Chapter 1 ‘West Kunlun?’

Hu Ma’s heart stirred. He had already entered the mansion, making him less susceptible to illusions. Now that he had cultivated the Dharma Image, his spirit was strong, like a guest in the hall. Even if he was momentarily caught off guard, he could react with a slight shift of thought.

Knowing there was something strange, he didn't immediately expose it, but looked at the old man and smiled, "Old man, the name of your hometown sounds nice, but it seems quite far away…"

"Not far, not far…"

The white-bearded old man immediately waved his hand with a smile and said, "It's just on the mountain behind us, on that hill with lots of red dates. There's a dried-up pond there. I was born and grew up there, and then your young master brought me to the mansion."

"Back then, the young master was naughty and gave things random names. The hill on the west side was called West Kun Cang, and there was also the bare East Hua Mountain on the east side, the pond on the south side was called Yao Chi, and the pavilion on the mountaintop on the north side was named Ling Xiao Palace…"

"We don't know what they mean, but they sound nice."

"I watched the young master grow up, until he got into trouble later on, implicating the whole family, who were all cursed to death. But I was spared, as no one cared about me."

"Later, this town became desolate, but some of the young master's friends and disciples came a few times and left some broken odds and ends for me to take care of. Later, these people who exchanged tung wood for blessings came and moved into this mansion."

"I don't know how it happened, but in the last year or two, the town has actually become lively again. It makes me happy to see them, as if the young master will come back again…"

“…”

Listening to the old man’s words, Hu Ma seemed to understand something. He looked deeply at the white-bearded old man, whose face was blurred, smiling as he looked back.

His eyes seemed to reveal a hint of familiarity and an extremely familiar feeling, which made Hu Ma's heart jump.

"You've been living here all along?"

He shook his head imperceptibly, casting aside this strange sense of familiarity. He simply looked at the old man, pondering slowly, and said, "Then you must know this Shima Town very well, right?"

The white-bearded old man smiled and said, "If we're talking about understanding, then I understand it the best. This town has changed residents several times, but only I have been guarding it all along."

Hu Ma’s heart stirred slightly as he looked at him and said, “Then, old man, have you ever heard of the legends about the stone horse in this town?”

"Stone horse?"

The white-bearded old man smiled as he looked at Hu Ma and said, "It's just a clay figure. What legends could there be?"

"Naturally, it's the legend of the old general who resigned and returned home, riding a horse to slay the plague ghost…"

Hu Ma looked at him and slowly recounted the legend he had heard from Old Suanpan, "Now that the old general has returned to dust, and even his tomb cannot be found, this stone horse is still guarding this town, isn't it?"

"Could there be a way to awaken this stone horse again, so that it can continue to follow the old general, slay plague ghosts, and bring blessings to the people?"

“…”

"You're talking about that…"

In response to Hu Ma's earnest inquiry, the white-bearded old man laughed, waved his hand, and said, "That was just something the young master made up when he was being mischievous back then…"

"I remember clearly that there was no old general, and there was no riding a horse to slay the plague ghost. This stone horse was originally made by a wealthy man in the town to guard his tomb during relocation. At first, there were two of them, but later the other one was broken."

"The one who sculpted this stone horse was also a local craftsman, not even a master craftsman. How could there be anything magical about it?"

“…”

“Hmm?”

Hu Ma was immediately somewhat surprised to hear this. If that was the case, then things were truly different from what he had previously thought.

If it was just a clay sculpture, how could it be awakened?

Da Hongpao was so anxious at the time and had to leave this message for him. Could it be that he was confused, didn't really understand the matter, or didn't explain it clearly?

Hesitating in his heart, he looked at the white-bearded old man and said, "But how did I hear people say that this stone horse can be awakened?"

"Then you can only ask the young master. This was originally made up by him. Our young master was clever and intelligent since he was a child. When he was young, he would say things that people didn't understand, but afterwards, people would feel that they made sense."

The white-bearded old man smiled and said, "For example, at that time, there was also a plague ghost causing trouble in the mountains next to this town, which once caused a disaster. But the young master came up with this story, so everyone went to worship the stone horse, and the disaster was actually eliminated, and the people gained peace."

"Later, the people in this town have died out twice, but I don't know why, the saying of worshiping the stone horse has been preserved. As long as there are people in the town, some people will burn incense."

“…”

The old man's voice was a bit rambling, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Hu Ma simply listened silently, and then slowly asked him, "Then, what were the things that you said someone asked you to keep before? Who gave them to you?"

"Just some old things that the young master used."

The white-bearded old man said, "After the young master got into trouble, the whole family died, and the people in the town also fled. After two or three years, the young master's friends came here to pay their respects to him and left those few old things."

"Afterwards, some people came one after another, and some of them would kowtow to the old man, seemingly wanting to ask for these old things, but I can't make the decision!"

"These were originally the young master's things, of course, only the young master can take them away. How can I give them to others casually?"

“…”

Hu Ma frowned and stared straight at his face, but found that he couldn't seem to see it clearly. The familiar feeling was getting stronger and stronger, and there was a kind of inexplicable oppression in his heart. He slowly exhaled and said in a deep voice, "Then, what if your young master can't come back?"

"He will come back…"

The white-bearded old man smiled and said, "The person who sent the young master's things back said that the young master would definitely come back, because the world will become lighter and lighter, and those people will always realize his importance."

"People need him."

"But he also said that he hoped the young master wouldn't come back too late, otherwise, even if he came back, there would be no way…"

“…”

"The world will become lighter and lighter?"

The strange words made Hu Ma’s heart tighten suddenly: “What does that mean?”

The white-bearded old man smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm just a gatekeeper, I don't know these things, but I think, when the young master comes back, he will definitely understand…"

Seeing that Hu Ma seemed to want to ask more questions, he waved his hand and suddenly said, "I would like to say more, but guests are about to come to this town. The young master is not here now, can you please help me take care of them?"

“…”

"Guests?"

Looking at the smiling old man, Hu Ma seemed to see many familiar things on his face. He calmed himself slightly and, before he could answer, he felt a cool breeze blowing on his face, and he woke up.

Slightly surprised, he saw that the door in front of him was not open. The white-bearded old man and everything else were just an illusion. His heart stirred, he stood up, pushed open the door, and saw a huge tree outside, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The wind was blowing the treetops, making them tremble, and even the few things hanging on the top of the canopy were rising and falling, as if they were about to fall.

"There is truth in falsehood, and falsehood in truth."

Hu Ma stared at this big tree, and after a long time, he sighed softly and said, "The Yi Qian Sect sounds like a trick, but even in the trick, there is nine parts falsehood and one part truth…"

"You gave me this Dawei Tiangong General Seal from the very beginning. Could it be that you were waiting for me from that time on?"

"And the guests…"

“…”

“…”

“Sect Leader, no… Senior Uncle, Senior Uncle…”

Just standing under the old elm tree, thinking quietly, he suddenly heard a burst of cheerful cries outside. Turning his head to look, he saw that Immortal Miaoshan had come again, with an expression on her face that was both a bit surprised and excited.

Hu Ma frowned: "What's wrong?"

Immortal Miaoshan immediately looked more honest after being glanced at by him, but she still couldn't suppress her excitement and said, "They're here. I didn't expect so many people to come…"

"Hmm?"

Hu Ma was also slightly surprised. He followed her out of the mansion, went to a high ground, and looked out. He couldn't help but be a little surprised. He saw that the sun had already risen and shone everywhere with a white light.

On the mountain road leading to this town, there were many groups of people. Some were dressed in rags, some were pushing carts, some were leading thin donkeys, carrying children, and supporting the old and weak. From a distance, they looked like groups of ants, heading towards the town.

Shima Town already had a large population, but now it looked even more crowded. The number of people seemed to have suddenly increased tenfold. Not to mention, there were still more people constantly pouring into the town.

Hu Ma’s expression immediately changed, and he asked in surprise, “Hasn’t the road outside been blocked?”

"It has!"

Immortal Miaoshan hurriedly said, "No one can get out, but I didn't expect that coming in would be fine. The news of our holding the Lantern Blessing Assembly has already been spread. Now that there are strong enemies outside, we originally planned to keep a low profile."

"But because the news inside can't get out, the people outside don't know, and they came on this day."

"But what I didn't expect was that it was as if the people within a few hundred miles had all rushed over. Just looking at it now, this Lantern Blessing Assembly is ten times more lively than we imagined."

“…”

"The three-day agreement has already been set. The officials outside are about to attack. With their abilities, it's not difficult to disperse the people who want to come in. Why did they let them in?"

Even Hu Ma felt a little surprised. He pondered for a long time, looked at the vast crowd around him, took a deep breath, and said, "I'll go out and take a look. You can arrange whatever you need to arrange…"

"Yes, yes, about the Dharma Protectors on the altar…"

“…Wait!”

(End of Chapter)