Chapter 1 Where There's Trouble, the Ghost Chasers Go...

Listening to the simple, unadorned words of the old man leading the ox beside him, Hu Ma felt a stirring in his heart.

Granny had been back in the ancestral shrine for over a year. He had grown accustomed to the life of harvesting and extracting from the flesh and blood of the Grand Commandant within the Blood Food Gang. Over time, he had even forgotten about those who, like Granny, walked between the villages every day, chasing away ghosts and dispelling evil.

There were few ghost chasers in the Blood Food Gang, and the occasional one or two were completely different from Granny in temperament.

They had become people who helped those in the Blood Food Gang make money and settle disputes. They no longer had the air of village life about them.

"Brother Hu Ma…"

An icy little hand grasped Hu Ma's palm. Xiao Hongtang had also returned. Hu Ma asked in a low voice, "Xiao Hongtang, did you notify these ghost chasers?"

Xiao Hongtang was taken aback, shaking her head. "No, I ran for a long time before I got out and said a word to Grandpa Mountain God, then I came back!"

"Not Xiao Hongtang?"

Hu Ma was also slightly stunned. These ghost chasers said that someone had sent a little ghost messenger with a letter, letting them know that there was trouble here, so they came. He had thought it was Xiao Hongtang…

But if it wasn't Xiao Hongtang, then who was it?

In his confusion, he saw the ghost chasers greeting each other with smiles, and suddenly understood.

Perhaps the question was no longer important.

Perhaps, while he was busy and overwhelmed, a passing ghost chaser had seen it and sent a little ghost messenger to notify them, as natural as someone in the village reporting news of trouble back home.

One ghost chaser received the message, then sent a little ghost messenger, and another received the message.

Back and forth, the ghost chasers within a hundred *li* received the message and packed their tools, heading here.

But…

Hu Ma was a little puzzled, whispering, "Xiao Hongtang, I don't understand. Why would they come?"

"Aren't they worried that the trouble here is too great, that it will bring them trouble?"

"..."

"Ghost chasers don't think about that."

Xiao Hongtang also looked at the figures gathering from the mountain roads, shaking her two little pigtails tied with red string, and said crisply, "Granny said that ghost chasers are people who make a living along the boundary line."

"Wherever the boundary is disturbed, that's where they go!"

"..."

"Boundary line?"

Hu Ma thought, "The Twilight Boundary ( *Huanghun Fenjie*) that divides the world in two?"

Suddenly, he understood, a subtle emotion welling up within him.

Twilight as the boundary, dividing yin and yang.

There were many evil spirits in this world, especially at night, when the evil spirits caused trouble, and the living dared not take a step out of their homes.

But with so many evil spirits wreaking havoc, people still had to live. They could live because this boundary line existed. No matter how powerful the evil spirits were, they could only come out at night. During the day, this world still belonged to the living.

They could take advantage of the daytime to farm, work, harvest Grand Commandant flesh, maintain their lives, and make this world still resemble the world of the living.

This boundary line was the lives of the living.

But there were always some powerful evil spirits, and some people high above, who had great magical powers, who could make the clouds cover the sun, or even just let the evil ghosts under their command breathe a breath, and disrupt this boundary line.

Making this place neither day nor night, with evil spirits causing trouble everywhere in broad daylight, making this no longer like a world of the living, making it impossible for these people who were trying to make a living to survive...

But no matter how much they didn't care, there were always people who did care.

These ghost chasers didn't know what had happened here, nor did they know whose shadow was behind it all.

They simply saw that there was chaos here, so they came.

The reason was so simple that it was hard for a transmigrator like him to believe. Did none of them have smart people who knew that this sudden trouble was very abnormal, and that it was very likely something beyond the limits of their power was causing trouble?

They just didn't think about it, they came simply because there was trouble here.

Simply because of the simplest truth: when the world is in chaos and hardship, if you don't lend a hand, you can't survive.

Words couldn't describe the emotions surging in Hu Ma's heart at this moment. He only felt that the fatigue, dizziness, and anger he had accumulated over the past few days were suddenly shattered by some force.

He used to trust Granny, but he didn't understand. He had always been vigilant and distant towards this world.

He would feel angry at those who didn't care about the lives and deaths of these people, but deep down, he would sometimes vaguely feel that what those people were doing was nothing.

A transmigrator came from an era of information explosion, what hadn't he seen?

But it was only at this moment that he suddenly saw some of the things at the very bottom of this world, and he faintly felt that this most simple and ancient thing had struck his heart…

"No matter how chaotic the world is, there are always people doing things…"

Having understood this, the exhaustion on Hu Ma's face seemed to dissipate a little, and he whispered, "The boundary line isn't naturally there…"

"Let's go, Xiao Hongtang, let's go and help too."

Xiao Hongtang looked at Hu Ma's appearance, her eyes curved with a smile, and she nodded vigorously.

Together, they followed the ghost chasers who had gathered from all over, and walked towards the hillside.

At this moment, there seemed to be no transmigrator, no little shopkeeper from the Red Lantern Mother Society, only the grandson of Granny Ghost Chaser from Da Yang Village, with his little ghost messenger.

When they arrived at the hillside, they found that seven or eight people had arrived ahead of them.

They were all ghost chasers from various places, with different clothes and appearances. If there was one thing they had in common, it was that they all looked relatively poor, because they usually traveled to remote villages and had little to gain.

Second Pot-Head had said that ghost chasing was a money-burning business, but these people didn't seem to have money to burn.

Now, these people had surrounded a grave on the slope from a distance.

Although it was called a grave, it looked like just a small earthen mound, half of it collapsed, and the decayed coffin inside could be vaguely seen.

The strange thing was that black smoke was coming out of the grave from time to time.

It wasn't clear when looking with the naked eye, but when looking with the corner of the eye, it could be seen that it was steaming all the time, never stopping for a moment.

Hu Ma didn't know why they had found this place at the same time. In the past few days, trouble had been occurring in various villages one after another. He had been running around just to save people, and his head was spinning.

Strange things like black smoke rising from a grave were really not a priority.

But these ghost chasers had found this place as soon as they arrived, so there must be a reason.

In the crowd, an old man holding a smoking pipe whispered to the person next to him, "When trouble is happening everywhere, there's always a root cause. I think this grave is bad, the evil energy is spreading out from here."

"It is."

A middle-aged woman wearing flowers on her head beside him said loudly, "This grave is evil, it's messed up the *xingzi* (karma/fortune) around here, and even attracted the *xingzi* from other places. If we don't seal this place first, the families around here won't have peace."

In the crowd, the other ghost chasers all nodded, seemingly agreeing with their statement.

Then someone said, "Then let's seal off this source of trouble first, then spread out to get rid of the evil spirits. Shall we start now?"

"Whoever has any tricks, use them."

"..."

"Let's get to work..."

The gathered crowd surged, shouting loudly.

Hu Ma watched them from the back of the crowd, and could also see that the abilities of these ghost chasers varied. Some were very skilled, and had old objects like *suonas* and bells in their hands, which were similar to magical instruments.

But some people looked like they didn't have much *daohang* (spiritual power/cultivation), and were possibly just village witches and shamans who were familiar with dealing with trouble and suppressing evil spirits, just like Old Man Goat Hide from Mang Village in Old Yin Mountain.

But none of them were afraid, and they didn't compete or hide their skills. They just smiled and discussed how to help.

Someone said, "Evil energy leaks out, it's nothing more than affecting the surrounding *feng shui* through the earth veins, water veins, and air veins. Which one does this grave mound belong to?"

Someone else said, "We can't worry about that right now, it's safer to seal them all."

"Then I'll seal its earth veins first!"

Hearing this, someone volunteered and took out their own things. Someone took a bone staff and drew symbols around the grave mound on the ground, then poured some ashes from the pole on their shoulder, sprinkled a circle, and then lit it with fire to burn it slowly.

The crowd covered their noses. "Manure?"

The ghost chaser sealing the earth veins glared. "It's manure mixed with Black Grand Commandant, that's been covered in the pigsty for three years!"

"Isn't that still manure?"

The crowd was helpless, and shouted, "Who has a unique skill, seal its air veins."

Hearing someone shout, the middle-aged woman said, "I do, help me pull the rope."

Speaking, she took out a sachet from her arms, took out a red ball of thread from inside, and the people around her helped her hold it.

First, they shaved wood from the side and put up a frame around the grave mound, then fixed the red thread on the frame, held one end, and circled around the grave mound, chanting aloud.

After circling several times, layers of red thread circled the grave mound, even the smell of manure faded.

"I'll seal its water veins."

An old man in the crowd stepped forward, took out a few needles that were all rusted, with something inlaid on them.

"Yin Bone Jade!"

"This is what my grandfather burned out when he burned a drought demon that had achieved *daohang*. It's the most effective against water. When I nail it in the four directions, let's see how it causes trouble."

This grave mound should be the landing point that the Yellow Immortal said was blown over in one breath.

Hu Ma had been busy for a few days before, but he didn't know that this breath was here. He didn't even know that this breath would land in one place, forming a source of trouble, and even if he knew, he probably wouldn't be able to find a way to seal it.

And these people, some with high *daohang* and some with low, were all very experienced, and sealed it off while talking and laughing.

Seeing them burn talismans and chant spells at this grave mound, Hu Ma was also enthusiastic and wanted to go forward to help.

"Are you the little shopkeeper from the Blood Food Society?"

But the people inside thought he was in the way and pushed him out. Many people looked at him, and laughed, "Haven't closed your eyes in days?"

"Rest first!"

"This place was watched by the Blood Food Gang before, we weren't willing to come. Now look, not all of the Blood Food Gang are bad seeds who only recognize money and grain…"

(End of this chapter)