re with your rivers. You people in the yin-yang circle are most afraid of meddling in other people’s affairs. I haven’t harmed your interests, why do you have to make a fuss and bring trouble upon you...I have no quarrel with these witches. Now that everyone is in a bad situation, they shouldn't harm me.

We can't just let people here die. Ordinary people don't know the toxicity of these things. If they get contaminated while handling corpses, it could cause a major problem once it spreads.

Finally, my older brother also stepped back. He and Brother Long went to the small room to save the seriously injured and poisoned disciple. Xi Linzhou and I were allowed to enter the main courtyard.

The atmosphere in the main courtyard was strange. The disciples guarding the area kept their distance from Old Madam Ma's main house, their faces filled with awe and fear, silent as if death had settled upon them.

Could it be that only Ma Old Lady lived in the house Could she alone subdue that vicious piece of wood

The Si family might not be powerful in terms of magical abilities, but they are very skilled in soul refinement and corpse manipulation. They are elusive and difficult to catch. Corpse demons have appeared at Putuo Temple and Qingyu Daoist Temple, but nothing has happened on Old Lady Ma's side.

Is Old Mrs. Ma's magical power strong

I once had my eldest son look into Madame Ma and her disciples. These fortune tellers and charlatans frequent rural towns and occasionally pop up in bustling cities, taking money from people to ward off misfortune.

And there are no restrictions on sects or schools, any method that works is fine. Therefore, these people's personalities all carry a factor of "doing whatever it takes to achieve their goals".

Mrs. Ma had a nickname called "Mrs. Ma Wang."

In Han Chinese folklore, Ma Wangye has three eyes, can see through heaven and earth, and is able to discern good from evil. Ma Laotai, his wife, is said to be a powerful spiritual medium who can communicate with the dead, almost like she has opened her third eye. Therefore, she earned this nickname. People who have sought her help say that she possesses otherworldly abilities, like an immortal being.

They mostly came into contact with villagers from the mountains and common folk. These people were very good at boasting and exaggerated stories about Old Madam Ma to an unbelievable extent. When I heard it, I thought the rumors were too outrageous.

She was an elderly woman, withered and thin, with sharp, worldly eyes, but she didn't seem formidable.

Over the past twenty years or so, Old Mrs. Ma has rarely taken action. First, she is getting older, and second, her apprentices have all grown up, so it's enough to leave it to them.

She had both sons and daughters, numbering quite a few, with disciples scattered all over the place. But there were only a few men and women by her side, along with these men and women's disciples. All together, there were just twenty or thirty people.

The woman surnamed Zhao was the eldest apprentice of Old Madam Ma. In her forties, she had never married or had children. She was still considered a beauty, but just by looking at her attitude towards Xi Linzhou, one could tell she wasn't someone kindhearted.

Xi Lingzhou placed her hand on the door and nervously knocked three times, saying: "…Great Immortal, I'm Xi Lingzhou, may I come in"

Great Immortal

I gave her a puzzled look. What did she mean She called her master "Great Immortal"

"Hee hee... little girl... come in..."

A thin voice answered from inside the house, making me shudder. This wasn't Old Mrs. Ma's voice!

Her voice was aged, with a touch of mystery. How did it sound...a little bit dissolute

Xi Lingzhou glared at me: "Don't be so surprised. Remember to call him 'Great Immortal' when Master is performing the rituals!"

She led me inside, past the screen to the inner room. On Ma's bed lay that section of the murderous wood, and Ma herself squatted beneath it.

Her frame was small and hunched, her hands withered like corpses. At this moment, those hands were gripping the neck of a body, while she sat on top of it, bending over to lean in close to the body's nose...

What is this

I dared not speak, and Xi Linzhou also closed her mouth.

A few wisps of pale mist drifted down from the nose of the humanoid figure, dispersing gently. Ma Old Lady seemed to be inhaling drugs as she sucked the white mist into her nostrils.

and let out a comfortable sigh: "Ah... so comfortable... It's good to be alive... especially to be a living man..."

Where does this thin voice and wayward tone resemble an old woman

I looked at Xi Linzhou in surprise. She had a fearful expression, but not a hint of panic.

“Master, my senior brother wants to kill me!” she cried out, accusing him immediately.

Grandma Ma slowly turned her body, and I saw her face—it wasn't a human face!

Her face was creased almost flat, her eyebrows drooped to either side, her cloudy eyes squinting into a line as she strained them together, but her mouth was wide open in an eerie smile.

This pointy-faced, swaggering fellow reminded me of the Five Immortals.

This must be the spirit of a fox, right

Old Mrs. Ma got down from the man's body, walked a few steps on all fours, jumped onto the bed, and sat directly on that piece of ferocious wood. She pulled at her face skin and smiled: "Girl, it's been a long time... Your master is sleeping now. Tell me, what did your senior brother do to you"

By the sound of it, she must have gotten on good terms with Old Lady Ma and they've lived together harmoniously for many years. Xi Linzhou should be used to this kind of sly master of hers.

This look really can't be seen by outsiders. Who could imagine a famous old witch living in harmony with the spirit of a fox demon If this got out, she would be dealt with by righteous people, right

“Yesterday I was worried about you and snuck in to have a look. I got caught by my senior brother outside the courtyard. He said you were busy and wanted to kiss me, just then this big black thing flew out. I heard a scream from inside, so I used him as a shield...he got splashed with venom on his face, so he hates me now, dragged me to the small dark room to punish me!”

"Hee hee hee... You still don't know what he's thinking... He's been thinking about you since you were a teenager... I think you're fine..." A perverse smile appeared on the strange face.

“What’s wrong!” Xi Lingzhou exclaimed excitedly: “That damned bastard has been harassing me since last night! My *ass* is bleeding from him! I really want to kill him! But I endured it because he's still useful to you! You have to take revenge for me!”

"Hee hee hee hee... Do you feel anything You don't feel a thing, do you Looks like you're not just made of stone, you're frigid too, girl." She laughed maniacally, rolling around on the bed, her sharp voice making my skin crawl.

These are some scary people... I'm getting chills.

How should one interact with these people from all walks of life

Grandma Ma turned her face towards me, staring and smiling, "Mu Xia Qiao... I know you... You're the daughter of the Mu family... Your great-grandfather shot at me back then... Luckily I escaped quickly... He was quite charming when he was young... But he fell for a woman who knew nothing... So Are you here to ask me to communicate with spirits now What are you going to offer in exchange—"

"No!" I quickly shook my head. "I'm only worried about the corpse poison spreading, so I started removing it from the nearest places. After finishing here, I have to rush to Qingyu Taoist Temple."

She narrowed her eyes and looked at me. In that instant, my vision blurred, as if I was mesmerized. I quickly recited a mantra to calm myself.

"Well now... You're not like anyone I've ever met..." She jumped down, landing on all fours and coming towards me.

> aback. They all stared at me with eyes filled with fear, as if I were an alien.I...“Cough…” I tried to straighten my chest and said, “The Mu family was indeed in a lowly profession during the old tim...