Chapter 1 Willow Tree? Recognize a Godmother?

Hu Ma's mind was blown by Second Master's strange words.

But now they were in the forest, and he felt a creepy sensation about everything around him. Besides, although he hadn't been in this world for long, he had already seen too many bizarre and mysterious phenomena with Granny. Compared to that, what Second Master was doing seemed like child's play. Therefore, he didn't say much, but instead used the skills he had learned from Granny: not asking, not inquiring, and just doing whatever he was told.

He knelt down respectfully and kowtowed three times to the big willow tree.

Second Master said, "Add one more. Gods get three, ghosts get four. Kowtowing three times is good, but your godmother probably can't handle it."

Hu Ma had to add another one, and he vaguely felt that the willow tree seemed to tremble slightly.

"Alright."

Second Master stopped Hu Ma, telling him not to get up yet. He squatted next to the willow tree, stroking the trunk with his hand, and muttered, "Hu Baishi's grandson, Hu Ma, from Dayang Village, is in trouble. Today, he comes to recognize you as his godmother, seeking your protection. He doesn't covet gold or silver, only asks to borrow three inches of your willow branch to start a fire. May you, godmother, consider our relationship, and when little Hu Ma is healthy and strong in the future, he will come to show you proper respect..."

In the night, Hu Ma peeked at him.

After Second Master finished speaking, he waited for a few breaths. A gust of yin wind seemed to blow by, and the willow branches swayed slowly a few times.

There was a vague sense of reluctance.

But Second Master smiled and raised his head, pinching one of the willow branches that was blown by the wind and hit Hu Ma's head. He measured about half a *zha* (a traditional Chinese measurement, approximately the span of a hand), gently snapped it off, and said to Hu Ma with a grin, "Thank you, godmother, let's go."

Hu Ma intuitively felt that this behavior was strange and mysterious.

After walking away, he whispered to Second Master, "Recognizing this godmother, is it just to borrow this willow branch?"

"Of course."

Second Master said, "Otherwise, you're Ghost Granny's grandson, why would you need to call such a small willow spirit your godmother?"

"Calling her 'godmother' is just to make her happy to agree to lend us this willow branch."

"..."

Hu Ma nodded and whispered, "But if she doesn't agree?"

"If she doesn't agree, we still have to cut it off."

Second Master glared and said, "You already kowtowed. If she doesn't even give us this little thing, isn't that disrespecting me, Second Master, the witness?"

"But you didn't seem to ask if she agreed before you had me kowtow..."

Hu Ma silently complained in his heart, but of course, it was a good thing she seemed to agree, and he couldn't say those words.

It seemed only Second Master would do such a thing; Granny probably wouldn't.

Second Master led Hu Ma back to the house on the hill. This time they walked slower, and Hu Ma did realize the difference between Second Master and Granny.

When he was with Granny, he always felt rustling noises around him, and all sorts of bizarre things. It seemed even Granny could only talk to them nicely, and even offer them gifts. But when he was with Second Master, these things didn't happen.

Occasionally, there were peeping gazes from behind the trees, but they were far away, as if afraid of something.

Was he actually safer with Second Master than with Granny?

But Second Master admitted that his skills were not as good as Granny's. What was the difference?

Back in the courtyard, heads poked out from the bedrooms on the east and west sides, looking over.

Second Master yelled at them, "Go to sleep, don't stare!"

"Second Master, is Young Master Hu starting a fire on his first day?"

The teenagers were clearly afraid of Second Master, but not completely. Even though he scolded them, someone still boldly asked, "Doesn't he have to learn the basics first?"

"Not convinced?"

Second Master rebuked, "Go back to the village and ask your dad for *qing taisui* (a type of fungus)!"

He drove away the curious teenagers, and then led Hu Ma into the main room. It was simply furnished with only a dilapidated Eight Immortals table and two armchairs that had been worn smooth. One of the armchairs was missing a leg.

On the left was an earthen bed. Against the wall was a stone fireplace, which was extinguished. A wok was carelessly thrown on top, seemingly unwashed.

Second Master told Hu Ma to wait, and he took out a fire starter and lit the oil lamp and the fire in the fireplace.

He placed a black iron kettle on it, added water, and threw in some walnuts and red dates.

Then he turned around, took out a tattered thread-bound book, and flipped to a page, seeming to confirm something carefully.

Then he squatted in front of the fireplace and said to Hu Ma, "Granny said you don't remember much. I don't know how much you've forgotten, but you were targeted by a ghost thing recently, and it hurt you badly. You still often encounter evil things, right?"

Hu Ma quickly nodded, "Yes, I often feel like something is watching me, and I feel uncomfortable all over."

"But you don't when you're with me, Second Master."

"..."

"That's because my furnace is still burning strong. But I can't always protect you, and neither can Granny."

Second Master said, "So, I plan to light a furnace for you too, so that even if no one is protecting you, you won't be afraid of those things."

As he spoke, he puffed on his pipe, the red glow occasionally illuminating his face.

Night had fallen, and a cold wind blew, adding a touch of mystery and solemnity to his words.

"Light a furnace?"

"Yes."

Second Master said in a low voice, "This world isn't peaceful. All sorts of evil things have crawled out of the mountains, harming people's lives. Our Dayang Village has survived thanks to the ancestors in the old fire pit, but we can't rely on our ancestors for everything, can we?"

"So, we've always been thinking about what methods we can use to make a living in this old forest."

"And there is a method."

"Those evil things are just a burst of *yin qi* (cold, negative energy)."

"We're afraid of this *yin qi*, but they're actually afraid of the *ren qi* (positive, human energy) in our bodies. The stronger the *ren qi*, the more afraid they are."

"So, these kids stay here with me, Second Master, eating meat, running in the mountains, and practicing martial arts, all to make their bodies stronger. The stronger they are, the less likely they are to be targeted by those evil spirits."

"But just exercising isn't enough."

"To really learn the skills to deal with those things, the first thing you need to do is light a furnace in your own body, and lock in your *yang qi* (warm, positive energy)..."

"The more you brew it, the stronger it becomes, like a big furnace..."

"When you reach that level, think about it, what evil spirit would dare to provoke you?"

"..."

"This is really...too unscientific."

Hu Ma listened, and his heart was faintly excited.

He wasn't afraid of it being unscientific. After all, the fact that he came to this world was already unscientific. If he could learn skills, who would care about that?

"Then, what do I need to do?"

"Hehe, don't be anxious, look over there..."

Faced with Hu Ma's undisguised excitement, Second Master chuckled and pointed to a section of log leaning against the wall.

The log was dark in color, about the thickness of a hug, and a meter and a half long, standing upright on the ground.

Second Master said, "Move that pillar over here."

"Okay."

Hu Ma immediately agreed and ran to the pillar, reaching out to lift it.

The wood of this log was dense, so it should be heavy. But Hu Ma's injuries were healed, and he was full of strength, so he felt like even a hundred or two hundred *jin* (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.5 kg) wouldn't be a problem. But when he touched it with both hands, he only felt the log was icy cold and bone-piercing. He tried to lift it with force, but it didn't budge.

"Is this welded to the ground?"

He subconsciously looked down, but saw

This monster made him feel uneasy, so he looked at Second Master.

"Hehe, figured it out?"

Seeing Hu Ma's curious look, Second Master said, "That's a ghost wood log, it takes root when it touches the ground."

"Ghost wood?"

Hu Ma was slightly startled.

Although he didn't know much about this world in the past few days, he had heard some things from Xiao Hongtang, such as the dangers in this forest. Some old trees would grow human faces on their bark.

As soon as one of these old trees appeared, the entire surrounding forest would become very dangerous. Living people who entered would often lose their way and be trapped to death inside.

Hu Ma had been curious about these things, but he didn't expect to see one with his own eyes at this time.

"That's right, it was just cut down a few days ago. The bark was peeled off, otherwise you would see the human face."

Second Master said with a smile, "But even though it was cut down and the human face was peeled off, evil things are still evil things. As soon as this log touches the ground, it immediately takes root. Not to mention you, even the adults in the village can't move it with pure strength!"

"If you want it to move, there are two ways. One is to bake it with fire, and the other is to rely on our own skills..."

As he spoke, he knocked his pipe, and his chest slowly swelled.

"Hoo!"

He suddenly exhaled a breath, which was like a sharp arrow.

Hu Ma only felt a gust of wind hit him from the side, and then he heard a crisp sound in his ear.

He saw that the ghost wood log, which he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried, was actually blown away by Second Master's breath.

"This..."

Hu Ma was surprised and delighted, shocked by Second Master's move.

"It ran away."

Second Master put his hands behind his back triumphantly, stood up, glanced at the door, turned back and smiled at Hu Ma, "This is the benefit of lighting a furnace. When I, Second Master, exhale a breath, ordinary evil spirits will be injured if they don't die."

"This has a name, called True *Yang* Arrow. If I bite the tip of my tongue and spit out blood along with it, it's even more powerful. That name is called Blood *Yang* Arrow."

"I, Second Master, have never touched a real woman in my life. It's because I've been a virgin for sixty years that I have this skill."

"..."

Hu Ma looked at Second Master's not-so-tall figure, his eyes full of admiration, admiring Second Master's skills.

But really, what are you so proud of?