Chapter 1 In the Dark Night

In the pitch-black night, a savage and bloodthirsty dog had a human face. Wu He's pretty, fair face was now covered in blood and white flesh, a stark contrast to the black dog's body.

Hu Ma only caught a glimpse of this, and it shocked him even more than facing the strange Tan Gugu.

"I..."

Meeting Hu Ma's gaze, Wu He also reacted. Her face turned pale, and her expression revealed a despair mixed with shame and fear. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, she couldn't say it. Suddenly, with a sob, she covered herself with the dog skin and plunged into the darkness by the roadside.

"Shopkeeper, this..."

This terrifying and unexpected scene stunned Hu Ma. It took him a long while to react. He forcibly suppressed the pounding in his chest and turned to look at the old shopkeeper, only to see him also looking in the direction the black dog had run, his eyes full of pity and intolerance.

After a long time, he turned around, saw Hu Ma's shocked expression, and slowly waved his hand, saying, "Don't ask."

"And you must never tell anyone!"

"You send these children back to the village, and tidy up the things left here, leaving nothing behind."

"After you've arranged everything, come to my yard. I have something to tell you."

"..."

"Yes."

Hu Ma suppressed the questions in his heart and agreed in a low voice.

Seeing the old shopkeeper pick up the peddler's already incomplete body and walk into the trees by the roadside, he seemed worried about something. Like the black dog, he didn't take the road, but went back through the fields.

Hu Ma also watched the shopkeeper's figure disappear before letting out a low sigh of relief. He stroked Little Red Tang's head, praising her for arriving in time, and then went to check on the bewildered children.

The peddler was dead, and even the rattle drum had been crushed by the shopkeeper. The bewitching magic should have been broken as well.

But these children still seemed a little dazed, like sleepwalkers.

Perhaps they needed to go back and sleep, and have their souls called back, but at least they had been rescued, without any danger. Very good.

He told Little Red Tang to keep an eye on them, lest they wander off again in their daze. Only then did Hu Ma turn around to tidy up the overturned cart and the various things that had spilled out of the basket: bottles, jars, and the fragments of the altar.

He was very careful, worried about anything harmful being left behind, and also worried that the demonic peddler had left behind any harmful tricks. One careless move, and he might fall victim to this dead man's schemes...

The shopkeeper told him to pack everything up and take it back, also out of concern for this.

Any item left behind by someone who practiced evil arts could be harmful. If villagers picked it up, it would cause trouble.

He hadn't been tidying for long when he heard shouts and noises not far away. Zhou Datong and the others were coming with torches.

Little Red Tang had gone back to report the news, first slapping Zhou Datong awake and telling him what had happened, then going to notify the shopkeeper. Although Zhou Datong saw the shopkeeper come out, he was still worried. He gathered everyone and hurried over to help, but their foot speed was far too slow.

"You've come at just the right time. The matter has already been resolved."

Hu Ma turned his head and saw Zhou Datong holding a stick under the torchlight, Zhao Zhu holding a dung fork, and others with brooms and kitchen knives.

He smiled helplessly. If these guys had come earlier, it might have been worse.

The peddler's strange methods were not something these ordinary shop assistants could deal with.

He had them tidy up here in his place, carefully instructing them not to make any mistakes, and not to carelessly cut themselves on the shards. Then he led the bewildered children towards the village.

He had just approached the village when he heard a chaotic clamor of shouts and footsteps. Someone in the village had gotten up in the middle of the night, discovered that the children were missing, and had already caused a commotion.

"It was the peddler who entered the village during the day. He has already been dealt with."

Hu Ma brought the children back to the village. Someone met him from afar, and he said coldly to the old patriarch, "Quickly have each family come and see if their children are all here. After you get back, make the thresholds of each house higher. Protect against the outside, and also against the inside."

Families in the village had thresholds to ward off jiangshi (hopping vampires) that plagued the famine years.

But Hu Ma told them to make them higher so that if they encountered such a thing again, they could also prevent the children from running out of the house.

"Steward, you are so kind and virtuous..."

Those who saw their own children quickly hugged them and took them back. The village head immediately led the way to kowtow to Hu Ma, and turned his head to shout:

"Light the lamps, set the table, quickly set the table..."

"..."

"No need, I need to get back soon."

Hu Ma directly declined, still thinking about returning to see the old shopkeeper. He forcibly helped the village head and the others up.

Without saying much, he turned around and left the village. Soon after, he found Zhou Datong and the others, and returned his saber to him. However, the blade had a few nicks on it. Fortunately, it was in the scabbard, so Zhou Datong couldn't see it, and wouldn't feel the heartache just yet.

They pulled and pushed the cart all the way back to the estate, and the broken altar, along with the strange fleshy things inside, were directly burned in a fire.

When they arrived at the estate, Hu Ma had someone leave the cart by the wall, instructing them to watch it and not to move it, before quickly entering the inner courtyard.

There was no one in the courtyard, but an oil lamp was lit in the main room, and the door was open.

Hu Ma walked in and saw a hook hanging from the roof beam, with the peddler's corpse hanging from it.

The shopkeeper was sitting beside the Eight Immortals table, drinking tea, his face gloomy. He looked like he was in a very bad mood.

Seeing Hu Ma come in, he put down his teacup and said in a low voice, "How did you discover him?"

"I went to Ganzi Village during the day to see the woodcutter who was bewitched by the peach blossoms, and I saw him after I came out."

Hu Ma hurriedly said, "He didn't charge money and gave the children candy. He also seemed to be secretly pulling out the children's hair, so I paid attention."

"But I wasn't sure at the time, so I didn't dare to disturb the shopkeeper. So I went over at night to take a look and saw him using a rattle drum to lure the children out. That's when I confirmed there was a problem. I was worried I wouldn't be a match for him, so I asked the Little Ghost Messenger to come back and report..."

"..."

He also deliberately mentioned Little Red Tang.

Having been here for so long, he had long understood that Little Ghost Messengers were not considered an excessive thing in this world, and even keeping one by your side was not considered an offense to the Red Lantern Goddess.

Moreover, his was just a family heirloom.

Now that he had said it, it was like getting an identity for Little Red Tang.

"You did very well."

As expected, the shopkeeper didn't care about Little Red Tang at all. His voice was deep, and his face looked a little sinister: "These bastards from the Tan Altar Sect should be killed by everyone."

Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Tan Altar Sect?"

"Low-down scum..."

The shopkeeper snorted coldly, "They are good at swindling and deceiving, using demonic arts to harm people. What traveling peddler? That's just a front for scouting and keeping watch. In reality, this line of work is about trafficking children."

"The Tan Gugu he raised is a trick of the Tan Altar Sect. It's a good thing you didn't try to be a hero, otherwise, you might not have been able to defeat this evil line of work."

"Hmm?"

Hu Ma was a little curious. How did the shopkeeper know so much?

When he had just taken action, there hadn't seemed to be time to ask.

"Hehe..."

Seeming to notice Hu Ma's curiosity, the shopkeeper laughed coldly and glanced at the corpse hanging on the beam, saying, "I just interrogated it from his body."

"If he doesn't say it alive, he has to explain it to me when he's dead."

"Logically speaking, this isn't a proper method, but for these people, no means are excessive!"

"..."

Hu Ma was shocked. It seemed that the shopkeeper had returned early and had already done something to this peddler.

The traces of incense and candles on the ground were probably how it happened.

"The heavens have not failed me..."

The shopkeeper sighed after venting a few harsh words, "I've finally waited for them."

Hu Ma looked up, "Shopkeeper, do you have a feud with them?"

A little while ago, he remembered that the shopkeeper was quite ruthless when he punched this peddler.

Given the shopkeeper's usual indifferent nature, it didn't seem to be just out of righteous indignation. There must be another reason.

"I have no feud with this peddler, but with the people of the Tan Altar Sect..."

The shopkeeper slowly raised his head, his voice cold and sharp, his eyes almost squeezing out fire: "I wish I could grind their bones to ashes."

Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, hearing the shopkeeper's unkind voice.

He wanted to ask, but hesitated, so he just waited silently for the shopkeeper to say it himself.

But the shopkeeper also seemed to hesitate, and a moment of silence fell in the main room.

"Da-da, tell him..."

Just then, a voice rang out from the side room. It was Wu He, sounding somewhat mournful.

Hu Ma immediately thought of the big dog. He wondered what Wu He was going through.

The shopkeeper's face became even more unbearable. After a long, long time, he slowly raised his hand and said to Hu Ma, "Go and see your junior sister!"

"I..."

It would be a lie to say that Hu Ma wasn't curious, but he was just suppressing his questions.

Now that the old shopkeeper had spoken, he hesitated for a moment and slowly walked to the side room, lifting the curtain.

As soon as he entered, he saw a large dog skin hanging on the wall.

There was no light in the side room, only a little light from the main room, so he couldn't see clearly. He could only see Wu He sitting in a large vat in the corner, and he could smell the scent of blood and herbs, as well as the faint stench that Hu Ma had smelled before.

"Big Brother Hu Ma..."

Wu He's voice was tearful. Accompanied by the sound of splashing water, she actually slowly stood up from the vat:

"You... don't laugh at me..."

"..."

Hu Ma didn't think he should look, but when he caught a glimpse, his eyes suddenly widened. With the light from the oil lamp outside the room, he saw Wu He's scalp-numbing body.

"This..."

When he spoke, he realized that his voice was a little hoarse: "What is this?"

The old shopkeeper's voice came from behind him, low, slow, but full of endless anger:

"Zaochu (creating livestock)."