Twilight Boundary

"Lying low?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ma and Sweet Potato were slightly surprised. Only Miss White Wine remained silent, as if she had already anticipated it.

Er Guotou's voice was surprisingly serious as he said, "Yes, stop all collaborations. No matter how good the opportunity, refrain from acting for now. Even the usual Reincarnator calls and connections must cease.

"I suppose you have all guessed the reason.

"The Tongyin Meng family has arrived in Mingzhou City and is currently staying in Zhu Gate Town. It seems this rascal intends to linger for a while."

"..."

"Just because of them?"

Sweet Potato, quick with words, voiced the question Hu Ma was wondering: "Could the Tongyin Meng family really uncover the secret of the Reincarnators?"

"Not certain, but caution is paramount."

When Er Guotou wasn't joking, his voice carried a certain sternness. He said in a low voice, "Logically speaking, even the Ten Families could not fathom our Reincarnators' ability to exchange information through dreams. But regardless, caution is wise. After all, quite a few Reincarnators have indeed been purged by the Ten Surnames before..."

"Purged?"

Even as he listened, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a slight chill in his heart.

If it were just one or two Reincarnators caught off guard due to carelessness, it would be understandable. But according to Er Guotou, there were actually quite a few incidents?

Before he could ask, Miss White Wine spoke, "He is absolutely right."

"Remember this, not just here, but also in the future. Wherever there are members of the Ten Families, be extra cautious."

"..."

Hu Ma caught this warning. Just as he was about to agree, he heard Sweet Potato let out an "Oh," and he restrained himself.

Inwardly, he also let out an "Oh."

Miss White Wine, after agreeing with this matter, then said, "But it's strange when you say it. Wasn't the Meng family here to issue Incense Orders?

"In earlier years, Incense Orders were occasionally issued to some powerful evil spirits to assist them in receiving incense offerings.

"But given the Meng family's status, they would issue them and then move on, always elusive. Why have they decided to stay this time?

"Moreover, isn't your Red Lantern Society planning to take action against the Green Clothes Gang as well?

"I also have some assets that need to be relocated promptly."

"..."

Could it be she's thinking of taking advantage of the chaos instead of relocating?

Seeing Miss White Wine and Er Guotou discuss serious matters, Hu Ma just listened, quietly pondering.

Even though collaboration among Reincarnators had to be temporarily halted, based on this information, Miss White Wine would likely gain something by taking advantage of the Red Lantern Society swallowing the Green Clothes Gang.

While he was dutifully learning from the operations of the older folks, Er Guotou's answer puzzled him. "The strangeness lies here," Er Guotou said. "According to earlier rules, since the Green-clothed Evil Ghost lost, it should no longer have the qualification to establish itself in Mingzhou Prefecture.

"The Green Clothes Gang's bet of a blood food mine in this duel should, of course, be taken. Their other businesses and even their personnel should also be taken over by the Red Lantern Society one by one.

"Even the green-clothed children he raised would be killed without exception, to prevent any deceitful retaliation.

"But in this duel, although the Red Lantern Society indeed won, the actions that should have been taken were actually halted by someone from the Meng family."

"..."

Once this was said, everyone was surprised. "Halted?"

"Yes."

Er Guotou's voice was filled with doubt. He said in a low voice, "Having won the duel, Red Lantern Lady had the opportunity to build a temple in Zhu Gate Town, which goes without saying.

"But more importantly, taking over the Green Clothes Gang's blood food mine and all their branches has not progressed. Now, the Green Clothes Gang has only handed over a few blood food mines used as its bet, keeping all other assets. Not a single green-clothed child was killed... This indicates that the Green-clothed Evil Ghost's strength wasn't diminished at all!

"But surprisingly, Red Lantern Lady had no objections to this.

"Such a breach of rules can only mean that a person from the Tongyin Meng family intervened, and the Lady dared not refuse."

"..."

Miss White Wine remained silent for a moment before saying, "What status does the Green-clothed Evil Ghost hold that warrants such leniency from the Tongyin Meng family?"

Hu Ma thought about it, listening more and speaking less.

Suddenly, Sweet Potato cautiously chimed in, "Or perhaps there is a use for it?"

Hu Ma immediately nodded inwardly. The Green-clothed Evil Ghost had lost, yet Red Lantern Lady was not permitted to eradicate it completely. This left only one possibility: the Meng family intended to command it.

"Everyone..."

At this point, Er Guotou took a deep breath and said, "The above information is merely a friendly gesture.

"However, what I am about to say involves some extremely risky secrets.

"Hearing this means you'll owe me a favor."

"..."

With these words, everyone perked up their ears. Er Guotou seemed to wait a moment, seeing if anyone would leave the connection, before he continued,

"The Meng family indeed plans to employ that Green-clothed Evil Ghost.

"Even though I didn't dare eavesdrop when they spoke, being close to the Lady, I managed to glean a little.

"That Meng family member probably gave the Green-clothed Evil Ghost a covert order to find someone. Not only was this Green-clothed Evil Ghost to use all its own Mana and influence in Mingzhou City to help find this person, but Red Lantern Lady was also instructed to fully cooperate with this Evil Ghost during the search."

"..."

"Looking for someone? Going to such lengths, even employing the second-ranked Great Evil Spirit in Mingzhou Prefecture for this search?"

This question unexpectedly startled everyone present. Sweet Potato blurted out, "Could they be looking for us Reincarnators?"

"I considered that possibility but dismissed it."

Er Guotou slowly said, "Logically, in the entire Mingzhou Prefecture, the only entities worthy of the Meng family's attention would be us Reincarnators.

"But I soon felt it wasn't so.

"The reason is simple too: What is a Green-clothed Evil Ghost worth? If the Meng family is truly looking for us, wouldn't sending it be underestimating us?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hu Ma was stunned for a moment. There's some damn sense in that, he thought.

Suddenly talking about the Green-clothed Evil Ghost and Red Lantern Lady is indeed rather terrifying; they are unpredictable, irresistible entities. But compared with the status of Reincarnators, they seem less significant. How did that saying go? Who are the strongest evil spirits in Mingzhou Prefecture now? ...The four attending this meeting!

However, if the Meng family wasn't searching for Reincarnators, then who could be so important that they would remain here, even dispatching a Green-clothed Evil Ghost to search?

At that moment, Er Guotou, Miss White Wine, and Sweet Potato were all speculating.

Only Hu Ma fell silent. Yet, given that he seldom spoke during this conversation, it wasn't particularly odd.

He was just listening to the information Er Guotou shared, and a somewhat frightening possibility slowly emerged in his mind.

Could the Meng family actually be looking for *me*? Or, to put it another way, are they here to find the descendants of the Hu Family?

After seeing that ceremonial procession earlier, he was almost entirely convinced that this Tongyin Meng family was indeed the enemy Granny had spoken of concerning the Hu Family. While Hu Ma didn't know much else, he could see that the Meng family's procession bore some resemblance to the one Granny had when she returned to the ancestral hall. Both sides seemed to reflect a peculiar unity on some level. And when it came down to true enemies, it was often only when both sides were evenly matched that such a designation was fitting...

Of course, I lack concrete evidence, but it's not wrong to think in this direction first. However, if the Meng family is truly here to find me, why would it become so convoluted?

When Granny left earlier, she didn't instruct me to go into hiding. So, I simply proceeded step by step, joined the Red Lantern Society to learn skills, transforming myself into a living person incrementally.

Logically, if the Meng family had entered Old Yin Mountain to find out about Dayang Village, it should have been easy to locate me. Since they had once sent a Great Evil Spirit into Old Yin Mountain to harm my previous self, they seemed unlikely not to know about Dayang Village's existence. Why, then, has finding me now become so complicated?

Moreover, if they are indeed trying to deploy the Green-clothed Evil Ghost to find me, what method would it use?

At this moment, his mind became somewhat muddled.

The information he currently held was still too scarce. He had this suspicion in his heart, yet he couldn't analyze it properly.

And if Hu Ma couldn't figure it out, neither could Er Guotou and the others. In the end, it was Miss White Wine who let out a light sigh and said,

"Either way, whoever the Meng family seeks must not be someone simple. We should all be extra careful.

"What's certain is that since the Meng family entrusted the task to the Green-clothed Evil Ghost, it means they definitely don't know who their target is.

"Moreover, they likely don't want to cause a big stir; otherwise, with a single word from them, the entire prefecture would help in the search.

"So, let's just silently observe the situation. Some inconsistencies should emerge over time."

"..."

Er Guotou and Sweet Potato nodded in agreement. Hu Ma also pondered briefly and softly sighed, "Indeed!"

Ultimately, the four could only set aside the second issue for now, firmly agreeing to temporarily lie low and stop all connections and collaborations.

Sweet Potato eagerly asked, "Seniors, who are you in reality?"

"I only know that Senior Er Guotou and Senior Old White are in the Red Lantern Society, but I don't know who *you* are."

"If we can't communicate in dreams, could we pass messages in reality if something happens...?"

"..."

Upon hearing her words, the three were taken aback for a moment, then responded with faint, dismissive laughter.

Er Guotou chuckled, saying, "Those of us who've been in this for a long time never reveal our true identities to anyone else.

"Don't believe me? Ask your Senior Old White..."

"..."

What could Hu Ma say? He could only speak in a hoarse voice, letting out a dry laugh. "Yes."

He quickly disconnected, lay back on his bed, and exhaled a long sigh. Are the Meng family really here to find me? he couldn't help feeling anxious.