"Why is this taking so long?"
Outside the cave, beside the old locust tree, the Shopkeeper of Cao Xin Hall, who had come from the city, stood with his hands behind his back, pacing slowly.
Seeing that Hu Ma had gone with Second Master and still hadn't returned after all this time, he had a vague idea what was happening. Out of basic human decency, he couldn't bring himself to go over and hurry them along just yet, but he still felt some discontent. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "It's nearly dark again..."
"Whether they're gathering the bones or giving their last instructions, these things take time, don't they?"
The person inside the sedan beside him seemed extraordinarily patient. After waiting a long while, she finally spoke, her voice mild.
"Yes, yes. The young lady is kindhearted. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even have found his elder's remains."
The Old Shopkeeper hurried to smile ingratiatingly.
He'd been anxious because he feared the person in the sedan might have something important delayed. Now that she wasn't in a hurry, only a fool would be.
"Shopkeeper Xu..."
Just then, the person in the sedan suddenly said, "What level do you think those two fighters have reached?"
"Hm?"
The Old Shopkeeper paused, then examined the traces he'd already looked over once more. Furrowing his brow, he smiled. "Nothing but the usual tricks of driving away evil spirits and summoning ghosts—the same old routine of a Ghost Walker."
"That Old Woman can call down yin lightning, which shows she's opened her inner gate. But she was driven to the end of her rope by a single old locust tree. She has some ability, sure, but nothing remarkable. How could the young lady possibly take her seriously?"
"Indeed. Just the same old routine..."
The person in the sedan fell silent for a moment. A gaze seemed to pass through the curtain, looking out toward the vast, desolate mountains.
In the distance, a mass of dark clouds loomed beneath the sky, hazy with mist, and rolled slowly toward them.
Through the murk, colorful figures seemed to play music and dance, leaping about as they carried banners and palanquins, brandishing staffs to drive souls onward. They looked both real and illusory.
Even she couldn't help feeling a jolt of alarm. She hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look. The old steward and the others beside her hadn't noticed a thing.
"..."
"..."
"Second Master..."
Second Master had been standing outside the cave, his heart in a knot as he waited. After a long while, he finally heard Hu Ma call out to him.
He hurriedly turned around. Seeing the downcast look on Hu Ma's face, he started to speak, then stopped.
Hu Ma only stood there in silence. After a long while, he said, "The Old Woman told me... to take her back to Old Fire Pit."
"What?"
Second Master was shocked. He rushed into the cave in a few strides and saw that the Old Woman had already closed her eyes.
Yet the corners of her mouth were curled in a smile, her face full of contentment. She looked utterly peaceful.
"My poor old sister, who suffered her whole life..."
Second Master's trembling, grief-stricken voice rang through the cave. Hu Ma stood silently for a long while, thinking back over what had just happened.
After giving him the things, the Old Woman had tirelessly repeated her instructions, telling him so much. She still seemed uneasy, as if there were countless things left to say. But when the few candles in front of her had burned down completely, she finally began to fall silent.
She looked at him with reluctance, then slowly straightened up and gazed ahead. Suddenly, she cursed in a low voice:
"Why are you rushing me? Don't I know what time it is?"
"..."
Hu Ma's heart sank. He looked at the Old Woman in worry, only to see her let out a slow sigh and wave her hand.
In a low voice, she told Hu Ma, "They've already lit the incense over there. If I don't go soon, people will start to suspect something."
"But once I go, my grandson, you'll have a hard time..."
"..."
By then, Hu Ma no longer knew what to say. But the Old Woman seemed to have finally made up her mind. "It'll be all right. My grandson has grown up. There's still someone left in this branch of the Hu Family..."
"..."
Her voice gradually faded. Hu Ma could barely hold himself together; his heart had clenched tight.
He didn't know how long it was before he faintly heard a sigh. He had the vague sense that someone had slowly risen, stood beside him for a long while, then walked over to the entrance and stroked Xiao Hong Tang's head.
Outside the cave, the world seemed to change color. Black winds swept through, and a palanquin came to a halt at the entrance—one finer than the kind carried by the Noble Lords of the city.
The Old Woman climbed into the palanquin. A long, distant call rang out, accompanied by the clatter of gongs and drums, and it slowly receded into the distance.
Only then did Hu Ma lift his head and see that the Old Woman's eyes were closed.
The two candles beside her had just melted down to their final drops of wax. Their tiny flames slowly drowned in the pools.
"The Old Woman has gone to the ancestral shrine. But where is this ancestral shrine?"
Hu Ma looked at the extinguished candles and thought silently, "She said she'd call me back. When will that be?"
Though their final conversation had been fraught with danger, it had finally put his mind at ease.
"The Old Woman has accepted me. I won't be in danger."
"But there are things I have to do myself now. The Old Woman can't do them for me anymore..."
"..."
After thinking in silence for a while, he finally got himself together and went to fetch Second Master, his face heavy with grief.
Only Xiao Hong Tang remained by the cave entrance, staring blankly, somewhat aggrieved. "The Old Woman really doesn't want me anymore. She didn't even take me along in the palanquin."
"Child..."
As she was thinking this, a voice sounded nearby. The Shopkeeper was slowly walking toward them.
He looked at Hu Ma as though he'd guessed what had happened, then sighed softly. "You found your elder, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Hu Ma nodded quietly. "The Old Woman has passed away."
"Poor child."
The Old Shopkeeper sighed softly too. "We didn't know your Old Woman, but she went into the woods to deal with evil spirits and risked her own life to leave that kind old locust tree a chance to survive. She must have been a woman worthy of respect."
"Our young lady said that people like her inspire admiration. Take this bolt of cloth and use it to wrap your Old Woman's body..."
As he spoke, one of the guards behind him came forward carrying a bolt of black cloth.
Hu Ma thanked him, then couldn't help looking up at the sedan.
Now that his own business was settled, it was time to tell her about Hundred Corpse Mound, as they'd agreed.
But in the dream, she'd repeatedly warned him not to mention it in the waking world. It seemed he'd have to wait until night.
Since it was already late, everyone settled nearby for the day. The people from the city gave Hu Ma some candles and paper offerings, then kept watch over the Old Woman through the night. Only when night had fallen and Hu Ma drifted into a hazy sleep did he connect with the Reincarnator.
"Thank you."
He couldn't quite summon the energy to speak. He simply told her, "I found my Old Woman. I should give you the information now."
"The place you're looking for is called Hundred Corpse Mound, right?"
"I do know the place. It's at Fox Coffin, beneath the East Bridge on Old Yin Mountain. There's something else I need to tell you: a Reincarnator with the code name Erguotou went there a month ago."
"But you'll need to be careful. There seems to be something dangerous there. By the time I connected with him, he was already at the end of his strength. He used some kind of method to seal himself away, and he can hold on for another month."
"If you go now, you'll be just in time to save him. As for how to divide the spoils, the two of you can work it out!"
"..."
"Oh?"
The Reincarnator with the code name White Wine sounded surprised. "Aren't you coming?"
"By the unwritten rules among us Reincarnators, if you really do go, you should get a share, even if your cultivation is weaker."
"..."
"Reincarnators have rules like that?"
Hu Ma found that a little strange, but after a moment, he gave a wry smile and declined. "I'll pass."
"I don't know what's there, but since you're all so interested, it must be something powerful, right?"
"Unfortunately, I have more important things to do right now."
"Once it's light, I'll set out and take the Old Woman back to the village."
"..."
It wasn't that he wasn't tempted, nor that he didn't feel closer to—and more inclined to trust—people who came from the same world as him. But if they'd struggled so hard to get something, would they really be willing to share it with him?
Deep down, Hu Ma didn't quite believe that. Besides, the Old Woman had already warned him. To turn around and disregard her words would be too much.
The incense cord remained silent for a long while, as though Hu Ma's words had moved her.
"You're a clever fellow..."
After a long pause, she suddenly sighed. Her voice turned hoarse as she chuckled. "You might just live a long time."
"I believe now that we'll have chances to work together again in the future..."
"..."
"Hm?"
Hu Ma was surprised when she suddenly returned to that hoarse voice. Earlier, he'd heard this woman say that she'd changed her voice to sound this way so she could be more cautious.
Now that her voice had changed again, it gave him a different impression. It was as if her voice had always been hoarse and strange, and she'd only changed it to sound clear and pleasant.
"We Reincarnators are born holding our secrets close. We never quite trust the people around us."
"On top of that, when we open our eyes in a strange world, we have to deal with strangers—men and women who might not even be as old as we are—licking their faces and calling us Mom and Dad, begging to get close. There aren't many people who can handle that, so we tend to be loners. We'd rather seek a little warmth among our own kind..."
"But there are no rules among our own kind, either. How much you trust someone, and whether you trust them at all, is up to your own judgment..."
"You treat the people of this world so well. As far as I'm concerned, you're someone I can trust. We may have a chance to work together again."
"..."
Hu Ma's heart stirred as he listened. "What about you? Did you have a bad relationship with your family in this world?"
"Good?"
Her voice was low and hoarse, not quite human. It sounded sinister, as though something else were forcing itself to imitate a human voice.
"I've nearly killed them all..."
"Most of us Reincarnators started out as orphans. Even those who didn't were orphans later. Guess why?"
Before you continue