Who Exactly Are You?

"Grandma..."

The moment he rushed into the cave, Hu Ma heard Xiao Hong Tang cry out anxiously.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he immediately saw that this wasn't much of a cave, only a little over a zhang deep.

Grandma was lying inside, half her body covered in blood, her spirits utterly broken.

In front of her, two candles had been lit, along with a stick of incense. Some shattered bone charms and jars were laid out too. The candles had nearly burned down, but the light they gave off held an invisible force.

Beyond the candlelight, three or five infant spirits were gnashing and biting desperately at the boundary, unable to get any closer.

Had Grandma been wounded and forced to hide in this cave, setting up this simple ritual in her haste to hold off the infant spirits?

Hu Ma had no time to think. Holding his knife in one hand, he hurried into the cave.

Behind the candlelight, Grandma was already terribly weak. She struggled to lift her head and saw Hu Ma charging inside, knife in hand and a murderous look on his face. Her heart lurched, but she was too weak to do anything. She could only watch helplessly as he came closer.

"Shhk..."

He suddenly swung his knife with all his might, and the gust of wind made the candle flames waver, nearly snuffing them out.

In that dazed moment, Grandma had even resigned herself to closing her eyes and waiting for death. But she hadn't expected Hu Ma's stroke to be so powerful, his blade brimming with masculine force.

The infant spirits that had been trying desperately to reach her sensed the danger and lunged at him instead. But beneath the wide, forceful sweeps of his Mountain Cleaving blade, he cut them down with ease, and one after another they vanished into thin air.

Then Hu Ma took two steps forward and reached Grandma. He stuck the Mountain Cleaving blade into the ground and helped her up.

"Grandma, are you all right?"

"..."

Grandma stared blankly at Hu Ma, her eyes seeming cloudy. Yet deep within them, something was shifting like the world turning upside down, like a raging tidal wave.

Seeing her sallow face and sunken eyes, Hu Ma felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in his heart.

Ever since he'd woken up, Grandma had seemed sinister and terrifying. Later, she'd seemed almost omnipotent.

She'd chanted scriptures to drive away evil, all so he could get a good night's sleep.

She'd braved the deep mountains to harvest Blood Ganoderma, worth more than gold, to keep him alive.

In the end, she'd even gone alone into the Woods to find the ghost sent by the Meng Family, determined to eliminate the threat to him. She was clearly advanced in age, yet she seemed tireless, unbreakable.

But now she was so weak.

This old woman, gravely wounded and exhausted, was like a guttering candle in the wind. It hardly seemed real.

"Grandma, it's all right now."

He comforted her without thinking. "Second Master and I came to find you. I also found... a Noble Lord from the city. They're helping too."

Grandma only stared at Hu Ma, endless emotions surging in her eyes.

Suddenly, she turned her hand over and seized Hu Ma's wrist with her bony, withered fingers, gripping it with startling strength.

She lowered her voice and asked with difficulty, "You... what exactly are you?"

"Whoosh!"

The question caught him off guard. Hu Ma's heart gave a violent jolt, and he looked at Grandma in disbelief.

Grandma was terribly weak now. She no longer pressed down on him with the suffocating, sinister presence she'd had when they first met.

But this time, he could see her eyes clearly.

Those dim, sunken eyes were perfectly lucid, as if they saw everything for what it was.

His heart thudded, thudded, slowly but loudly.

Hu Ma said softly, "I'm Hu Ma, Grandma..."

"You're Hu Ma. You're Hu Ma..."

Grandma murmured. Her grip on Hu Ma's arm tightened as she spoke in a low voice. "But I know my grandson."

"He... wasn't nearly this sensible."

"..."

"Buzz..."

In that instant, Hu Ma felt a shiver run through his mind, striking straight to the depths of his soul.

So Grandma had understood all along.

He couldn't help thinking of the taboo the first Reincarnator he'd met had told him about. He also thought of that Noble Lord from the city, with such a lofty status and power, who still didn't dare to show even the slightest hint of anything suspicious.

Even when she wanted to help him in front of her subordinates, she'd had to stage a whole show for them first.

And all of it was because...

...of secrets!

A Reincarnator's greatest secret was their own identity. Once exposed, no matter their status or cultivation, they would die a terrible death.

He'd been treading on thin ice, walking on eggshells, all to keep that secret.

Yet Grandma had still seen through him.

Second Master was just outside the cave. He could deal with whatever was out there and come in at any moment.

Xiao Hong Tang was right beside them. Who knew whether she'd heard?

And if the Noble Lord from the city got curious and came over to take a look, wouldn't she hear everything at once?

His palm grew slightly warm. A trace of violence stirred in his heart.

It seemed he wanted to reach out and lift the Mountain Cleaving blade stuck beside him...

But just as the thought arose, Hu Ma noticed Grandma's expression again. In her dim eyes, he saw worry and hope so deep they seemed impossible to dissolve.

He'd seen that look in his previous life too.

In this life, he was a Reincarnator. His blood tie to Grandma was false, but there was no way he could convince himself that this look was false too...

His gaze gradually calmed. He laid his hand over the one gripping him.

Feeling the rough, bark-like skin beneath his fingers, he looked into Grandma's eyes and said slowly, "I'm Hu Ma, Grandma."

"I just remembered some things from before I was reborn, and forgot some things from this life."

"But I remember that you're my grandma..."

"..."

Grandma stared at Hu Ma, her pupils seeming to widen slightly. After a long while, he suddenly saw boundless joy flood those eyes.

She slowly sat up. Her dim eyes lit with an extraordinary radiance.

She was utterly different from the frail, elderly woman she'd seemed just moments ago. She was still as powerful, mysterious, and unfathomable as ever, but now a tender light welled up in her eyes.

"That's right, my little grandson..."

Grandma clutched his hand tightly, as if afraid he might run off. Her voice trembled. "You are my little grandson. My little grandson has finally grown sensible..."

"God of Heaven has eyes. Our Hu Family has suffered disaster after disaster, but in the end, our family hasn't been wiped out..."

"..."

"..."

"I..."

With Grandma holding his hand, Hu Ma suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and a cold sweat prickled over his skin.

Grandma...

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he clearly realized that the Grandma he'd seen moments ago had seemed to be drawing her last breath, like a guttering candle in the wind. He'd felt sorry for her and said something he didn't quite believe himself, just to comfort her.

But only now did he realize that Grandma wasn't as weak as he'd thought. She might be tired, but she hadn't grown weak at all.

So that just now had been...

...a test?

He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he'd truly turned murderous in that moment.

"Don't be afraid, my grandson..."

Seeing Hu Ma's expression, Grandma instead gave him a faint, comforting smile. She gently stroked his head and said softly, "I knew you weren't the same as before a long time ago. I knew it when they first summoned you back, while your mind was still muddled..."

Hu Ma didn't know what to say. Fear had inevitably crept into his eyes.

But then Grandma looked at him with more love than ever before. Holding his hand, she said quietly, "But I never doubted that you were my grandson. I summoned you back with my own hands. I knew I hadn't called back the wrong person."

Her answer caught Hu Ma completely by surprise. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Seeing his expression, Grandma seemed to feel even more sorry for him. She sighed softly and said, "Your soul is right, your birth characters are right, even your Lifespan is right. If you aren't my grandson, then who is?"

"You did, after all, walk through the Gate of Hell. Forcing you back is bound to cause some problems."

"But those problems aren't your fault..."

"..."

She spoke slowly, guilt rising thickly in her eyes. "You should blame Grandma. I didn't protect you well. By the time I found you, it was too late..."

"Just like..."

Her gaze drifted toward the cave entrance. She paused, and after a long while, said quietly, "Just like the babies in the locust tree."

"They hadn't even learned what it meant to be alive before they suffered the pain of reincarnation. Who could blame them?"

"..."

As Hu Ma listened, a chill suddenly crawled over his scalp.

When he'd spoken to her earlier, he'd indeed wanted to comfort the old woman. He couldn't bear to see her, already overworked, suffer another blow like this.

But in that moment, it suddenly dawned on him that he was the one who couldn't see things clearly.

Grandma had already determined who he was through other means. She simply didn't understand why he'd changed so much.

Then who exactly was he?

"Grandma, how are you?"

Just then, hurried, heavy footsteps sounded outside the cave. Second Master came rushing in, panting hard.

His forehead was battered and bloody, with a huge lump on it. He looked a little ridiculous.

"Huh?"

The moment he looked up, he saw Hu Ma holding Grandma's hand, while Grandma leaned against the cave wall. He couldn't help crying out. He rushed forward a couple of steps and raised both hands, but didn't dare touch her anywhere. His voice trembled as he asked, "A-are you all right?"

"..."

"Second, you're so loud you're giving me a headache..."

Grandma seemed to be in a good mood. She even teased Second Master a little. "The Ghostly Puppet sent by the Meng Family was powerful, but I could handle it. Why were you so reckless, bringing him all the way to such a dangerous place to find me?"

"Well..."

Second Master was taken aback. He gave an awkward smile. "You can't blame me for that. He insisted on coming."

"As soon as he heard something had happened to you, look how frantic he got..."

"..."

"That's right..."

Grandma was so delighted by Second Master's praise that her eyes crinkled into slits. "My grandson was just young before. He hadn't grown up yet."

She sighed slowly, leaning against the stone wall. Her eyes stayed fixed on Hu Ma, brimming with immeasurable joy. Then she said softly, "Second, you're a grown man. Crying in front of me doesn't suit you."

"Wait outside for a while. I still have a few things to tell my little grandson."