Chapter 5: The Old Fire Pit
Chapter 5: The Old Fire Pit
"Was the voice in my dream real? Or did I just have a strange dream because I was too desperate for the world I knew before?"
Hu Ma silently pondered the bizarre temple in his dream and the voice he heard just before waking up, feeling a sense of oppression in his heart.
He quietly lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
In this strange environment, he hadn't dared to take off his clothes or shoes, making it easy to get up.
However...
...last night, he seemed to have never lain down. Who had covered him with the blanket then?
Outside, the old woman was indeed already waiting with a cane and a bag on her back.
Seeing Hu Ma come out, she said coldly, "Let's go!"
Hu Ma was both afraid of her and instinctively wanted to please her. He took a few steps forward and said, "I can carry the bag?"
The old woman seemed a bit surprised and gave Hu Ma a long look.
Perhaps because he hadn't slept well last night, Hu Ma had heavy dark circles under his eyes, a pale face, and looked listless.
The old woman's expression seemed heavy, and she shook her head. "You have a shoulder injury. You shouldn't carry heavy things."
"We'll go to the Old Fire Pit first and pay our respects to the ancestors."
"..."
Hu Ma didn't know what the Old Fire Pit had to do with the ancestors, but he was too tired to ask.
The road was made of gravel, and some areas were still muddy and wet from the recent rain.
Morning mist enveloped the village, shrouding everything in a mysterious aura.
This world was indeed completely different from what Hu Ma remembered, ancient, remote, and had a strange sense of desolation and decay.
For some reason, Hu Ma felt a vague sense of fear when facing this world.
Just then, his left hand felt cold. He looked down to see the little girl, Hong Tang, approaching him and holding his hand.
"Come on, Brother Hu Ma..."
She looked up at him with a bright smile, full of innocence.
She looked like a little girl who, when afraid, always held an adult's hand when going out.
"But she's a little monster..."
He inwardly didn't want to hold the little girl's hand, but he didn't dare to let go, so he just endured it.
Holding her hand, he followed the old woman's hunched back and walked forward.
...
This was Hu Ma's second time leaving the house. Unlike the confusion and dizziness of yesterday, this time he could clearly see the world around him. It seemed to be nestled among a cluster of mountains. Looking in all directions, he could see towering peaks and lush, deep forests.
The village was made up of wooden houses, layer upon layer, with gravel paths cutting through them irregularly, forming the shape of the village.
This time, he looked more closely and still didn't find any modern things he recognized.
The villagers' clothing, farming tools, clumsy stone mills, and wet wells all exuded an ancient atmosphere.
"Swish..."
As they walked, a household ahead opened their door.
But upon seeing Hu Ma and the others, they quickly retreated and quietly closed the door.
The village woke up early, and they encountered a few people on the road from time to time. However, when they saw the old woman, they all quietly avoided her.
Those who couldn't avoid her just stood awkwardly and smiled at her.
Hu Ma could faintly hear someone in a nearby house whispering, "Old Lady Hu still has great powers..."
"This Hu family boy was so possessed, and she managed to save him..."
"..."
"Oh, look where Old Lady Hu is going. She's heading to the Old Fire Pit?"
"Will the ancestors recognize Little Hu Ma?"
"Shh..."
"..."
"Hong Tang doesn't like the villagers..."
As they walked, the little girl suddenly looked up at Hu Ma and said, "The old woman has always helped them with their illnesses, never charging them even when they were poor, and even giving them herbs, but now they all avoid her, afraid she'll take their lives to help Brother Hu Ma..."
"Take their lives?"
Hu Ma looked at the little girl's face, not knowing how to respond.
The villagers were afraid of the old woman, and he was afraid too...
However, the old woman seemed to be a village healer or a shaman in this village.
In his previous life, in some remote and ancient villages, the roles of healer and exorcist were often combined in one person.
With a mix of respect and fear, the old woman, the little girl, and Hu Ma passed through the village and arrived at a hill on the north side.
At the bottom of the hill, a few people were already waiting.
The leader was dressed in a sheepskin coat, with a long iron pipe at his waist, and his face was full of wrinkles.
"Old Lady Hu..."
Seeing Hu Ma and the others approach, he hurriedly came forward, glanced at Hu Ma, then turned his eyes and hesitantly said to the old woman, "Little Hu Ma seems to be much better, but are you really going to take him to the Old Fire Pit?"
The old woman slowly raised her head to look at him, then glanced at the few middle-aged men cowering behind him.
"Is that not allowed?"
"..."
"No, no..."
The old man quickly shook his head and whispered, "Little Hu Ma just got better, right? Why don't you let him rest a bit more?"
"Because he just got better, that's why we need to go to the Old Fire Pit."
The old woman’s expression was resolute. "If the ancestors won’t protect him, who will?"
The elder’s face immediately turned uneasy.
But the old woman didn’t say much more and took the lead, with Little Redtang excitedly pulling Hu Ma along behind her.
At this point, the elder couldn’t really dissuade them anymore. The few people behind him all smiled and nodded at the old woman.
However, once the old woman had passed, they huddled around the elder in sheepskin coat, looking troubled.
"Clan Leader, what do you think about what the old woman is doing...?"
"There’s nothing we can do!"
The old clan leader replied, "Who in this village has the nerve to stop her?"
"Has she lost her conscience?"
"Let’s see what the ancestors have in mind..."
"..."
After climbing the hill, Hu Ma saw a pit about twenty square meters in size on the flat ground. It was surrounded by earth bricks, forming a long, rectangular shape. The pit was filled with ash, and he could faintly see dark red embers beneath the surface, with wisps of smoke curling up, as if the fire had never gone out.
Most importantly, in the pit, Hu Ma saw a half-burned skull lying on the ash, its hollow eyes staring straight at him.
Hu Ma’s heart skipped a beat. "Is this old fire pit used to burn the dead?"
"Kneel down."
The old woman had already walked up to the fire pit and was untying the bundle on her back, speaking softly to Hu Ma.
Hu Ma obediently knelt down.
Little Redtang, however, didn’t kneel. She squatted beside him, her chin resting on her hand, watching him with a smile.
"Kneel closer, so the ancestors can see you better."
When the old woman saw Hu Ma kneeling about seven meters away, she frowned and motioned for him to come forward.
Hu Ma had no choice but to kneel closer, now less than a meter from the old fire pit. He could feel the intense heat radiating from it, making his body sweat and his breathing labored.
The old woman took out incense, a bowl, meat, and talismans from her bundle. She burned the incense, offered the meat, and burned the talismans, performing the ritual with utmost respect. Then, she bowed her head and began to pray:
"The Hu family has been in the village for twenty years, helping neighbors and tending the fields."
"Now the Hu family is in trouble, with enemies and spirits hounding us."
"Today, I ask the ancestors to protect my grandson. I will return with more offerings..."
"..."
She closed her eyes and repeated these words, her voice low and urgent.
Hu Ma, who hadn’t heard clearly at first, gradually caught on. Seeing her sincere and solemn expression, he felt a twinge of emotion.
The old woman truly cared deeply for her grandson...
Unfortunately...
But before this thought could fully form, a cold wind suddenly swept over the old fire pit.
Hu Ma’s vision blurred, and the intense heat from the fire pit instantly turned into a bone-chilling cold that seemed to seep into his very bones, freezing him to the core.
At the same moment, his ears were filled with whispers from an unknown source. It was as if a hundred people were murmuring, their voices overlapping and crowding into his ears.
Not only that, but his eyes began to ache, and he instinctively raised his hand to rub them, only to freeze in place.
In the old fire pit, the half-burned skull had sprouted an eye, which stared at him coldly and menacingly.
Then, a hand emerged from the ash.
Soon after, a second hand, followed by a face, a second face, a third face.
One by one, ghostly arms and cold, translucent faces, all half-transparent, emerged from the ash.
Were there dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of them?
They were densely packed, intertwining like a centipede with a thousand legs, reassembled and tangled together.
Countless figures, all crammed into this twenty-square-meter fire pit.
Bodies intertwined and overlapped, like a crushed crowd.
Countless faces pressed together, countless eyes staring at Hu Ma, blinking in unison.
Some were cold and menacing, others confused and foolish, and some were curious yet fearful.
"Buzz!"
Hu Ma’s mind was overwhelmed by the sight, his heart pounding with terror, almost stopping.
He stared dumbfounded at the endless figures emerging from the old fire pit.
The cold wind whirled around the fire pit, the old woman’s chanting grew more urgent, and Little Redtang retreated to a distance.
It was as if a bizarre human tree, with more and more ghostly figures emerging from the fire pit.
They were mere inches away, looking down at Hu Ma with indifference.
Not a single one reached out to him.
...
...
The old woman continued to bow her head, chanting nonstop, as if she didn’t need to breathe.
But the more she chanted, the more anxious she became. When the three incense sticks in front of her burned down at an unusually fast pace, she suddenly stopped.
Her disheveled hair covered her face, hiding her expression, but Hu Ma could hear her disappointed sigh.
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(End of Chapter)
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