Chapter 15 Sure Enough, Roasted Sweet Potato is More Perceptive

Indeed, Roasted Sweet Potato thinks more clearly. If the baleful aura is so powerful, wouldn't we who snatched it also become powerful?

Everyone understood in their hearts that this time they would likely have to reveal their true skills. They also knew that each other possessed hidden trump cards, but they usually wouldn't show them.

Once the discussion was settled, they deliberated on a few more details, and then each retreated, the plan already underway.

Roasted Sweet Potato originally thought about shouting a few slogans, but the other three unanimously rejected it.

"Five altars of Five Banes, governing life, wealth, fortune, longevity, and luck, east, south, west, north, and center. Which altar should I choose to most safely accomplish the matter at hand?"

With a low sigh, Hu Ma went over his plan in his mind. He first called Li Wazi in to send a few words to Seventh Aunt, then told the other farmhands to stay put in the village, packed his own things, and prepared to leave.

He went to the stables to take a look, but instead of the horse, he led out the donkey he had brought back from Wutong Town. Seeing the horse looking at him with resentful eyes, he smiled apologetically and comforted it, "This trip isn't dangerous, really."

The horse, upon hearing this, turned its big head to the side, ignoring him.

Hu Ma could only smile helplessly, and then instructed a passing farmhand to add a pot of good wine to its feed later. Then, leading the unwilling donkey, he strolled out of the village.

As he left, he also used the simple disguising technique he had learned from Steward Zhou to alter his appearance.

"You're lucky you ran into kind-hearted folks like us. If you barged in recklessly, you'd probably be beaten to death. But if you're a zougui person, I'd like to ask, do you know how to help people see a doctor or treat evil spirits?"

Hu Ma laughed and said, "I've been a zougui practitioner since I was a child, following my family's old woman. Later, when the old woman passed away, I continued on my own. Thirty years, you can go to Old Yin Mountain and ask around. My reputation as Doctor Sheepskin is still known for miles around."

""

The villagers were taken in by his bluff, looking at each other in dismay. Then, a bolder person came over and said, "Are you really a zougui doctor? To be honest, we don't allow strangers into our village right now."

Casting a wary glance inside, he saw that the village was not large but well-organized, with a green-walled ancestral hall and willow trees in front of it, and an ancient well in the village, indicating that it was a place with a long history.

However, with the baleful altars raised, they could affect Mingzhou if successful, or directly impact Old Yin Mountain if they failed. Choosing so carefully showed that the Mountain Lord's worries were correct; these people had ill intentions from the start.

After all, with a powerful enemy nearby, one had to be careful.

"Are there any unprincipled zougui practitioners?"

This village was the place where Hu Ma had seen the Envoy of the Doom Bane come before. But now a day had passed. He was uncertain if he was still there. Before nightfall, he arrived at the entrance of the village and pretended to dismount to rest.

Hu Ma, covered in dust, led the donkey and smiled at an old man in front of him, saying, "Old sir, I'm a passing zougui practitioner. It's getting dark, and I'm afraid I won't be able to reach the next place."

But earlier, when he followed the Mountain Lord, the area where the Treasure-Snatching Man passed was filled with evil energy, a terrible sight. Why was this village so quiet?

Hu Ma had a plan in his mind, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply led the donkey and slowly walked into the village. With a slight turn of his eyes, he saw three or five old men sitting on the steps in front of the ancestral hall, looking up warily at Hu Ma.

This kind of village was isolated from the world, and few outsiders came, especially so late. Their vigilance was normal.

But upon hearing Hu Ma introduce himself as a zougui practitioner, their expressions changed, and they stood up and bowed to Hu Ma, saying, "Are you a proper zougui practitioner, guest?"

These old men had been watching Hu Ma's unfamiliar face warily since he entered the village, their attitude seeming unfriendly.

While thinking to himself, the donkey also slowed down. Now they were on the edge of Old Yin Mountain, the road undulating and rugged, making it impossible to run fast. Hu Ma let it be, slowly arriving in front of a village.

""

"I'm just asking, do you have any place to stay in this town?"

Having arrived here, they were very close to Old Yin Mountain.

Looking into the distance, he saw that every house in the village was closed, and the occasional oil lamp made it seem quiet and silent.

Twenty *li* away from the village, he was riding the donkey, looking like a thin, middle-aged man wearing a straw hat. He slapped the donkey's rump hard, and the donkey ran happily. After following the main road for most of the day, they had traveled fifty or sixty *li*.

Earlier, Hu Ma had watched a scene with the Mountain Lord and knew the routes of these Treasure-Snatching and Bane-Creating people. The locations of the five baleful altars were all not far from Old Yin Mountain, but strictly speaking, they were not within the territory of Old Yin Mountain.

""

Hu Ma feigned surprise and said, "I'm a zougui practitioner, I don't know how to see a doctor, but treating evil spirits is my specialty. I can take a look."

Hearing what he said, these people whispered to each other.

Someone said, "Da Niu probably has a disease, a zougui practitioner may not be able to cure it."

Someone else said, "His disease is evil, maybe he ran into a spirit. The zougui practitioners we hired before couldn't cure it, this one might be worth a try."

After discussing for a while, they finally invited Hu Ma to go into the village. Hu Ma also took the opportunity to inquire.

Upon asking, it matched the situation he had seen earlier using the Mountain Lord's eyes. Someone in this village had indeed had an accident. However, before he had only seen it without understanding the details, but now, through these villagers, he knew what had happened.

"It's all Da Niu's gluttony that caused the trouble."

An old man sighed and told Hu Ma about the strangeness in the village.

This Zhang Da Niu was a well-known rash man in the village, only twenty-five or six years old. He had been poor since childhood, but was naturally strong, standing eight feet tall and possessing a thousand pounds of strength in his arms.

When someone in the village slaughtered a pig, it would take three to five people to hold it down, but when he came, he would hold the pig down with one hand and stab it with a knife with the other, simple and crude.

And he was not only strong but also could eat. Usually, he could never get enough of cornbread and vegetable paste. When there were weddings and funerals, it was a rare opportunity to eat his fill.

Once, a wealthy man in the village joked with him, taking advantage of a pig slaughter to cut off ten or so pounds of raw meat for him. He took a knife and shaved off pieces, rubbing them with coarse salt, and swallowed them greedily.

And he still wasn't full, he drank two bowls of pig blood soup to fill the gaps!

The people in the village all said that he was born to be a soldier, killing bandits on the battlefield and being able to eat his fill.

But now, the person who had the accident in the village was precisely this rash man.

The story had to be told from three or four days ago, when a meat seller came to town. The man was pushing a wheelbarrow covered with a dirty cloth.

He came to the village and started beating a gong, attracting the villagers. Then, he suddenly unveiled the cloth.

Unexpectedly, the cart was filled with strips of fresh, tender meat. According to the meat seller, there was venison, pork, mutton, beef, rabbit meat, all kinds of meat.

Regardless of what kind of meat, it was one copper coin per pound, so cheap it was unbelievable.

The people in the village were not stupid and felt that there was a problem, hesitating to buy it. The meat seller didn't force them, just shouted under the willow tree in fits and starts. Other villagers could still resist, but the rash man was attracted.

He was gluttonous for meat, but he couldn't eat it a few times a year. Once, someone's chicken fell into the manure pit and drowned. When they found it, half of it was rotten, but he had to fish it out, wash it clean, and eat it.

What's more, looking at the pieces of bare, red and tempting meat on the cart?

Although he was short of money, he still took out two copper coins and bought two pounds of meat, brought it home, and started boiling water to stew it.

But he was too greedy. While cutting it, he first stuffed two pieces into his mouth.

After one bite, his eyes lit up. Before the pot was cooked, he had eaten it all, stuffing himself until he was clean. He hurriedly rummaged through the boxes and cabinets at home, took out all the rice in the house, rushed out of the village, caught up with the meat seller, and exchanged it for another twenty pounds.

When it was cooked in the pot, the aroma that wafted out was smelled by everyone in the village, and it was like torture, difficult to restrain themselves.

Hastily, some people went to find the meat seller, but he had already left without a trace. These villagers could only endure it, but the neighbors kept smelling the aroma of the meat, and couldn't sleep at night.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and got up, knocked on the rash man's door, intending to beg for a piece of meat.

But when they arrived at the rash man's house, they found that the meat he had bought had already been eaten, even the broth had been drunk clean. But where did that aroma come from?

"And then?"

After listening to the villagers' narration, Hu Ma asked curiously.

"And then..."

The old man who led the way sighed and said, "Come in and take a look, and you'll know."

While saying this, he pointed to a dilapidated house on the side of the road and said, "This is Da Niu's house, would you like to go in and take a look?"

Seeing that he seemed afraid to go in, Hu Ma smiled and said, "Okay."

Lifting the hem of his clothes, he pushed open the dilapidated wooden door and walked in. The moment he opened the door, the people who had led him here hurriedly took a few steps back, as if afraid of something inside.

They only stood outside, craning their necks and shouting into the house, "Da Niu's family, come out and greet us. We've hired a zougui doctor for you, who can save Da Niu's life."

"Creak"

After Hu Ma walked into the courtyard, the door of the main room was opened, and a thin, small woman came out, barely recognizable as a woman. She was followed by a child, cowering and hugging her leg, hiding behind her and looking at Hu Ma.

Hu Ma looked at her, frowned slightly, but then smiled and said gently, "I'm a zougui practitioner passing by. I heard that there was something wrong here, so I thought I'd come and take a look, maybe I can help."

(End of this chapter)