Twilight Boundary

Did Miss Red Wine's method fail?

Hu Ma panicked for a moment, his hand instinctively gripping the knife at his side. He had initially intended to hide Xiang, but who would have thought the other party would be so domineering as to demolish the house directly?

If he truly couldn't hide Xiang, he would have to prepare for a confrontation.

Yet before he made a move, he noticed Lady Han merely watching coldly. A chill ran down his spine. He quickly focused his gaze and saw that the house had indeed been smashed to pieces. A closer look revealed that it was impossible to hide anyone inside; even the cabinets were shattered.

But strangely, there wasn't the slightest shadow of a person inside, only empty space.

Not only was Hu Ma startled, but the servant ghost that had shattered the house also froze, its body stiffening on the spot. The interior of the sedan chair suddenly fell silent.

At this moment, Lady Han let out a slightly mocking laugh, "Child, your cultivation is still too shallow..."

"This servant ghost is formidable, but it's not yours. Didn't your family elders tell you that servant ghosts must abide by the rules? Demolishing a Yang Mansion results in punishment?"

Silence answered from the sedan chair. As Lady Han spoke, she suddenly raised her right hand. When it came up, she now held a whip, which lashed out with a CRACK.

The whip was incredibly long, astonishingly covering a distance of three to four zhang and striking the high-hat chain ghost solidly on the head.

Seeing her act so suddenly took Hu Ma by surprise. What exactly was that thing, to lash out so decisively?

Unexpectedly, the chain ghost didn't move an inch after being struck, as if willingly accepting Lady Han's lashing. Lady Han, showing even less courtesy, CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Lash after lash landed continuously on the high-hat chain ghost's body.

Though the chain ghost didn't move, it began to change. Each strike made it shrink slightly. In an instant, it transformed from over two men tall to one and a half men tall, and it continued to get shorter. The more Hu Ma watched, the more bizarre the scene became.

"Outrageous!"

Such actions infuriated the person inside the black sedan chair to an extreme, and the sound of a hand slamming an armrest could be heard.

Then, the sedan chair's curtain was suddenly lifted, and a gust of yin qi billowed out. Within this shadowy wind, countless eerie black figures could be vaguely seen. Each one was permeated with resentment, grotesquely shifting as they surged over from the other side of the manor.

"HMPH..."

At this sight, the usually lazy livestock in Lady Han's manor stirred. Yet these creatures weren't foolish. They suddenly raised their heads and scattered in an instant, a stark contrast to their usual feebleness.

"So many ghosts?"

Hu Ma gazed, feeling a chill creep into his heart.

The beings emerging from the sedan chair had all surpassed the category of wandering spirits; each one qualified as an evil spirit.

Once they became evil spirits, they typically developed autonomy, understanding how to harm others as well as how to seek advantages and avoid harm. To put it in perspective, even the green-clothed evil ghost and Red Lantern Lady had first become evil spirits before acquiring their later cultivation.

Of course, the ones flying out of the sedan chair hadn't reached their level of power. Yet they undoubtedly had potential.

Usually, it was extremely difficult to subdue even one such evil spirit. A Ghost Walker seeking their service would likely need to offer sacrifices and negotiate terms. As for negative spirit people, they would have to stake their very lives to nurture even one.

Yet the person in the sedan chair merely lifted the curtain, and they all flew out as if they were as common as cabbages. How powerful must the Ghost Cave Li Family be to command such a force?

"Hah, a mere junior of the Li Family dares to run amok in my domain?"

But facing the onslaught of evil spirits, Lady Han merely gave a cold laugh, retracted her whip, and suddenly called out, "Jin Ge!"

At her call, a gust of yin wind suddenly rose behind Hu Ma.

A tall figure materialized before Hu Ma, intercepting the evil spirits flying out of the sedan chair. Clad in armor and riddled with weapons and wounds, it was unmistakably Lady Han's ghost.

The one who usually cooked and served tea now resembled a general on the battlefield. With a battle cry, he met the oncoming evil spirits. He casually pulled a large saber, embedded half a chi deep into his own body, and with a turn, slashed an evil spirit to the ground.

Then, he pulled out a long spear that pierced through his own torso and thrust forward, skewering two evil spirits together.

"What is this?"

Hu Ma watched this scene, bewildered.

So, Lady Han had raised a ghost? And this ghost could even go into battle?

He had witnessed many battles among evil spirits and had even seen Red Lantern Lady fighting with disheveled hair. But this was the first time he had seen a ghost clashing with evil spirits, drawing weapons—swords, spears, halberds—from its own body at will, evoking a fierce sense of iron-clad warfare.

"We of the trick door aren't particularly skilled in the methods of Ghost Walkers and Negative Spirit people, those who deal with gods and ghosts." Lady Han seemed to notice Hu Ma's thoughts and explained blandly, "The only method we know, raising a ghost, was learned from the Ghost Walker Path. It's the most straightforward way of interacting with them."

"But since I can only raise one, of course, it has to be a good one. This General Jin Ge here was a Great General of the Yi Dynasty. He was killed in battle, his grievances lingering, and became a Great Evil Spirit that plagued an entire prefecture. It took me considerable effort to subdue him."

"Do you think he's formidable?" she asked.

Formidable is an understatement... Hu Ma thought, stunned.

This ghost, if unleashed, wouldn't it be on par with someone like Red Lantern Lady? No, just how powerful was Miss Red Wine?

As he pondered, he saw General Jin Ge charging through the manor, decimating the invading evil spirits. His ferocious aura, far from diminishing, intensified, making him look less like a mere ghost and more like a true fierce ghost.

Lady Han suddenly said, "Catch!"

Saying this, she reached into a nearby haystack, pulled out a handful of straw, and with a series of snaps, breaks, and weaves, it was as if she performed a magic trick. The straw transformed into the shape of a bow and arrow.

She then casually tossed it into a nearby brazier. As the straw burned to ashes, a large bow suddenly materialized in General Jin Ge's hand.

He roared, plucked the very arrow that was embedded in his own forehead, nocked it, drew the bow to its fullest, and WHOOSH! The arrow shot straight towards the black sedan chair, piercing through its curtain.

The black sedan chair remained silent for a long moment before yin qi erupted from within, stirring up swirling gusts of wind.

"Lady Han..."

The black sedan chair retreated several zhang before its curtain slowly fell. When the voice from within sounded again, it was hoarse and low, "I don't understand. For the sake of such a brat, are you really willing to bring our conflict with the Li Family to this point?"

"Conflict? What brat are you talking about?" Lady Han chuckled softly, then said blandly, "If I say you're a child, then you are a child."

"In our Anzhou territory, everyone fears your Ghost Cave Li Family. Normally, if you were to visit my manor, I would have to serve you with good food and drink."

"But now, your family's Young Miss is a guest here. So, what does that make you?"

After a moment of silence, the voice from the black sedan chair, clearly irked, continued, "Fine. You're truly something. It's said that you people of the trick door are cowardly, shrewd, and spineless, yet I never expected to meet one as unyielding as you."

The person in the black sedan chair was clearly incensed, their voice filled only with intense vexation. A gust of yin wind swept through, and the black sedan chair vanished. The temperature in the manor returned to normal, and the high-hat servant ghost was also gone.

"They... left?"

Hu Ma was startled for a moment, taking a long time to look at Lady Han incredulously.

He had expected a fierce battle, but to his utter surprise, Lady Han hadn't seemed to use any complex methods at all. She had merely made the servant ghost unable to find Xiang, and then had her own ghost teach them a lesson.

The person in the black sedan chair seemed injured, though likely not seriously. Lady Han hadn't instructed her ghost to be ruthless, so he probably still had the strength to fight.

Yet, having suffered such a setback, he had actually left just like that?

"That young fellow lacks jianghu experience, but his mind isn't slow. He knows when not to push his luck." Miss Red Wine glanced at Hu Ma blandly, saying, "Let me give you a piece of jianghu wisdom as well. In the future, if you encounter someone from the trick door and they've already figured out your capabilities, run if you can. Never rely on your strength to engage them."

"Of course, if they haven't figured you out, then use whatever tricks you have quickly. Settle the score before they can discern your thoughts!" Miss Red Wine concluded.

Hu Ma deeply committed Miss Red Wine's words to memory.

Wasn't his journey to Anzhou with Housekeeper Zhou a case in point?

Housekeeper Zhou hadn't rushed to make a move on their journey. Besides wanting to use him to deal with the demon people on Pingnan Road, it was because he wanted to more clearly ascertain his and Aunt Zhang's capabilities.

But now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. He anxiously looked towards the dilapidated little hut, still worried. Xiang had clearly been hiding in that hut just moments ago, and when the servant ghost demolished it, she had vanished.

But where had Lady Han hidden her?

As he wondered, he saw Lady Han walk over to the pile of broken wooden planks and the collapsed straw roof. Lady Han reached for a thick rope protruding from within, gave it a tug, then turned to Hu Ma and said, "It's too heavy. You Shousui people have great strength; come and give me a hand with this."

Hu Ma quickly stepped forward, grabbed one end of the rope, and pulled. He felt himself move something heavy, and there seemed to be the sound of mechanisms engaging within. Astonishingly, the collapsed straw hut began to reassemble itself, returning to its original state.

This thing is like building blocks? Building blocks strung together with ropes?

Under Hu Ma's astonished gaze, he pulled the rope to a certain point. There was a dull thud as if something had clicked into place, and the straw hut stabilized.

Lady Han knocked twice gently, then opened the door. Hu Ma looked inside and saw that the room's furnishings were perfectly restored. The bed was neatly made, two shoes were placed one in front of the other, and the cabinet by the wall stood perfectly straight, as if it had never moved.

"Come out!"

Lady Han walked to the cabinet and gently pulled it open. Xiang was crouching safely inside, her hands pressed tightly over her eyes.

DAMN...

Hu Ma was astounded. The methods of this trick door are incredible...

They feel even more formidable than any Shousui, Haishou, or Punishment Soul techniques!

This is practically like immortal magic...