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Chapter 69: Thoroughness
Chapter 69: Thoroughness
It was Li Wazi.
Among all the fellows who came from Dayang Village, Li Wazi was the smartest.
When he volunteered to come with Xu Ji, Hu Ma didn’t say anything. Of course, if anything went wrong, Hu Ma wouldn’t have cared much.
Now, seeing the other fellows had suffered some minor setbacks but were still alive, he sighed. Li Wazi, for some reason, had fallen into the well. His face was pale, and he looked lifeless. Hu Ma sighed again, reached out, and closed his lifeless eyes.
"Throw down a rope!"
Hu Ma shouted up, his voice echoing through the well.
He tied the rope around Li Wazi’s waist and had the others pull him up before he began to observe his surroundings.
The well water was dirty, murky, and bone-chillingly cold. Upon closer inspection, he found some red fabric in the corner of the well.
He crouched down and saw that there was indeed a skeleton, already decayed. The bones were still partially covered in rotting flesh, and he could tell it was a woman. Her clothes, soaked in the well water, were filthy and tattered, resembling a red wedding dress.
"Poor soul..."
Hu Ma thought of what the evil spirit had said earlier and guessed a story.
But he only sighed in his heart, not daring to voice it.
Elder Two had taught him that, when facing evil spirits, one must never show weakness. Sympathy and pity were forms of weakness.
Evil spirits were unpredictable. Even if they could communicate, it didn’t mean they thought like living beings.
Showing sympathy might make her think he was weak and come to harm him.
He maintained a stern face, stuck his tinder in the wet mud of the well wall, and picked up a bamboo basket.
He carefully scooped the skeleton from the well water, placed it in the basket, and gathered the scattered bones.
The skeleton, though decayed, took up a lot of space in the well and was hard to move. As Hu Ma lifted it, the bones rattled, and the skull’s empty eye sockets seemed to have ghostly flames flickering within. The rotten mouth had sharp, sinister teeth.
Hu Ma froze, the well bottom cold and silent, his breath held.
"Don’t try any tricks. I have some spiritual power."
Hu Ma whispered, "At this distance, a Blood Yang Arrow would be more than you can handle."
"..."
After a moment, he continued his actions.
He wasn’t lying. He had three levels of spiritual power. If it came to a real fight, being in the well, where no one could see, would give him the freedom to fight without restraint.
But, of course, it would be better not to fight.
The skeleton seemed to be intimidated by Hu Ma’s words and remained still as he placed it in the basket.
Once everything was settled, Hu Ma breathed a sigh of relief and signaled for the others to pull him up.
"Clatter..."
Just then, the skeleton’s arm, which was hanging outside the basket, moved slightly, and a dull golden bracelet fell off, landing near Hu Ma’s feet, splashing some dirty water.
Hu Ma was taken aback but understood the female corpse’s intention. He picked up the bracelet with a cold smile and put it back in the basket.
"Don’t try that. I didn’t come down here for your trinkets."
A faint sigh echoed from the well bottom, and the basket was steadily pulled up.
...
When Hu Ma climbed out of the well, he saw the other fellows standing far away from the basket, looking at him with almost reverent admiration.
Not just the fellows, but even the villagers in the low huts seemed to be watching him with awe. In the dark night, something else seemed to be secretly observing him.
"Mission accomplished..."
Hu Ma breathed a sigh of relief and instructed the fellows to collect the skeleton’s bones and bury them by the road, then light some incense and burn some paper money.
The fellows were still scared, but with Hu Ma by their side, they felt braver. Since Hu Ma had already retrieved the skeleton from the well without incident, helping with the burial didn’t seem so daunting. Three or four of them stepped forward to assist.
Hu Ma also took the opportunity to check on Li Wazi. His eyes were wide open, his face pale, and he had no pulse. His body was stiff, but it didn’t seem like a normal corpse.
Perhaps something was protecting him. The rest of the process went surprisingly smoothly.
Together, they found shovels and picks, dug a deep hole away from the village, and buried the skeleton. No further disturbances occurred, and Hu Ma burned incense at the grave, offering a few words of comfort.
By the time they returned to the village, dawn had broken. The once-empty village was now filled with people.
"Thank you, Great Master..."
"We’ve been plagued by this evil for a long time..."
"..."
It was clear that the villagers were genuinely grateful, but they weren’t thanking Hu Ma.
Instead, they were bowing to Mr. Wu, who stood by the well with his hands behind his back.
Ignoring the prostrating villagers, Mr. Wu looked at Hu Ma and said coolly, "Where’s Xu Ji?"
"I don’t know."
When Hu Ma saw the old shopkeeper arrive in the village, his heart sank.
He knew this was a critical moment, so he adjusted his expression and stepped forward, saying, "Last night, I saw him set out early with his group. Knowing I couldn't compete with him, I secretly followed them."
"Initially, I planned to ambush him when he was about to succeed, but then I heard a cold wind and screams. Realizing something was wrong, I gathered my courage and approached."
"On the way, I encountered a group of dazed companions and managed to evade a few evil spirits. I found Young Master Xu Ji's wooden sword."
"Seeing that our numbers were short, I returned with these companions to save the others."
"Surprisingly, we found everyone, including Li Wa, who had somehow fallen into a well. But we couldn't locate Young Master Xu Ji. We have no idea what happened to him."
"..."
At this point, he paused slightly, as if just remembering something, and added, "Oh, and there's one more thing. Near the southwestern foothills, a man was hanging from a tree."
"Last night, I saw him, but the area was filled with a chilling aura, and I sensed something powerful there. Seeing that the companion was already dead, I didn't dare approach and just brought the others back to the village."
His answer was straightforward, not hiding his intention to claim credit. He even voiced his grievances directly.
Mr. Wu listened without saying much, his face turning slightly grim. He then turned to the others and asked, "What exactly did you do when you came together?"
"..."
"We... we..."
Tiger, who was familiar with Young Master Xu Ji, met Mr. Wu's gaze. His face paled, and he trembled as he said, "We followed Young Master Xu Ji, who had us light torches and stand around the well."
"When we noticed any unusual activity, we blew hard and scraped the surrounding rocks and walls with our knives. He... he also made Li Wa pour something into the well."
With Young Master Xu Ji missing and Mr. Wu's dark expression, they dared not lie. They even admitted to forcing Li Wa to approach the well.
"Was it just this?"
Mr. Wu's face darkened as he squatted by the well. The ground was damp and covered in black, sticky mud, which Li Wa had spilled. He picked up a bit and sniffed it, his expression becoming even more grim.
"Brainless fools."
He snorted, "I sent him to solve problems, not create them. Pouring this stuff in the middle of the night, does he think the Goddess of the Red Lantern still protects him?"
The others remained silent, confused.
Hu Ma, however, thought to himself, Could it be that Young Master Xu Ji's concoction was inherently capable of attracting evil spirits at night?
He hadn't expected that his preparation would inadvertently cover up his own tampering.
Of course, even without that, he wasn't afraid. He had used blood offerings to lure the evil spirits, who had devoured everything, leaving no trace. Who could blame him?
"Alright, let's find the others first!"
Mr. Wu didn't ask any more questions and gave a cold order, setting the companions to work.
Behind him, the villagers, led by the elders, approached with two coarse cloths and a basket of eggs, intending to thank the mages who had exorcised the evil spirits from their village. However, they dared not come too close.
"Brother Hu Ma, are you alright?"
Zhou Datong and the others hurried over, concerned, examining him from head to toe.
Yesterday, they had wanted to come along, but Hu Ma had refused. They hadn't slept well and had followed the shopkeeper early in the morning.
"I'm fine."
Hu Ma shook his head and looked at Li Wa by the well. "Let's take him back. We're from the same village."
Seeing Li Wa's tragic state, Zhou Datong and the others felt a pang of sympathy. From the earlier conversation, they understood what Li Wa had gone through.
Young Master Xu Ji, with his high spiritual cultivation and protective talismans, had forced Li Wa to pour something into the well to lure out the evil spirits, a dangerous task he refused to do himself or assign to his own followers. How could they not be angry?
Of course, deep down, they felt more resentment than anger.
They didn't say he deserved it, but they believed Li Wa had brought this upon himself.
The young men from the village had simple minds and never dwelled on such matters.
Two of them were sent to borrow a door from the villagers to carry Li Wa back to the village, while the others joined the search for Young Master Xu Ji.
With daylight, they didn't fear the evil spirits. They could spread out, making the search much easier. They found the companion hanging from the tree, his face blue, eyes bulging, and tongue protruding.
When they had come last night, the area was filled with a chilling aura, causing them to shiver. Now, in the sunlight, everything seemed normal, except for the body swaying in the breeze, its dull eyes staring down at them.
(End of Chapter)
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