Chapter 33: The Old Sheep's Bow
Chapter 33: The Old Sheep's Bow
"Is this the place?"
Hu Ma stood still, his gaze wary and anxious as he scanned the surroundings. His eyes fell on the massive locust tree, half of which was charred black. The ground was strewn with scattered bells, and the branches sagged, their leaves wilted.
"Did the old lady just battle this thing?"
"..."
"This is the famous Locust Granny of Old Yin Mountain."
As they approached the old locust tree, Second Uncle slowed his steps and whispered to Hu Ma, "In the past, whenever a baby died in any of the villages within ten miles, they would throw the body into a pigsty, crush it, and use it as fertilizer."
"But ever since Locust Granny appeared, they started burying the babies here. Some childless couples would come to pray, and they would conceive."
"..."
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
Hu Ma thought back to the old lady battling the locust tree in the mirror, the branches adorned with black spheres that looked like infants. He felt a shiver of unease and asked, trembling, "Why did she battle the old lady?"
"That's the strange part..."
Second Uncle's voice was laced with a hint of mystery. "Locust Granny is a well-known benevolent spirit in our region, responsible for sending deceased infants to be reborn."
"Before, when couples couldn't conceive, the old lady would advise them to come here and pray to Locust Granny. As long as their hearts were sincere, they would offer sacrifices, bow three times, and if the bells rang, it meant a child was willing to follow them..."
"The more bells that rang, the more willing the child was."
"They are kind-hearted, so why would they fight?"
"..."
"Sending infants to be reborn?"
Hu Ma listened, a strange thought crossing his mind, but his anxiety left no time for deep reflection.
"Hehe, they weren't fighting."
At that moment, a laugh echoed, and Hu Ma turned to see the old innkeeper and the sedan bearers arriving, stopping at a distance.
The old innkeeper, hands behind his back, surveyed the chaotic scene and sneered, "This old locust tree's spirit is dissipating, and evil energy is spreading. It seems something powerful has possessed it, turning it into a puppet to battle your old lady."
"And then?"
Hu Ma recalled the white-faced mountain spirit that had been driven to the village to find him. It seemed the Meng family's creature was skilled in such tactics.
He was suddenly worried about the old lady's condition. Seeing this, the old innkeeper glanced around, as if discovering something, and sighed softly, "Your old lady has a good heart. She knew the old locust tree was innocent, as were the spirits residing in it."
"So she summoned a Yin Thunder, but only struck half the tree, sparing its life."
"..."
Hu Ma and Second Uncle felt a shiver of understanding, recognizing the old lady's style.
"But..."
Before they could feel relieved, the old innkeeper continued, "Hehe, in ghost battles, the worst thing is to be soft-hearted."
"By sparing the old locust tree, she must have taken a significant hit herself."
"..."
"Ah?"
Hu Ma's shock was palpable. "Then... where is the old lady now?"
The old innkeeper furrowed his brow, his eyes scanning the area, as if quickly deducing something.
At that moment, Little Redtang, who had followed Hu Ma, suddenly lifted her head. She sniffed the air and exclaimed, "Old Lady!"
Before her voice had even faded, she darted off into the forest, a red blur moving swiftly.
The others were puzzled, but Hu Ma, recognizing the urgency, quickly followed Little Redtang. Second Uncle, equally tense, drew his broadsword from his back and hurried after them.
The old innkeeper, noticing their sudden movement, realized they had received some ghostly message. He didn't bother to speculate further, and when a curious sedan bearer tried to follow, he stopped him, "Don't join the commotion. There are still things to be dealt with inside!"
"..."
"..."
Hu Ma followed Little Redtang through a path overgrown with tall grass, seeing a cliff ahead. Beyond the sparse trees, he could glimpse a cave at the base of the cliff, with a faint wisp of smoke drifting out.
"Is the old lady in there?"
His heart lifted, and he quickened his pace. Suddenly, he saw Little Redtang being tackled by a dark, shadowy figure. The red and black shapes twisted together, making animalistic sounds of tearing and gnawing.
On closer inspection, it was a small figure, about Little Redtang's size, covered in black, exuding a cold and twisted aura.
Hu Ma's heart raced as he rushed to help, but then he heard an eerie laugh.
He quickly stopped and turned his head, his body tingling with unease.
On the left side of the tree, on the ground, squatted four or five of these monstrous creatures, their heads tilted slightly, staring at him with their ghastly white eyes.
But the laughter hadn't come from them. Instead, it was a goat that had emerged from behind the tree. Its eyes were horizontal, evoking an instinctive fear. The laughter he had heard was actually its bleat, cold and eerie.
A standing goat! This was one of the monsters he had encountered before. Despite being the most normal-looking, it was the one that made his skin crawl the most.
"It's controlling the spirits in the locust tree."
Just as he was startled, Second Uncle's voice came from behind him: "These children were not originally evil spirits, but they were turned into evil spirits by someone."
"They no longer have any hope of being reborn..."
"..."
Second Uncle lightened his steps and slowly walked to Hu Ma's side, handing him the broadsword he was carrying. He whispered, "This creature, little Hu Ma, you can't handle it. Let me take care of it. You go and check on Grandma quickly..."
Hearing Second Uncle's voice, Hu Ma felt a surge of security.
He had a vague feeling that Second Uncle could definitely subdue this ghostly goat. He nodded, took the broadsword, and suddenly rushed forward.
The twisted and vicious infant spirits, upon seeing Hu Ma move, sprang up from the ground and pounced on him.
Hu Ma heard the wailing of infants, which made him inexplicably irritable and dizzy, almost to the point of vomiting.
But as he moved, the fire in his belly ignited, and his actions became swift. He charged forward, and behind him, Second Uncle stepped up, letting out a low roar that pushed the infant spirits back.
With sixty years of childlike innocence, even his roar carried a yang energy that could dispel evil.
However, it only pushed the infant spirits back. Their small bodies were surprisingly ferocious, and they charged again.
Second Uncle knew that these spirits, once taken in by Grandma Huai, had lost their chance of rebirth and were now corrupted by evil. He couldn't afford to be careless and used a blocking punch to protect himself.
The infant spirits, unable to stop, sank their sharp teeth into Second Uncle's arm, like a swarm of rats.
Second Uncle's arm bled, and his rock-carved face showed a flash of pain. But in comparison, the infant spirits suffered even more. They wouldn't let go, but after biting Second Uncle, their bodies started to emit a thick white smoke, as if they had been doused in sulfuric acid. Then, Second Uncle swung his arm, flinging them away with the blood.
Some of them dissipated in mid-air.
At the same time, a ghostly laughter echoed, and the goat, with a cold gaze, bent its front legs slightly.
It lowered its head, as if preparing to bow.
"The old goat is bowing..."
Second Uncle, fully focused on the goat, was alarmed by this gesture.
In the village, animals like goats and pigs were often slaughtered after a short time, but some special ones, either because of what they ate or simply because they lived too long, could become somewhat evil.
This old goat, having lived for many years, had learned to stand like a human and even bow.
But this bow was far from a good thing. One bow could knock a person's soul out of their body.
In a neighboring village, a herdsman had once been knocked unconscious by an old goat and had fallen off a cliff to his death.
Facing this evil creature, Second Uncle couldn't afford to be careless. Seeing the goat bow, he quickly stepped forward, also kneeling and bowing his head.
Their heads collided with a loud "thud."
After the collision, both heads were a bit dazed. The goat's eyes changed as it looked at Second Uncle.
Second Uncle had moved so quickly that what was supposed to be a bow turned into a headbutt.
You could turn it into a pot of mutton, make it lie down for milking, or even sleep with it for warmth, but you absolutely couldn't insult it by headbutting it.
In the goat's world, this was the ultimate provocation, no exceptions.
Thus, the goat's ferocity was instantly triggered. It jumped high and charged with another headbutt.
Second Uncle, bracing himself, met it head-on.
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
They fought back and forth, evenly matched.
Taking advantage of this, Hu Ma darted forward and grabbed Little Hongtang from the ground.
With a flick of his arm, he threw the infant spirit that was tangling with her away. As it was still in the air, he opened his mouth and shouted.
"Phew!"
A surge of fiery yang energy shot out, piercing the infant spirit and causing it to dissipate into nothingness.
Hu Ma then picked up Little Hongtang with one hand and the broadsword with the other, and rushed towards the cave entrance.
(End of Chapter)
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