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Chapter 46: The Crooked-Neck Tree
Chapter 46: The Crooked-Neck Tree
Huff...
A sudden coolness spread across his chest as Hu Ma dreamed of his grandmother. He jolted awake, finding himself sprawled on the floor of the main room. It was pitch dark, and he realized Xiaohongtang must have dragged him inside.
He reached for his chest and felt the cool sensation emanating from the sachet containing pond ash. This coolness, unlike the evil presence, cleared his muddled and overheated mind.
"Did Grandma come to save me in my dream?"
Thinking of the dream, he struggled to his feet. He lit an oil lamp and, using its dim light, found the chopping knife by the wall. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the knife and stepped out of the house, with Xiaohongtang curiously following behind.
"Hu Ma, where are you going?"
"To treat the sickness."
Hu Ma clenched his teeth and dragged his weakened body forward. Each step felt like a struggle, his head throbbing with each movement. His body felt incredibly heavy, as if something was weighing him down. Shadows in the darkness seemed to reach out, tugging at his arms and legs.
But he gritted his teeth, the fire in his inner furnace burning fiercely, and he pushed through, step by step, until he reached the crooked-neck tree. The tree, with its twisted form and bare branches, seemed to come alive as he approached. Its branches swayed, emitting a sinister and terrifying laugh.
Hu Ma's body felt even heavier, as if the oppressive darkness was about to crush him. However, the fire in his furnace burned brighter, giving him the strength to stand firm and move forward, step by step, until he stood before the tree.
He could faintly see burn marks on the ground near the tree, the soil still fresh, as if something had been buried there. But with his mind still foggy, Hu Ma didn't stop to think. He remembered his grandmother's words, tightened his grip on the knife, and with all his might, hacked at the tree trunk.
Crack!
A large piece of bark peeled away, revealing a dark, blood-like substance oozing out. At the same moment, a shrill, agonized scream filled his ears, and his muddled mind cleared.
His thoughts raced, and he suddenly understood.
"Someone is trying to harm me?"
"What did they do to me? I was almost killed without even realizing it."
"Could they be trying to steal my spot in the Red Lantern Society?"
"..."
The image of Cui Xie'er flashed in his mind, and a cold, burning anger surged through him. He raised the chopping knife again and hacked at the bleeding tree.
"Ugh..."
In the Cui family, the matriarch, who had recently achieved great success, was enjoying a stewed old hen and a small cup of wine, feeling content with the filial piety shown to her.
She scoffed, "My children are useless, always fighting. There are plenty of ways to make people fear us. Before the Hu family came to the village, how many dared to challenge us, the Cui family?"
"Hmph, that old Hu woman came to me, saying I lacked skill and was too malicious, that I would face a backlash. I couldn't compete with her, so I had to stop."
"But now, it seems she's the one facing the backlash, with no descendants left."
"..."
Under the dim oil lamp, the Cui matriarch's white hair was disheveled, and her expression was smug.
"Mother, I understand..."
The second daughter-in-law carefully attended to her, saying, "I will always be filial to you..."
"Ah..."
But just as she was about to pour more wine, the matriarch's face suddenly changed, her hair falling loose. She dropped the chicken bone and clutched her throat, convulsing violently.
"Oh no, Mother has been choked by a chicken bone..."
The second daughter-in-law was shocked and called out loudly.
Outside, the eldest and third sons of the Cui family heard and rushed in, panic-stricken.
"No... no..."
The matriarch, clutching her throat, her eyes bulging with bloodshot veins, struggled to speak: "It's not the bone..."
She seemed desperate to say something, to warn the others, but before she could, Hu Ma, his eyes cold and filled with anger, raised the knife again and delivered another powerful blow to the crooked-neck tree.
The old tree trembled, its branches quaking.
The Cui matriarch gasped, shouting, "Oh my..."
With that, she fell off the bed, knocking over the small table and the bowl of chicken stew, spilling the broth on the floor.
At the same time, Hu Ma had already delivered his third fierce blow.
Grandma Cui’s body suddenly stiffened, and she rolled over, spewing a mouthful of blood. Her face was one of terror, and she had already drawn her last breath.
“What’s going on?”
The Cui family had never seen anything like this before. They were so frightened that they lost all sense of what to do.
But Hu Ma, on the other hand, was beginning to piece together what was happening. With each of the three blows, the old tree trembled, and blood flowed. From the flowing blood, he felt as though he was gaining some insight.
It was a strange sensation. He smelled the metallic tang of the blood oozing from the crooked tree, and in his mind’s eye, he saw Grandma Cui’s sinister, twisted face when she had come up with the plan. He also saw the Cui family members plotting how to harm him so that Cui Xie could rise to power.
This only fueled his anger. With a clenched jaw, he delivered another blow.
“Ah!”
At that moment, the eldest of the Cui family sensed something was wrong and hurried to get the pouch filled with pond ash.
Suddenly, his body stiffened, and he fell straight down. The Cui family quickly turned him over and found that his eyes were looking in different directions, as if he had lost control. His mouth was twisted to one side, and saliva dripped from his lips.
The third Cui, terrified, shouted, “Quick, go find the clan leader!”
But at that very moment, Hu Ma, with a cold expression, delivered his fifth fierce blow.
The third Cui, who was about to step over the threshold, suddenly tripped and hit his head on the stone steps, blood gushing out.
By the crooked tree, the sixth blow had already been delivered.
In the back of the village, the fourth Cui, who had been drinking and causing trouble, suddenly convulsed and, in the struggle, cut his own neck with a sickle.
Another blow, and the wife of the second Cui, began to tremble uncontrollably, her hair disheveled, and she ran out of the house, screaming:
“Don’t look for me, don’t look for me, it was my mother-in-law’s idea, I didn’t do it!”
“...”
“Thud... Thud... Thud...”
At the crooked tree, Hu Ma continued to strike one blow after another.
One by one, the Cui family members fell. In the old clan leader’s house, the second Cui was chatting with the clan leader’s son, Zhou Datong’s father. He felt comforted by the sight of his son listening attentively.
Suddenly, he heard a woman’s shrill cry in the distance, which sounded like his wife’s voice. He quickly stood up.
But as soon as he stood, his vision went dark, and he saw a disheveled, monstrous figure with two withered hands reaching out to him. It cried, “It’s all your Cui family’s fault, you’ve dragged me into this...”
The second Cui tried to say something but felt dizzy and fell to the ground, his body curling into a ball.
In the main hall, Cui Xie was listening to the second uncle’s rules with a stiff face. But the second uncle, after a few glances at Cui Xie, became uneasy and couldn’t continue. He suddenly said, “I’m a bit worried, I should go check on Hu Ma and see if he’s feeling better...”
Cui Xie, feeling awkward, was about to speak when he heard a thud from outside.
He rushed out and saw his father curled into a ball, clearly on his last breath.
Shocked, he tried to rush to his father’s side, but the second uncle, quick to react, grabbed him and held him back, staring at the second Cui, who was huddled on the ground, as a cold wind swept through.
The second uncle, seemingly remembering something similar, his voice changed, and he grabbed Cui Xie, shaking him hard. “You tell me the truth... Don’t cry, what did your Cui family do?”
“Cui family, run, run.”
But before Cui Xie could say anything, a group of people burst in, their faces filled with fear:
“Your mother has gone mad, she’s outside, crying and stripping her clothes off...”
“Your house...”
“Your house is in trouble too...”
“...”
The second uncle and the clan leader, along with their group, exchanged glances and suddenly bolted out of the yard.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The eerie sound of the tree being chopped became clearer, carrying a chilling, deathly aura. A strange force surged through the night-shrouded Da Yang Village, and with each blow, another Cui family member would mysteriously fall, as if an invisible demon had quietly seized their soul.
And the old fire pit, around which the village depended, remained shrouded in black smoke, unable to respond.
“Crack...”
The crooked old tree, unable to bear the strain, slowly split in half and fell.
That night, Hu Ma delivered thirteen blows, severing the crooked old tree.
Five members of the Cui family died, and three went mad.
From that day on, the four major families of the village—Zhou, Cui, Zhao, and Li—saw the Cui family lose their former prestige and become meek and cautious.
(End of Chapter)
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