"Are the voices in the dream real? Or am I longing for the previous world so much that I had such a strange dream?"

Hu Ma silently thought about the weird temple in her dream and the voice she heard before waking up, feeling depressed in her heart.

He silently opened the quilt and got out of bed.

In this weird environment, he didn't dare to take off his clothes and shoes, which made it easier to get up.

only……

...It seems that I didn't lie down last night, so who covered me with this quilt later?

Outside the house, the old woman was already waiting with a cane and a bag on her back.

Seeing Hu Ma coming out, he said coldly: "Let's go!"

Hu Ma was afraid of her, but also subconsciously wanted to please her. She took two steps forward and said, "Should I carry the bag?"

The mother-in-law seemed a little surprised and took a deep look at Hu Ma.

Probably because he didn't sleep well last night, Hu Ma had heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face was pale and bloodless, and he looked a little listless.

The mother-in-law's expression seemed a little heavy, and she shook her head and said, "You have an injury on your shoulder, so you can't lift heavy objects."

"Let's go to Laohuotangzi first and pay homage to our ancestors."

"..."

Hu Ma didn't know what the old Huotangzi had to do with his ancestors, but he was too tired to ask.

The road surface is gravel, and in some places there is still water from the recent rain, making it muddy and wet.

Morning mist filled the sky over the village, casting a mysterious aura on everything near and far.

It was indeed completely different from the world in Hu Ma's memory. It was ancient and remote, and had an inexplicable sense of alienation and dilapidation.

Hu Ma didn't know why, facing this world, she actually felt a little frightened.

At this moment, his left hand suddenly felt cold. When he looked down, it was the little girl named Hongtang who came close to him and held his hand.

"Let's go, Brother Huma..."

She raised her head and looked at herself with a smile, full of joy.

She looks like a little girl who is afraid when going out, so she always holds the hands of adults and walks with her.

"But she is a little monster..."

In his heart, he refused to hold the little girl's hand, but he didn't dare to let go, so he could only endure it.

He held her hand and walked forward, following the rickety figure of the mother-in-law in front of her.

…

This was the second time Hu Ma went out. Different from yesterday's panic and dizziness, this time, he could clearly see what the world looked like. It seemed to be among mountains. He looked in every direction and could see towering towers. Mountain peaks reaching into the clouds, and deep green woods.

Surrounded by continuous wooden buildings, layer upon layer, they are divided irregularly by gravel paths, outlining the appearance of a stockade.

This time, he looked more carefully, but still didn't find anything modern that he was familiar with.

Whether it is the clothes of the people in the village, the farm tools, the clumsy stone mills and the wet wells, they all exude an ancient atmosphere.

"Wow..."

As I was walking, there was a house in front of me, and I opened my door.

But when he looked up and saw Hu Ma and his party, he hurried back and quietly closed the door.

I got up early in the village, and I met three or five people on the road from time to time, but when I saw my mother-in-law approaching, they all quietly avoided her.

I really couldn't retreat, so I just stayed there in embarrassment, smiling at my mother-in-law.

Vaguely, Hu Ma also heard someone in a nearby room whispering: "Grandma Hu is still very capable..."

"This boy from the Hu family is so powerful that he can be saved..."

"..."

"Oh, look at the direction Granny Hu is going, is she heading towards Laohuotangzi?"

"Can the ancestors recognize little Hu Ma?"

"Shh..."

"..."

"Hongtang doesn't like the folks..."

While walking silently, the little girl suddenly looked up at Hu Ma and said, "My mother-in-law has been helping them to see doctors. The poor family members don't charge money and even give her herbs. But now they are avoiding her mother-in-law, fearing that her mother-in-law will borrow their lives."

To Brother Huma..."

"Borrowing your life?"

Hu Ma looked at the little girl's face and didn't know how to answer the question.

The villagers are all afraid of my mother-in-law, and I am also afraid...

However, the identity of this mother-in-law is that she is a doctor in this village or a goddess?

In my previous life, in some remote and ancient villages, the responsibilities of treating diseases and exorcising evil spirits were often performed by one person.

With fear in their eyes, an old man, a young man, and a young man walked through the village and arrived at a hillside in the north.

As early as down the slope, several people were already waiting.

The leader was wearing a sheepskin coat, with a long cast iron cigarette rod tied around his waist, and his old face was full of wrinkles.

"Mr. Hu's mother-in-law..."

Seeing Hu Ma and his mother-in-law and others coming, he hurriedly came up to him. He glanced at Hu Ma first, then turned his eyes and said hesitantly to his mother-in-law: "Look at Hu Ma, my nephew is in good health, but you...

…Do you really want to take your little nephew into the old fire pond?”

The mother-in-law slowly looked up at him, and then at the timid middle-aged people behind him.

"is it not OK?"

"..."

"no no……"

The old man shook his head hurriedly and whispered: "Isn't the little Hu Ma just right? How about you let him raise him again?"

"It's just because it's good that I want to enter Laohuotangzi."

The mother-in-law's attitude seemed very firm: "If the ancestors don't bless him, who will bless him?"

The old man's face suddenly became very embarrassed.

But the mother-in-law didn't say much and took the lead in walking forward. Xiao Hongtang also took Hu Ma's hand and followed behind excitedly.

When the old man arrived, he could no longer persuade her. The people behind him all nodded to her mother-in-law with smiling faces.

But when the mother-in-law passed by, she came close to the old man in the sheepskin coat and said with some embarrassment:

"Chief, my mother-in-law is doing this, look..."

"No way!"

The old patriarch said: "Who in this village has the nerve to stop my mother-in-law?"

"Do you want to lose your conscience?"

"Let's see what the ancestors mean..."

"..."

After going up the slope, Hu Ma saw a pit of twenty square meters on this flat land.

It was surrounded by adobe bricks and was in the shape of a long strip. The pit was filled with ash.

You can still vaguely see the dark red carbon fire hidden under the surface ash, and the smoke is curling up, as if the fire inside has never been extinguished.

The most important thing is that Hu Ma actually saw an unburnt skull in the pond.

Only half of it was left, lying on the ashes, staring at him with empty eyes.

"Is this old Huotang a person who burns people to death?"

Hu Ma was shocked: "My mother-in-law is thinking of bringing her here, so she won't have to fill her in, right?"

"Kneel down."

But at this moment, the mother-in-law had already walked to the fire pond, took off the baggage on her back, and whispered to Hu Ma in a low voice.

Hu Ma was very obedient and knelt down.

Xiao Hongtang next to her did not kneel down, but squatted on the side with a smile, holding her chin with her little hand and looking at him.

"Kneel forward and let the ancestors take a good look at you."

When the mother-in-law saw Hu Ma kneeling seven or eight meters away, she frowned and motioned for him to come forward.

Hu Ma had no choice but to kneel in front. He was less than one meter away from the old fire pond, and his body could already feel the burning heat emanating from the old fire pond. It was thick and oppressive, making him covered in sweat as if he was breathing.
To be continued...