Could a coffin board become a spirit and seek revenge?
And why did it claim to be this strange granny's grandson, using such cruel methods to lock itself up?
The bizarre scenes unfolding before him, along with the intense unease rising in his heart, once again hit Hu Ma's barely recovered mind with a powerful shock. Fear, confusion, and misunderstanding overwhelmed him again, making him see stars and feel as if the dizziness would swallow him whole.
But this time, he managed to hold on without fainting and forced himself to look at the granny.
That granny stood by the door, watching Hu Ma with a chilling stare. Under her messy hair, her eyes seemed incapable of movement.
She saw Hu Ma tottering but not falling unconscious, and her gaze grew a bit complicated.
After a long time, she slowly lowered her eyelids and said softly, "You woke up earlier than I expected, and your spirit is stronger than I thought. It looks like you're getting better."
Has she finally decided to talk? Hu Ma held onto his sanity, realizing that this time was different from before. He had screamed countless times at this granny, sometimes fainting, sometimes waking in pain. When she approached, he often wanted to struggle and resist. Yet, this granny had always observed coldly, unmoved. He even began to suspect she couldn't speak.
Hu Ma immediately locked his gaze on her, trembling as he spoke, "You... what exactly is going on with me?"
"Why are you keeping me locked up?"
"..."
"You're sick."
The eerie granny slowly walked in, sat on a small stool, and said in a low voice, "I'm treating your illness."
"Treating my illness?"
Hu Ma's voice was almost distorted. You need to do that to treat an illness? You pierced my scapula to hang me from the beam, chanting scriptures, burning talismans, pouring hot oil on my body, tormenting me by skinning and tearing out muscles, yet you claim it's for healing? It's clearly torture, isn't it? Or is it more like using some sinister method on me?
Granny seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said gloomily, "You're very ill."
Very ill? Hu Ma felt his mind was in chaos. Even if I am, do they have to hang people to treat them? With a sudden burst of resolve, he shouted loudly, "Stop pretending to be a shaman! You... just let me down..."
"..."
The granny listened to his shouting without a change in expression, slowly putting down the bundle she carried back. It was as if she had returned to the state of ignoring Hu Ma's words.
But a little girl with two small pigtails suddenly said crisply, "Brother Huma doesn't remember Granny anymore."
"The Meng Family sent a ghost to kill Brother Huma, but Granny is skilled and called Brother Huma's soul back."
"But Brother Huma keeps wanting to run away, so Granny bound Brother Huma's soul to his body."
"Granny chants the calming spell for Brother Huma every day, feeds him soup and medicine, and even gave him meat from Master Tai Sui to eat. Now Brother Huma finally doesn't run around anymore, but Brother Huma doesn't recognize Granny or Little Hongtang."
"..."
She seemed visibly unhappy by the end, her small mouth pouting.
But what she said left Hu Ma feeling a sudden confusion. What was all this?
He couldn't help but recall the constant, buzzing chanting sound from that period, the strange talisman water and soup he had been forced to drink, and the twisted imagery of repeated, excruciating torment. An indescribable fear of this nightmarish situation washed over him.
"He just had his soul stabilized, so not remembering things is normal."
As the little girl narrated, the granny wore a grim expression, slowly taking items out of the bundle. There were incense candles, paper money, and a block of meat wrapped in red paper, soaking through with grease.
Her voice was slow, and after a long pause, she said, "You'll get better."
"The last descendant of the Hu Family won't be killed off by the Meng family this way..."
With the situation developing to this point, Hu Ma's mind was in turmoil. He recalled how she'd looked at him hostilely, like a foe, in his disjointed memory. He couldn't maintain his composure and almost yelled out, but restrained himself as he realized something.
Slightly pursing his lips, he suddenly looked up at the granny and cautiously said, "Then..."
"Now that I'm better, can you..."
"...let me down?"
"..."
Everything else was secondary. If they insisted on saying so, convincing them to help unhook him was the main point.
Indeed, under his worried watch, the granny's expression darkened a bit, and she shook her head slowly.
"Even though you're better, it's better to stay fixed a few more days..."
"..."
Just as Hu Ma's heart sank, she stopped midway, as if making some decision, and suddenly glanced at Hu Ma. This look was so sharp that Hu Ma quickly avoided it. He felt her scanning him, and perhaps, she noticed the blood dripping from his shoulder where he had tried to escape the hook.
Then, unexpectedly, her tone softened, "But it is uncomfortable hanging there. If you want to be unhooked, then be unhooked."
"..."
Hu Ma was momentarily surprised, "Then..."
"..."
"I'll do it!"
Just as he was about to ask how to unhook himself, he suddenly heard the little girl in the red dress excitedly shout.
She was quite short, less than a meter tall, with thin arms and legs, but her movements were remarkably agile. Springing off the floor, she had already leaped onto Hu Ma's back. Her two little feet in embroidered shoes braced against Hu Ma's shoulders, and her small, pale hands grasped the iron hook. Her form tensed as she exerted force.
"SQUELCH..."
A surge of sharp pain struck, and before Hu Ma could react, one of the iron hooks had already been pulled out. She quickly let go and rolled over Hu Ma's back, grabbing the other iron hook, proceeding in the same way.
His shoulders immediately bled profusely, and Hu Ma only felt a sudden lightness. But right after came a wave of excruciating pain, and his vision filled with stars as he lost control, collapsing to the ground.
Yet right after, he heard a series of giggles, and saw a fleeting chaotic red shadow. The areas of burning pain on his shoulders soon after felt an icy chill, jolting his mind awake.
Opening his eyes, he found the little girl in red extending her tongue to lick his wounds. As her long, thin tongue passed over the wounds, the bleeding holes immediately stopped bleeding, and even the intense pain greatly subsided.
What on earth is this little girl...? Hu Ma realized there was a problem, but amidst the confusion, he couldn't dwell on it. The little girl had already flipped over his body and was licking the two bleeding holes on his back. Although Hu Ma's body was thin and weak, it still weighed over a hundred pounds, yet she casually pushed and turned him with her two slender arms.
This rapid change in events threw Hu Ma's thoughts into disarray as he panted heavily.
The entire time, the granny remained seated on the stool, slowly pouring herself a cup of cold tea to drink. Her gaze was slightly averted as if she were contemplating something.
The room was silent, only the sound of Hu Ma's rough breaths, strong and powerful.
She seemed to feel slightly relieved, and after a long time, slowly stood up, saying to the little girl, "Little Hongtang, take care of your brother. I need to go to the Cui Family tomb to check."
"Grand Master Cui's death back then was suspicious. I had that locust wood board guard him for twenty years. However, perhaps the thunder and rain a few nights ago disturbed the grave, causing the coffin board to run back and seek retribution from me. In that case, Grand Master Cui's corpse probably isn't resting peacefully either..."
"..."
She reached the door but seemed to remember something, turning back to advise Hu Ma, "You're just recovering. Your body's very frail, making it easy to attract evil spirits. Don't run around outside."
"When Granny returns, she'll cure you..."
"..."
Not run? I'd be a fool not to run!
Hu Ma heard her advice indistinctly. He closed his eyes, as if still seeing Granny's sharp, sinister gaze. The torment and anguish of the past days lingered, and the scalding oil and skinning pains from the times he vaguely woke loomed vividly. It felt as though I endured the torture of the Eighteen Levels of Hell each day!
He remembered the eerie gaze of Granny as he lay in a daze, and the strange meat forcefully fed to him, causing a dizzying headache and a feeling of something monstrous growing within. He had long reached his limit, unable to determine what horrors might transpire if it persisted.
Ritual sacrifice? Soul transfer? Nurturing a little ghost? What did she mean by 'cure'?
Many questions stormed his mind, but Hu Ma knew there was only one chance. If I'm hooked up again, it'll all be over.
With his mind in panic, he clenched his jaw, silently accumulating the remnants of strength in his body, forcing himself to stay awake.
Guessing that Granny had gone far, Hu Ma suddenly opened his eyes.
The moment he opened them, he saw the little girl in red, squatting nearby and watching him.
They locked eyes, big eyes staring into small ones, neither speaking.
Hu Ma felt a slight heaviness in his heart, forcing himself not to bolt out of the room. Though Granny had left, she left this strange creature to watch him. If he truly wanted to escape, he would have to deal with this little creature first.