Reincarnator's Curse

"Why is it taking so long?"

Outside the cave at this moment, by the old locust tree, the shopkeeper of Cao Xin Hall from the city was pacing slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.

Seeing that Hu Ma and Second Master had been gone for so long and still hadn't returned, he vaguely guessed what was happening. Out of consideration for human nature, he wouldn't go to urge them now, but he was still dissatisfied. He looked up at the sky and sighed, "It's getting dark again..."

"Whether it's collecting remains or saying last words, it takes time, doesn't it?"

From within the sedan chair nearby, as if extremely patient, after waiting for a long time, someone finally said faintly.

"Yes, yes, Miss is kind-hearted. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even be able to find his elder's remains."

The old shopkeeper hurriedly put on a smiling face.

He was anxious because he was worried about delaying the important matter for the person in the sedan chair. Now that they weren't in a hurry, only a fool would be...

"Shopkeeper Xu..."

Just then, the person in the sedan chair suddenly said, "What do you think of the cultivation of these two people fighting?"

"Hmm?"

The old shopkeeper was stunned for a moment. He looked again at the traces he had already observed, frowned, and said with a smile, "It's nothing more than the old tricks of warding off evil and summoning ghosts, the ways of a Ghost Walker."

"This Old Woman can summon lightning from the underworld, which shows she has opened her spiritual gates. But to force such an old locust tree into a corner shows she has some cultivation, but that's all. How could Miss take her seriously?"

"Yes, it's just that old trick..."

The person in the sedan chair was silent for a moment. It seemed as if a gaze, through the sedan curtain, was cast upon this vast, deep mountain range.

In the distance, a mass of dark clouds seemed to be drifting heavily, shrouded in mist, low in the sky, slowly rolling in.

Within the mist, it seemed as if figures in colorful clothes were playing music, dancing, carrying banners and sedan chairs, wielding staffs to guide souls, as if real.

Even she couldn't help but feel a slight shock in her heart. She hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look. The old steward and others beside her didn't even notice.

"..."

"..."

"Second Master..."

Standing outside the cave, Second Master, who was anxiously waiting, finally heard Hu Ma's call after a long while.

He quickly turned around and looked at Hu Ma, who appeared dejected and hesitant to speak.

Hu Ma just stood there silently. After a while, he said, "Grandma said... to take her back to the Old Fire Pit."

"Ah?"

Second Master was greatly shocked. He rushed into the cave in a few steps and saw that Grandma had already closed her eyes.

However, there was a smile on her lips, and her face was full of relief, as if she was very peaceful.

"My old sister who suffered her whole life..."

In the cave, Second Master's trembling and sorrowful voice echoed. Hu Ma stood silently for a long time, thinking about what had just happened.

After Grandma gave him the things, she patiently and repeatedly instructed him on many matters. It seemed she was still worried and had many things to say to him. However, after the few candles lit in front of her burned out, she finally slowly stopped.

She looked at him reluctantly, then slowly sat up straight, looked straight ahead, and suddenly cursed in a deep voice:

"What's the rush? Don't I know the time myself, you old woman?"

"..."

Hu Ma's heart sank slightly. He immediately looked at Grandma with concern, only to see her sigh slowly and wave her hand.

She said softly to Hu Ma, "They've already started burning incense over there. If I don't go over, it will arouse suspicion."

"It's just that with my departure, my grandson, you will suffer..."

"..."

At this point, Hu Ma didn't know what to say. But Grandma seemed to have made her final decision, saying:

"It's okay, my grandson has grown up. This branch of the Hu Family still has someone..."

"..."

The voice gradually lowered. Hu Ma couldn't help but feel his heart clench.

After an unknown amount of time, he vaguely heard a sigh. He vaguely felt that a figure slowly stood up, looked at him by his side for a long time, then walked to Xiao Hong Tang by the cave entrance and gently patted her head.

At this moment, outside the cave entrance, it seemed as if the heavens and earth had changed color. A black wind began to blow. Vaguely visible, a sedan chair, even finer than those used by nobles in the city, stopped at the cave entrance.

As Grandma got into the sedan chair, there was a faint, long cry, accompanied by bursts of gongs and drums, and it slowly moved away.

It was only then, when Hu Ma looked up, that he saw Grandma had closed her eyes.

The two candles she had lit had just reached their last point, melting into candle tears. A small flame was slowly submerged within them.

"Grandma went to the ancestral shrine. Where is this ancestral shrine?"

Hu Ma looked at the extinguished candles and thought silently, "She said she would call me back. When will that be?"

The final conversation, although fraught with danger, finally put his mind at ease.

"Grandma has accepted me. There will be no danger."

"It's just that the things I need to do myself, Old Woman, you can't do them for me anymore…"

"……"

After thinking for a long time, he adjusted his emotions, put on a sad face, and invited Second Master in.

Only Xiao Hong Tang, by the cave entrance, was still stunned, feeling a little wronged: "Old Woman really doesn't want me anymore, she didn't even take me in the sedan chair."

"Child…"

As he was thinking, a voice sounded not far away. It was the shopkeeper slowly walking over.

He looked at Hu Ma, as if he had seen through something, and sighed softly, saying, "Your grown-up, have you found her?"

"Mm."

Hu Ma nodded silently and said, "Old Woman is gone."

"Poor child."

The old shopkeeper heard this and also sighed softly, saying, "Although we don't know your Old Woman, she could enter the forest to eliminate Evil Spirits, and even risked injury to leave a sliver of life for that benevolent old locust tree. She must be a respectable person."

"My young lady said that such a person is very admirable. Take this bolt of cloth and use it to prepare 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 but look up at the sedan chair.

Now that his own matters were settled, according to their agreement, he should tell her about the Hundred Corpse Mound.

However, in her dream, she had repeatedly warned him not to mention it in reality. It seemed he could only wait until night.

That day, as it was getting late, everyone settled down nearby. Those from the city gave Hu Ma some candles and paper money. They guarded the Old Woman for a night. It wasn't until nightfall, when Hu Ma was drowsily falling asleep, that he connected with the Reincarnator.

"Thank you."

He couldn't muster much emotion, and just said to the other party, "My Old Woman has been found, and I should give you the information."

"The place you're looking for is called the Hundred Corpse Mound, right?"

"I do know this place. It's in Old Yin Mountain, in the fox coffin, under the East Bridge. Another thing I need to tell you is that a month ago, a Reincarnator codenamed Erguotou already went there."

"But you also need to be careful. There seems to be some danger there. When I connected with him, he was at the end of his rope, using some method to seal himself. He can only hold on for another month."

"If you go now, you can rescue him. As for how to divide the spoils, you two can figure it out!"

"……"

"Oh?"

The Reincarnator codenamed White Wine sounded a little surprised and said softly, "Aren't you going?"

"According to the unwritten rules among us Reincarnators, if you really went, even if your cultivation is weaker, you should get a share."

"……"

"Reincarnators have such rules?"

Hu Ma found it a bit strange, but after thinking about it, he still refused with a wry smile: "Let's forget it."

"I don't know what's there, but you're all so interested. It's probably something very powerful?"

"Unfortunately, I have more important things to do right now."

"After dawn, I'll set off to send Old Woman back to the village."

"……"

It wasn't that he wasn't tempted, nor that he didn't feel closer to and trust these people who came from the same world as him. It was just, would people willingly share something they had painstakingly obtained?

Hu Ma didn't quite agree with that in his heart. Also, Old Woman had already instructed him. To turn his back on her words immediately would be too improper.

The end of the incense thread was silent for a long time, as if Hu Ma's words had touched her.

"You're a smart one…"

After a long while, she suddenly sighed, her voice suddenly hoarse, and she chuckled, "Perhaps you can live a long life…"

"I believe now that we will have opportunities to cooperate in the future…"

"……"

"Mm?"

Seeing her suddenly revert to her hoarse voice, Hu Ma was also slightly surprised. He had heard this woman say before that she had deliberately changed her voice to be hoarse to be more careful.

Now, this sudden change in voice gave him a different feeling, as if this person's voice was originally hoarse and strange, and she had only changed it to be clear and pleasant.

"We Reincarnators are born guarding our own secrets and can never quite trust those around us."

Her voice remained hoarse, not like a human's, but like something else forcibly imitating human speech:

"Coupled with arriving in a strange world and having to face unfamiliar men and women, possibly even younger than ourselves, and shamelessly calling them parents to get close, there aren't many of us. So we tend to be solitary and prefer to seek warmth among our own kind…"

"But among our own kind, there are no constraints. How to trust and how much to trust is something you have to judge for yourself…"

"You are so good to the people of this world. From now on, you are a trustworthy person in my eyes. We can cooperate again if there's an opportunity."

"……"

Hu Ma's heart stirred as he listened: "What about you? Are your relationships with your family in this world not good?"

"Good?"

The voice was low and hoarse, not like a human's, and chillingly said, "I've almost killed them all…"

"Most of us Reincarnators are orphans from birth. If we weren't, we became so later. Do you guess why?"