Ghost Talisman

"Willow tree? Recognize a godmother?"

Hu Ma's mind was completely stunned by Second Master's strange words.

But now, being in the forest, he felt a prickling sensation all around. Although he hadn't been in this world for long, he had already witnessed too many bizarre and mysterious phenomena with the Old Woman. Compared to those, Second Master's actions seemed like child's play. So, he didn't say much, just used the skills he had honed by the Old Woman's side: no questions asked, just do as he was told.

He knelt respectfully and kowtowed three times to the large willow tree.

Second Master said, "Kowtow one more time. Three for the gods, four for the ghosts. Though three kowtows are good, your godmother might not be able to bear it."

Hu Ma had to add another kowtow, vaguely feeling that the willow tree seemed to tremble slightly.

"Alright."

Second Master stopped Hu Ma and told him not to get up yet. He squatted beside the willow tree, stroking its trunk with his palm, and mumbled, "Hu Ma, grandson of Hu Baishi, a resident of Great Sheep Village, is in trouble. Today, he comes to recognize a godmother for protection. He doesn't covet gold or silver, only wishes to borrow three inches of your willow branches to ignite the furnace. May you, godmother, remember our connection. When little Hu Ma is healthy and strong in the future, he will properly honor you, his godmother..."

In the darkness, Hu Ma stole a glance.

After Second Master finished speaking, he waited for a few breaths. A faint, eerie wind seemed to blow, and the willow branches swayed slowly a few times.

There was a vague sense of reluctance.

But Second Master smiled and looked up, grabbing a willow branch that had been blown by the wind and had hit Hu Ma's head. He measured it to be about half a zhang long, and with a gentle pinch, he broke it off. He grinned and said to Hu Ma, "Thank you, godmother. Let's go."

Hu Ma instinctively felt that the action was peculiar and mysterious.

After they had walked a distance, he quietly asked Second Master, "Recognizing this godmother, was it just to borrow this willow branch?"

"Of course."

Second Master said, "Otherwise, you, the grandson of the Ghost Granny, why would you need to call this little willow spirit your godmother?"

"Calling it 'godmother' is just to make it happily agree and lend us this willow branch."

"..."

Hu Ma nodded and whispered again, "But what if it didn't agree?"

"Even if it didn't agree, we'd still have to pluck it."

Second Master glared. "You've already kowtowed. If it doesn't give us this little thing, isn't that disrespecting me, Second Master, as the witness?"

"But before you had me kowtow, you didn't ask if it agreed..."

Hu Ma grumbled silently in his heart. Of course, it was good that it seemed to agree, so he naturally couldn't say that out loud.

It seemed like only Second Master could do such a thing; the Old Woman probably wouldn't.

Second Master led Hu Ma back to the house on the hill. They walked slower this time, and Hu Ma truly realized the difference between Second Master and the Old Woman.

When he was with the Old Woman, he always felt rustling sounds around them, and there were several strange things. Even the Old Woman could only converse with them properly, or even offer them gifts. But with Second Master, these phenomena didn't occur.

Occasionally, there were furtive glances from behind trees, but they kept their distance, as if afraid of something.

Being with Second Master was actually much safer than being with the Old Woman?

But Second Master admitted his skills were inferior to the Old Woman's. Where did this difference lie?

Back in the courtyard, heads poked out from the bedrooms on both sides, watching.

Second Master roared at them, "Go to sleep properly, don't stare!"

"Second Master, is the Hu family's young master igniting the furnace on his first day?"

The youths were clearly afraid of Second Master, but not completely terrified. As he scolded them, someone boldly asked, "Doesn't he need to learn Skills?"

"Not convinced?"

Second Master reprimanded, "Go back to the village and ask your father for Green Ganoderma!"

After driving away the curious youths, he led Hu Ma into the main hall. The interior was simply furnished, with only a worn-out Eight Immortals table and two master chairs whose armrests were worn smooth and shiny. One of them had a broken leg.

To the left was a dirt pit, and by the wall, a stone-built fire pit, which was currently unlit. A cast-iron pot was haphazardly placed on top, seemingly unwashed.

Second Master told Hu Ma to wait nearby. He took out his flint and steel and lit the oil lamp and the fire pit in the room.

A black iron kettle was placed on top, filled with water, and some walnuts and red dates were thrown in.

He then turned around, took out a tattered thread-bound book, and flipped to a page, seemingly confirming something with concentration.

Then, he squatted by the fire pit and said to Hu Ma, "The Old Woman said you don't have a good memory. I, Second Master, don't know how much you've forgotten, but not long ago, you were targeted by a ghostly entity, and it caused you great harm. You still frequently encounter Evil Spirits, don't you?"

Hu Ma quickly nodded, "Yes, I always feel like something is watching me, and I feel uneasy all over."

"But when you're by my side, that doesn't happen."

"..."

"That's because my furnace is still burning brightly. But I can't guard you all the time, and neither can the Old Woman."

Second Master said, "So, I plan to ignite a furnace for you too. That way, even if no one is protecting you, you won't be afraid of those things."

As he spoke, he drew the tobacco from his pipe with a sizzling sound, the red glow occasionally illuminating his face.

Night had already fallen, and a cold wind blew, adding a sense of mystery and solemnity to his words.

"Ignite the furnace?"

"Yes."

Second Master said in a low voice, "Our world is not peaceful. All sorts of evil things have emerged from the mountains, causing harm without consequence. Our Great Sheep Village has survived thanks to the ancestors in the Old Fire Pit, but we can't rely on them for everything, can we?"

"So, we've been thinking about how we can make a living in these old woods ourselves."

"There really is a way."

"Those evil things are actually just a surge of Yin energy."

"We fear this Yin energy, but they actually fear the human energy on us. The stronger the human energy, the more they fear it."

"Therefore, these young lads follow me, Second Master, eating meat, running in the mountains, practicing Skills, and basking in the sun, all to make their bodies stronger. The stronger they are, the less likely they are to be targeted by those Evil Spirits."

"However, just training isn't enough."

"To truly learn the ability to deal with those things, the first thing you need to do is ignite a furnace within your own body, to lock in your Yang energy..."

"It will brew and intensify, like a great furnace..."

"When it reaches that point, think about it, what Evil Spirits would dare provoke you?"

"..."

"This is... truly unscientific."

Hu Ma listened, and felt a faint stirring of excitement in his heart.

He wasn't afraid of it being unscientific. After all, his own arrival in this world was already unscientific. If he could learn skills, who would care about that?

"Then, what needs to be done?"

"Heh heh, no rush. Look over there..."

Facing Hu Ma's barely concealed excitement, Second Master chuckled, pointed ahead, and leaned against a wooden stake leaning against the wall.

The stake was dark in color, thick enough to be embraced by two arms, about a meter and a half long, and stood upright on the ground.

Second Master said, "Move this stake over here."

"Okay."

Hu Ma immediately agreed, ran to the stake, and reached out with both hands to lift it.

The wood of this stake was dense and should be heavy, but Hu Ma's injuries had healed, and he was full of energy. He felt that lifting one or two hundred jin would be no problem. But as soon as his hands touched it, he felt an icy chill seeping into his bones. He tried to lift it with all his might, but it didn't budge.

"Is it welded to the ground?"

He subconsciously looked down, but saw that the gap below wasn't even filled.

This kind of monster made him feel uneasy, so he looked towards Second Master.

"Heh heh, you see it now, don't you?"

Second Master saw Hu Ma's curious expression and said, "That's a Ghost Wood Stake. It takes root where it lands."

"Ghost wood?"

Hu Ma was slightly startled.

Although he didn't know much about this world in the past few days, he had learned some things from Xiao Hong Tang, such as the dangers in this forest. Some trees that had grown for many years would have human faces growing on their bark.

Once such an old tree appeared, the entire surrounding forest would become very dangerous. If living people entered, they would often lose their way and die of exhaustion.

Hu Ma had been curious about these things, but he never expected to see one with his own eyes at this time.

"That's right. It was felled two days ago. The bark was stripped off, otherwise you would have seen a human face."

Second Master smiled and said, "But even though it was cut down and the human face was stripped away, evil things are still evil things. As long as this stake touches the ground, it immediately takes root. Let alone you, even the adults in the village can't move it with pure strength!"

"There are two ways to make it move. One is to roast it with fire, and the other is to rely on our own skills..."

He said, tapping his pipe, his chest slowly expanding.

"Hoo!"

He suddenly exhaled, like a sharp arrow.

Hu Ma felt a gust of wind impact him from the side, followed by a crisp sound.

He saw the Ghost Wood Stake, which he couldn't move even with all his strength, being blown away by Second Master's single breath.

"This..."

Hu Ma was both shocked and delighted, astonished by Second Master's feat.

"It ran off."

Second Master proudly put his hands behind his back, stood up, glanced at the doorway, and then turned back to Hu Ma with a smile. "This is the benefit of igniting the furnace. My breath alone can injure or kill ordinary Evil Spirits."

"This has a name, called the True Yang Arrow. If I were to bite my tongue and spray blood along with it, it would be even more powerful. That name would be the Blood Yang Arrow."

"I, Second Master, have never touched a real woman in my life. My sixty years of virginity are what gave me this power."

"..."

Hu Ma looked at Second Master's tall frame, his eyes full of admiration for his skills.

It was just, why was he bragging?

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