Twilight Boundary

"Entering the Gate of Hell, is this really a place for the dead?"

Hu Ma stood in front of the intersection, watching the group of people being pulled by chains and walking towards the darkness of the night. Seeing that his body seemed to change from real to unreal, a strange feeling arose in her heart:

"Earlier, I remembered that Xiang Yatou said that the dead in Lingshou Mansion and even the entire Anzhou would be taken to the ghost cave. Is what she said true?"

"Are these dead people part of it?"

While thinking in their minds, the two young men had already moved forward with flax, bypassing the pile of incense burning in the middle of the intersection, and walked straight forward. The further in, the closer they came to the building that had blended into the night sky. A large round stone.

I knew that the thing was in the night ahead, but I couldn't see it clearly. I could only feel it. The further I walked in, the colder my body became, and fear grew.

But gradually, the lanterns held by the two men illuminated a black hole and stopped.

This cave entrance is like a hole left by the huge round stone cliff sitting on the mountain. The entrance of the cave is full of entangled chains. Looking inside, it is mostly dark, and only a glimmer of light can be seen.

The two young men took out several things at the entrance of the cave and handed them to Hu Ma one by one, first a lighted candle, then a thread, and said:

"The master and the lady are inside. If you go in with a candle, or if the candle goes out, you must exit immediately."

"Tie this thread to your arm. When you come back, follow the thread. If the thread breaks, you won't be able to get out."

"..."

"Is it so complicated?"

Hu Ma looked at them and suddenly said: "How many threads did you bring?"

The other party was stunned for a moment, but Hu Ma leaned against the light of the lantern and showed one to their hands. He saw clearly that there were three.

Then he smiled and said: "Tie all three of these on my arms!"

"Scared?"

One of the young men said: "Tying three threads is the same as tying one thread."

"I know."

Hu Ma glanced at them with a smile and said: "But if only one of them breaks, it may be an accident or other reasons. If three of them break, then someone must be trying to harm me."

"?"

At this time, both young men were a bit clueless. When they arrived at the territory of the Li family in Dongzi, who would harm their benefactor?

The point is, even if it does, it’s not a good idea to say it like this, right?

But Hu Ma also smiled, picked up the candle that seemed to be specially made, and asked them to tie three red threads on his left arm, and then walked straight into the cave.

I was still cautious in my heart and didn't dare to relax at all, but at this time, there was no need to act timid anymore, otherwise I would be the laughing stock of these people.

At the beginning it was extremely narrow, and then he became enlightened. After taking dozens of steps, he suddenly became enlightened.

Hu Ma used the candle in her hand to illuminate, and after turning a corner, her eyes became wider and the light became brighter.

He looked forward and saw four or five thick chains nailed to the surrounding stone walls, intertwined and connected to the man in the middle of the cave.

He was wearing a broad robe and a high crown. He was different from the Li family members who were like other farmers that he had seen after arriving here. He really looked like an ancient man who had stepped out of a painting. He had an extraordinary temperament and a sense of officialdom. The majesty of the master.

Hearing Hu Ma come in, he looked over with a pair of warm eyes and a smile on his face.

Xiang Yatou leaned beside him and looked up at Hu Ma, with a sweet smile silently on her face.

"Mr. Hu, you have spared no effort to send my Yu'er back and protect her. He is a great kindness without saying thanks. Li Huaizhang feels deeply righteous and will never dare or forget it..."

The man with the chain on his body stood up, bowed deeply to Hu Ma, and said in a deep voice.

There were only two people in the cave, so Hu Ma naturally knew who this person was, so he bowed to him in return and said, "I don't dare."

"A simple effort cannot be called righteousness."

"I come from a village, so I don't know much about anything else, but my mother-in-law taught me to be kind to others and do things that everyone should do..."

"..."

As he spoke, he looked at the man and felt a little unable to continue.

The Li family in Dongzi is so mysterious. The master of the Li family is also a mysterious and majestic person in Anzhou. Who would have expected that he would be chained up and alone here? Look. He doesn't look like the head of the family, but like a prisoner.

Could it be that this was the reason why his daughter was lost and there was nothing he could do?

"Haha, that's why I can't go out to say thank you, so I can only ask the young gentleman to come in."

The Li family man smiled and patted the chain on his body, making a clattering sound, and said, "I had someone lock it myself, otherwise I would have been worried that I wouldn't be able to survive it."

"Locked it yourself?"

Hu Ma was slightly startled, and took advantage of his invitation to sit down on the straw pile next to him.

The Li family master looked Hu Ma up and down with a smile, nodded with satisfaction, and sighed: "It won't work without locking it!"

"Guarding the ghost cave is a job for the emperor, but it is not necessarily a good job. The people who guard the ghost cave in the past have suffered this crime, and they will also suffer the consequences of the Li clan."

"I think Mr. Xiao came in all the way and saw that our Guidong clan has always been isolated from the world. We have been born here for generations, farming and supporting ourselves, and rarely socializing with outsiders. Even if some clan members go out...heh, that means sneaking out. of."

"..."

In fact, he didn't need to say anything, Hu Ma also looked over.

Just now, I felt that the banquet provided by the Li family when receiving foreign guests was very ordinary, and I wondered if the Li family was stingy.

Now it seems that they are not stingy, but that they really don’t have much.

If a person has sealed himself on the side of a mountain, making it difficult for outsiders to come in, and very little for them to go out themselves, how much food can they get?

As for the Li family master, it was even worse. He was locked in a cave and couldn't get out.

No wonder my daughter was framed and kidnapped by a kidnapper...

As for the master of the Li family in Guidongzi, he glanced at the Xiang girl next to him and said with a smile: "So, when the young gentleman came from Mingzhou with a message and found out that she was still alive and well taken care of, I’m relieved of my worries.”

"Since she has met a good person, it would be a good idea not to come back and just spend the rest of her life doing laundry and cooking."

"..."

"What?"

Hu Ma, who was still sighing in her heart just now, was suddenly startled and looked at him in disbelief.

In other words, he actually received the letter that he asked the mule and horse dealer to bring back?

In this case, then he...

The Li family man looked at Hu Ma's suspicious eyes, smiled lightly, and said, "They designed Yu'er to be kidnapped, and I know that too."

"Their bet was to abduct Yu'er out. This world will certainly not allow a weak woman to survive. At least they will taint the ultimatum and prevent Yu'er from coming back to take over my position as the gatekeeper."

"But what I'm looking forward to is that Yu'er is out, so that she can at least have a chance to live like a human being outside."

"..."

Hearing these words, Hu Ma was even more surprised.

Listen, this Mr. Li not only received the letter, but he even knew about her abduction?

Then he is not afraid...

"When you go out, you will definitely suffer hardships."

The master of the Li family seemed to see what Hu Ma was thinking, and sighed softly, saying: "Perhaps life and death dangers will happen a few times."

"I don't know what will happen to Xiangyu girl, but I know that she has the blessing of Yin De. She will definitely not die young, but even if she is in danger, she will definitely turn into good fortune."

"Of course, I don't see it clearly, but my expectations are not high, as long as I can survive."

"She has been docile and kind-hearted since she was a child. As long as she can survive outside, even if her life is a little bit more difficult, having a simple meal and farming every day, it is a good way out."

"..."

Before the girl who sent the incense came back, Hu Ma didn't expect that she would hear such words.

Looking up at Mr. Li's family, he saw a gloomy look on his face and a deep helplessness in his eyes that he couldn't understand clearly.

Those people represented by Housekeeper Zhou didn't want to be implicated in the cause and effect, but also wanted to taint the ultimatum, so they chose to throw Xiang Yatou out, betting that if a lonely little girl like her fell into the hands of a kidnapper, there would be no good results.

But the master of the Li family was betting that she could survive. As long as she could survive, even if she had to suffer some hardships and suffer some pain outside, would it be an acceptable result?

She said that Xiang girl did not die young, but who could say for sure? What if she really died?

For example, when you were on that boat, you didn't reach out?

Does he really dare to bet like this? Or maybe it means that he is actually ready to accept the result that Xiang Yatou really dies outside?

Feeling horrified for a moment, he looked at Xiang Yatou.

But he saw that her eyes were slightly red, thinking about these things, the father and daughter had just talked about them.

But why did she look so moved without any resentment?

"The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed, nor can ghosts and gods be deceived..."

After the Li family master calmly told the truth of the matter, he sighed lowly and said to Hu Ma: "The ancestors of the Li family were destined to die. They accepted the emperor's order and came to guard the ghost cave. Only then can I live, and living here is to repay debts.”

"It was supposed to be seven generations back, but when it came to my generation, there shouldn't be any more heirs. But in the end, I didn't expect to give birth to this girl."

"This girl is already the eighth generation. She is innocent, but who would have thought that she would be born with evil intentions?"

"As the seventh-generation gatekeeper, I am the last generation to repay the debt. But if she enters the ghost cave, she will have to suffer like this for the rest of her life."

"I can't bear it anymore..."

"..."

As he said that, he lowered his head and glanced at Xiang Yatou, his eyes were actually a little bitter.

Listening to his words, Hu Ma has already realized some problems. The whole thing has huge traces of cause and effect and manipulation. The entire Li family, up and down, seems to be gambling?

It was hard to digest for a moment, but the Li family master looked at him and said: "But no matter what, this girl's fate is greater than I thought. After going around in a circle, she finally came back. That's it. …”

At this point, after a slight pause, he suddenly lowered his voice: "Little sir, are you willing to marry this girl and take her back to your village to live a leisurely life?"

"..."

Hu Ma was really shocked: "Huh?"