MTL - Twilight Boundary

Chapter 5 Lao Huotangzi

“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 sound she heard before waking up, feeling depressed in her heart.

 He silently opened the quilt and got out of bed.

 In this strange environment, he didn't dare to take off his clothes and shoes, so it was easier to get up.

 It’s just…

 …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. He took two steps forward and said, "Should I carry the bag?"

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

 Maybe 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, 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.”

　　　…”

Huma 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.

Morning fog 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.

Huma, for some reason, felt a little frightened when facing this world.

At this moment, my left hand suddenly felt cold. When I looked down, I saw the little girl named Hongtang approaching me and holding my hand.

 “Let’s go, Brother Huma…”

 She looked up at herself with a smile, looking very happy.

 Looking 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 figure 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, irregularly divided by gravel paths, it outlines 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, they all exude an ancient atmosphere.

 “Wow…”

While walking, there was a house in front of me, and he 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.

Faintly, 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 of Granny Hu, is she going to Laohuotangzi?”

 “Can the ancestors recognize the little flax?”

 “Shh…”

　　　…”

 “Hongtang doesn’t like the folks…”

While walking silently, the little girl suddenly raised her head and looked 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 lend them their lives." To Brother Huma..."

 “Borrow 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, does this mother-in-law belong to the role of a doctor in this 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.

 A few people were already waiting at the foot of the slope.

The leader was wearing a sheepskin coat, with a long pig iron pipe tied to his waist, and his old face was full of wrinkles.

 “Mother-in-law of the Hu family…”

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 little nephew into the old fire pond?"

The mother-in-law slowly looked up at him, and then 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 the little Hu Ma just fine? Why don't you let him raise him again?"

“Just because it’s good, that’s why I want to go to 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 walked forward first. Xiao Hongtang also held Hu Ma's hand and followed excitedly. At this point, the old man couldn't persuade her any more, and the people behind her 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:

“Clan chief, my mother-in-law is doing this, please watch...”

 “No way!”

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 twenty-square-meter pit on this flat land.

 The surrounding area was built with adobe bricks in a long strip shape, and the pit was filled with ash.

It can be seen vaguely that the dark red carbon fire hidden under the surface ash, and the flue gas was sturdy, as if the fire inside was not 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.

Hu Ma was shocked: "Is this old Huotang a person who burns people to death?"

 “Kneel down.”

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 him did not kneel down, but squatted on the side with a smile, holding his chin with his 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, sticky and oppressive air emanating from the old fire pond made him covered in sweat, as if he was breathing. It's all a bit difficult.

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

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 twenty 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.

Huma 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 flashed across his mind, a sudden gust of wind blew over Lao Huotang.

Hu Ma's eyes were dazzled, and suddenly he felt that the heat of the old fire pit was heating up, and it instantly became bitingly 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 filled 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 pit, the half-burned skull actually had an eye, looking at him coldly and sinisterly.

 Then he saw a hand sticking out from the ashes.

 Followed immediately by a second hand, then a face, a second face, and 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 are densely packed and intertwined, like a centipede that has grown hundreds of thousands of arms and is being rejoined.

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

 The bodies are intertwined and overlapped, like a crushed crowd.

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

 Some are gloomy 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 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.

 …

 …

Mother-in-law kept her head lowered and chanted, as if she couldn't even 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. Only her low sigh of disappointment could be heard.

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 (End of this chapter)