Evil Karma Puzzle

Zhou Yang had already realized that one of the reasons why A Fu often acted strangely and made such noises at his doorstep was to scare him, Zhou Yang.

This was a way to test his character.

There's another reason... Zhou Yang vaguely felt that it might be because A Fu didn't have that much control or restraint over his own persona.

The courtyard gate under the big locust tree opened a crack.

A Fu peeked halfway out from the crack in the door and mechanically waved to Zhou Yang, who was walking towards him from a distance, with a fake smile on his face, looking exactly like a rubber mannequin.

"Master, I'm here to start work."

Zhou Yang walked closer, forced a smile at A Fu, and said.

"You've been coming in later these past few days than usual."

A Fu spoke with a smile.

His seemingly casual words may contain hidden wit and sharp insight.

Zhou Yang was prepared and remained calm upon hearing the voice, replying, "Yes." He added, "I ate breakfast at home this morning, unlike usual when I just grab a quick bite before heading out."

Fortunately, although it was a bit late, it didn't make it too late to start work.

"Come in."

A Fu nodded, then shrank back through the crack in the door.

Zhou Yang pushed the door open a little wider, ducked inside, and followed A Fu into the blacksmith's shed.

"I heard that your second brother, that guy called Heigou, went on a long trip?" A Fu asked Zhou Yang as he walked forward.

He walked to the door of the shed, and while reaching out to Gate of Opening, he glanced sideways at the expression on Zhou Yang's face.

Zhou Yang's face showed a mixture of confusion and doubt. "Yes..."

"In the morning, my second brother and father went to the fields. After a while, my father came back from the fields and told us that my second brother had gone on a long trip."

Why would you travel so far at this time?

"The Revelation Ceremony is just around the corner. Your second brother might be more than happy to be able to travel far away at this time." A Fu squinted, and that fake smile that sent chills down one's spine appeared on his face again.

He must have known in his heart that the so-called "going on a long journey" was actually a death. Zhou Yang didn't dwell on the matter, but instead asked A Fu, "Master, have you ever gone on a long journey?"

"Every few days, I have to go on a long trip."

A Fu looked at Zhou Yang and said with a smile, "Would you like to go and take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang asked with some curiosity, "The village Patrol Team patrols the village day and night, saying that there are terrifying ghosts outside the village that could come into the village at any time and take everyone's lives."

"At a time like this, can the master still go on a long trip every few days?"

"You want to know what's going on outside the village?" A Fu didn't answer Zhou Yang's question, but instead asked him a question in return.

"In no mood."

Zhou Yang immediately shook his head.

A Fu gave him a deep look and said, "This morning, let's make some hoes first."

"Make another batch of sickles this afternoon."

"The winter harvest is approaching, which is a good time to sell these farm tools."

"Okay." Zhou Yang replied honestly, and went to pick up some iron blocks and carried them back.

A Fu lit the furnace, threw an iron ingot into the fire until it was red-hot, then took it out of the furnace and placed it on the anvil.

The two men, carrying large and small hammers, began hammering away around the anvil.

Once A Fu starts swinging his hammer, he never stops.

Zhou Yang followed him, but after striking the ground more than ten times, he pretended to be exhausted and then opened the Ghost Mouth on his two arms.

Using the Breathing of the Ghost, he pretended to be barely keeping up with A Fu's rhythm.

After hammering for almost half an hour, Zhou Yang's face turned deathly pale. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer, so he put down the hammer, quickly sealed the Ghost Mouth on his body, and gasped for breath while supporting his knees.

"You were able to hold out for so long only after you opened the Ghost Mouth."

"Mindfulness needs to be four or five strands."

A Fu put down the hammer, observed Zhou Yang, and said with a glimmer of light in his eyes, "Keep practicing like this, and you might have the chance to cultivate Upright Heart mind in the future."

"Upright Heart?"

Upon hearing A Fu's words, Zhou Yang looked up at him, his expression puzzled. This was the first time he had heard A Fu explicitly mention the existence of "Upright Heart".

"You want to know why, even though there are ghosts outside the village, I can still go on a long trip every few days?" A Fu said, "It's because of Upright Heart."

"With Upright Heart, those ghosts outside the village cannot harm me in the slightest."

As soon as A Fu said these words, Zhou Yang was immediately shaken!

"A Fu actually managed to cultivate Upright Heart?"

Zhou Yang couldn't believe it.

In his eyes, this person could only be considered half a person at most.

He was full of evil aura and casually murdered Cao Qing. Before Cao Qing, several other people had been killed by A Fu, and Zhou Yang had collected the last words of those victims!

--How could such a person cultivate Upright Heart?

However, Zhou Yang was also very clear in his heart that although "Upright Heart", it cannot actually be measured from the dimensions of good and evil.

As long as one is resilient, persevering, and courageous enough to fight in the face of danger, it is possible to gather Mindfulness.

Once enough Mindfulness are accumulated, one can cultivate Upright Heart through certain practices! However, after the initial shock, Zhou Yang suddenly realized something.

He immediately noticed the flaw in A Fu's words.

A Fu claimed that once he had Upright Heart, the ghosts outside the village would not be able to harm him in the slightest.

Zhou Yang, however, understood even better that cultivating Upright Heart was merely the first step into the path, granting him the ability to "tether the ghost."

Before you can subdue the demon, you cannot truly fight against it simply by having Upright Heart!

Even if the ghost is restrained, facing the "monster" above the ghost and the "Great Darkness No-Man's Land" where terrors gather, there are still countless difficulties and dangers!

Zhou Yang suddenly came to his senses.

His eyes shone as he looked at A Fu: "There is such a wondrous state as ' Upright Heart '!"

"How wonderful it would be if I could cultivate Upright Heart!"

"To cultivate Upright Heart, a special method is required," A Fu said. "If one has not mastered this method, one must explore it on one's own. Some people spend their entire lives trying to find the right approach but still fail."

"Moreover, after cultivating Upright Heart, a special method is needed to use ghosts as a catalyst to combine with the Upright Heart as the great medicine."

"Only after taking the elixir can one truly be free from the fear of ghosts. Otherwise, forcibly using Upright Heart to attract ghosts will leave various hidden dangers on one's body..."

Today, A Fu's saying that "the ghost is the catalyst, and the Upright Heart is the bait" is actually similar to Chang Dafeng's saying that "the Upright Heart is the stake, and the ghost is the animal."

He was probably telling the truth.

"But why did he suddenly change his mind and reveal such important information to me?"

"Part of the reason is that he felt I was still a long way from reaching the pinnacle of Mindfulness, and that cultivating Upright Heart also requires key practices."

Therefore, even if you reveal to me the many mysteries of the Upright Heart, I am not worried that I can achieve this state in one fell swoop.

"Is there another reason...? Is he trying to use these words today as a 'carrot in front of a donkey,' to lure me into continuing to follow him? Even after the Revelation Ceremony, will I still be working for him?"

Zhou Yang's thoughts raced.

He tentatively asked A Fu, "Then you must have mastered the methods for cultivating Upright Heart and for using ghosts as medicine, right?"

What do you think?

A Fu smiled and asked Zhou Yang in return.

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said, "You must have mastered it all!" But in his heart, he thought something else entirely, "What the hell is this old bastard mastering!"

"If he truly had complete control, he wouldn't need to ask me this question now, trying to whet my appetite!"

"A Fu has said most of what he wanted to say, but he's vague about such trivial details. It's clear he's subconsciously feeling guilty, so he's using this way of speaking to cover it up!"

This A Fu may not have the method of using ghosts to make medicine.

They may not even have mastered the method to cultivate a Upright Heart mind!

Zhou Yang had long suspected that he harbored some hidden dangers—these dangers might be remnants of his cultivation of Upright Heart!

At this moment, A Fu spoke up again.

The more substantial his words became, the more Zhou Yang felt he was trying to make amends for his earlier, guilty response.

"The method of using ghosts in medicine also requires careful selection and verification by the individual."

"Otherwise, if you easily choose a method and start cultivating directly, you may become entangled with some evil spirits and taboos because of this method."

"For example, someone has used this method before to prepare the ghost medicine."

"Afterwards, he suddenly died, but although his body died, the "ghost medicine" was still alive. This ghost medicine would then transform back into an evil ghost and "visit" the next person who used this method. The next person would either be killed by the evil ghost, constantly evade its pursuit, or, in a way that was almost certain death, take the evil ghost that came to their door and make it their own."

Therefore, this method can only be used by a few people who know the ins and outs of the subject.

The more often a method is used, the more likely it is to cause one to become entangled with "misfortune".

Some people call this kind of entanglement a "Evil Karma Puzzle."

Evil Karma Puzzle...

Zhou Yang silently memorized this statement.

He looked bewildered, but inwardly he was alarmed—the set of incantations that Aji had passed down to him contained the methods for cultivating Upright Heart and later for binding ghosts. He wondered if this method, which originated from the Esoteric Treasury Domain, had formed a "Evil Karma Puzzle"?

The Esoteric Treasury Domain is a place of utter terror.

The methods that have leaked out are likely tainted with misfortune.

However, Zhou Yang can no longer find a second method to cultivate Upright Heart mind.

These thoughts faded from Zhou Yang's mind after a moment.

He chatted with A Fu for a while, and then the two started forging iron again. During the midday break, Zhou Yang picked up an iron ingot and started forging it himself.

Another batch of sickles was produced in the afternoon.

Zhou Yang was preoccupied with meeting Luan You and Luan You, so as soon as it was time to finish work, he put down his hammer.

A Fu didn't stop him from leaving. He went straight to the money box in the corner, counted out several thick bundles of paper money, and handed them to Zhou Yang: "This is more than six taels of paper money. The Revelation Ceremony is coming soon, and you can use it to buy cosmetics."

"Master..." Zhou Yang was somewhat moved.

"Let's go." A Fu looked at him and waved casually.

As he reached the door, A Fu suddenly asked, "After the Revelation Ceremony, will you still be forging iron here with the master?"

If I continue forging iron here, my life may be in danger!

Zhou Yang felt a warning bell ringing in his heart, but said on the surface, "I wonder what will happen after the Revelation Ceremony."

"But if I could choose for myself, I would definitely still stay with my master and work as a blacksmith!"

Sun San still has his eye on him; he'll have to think about it carefully when the time comes.