Twilight Boundary

"Wherever there's a disturbance, the Ghost Walker will go there..."

Listening to the simple words of the old man leading the cow beside him, Hu Ma felt his heart waver.

Granny had returned to the ancestral hall over a year ago, and he had adapted to life in the Blood Food Gang, centered around harvesting Tai Sui Blood and Flesh for survival. Gradually, he had even forgotten about those like Granny, who walked between villages every day, expelling ghosts and evil for people.

In the Blood Food Gang, there were very few Ghost Walkers. Those that occasionally appeared were entirely different from Granny in demeanor.

They had become people who helped the Blood Food Gang make money and solve problems, losing the rustic charm of village life.

"Brother Huma..."

A small, cold hand intertwined with Hu Ma's palm as Little Hongtang returned as well. Hu Ma asked in a low voice, "Little Hongtang, was it you who notified these Ghost Walkers?"

Little Hongtang paused, shook her head, and said, "No, I ran for a long time, then just spoke to Grandpa Mountain Lord, and came back!"

Not Little Hongtang?

Hu Ma was also slightly stunned. The Ghost Walkers said a little ghost had been sent by someone to deliver a message, and upon learning of the disturbance here, they came over. He had initially thought it was Little Hongtang...

But if it wasn't Little Hongtang, who could it be?

Amidst his confusion, seeing the Ghost Walkers greeting each other cheerfully, he suddenly had an epiphany.

Perhaps this question was no longer important. Maybe it was just that while I was overwhelmed, a passing Ghost Walker noticed, sent a little ghost to inform others, just like how when someone in the village had trouble, they'd naturally report it back. One Ghost Walker received the news, then sent another little ghost, and so word spread. Soon, all the Ghost Walkers within a hundred-mile radius had received the message, gathered their belongings, and come here.

But... Hu Ma felt a bit puzzled and murmured, "Little Hongtang, I'm not sure, why did they come? Aren't they worried about provoking even greater trouble with this disturbance?"

"..."

"Ghost Walkers don't think about such things."

Little Hongtang looked at the figures gathering from the mountain roads, her braids bouncing as she spoke clearly, "Granny said Ghost Walkers are people who make a living along the boundaries. Wherever the boundaries are chaotic, that's where they'll go!"

"..."

Boundaries? Hu Ma pondered. The twilight boundary splitting the world in two?

Suddenly, he understood, and a vague, indescribable emotion surged within him.

Twilight was the boundary, dividing yin and yang. This world was rife with evil spirits, especially at night when they became rampant, and the living dared not step outside their Yang Mansions. Yet, amid the chaos, people still had to live. They survived because this boundary existed; however powerful the evil spirits, they could only emerge at night. During the day, this world still belonged to the living. They could take advantage of the daytime to farm, work, harvest Tai Sui, and maintain their lives, allowing this world to remain one of the living. This boundary was the lifeline of the living.

But there were always powerful evil spirits and some high and mighty individuals with great mana, who could obscure the sun with clouds or merely have their Evil Ghosts blow a breath, disrupting this boundary. This would turn day into night, allowing evil spirits to reign, making this place no longer a world for the living, and dooming those who struggled to survive... But no matter how much those powerful entities didn't care, there were always those who did. These Ghost Walkers did not know what was happening here or whose shadow was behind it all. They simply saw the chaos and came. The reason was so simple it was hard for someone like me, a Reincarnator, to believe. Didn't any of them realize that such a sudden disturbance was highly unnatural and likely the work of something beyond their power limits? They simply didn't think about it; they came because there was a disturbance here. Just because of one simple truth: In a chaotic, bitter world, without lending a hand, survival is impossible.

Hu Ma couldn't describe the emotions stirring within him at that moment. He only felt that the fatigue, dizziness, and resentment accumulated over the past few days were suddenly dispelled by some force.

He had trusted Granny before yet did not understand her. He had always been wary and distant from this world. He would feel angry at those who disregarded people's lives and deaths, but deep down, there were times when he vaguely felt that there was nothing wrong with what they did. A Reincarnator came from an era of information explosion; I've seen everything, haven't I? Yet until this moment, I had not seen the most fundamental truths of this world. I feel as if struck by this most simple, ancient thing...

In this chaotic world, there are always people doing something...

Understanding this, the fatigue on Hu Ma's face seemed to dissipate. He quietly said, "Boundaries weren't born there naturally."

"Let's go, Little Hongtang, and lend a hand."

Little Hongtang watched Hu Ma, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she nodded vigorously.

Together, they followed the Ghost Walkers gathering from all around towards the hill.

At that moment, it seemed there were no Reincarnators, no little shopkeeper from the Red Lantern Lady's Club, only the grandson of the Walking Ghost Granny from Dayang Village, accompanied by a little ghost.

When they arrived at the foot of the hill, they found that seven or eight people had already gathered there.

They were Ghost Walkers from various regions, dressed in various styles and attires. If they shared one common trait, it was that they all looked relatively poor because they usually traveled through the fringes of villages, where there was little to gain.

Er Guotou had mentioned that being a Ghost Walker was a costly Path, but these people didn't seem to have money to burn.

Now, these people had gathered from afar around a grave on the slope.

Called a grave, it looked merely like a small earthen mound, half-collapsed, faintly revealing the decaying coffin inside. The strange part was the occasional black smoke billowing from it. To the naked eye, it was indistinct; only through peripheral vision could it be glimpsed, constantly simmering, never ceasing.

I don't know why they all came to this place, Hu Ma thought. Over the past few days, there have been endless disturbances in various villages. I've been running around rescuing people; my head is spinning. An abnormality like black smoke emerging from a grave isn't even high on my list of priorities. But these Ghost Walkers, upon arriving, found this place immediately. They presumably have a good reason.

Among the crowd, an old man holding a tobacco pipe whispered to the person beside him, "There's always a root cause for disturbances. I reckon this grave is the problem; the evil is spreading from here."

"That's it," a middle-aged woman with a flower in her hair said loudly. "This grave is evil. It's disrupting the paths around here, even drawing in other disturbances. If we don't seal it first, the people around here won't find peace."

Other Ghost Walkers in the crowd nodded in agreement with their assessment.

Someone suggested, "Then let's seal this source of trouble first, then spread out to expel the evil spirits. Shall we begin?"

"Whoever has a technique, use it!"

"..."

"Let's get to work!"

The crowd stirred, shouting loudly.

From the back of the crowd, Hu Ma watched them and noticed that these Ghost Walkers had varying skills. Some were quite skilled, holding traditional items like suonas and bells resembling Magic Artifacts.

But there were also those who seemed to have no cultivation. They might just be witches or Divine Men familiar with disturbances and spirit suppression, like Grandpa Old Yangpi from Python Village in Old Yin Mountain.

Yet none showed fear, nor did they compete or hold back, just cheerfully discussing how to help.

Someone asked, "The evil spirit leaks through earth veins, water veins, and qi veins, affecting the surrounding feng shui. Which type does this grave belong to?"

Someone else replied, "There's no time for that; seal them all to be safe."

"I'll seal the earth veins first!"

Upon hearing this, someone volunteered and started pulling out their things. One person took a Bone Wand and drew talismans on the ground around the grave. Then, they poured some ashes from a shoulder pole, circled the grave with them, and lit the ashes to burn slowly.

Everyone pinched their noses. "Manure?"

The Ghost Walker sealing the earth veins glared. "It's mixed with Black Tai Sui—manure that's been fermented in a pigsty for three years!"

"Isn't it still manure?"

With no alternative, they sighed. "Who has a trump card to seal the qi veins?"

Upon hearing the shout, the same middle-aged woman said, "I have one! Help me pull the string."

She took a red ball of thread from her pouch, and the surrounding people lent a hand. First, they chopped some wood nearby and set up a frame around the grave. Then, she fixed the thread to the frame, held one end, and circled the grave while chanting. After she had circled it several times, layers of red thread encased the grave, even lessening the manure's stench.

"Let me seal its water veins!"

An old man emerged from the crowd, holding out some nails that were rusted on top but polished shiny at the bottom. He boasted to those around him, "See what's inlaid in these nails? Yin Bone Jade! This is what my grandfather got from burning a drought ba that had achieved cultivation; it counters water best. When I nail these in the four cardinal directions, we'll see if it can still cause trouble!"

This grave mound must be the spot where the Yellow Immortal's breath landed, Hu Ma realized. I've been busy for days without knowing the breath had settled here. I didn't even realize such a breath, when blown over, would find a place to land and form a source of trouble. Even if I had known, I probably wouldn't have found a way to seal it. However, these people, with their varying levels of cultivation, are rich in experience and sealed it easily amidst laughter.

Watching them burn talismans and chant over the grave mound, Hu Ma felt a surge of enthusiasm and wanted to help.

"You're the little shopkeeper from the Blood Food Gang, aren't you?"

But the people there found him to be in the way and pushed him out. Many examined him, smiling. "How long since you last slept?"

"You'd better take a rest!"

"Before, when this place was watched over by the Blood Food Gang, we weren't willing to come. But look now, the Blood Food Gang isn't just full of money-grubbing scoundrels after all..."