Twilight Boundary

After all the fuss, the matter was resolved.

Hu Ma heard the elders in the village scolding Li Datou for being unfilial and starving his mother to death. She heard the neighbors smashing the windows of Li Datou's house and the Dong family was blocked. The courtyard gate of Li Datoutou's house yelled at him and asked his family to pay for their pigs.

He also gradually understood the whole story, but he couldn't say anything about it for a while.

Evil spirits are indeed causing evil spirits, but they are ultimately human-made evils.

The person who huddled on the ground was helped up, and she breathed her last. The villagers saw clearly that she was Li Datou's wife.

But it's not like a living person is greedy and comes to grab pig food.

The villagers who arrived in time all heard the shouts of Li Datou's wife before she fainted.

Listening to that voice and movement, it turned out that it was Li's big-headed mother.

It is not difficult to clarify the matter. It was indeed Li Datou's mother who caused the trouble, but it was his wife who ate the pig food.

Li Datou's mother was being treated meanly by her husband and she couldn't have a full meal. Every night she heard that the Dong family's pigs in the backyard were fed in the middle of the night, but she could only go hungry. Envy eventually turned into resentment after starving to death.

Li Datou's wife, who was mean to her during her lifetime, was possessed by her and came over at night to help her fulfill her wish.

However, it was not a powerful thing in the first place. After this scare and popularity, it disappeared.

Of course, Li's big-headed daughter-in-law was attacked by evil spirits, and she became so big-eyed that she was probably going to get seriously ill.

"Young master, I am making you laugh. Who would have thought that there would be such a treacherous thing in Zhuangzi..."

The elders in the village saw with their own eyes the appearance of Mrs. Li after her death, so how could they still not believe it? After taking the lead, they sprayed Mr. Li on the head for a while, then hurriedly came over and bowed to Hu Ma: "Don't worry, we can't spare her." Got him."

"His mother was very good at pulling him since he was a child. She thought about him when she had something delicious to eat, and ate his head like a pig. He was good, but when he grew up, he starved to death!"

"I have to teach him a lesson, and our bank cannot spare him."

"..."

Hu Ma could only nod her head.

Maybe the fact that Li Datou starved his wife to death is not a secret in Zhuangzi.

It's just that in the early days, outsiders didn't bother to pay attention to his own family affairs, but when his starving mother got into trouble, they couldn't ignore it anymore.

If we don't care anymore, what should we do if we cause a bigger evil?

"You must keep an eye on it, burn some incense sticks, and make more offerings."

Hu Ma whispered: "You didn't have enough to eat when you were alive. After you die, you have to give people a full meal."

"That's, that's..."

The elders in the village promised repeatedly: "If this incident gets louder, people from all over the country will know that there is an unfilial son in our village..."

"Who would dare to marry me from now on..."

"..."

Hu Ma felt that his worries were justified, but there was nothing she could say.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the elders in the village let out a long sigh, and finally got to the point: "Thanks to the young master this time, we will definitely burn incense and kowtow to the Red Lantern Lady later. However, look at this time. The problem with gold..."

"Follow money?"

Hu Ma reacted and vaguely remembered that the old shopkeeper also mentioned this issue when he dealt with the nest of yellow immortals.

It's said that it's gold, but it's actually the reward that people in Zhuangzi received for helping the village solve evil spirits.

Logically speaking, it's not a big deal, and I've already had a delicious meal, so I don't care if I take it or not.

But Hu Ma thought of what the shopkeeper had done before, so she nodded and said, "Forget it, just go to the head of the village and send it to the village."

"Yes, yes!"

The elders in the village agreed repeatedly and would serve wine and treat Hu Ma and the others to another meal.

But when Hu Ma saw that the matter was over, he didn't stay much longer, called Zhou Datong and others, and left the village overnight.

When he returned to Zhuangzi, he saw that the lights in the inner courtyard had been turned off, so he went to bed early without disturbing him. Early the next morning, he entered Zhuangzi and reported yesterday's handling to the old shopkeeper.

The old shopkeeper seemed to be numb to such things. He just drank tea and listened silently.

At the end, he suddenly asked Hu Ma: "How are the gifts calculated?"

Why would he ask this?

In a small farmer's household, the money was only a few copper coins. Hu Ma was a little surprised that the old shopkeeper was so concerned.

But he still said: "The first time I went there, I didn't know anything about it, so I told him to calculate it as before and give it to the head of the village and send it over."

"well done."

After hearing this, the old shopkeeper showed a rare smile on his face and said, "You are quite a wise man."

Hu Ma didn't know where this compliment came from and couldn't answer it.

The old shopkeeper seemed to notice his doubts, smiled and said, "Are you curious why we need to accept this gift?"

Hu Ma didn't hide it and nodded.

Not to mention the shopkeeper, even the clerks in the Red Lantern Lady Club need a lot of support every month.

Of course, an ordinary guy only has less than half a tael of silver, which is actually not much.

But compared with the ordinary families in the village and the surrounding villages, they are really not that few.

"Why do you accept this money?"

Seeing that he was in a good mood, the old shopkeeper explained to Hu Ma: "Because if you don't accept it, it will be more troublesome."

"No matter how big or small it is, we come to you. We work for the Red Light Society. Do you care about these things?"

"If you can't manage it, you'll get scolded!"

"..."

Hu Ma understood these things and nodded.

"not to mention……"

But when the old shopkeeper said this, he laughed and said: "If we don't accept it, then it will be all kindness to the Zhuangzi around us."

"They come outside Zhuangzi from time to time, burn incense and kowtow in front of the red lantern. If we continue to help with everything, or even give them some livelihood when we have no way to survive, then we are not just burning incense, but also giving red lanterns Did the empress build a temple?"

"Ah this..."

The first one was understandable by Hu Ma, but the second reason was a bit unexpected.

Building a temple for the Red Lantern Lady seems like a good thing?

Even if the incense owner knew about it, he would only give them Zhuangzi's reward, right?

I was trying hard to digest it in my heart, but I felt that there seemed to be something else in the old shopkeeper's words.

"Haha, the water is deep in here..."

The old shopkeeper just laughed lightly: "Building a temple is easy, but she has to bear it!"

But the last words he said were very quiet, and Hu Ma didn't listen carefully before hearing the old shopkeeper change the subject and say: "We can't offend the people in the surrounding villages, but we can't be too indulging in it."

"Next spring, I might be able to use it for something. If it's too far away, they won't be convinced and won't help you with your work. If it's too close, they'll have a lot of problems and they won't be happy to do the work either."

"I really still have a lot to learn."

Hu Ma smiled and said, "I still need the shopkeeper to teach me more."

“It would be nice to do more.”

The old shopkeeper just smiled faintly, looked at Hu Ma, and said, "Although you come from the stockade, I think you can do things safely."

Hu Ma's heart trembled slightly, and she reacted quickly, and said calmly: "The adults in my family have taught me to always be careful when doing things."

The old shopkeeper smiled and said: "Your lord, you seem to be a knowledgeable person."

This conversation seemed to appear suddenly, but Hu Ma had rehearsed it many times in her mind, so she answered directly and honestly: "My mother-in-law is a ghost walker in the village. She passed away before I came, but when she was alive, But he taught me a lot.”

"oh?"

The old shopkeeper seemed to have already guessed it, so he was not surprised. He just said: "Then why don't you learn the skills of ghost people?"

"Can't learn."

Hu Ma said: "I am naturally timid, and even now I am afraid of evil spirits. Besides, my mother-in-law also said that there is nothing to learn from that."

"She has been wandering around the village for twenty years and hasn't lost anything!"

"..."

After coming here for so long, Hu Ma has long understood the identity of the "ghost walkers". In these ten miles and eight villages, plus the Laoyin Mountain, there are actually quite a few ghost walkers. They not only treat people's illnesses, but also deal with evil spirits. Dealing with it, just like the witch doctor in the previous life, it doesn't seem special to say it.

Of course, Hu Ma also knew in her heart that walking ghosts like her mother-in-law, who could cut Tai Sui's blood alone, might not be the same as others.

But of course she wouldn't tell others about her mother-in-law's abilities.

Even the old shopkeeper may not believe it.

"Haha, this is true..."

The old shopkeeper was also surprised. He seemed to be touched by Hu Ma's words. He smiled lightly and said, "Ghosts are the ones who are most affected by karma."

Hearing that he seemed to be feeling a little emotional, Hu Ma's heart moved slightly, and she boldly said: "Then..."

"...Where are we, the keepers of the year?"

"..."

The old shopkeeper looked up at Hu Ma and sighed softly.

Hu Ma suddenly felt that the old shopkeeper's eyes looked a little heavy and complicated at this moment.

At the same time, he also felt that there seemed to be eyes looking at him from behind the wooden window in the side room of the inner courtyard.

Is it that woman?

"We keep track of the year..."

The old shopkeeper paused for a moment and then said softly: "Theoretically speaking, Ben is the least affected by cause and effect."

"But living in this world, who can escape?"

"You should work harder and learn your skills. You have just entered the door now, and it's still early for troublesome things to happen..."

"..."

Those who are most involved in cause and effect, and those who are least involved in cause and effect...

Hu Ma thought about the difference carefully. Seeing that the shopkeeper didn't want to talk much, he also thought about it and walked out.

In my heart, I felt that shopkeeper Wu had asked himself these questions sooner or later, but now that he was asking after the Dharma was taught, it was a little later than he thought.

Now that I answered truthfully, I felt relaxed.

Now that he has made it clear that he is the grandson of a ghost man, it will be convenient for him to say anything later.

Now, I have obtained the magic method, I have the old items, and the shopkeeper who handled the matter is quite satisfied. It seems that everything went well.

However, I had a vague feeling in my heart that I seemed to have forgotten something?

After thinking about it...

...brown sugar eggs?