"Good grief, where are we?"
"Quick, get back to the manor..."
"My hand... Why does my hand hurt so much? Where's my hand?"
"..."
These men had been bewitched by the Yellow Immortals. Hu Ma had roused their vital energy with the redwood sword, dispelling the Yin Qi the Yellow Immortals had left behind. Only then had they come to their senses.
They had been terrified, and when they suddenly woke, their hearts sank with dread. Then the pain hit. One after another, they clutched their fingers and howled in agony.
"Young Master Xu Ji! Where's Young Master Xu Ji?"
Someone thought of Xu Ji and cried out hoarsely, "You've dragged us into this mess! You'd better protect us..."
"Look before you shout!"
Hu Ma held the saber in his left hand and the redwood sword in his right. He stood in the shadows, watching them coldly.
"You?"
Seeing Hu Ma, the men were startled, but they also grew a little calmer.
If they had seen Xu Ji, they would still have panicked, and the chill of fear from before would have lingered. But seeing Hu Ma, their alarm was tempered by surprise.
Still, they looked at him in disbelief. "Y-you... What are you doing here?"
"I've been following you all along..."
Hu Ma said in a low voice, "I thought it was reckless of you to go out after Evil Spirits in the middle of the night. I watched from a distance, and when your torches went out and I heard all those screams, I hurried over. Why are there so many Evil Spirits around here?"
"And where's Young Master Xu Ji? Wasn't he so confident? How did you all get bewitched while he managed to run off?"
"...I just found his redwood sword!"
"..."
"I... I don't know..."