Chapter 002: The Bandit Master (Part Two)

I do not know whether it was exhaustion or fear, but I felt as if my legs were heavier than lead. I ran a short distance, but I had no strength left in my body, and I could only drag my legs forward.

As soon as I finished asking, Old Walnut spat and said: "To hell with the sky beam, it's just a bird... I am a Panshan Eagle!"

That was settled. Old Walnut reached out and grabbed the woman, tucking her under his arm as if she were a piece of luggage, and turned to head back up the mountain. When he returned, however, his hands were empty.

I was so frightened that I couldn't make a sound, just opening my mouth repeatedly without being able to utter anything, my chest felt as if it were about to split open with pain

Just as I was about to close my eyes, I felt a sharp sting beneath me, as if my back had scraped against a stone; before I could react, I fell into the water with a splash. Fortunately, the water was only up to my ankles, and I quickly managed to struggle back up.

Oh my!

I slapped my hands hard twice to steady them, gripping the edge of the burlap sack. I lifted a corner and peered inside, only to be so frightened that I fell to the ground.

The method of putting a person inside an old walnut is quite peculiar: one burlap sack is put over the feet and pulled up to the waist; another burlap sack has a hole cut in it and is pulled down from the head to the waist; the final burlap sack is placed directly over the head, secured tightly around the neck.

I lifted my head, and at first glance, I saw the woman holding the child, rushing down the hillside. With one hand raised, she brought the child closer to me and asked, "Do you think he can survive? Do you think he can survive..."

I now understand... I said with a smile: "Who exactly are you?"

My eyes suddenly lit up! The beards in Northeast China are indeed quite notorious, but there are both good and bad among them. Some of the members of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army were originally bearded men. I love listening to others talk about beards and the great masters, so I simply leaned over to Old Walnut and asked, "Are you really a heavenly pillar?"

I pointed at the few dark footprints on the kang mat, unable to utter a single word. Old Walnut raised his hand and slapped me, and only then did I come to my senses and shouted out desperately.

"If I leave, you would have died early." Old Walnut said irritably, "As soon as I step out of the house, I know you are following me. I pretended not to know on purpose, just to let you understand the depth of the situation."

I had just slid down the hillside when I quickly lifted my head—if I hadn't looked up at that moment, the back of my head would have struck the rocks, and I would surely have lost my life

When I woke up, I was already lying on the heated bed in the old walnut house, feeling as if I had a fever. Despite being covered with a quilt, I still felt extremely cold

Old Walnut walked over, pulled out three burlap sacks from under the kang cabinet, rolled them up, tied them with hemp rope, and tucked them under his arm: "Just lie there quietly, I will go after her."

Beard! Old walnut glared. And - picture - book

But as soon as I took a step back, I stepped into thin air, and my whole body slid down the slope.

With each step I take, there is a creaking sound behind me, as if someone is stepping on a branch, following closely behind without missing a beat

Old walnut! Help me... I blacked out and lost consciousness.

I watched as a wisp of blue smoke emerged from the spot on that woman's head where she had been struck by the catalpa, yet she suddenly jumped onto the kang, grabbed the dead child, pushed open the window, and leaped out.

Everyone knows that Tuo Tianliang is the strategist among the gang, but most of the Tuo Tianliang are just talking nonsense. They are either teachers who cannot make a living or half-baked masters. When faced with a situation, apart from being able to come up with an idea, they are incapable of doing anything else. Such individuals in the gang are merely wandering around the foothills and cannot venture into the deep mountains; if they are truly forced into the dense forest, they might not be able to find their way out.

"How dare you be so shameless!" Old Walnut raised his hand, as if he were throwing stones at birds, and flung the two catalpa seeds in his hand at the woman's head

The woman bent down and leaned forward twice, placing the child directly beside my pillow: "Take a good look, can he still survive?"

The true masters of traversing the realms of yin and yang, vanquishing ghosts and deities, and borrowing paths from immortals are known as "Pan Mountain Eagles". Only the leading masters who have long resided in the deep mountains and forests possess the Pan Mountain Eagle; and it is only the disciples of the Pan Mountain Eagle who are unafraid of ghosts and deities.

Ah— the noise of that woman's scream nearly tore my heart out

Old walnut? He must have heard the sound of the firecracker and chased after it

The old walnut can scare away even ghosts, it must be some kind of celestial support from a certain faction.

I was even more amused upon hearing this, and I persistently urged him to explain what was going on with the Panshan Eagle. The old walnut, unable to escape my entreaties, finally told me:

The old walnut carried the person to the yard and threw them onto the ground: "Lift the face to take a look, if it is, recognize it, and hurry to burn it. Remember, you can only lift the face to look, do not open any other places."

The woman stood by the edge of the kang, her hair dripping water, and the red marks on the face of the child she was holding had been smudged by the water, leaving a rosy hue all over. This time, the child's eyes opened wide, staring at me with two bright white eyeballs.

Do you think he can survive

Especially the waist tied up with a rope by the old walnut, it looks even thinner than my thigh! If the internal organs hadn't been hollowed out, no matter how tightly it was bound, it wouldn't have looked like this! What on earth did the old walnut manage to take down?

I have long heard that in a guild, apart from the chief manager, the most formidable figures are the four beams and eight pillars. The first of the four beams is called the "Support Beam" or "Master of the Helm"; he is the strategist of the guild, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. Before taking action, he must divine the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness; in times of danger, he must pray for divine protection

I listened for a long time at https://m.hetushu.com and finally spoke up, "You haven't left? You've been watching all this time?"

I just glanced over at Old Walnut, and he coldly said, "Is it the person who pursued you yesterday?"

Do you know what that graveyard is about? It is a place where Yin energy gathers! I deliberately dug a hole in the grave to release the Yin energy; only by releasing the earth's energy can the Gao family be saved. But you, as if it weren't enough to step on it, even dared to throw firecrackers in! Once the firecrackers go off, how can the spirits inside not be harmed?

The corpse in the sack had only half a face left, still resembling a human, while the other half looked as if it had been clawed by an eagle, with a large chunk torn away, exposing the bones inside, making it hardly resemble a human face

The old walnut did not care whether I was about to go crazy, clutching the burlap sack, it turned and headed up the mountain

As I was shivering, I saw Old Walnut enter, holding a clay pipe in one hand and rubbing two catalpa seeds (the walnuts from Northeast China) in the other. He said: "Those who are meant to live will not die, and those who are meant to die cannot survive. You might as well go back to where you came from!"

"Can live, can live..." I shouted twice and turned around to run to the opposite side

The woman was right behind me; every time I took a step, she would call out. This time, I dared not make a sound, not even turning my head, and I ran forward with all my might. I hadn't run far when I saw a shadow emerging ahead.

I just felt a buzzing in my head when I heard the woman whispering softly, "Do you think he can still survive?"

How could I dare to agree? I immediately wanted to run away...

The woman squatted on a stone holding the child, stretching her neck to ask me: "Do you think he can survive?"

Before I could even put on a smile, the old walnut exploded: "Look at your audacity, throwing firecrackers into the graveyard! What else do you want to do?"

I was just about to call out "Old Walnut," when I heard someone beside me shout, "Do you think he can survive?"

The woman seemed not to have heard what Old Walnut said, as she forcefully pushed the child towards me, as if she were about to go mad, and shouted with all her might: "Do you think he can survive?"

Old Walnut wore an expression of "Why didn't the ghost kill you?" and gritted his teeth, saying: "If you have the guts, don't run away! I haven't even managed to subdue that dead ghost yet, and you ran off first! You are covered in negative energy; which vengeful spirits in this desolate mountain wilderness would not seek you out? If I were any later, you would have to let the female ghost siphon off your positive energy! You would end up becoming that dead child!"

I stayed in his room all night without daring to close my eyes. By the time dawn broke the next day, Old Walnut still had not returned. I sat at the door waiting for him until it was nearly dark when he finally came back carrying a person wrapped in a burlap sack into the courtyard

I thought carefully, when that woman was pursuing me yesterday, I caught a glimpse of half her face while she was leaning against the edge of the kang, and it was not much different from the person in the sack. I simply nodded and said: "Yes!"