CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 367: POSSESSED BY MASTER TAI SUI

"Haunted?"

This blood food mine was, after all, inherently connected to such sinister things. Even veteran miners like Second Master had some experience and methods for handling evil spirits, not to mention the guardians that had entered the Path and even the Mine Chief who had refined the Five Organs.

Ordinary evil spirits probably wouldn’t even dare to approach the mine, given that there was such a group of old hands here. The yang qi alone could drive them away.

Just like Little Hongtang. Ever since Hu Ma entered this blood food mine, she had never shown up because the pungency of this place was overwhelming for her.

Yet when Mine Chief Zhuang suddenly mentioned a haunting, it sounded a bit far-fetched.

"It’s true..."

Mine Chief Zhuang sighed softly before speaking, "Just as Manager Hu and the others thought, we all suspected that with such good quality outside, there might be a chance of cutting out even better Tai Sui inside. Was there a possibility of suddenly striking it rich?"

"With that thought, we didn’t dare slack off and sent the most experienced Meat Cutting worker up, but unexpectedly, that’s when the trouble began."

...

Whether it was a hallucination or not, when he mentioned this, everyone felt the wind around them become even more oppressive.

He let out a low sigh, "At first, we sent in two or three miners, and unexpectedly, in no time at all, they were all confused. When they were dragged out, their faces were pale, as if their souls had left them."

"Occurrences like this aren’t uncommon in our mine. It’s often because people with insufficient yang qi are stirred up by the blood qi from Master Tai Sui. In our jargon, it’s being taken to serve Master Tai Sui, and usually, there’s a temporary halt."

"But although we were a bit surprised at the time, we didn’t think of stopping. We sent in an old miner, extremely experienced, trustworthy we thought. He hadn’t even been inside for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when we heard him shout in great delight, saying it was..."

"But before he could say what it was, there was suddenly a tragic scream, and he was quickly pulled back out. We then saw that above his neck, his head was gone."

"The cut was clean, and you could even see teeth marks."

...

The statement left everyone silent. Then, someone asked in a hushed voice, "What was inside there?"

"We don’t know."

Mine Chief Zhuang spoke in a low voice, "We also thought there was something inside. We were prepared, but after waiting a long time, there was no movement. We threw things in, poked with sticks, but there was no reaction at all."

"I sent my little ghost inside, but that little ghost never came out again, and we panicked, not knowing what to do."

...

Seeing him speak up to this point, with a very conflicted and embarrassed expression, Hu Ma actually found it understandable.

People who dig blood food mines all want to make a big fortune. Their luck should be considered very good to have encountered such a mine vein. If they could swallow it themselves, it could be the wealth to last a lifetime.

But the tempting gain was accompanied by unknown danger. How could one decide?

Slowly, Hu Ma said, "And then you..."

"We discussed it and still didn’t want to give up... We also wanted to bring back the old miner’s head, to give him a complete body."

Mine Chief Zhuang slowly said, "So this time, my big apprentice went in holding a knife personally. He had already climbed to the Second Tier of skill, capable of pressing down ordinary fierce ghosts and Corpse Demons with one hand. I also gave him the talismanic armor my Master bestowed upon me in my youth."

"That armor had been consecrated on an altar by a Ghost Walker, and hanging it at home could ward off evil. It was the treasure of our mine, and with his skills, wearing that armor, even if he met some danger, he should have been able to escape unharmed..."

...

Hu Ma listened, becoming very curious and asked eagerly, "Then what happened?"

Mine Chief Zhuang was silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, "He went mad..."

"After entering that cave, no one knew what he found. We only heard constant chewing sounds from inside. We were worried and kept asking him."

"He just said nothing was wrong, that he was still watching, but when he spoke, there seemed to be chewing sounds in his mouth. We asked several times, but he wouldn’t come out. I got worried, so before the incense burned out, I quickly pulled him out. And then..."

...

At this point, not only did he tremble slightly, but those around him also subconsciously turned their faces, as if recalling some chilling scene.

"The talismanic armor on him had been stripped off. The way it was tied with special techniques made it nearly impossible for outsiders to remove, but he seemed to have taken it off himself, and his body was a bloody mess."

"His flesh was missing pieces here and there, as if bitten by something. The most crucial thing was, he had a piece of meat in his mouth, chewing with a grin."

"It looked like it came from a piece of his arm."

...

At some point, even the light from the oil lamp in the hall had dimmed. Zhou Datong instinctively shivered and moved closer to Hu Ma and the others. Mine Chief Zhuang, silent for a while, slowly said, "I hurriedly asked him what was inside."

"He usually respected me so much, but at that time he was already delirious, just giggling and saying he had received the decree of Master Tai Sui, and that he was to herd the livestock of the human world. Zhuang Erchang, aren’t you afraid of me?"

...

Everyone was listening intently as if they had returned to that eerie and terrifying moment. Even a disciple behind Mine Chief Zhuang couldn’t help but interject with a trembling voice, "Big Senior Brother, Big Senior Brother at that time seemed to have changed into another person..."

"The voice and tone sounded like a play, and he was holding a finger in an orchid gesture, looking frightening..."

"Master also saw it wasn’t right and hurriedly had us hold him down to treat his wounds with black oil ointment, but, but his strength was incredibly large. He flung several of us away in one go, then went back into that meat mine again and didn’t come back out..."

...

Hearing this, even Hu Ma was surprised and quickly asked, "What happened after that? Did you send anyone else into the mine?"

"No."

Mine Chief Zhuang bitterly smiled and said, "After all that, who dared to go back in?"

"I..."

Seemingly hesitant, he still confessed, "I directly ordered the mine to be sealed temporarily. I know it’s not good, but... but I am very certain that Dahu, he should no longer be human by now..."

These words were explaining why, knowing his big apprentice had gone into the meat mine, he didn’t think of rescuing him but instead had him sealed inside. There was a tinge of guilt in his words, fearing people’s accusations.

But Hu Ma didn’t have that intention. If their story was true, at that moment his big apprentice resembled a ghost more than a person. If it were him, he would have sealed him inside too.

"So..."

He paused slightly, then raised his head and asked, "Where is the mine located now?"

Upon hearing this, Mine Chief Zhuang shivered slightly, got up, and walked to the side of the hall, pointing to a corner in the valley, about a mile or two in distance, a dark hole, indistinctly visible, saying, "It’s right there at the ox horn’s tip, now filled with wooden stakes with red paper affixed to them."

Following his gaze, everyone looked over. Though they couldn’t see clearly, they inexplicably felt the place teeming with malice. A cold wind blew, and they withdrew their gaze subconsciously, not daring to look further.

SIGH.

Hu Ma silently pondered, not hurried to ask, but turned to look at Calculation, his eyes full of inquiry.

Calculation was clearly deliberating, seemingly faced with something uncertain. Seeing Hu Ma’s eyes, he suddenly spoke up, "Seal it and that’s it? You haven’t thought of trying any other methods..."

"This..."

Hearing this, Mine Chief Zhuang let out a wry smile and said, "To tell the truth, we have. We thought of finding an expert to come and see what’s going on, even considered reporting it to the Red Lantern Society, but..."

Seeing his face filled with difficulty, Hu Ma understood.

After all, money is tempting. The Blood Tai Sui and golden-patterned Tai Sui unearthed in that mine were good things. If the news got out, he might not be able to keep them.

There must be some inner conflict.

"Moreover..."

Mine Chief Zhuang sighed again and said, "We didn’t even have much time to agonize over it before our pursuers arrived. So, we didn’t need to worry about that matter any longer..."

He became quieter as he spoke of this, looking out into the vast darkness of the night, "It’s the one blocking our door outside right now."

"When we were figuring out how to handle that unknown mine, suddenly someone delivered a black package, and inside was a nailed crow, with no words or anything else."

"I had dealings with the Witch and knew it was their custom, meant as a threat, one without any mercy, basically wanting the person to leave. If we received such a thing and didn’t leave, they would use gu to harm people."

"But this was the crucial moment. How could we leave? So we decided to write a letter, inviting them to show themselves for a chat..."

...

Hu Ma’s interest was piqued, and he asked, "And then?"

Mine Chief Zhuang smiled bitterly, suddenly tearing open his clothing to reveal several horrific claw marks.

In a low voice, he said, "I had just rejected the offer and prepared to write a letter. That crow, which seemed half rotten, flew up and scratched me."

"At first, I didn’t pay much attention, relying on my skills as a Shousui man, unafraid of their gu poison. But unexpectedly, the injury wouldn’t heal, and gradually, even my internal organs started to rot."

"To be honest, now even with every breath, I can smell a strong stench of rot. I know it’s coming from within my body, just suppressed with cultivation."

...

Hu Ma and the others visibly paled at his words. "Is there really such a powerful gu that even a Shousui man can’t withstand?"