Twilight Boundary

Was it just being called a good person?

Being praised by these Ghost Walkers, Hu Ma felt a strange sense of emotion well up inside him. Thinking about how his busy efforts over the past few days were noticed by others, he felt this was worth more than any verbal praise. He even felt a sense of pride.

Previously, he was handling these matters because there was no one else to do it. For things he could handle and those he couldn't, he had no choice but to brace himself and tackle them. He had no idea when it would end. Issues kept emerging here and there, leaving him exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes that looked like he'd been punched. But now that these Ghost Walkers had arrived, his confidence suddenly surged.

He watched as these Ghost Walkers sealed the three yin qi veins emitting from the grave, then moved on to other places. At that moment, the gloomy skies of the past few days seemed to brighten.

Even now, disturbances from evil spirits continued in the surrounding villages, appearing from time to time. But no matter how many there were, they couldn't outnumber these enthusiastic Ghost Walkers. Their methods of dealing with the evil spirits were far more varied than his, and they handled them with an ease that was almost like a simple art form.

For the group of children who wouldn't stop crying, Hu Ma had made three trips to help them, fearing they would cry themselves sick or damage their eyes. Each time, he could only barely calm them using the Four Ghosts Salute dharma method. However, after a while, they'd start crying again, even more fiercely than before. It was heartbreaking, but there was no solution in sight.

But when these Ghost Walkers came, it only took an old woman. She asked for a bowl of clear water and silently recited over it. After a while, she had someone bring the bowl, divided the water, and fed it to the children. With just a mouthful of water, they calmed down—not only did they stop crying, but they peacefully fell asleep.

In a house plagued by evil spirits, furniture shook continuously. Any approach would elicit ghostly howls, and sometimes things would even be thrown at people. Hu Ma had visited twice, but each time he entered, everything calmed, and he saw nothing. However, once Hu Ma left, the crying would soon resume.

Yet an old man with a plaster on his forehead merely came by. He instructed people to burn four incense sticks in the northwest corner, drew a circle with pot soot beside the incense, and then left. No one knew what happened, only that the house ceased to be haunted.

In another village near Old Yin Mountain, the men walked with sullen faces, like lost souls. Others noticed something was wrong, but when asked, each man just shook his head silently. An experienced old man, invited by the women of the village, circled it and then stopped, pointing at a peach tree at the village entrance. "Was this tree here before?" he asked.

The question was like a wake-up call. Only then did the villagers realize that despite passing by countless times, they'd never seen a tree there! Yet this tree had suddenly appeared, and nobody had thought it strange. Could it be that this tree was causing the problems with the men in the village?

"Haha, this is easy to solve." The old man tilted his head, examined the tree with a sneer, and said to the villagers, "Find a male donkey in heat and tie it to the tree."

"If she can last a day without leaving, I'll call her 'Grandma'..."

"..."

"..."

On this day, Hu Ma witnessed many techniques of the Ghost Walkers—various ingenious ideas, tricks, and folk methods that truly opened his eyes.

How to describe it? It seemed to Hu Ma that for Ghost Walkers to improve their skills in this line of work, besides burning money, they also had to be incredibly resourceful...

Of course, there were serious methods as well. In a village with severe disturbances from evil spirits, a Ghost Walker burned paper money, swaying up and down as he walked the village streets, chanting, "The dead return to earth, souls go to heaven, descendants will be safe and sound. O deceased, do not steal the fortunes of your offspring; your descendants honor you with paper money..."

Someone took a basin of ash and daubed a mark on the foreheads of the villagers, claiming it would prevent them from being tainted by evil. Someone else instructed people to chop down pine and cypress trees and burn them at the east and west ends of the village, saying this would keep the evil spirits out.

This was a completely different type of skill from the Shousui man's—simple and strange. Each Ghost Walker seemed to possess their own unique trump cards, yet they all appeared to follow certain ancient, mysterious rules.

"Brother Ma Zi, all the villages have quieted down. What should we... what should we do now?" Zhou Datong and the others finally freed their hands and gathered around Hu Ma.

Previously, when handling these evil spirits, Hu Ma wouldn't let them separate from him, but as they got busier, they eventually split up. With so many issues in various villages, they had to divide into three groups: Hu Ma with Little Hongtang; Zhou Datong and Zhao Zhu leading one; and Zhou Liang with a crew following Li. They ran back and forth among the villages until they were covered in dust and grime.

Li's group fared decently, but Zhou Datong and Zhao Zhu's group had exhausted all their prepared supplies, like pot soot and dog's blood. In the end, they resorted to drinking copious amounts of water, holding their urine, and when encountering disturbances, they'd pull down their pants and urinate on the source... But they drank so much water that their child's urine became diluted, greatly reducing its potency.

Seeing their tired faces, Hu Ma noticed Zhou Datong also bore two large dark circles—his weren't just from fatigue; an evil spirit possessing someone had actually punched him in the eye.

"I know everyone is tired, but bear with it for now," Hu Ma whispered to them. "These are all kind-hearted people who came to help us. We also need to look after them and lend a hand where we can."

Zhou Datong and the others quickly agreed, rushing off with renewed vigor. Luckily, they were young and strong; otherwise, they couldn't have sustained it.

As for Hu Ma, he procured a horse from the Manor and, taking Little Hongtang, toured the villages. The disturbances from evil spirits had subsided considerably, yet he dared not become complacent.

***

"How about it?"

Meanwhile, on the wild hill outside Zhu Men Town, Great Incense Master Zheng, the Green-Clothed Child, and their companions were also starting to show signs of exhaustion, especially the Green-Clothed Child. Great Incense Master Zheng, fortunately, had meals delivered—and quite lavish ones too—along with his liquor. Whenever hungry, he ate; when tired, he slept. But the Green-Clothed Children, under the strict rules of Old Master Qingyi, could only kneel nearby, neither eating nor drinking, enduring their hardship.

Little ghosts, running back and forth, reported the situations in various places, and their expressions grew cold. Many of them stared gloomily at Great Incense Master Zheng. "Your idea wasn't too good, huh? Coaxing Old Master Qingyi to use his great Mana to create chaos in those places, but now what?" one of them said. "This 'slow simmering' of yours—what has it actually produced?"

"..."

"This is exactly the timing we've been waiting for..." Great Incense Master Zheng had just woken from a nap on a rock. Obviously, sleeping in the wild hills wasn't comfortable. He sat up, looking at the Green-Clothed Children whose faces had turned sallow. Battered by the mountain winds for days, they looked like corpses. With a slight hint of apology, he smiled and said, "I'm a Ghost Walker. Surely I understand what this kind of situation would attract? Or do you think, Senior Brothers, that our Benefactor wouldn't know the consequences of us stirring up such chaos?"

"..."

The expressions of the kneeling Green-Clothed Children changed slightly. "What do you mean?" one asked.

Incense Master Zheng smiled, but it was a smile devoid of joy, his expression merely dejected. "For this assignment, our Benefactor gave us too few instructions. He said nothing specific, only that we should use our true skills. But what skills do we possess that could possibly catch his Dharma Eye? We can, at most, just stir up a bit of trouble. But since he has no objections to our methods, it proves he intended to use this approach to draw that person out... Previously, I didn't understand where our Benefactor's confidence came from, but now, I think I'm starting to get it..."

"..."

The group of Green-Clothed Children glanced at each other. Great Incense Master Zheng had already stood up, once again picking up the branch he had previously used as a Wooden Sword.

"Why do you think our Benefactor spared Old Master Qingyi after he lost the duel, and even gave him such great benefits?" His hair was disheveled, and his expression somewhat withered. As he spoke, his eyes seemed to flicker with ghostly fire as he asked, "Why do you think someone like me, who broke the rules by intervening in front of the Benefactor, wasn't punished but was instead given this opportunity?"

"Because there are some things the Benefactor cannot do."

"Only an Evil Ghost defeated in a duel, and a scoundrel like me with no way out, can bear such a reputation! We are to become the demon people who bring disaster to Mingzhou Prefecture... And you all are still foolishly abiding by the rules, not eating or drinking! Haha, soon you might never have the chance to eat or drink again..."

As he spoke, he suddenly swung the branch, pointing fiercely forward, exclaiming, "Green-Clothed Evil Ghost! Senior Brothers! We have no choice. Let's unleash our true abilities and make this chaos bigger, fiercer! Perhaps if this task is done to his satisfaction, the Benefactor might still grant us a path to survival..."

"..."

"..."

In Yellow Dog Village, a Ghost Walker arrived due to the unrest caused by a man who had hanged himself. He burned incense outside the house, facing the interior as he knelt and kowtowed. He then sprinkled rice inwards, stepping forward with each handful. By the time he reached the house, the yin qi had significantly lessened. Smiling, he said, "Brother, it's time to move on. I know you harbor grievances, but it's tough staying in the world of the living. It's better to depart sooner..."

"..."

Saying this, he walked into the house. Because those who die by hanging often harbor grievances, his methods were gentle; he intended to persuade, not to use harsh measures. Moreover, he could sense that the yin qi inside wasn't so heavy anymore. So, he confidently took a step inside, a smile on his face. But as soon as he crossed the threshold, he suddenly saw a pair of cold eyes within the room.

Startled, he hadn't uttered a word before a man with a small, skyward-pointing pigtail, wearing turquoise pants, his face ashen and fierce as an Evil Ghost, suddenly rushed at him, biting into his throat with its blood-red maw.

When the bloodcurdling screams rang out from the village, Hu Ma was patrolling a neighboring one. Hearing the commotion, his expression changed drastically. He leaped onto his swift horse and galloped towards that village.

Upon entering, he saw a Green-Clothed Child holding the head of a Ghost Walker. The child was sitting on a millstone in the village, baring sharp teeth and ravenously eating.

Hu Ma's eyes turned red instantly.