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Chapter Eighty-Three: Master Ma
"Uncle Master, Uncle Master..." Seeing Master Ma lying on the ground motionless, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, and my heart was instantly filled with panic. Although I had not known him for long, and at first I regarded him as a deceitful trickster, despite his always disrespectful demeanor, I had unknowingly come to see him as my family, just like my grandfather, the only relative I had in this world.
I could not allow myself to lose a loved one so soon after finding one. I suddenly got up, wanting to rush towards Master Ma, but due to my severe injuries, I collapsed before I could even stand.
At that moment, a few uninjured police officers rushed over. They had witnessed everything and naturally knew that Master Ma had just sacrificed his life to save everyone.
The officers quickly picked me up and brought me to Master Ma's side. At this point, his face was covered in blood, with wounds all over his head and clothes. Yes, the blood had erupted from his pores during the explosion of the Yang Explosion technique, meaning that all of his meridians and blood vessels were completely destroyed at the moment of the explosion.
I knew that Master Ma would not survive; tears streamed down my face...
"He's still breathing!" one officer exclaimed excitedly as he checked Master Ma's pulse.
"He's moving! He's moving!" another officer said in surprise.
Upon hearing this, I felt a surge of joy. Indeed, Master Ma's fingers twitched slightly, and then he opened his eyes a little. Seeing him like this made me sad again because I knew that someone so severely injured could not possibly survive. Perhaps this was just a fleeting moment before death?
I immediately fell to my knees in front of Master Ma and began to cry. I wanted to speak but was choked up and couldn't get a word out. Master Ma smiled faintly; with that smile, a large amount of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. However, he seemed to feel no pain at all. His fingers moved slightly, and I hurriedly reached out to hold his hand. He then weakly said, "Shenbao, don't be sad; this is fate, it has been destined from the beginning, ha ha..."
I wiped away my tears and told him, "Uncle Master, you will be fine; we will take you to the hospital right now."
As I spoke, I called over the few detectives behind me to help, preparing to move Master Ma. However, before anyone could act, Master Ma shook his head with difficulty and said, "No need, it's too late. Before I came here, I knew I would face a calamity today. Hah, it seems this time I really can't escape."
Hearing this, I immediately felt a deep sense of guilt. I said, "Uncle Master, it's all my fault; I caused you trouble. If it weren't for saving me, you wouldn't be in danger today."
Indeed, Master Ma had warned me early on that I was facing a blood disaster and that I shouldn't get involved with the Liu family village, as it would bring trouble upon myself. Yet, I didn't heed his advice. Now, it had finally happened; the blood disaster that should have befallen me had instead been taken on by Master Ma. It should have been me who was dying, but now it was him.
However, Master Ma did not seem to blame me. He smiled and said, "I don't blame you; this is all due to the grievances of our previous generation. I don't hold anyone responsible. Master Liu raised me for over ten years and taught me my skills; dying at the hands of my junior brother is only fitting since my life was given to me by the Liu family."
At this point, he appeared surprisingly relaxed, as if he had resolved a long-standing concern. Then he looked at me with worry and said, "But you must be careful; my junior brother will definitely come looking for you. Even if it's not for revenge regarding Liu family village, he will come for the Ghost Seal. Sigh, you need to be cautious! If there's truly no other way, just give him the Ghost Seal and plead for your life."
Upon hearing the mention of the jade pendant, I couldn't help but feel puzzled. Ever since I obtained the pendant, I sensed it was extraordinary because it could summon the ghostly soldiers from the Underworld. Moreover, now that Master Ma mentioned it this way, it seemed like the pendant was very important. If it weren't important, why would he say that Liu Er would come to take it from me? Thinking of this, I asked Master Ma, "Uncle Master, what exactly is the jade pendant used for? Is it really that important? Why can I use it to summon the ghostly commander from the Underworld?"
Master Ma replied, "It's not just a jade pendant; it's a method passed down by our Paper Craftsman ancestor. Everything in the Underworld—what they use and wear—is provided by Paper Craftsmen. It is said that before the craft of paper-making existed, ghosts often escaped from the gates of hell to wreak havoc in the human world. Wandering spirits were everywhere causing trouble; they either robbed people or occupied homes in the human realm because they couldn't bear their miserable existence in the Underworld without clothing or shelter. Later on, our Paper Craftsman ancestor used paper houses, paper horses, paper clothes, and paper figurines to burn for these spirits so they could live peacefully in both realms while waiting for reincarnation. Since then, ghosts stopped causing disturbances and returned peacefully to the Underworld. In gratitude for our ancestor's contributions, the Underworld bestowed this Ghost Seal upon us; any descendant of Paper Craftsmen holding this seal can traverse between realms and command ghostly soldiers from the Underworld when faced with troublesome spirits in the human realm!"
I was astonished upon hearing this; I had thought being a Paper Craftsman was merely a skill but never imagined its significance could be so great. Furthermore, I didn't expect that this Ghost Seal could allow passage between realms—did that mean I could freely enter and exit the Underworld?
At that moment, Master Ma continued: "The Ghost Seal has even more functions than these; however, I'm afraid I don't have time to explain further." Just then, he suddenly turned his head to look behind me and mysteriously said, "Two Yama Officials wait a moment; let me finish a few last words."
Hearing this made my heart skip a beat as I quickly turned around to see two tall figures standing behind me—none other than the Ox-Head and Horse-Face whom I'd seen before. Seeing them filled me with sorrow; clearly they were here to take Master Ma away.
At this point, Master Ma stopped discussing the jade pendant and turned to me saying: "Shenbao, your grandfather probably only taught you talisman techniques; it seems you don't understand paper-making control techniques. If my junior brother comes looking for you, you won't be able to handle him. I have a young disciple named Cao Qilong; although he is my student, you can consider him your brother as well. He excels in paper-making control techniques but is currently out traveling to gain experience. You should wait for him at your shop; together you will be able to protect the Ghost Seal. Otherwise, if my already corrupted junior brother gets hold of it... well, let's not think about that outcome. Remember to wait for him at your shop!"
After saying this, he fell silent. At that moment, Ox-Head and Horse-Face stepped forward and grabbed Master Ma before urging him to leave quickly.
"Today, if you have nothing to worry about, I can rest assured!" After saying this, Master Ma's soul left his body, and he quickly departed with the Ox-Head and Horse-Face...
Looking at Master Ma's body, his eyes were closed, and he had stopped breathing!
"Uncle Master..." I immediately began to cry, feeling heartbroken, sad, and lost, a mix of emotions overwhelming me.
Just when I learned that I still had such an Uncle Master in this world, he had left me again. Am I truly destined to be lonely for a lifetime? Why does Heavenly Father treat me this way, deliberately tormenting me?
As tears streamed down my face, I recalled the moments spent with Master Ma, each scene flashing before my eyes. Yes, he seemed like an old rogue who played cards every day, but deep down, he always had a scale of justice and evil in his heart. Although he usually treated me as free labor to help him run the shop and make paper offerings, he actually cared for me deeply. He appeared timid and afraid of trouble but had never been afraid; he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save us!
Perhaps in his heart, he had long regarded me as his own grandson?
That night, I knelt before Master Ma and cried for a long time until the rescue team arrived, and we finally left...
That night, we suffered tremendous losses. Team Leader Wang was severely injured with several broken ribs; among the more than ten brothers who came with him, three died. Apart from four who were lightly injured and fine, the rest were all seriously hurt.
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