https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-586-Killing-Ghosts-and-Absorbing-Qi/12919097/
Chapter 585: Rolling in Reputation
Chapter 585: Rolling in Reputation
With a loud bang, Hu Ma kicked open the door and charged into the courtyard.
At a glance, he saw a bustling household, brightly lit with lanterns, servants bustling about, and a long table filled with chicken, duck, and pork legs, along with exquisite delicacies. Servants weaved through the tables, offering wine to the guests, while musicians on both sides played their instruments with vigor, puffing out their cheeks.
At the table, among the elegantly dressed and wealthy gentlemen and their ladies, a white-bearded old gentleman, surrounded by two charming ladies, was celebrating his birthday. He held a wine cup and smiled at the guests, offering compliments to the man seated at the head of the table, who was accompanied by two beautiful women.
As Hu Ma burst in, he carried an aura of killing intent, causing the lively atmosphere to freeze. Everyone at the banquet turned to look at him in surprise and suspicion.
The white-bearded old gentleman, who was celebrating his birthday, was particularly startled. He released the two women in his embrace and suddenly slammed the table, shouting, "I'm celebrating my birthday! Who dares to barge in here?"
Hu Ma maintained his smile, his face hidden behind a smiling mask, and took a step forward with a chilling laugh, "I'm the Executioner of Zhenchong Manor, here to kill."
"Ah..."
The white-bearded old gentleman was startled by these words and jumped in fright, exclaiming, "Brother, let's talk this over..."
But Hu Ma didn't stop. With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he knocked over the tables and chairs, and even the guests at the banquet were swept onto his face. At the same time, he jumped up and ran towards the back door.
"Hmph! You dare call yourself my brother?"
Hu Ma's cold laughter filled the air as he raised the Punishment Official Saber in his hand and blew on the black bone at the hilt. Instantly, a powerful killing intent surged forward.
Whoosh!
As the killing intent passed through, the entire mansion fell into chaos. Lanterns went out one by one, falling to the ground. The guests scattered in all directions, and some who were still in the air were blown apart by the killing intent, revealing themselves to be mere paper figures.
The lively banquet scene transformed. Instead of exquisite tables and chairs, there were only decayed wood and rotten straw, piled up with who knows how many years of hay, surrounded by a few randomly placed stones.
The exquisite delicacies were nowhere to be found. On the stones were only rotten or half-rotten arms and legs, along with internal organs.
It turned out that the starving ghosts who had caused trouble in Mingzhou had been killed, and their corpses were buried in the chaotic burial ground by nearby residents who feared the spread of plague. However, they didn't expect that these wandering souls would dig up the bodies and feast on the flesh and blood.
The white-bearded old gentleman, who was celebrating his birthday, looked again and saw that the few pieces of tattered cloth on his body had fallen off, revealing a strange python-like creature with a beard. Realizing he couldn't escape, he curled up among the rocks, his strange eyes wide open, hissing. He seemed to be saying, "Wait, even the Zhenchong Manor should follow reason. You should set up an altar, call my name, and then I'll go. Otherwise, it's not fair..."
"..."
Hu Ma interrupted him, his voice cold, "You were invited to the banquet, and you went. What more is there to say now that I, the Executioner, have arrived?"
"Wah..."
The strange python became furious, and with a whoosh, it darted out from between the rocks, biting towards Hu Ma's face. Under its scales, a strange mist seeped out, causing dizziness and disorientation to those who smelled it.
Hu Ma took a deep breath and sucked in all the strange mist into his mask. The python was startled, and then it laughed, "You dare to suck my immortal energy and expect to live?"
Before he could finish, Hu Ma lifted his mask, revealing his mouth, and then suddenly shouted. The strange mist he had sucked in, carrying a powerful force, burst out like a cannon, hitting the python directly.
The python was slammed and flew out, hissing in confusion and terror.
"Don't you know that I, the Ghost Executioner..."
Hu Ma took advantage of the situation and stepped forward, shouting, "...am actually a New Year Guardian?"
The python had no idea about this. It hadn't approached the battle formation in front of Mingzhou City, and now, after suffering a heavy blow, it struggled to escape, but Hu Ma quickly caught up and stepped on its neck, beheading it with a single stroke.
He picked up a piece of straw rope from the side and tied it up. Then, he took the Punishment Official Saber and wiped the dirty blood off the blade before sheathing it again. He summoned the Measure Heaven Boots once more and hurried back.
"Clap!"
In front of the Sacred Altar, Zhang A Gu was anxious and distracted, waiting with worry. But to her surprise, in just half an hour, Hu Ma had returned. He tossed the snake, which was as big as a calf and had a beard, into a basket, and then handed over a long list.
"A Gu, continue calling out the ghosts on the altar. Let's summon all those in Mingzhou Prefecture who haven't responded to the altar's summons!"
"..."
Zhang A Gu glanced at the snake's head, her heart trembling slightly. Seventh Auntie, sitting next to her, was even more startled, her white hair standing on end.
They continued to set up the altar and chanted incantations, summoning one ghost after another. Some willingly came, while others resisted and were forcibly brought to the altar. A wisp of black smoke transformed into a human figure, who hurriedly bowed, "Your humble servant greets the Master of Inquiry. I don't know why you have summoned me?"
"If you're asking why the one who came before didn't follow the orders, I have something to say. It's not that I didn't want to come, but I was ordered to stay and guard a place, and I dared not leave without permission. Please forgive me..."
Zhang A Gu was stunned, being an honest person, she didn't know how to handle this matter. Hu Ma, standing by the altar, let out a cold harrumph and asked on Zhang A Gu's behalf, "Whose orders are you following?"
"It's..."
The person hesitated, "It's the orders of a Governor God..."
Hu Ma's expression changed abruptly, and he shouted, "You follow the orders of a Governor God, but you ignore the Pacifying Evil Office's decree? In front of the Governor, you dare to speak nonsense?"
Without distinguishing right from wrong, he stepped forward and chopped with his Punishment Official Saber, which was filled with killing intent. On the altar, he chopped, and even from a few hundred miles away, a spirit cried out and suddenly lost its head.
It didn't matter, as Little Red Tang could just go and retrieve it.
Similarly, there were others who, upon being summoned, immediately knelt on the altar and cried, "It's not that I didn't follow the orders, but the Pacifying Evil Office's decree is to summon the spirits of Mingzhou, and I have always been supported by Donkey Egg Village. But this Donkey Egg Village doesn't belong to Mingzhou..."
Hu Ma shouted, "Nonsense! How is it written in the Ghost Register that it's in Mingzhou?"
The spirit said, "Hehe, it was in Mingzhou twenty years ago, but later the village was flooded, and it moved ten miles west, so it belongs to Rolling Province, not Mingzhou..."
"You still dare to 'hehe'?"
Hu Ma glared, and coldly said, "So, you're listed as Mingzhou in the Imperial Decree, but in reality, you belong to Rolling Province?"
"That's still not an excuse. Split it in half, and the part that belongs to Rolling Province, I'll let you live. The Mingzhou half, I'll kill directly to set an example!"
"..."
"..."
This happened several times, as they summoned a few spirits one after another, interrogating them. Those who lied were killed, those who were disrespectful were killed, and those who showed defiance were killed. For those who didn't come, he immediately drew his saber and chopped off their heads.
In just one night, the basket was already filled with over a dozen heads, of all shapes and sizes. There were spirit beasts, dead people's bones, paper figures, and grass and wood-like creatures. The basket was full, and the resentment was overwhelming, even causing Zhang A Gu, who was standing by the altar, to feel soft-hearted.
In her entire life, she had never done anything so arrogant and deceitful, and she couldn't help but doubt, "Little Brother Shopkeeper, is what we're doing really right?"
Hu Ma turned to Zhang A Gu and patiently explained, "A Gu, you don't understand enough. Our Pacifying Evil Office, by borrowing the power of people's wishes, handles matters related to the rules of Yin and Yang. You can understand it this way: the Pacifying Evil Office is like the ancient fire pit of the world, and everyone in the world receives its blessings."
"The wandering ghosts in our Pacifying Evil Office are like the people of the world who burn incense and make sacrifices to the ancient fire pit. They are also responsible for cleaning up the filth in the fire pit."
"It's recorded in the Ghost Register, but they don't listen to the orders from the altar. They are like the filth in the pit, and they should have come immediately upon receiving the order, but they have developed a rebellious heart. If we don't clean them up, how can the fire pit better bless the people?"
"..."
"Clean the ancient fire pit?"
Zhang A Gu, known as the Great Wandering Ghost, had her own experiences, and her temperament wasn't one to simply yield. But with this matter, her understanding couldn't keep up. After hearing Hu Ma's explanation, she finally understood, "I've encountered such things before."
"The ancient fire pit between villages, whether due to changes in feng shui or being bewitched by spirits, demons, or evil spells, can cause grievances and debts to turn against the descendants. These situations require us, the wandering ghost people, to step in and handle them."
"However, since they didn't come earlier, and now we've set up an altar to summon them, not many are willing to listen. In just this one night, I've seen that those who don't come, some I can't persuade, and some seem to be hidden by something, concealed..."
"Little Brother Shopkeeper, even if you go and find them one by one, how can you possibly find them all?"
"Perhaps, only by summoning the Pacifying Evil Office and issuing an Imperial Decree can we forcibly bring them to the altar for questioning..."
"..."
Hu Ma listened but shook his head, saying, "A Gu, this matter shouldn't involve the Pacifying Evil Office. The Noble in the mountains... hehe, he himself isn't in a convenient position to step forward."
"So, for now, only those under the Pacifying Evil Office can handle this matter. But we don't need to rush. You just follow the Ghost Register and invite them one by one."
"For those who are uncooperative, let them discuss it with Seventh Auntie. For those who don't come or don't listen to advice... just have someone send the list to me."
"..."
As he spoke, with the Punishment Official Saber under his arm, he had some expectations, "Now we're not afraid of having too many heads to chop. Honestly, I even think this is a bit insufficient..."
These words, filled with killing intent, made Zhang A Gu pause, feeling that his killing intent was a bit too heavy.
She turned her gaze and saw her own headless little ghost crouching in front of the basket, dazed. She hurriedly scolded it, telling it to move away, but Hu Ma smiled at the headless little ghost, "Don't be polite, pick whichever one you like. Now we don't lack these things."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
