Twilight Boundary

"I..."

No matter how seasoned a veteran of the jianghu he was, once his throat was slashed, his fate was sealed.

Old Monkey stared wide-eyed at Hu Ma, his bony hands feebly trying to stem the flow of blood from his neck, but it gushed through his fingers.

His eyes, one clear and the other cloudy, struggled to focus on Hu Ma as if he wanted to speak. However, with his throat already slit, all he could manage was a gust of air before he slowly crumpled to the ground.

The once-infamous soul-calling beggar, one of the three scourges of Mingzhou Prefecture, died so powerlessly and wretchedly.

No matter how many tricks he had up his sleeve, when confronted by a Shousui man up close, he was no different from livestock awaiting slaughter.

"Ah?"

Young Master Lu was taken aback upon seeing his Junior Sister; he was already scared out of his wits. Then, he suddenly saw Hu Ma burst out of the Ancestral Hall, killing as effortlessly as slicing melons, even finishing Old Monkey with a single slash. He fell into a complete panic.

The Shousui man's skill in close combat was legendary.

The reason he had singled out Hu Ma among so many martial artists was that if he could subdue this person and keep him by his side, he would have a peerless guard and fear no one.

But now, not only had he failed to secure this guard, but he had also made an enemy who had already closed in.

Fortunately, at this moment, the instability of his Divine Soul, caused by Hu Ma's distant salute, began to settle. He hurriedly turned, shaking the white lantern up and down.

The martial artists under his control raised their blades and swords, forming a barrier in front of him, while he turned back to chant incantations at the paper man.

But just as his attention wavered, a wisp of yin qi suddenly pricked the air before him.

His Junior Sister's laughter sounded beside him, "Senior Brother, my apologies. I didn't realize he was a Shousui man. Our Soul Cutting Finger can't hold him..."

"If it can't hold him, then damn it, pick someone else! Like that one with the flying blade..."

Young Master Lu was both shocked and furious, finally understanding what had happened. It turned out his Junior Sister had been hiding in the Ancestral Hall, waiting for a chance to strike the Shousui man. She had stolen his conical hat and straw raincoat, put them on, and run out to ambush him.

But the target was a Shousui man, and the Soul Cutting Finger had a negligible effect on him. This realization only intensified Young Master Lu's throbbing headache.

Firstly, he found it bitterly ironic that his Junior Sister had picked, of all people, the Shousui man. Secondly, now that the Shousui man was charging at them, she should be teaming up with him to fight...

As for whether his Junior Sister had colluded with the Shousui man to harm him, that thought never even crossed his mind. He would break his head thinking and still not suspect these two were working together.

His greatest confusion now, however, was...

...since my Junior Sister had the chance to enter the old tomb, why would she deliberately come back out? Would she really risk missing the unearthing of treasures just to harm me?

Does she hate me that much?

As these thoughts raced through his mind, he rolled awkwardly to dodge the Yin Finger, simultaneously grabbing the lantern and tearing it apart.

WHOOSH...

The moths inside the lantern flew out. As they emerged, five or six human-shaped shadows could be faintly seen darting about fearfully. They instantly whipped up a gust of yin wind that swirled towards Hu Ma's face.

But it only slowed his steps for a moment before he braced himself and charged forward again.

In a head-on confrontation, a Shousui man was more terrifying than any ghost.

"Hero, spare my life..." Young Master Lu cried out as he fled, scrambling a few steps to the door of the Ancestral Hall.

It was unclear what he did, but the two paper men placed by the entrance suddenly stirred, drifting towards Hu Ma.

However, Hu Ma had long been thoroughly briefed by Gua Shao about Young Master Lu's specialty trump cards, especially the life-saving techniques he could deploy in a hurry. Each one had been analyzed in detail.

If one were unaware of the truth, seeing two paper men suddenly rushing at one's face would likely cause a fright. But knowing the truth, Hu Ma felt no fear at all.

He simply clamped his waist knife horizontally between his teeth.

With both hands now free, he executed a deathly thrust, piercing straight through the two paper men. Without pausing, his hands shot out and grabbed the shoulders of the fleeing Young Master Lu. His fingers tightened, digging into flesh and crushing bone.

Young Master Lu opened his mouth to scream, his face contorted in agony.

But before any sound could escape, a figure flickered before him, and his Junior Sister's charming yet sinister face appeared.

She quickly produced a stack of paper money and slapped it heavily onto his head.

Feeling the heavy, cold aura of the paper money, the cry of alarm died in Young Master Lu's throat, replaced by a despairing groan.

In the next moment, the yellow official paper mask clinging to his face was peeled off, revealing his deathly pale complexion.

It was impossible to tell how much resentment and despair he felt, but the paper money on his head took effect. His eyes rapidly dimmed, and the intense expression on his face quickly faded.

SWISH!

At that very moment, Hu Ma kicked the now-wooden Young Master Lu aside, retrieved his knife, and lunged towards the Junior Sister.

Seeing his murderous demeanor, the Junior Sister seemed terrified and screamed, "Brother, your grievances have nothing to do with me! If anything, I saved you..."

But Hu Ma paid her no heed, continuing his relentless assault. One slash landed on her arm, slicing off a long piece of her sleeve, exposing fair skin and a horrifying wound. Flesh split, and blood gushed out—a shocking sight.

...This cut had to be made; otherwise, it would look unprofessional.

Hu Ma had already arranged everything with Gua Shao. In the dream world, anything could be negotiated, but in reality, the act had to be utterly convincing.

To any outsider, Hu Ma was just another martial artist who had narrowly escaped being harmed by this Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair. Since he didn't know this "Junior Sister," there was no reason for him to hold back.

Even if no one was watching, the performance had to continue. In fact, even this wounding slash had been planned in advance. Gua Shao had said, "If you're going to cut me, cut my left arm. I need my right hand to retrieve the treasure and draw paper money!"

"But make sure you hold back. Don't dislocate my arm! I don't have the limb-dislocating skills of you Shousui men."

"..."

"Ouch..."

Wounded, the Junior Sister cried out, turned, and fled, simultaneously scattering a large handful of paper money.

Hu Ma knew this paper money was potent and quickly pulled back. Fortunately, a Shousui man's movements were as elusive as a phantom's, so he managed to avoid being hit on the head by the paper money.

But this delay allowed the distance between them to widen.

The Junior Sister rushed to the donkey cart, drew a small knife, and cut the reins. She slapped the donkey's rump, muttering something under her breath, then moved to the front of the cart and ripped off the black cloth covering the donkey's head.

Instantly, the donkey began to foam at the mouth, its hooves pawing violently at the ground. It looked utterly mad.

Hu Ma was just about to give chase when the donkey, panting heavily, charged head-on towards him. The sheer force of the large, crazed animal made even Hu Ma somewhat fearful, causing him to step back and engage it in a struggle with his knife.

Twisting his body to dodge the donkey's bite, he wrapped an arm around its neck.

After landing a couple of punches on the donkey's face, he used all his strength to wrestle it to the ground. He pinned it firmly, preventing it from rising. Man and donkey struggled for a long time until the donkey's frenzied energy gradually subsided and its struggling weakened.

Only then did Hu Ma turn and pull a needle from the donkey's rump. At last, the animal calmed down.

WHEW...

Taking several deep, ragged breaths, Hu Ma looked up. Little Hongtang was squatting nearby, chin cupped in her hands, watching him with wide eyes.

A monkey lay half-dead not far off, apparently having taken quite a beating from Little Hongtang.

Hu Ma asked, "What's wrong?"

Little Hongtang looked at him with pure admiration. "Brother Hu Ma is amazing! You even managed to beat this donkey..."

"?"

I didn't know what to say. Logically, Little Hongtang was genuinely praising me, but somehow it sounded like mockery.

"Just stay put and behave!" Hu Ma patted the donkey's head, then rose to survey the surroundings.

He saw that while he had been preoccupied with the donkey, Gua Shao had already spirited away the subdued Young Master Lu. After the yellow official paper mask was removed from Young Master Lu, the other martial artists in the area, who also had yellow paper on their faces, had stopped moving.

Hu Ma tore the yellow paper from their faces. He saw that they were staring blankly; even waving a finger in front of their eyes drew no reaction.

"They're wrecked."

Hu Ma sighed softly. These martial artists had fallen victim to a skill from the Execution Soul Path; their souls were already scrambled.

Even if the caster was dealt with, they had been reduced to imbeciles.

Perhaps, for the rest of their lives, they wouldn't even be able to eat or sleep, and I have no way to help them.

As for Young Master Lu's departure, that was something he and Gua Shao had planned long ago.

For Gua Shao, she had to turn back and deal with Senior Brother Lu. If she didn't subdue him, she wouldn't be able to obtain the treasure left by their Master.

"My Senior Brother is ruthless and wicked, yet incredibly naive..."

As Gua Shao spoke these words, even Hu Ma felt a flicker of surprise. She continued, "He merely thought Master favored me, gave me two of the three trump cards, and also passed on the information about the treasure's location here, along with the Ma Family descendant's bones and birth chart. He assumed it was settled that I would inherit this Path."

"What he didn't know is that our Path can only be inherited by one person. With three trump cards, missing even one makes it impossible to retrieve the treasure."

"Although Master doted on me, he showed no favoritism in this matter. So, essentially, between us two, the Senior Brother and Junior Sister, only by eliminating the other could the survivor be considered to have truly inherited all of Master's skills and thus be able to claim the treasure."

"I wasn't clear about this at first either. But as soon as I entered the old tomb, I understood. That's why I had to turn back and ask for your help. I absolutely had to take him down."

"..."

Gua Shao's cleverness lay in her ability to always fathom her Master's intentions. She had understood the true key to obtaining the treasure from early on.

But since she had to make a move, subduing her Senior Brother was the best strategy.

Killing him was not an option. If he were truly dead, she would only possess two trump cards and still be unable to get the treasure. Besides, if he were killed, Young Master Lu's family fortune would also be lost.

I've already taken many risks learning skills in a manor under the Red Lantern Society. I didn't expect that within their Execution Soul Path, the mutual scheming and harming meant that of two apprentices, only one was fated to live. That's an even greater risk...

Hu Ma thought silently for a moment, a chill running down his spine. He sighed softly and prepared to tidy up the scene and leave.

Suddenly, as he raised his head, his heart skipped a beat.

To his surprise, he saw a wooden-faced man standing outside the Ancestral Hall, holding half of the Evil Blade, tilting his head and appraising him.