Strange Little Ghost

Even coffin planks can become spirits and seek revenge?

And why did it claim to be the grandson of this strange Old Woman, and why lock itself up with such cruel methods?

The bizarre phenomena appearing before his eyes, coupled with the intense unease surging within him, dealt another heavy blow to Hu Ma's newly recovered mind.

Fear, confusion, and bewilderment washed over him, causing stars to dance before his eyes again, a wave of dizziness overwhelming him.

But this time, he endured it, resisting the urge to faint, and struggled to open his eyes to look at the Old Woman.

The Old Woman standing by the door had been staring at Hu Ma with a chilling gaze, her eyes seemingly unmoving beneath her messy hair.

She saw Hu Ma swaying precariously, but ultimately not falling or passing out, her expression complex.

After a long pause, she slowly lowered her eyelids and said faintly:

"You woke up earlier than I expected, and your spirit is stronger than I thought. It looks like you're getting better soon."

"..."

"She's finally willing to talk this time?"

Hu Ma forced himself to stay alert, realizing this time was different from before.

He had screamed at this Old Woman countless times, sometimes passing out, sometimes waking up in pain. At times, when she approached, he had wanted to struggle and resist, but the Old Woman had always watched with cold indifference, unmoved. He had even begun to doubt if she could speak.

Hu Ma immediately fixed his gaze on her and stammered, "What... what exactly is happening to me?"

"Why did you lock me up?"

"..."

"You are sick."

The strange Old Woman slowly walked in, sat down on a small stool, and whispered, "I am treating your illness."

"Treating my illness?"

Hu Ma's voice wavered, "Does treating an illness require this?"

You pierced my tendons and locked me to the ceiling beam, chanting scriptures, burning talismans, and pouring hot oil on me day and night, torturing me by flaying my skin and digging out my tendons, and you call this treating me?

This is clearly torture!

Or perhaps, it's more like performing some evil ritual on me?

The Old Woman seemed to guess his thoughts and said grimly, "Your illness is very severe."

"?"

Even if I were gravely ill, you wouldn't treat me by hanging me up, would you?

Hu Ma felt his mind reeling and decided to throw caution to the wind, shouting, "Stop playing these mystical games, you... you let me down first..."

"..."

The Old Woman listened to his shouts, her face grim, as she slowly set down the bundle she had carried back.

It was as if she had returned to her previous state of ignoring Hu Ma's words.

But the girl with two little pigtails suddenly said crisply, "Brother Hu Ma doesn't remember Grandma."

"The Meng Family sent a ghost to kill Brother Hu Ma. Grandma is very powerful and called Brother Hu Ma's soul back."

"But Brother Hu Ma always wanted to run away, so Grandma fixed Brother Hu Ma's soul and body in place."

"Grandma chants the Soul Calming Incantation for Brother Hu Ma every day, feeds him medicinal soup, and even cut off meat from Lord Tai Sui for Brother Hu Ma to eat. Now Brother Hu Ma finally isn't running around everywhere, but Brother Hu Ma doesn't recognize Grandma, nor does he recognize Xiao Hong Tang."

"..."

As she spoke, she clearly became unhappy, her little mouth pouting.

But what she said made Hu Ma suddenly feel lost.

What was all this?

He couldn't help but recall the constant buzzing chanting sounds in his mind during this time, the strange talisman water and decoctions he had drunk, the distorted images, and the repeated torture. An indescribable fear of this nightmarish situation arose within him.

"His soul has just settled, it's normal for him not to remember things."

Amidst the little girl's explanation, the Old Woman, with a grim face, slowly took things out of the bundle.

She revealed incense, candles, paper money, and a large piece of meat wrapped in red paper, square and greasy, the oil having soaked through the red paper.

Her voice, slow and after a long pause, finally said, "He will get better."

"The last descendant of the Hu Family will not be harmed to death by the Meng Family like this..."

"..."

As the situation developed to this point, Hu Ma's heart was in turmoil. He remembered her chilling gaze at him like an enemy in his fragmented memories, and he could barely control himself, wanting to curse loudly. But as the words reached his lips, he suddenly came to his senses.

He pursed his lips slightly, then suddenly looked up at the Old Woman and tentatively asked, "Then..."

"Since I'm better now, can you..."

"... let me down?"

"..."

The rest was secondary. Since they insisted on saying that, her priority was to have them remove these two hooks first.

As expected, under his worried gaze, the Old Woman's expression seemed to darken slightly, and she slowly shook her head:

"Although it's better now, it's best to keep it fixed for a few more days…"

"……"

Just as Hu Ma's mood sank slightly, he saw her stop mid-sentence, as if she had made a decision, and suddenly glanced at him.

Her gaze was too sharp, and Hu Ma quickly looked away.

He could feel her looking him over from head to toe, perhaps seeing the bloodstains on his shoulders from when he had tried to escape these hooks just now.

Then, to his surprise, he heard her tone soften:

"But being hung up like this is indeed uncomfortable. If you want to take them off, then go ahead."

"……"

Hu Ma was a little surprised: "Then…"

"I'll do it!"

Just as he was about to ask how to remove them, he suddenly heard the little girl in red on the ground exclaim excitedly.

She was extremely short, less than a meter tall, with slender arms and legs, but her movements were surprisingly agile.

With a bounce on the ground, she had already leaped onto Hu Ma's back.

Her feet, clad in embroidered shoes, braced against Hu Ma's shoulders, while her fair, tender little hands grasped the iron hooks. She tensed her body and exerted force.

Poof…

A sharp pain shot through him. Before Hu Ma could react, one iron hook had already been pulled out.

She quickly moved aside, rolled on Hu Ma's back again, grabbed the other iron hook, and did the same.

Blood began to pour from his shoulders. Hu Ma felt a sudden lightness in his body.

But this was immediately followed by a searing pain that made him see stars, and his body uncontrollably collapsed to the ground.

However, he then heard a burst of giggling laughter, and a blur of red flashed in his vision.

A bone-chilling coldness spread from the burning pain in his shoulders, invigorating his spirit.

He opened his eyes and found that it was the little girl in red, sticking out her tongue to lick his wounds.

Her slender tongue licked the wounds, and the profusely bleeding holes immediately stopped bleeding. Even the intense pain subsided significantly.

"What is this little girl… what is she?"

Hu Ma realized something was wrong, but in his confusion, he couldn't think clearly. The little girl had already flipped him over and was licking the two bloody holes on his back. Although Hu Ma's body was thin, it weighed over a hundred pounds, yet her slender arms could push and turn him with ease.

The rapid changes in such a short period sent Hu Ma's thoughts into disarray, and he gasped for air.

Throughout this entire process, the Old Woman had simply sat on a stool, slowly pouring herself a cup of cold tea.

Her gaze was slightly narrowed, as if deep in thought.

The room was silent, except for Hu Ma's heavy, gasping breaths, which were strong and vigorous.

She seemed to feel a slight sense of relief. After a long while, she slowly stood up and said to the little girl:

"Xiao Hong Tang, look after your brother. I need to go check on the Cui family graves."

"Old Master Cui's death was suspicious. I had that piece of locust wood board watch him for twenty years, but perhaps the heavy rain and thunder the other night washed away the grave mound, and the coffin lid came back to find me for retribution. Old Master Cui's corpse probably won't rest easy either…"

"……"

She walked to the door, but then seemed to remember something and turned to warn Hu Ma:

"You've only just recovered, and your body is still very weak. You're prone to attracting Evil Spirits, so don't run around outside."

"When Old Woman gets back, I'll cure you…"

"……"

"Not run?"

Hu Ma heard her instructions hazily, his mind only thinking: "If I don't run, I'm an idiot!"

Closing his eyes, he could almost see the Old Woman's sharp, cold gaze.

The torment and suffering of the past few days were still fresh, and the agonizing pain, like being thrown into an oil pot or skinned alive, that he experienced when he woke up in a daze was incredibly vivid.

It felt like he was enduring the torture of the eighteen levels of hell every day!

He still remembered the Old Woman's sinister gaze as she watched him in his dazed state, the agonizing dizziness after being force-fed that strange meat, and the feeling of some monster growing vigorously inside his body.

He had already reached his limit. He had no idea what terrifying things might happen if this continued.

Sacrifice? Soul transference? Raising a ghost child?

What did her "cure" mean?

Many questions bombarded his mind, but Hu Ma knew he only had one chance. If he were hung up again, it would all be over.

His mind, in a state of panic, made him grit his teeth, silently accumulating the last of his strength, and forcing himself to stay conscious.

After estimating that the Old Woman had gone far, Hu Ma suddenly opened his eyes.

Upon opening them, he saw the little girl in red clothes squatting not far away, staring at him.

Their eyes met, big eyes staring at big eyes, neither of them spoke.

Hu Ma's heart sank slightly, and he forced himself not to rush out of the house.

Although the Old Woman had left, she had left this little monster to watch him. If he really wanted to leave, he would have to deal with this little monster first.