MTL - Twilight Boundary

Chapter 17 The Body of the Dead

The confused teenagers woke up from their dreams, put on their clothes in a panic, and ran out.

Without washing their faces or brushing their teeth, some even didn’t wear pants. They rolled out of bed, kicked up their shoes, and ran out.

On the first day Hu Ma came here, he was completely confused, but he had no choice but to follow in a daze.

The second master stood in the middle of the yard, holding a copper smoking pole in his hand. If anyone moved too slowly, he would kick them out of the yard.

Hu Ma also got up and walked out of the side room. He was hesitant and moved slowly. The second master almost kicked him.

When he saw it was flax, he took it back and just hummed: "Go quickly and follow me."

Hu Ma felt her cold limbs and wanted to ask something, but she didn't know where to start, so she ran out of the yard.

After running on the mountain for a while, the young people became lively, and gradually they began to talk and laugh.

Some of them hadn't even kicked on their shoes yet, but they were still running very fast. Until they were halfway around the hillside, they saw a clear spring gurgling out from under the rock and forming a small pool at the bottom of the hillside. The teenagers When they got here, they all squatted down and randomly picked up spring water and splashed it on their faces.

Not only did they wash their faces and mouth, some people even went crazy and jumped in as soon as they took off their pants.

　　But after only a few washes, people were already running back laughing, shouting at the same time:

“Whoever runs slowly will lick the widow’s butt…”

　　　…”

A group of people suddenly started to make a fuss and hurriedly climbed up from the edge of the pool, only then did Hu Ma follow.

He only felt that his limbs were weak, cold and heavy, and his doubts were getting heavier.

Logically speaking, since I have been exercising for such a long time, even if my body is colder, I should feel more alive.

 But the more I ran, the colder I became, my face turned pale, and I didn’t even break a sweat.

Looking at the lively young people in front of him, who seemed to have endless energy, he didn't want to lick the widow's ass, but he felt that his body was getting heavier and heavier.

 But if you really want to keep up, it seems you can do it.

His body was cold, which made one place extremely hot: his lower abdomen, where the fire was.

 Last night, after the performance, this place was hot and full, and it is also now.

As soon as I wanted to increase my speed, I vaguely felt that the fire was spreading from my lower abdomen to my whole body.

It was this fire that made me feel cold and weak, but I didn't really faint, and I could even follow the teenagers from a distance.

 But as a result, the fire in the furnace is obviously weakening.

Didn’t Erye say that as long as the body is not broken, the fire will continue to increase?

Thinking about it carefully, Hu Ma became more and more surprised.

By the time he reluctantly ran back to the yard, others were already queuing up.

At this time, I saw a large pot, a basket, a dustpan, and a pile of large porcelain bowls placed in the yard.

The young people who came back from running in the mountains all took bowls and lined up to serve the rice, with their mouths watering.

 Unexpectedly, there is meat.

When Hu Ma also took a bowl to serve the porridge, he discovered that there were pieces of bacon in the rice porridge, which were about the thickness of a thumb. They were cooked together with the porridge. When serving the porridge, each person put one strip in the bowl.

The teenagers were obviously most concerned about this cut of meat. When they were serving the porridge, they all opened their eyes wide and yelled at the spoon:

　　“That piece, that piece, give me...your grandma a leg!”

　　　…”

 “Dog, as if it has never eaten meat…”

　　A chubby young man standing in front of Hu Ma stretched his head and turned around with a curse: "They robbed them all."

Hu Ma was full of herself and thought subconsciously: "What is that?"

 “Mountain meat…”

The young man said: "Bai Taisui, that's all for one day. It's all thanks to these things that I can survive in one day..."

 “Why is Bai Taisui black?”

Hima was confused, and then she realized, yes, pickled ones are naturally black...

This group of teenagers are all half-grown lads. When they are growing up, they exercise so much that they can only last the whole day by relying on this kind of dried meat marinated in Bai Tai Sui.

 No wonder everyone is so anxious when it’s time to eat.

But I heard from Erye that the adults in the village can't even afford this kind of white Tai Sui. So, is this a special treatment for young people studying arts?

His limbs were cold, and his brain seemed to be slowing down.

He was not greedy for the Tai Sui meat, but he was eager to eat more hot food to warm up his body.

 Finally he reached him and picked up the bowl like the others.

But the tall and thin young man in charge of the spoon glanced at him and said with a smile: "Young master of the Hu family, are you still trying to steal meat from us?"

As he spoke, he took out a spoonful and when he was about to pour it into the bowl, he shook it again.

 The piece of meat happened to fall back again.

Hu Ma looked up and saw the other party smiling, as if he wasn't leaving yet.

 This person seems to be somewhat hostile to me...

But Hu Ma was too preoccupied to bother with it. She just brought the porridge and two buns, walked to the side and ate slowly. They don’t even have a long table here. When eating, you squat here and I squat over there, chirping.

 Some even made trouble while eating, grabbing the piece of dried meat in the bowl.

 But when I ate the flax, I felt very strange.

The porridge was still hot, and many young men nearby held bowls in their hands and drank from it, for fear of burning it.

 But Hu Ma drank it little by little, but he still felt that his body was still cold. He could feel the heat of the porridge, and it still felt like his mouth was burning.

 But after drinking it, I couldn't feel the slightest warmth, and it disappeared.

 How could this situation occur?

 I didn’t feel this way even when I was staying in the village before...

He was vaguely afraid of this cold feeling.

 “Little Huma, come in!”

At this moment, the second master walked out of the main room, waved to Hu Ma, and called him to come in.

“You just lit the stove and ate this bowl of meat.”

　　　…”

"Um?"

Hu Ma looked at it in surprise and saw a bowl on the square table in the room, which contained large, smooth pieces of stewed meat.

Turning around again, I saw that a piece of meat that Er Ye had hung on the beam yesterday had been cut off.

“Isn’t this the apprenticeship ceremony given by my mother-in-law to the second master?”

Hu Ma calmed down and recognized that it was the meat she had brought yesterday. It was not small in size, but it was still different from the blood Tai Sui she usually ate. It was dark in color.

Then he said to the second master: "That's to honor the second master. I can just follow the others and eat."

 “You can eat if I tell you to.”

The second master glared at him and said, "My mother-in-law gave me such a large piece of green Tai Sui. That's because your Hu family respects the rules."

“But Second Master, I am so old, what can I do to make up for this?”

　　"You just have to eat it, learn this skill early, and earn it yourself to honor me."

　　　…”

Hu Ma was a little moved, but seeing that the second master was not polite, he also sat down and ate slowly, thinking about how to speak.

But before he could ask, as the pieces of meat in the bowl went down into his stomach, Hu Ma suddenly felt a faint warmth rising in his chest.

The coldness of his limbs and bones was slowly driven away by the heat, and he felt the warmth again.

Even the cold rune on his chest was felt again, and he realized that it was blocking the heat in his body.

And following the traces of runes, it slowly returned to the lower abdomen, and the fire in the furnace began to grow faintly.

This feeling, like a frozen body gradually coming to life, made Hu Madu stop using his chopsticks for a moment.

 “Second Master…”

He tried hard to keep his voice steady and whispered: "After eating this meat, I feel that the furnace in my body is burning..."

 “How fresh…”

Hearing Hu Ma's words, the second master couldn't help but burst into laughter and said: "This mountain meat is the most nourishing thing even if it is said to be Tai Sui."

"You have eaten and your anger has been strong, and Liu Erniang's yin energy has introduced your anger into your stomach. Doesn't the furnace become more and more prosperous?"

"This is just like adding good firewood to the stove, and the more it burns, the more prosperous it will be. Otherwise, why do you think those boys are so greedy for that bit of dried meat?"

"That…"

Hu Ma vaguely understood, but felt even more uncertain: "What if we don't eat Tai Sui meat?"

“If you don’t eat, as long as you stop distracting thoughts and don’t break your body, the stove will burn hotter and hotter. People are just like fire.”

The second master said: "Your generation has a good life. In the early years, we didn't have enough food in vain. We had to carry it all by ourselves, but we can still light the stove."

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　…

The second master’s rambling words made Hu Ma’s scalp tingle for a while, and he carefully asked the last question:

“So, if you don’t eat Tai Sui meat, your body will have no heat at all, and even the stove you light will become weaker and weaker?”

　　　…”

 “What crazy things did the silly boy say?”

The second master looked at him strangely and said, "If a person's body has no heat at all, then he is dead?"

  “!”

Hearing this, Hu Ma felt horrified and realized her real problem.

“I lit the stove and didn’t feel any discomfort, so I’m not evil.”

"I can even use this fire to ward off evil spirits, but the real problem has never been this..."

 “The real question is, am I a dead person!?”

 (End of this chapter)