Chapter 19 Sure Enough!

See?

Even before coming, Hu Ma had been worried that after he sent the young woman back to the Li family in Ghost Cave, they would take a liking to him and try to get him to be their son-in-law.

It was because of this worry that he wanted to contact the Reborners here as soon as he arrived in Anzhou.

Sure enough, the thing he was most worried about happened.

While he was a little dumbfounded, Xiang丫tou's face also turned red with shame, and she pushed Old Master Li.

Old Master Li also laughed and said to Hu Ma, "Just joking, little sir, don't mind it. I stay here all day and don't have many opportunities to talk to people."

"Besides, since Yu'er came back, it means that I lost the bet I made before. Although she is the eighth generation, she still has to continue to pay off the debts of the Li family's ancestors. She wants to leave, but her fate won't allow it."

"This…"

Although he said it was a joke, a deeply hidden regret flashed in his eyes.

Hu Ma was also silent for a moment before he got up and bowed, saying, "Old sir, I sent Miss back because I felt it was the right thing to do, helping when I saw injustice on the road."

"There are many pitiful people in this world. I am just a small blood food shopkeeper and cannot manage too many things. However, she has a connection with me and gets along well with the brothers in my village. Since I had the opportunity to send her back to reunite with you, I sent her back."

"It's just…"

He hesitated slightly and said with a wry smile, "How does it seem like I did something unnecessary and harmed Miss instead?"

"Ah?"

Hearing this, Xiang丫tou was already a little flustered, eager to explain.

Old Master Li patted her arm, signaling her not to worry. He also sighed softly and said to Hu Ma, "Little sir, don't say that."

"Human affairs and destiny are two different things. I still understand this principle. Ghost Cave will not let go of the eighth generation of my Li family, which is something predetermined, and it is also the Li family's debt. However, you, sir, have done what is righteous, and this is a kindness to the Li family."

"…"

"Human affairs and destiny?"

Hu Ma's heart tightened slightly, and he thought of the conversation he had with Steward Zhou before.

In his opinion, everything was just a coincidence. In fact, if he had changed his mind even slightly, Xiang丫tou's fate would have been different.

However, Steward Zhou believed that there was a force in the dark driving these things. And if Steward Zhou's skills were somewhat lacking, then this Old Master Li seemed to believe it even more.

Even he himself was beginning to believe it faintly.

"The gods cannot be deceived!"

Old Master Li also glanced at Xiang丫tou, his eyes seemingly filled with deep helplessness. He said, "The fact that she could be rescued by you and spent a few months of carefree days in your village is already a rare moment of lightness in her life."

"That you were able to protect her and send her back despite all the hardships is the yin virtue accumulated by the Li family of Ghost Cave for generations."

"Actually, although I had this idea at the time, I regretted it afterwards. The imperial order is hard to disobey, and the gods cannot be deceived. I was just afraid that because of me, she would not be able to escape and would suffer extra hardships and torture…"

"…"

As he spoke, he seemed to have let go of something, sighing softly and saying, "The Li family will never be able to leave this cave."

"This debt cannot be repaid by just seven generations."

"…"

"Debt?"

Hu Ma had heard Xiang丫tou mention these things before, but he didn't know much about them.

He looked up and could see that the inside of the cave was deep and dark, like a huge well. From the outside, he could see a huge round stone sitting on the mountain, but now that he was inside, he could see it clearly.

The boulder seemed to be directly pressing on the well, and the cave connecting it to the outside world was the only gap leading to the outside after it was pressed down.

What exactly were the Li family guarding here to repay?

He kept saying that the imperial order was hard to disobey, but that emperor had already been skinned. Now that the government was already existing in name only, how could the Li family, as descendants of prisoners, repay the debt so wholeheartedly?

Old Master Li noticed that Hu Ma's eyes were looking inside and could also feel his doubts.

He seemed to ponder slightly, considering whether he should tell him. After thinking for a while, he looked at Hu Ma and said slowly, "There is a reason why the Li family of Ghost Cave stays here. Little sir, have you ever heard that there are evil ghosts crawling out of hell, hiding in the human world, and committing evil deeds?"

"Evil ghosts, hiding in the human world?"

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment, and suddenly his heart jumped. "Could it be that you are talking about us Reborners?"

In an instant, he felt a chill run down his spine, but he controlled himself and changed his expression to one of slight surprise, saying, "Of course, there are."

"Mingzhou is full of evil spirits. There was even a Qingyi evil ghost who wreaked havoc in one area, and the people suffered greatly."

"We, the Blood Food Gang, make a living by collecting blood food, but we also have the responsibility of restraining these evil spirits and preventing them from causing harm."

"…"

"Hehe, I'm not referring to these."

Old Master Li didn't suspect anything. He smiled faintly and said, "The evil spirits you mentioned are just some evil qi in the world, which are born and transformed under the influence of Tai Sui. Some of them do cause a lot of harm, but after all, their origins are known and can be restrained."

"The evil ghosts I'm talking about are the most difficult to understand and the most terrifying."

"They are everywhere, hiding in the human world. They are standing right in front of you, and you can't see their true faces, and you can't understand what they are trying to do…"

"…"

Speaking of this, he paused, sighed softly, and said, "Of course, it's a good thing that you don't know about these things."

"These evil ghosts are extremely vigilant. Once someone knows of their existence, they will kill them to silence them."

"…"

'Is he really referring to us?'

Hu Ma's heart was filled with shock. While thinking, he also looked with surprise at the deep well hidden in the darkness, and endless shock and questions湧上心头.

Did the Reborners really crawl out of this place?

The Li family is guarding Ghost Cave, is it to prevent more Reborners from coming to this world?

If so, what is on the other side of Ghost Cave? Could it be the place where the Reborners come from, their previous lives?

His heart was extremely shocked, but he tried his best to control his expression, only pretending to be trying to understand, and slowly said to Old Master Li, "Then what is the relationship between these evil ghosts and the debt that the Li family bears?"

"The appearance of Ghost Cave is related to the ancestors of the Li family, so of course we have to repay the debt."

Old Master Li sighed softly and said, "In those days, when Tai Sui was born, evil spirits were born. The national preceptor invited all the different people (yiren) to the capital for a grand sacrifice. Thirty-six grand altars were set up in various places to worship the earth and heaven and ask about ghosts and gods, trying to find out the origin of Tai Sui's flesh and blood."

"Unexpectedly, the origin of Tai Sui was not found out, but it caused chaos in the world, the yin and yang were disordered, evil spirits were born, and the world became as fierce as it is now."

"My ancestor of the Li family was one of those who participated in that grand sacrifice."

"He had committed such a great disaster, and he should have been beheaded, but these places still needed someone to guard them, so he exchanged it for a glimmer of life and was sent to this place to guard it for generations."

"Before my ancestor of the Li family came here, the national preceptor said that this debt could be repaid in seven generations."

"But it seems that the national preceptor also miscalculated. It's not just seven generations, it's going to be repaid for generations to come…"

"…"

"Grand sacrifice in the capital?"

This was the first time Hu Ma had heard this term, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

Is this Ghost Cave one of the altars of the grand sacrifice back then?

Was it really because of that grand sacrifice that the Reborners came to this world and struggled to survive?

For a time, his curiosity reached its peak, and he didn't know how many questions he wanted to ask.

However, the old master of the Li family smiled helplessly and suddenly said to Hu Ma, "Little sir, are you really unwilling to marry Yu'er?"

"Seeing that you are a curious person, if you marry Yu'er, you will know all these things."

"…"

"Ah?"

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment. Why was this person joking again?

However, from the smiling look in his eyes, he remembered what Xiang丫tou had told him before.

You can't inquire too much about the affairs of Ghost Cave. If you ask too much, you will be taken away by the things inside the cave.

Now that he was in Ghost Cave, wouldn't he be left in this place if he asked too many questions?

Secrets are important, but his life is more important.

"Phew…"

Thinking of this, he became a little more alert and felt gusts of yin wind blowing out from the deep well.

It felt like sitting in front of a cold air conditioner in winter.

Even he, a Shou Suiren (Night Watchman), felt uncomfortable all over. He really didn't know what it was like for the people who guarded this place.

Feeling the cold, he hurriedly looked down at the candle. He saw that the candle in his hand had only a little bit left, but the flame was still steady, so it didn't seem to be a big problem.

But after checking the candle, he subconsciously looked at the thread tied to his left arm, and his heart suddenly jumped.

All three red threads were loose. Could it be that all three red threads were broken?

Damn…

His heart was not a little shocked, and Hu Ma's body stiffened.

"Haha…"

At this time, Old Master Li also noticed the red thread on Hu Ma's arm and laughed silently, saying:

"Little sir is noble, but there are not many people in my Li family who appreciate this…"

"…"

Hu Ma was originally full of worry, but seeing that Old Master Li was relieved and even Xiang丫tou didn't get nervous, he was no longer worried.

He just smiled wryly and said, "It seems that the rules in your family, old sir, are not so strict."

"It's my fault."

Old Master Li smiled and said, "For generations, the gatekeeper who enters the cave is the head of the Li family of Ghost Cave, and those outside are considered the outer mansion. But when people stay in this place for a long time, they become less concerned about the affairs outside."

"Too many things are just left to the outsiders to handle themselves, and the prestige naturally gradually decreases. The rules of the family are not as strict as they were at the beginning."

"They don't enter Ghost Cave, but even the life in this mountain is enough for them, and they want to avoid this debt."

"It's just that how can they imagine that this debt is actually unavoidable?"

"…"

Saying this, he sighed, looked at Hu Ma, nodded slightly, and said, "However, I don't really want to manage the affairs outside, but it's not that I can't manage them."

"Yu'er, take your benefactor out. Some formalities still have to be done."

(End of Chapter)