were starving, so they also cut meat from his body to eat..."
"The villagers couldn't bear the torment of the scent, so they went to the mighty man's house. They saw that his wife and child had already eaten most of his flesh, leaving barely any meat to cut."
"But then, they discovered that the wife and child also had a strong, pungent smell?"
Hu Ma sighed softly, recalling the scene he had witnessed at the Mountain Lord's place, he already understood the cause and effect: "What happened next is even simpler. The villagers cut the meat from the mighty man's wife and child and ate it. Those who ate it also carried the scent of meat on their bodies."
"Of course, some couldn't control themselves and ended up cutting and eating those with the meat scent. So, they ate each other, and within a short time, the entire village became like this."
"The living only think of cutting meat to eat, and the dead don't even realize they're dead, still craving to eat more..."
"..."
Hu Ma slowly untangled the logic behind this, and his heart felt uneasy. Being in this village made him feel like he was no longer in the mortal realm.
The longer he stayed, the more he felt as if he had been tainted by some dirty, gray substance.
As Hu Ma was figuring this out, he heard a series of mournful cries in front of him. It was the elders wearing funeral robes and caps, their faces pale and filled with yin energy, crying: "Why did we encounter such a thing?"
"Our village follows the rules. Although we are poor, we strictly educate our children. Generation after generation, no one has ever committed any wrongdoings. We've even produced several scholars..."
"Even beggars who come to our village are offered a warm meal. Ask around, and everyone will tell you that our villagers are kind and honest. We don't tolerate disrespect. How did we end up in this situation?"
"..."
Listening to their sorrowful cries, Hu Ma didn't try to console them.
He had never seen ghosts cry, so he didn't know how to comfort them.
But as he listened to their grief, he vaguely understood why this place had attracted attention. No wonder this place was targeted! Villages that upheld ancient traditions often had the protection of ancestral virtues. The virtues of this village were even stronger than those of Great Sheep Village. Even the ancestors of Great Sheep Village were filled with yin energy, ignorant and unaware, only occasionally able to send warning dreams to ward off malevolent spirits.
The ancestors of this village could even manifest spirits and invite Ghost Walkers to dispel the curse. However, this single act of manifestation had exhausted their virtues accumulated over many years.
"It's a Meat Curse."
Without showing any aversion to the fact that these were ghosts, he sighed and said, "There's a wicked sorcerer who uses meat to refine the curse. Eating their flesh is like feeding your body to ghosts."
"There are many immoral deeds in this world, but none worse than cannibalism."
"He planted the Meat Curse in your village, turning the entire place into a filthy and cruel den of bandits. No matter how strong your blessings were, they couldn't withstand this turmoil, and the village became a cursed land."
"..."
At this point, he sighed softly and said, "But speaking of it, this village is blessed with talented individuals. It didn't deserve this fate. But what can you do when someone has their eyes on you?"
For a moment, he silently pondered the intentions of the Five Sins Altar's messenger. This village clearly had blessings, and given the opportunity, it might have produced someone with a good destiny, lifting the entire village to prosperity.
Earlier, in Old Yin Mountain, the Mountain Lord had mentioned that someone in this village had the destiny of a general.
Perhaps it was that man called Da Niu, the mighty one. If he had joined the military, he might have achieved great feats on the battlefield, bringing blessings to the entire village.
But now, his fate had turned sour, and so had the village's virtues. Instead of producing a virtuous person, the entire village had become a cursed land, worse than any poor and desolate place.
If he hadn't come here, this place would have soon become a nest of cannibalistic demons.
"Even Red Lantern Lady and the Tan'er Sect didn't dare to harm people so blatantly..."
As Hu Ma pondered, his gaze intensified: "The Five Sins Deity in the hall, one of their Incense Masters, dared to do this? It's as if they've done it countless times before, so familiar with the process."
Were they doing this in such a desolate place solely to invite the Five Sins Deity to descend, or did they have some other intention that even he couldn't fathom?
"That..."
As Hu Ma was deep in thought, the elders in funeral robes also pleaded: "Please, Ghost Walker Lord, save us! Use your divine powers to lift this curse from our village..."
"Don't..."
Hu Ma quickly stopped them, saying, "I'm still alive, and I'm young. Death is a great matter, and I don't deserve to be called 'Lord' by you."
"But I'm a Ghost Walker, and encountering this situation, I can't just ignore it."
"..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the wall beside him. Little Hong Tang was squatting on the wall, observing the strange village. When she met Hu Ma's gaze, she reacted and quickly disappeared. Soon after, she returned, riding the donkey, swaying as she approached.
The donkey Hu Ma had brought along was trembling the entire way. It had been terrified earlier, its big head buried deep in the firewood pile, refusing to come out. Little Hong Tang had to slap it before it moved.
I have to be afraid, or else!
Everyone in this village is crazy. What if they flay me and throw me into the pot? There's a limited supply of dragon meat in the sky and donkey meat on the ground.
However, after shivering in fear for half a day, he realized that the villagers didn't seem to be big eaters, and surprisingly, no one was eyeing him...
"Have some courage!"
Hu Ma patted the donkey's head and pulled out a handful of dried meat from his bosom, stuffing it into the donkey's mouth. The donkey was initially afraid, but the scent excited it, and it eagerly rolled its tongue, swallowing it all.
Then, Hu Ma said, "Gather your strength and let out a loud bray!"
The donkey didn't know why it had to bray, but with the good food it had been eating daily in the village, the comfortable sleep, and the lack of hard work, and now with an extra meal, it indeed had ample energy. It raised its neck and began to bray loudly.
The donkey's bray was naturally loud and clear, and in the quiet night, it reverberated through the four wilds.
The eerie atmosphere that enveloped the surroundings was instantly dispelled to a great extent. Many of the villagers who were rushing around in a panic also froze, as if they had suddenly snapped out of their trance.
Even the elderly guide in funeral robes who had been nearby a moment ago quickly covered his ears and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hu Ma wanted them to have this moment of clarity.
The donkey's bray was loud and vibrant, filled with masculine energy, capable of frightening even tigers, and to some extent, could also drive away evil spirits.
This was one of the traditional methods that Hu Ma had learned from Zhang Agou, commonly used by ghost walkers.
Of course, if Hu Ma were to use his Five Thunder Golden Toad Roar technique now, it would be even more effective, but since he was pretending to be a ghost walker, he couldn't steal the donkey's thunder.
"Fellow villagers, do your ancestors know how greedy you are for meat? Will they still let you enter the ancestral hall to pay your respects in the future?"
Taking advantage of their brief moment of clarity, Hu Ma spoke loudly as he stepped forward and snatched a large porcelain bowl from someone's hand. In the bowl was a piece of bright red meat, cut from an unknown source.
His words startled many of the villagers, and a sense of guilt seemed to rise within them.
But as Hu Ma grabbed the meat, many of them suddenly became alert, and a sharp glint appeared in their eyes as they stared at him with malice.
"Who are you?"
Hu Ma had been in the village for some time, but many hadn't noticed him. Now, vaguely, someone was approaching him with a scythe in hand.
Even Little Hong Tang became cautious, her fur standing on end as she stared intently at these people.
The donkey was even more frightened, wishing it could hide its large head under its belly. It deeply regretted braying so loudly just now...
"Who am I?"
Hu Ma shouted, "I am your village's ancestor, invited here to help you dispel evil and save your people!"
The villagers were in a daze, as if they couldn't quite understand Hu Ma's words. They still held their scythes tightly, cautiously eyeing him as they inched closer.
But at that moment, the night became deathly silent, and from the ancestral hall at the village entrance, a sigh of lament echoed, chillingly lonely, loud enough for everyone present to hear.
"Shua!"
This sigh of lament startled many, and they suddenly snapped out of their trance.
For them, it was as if they had been caught red-handed doing something shameful, and the desire for meat that had clouded their minds suddenly cleared, leaving them staring blankly at each other.
Many of them hastily dropped their bowls and knelt down, repeatedly bowing to Hu Ma.
"After all, your virtues are profound, and there's still hope for salvation."
Hu Ma sighed in relief and shouted to them, "It's too late to repent now that you've committed such evil deeds."
"If you don't want to extinguish the incense of your entire village and bring suffering to your descendants, go and prepare a large pot, plenty of firewood, and fifty pounds of oil. Bring them here, and I'll help rid your village of this calamity..."
"..."
The villagers were in a daze, and vaguely, they seemed to see the shadows of their ancestors at the ancestral hall, looking stern as if they were about to strike them with their canes.
They hurriedly snapped out of their trance and rushed to their homes, gathering what Hu Ma had requested with great difficulty.
Soon, a pile of firewood was stacked in the open space outside Da Niu's house, and a fierce fire was lit.
A large pot used for removing pig hair was placed over the fire.
Fifty pounds of oil was poured into the pot, and as the fire heated it, bubbles began to form and pop.
"Sir... what are you doing?"
Some villagers, who rarely ate meat, were now unusually clear-headed after being scolded by their ancestors. They curiously and fearfully asked Hu Ma as they saw him holding a large bowl and sitting in front of the oil pot.
Hu Ma merely glanced at them and said, "Fried Ghost!"
(End of Chapter)
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