"That little girl is something..."

Hu Ma and Madam Han were both taken aback when Xiang Yatou suddenly stepped forward and said those words.

Hu Ma had spent a long time discussing with Shao Daozi, just to find feasible logic in reality, adhering to the rules of this world, to give the Red Wine Miss a reasonable reason to help him.

According to Shao Daozi, the reason this matter wasn't being handled directly by the Red Wine Miss herself was because she was impatient. She didn't like rehearsing the same thing after discussing it once.

Simply put, she didn't like rehearsals.

So, Shao Daozi discussed the plan with him, and he would take the initiative to come to her door as a Jianghu (martial world) person, openly asking her to help him.

Of course, precisely because of this, when he brought up the pre-prepared reason and opportunity, Madam Han suddenly played an unconventional card and made an additional request, which caught him off guard.

Should he agree to her condition, or not?

But unexpectedly, Xiang Yatou really knew how to care for others. Worried that he would be taken advantage of in order to save someone, she took the initiative to step forward. Her self-introduction had an unexpected effect, and the nature of the matter immediately changed.

Even the Red Wine Miss, or rather Madam Han, had a slight change in attitude. She nodded and said:

"So you are Miss Li from the Dongzi Li family. Your family rarely interacts with people in Anzhou, but since we are all in Anzhou, we can be considered neighbors. Since you've come to my door, I have to call you 'sister'."

"But since you are from the Li family, how did you end up in this state? This place isn't far from Lingshou Prefecture. Who would dare to provoke the Li family in Anzhou?"

"..."

"I..."

Xiang Yatou felt a little aggrieved. She paused and whispered, "I was harmed by treacherous people and almost couldn't go home."

"It was all thanks to this young master's righteousness that he sent me back."

"But now that I'm at the doorstep, those people still won't give up and are still trying to stop me from going home."

"..."

She seemed a little embarrassed. Even though she knew the steward had deceived her, she was unwilling to speak ill of the steward, but in this context, she had to say something.

However, after saying a few words, she was touched by her emotions, her eyes slightly reddened. She said to Madam Han, "Senior, they are bullying my father, who has to guard the ghost cave and can't come out casually, and they are stopping me from going home. I want to ask Senior to help me."

The first few sentences were still in line with the Jianghu etiquette, but the last few sentences were like a little girl.

But after all, she had revealed her identity, and Madam Han treated her differently than before.

She gently gestured and said, "That goes without saying. Don't mention that I've asked the Dongzi Li family for help before. Even if that wasn't the case, if a Li family young lady is in trouble, I have to help, for the sake of our fellow martial artists. You two shouldn't just stand here, come inside and talk!"

Hu Ma and Xiang Yatou followed her into the main room of the manor, where they saw a simple and plain arrangement.

It looked like an ordinary farmhouse, but the lamps, tables, chairs, and beds all exuded some exquisite strangeness.

They sat down at the table, and not long after, a gust of Yin (shadowy, ghostly) wind飘飘 from outside the door.

Looking up, they saw a figure with various knives, spears, swords, and halberds stuck in his body, with an arrow nailed to his forehead. He looked extremely miserable, but he was also wearing armor, like a general on the battlefield.

His face was pale, his eyes were empty, and he was covered in blood, but he was holding a tray in his hand, with two porcelain cups on it. He put it on the table and飄飘 away again.

Madam Han looked at Hu Ma and Xiang Yatou's strange expressions and said indifferently, "I have a lot of strange things here. Ordinary people can't stand it, so it's difficult to find someone to cook and boil water. So I can only let ghosts help with the work. Please bear with it."

"Ghosts can also do housework?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but think, "Xiao Hongtang has another skill to develop."

Madam Han didn't drink tea, but said, "Now, tell me, what troubles have you encountered?"

"Yes, it's some things in the Dongzi (ghost cave)..."

Xiang Yatou put down her teacup and said, "I've seen them before, but I haven't been in contact with them. They came looking for me, and I don't know how to defend against them. Besides, if I want to go home..."

"That's not clear enough."

Madam Han frowned and looked at Hu Ma.

"It's a kind of Yin spirit wearing a tall hat and tied with iron chains. It's not like youhui (wandering spirits), but it doesn't look like an ordinary evil spirit."

Hu Ma explained in detail, "Wherever they go, the oil lamp changes color, it's cold and biting, and living people become silent."

"Yi Gui (enslaved ghosts)?"

Madam Han's expression changed. "How many days has it been?"

Hu Ma had already been asked this question and hurriedly said, "It's been seven days, counting from the beginning."

"Good heavens..."

Madam Han stood up abruptly and said, "I don't know if you two are lucky or unlucky. If you're unlucky, you've been targeted by this thing. If you're lucky, you found me on the seventh day."

"But..."

Saying that, she glanced at Xiang Yatou and said with a smile, "Since you are Miss Li from the Dongzi Li family, how could they hire this thing to find you? Are they crazy?"

Xiang Yatou's expression was also a little suppressed, and it was difficult to say. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "I haven't officially entered the ghost cave yet, and those things don't recognize me..."

Hu Ma was a little surprised and hurriedly said, "Senior, what exactly is this thing?"

"Something that doesn't belong to the world of the living."

Madam Han glanced at Hu Ma and said, "It's not youhui, nor an evil spirit, and it's not those wronged souls who receive incense in the hall. Because I act in Anzhou, I've seen it once or twice, and it seems to have traces of being refined, but I don't quite understand it."

"I only know that if you are targeted by this thing, you will definitely die within seven days. There are no exceptions."

"..."

Hu Ma suddenly became worried: "Then..."

Madam Han waved her hand and said, "That's why I said you were lucky, right?"

"It's only right for the young lady of the Dongzi Li family to be in trouble and seek help from fellow martial artists, but you were fortunate to find me. If you had found someone else, even if they wanted to help, they would probably be powerless."

"Only I have the possibility to protect you on this seventh day and prevent that ghost thing from finding you."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma and Xiang Yatou both showed joy on their faces.

However, one had known it all along and was acting, while the other seemed to be truly relieved.

"You coming to my door as if you were facing a great enemy made me nervous too. Now that I hear it, it doesn't seem like a big deal."

Madam Han waved her hand and said, "Tonight, I will protect you. Tomorrow morning, I will send a letter to the Li family."

"This..."

Hu Ma immediately showed embarrassment and said, "Senior, I've also sent a letter to the Li family before."

"And no one came to pick you up, but instead caused you trouble?"

Madam Han looked at Hu Ma with a smile that was not a smile and said, "You, little brother, have a good heart, but your Jianghu experience is still a little shallow."

"The young ladies of such large families either don't get lost, or if they do get lost, it's definitely not that simple."

"But don't worry, your letter and my letter are different. Your letter will be seen by the gatekeeper first, but they wouldn't dare to hide my letter and will definitely have to deliver it to the ghost cave."

"..."

"I always feel that this slight smugness is a little familiar..."

Hu Ma thought to himself, but on the surface, he was greatly relieved, thinking that this matter was going smoothly.

"Well, thank you, Senior..."

Xiang Yatou also said quickly, but then hesitated and said, "But, but those who don't want me to go home..."

Seeing that she was embarrassed to say it, Hu Ma said for her, "The people who stopped us have set up many traps along the way. Now that we are only one step away from home, the other party is probably even less willing to let it go."

"If I didn't have this confidence, I wouldn't have dared to promise to help you."

Madam Han nodded slightly when she heard this and said, "You two, come with me!"

The two quickly got up and followed her to a room next door. It turned out to be a thatched hut with wooden walls and a mud roof, and it was a little drafty and not very sturdy.

There were some strange things placed inside, such as dark boxes, pockets, metal gloves, and chain iron rings.

Looking at it, many of them were things that people used when performing magic tricks.

"Tonight, little girl, you will stay in this room."

As she spoke, Madam Han took a talisman, with some random name written on it, along with the birthdate that she had made up while pinching her fingers, and stuck it on Xiang Yatou's forehead.

She also placed a pair of shoes next to a small bed in the room, but the placement was particular, one facing inward and one facing outward.

Finally, she came to a wooden cabinet by the wall and wrote and drew for a long time.

Then she instructed Xiang Yatou, "At night, you sit on the bed with this birthdate talisman on your forehead, with a bowl of clear water in front of you, and a pair of chopsticks on the bowl, with the chopsticks pointing southwest. If there is any change, and the direction of the chopsticks changes, you put them back in place."

"When midnight arrives, if the water freezes into a thin layer of ice, freezing the chopsticks, you cover the bowl with a blanket, straighten the two shoes, and hide in the cabinet yourself."

"After entering the cabinet, remember to close your eyes tightly, no matter what you hear or what happens around you, don't open them, and don't make a sound."

"Once you open your eyes, the magic will be broken, and that thing will find you, but as long as you don't open your eyes, I can protect you without any harm."

"..."

Hearing her say this, Hu Ma and Xiang Yatou were both as if they were facing a great enemy, carefully memorizing it. In the end, they were a little strange: "Is that it?"

"..."

"Of course."

Madam Han said, "If there's any more trouble, of course, I'll handle it myself."

"Heh, let you two youngsters know, chain ghosts restrain people, and even the greatest Taoist priests can hardly escape, but only we, people from the Opera Gate, can unravel it. The Opera Gate is divided into three factions: 'Deception', 'Skill', and 'Trickery'."

"Among them, those who are good at the 'Deception' tactic learn to deceive the heavens, deceive the earth, and deceive the ghosts and gods. If their skills are deep enough, they can deceive even the heavens and the earth, let alone this one Yi Gui?"

"..."

Hu Ma and Xiang Yatou also looked like they had gained some knowledge. Hu Ma asked curiously, "Then Senior is the 'Deception' tactic?"

"No, I am the 'Skill' tactic."

Madam Han glanced at him lightly and said, "But I am very proficient in all three schools."

(End of chapter)