Second Master Encounters Ghosts

Hu Ma had almost lost his sense of time and space in this gloomy forest.

He didn't know how long he had walked in the woods, but finally, when sweat was breaking out all over his body, he emerged from the forest. Looking up, he saw a low hill ahead, and on the other side of the hill was another, larger forest.

Straining his eyes, he seemed to see something like a dark red, bloated, wriggling mass deep within that forest.

He wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

But when he withdrew his gaze and looked at the hill, he noticed a few low stone houses. He could vaguely see some figures moving, and he immediately glanced at the Old Woman, confirming that this was where she intended to take him.

He quickly pulled himself together and hurried to catch up.

As they approached, it looked like a small farmstead. Several vegetable patches were planted around, and there was a large area of compacted soil in the middle, with a millstone in the center.

On the surrounding walls, sparsely arranged, were two rows of weapon racks displaying items like sabers, spears, lotus hooks, and dart-throwing ropes, along with several heavy stone dumbbells.

At this moment, in front of a house, a tall old man was sitting on a stool.

Beside him sat a small teapot and a plate of dried tobacco.

In front of him, two rows of over a dozen youths, shirtless and wearing black pants, were practicing martial arts with serious expressions.

Is this a place for practicing martial arts?

Hu Ma was somewhat surprised by what he saw, thinking to himself.

What astonished him even more was that he had already witnessed the constant dangers outside the village. If that old man possessed extraordinary skills and lived alone outside the village, it would be understandable, but how could he have such a group of youths with him?

Weren't the youths in the village forbidden to approach the village outskirts unless absolutely necessary?

Or did that old man have some formidable ability that allowed him to have these youths living outside without issue?

"Things that involve fighting and killing are useless to us and can't deal with the Meng Family."

The Old Woman seemed to have sensed Hu Ma's thoughts and turned to instruct him, "I brought you here to learn another skill from Second Master. If you can learn it, even without the protection of the Old Fire Pit, those Evil Spirits won't dare to approach you casually."

"Besides, it's safer for you to be with Second Master than with me."

"I need to free up my hands to handle some matters in a few days, and I'm worried I might neglect you if I'm not careful."

"..."

"Huh?"

Hu Ma's mind raced: She wants me to stay here?

Earlier, the first thing he wanted to do upon waking was to escape that room and get away from this sinister Old Woman.

But the outcome was self-evident; he was so terrified that he only felt slightly safe by her side. Yet, how long had it been? Just as he was starting to adapt to being with her, he unexpectedly received an opportunity to leave her?

Moreover, judging by the Old Woman's words, it didn't seem like she brought him here just for show, but rather to find someone to look after him.

"Old sister, you really brought the child?"

Just then, a loud laugh rang out. It was the tall old man who had approached.

He walked over with a smile, then glared at Hu Ma, "Kid, why aren't you greeting me?"

"Call him Second Master."

The Old Woman told Hu Ma, then turned back and said, "He was severely injured before. Although he was saved, his memory is not good."

"Alas, that family really struck hard."

Second Master frowned slightly upon hearing this and glanced towards the vast, wild forest around them.

He lowered his voice, "Is that Ghostly Puppet still here?"

"The Meng Family always does things like this; they won't give up until they succeed."

The Old Woman shook her head, took the bundle from Hu Ma's back, and told Hu Ma to wait a distance away. Then she turned and handed the bundle to Second Master, saying, "I injured that Ghostly Puppet a while ago, but I didn't confiscate it."

"Thinking about it, it must have recovered by now. If it's not eliminated, I can't feel at ease..."

"..."

Second Master held the bundle with one hand and felt its weight, frowning.

"Old sister, you saved my life back then. Even without these things, I would still take care of little Hu Ma..."

"..."

"One thing is one thing."

The Old Woman said, "I brought my little grandson here to become an apprentice, not to ask for favors."

"I took him to the Old Fire Pit, but the ancestors didn't accept him. Now he can only learn your skills."

"..."

"But I..."

Second Master frowned and lowered his voice, "Old sister, teaching little Hu Ma is no problem for me."

"But this skill of mine, not everyone can learn it..."

"..."

"He will definitely learn it."

The Old Woman became much more stern when she spoke of this matter, saying in a low voice, "He must also learn your skills."

"Our Hu Family..."

She trailed off here, sounding somewhat dejected. With a sigh, she said, "There's no other way."

Seeing this, Second Master felt awkward. He quickly said, "Elder sister, please don't worry. He's like family, I will definitely teach him with all my heart."

"However, those evil ghostly puppets sent by the Meng Family, what do you think..."

He seemed eager and somewhat volunteered.

"That is a grievance between our Hu Family."

But the Old Woman interrupted Second Master, saying, "It's not proper for outsiders to interfere."

"Alright then!"

Second Master said no more. He tucked the bundle under his arm and said, "I won't be polite with you, elder sister."

"You can rest assured about the child being with me. Go ahead and do what you need to do. If you need anything, just have Xiao Hong Tang send word."

The Old Woman didn't linger for pleasantries. She merely gave Hu Ma a few more instructions, essentially telling him to eat more meat, learn more skills from Second Master, be obedient, and not to go down the mountain.

Then, she had Hu Ma kowtow three times to Second Master on the dirt ground. As he stood up, the Old Woman patted the dirt off his knees, fumbled in her robes for a few small silver cakes, and put them into his hand before turning to leave.

Hu Ma clutched the silver cakes, still warm from her touch, and stared blankly as her hunched back slowly descended the mountain.

He didn't know why, but he was suddenly moved.

Thinking of the truth he had been hiding, he felt a pang of guilt.

"Oh, why are you crying like a woman, boy? You're crying just because you're leaving the Old Woman?"

Second Master saw Hu Ma's sadness but misunderstood. He chuckled and patted his head, saying, "You'll go back once you've learned the skills. What are you crying for?"

As he spoke, he led Hu Ma to the front of the house.

The group of boys who had been practicing martial arts had stopped. One of them stared at Hu Ma with wide eyes.

Someone's gaze swept over Hu Ma's stick-like arms and they scoffed, "Is this the new guy? He's too scrawny."

"He doesn't have two pounds of meat on him. If he encounters evil spirits, won't a gust of wind just blow him away?"

Another snorted, "That's the Ghost Granny's grandson. They usually dote on him..."

"He finds studying a headache, practicing skills tiring, and even dislikes the sun when working in the fields."

"Sometimes when the Old Woman goes out to treat patients and doesn't come back for lunch, she has to ask the auntie next door to cook for him and send it over, and he's still picky about the food..."

"Are these boys from the village too?"

Hu Ma listened but didn't take their youthful disdain and teasing to heart.

Instead, his heart stirred slightly. It seemed these boys knew quite a bit about his original body's past.

Because he was wary of the Old Woman, he had never dared to directly ask what had happened to him or what his life had been like before. Now, he thought he could try to pry some information out of these boys later. By piecing things together, he should be able to figure out what happened in the past.

"Alright, all of you stand properly."

Second Master frowned as he listened and let out a loud shout. The boys immediately stood at attention.

"You too, come over here."

Second Master lightly kicked Hu Ma's butt and told him to stand with the other boys. Then, he shouted loudly, "What evil spirits and whatnot?"

"It's just a gust of yin energy. The Old Woman said you should come over and bask in the sun with me to build up your yang energy. If you came to me, you came to the right place. You should have come long ago."

"I never cared about any of those evil spirits. If you ask me, those things only prey on the weak. The only reason you encounter them is because your body is too weak. If you train until you're skilled, you can blow them away with a single breath."

"Second Master..."

From within the crowd, a slightly chubby boy said with a grin, "Hu Ma encountered something really nasty."

"In the Old Fire Pit, even our ancestors wouldn't dare to protect him!"

"Then train harder."

Second Master glared at him and said, "Once you've trained well, you won't need ancestors to protect you anymore."

"How can the living live by pointing at the dead?"

"..."

As he spoke, he sat down, took some tobacco, and stuffed it into his pipe, saying:

"When I was young, Second Master here was also pestered by this kind of thing. I was in my late teens then. Being bold, I forgot to bring my ancestors' ashes when I went on a business trip. As a result, when I found an empty room to sleep in at night, I accidentally got entangled with a widowed woman who had hanged herself. I watched her slip in through the crack of the door, her face deathly pale, crawl onto my bed, and start pulling at my belt to do that thing..."

"You guys guess what happened next?"

"..."

The young men were instantly curious, craning their necks to hear the rest.

"Heh..."

Second Master held his pipe, sat astride a small stool, and said proudly, "Twenty times a night!"

"Wore him out!"