Ghost Talisman

"Willow tree? Taking it as my godmother?"

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

But they were in the woods, and everything around him felt unsettling. He hadn't been in this world long, but he'd already witnessed too many strange and mysterious things alongside Old Woman. Compared to those, Second Master's idea seemed like child's play. So he said nothing, relying on the skills he'd learned at Old Woman's side: don't ask, don't pry, just do as you're told.

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

Second Master said, "One more. Three is for the gods, four for the ghosts. Three kowtows are a good thing, but your godmother might not be able to bear it."

Hu Ma had no choice but to add another. He thought the willow seemed to tremble faintly.

"All right."

Second Master stopped Hu Ma from getting up for the moment, then crouched beside the willow and stroked its trunk. Muttering under his breath, he said, "Hu Baishi's grandson, Great Sheep Village's Hu Ma, is in trouble. He's come today to take you as his godmother and ask for your protection. He doesn't covet gold or silver; he only asks to borrow three inches of your willow branch to light his furnace. May you remember this kindness. When little Hu Ma is hale and hearty, he'll come back and properly honor you, his godmother..."

In the night, Hu Ma watched from the corner of his eye.

After Second Master finished speaking, they waited quietly for a few breaths. A shadowy wind seemed to blow through, and the willow branches swayed slowly a few times.

There was a faint sense that the tree wasn't entirely willing.

But Second Master smiled and looked up. He caught one of the branches the wind had blown against Hu Ma's head, measured a little less than half a span up from the tip, and snapped it off with a light pinch. Grinning, he told Hu Ma, "Thank your godmother. Let's go."

Hu Ma felt that the whole affair was strange, with an air of mystery about it.

Once they'd gone some distance, he quietly asked Second Master, "We took her as my godmother just to borrow this willow branch?"

"Of course," Second Master said. "Otherwise, you're Ghost Walker Granny's grandson. Why would you need to take some little willow monster as your godmother?"

"Calling her godmother was just a way to get her to happily agree to lend us the branch."

"..."

Hu Ma nodded, then asked softly, "But what if she hadn't agreed?"

"Then we'd have cut it off anyway."

Second Master glared at him. "You already kowtowed. If she wouldn't even give us this little thing, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to me, the witness?"

But you didn't ask whether she'd agree before making me kowtow...

Hu Ma silently grumbled to himself. But since it seemed like her agreeing was a good thing, he didn't dare say it aloud.

It seemed only Second Master could pull off something like this. Old Woman probably wouldn't have done it.

Second Master led Hu Ma back to the house on the hillock. They walked more slowly this time, and Hu Ma truly began to notice the difference between Second Master and Old Woman.

When he was with Old Woman, there were always rustling noises around them, along with several kinds of bizarre creatures. It seemed even Old Woman had to speak to them politely, sometimes offering gifts. But when he was with Second Master, nothing like that happened.

Every now and then, he sensed eyes watching from behind the trees, but they stayed far away, as if afraid of something.

Was it actually much safer to be with Second Master than with Old Woman?

Yet Second Master admitted that he was less capable than Old Woman. So what was the difference?

When they returned to the courtyard, heads began poking out from the bedrooms on either side, watching them.

Second Master shouted at them, "Go to sleep! Quit gawking!"

"Second Master, the Hu Family Young Master's lighting his furnace on his very first day?"

The boys were clearly afraid of Second Master, but not so afraid that they wouldn't dare speak. Even as he scolded them, one of them boldly asked, "Doesn't he have to learn martial arts first?"

"Got a problem with that?" Second Master scolded. "Go back to the village and ask your dad for some Green Ganoderma!"

After chasing off the curious boys, he led Hu Ma into the main room. The furnishings were simple: a battered Eight Immortals table and two armchairs whose armrests had been worn smooth and shiny. One of the chairs was missing a leg.

On the left was an earthen kang. Beside the wall was a stone-built hearth, unlit at the moment. An iron pot had been tossed haphazardly on top, apparently unwashed.

Second Master told Hu Ma to wait nearby, then took a flint and lit the oil lamp and the hearth. He set a black iron kettle on top, filled it with water, and tossed in a few walnuts, red dates, and the like.

Only then did he turn around and pull out a tattered thread-bound book. He flipped to a page and seemed to check something carefully.

Then he crouched before the hearth and said to Hu Ma, "Old Woman said you don't remember much. I don't know how much you've forgotten, either. But some time ago, a ghostly thing set its sights on you, and it gave you a terrible time. You still run into Evil Spirits pretty often, don't you?"

Hu Ma hurriedly nodded. "Yes. Every now and then, I feel like something's watching me. It makes my whole body feel uncomfortable."

"But when you're with me, it doesn't happen."

"..."

"That's because my furnace is still burning strong. But I can't watch over you forever, and neither can Old Woman."

Second Master said, "So I've decided to light a furnace for you, too. That way, even without someone protecting you, you won't have to fear those things."

As he spoke, he drew on his pipe until it crackled. Its red glow kept lighting up his face.

Night had fallen. A cold wind blew, lending his words a hint of mystery and solemnity.

"Light a furnace?"

"That's right."

Second Master lowered his voice. "The world we live in is in turmoil. All kinds of sinister things have crawled out of the mountains, killing people without a second thought. We people of Great Sheep Village have survived thanks to the ancestors in the Old Fire Pit, but we can't rely on them for everything, can we?"

"So we've always been trying to figure out a way for us to make a living in these old woods."

"And there really is a way."

"Those sinister things are really just a mass of Yin Qi."

"We fear that Yin Qi, but it fears the human energy in our bodies, too. The stronger our human energy, the more afraid it is of us."

"That's why these boys stay here with me, eating meat, running through the mountains, practicing martial arts, and basking in the sun. It's all to make their bodies stronger. The stronger they are, the less likely those Evil Spirits are to set their sights on them."

"But exercise alone isn't enough."

"If you want to learn how to deal with those things, the first thing you have to do is light a furnace inside your body and lock in your Yang energy..."

"Let it grow stronger and stronger, like a great furnace blazing away..."

"Once you've reached that point, just think about it. What Evil Spirit would dare mess with you?"

"..."

"This is... so unscientific."

As Hu Ma listened, he felt a flicker of excitement.

But he didn't care that it wasn't scientific. Coming to this world in the first place hadn't been scientific. If he could learn how to protect himself, who cared about that?

"Then what do I have to do?"

"Heh, no need to rush. Look over there..."

Seeing Hu Ma's barely concealed excitement, Second Master gave a chuckle and pointed to a section of wood leaning against the wall.

The wood was dark, as thick around as a person could encircle with both arms, and about five feet long. It stood upright on the ground.

Second Master said, "Bring that stake over here."

"Okay."

Hu Ma answered at once and ran over to it, reaching out with both hands to lift it.

The wood was dense, and it looked heavy. But Hu Ma had recovered from his injuries and was full of strength. He felt he could manage a hundred or two hundred pounds. Yet the moment he touched the stake, he felt its icy chill bite to the bone. He heaved with all his strength, but it didn't budge an inch.

"Is it welded to the ground?"

He instinctively looked down, only to see that there wasn't even a crack filled in beneath it.

The strange thing made him uneasy, so he looked over at Second Master.

"Heh, figured it out, did you?"

Seeing Hu Ma's curious expression, Second Master said, "That's a Ghost Wood Stake. Once it touches the ground, it takes root."

"Ghost wood?"

Hu Ma was startled.

He didn't know much about this world yet, but over the past few days, he'd heard a few things from Xiao Hong Tang. For instance, the dangers in these woods. Some ancient trees grew human faces on their bark.

If even one such old tree appeared, the entire surrounding forest became dangerous. Anyone who went in would lose their sense of direction and end up trapped there until they died.

Hu Ma had been curious about such things, but he hadn't expected to see one with his own eyes now.

"That's right. We chopped it down a couple of days ago and stripped off the bark. Otherwise, you'd be able to see the human face."

Second Master smiled. "But even though it's been felled and its face stripped away, a sinister thing is still a sinister thing. The moment this stake touches the ground, it takes root. It's not just you—even the grown men in the village can't move it with sheer strength!"

"There are only two ways to make it move. One is to roast it over a fire. The other is to rely on our own abilities..."

As he spoke, he tapped the ash from his pipe, and his chest slowly swelled.

"Whoosh!"

He suddenly blew out a breath, and it shot forth like an arrow.

Hu Ma felt a gust of wind strike from the side, followed by a sharp crack beside his ear.

The Ghost Wood Stake that he'd been unable to budge with all his strength was blown flying by Second Master's breath.

"This..."

Hu Ma was astonished and delighted, stunned by Second Master's trick.

"It ran off."

Second Master proudly clasped his hands behind his back and stood up. He went to the doorway, took a look, then turned back to Hu Ma with a smile. "That's the advantage of having lit your furnace. When I blow out a breath, ordinary Evil Spirits are either dead or wounded."

"This technique has a name: True Yang Arrow. If I bite the tip of my tongue and spit out blood along with it, it's even more powerful. That one's called Blood Yang Arrow."

"Me? I've never touched a real woman in my life. I've kept my virginity for sixty years, and that's how I gained this power."

"..."

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

It was just... what was he so proud of?