Twilight Boundary

It was impossible to describe the look on the old shopkeeper's face—a mixture of astonishment, suspicion, and ghastly pallor—the moment he saw Hu Ma.

Clearly, far too many unexpected events had occurred that night for him.

However, no matter how intense the shock, his peripheral vision swept across the corpses of the Tan'er Sect members who had been brutally slain. He saw the shattered altars and the eerie gaze from the red lantern, which seemed to have been fixed on him all along.

He suddenly reacted. Forcing his now broken and battered body, he dropped to his knees before the red lantern and cried out,

"Wu Hong, Shopkeeper of the Green Stone Town branch, respectfully welcomes the Red Lantern Lady! Lady... Lady…"

"...Lady, please save my life! Wu Hong could never repay your great kindness, not even with ten thousand deaths!"

Hu Ma merely held up the lantern, standing calmly opposite the old shopkeeper, as if those kowtows were meant for him.

The light within the red lantern seemed uncannily vibrant.

The night wind swirled around the red lantern, carrying faint rustling sounds, as if an invisible woman were whispering softly in his ear.

So, he calmed himself slightly, looked down at Shopkeeper Wu Hong, and said, "The Lady asks you, what happened?"

"It was... it was the Tan'er Sect!"

The old shopkeeper's injuries were clearly severe. His voice trembled, yet he managed to continue, a barely discernible hesitation in his tone, "The Tan'er Sect acted audaciously last year, stealing our Red Lantern Society's Blood Food.

"Although the Lady did not punish me, Wu Hong deeply felt the gravity of his mistake and has sought to make amends over the past year. Unexpectedly, I discovered traces of Tan'er Sect members again, so I thought of capturing them and presenting them to the Lady to atone..."

He was indeed an old hand in the jianghu. Though he seemingly had no time to think, his words grew smoother as he spoke,

"It's just that I, Wu Hong, was already awaiting punishment and lacked full confidence. I didn't dare to directly request the Lady's presence. I had hoped to capture them quietly and earn merit for the Red Lantern Society.

"But unfortunately, my skills were insufficient. If not for the Lady's life-saving intervention, I would have..."

"Eh?"

Hu Ma listened, slightly stunned. He hadn't mentioned the issue of the Blood Food at all?

I even had a story ready for that.

In his moment of hesitation, a woman's voice once again floated lightly into his ears from the surrounding eerie wind.

Therefore, he straightened his face again, relaying a message for the Red Lantern Lady to the old shopkeeper, "The Lady asks you, is that all?"

"...Yes!"

The old shopkeeper answered with obvious difficulty, yet he still nodded.

He was heavily injured, his mind muddled. The matter of the Blood Food was on the tip of his tongue.

In the end, he swallowed the words back with difficulty, merely saying, "The Tan'er Sect has been up to so many elaborate deceptions; I don't know their purpose.

"But I'm not concerned with that. I only want to capture them and report back to the Red Lantern Society to close this case."

After saying this, he bowed his head, daring not to look up at the red lantern.

Beside him, Sister Wu He also knelt at a distance, similarly not daring to look at the red lantern.

She was even frightened that the Red Lantern Lady might ask her something.

However, after Hu Ma had relayed these few questions on behalf of the Red Lantern Lady, the uncanny red glow within the lantern slowly faded.

The oil lamp inside still burned, casting a dim red glow upon the surroundings, but the eerie aura from the lantern had vanished. The indescribable pressure weighing on everyone also quietly dissipated at this moment.

Has the Red Lantern Lady left already? Hu Ma mused, feeling a slight sense of relief.

Indeed, Brother Er Guotou was right. The Red Lantern Lady can perceive everything within a ten-li radius of the red lantern. As long as Miss White Wine got outside that range before the Red Lantern Lady arrived, there wouldn't be a problem.

With this thought, he quickly crouched before the old shopkeeper, whispering, "Shopkeeper, are you alright?"

SWOOSH!

In response to Hu Ma's inquiry, the old shopkeeper suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Hu Ma, as if trying to discern the answers to all his questions with that single look.

After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice somewhat deep, "What exactly happened in the Manor just now?"

Facing the old shopkeeper's direct gaze, Hu Ma did not evade, also meeting his eyes, his expression slightly somber.

After a moment, he replied calmly, "Why the rush, Shopkeeper? We can talk when we get back."

The old shopkeeper, initially filled with skepticism, now felt a pang of guilt under Hu Ma's gaze, and the doubt that had filled his eyes slowly receded.

Hu Ma's current indifference conveyed an inner calm, yet it was the detachment and coldness within that very calmness that made the old shopkeeper feel slightly ashamed.

While saying to discuss it later, Hu Ma showed no intention of helping the old shopkeeper up.

He merely held the red lantern and stood aside. He watched as the severely injured old shopkeeper struggled to get up, failing several times and falling awkwardly, until Sister Wu He ran over and managed to help his weak body upright.

Behind Hu Ma, Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu stared at Sister Wu He's current appearance as if they had seen a ghost.

Coupled with the gruesomeness and severed limbs around them, they were even more shocked than when Hu Ma had first seen Sister Wu He.

"Datong, Liangzi, Zhuzi, turn around!"

Hu Ma noticed Sister Wu He, supporting the old shopkeeper, grow deeply ashamed under the gazes of Zhou Datong and the others, tears welling in her eyes.

He understood how a girl like her, always known for her beauty, would feel. Who would want others to see such an unsightly and grotesque side of themselves?

So, his expression darkened, and he ordered loudly, "Also, remember this: what happened tonight is a major affair of the Red Lantern Society!

"The Red Lantern Lady witnessed it herself. None of you are to breathe a single word of it to anyone.

"And after you sleep tonight, forget everything completely."

Zhou Datong was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly turned the other two around, none daring to look back.

Wu He didn't understand why Hu Ma had suddenly given such an order, but hearing his words, her heart couldn't help but soften.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She couldn't quite describe this sudden urge to cry, nor did she fully grasp that Hu Ma's small actions, in fact, conveyed respect.

As the footsteps of the old shopkeeper and Sister Wu He faded into the distance, Zhou Datong couldn't help but ask cautiously, "Brother Ma Zi, what on earth happened?"

"Don't ask for now. This matter is quite serious," Hu Ma instructed them in a low voice. "Hurry back, then call out everyone from the Manor to clean up this area.

"I'll explain the details when I get the chance!"

After saying this, they returned to the Manor together. Ordinarily, such a gruesome site would need someone to stand guard.

But it was the middle of the night; who would dare?

Even Hu Ma himself felt uneasy about staying there, so he didn't make Zhou Datong, Liang, or Zhu suffer through it.

Once back at the Manor, he called out the other attendants who were hiding inside, shivering. He told them to light torches and cordon off the area for the people from the town to investigate.

After all, although the Red Lantern Lady had inquired, she had only done so briefly. Others would still need to come. Hu Ma himself hung the red lantern back at the Manor entrance, then grabbed his saber and strode boldly into the inner courtyard.

The old shopkeeper was already wrapped head to toe in bandages, looking extremely listless.

The physical fortitude of a Shousui man was renowned among all Paths; sustaining such severe injuries was rare.

Upon seeing Hu Ma enter, the old shopkeeper's eyes flickered as if wanting to ask something.

But Hu Ma didn't wait for him to ask. He looked directly at the old shopkeeper and said, "Tonight, I finally understood what death tastes like."

As he spoke, he pulled up his sleeve, revealing his mangled arm and the marks of his wounds.

The old shopkeeper watched, his eyes narrowing slightly, the questions he wanted to ask momentarily suppressed.

Hu Ma stood straight, looking at the old shopkeeper, his voice exceptionally calm. "Shopkeeper, you told me to guard the lantern, saying it was your last resort. So, I protected it with my life.

"You told me to hide within this Formation, so I did. You said the paper charm you gave me could save my life at a critical moment. I didn't even think of myself; I stuck it on the lantern."

His voice grew louder as he spoke, appearing forthright, yet with an undercurrent of uncontainable resentment. "I grew up in a village. I'm not one for complicated thoughts. I just figured that since you treated me well, Shopkeeper, and the task you entrusted to me was so important, I would risk my life to accomplish it for you.

"But..." He paused at this point, then said in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, I'm not a fool.

"If the Red Lantern Lady hadn't been alerted and descended personally, my life would likely have been forfeit because of you."

These things Hu Ma declared so loudly were precisely what Shopkeeper Wu Hong wanted to know.

The Shopkeeper had many questions. How had the Red Lantern Lady been summoned when he hadn't taught Hu Ma the method? He had only taught Hu Ma how to enter the ghost gate, not how to leave it. How had Hu Ma survived?

Yet now, hearing Hu Ma's words, his questions were answered, and for a moment, he dared not meet Hu Ma's gaze.

"My skills were taught by you, Shopkeeper. Whatever you ask of me, I will not refuse."

And it was only then that Hu Ma raised his head to look at the Shopkeeper, saying, "I just have one question I haven't been able to figure out...

"...Why didn't you tell me directly, Shopkeeper?

"Even if you had told me outright, I wouldn't have refused your instructions..."

This final question not only caused complex emotions to flicker across the old shopkeeper's grim face, but a sudden sound of water splashing also came from the side room. Sister Wu He's voice, choked with tears and barely restrained, called out, "Brother Hu Ma..."

"...It's us... we've wronged you!"

This cry seemed to drain the last bit of spirit from the old shopkeeper as well.

He waved his hand weakly towards Hu Ma and said, "Say no more...

"This old hide of mine has already been stripped away. What else is there to say to preserve my dignity?"