Chapter 171

"What...is going on with this person?"

The originally full and joyous banquet had suddenly become indescribably strange due to the appearance of these strange figures.

Everyone present had already looked over at them. Some recognized them, some didn't, but for some reason, looking at them this late at night gave everyone an uncomfortable feeling.

Under the sinister gaze of the other party, Second Master's cheerful expression vanished. He slowly used the table to help himself up, as if his shoulders were weighed down. After several attempts, he stammered, "How dare I? Master Peng, you...you should sit inside."

"Sit inside?"

Iron Hand Peng sneered coldly, his expression obscured by the candlelight, making him look somewhat ferocious. He said in a cold voice, "I can't afford to sit there. A table for ten, and you're sitting at the head? I'm just asking you, do you even have your master in your eyes?"

Upon hearing this, Second Master's heart was instantly filled with alarm, and cold sweat flowed down. He realized the terrible implications.

He was currently sitting at the head of the table, but in theory, considering status, it should be the Grain Protector General; considering age, it should be Old Master Sun; and considering skill, he now guessed that it should be his own apprentice.

However, the people who came to observe the ceremony were far too polite, praising this old man and forcing him to sit here. If he yielded his seat, would he really let Iron Hand Peng sit here?

While facing Iron Hand Peng's aggressive questioning, Hu Ma also frowned, taking a deep look at Iron Hand Peng and the disciples around him. He whispered to Old Master Sun, "Alive or dead?"

"Or perhaps, possessed by something?"

"......"

He couldn't care about anything else at the moment. Just a glance told him that there was something wrong with this returned fellow. His aggressive demeanor seemed to carry a strange aura.

"Not dead, alive."

Old Master Sun immediately understood what Hu Ma was asking. Sentinels were intuitively sensitive and could spot clues at a glance. He said in surprise, "I recognize this person. How did he appear here?"

"This person is a sentinel; he wouldn't be easily possessed by mountain demons."

"Even if a demon forcibly possessed a sentinel, it wouldn't be able to hide its demonic aura so cleanly."

"..."

Old Master Tang, who was sitting to the side, also quickly scanned the area and whispered, "Doesn't seem to be a puppet technique from the Xinghun school or a life-borrowing method from the Siming school. The Xinghun school can manipulate souls, but they would definitely need to insert needles into the Yintang point."

"The Siming school can borrow life, but the speech and actions of the person being borrowed from would become like the life-borrower's. This person's joints are stiff and his face is filled with dark energy, clearly a sign of being affected. But surprisingly..."

He shook his head, "Surprisingly, I can't see any clues at all?"

Listening to their words, Hu Ma confirmed his own guesses. In fact, besides what these two mentioned, there was another method to see if someone was being controlled, and that was to look at their eyes. This was the most common method, usable both inside and outside the schools.

A person who had been affected, no matter how normal their speech and actions seemed, would have slightly dilated pupils, a dull gaze, or some strange color emerging from deep within if you stared into their eyes.

But Iron Hand Peng walked stiffly and breathed erratically, clearly showing something was wrong, but his eyes were extremely lively.

To see things, you had to look at the key points. Finding the problem was the best way to deal with it. Now, the three grandmasters and many other capable people present couldn't see anything, so everyone was afraid to act rashly for a moment.

"It really is Iron Hand Peng; we can't let him spoil the festivities."

Hu Ma whispered to Old Master Sun and Old Master Tang, then secretly winked at Little Red, signaling her to check the surroundings of the village for any movement. He was already preparing to get up and take this person down first.

But Old Master Sun winked at him, whispering, "If something is abnormal, it's a demon. Don't act rashly. Let me test him with a few words."

With that, he stood up, feigning surprise, and carefully looked at the newcomer twice. He suddenly said, "So it's you? Peng Iron Hand, you also came to observe the mountain sacrifice ceremony?"

"It hasn't been a few years since we last met. You wouldn't have forgotten me, would you? Why aren't you even greeting me?"

"..."

Hu Ma immediately understood that sentinels didn't usually wander around like him. They mostly dealt with others from the sentinel school. Ming Prefecture and Gun Prefecture were close, and people in the schools mostly knew each other, at least by reputation and face.

If they couldn't see the problem for the moment, they could only treat the other person as normal. By probing with words, they could find the problem.

"Hey, Old Master Sun, of course I saw you."

Iron Hand Peng stepped forward, saying, "I not only saw you, but also Old Master Tang. You two are grandmasters, and I would have to bow to you if we met."

"But today is different. Even if I saw you, I would have to pretend not to. Why? Because the person sitting next to you has to call me Master!"

"In that case, you two have to come and bow to me first!"

"..."

Hearing his words, both Hu Ma and Old Master Tang were slightly surprised. They couldn't see any flaws earlier, and now that they heard this, they could be even more certain that this Iron Hand Peng was still Iron Hand Peng. Not only was he not controlled, but his thoughts were his own.

Could it be that he was being forced?

But looking at his expression, there wasn't the slightest hint of unwillingness.

"Master?"

Old Master Sun looked even more surprised and laughed, "I know your skills. Haven't seen you in a few years, have you joined the yamen?"

"Speaking of skills, there's a great sentinel in this village. He could take on both of us alone. Why would people leave a great sentinel beside them and go out to worship you, a mediocre nobody, as their master?"

"..."

Iron Hand Peng heard the teasing in Old Master Sun's words, and his face became even more unbearable.

But he was actually very aware of his own limitations. In front of Old Master Sun, he tacitly admitted that he was a mediocre nobody, but he gritted his teeth and said with a cold face, "It doesn't matter how great my skills are. It doesn't matter what capable people your village produces."

"I'm standing here today just to ask..."

As he said that, he took a step forward and suddenly raised his voice, "Zhou Huai, haven't you kowtowed and called me Master?"

Second Master's mind was already in chaos. Now, the village was only able to invite these respectable people through the connections and favors of a few younger ones. Since the founding of Great Sheep Village, the village had never been as glorious as it was today.

But because this glory was marred by disgrace, it was all the more unbearable.

He nodded softly, "Yes, I have."

Iron Hand Peng was even more determined when he heard this. He said again, "Did you also teach your disciples the moves I taught you?"

Second Master trembled and could only nod, "Yes."

Iron Hand Peng's face suddenly hardened, "Did I allow you to pass them on?"

Second Master's lips trembled, unable to speak.

Even those who hadn't seen that there was something wrong with Iron Hand Peng had long felt that the situation was wrong. Yang Gong's face turned cold, and he suddenly looked at Chief Steward Xu at the end of the table, his eyes asking for guidance.

Chief Steward Xu was also shocked and slowly shook his head, signaling that the Grain Protector General was a guest, that the matter wasn't his concern, and that it hadn't reached the point of beheading anyone yet.

"Hehe, even if he passed them on, it's nothing..."

Iron Hand Peng, seeing that Second Master wasn't speaking, laughed coldly, but suddenly turned his gaze to Hu Ma and shouted, "I won't pursue whether you passed on this method or not, but I'm just asking you, since you passed it on, shouldn't they call me Grandmaster?"

"You..."

Hearing these words, the usually tough Second Master swayed.

He naturally didn't want Hu Ma and the others to worship him, already feeling a sense of guilt, as if he had become a stumbling block for his children.

But at this moment, all around was silent. Hu Ma couldn't sit still any longer and was about to get up to speak when he suddenly saw a wine jar smash in front of Iron Hand Peng with a "pa" sound. Wine splashed everywhere, and everyone was shocked.

It was the old patriarch sitting next to Second Master, who had already drunk quite a bit of wine.

At this moment, the other guests either didn't understand or didn't see through the situation, but he was already furious. He smashed the wine jar, still not appeased, and shouted at Second Master, "Second, I heard it. This person, is he the one you followed to learn skills when you were young?"

Second Master nodded with some difficulty.

Iron Hand Peng was even more smug when he heard this, but before he could speak, the old patriarch suddenly flew into a rage. He picked up a stone from the side and was about to charge forward, cursing, "I'll smash you to death, you bastard..."

"Always bullying my brother, right?"

"You tricked him away when he was young, saying you would teach him skills. He followed you and left for [expletive]. A man eight or nine feet tall came back looking sickly and almost dead. How long did it take to get his life back?"

"If you have skills, you can teach or not teach, why bother tricking people?"

"Even if it's livestock, if you raise it for seven or eight years, you have to give it good feed so it can work!"

"You took people away, didn't give them money, didn't teach them skills. Even if you're a con man, you should give them a clear answer before they come back, so they can give up on this hope and not waste their lives..."

"..."

This scolding stunned everyone around. They all looked up, their eyes already extremely gloomy.

After the old patriarch burst into a torrent of curses, someone stopped him from actually charging over with the stone. He casually threw it away and cursed at the young and strong men in the village, "What are you staring at with those two holes for?"

"Your Second Master is being bullied, aren't you going to beat this old bastard to death!"

"..."

"Swish!"

The villagers, especially the young people, were furious when they heard this. They rushed over, and some immediately went to grab hoes and pitchforks.

Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and the others couldn't bear it any longer and stood up, their eyes looking at Hu Ma.

This scene clearly made Iron Hand Peng's face change. He suddenly glared and shouted, "Whether I teach or not is my business. I'm just asking him one thing: Wasn't that kowtow he gave me in the beginning not forced by me?"

"He kowtowed, called me Master, but couldn't do it every day, which is improper. I see no face for your Great Sheep Village to perform the mountain sacrifice!"