Twilight Boundary

Is my mother-in-law really back?

Hu Ma looked towards the table, but did not see it. In his eyes, there was only a ball of air, blending with the night outside the door.

But when he saw Xiao Hongtang's face, the happiness and closeness were not fake.

If her mother-in-law really came back, then she would naturally be able to see it. If her mother-in-law came back in another form, it stands to reason that she would also let him see it. This did make Hu Ma feel a little confused, but he couldn't help but didn't ask. I told myself that at this time, I couldn't ask similar questions, otherwise it would be disrespectful.

Just because she can't see her, doesn't mean her mother-in-law hasn't come back. Others in the village can't see their ancestors, and they are just as pious.

So Hu Ma also put on a smile, went to the table first, poured wine for her mother-in-law, and then ordered the dumplings herself.

The first three were given to the mother-in-law and placed on the table. Then a small bowl was given to Xiao Hongtang and a large bowl was given to herself.

The family, nestled in this small room with dim oil lamps, had another reunion dinner.

In a daze, he really felt that he saw his mother-in-law sitting on the Grand Master's chair, looking at him and Xiao Hongtang with loving eyes, and he felt very stable in his heart.

This night, the lights of thousands of houses were kept on all night, and every family had their ancestors living there.

Humans and ghosts live in the same household, but everyone in the village slept very peacefully that night.

Everyone is afraid of ghosts, but who would be afraid of the people who give birth to themselves?

…

"Mother-in-law, don't worry about me. I've learned the skills of a New Year's Eve watcher. I haven't learned them all yet, but I'm almost ready to cure myself."

After taking her mother-in-law home for a year, Hu Ma sent her mother-in-law back to Laohuotangzi the next day.

Just like when I brought my mother-in-law back, I burned three sticks of incense to lead the way, and together with the endless stream of soul-bearers in the village, we arrived at the old fire pond. Everyone put the incense in their hands in the pond, and then went their separate ways. He took out his purse, poured the pond ash inside, and replaced it with a new one.

Because this is the time to prepare for the return trip, we go to each village to visit relatives.

When traveling in the forests of Laoyin Mountain, pond ash is indispensable.

It's just that the families in the village have many relatives who live next to each other, but the Hu family does not.

After offering sacrifices to Lao Huotangzi, Hu Ma was thinking about when to go back.

In this first year of joining the Red Lantern Club, although I got the opportunity to come back to celebrate the New Year, after all, the situation was special and I had to rush back to work.

In particular, Miss White Wine's blood food pills have been prepared, and she is rushing back to share the spoils...

...No, it depends on chance.

"Little Hu Ma, please stop being busy. Your second master and I have something to ask you."

However, just when Hu Ma was already packing his things, the clan leader and the second master came again.

The old patriarch, as if he had arrived at his own home, sat down on the Grand Master's chair, put in a dry cigarette and smoked, saying: "This year, you guys have come out, and our village has really become more beautiful. In the past few days, the village has become more prosperous. People from all over the country visit relatives and talk about your affairs, which will make the neighboring villages envious."

"They all say that green smoke is coming out of our fire pond..."

"All of a sudden, five people entered the Red Lantern Club and got into trouble. One of them even became a steward!"

"This is also the first of the eight villages in this ten miles away. The brother-in-law who was in charge of that village before has become the one in charge, showing off and bragging everywhere!"

"This is a good thing in our village, and we have to continue this favor."

"..."

The old patriarch first reminisced happily for a while, and then he knocked on the pipe and pot, and said seriously to Hu Ma: "So I have also discussed with your second master that it is not enough for us to sacrifice Lao Huotangzi this year. I want to take advantage of it before you leave. , and also burn incense and make offerings to the mountains and forests around our village, saying good things."

"After all, if you guys are able to succeed, not only are the ancestors blessing you, but we, Lao Yinshan, are also protecting you..."

"..."

"Mountain sacrifice?"

Hu Ma was shocked, this old patriarch was really brave...

In the memory of the past life, no one who dared to sacrifice to the mountain was a simple person, and even the emperor might not be able to resist.

Especially the mountains in this world are even more evil.

Even if we are successful in the eyes of the people in the village, to put it bluntly, we are just a small steward of the Red Lantern Lady Association. How can we be qualified to sacrifice to the mountain?

Even if the Red Lantern Empress came in person, she might not be qualified...

"It's not a big festival."

The old patriarch noticed Hu Ma's surprise and said, "Just go outside the village and pray to the forest for peace of mind."

"Don't shirk this matter. I have discussed it with your second master and several elders in the village."

"Now among the several villages and neighbors around here, who doesn't know that our Dayang Village is the most beautiful? If we don't burn incense at this time, when will we wait?"

"Especially, after this forest, our Dayang Village is the most outstanding one around."

"Even if we cut blood and eat it, people will choose from us first..."

"..."

"It turns out that it's not just a matter of face, but also actual interests. Let's just say that he won't act on his head..."

Hu Ma understood what the old patriarch meant, but she still felt uneasy and turned to look at the second master.

Now that my mother-in-law is no longer in the village, the second master is my elder, and he is also knowledgeable. It is definitely right to listen to him when encountering difficulties.

"This is not a nonsense ceremony."

When the second master saw Hu Ma looking over, he also put down his pipe and said, "In our village, there has always been a tradition of offering sacrifices to mountains."

"In previous years, when there was a good harvest, there were too many blood harvests, and there were too many babies in the village. They all had to be sacrificed."

"However, in recent years, although the village has been relatively peaceful, people who are hungry and full have nothing to worry about. It has gradually faded away."

"Besides, it's said to be a mountain sacrifice, but it's actually just a small fuss."

"Don't you still have a godmother in the forest? Let's provide for her. Isn't it natural for a godson to provide for his godmother?"

"Besides, your mother-in-law was kind-hearted and helpful when she was here. She has many acquaintances in the old forest. Even the herb pickers from our village were taken care of when they entered the forest."

"You kowtowed to them when you left. Now that you are back, you should pay some tribute and burn incense sticks."

"..."

After hearing what the second master said, Hu Ma felt a little relieved.

Although the second master is a rough man, he knows the rules and can do whatever he thinks makes sense.

Moreover, Hu Ma also heard some other meanings from the second master's words.

Earlier when he was making an offering to his godmother, some mysterious things came to him in the woods, so the second master immediately turned the offering to them and even kowtowed to him.

The village didn't know about this, but the second master thought he had written it down.

This so-called mountain sacrifice is not actually a mountain sacrifice, but a way to respect these spirits as if they were ancestors in the old fire pond.

Earlier, people remembered their mother-in-law's old love and took care of themselves. But as long as I take the initiative to sacrifice this year, it means that I have connected with the old love and started to move around.

"I listen to the second master."

After understanding this section, Hu Ma nodded, but still couldn't help but speak, wanting to keep a low profile.

I always feel that if this kind of thing is too big, I won’t be able to bear it.

"Don't worry, your second master, I have a sense of propriety."

The second master understood what Hu Ma meant, so he and the old patriarch left to prepare.

They didn't lie about this. Although the Linzi Festival was a bigger event than the Laohuotangzi Festival, the scale was much smaller than the Laohuotangzi Festival.

First, women and children were not allowed to participate, and all the young and strong men in the village were not called. Only a few elders led them, plus Hu Ma, and a few other guys who had joined the Red Lantern Lady Club, and even Li Wazi, They all specifically asked him to stay.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the group brought offerings, incense and candles, changed into new clothes, and left the village.

After walking around in the forest, I found Hu Ma's godmother. It was now the cold winter season, and the willow trees were bare.

The godmother was stretching her body under the sparse sun in the forest, when she suddenly saw so many people coming, and she was so shaken that the ice cubes fell off.

"Liu'er Niang, your godson is so popular that he came back to see you during the Chinese New Year..."

The second master knew his godmother best, so he greeted her warmly, chattering, and put a red paper on her body.

The godmother doesn't seem to care about her godson at all, but she can't throw him away when she's celebrating the New Year, right?

The second master put red paper on the godmother's body, and asked the people around to clear away the weeds and dead branches, leaving a clean area, and put down all the offerings.

The godmother was a little confused looking at the bowls of chicken, fish, steamed buns, meatballs, and even a pig's head, and the fine incense.

What a willow tree, it actually looks a little timid.

"Hu Ma, the grandson of Hu Bai's hag in Dayang Village, encountered a disaster early on and almost survived. Thanks to the deep blessings of the Hu family, the elders in the forest missed him and protected him. Now he is in good health and has escaped the disaster. Today I come to express my gratitude. I still wish, and please the elders will accept it..."

"..."

After placing the sacrifices, the second master took a piece of red paper with Hu Ma's name written on it and burned it while talking.

After a while, I felt that the surroundings suddenly seemed to be much darker.

Deep in the forest, there were many rustling sounds, figures swaying, and dead branches swaying, it was like a different world.

If you look directly with your eyes, you can only feel the wind blowing and you can't see anything. But if you look with your peripheral vision, you can feel that there are people standing behind the forest.

Everyone had different eyes, some were pleased, some were laughing, and they all looked at Hu Ma.

But in front of these many gazes, Liu Erniang simply shivered.

"Damn it, how dare you say you are here to sacrifice me?"

"..."

"Sure enough, it's here..."

At the same time, after noticing these gazes, Hu Ma felt a little chilled in her heart.

It's those people.

Those who had come out to see off my mother-in-law were also the ones who came to see him and received a courtesy from him when he left the village.

He can't see these "people" clearly now, but he can detect the familiar eyes.

Especially, when he raised his head slightly, out of the corner of his eye, he did see something deep in the forest again.

That tree stump.

The old patriarch and the second master discussed this matter of offering sacrifices to the mountain, and I felt a little unsure.

But they seem to have been waiting for a long time?

Taking a deep breath, he was about to bow down, but suddenly he heard a noise in the distance, and there was a faint sound of shouting and cursing:

"How capable are you, Dayangzhai people, that you have to go outside to offer sacrifices to Linzi?"