Twilight Boundary
Chapter 47 Witch’s Curse Harms People

Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Witch’s Curse Harms People

"Quick, quick, over there! See if there’s anything wrong..."

When the young men of the village lit their torches and found Hu Ma, he was sitting by the felled crooked-neck tree, resting.

He was drenched in a cold sweat, and the night wind that blew was chilling to the bone.

But because of that sweat, the oppressive heat that had been within him vanished, leaving him feeling light and refreshed.

His fierce actions earlier weren’t entirely due to anger; more than half of it was out of fear. This world was strange, filled with evil spirits, meat mountains, and Ghost Walkers, but Hu Ma realized that there was something even more terrifying than these.

Even when an evil spirit came to harm someone, he could see it, sense it. There would be a process, allowing him some slight ability to resist.

But now, what had he encountered?

What on earth had the other side done to make him gravely ill out of nowhere, suppressing even his stove fire, to the point that Little Hongtang couldn’t even see where the enemy was?

Such illogical things were the most terrifying and aroused in him—a man who cherished his life—a potent anger and a thirst for vengeance.

"Little Huma, are you alright?"

The Second Master, already restless with worry, had brought men to find Hu Ma. When they saw the crooked-neck tree, a general sense of unease washed over them.

He wasn’t adept at Walking Ghost, but his sixty years in a child body were no small matter. Feeling uneasy, he knew there must be remnants of an evil skill nearby. Seeing Hu Ma there only confirmed this, and he trembled with tension.

"This old tree is harmful," Hu Ma said, catching his breath and pointing to the crooked-neck tree. "If Granny hadn’t warned me, it would have killed me."

"Old tree?"

The Second Master hastened forward, shining his torch on the tree. He saw disturbed earth at its base, and with a couple of kicks, he uncovered a black bundle in a shallow pit.

He prodded it open with his foot, revealing a doll cut from red paper, bearing Hu Ma’s birthdate and a tattered shoe of indeterminate age. The onlookers didn’t recognize the shoe, but they could guess who it belonged to.

"It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me..." Upon seeing this bundle, the second daughter-in-law of the Cui Family, who had been brought over by others, suddenly tugged at her hair and shouted, "It was the eldest and the third who buried it, not me! Please don’t come after me...!"

"..."

She had clearly gone mad with fear, but her words rang with a desperate honesty. Hearing them, the villagers’ faces turned pale with realization.

"That woman..." the Second Master seethed, his face contorted with anger. "After all these years of peace, she still hasn’t forgotten her evil skill!"

The older villagers understood immediately when they heard the Second Master’s words and saw the evidence. The younger ones, however, mostly remembered the Hu Family’s Walking Ghost Granny. But before the Hu Family came to the village, Grandma Cui from Dayang Village had also been known to practice the nightmare spell. Now, seeing what she had buried under the tree and recalling the Cui Family’s recent troubles, everyone began to understand.

"So... the Cui Family tried to harm someone and suffered retribution?"

"Bah! Serves them right! How could we let such a menace live in our village?"

"..."

In an instant, a wave of fear and anger swept through the villagers. They ignored the Cui Family’s recent calamity and began to curse them.

Neighbors in the village were the hardest to guard against when they intended harm. When Hu Ma was born, Grandma Cui was already in the village; she had even helped boil water and deliver red eggs. How could she not know his birthdate? And that filthy shoe—who knew when Hu Ma had worn it?—she had secretly tucked it away to use against him. Such a thing was truly hard to guard against, particularly among those living in the same village, so naturally, it was what the villagers hated most. If she could harm Hu Ma, whom in the village couldn’t she harm?

Muttering curses, they helped Hu Ma into a room. Someone brought him half a ladle of water to drink.

"Found it..."

Amidst the chaos, someone came hurrying back from the direction of the old fire pit. He held aloft a half-burned bundle still emitting acrid smoke, presenting it to the Old Clan Chief and the Second Master.

"It’s what the Cui family daughter-in-law went to burn. Someone saw her, but it took some searching to find out what this was."

Seeing the village in such turmoil, the Old Clan Chief had felt something was gravely amiss. With the ancestors watching over the old fire pit, things shouldn’t have escalated like this. So, he had quickly sent someone to check for anything unusual there.

The Second Master took the items. After a single glance, he threw them outside in disgust. "It’s Black Tai Sui soaked in dog blood, rotten wood, and dung, all wrapped in a woman’s horse riding cloth—the most defiling things imaginable!"

He continued, "She took it to burn at the old fire pit, blinding the ancestors to what was happening in the village. With evil spirits running rampant here, of course, the ancestors couldn’t offer their protection..."

Hearing this, the surrounding people grew even more furious.

Their ancestors were buried in that pit! Who would dare commit such a disrespectful act?

"Hah, so the Cui Family truly met with retribution," the Old Clan Chief, usually a conciliator, was also enraged. He quickly understood the crux of the matter and sneered, "The Cui Family intended to harm someone. Fearing the ancestors would intervene, they first burned this filth to blind them."

"They never expected their own evil skill to be broken. When the backlash struck, because the ancestors were blinded, it ended up wiping out their entire family..."

"Letting her whole family die might be letting her off too easily."

"Otherwise, people like her would have to be driven from the village. Who would dare keep them?"

"..."

"What? They all died?"

Having just regained his composure, Hu Ma suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

When that murderous rage had overcome him, he had only focused on felling the crooked-neck old tree, faintly aware that it might backfire on whoever was responsible.

But he hadn’t imagined the backlash would be so severe.

He had merely vented his anger with a few extra chops, and so many members of the Cui Family had died?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he noticed that the villagers, though still seething with anger and cursing, couldn’t help but glance towards one spot. There stood the Cui Family’s second daughter-in-law, now completely mad, her clothes torn, wailing that it had nothing to do with her.

Beside her, a tall, thin young man held her, sobbing softly. He seemed utterly bewildered, oblivious to what anyone around him was saying.

Cui Xie’er...

Complicated emotions began to stir in Hu Ma’s heart. Had his act of felling that crooked-neck tree really killed Cui Xie’er’s entire family?

"Then this..."

He thought, suddenly shuddering. This one can’t be left alive!

Before he felled the tree, he hadn’t known it would annihilate the Cui Family. But now that it had, leaving this one alive would surely lead to future troubles!

As Hu Ma was deep in thought, Cui Xie’er was holding his mother close, trying desperately to calm her. The curses of the villagers echoed around him, filling him with a mixture of rage and terror.

With the sudden catastrophe that had befallen his family, he was indeed terrified. Yet, deep down, he couldn’t suppress the rising tide of resentment and anger. He shot a fierce glare towards Hu Ma inside the house.

He hadn’t expected it, but their gazes met, and a shock went through Cui Xie’er.

Hu Ma was also looking at him now, and the killing intent in his eyes was several times more intense than Cui Xie’er’s own.

"Mother, let’s go home, let’s go home..." Cui Xie’er could only drag his disheveled mother with all his might, gradually pushing his way through the crowd. _{f|ree(w)ebn\o.vel.com}

The villagers, though they had no sympathy or compassion left for the Cui Family, hesitated to make things difficult for a young boy and a grief-stricken, mad woman. They slowly made a path for them.

Even the Old Clan Chief, though full of anger, could only say at this point, "First, find some coffins and prepare the bodies!"

"We can’t just leave them exposed, can we?"

"..."

The villagers understood that providing coffins signified the Old Clan Chief’s stance.

The family had just suffered a terrible loss. Once the initial anger of the villagers subsided, no one said much more. Some kind-hearted villagers stepped forward to help, and along with other Cui clan members, they quickly found wood, prepared the deceased Cui family members, and took the few who had lost their minds back to the Cui residence.

In the latter half of the night, numerous white lanterns were lit at the Cui family home, and faint sounds of wailing drifted from the building.

"Come on, Little Huma. You’ll come back with me to the Manor."

The Second Master had been busy all night, first checking the village for any other problems, then assigning men to guard the old fire pit, fearing someone else might commit an offense against the ancestors like the Cui Family had. It wasn’t until the sky showed the first hint of dawn that he returned to Hu Ma.

"For now, you can’t stay in this village..." When they were alone, the Second Master whispered to Hu Ma, "Although the Cui Family wronged you first, what happened to them was truly tragic. They are a major family in this village, with many uncles and cousins."

"I think it’s best you don’t stay here for a while. Even though the Cui Family isn’t in the right, who knows what they might try to do?"

"Just come back and stay with me at the Manor!"

"Alright..." Hu Ma agreed, then couldn’t help but ask, "How is Cui Xie’er?"

"What else could be expected?" The Second Master sighed heavily. He thought Hu Ma was concerned for his peer, a fellow apprentice. "He’s just a boy and was badly frightened. But with the villagers’ help, the funeral arrangements are being handled. As for the future..."

"...we’ll see!"

"..."

"He probably won’t leave the village for the next few days."

Hu Ma silently noted this. He gathered his things and prepared to leave with the Second Master.

Before departing, he pressed the pouch of pond ash he kept at his chest, a warmth spreading through him.

This time, he had survived solely because of Granny’s protection...

He finally understood. Most people entered the old fire pit only after death. But Granny, despite merely going to the ancestral hall, had insisted on having her mortal remains burned in the old fire pit.

Was it to leave a trace of her spiritual essence in the old fire pit, so she could continue watching over him?