Twilight Boundary

"Are the voices in the dream real? Or am I longing for the previous world so much that I had such a strange dream?"

Hu Ma silently thought about the weird temple in her dream and the voice she heard before waking up, feeling depressed in her heart.

He silently opened the quilt and got out of bed.

In this weird environment, he didn't dare to take off his clothes and shoes, which made it easier to get up.

only……

...It seems that I didn't lie down last night, so who covered me with this quilt later?

Outside the house, the old woman was already waiting with a cane and a bag on her back.

Seeing Hu Ma coming out, he said coldly: "Let's go!"

Hu Ma was afraid of her, but also subconsciously wanted to please her. She took two steps forward and said, "Should I carry the bag?"

The mother-in-law seemed a little surprised and took a deep look at Hu Ma.

Probably because he didn't sleep well last night, Hu Ma had heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face was pale and bloodless, and he looked a little listless.

The mother-in-law's expression seemed a little heavy, and she shook her head and said, "You have an injury on your shoulder, so you can't lift heavy objects."

"Let's go to Laohuotangzi first and pay homage to our ancestors."

"..."

Hu Ma didn't know what the old Huotangzi had to do with his ancestors, but he was too tired to ask.

The road surface is gravel, and in some places there is still water from the recent rain, making it muddy and wet.

The morning mist filled the sky over the village, casting a mysterious aura on everything near and far.

It is indeed completely different from the world in Hu Ma's memory. It is ancient and remote, and has an inexplicable sense of alienation and dilapidation.

Hu Ma didn't know why, facing this world, she felt a little frightened.

At this moment, his left hand suddenly felt cold. When he looked down, it was the little girl named Hongtang who came close to him and held his hand.

"Let's go, Brother Huma..."

She raised her head and looked at herself with a smile, full of joy.

She looks like a little girl who is afraid when going out, so she always holds the hands of adults and walks with her.

"But she is a little monster..."

In his heart, he refused to hold the little girl's hand, but he didn't dare to let go, so he could only endure it.

He held her hand and walked forward, following the rickety back of the mother-in-law in front of her.

…

This was the second time Hu Ma went out. Different from yesterday's panic and dizziness, this time, he could clearly see what the world looked like. It seemed to be among mountains. He looked in every direction and could see towering towers. Mountain peaks reaching into the clouds, and green and deep woods.

Surrounded by continuous wooden buildings, layer upon layer, the gravel paths divide them irregularly, outlining the appearance of a stockade.

This time, he looked more carefully, but still didn't find anything modern that he was familiar with.

Whether it is the clothes of the people in the village, the farm tools, the clumsy stone mills and the wet wells, there is an ancient atmosphere.

"Wow..."

While walking, there was a house in front of me, who opened his door.

But when he looked up and saw Hu Ma and his party, he hurried back and quietly closed the door.

I got up early in the village and met three or five groups of people on the road from time to time, but when I saw my mother-in-law approaching, they all quietly avoided her.

I really couldn't retreat, so I just stood there in embarrassment, smiling at my mother-in-law.

Vaguely, Hu Ma also heard someone in a nearby room whispering: "Grandma Hu is still very capable..."

"This boy from the Hu family is so powerful that he can be saved..."

"..."

"Oh, look at the direction Granny Hu is going, is she going to Laohuotangzi?"

"Can the ancestors recognize Xiao Huma?"

"Shh..."

"..."

"Hongtang doesn't like the folks..."

While walking silently, the little girl suddenly looked up at Hu Ma and said, "My mother-in-law has been helping them see doctors. Even the poor family members don't take money and give herbal medicines. But now they are avoiding her mother-in-law, afraid that her mother-in-law will borrow their lives." To Brother Huma..."

"Borrowing your life?"

Hu Ma looked at the little girl's face and didn't know how to answer her question.

The villagers are all afraid of the mother-in-law, and so are I...

However, the identity of this mother-in-law is that she is a doctor in the village or a goddess?

In my previous life, in some remote and ancient villages, the responsibilities of treating diseases and exorcising evil spirits were often performed by one person.

With fear in their eyes, an old man, a young man, and a young man walked through the village and arrived at a hillside in the north.

As early as down the slope, several people were already waiting.

The leader was wearing a sheepskin coat, with a long cast iron cigarette rod tied around his waist, and his old face was full of wrinkles.

"Mr. Hu's mother-in-law..."

Seeing Hu Ma and his mother-in-law and others coming, he hurriedly came up to him. He glanced at Hu Ma first, then turned his eyes and said hesitantly to his mother-in-law: "Look at Hu Ma, my nephew is in good health, but you... ...Do you really want to take your nephew into the old fire pond?"

The mother-in-law slowly looked up at him, and then glanced at the timid middle-aged people behind him.

"is it not OK?"

"..."

"no no……"

The old man shook his head hurriedly and whispered: "Isn't little Hu Ma just fine? Why don't you let him raise him again?"

"It's just because I'm good that I want to enter Laohuotangzi."

The mother-in-law's attitude seemed very firm: "If the ancestors don't bless him, who will bless him?"

The old man's face suddenly became very embarrassed.

But the mother-in-law didn't say much and took the lead in walking forward. Xiao Hongtang also held Hu Ma's hand and followed behind excitedly.

When the old man arrived, he couldn't persuade her any more, and the people behind him all nodded to her mother-in-law with smiling faces.

But when the mother-in-law passed by, she came close to the old man in the sheepskin coat and said with some embarrassment:

"Patriarch, my mother-in-law is doing this, just watch..."

"There's nothing we can do!"

The old patriarch said: "Who in this village has the nerve to stop my mother-in-law?"

"Do you want to give up your conscience?"

"Let's see what the ancestors mean..."

"..."

After going up the slope, Hu Ma saw a pit of twenty square meters on this flat land.

It was surrounded by adobe bricks and was in the shape of a long strip. The pit was filled with ash.

You can still vaguely see the dark red carbon fire hidden under the surface ash, and the smoke curls up, as if the fire inside has never been extinguished.

The most important thing is that Hu Ma actually saw an unburnt skull in the pond.

Only half of it was left, lying on the ashes, staring at him with empty eyes.

"Is this old Huotang a person who burns people to death?"

Hu Ma was shocked: "My mother-in-law is thinking of bringing her here, so she won't have to fill her in, right?"

"Kneel down."

But at this moment, the mother-in-law had already walked to the fire pond, took off the baggage on her back, and whispered to Hu Ma in a low voice.

Hu Ma was very obedient and knelt down.

Xiao Hongtang next to her didn't kneel down, but squatted on the side with a smile, holding her chin with her little hand and looking at him.

"Kneel forward and let the ancestors take a good look at you."

When the mother-in-law saw Hu Ma kneeling seven or eight meters away, she frowned and motioned for him to come forward.

Hu Ma had no choice but to kneel in front. He was less than one meter away from the old fire pond. He could already feel it with his body. The hot air emanating from the old fire pond was thick and oppressive. He was covered in sweat and felt like he was breathing. It's all a bit difficult.

The mother-in-law took out incense, bowls, meat, and charms from the bag.

Little by little, I burned incense, offered meat, and burned talismans. I did it all respectfully, then lowered my head and prayed:

"The Hu family has been in the village for 20 years, helping their neighbors to protect the village and cultivate the fields diligently."

"Now the Hu family is in trouble, and the enemies are forcing the kid to pester them."

"Now I ask my ancestors to protect my grandson and pay back more of the incense money later..."

"..."

She closed her eyes and babbled, repeating these words over and over again.

Hu Ma didn't hear it clearly the first time, but she gradually heard it later. Seeing her solemn and pious look, she was slightly moved.

This mother-in-law really cares about her grandson...

pity……

But before this thought could pass by, a sudden gust of wind blew over the old fire pond.

Hu Ma's eyes flashed, and she suddenly felt that the heat inside the old fire pond instantly became freezing cold.

The cold seemed to be forced directly into the seams of the bones, freezing his whole body.

At this moment, his ears were filled with gibberish that came from nowhere.

It was as if a hundred people were whispering, but the voices were all crowded together and poured into his ears.

Not only that, his eyes also hurt badly. He subconsciously raised his hand to rub it, and then suddenly froze.

In the old fire pond, the half-burned skull actually had an eye, looking at him coldly and sinisterly.

Then, he saw a hand reaching out from the ashes.

Then a second hand, then a face, a second face, a third face.

One by one, illusory arms and cold, translucent faces emerged from the ashes.

Are they dozens of people, hundreds of people, or thousands of people?

They were densely packed and intertwined, like a centipede that had grown hundreds of thousands of arms and was spliced ​​again.

Countless people were crowded into the fire pit, which was less than twenty square meters.

Bodies intertwined and overlapped, like a crushed crowd.

Countless faces were crowded together, and countless eyes were staring up and down at Hu Ma, blinking densely.

Some are eerie and indifferent, some are confused and ignorant, and some are curious and fearful.

"Buzz!"

Hu Ma was shocked by this scene, and panic burst out of her chest, almost stopping her heartbeat.

He just stared blankly at the endless figures emerging from the old fire pond.

The cold wind whistled around the fire pond, and her mother-in-law's chanting voice became more and more anxious. Xiao Hongtang hid far away.

Like a weird human tree, more illusory figures kept coming out of the fire pit.

They were just a short distance away, looking down at Hu Ma indifferently.

No one reached out.

…

…

The mother-in-law kept her head lowered and chanted, as if she couldn't breathe.

But the more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. It was not until the three sticks of incense she lit in front of her burned to the bottom at an unusual speed that she suddenly stopped.

Dirty hair covered her face, and her expression could not be seen. All she could hear was her disappointed sigh.

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