Song of the Cannibalized

"Our Patriarch did used to play dumb, but he's never been this blunt before..."

Facing Hu Ma's seemingly indifferent gaze, Old Abacus was almost getting anxious. He said gravely, "Besides, even without this divination, it's obvious those fiends won't let you go."

"Actually, even though Master never told me everything, I could still piece some of it together. Twenty years ago, Master and the people of the Hu family dealt those fiends a heavy blow."

"Now Evil Spirits have crossed the bridge and shown themselves again. The world is in turmoil."

"Since Master agreed to show up in the Imperial Capital City, and you're heading there too, it doesn't take much to figure out that the National Teacher must be joining forces with the Hu family again. How could those Evil Spirits sit still?"

"The way of the jianghu is to make few enemies. If you absolutely must make one, then you find out everything you can about them before you strike. Those Evil Spirits are even more ruthless. If they want to make a move, they won't stop at learning your secrets—they'll dig up your ancestors' secrets eighteen generations back."

"How did the old master of the Yan family in Guazhou die? Surely you know by now?"

"They've already come after you twice. I think they were only testing you. The third time, I'm afraid they'll be coming in earnest."

"..."

Hu Ma could tell that things between him and the Great Luo Dharma Sect were at their worst right now. Yet Old Abacus, a disciple of the sect, was being more frank with him than ever.

He knew the man wasn't lying, but merely smiled and said, "I'm going."

"I used to listen to other people's advice too much. Looking back on the last three years, there were