"Oh dear, the minds of these nobles are truly difficult to guess..."

Hu Ma, having understood Er Guotou's explanation, felt a sudden clarity. He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly in admiration for this noble figure.

Er Guotou also sighed, then carefully said, "I originally thought you were a cautious person. I didn't expect you to accomplish such a grand feat. Did you ask the noble in the mountains about his view on the Divine Incense Distribute?"

It seemed that Er Guotou was truly concerned about the matter of the Divine Incense Distribute. Hu Ma felt a slight satisfaction inside, and purposefully sighed, saying, "No."

Er Guotou was surprised, "Huh?"

"Not at all."

Hu Ma admitted honestly, "I originally had a lot in mind, but as soon as I saw him, my mind suddenly went blank."

"I became tongue-tied and timid. Whatever he said, I just listened. Whatever task he gave, I just completed. Regarding the matters of Plum Blossom Lane, I didn't dare to mention a word. Brother Er Guotou, do you think I did you wrong?"

"...No, no."

Er Guotou felt a slight disappointment upon hearing this, but still said, "You can't be blamed. Facing such a person, how could we not be afraid with our meager level of cultivation?"

"Moreover, we are Reincarnators with hidden agendas. The more you say, the more mistakes you might make. Saying less is better. You did the right thing. But I have been pondering and probing a bit these past few days, and, well, what can I say..."

"..."

No wonder he asked about this right away. Has he really started making a move?

Hu Ma felt a bit pleasantly surprised. He originally thought that with Er Guotou's personality, he would need some time before making a move against Plum Blossom Lane. Hurriedly, he asked, "How is it going?"

"Surprisingly well..."

Er Guotou let out a bitter smile and said, "Plum Blossom Lane, which used to be one of the most prestigious places in Mingzhou Prefecture, has now been distanced by the government and several influential families and Paths in Mingzhou Prefecture."

"I feel as though Plum Blossom Lane is already being sidelined, just waiting to be ousted, with newcomers being groomed to take the lead..."

"..."

"Distanced?"

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback before he understood.

It seemed that the influential families and the government officials in Mingzhou Prefecture weren't fools. And, unexpectedly, the influence of the Hu Family's descendants was also greater than expected.

Back at Zhensui Mansion, he had glanced at Plum Blossom Lane with a cold laugh, saying that the small hall officer wasn't performing well. This was actually an expression of dissatisfaction, but he himself hadn't been fully aware of the weight of those words; it turned out to be more significant than imagined.

Er Guotou had been persuaded by Miss White Wine and others. Now, upon further exploration, he found the difficulty seemingly not as great as imagined. If he didn't make a move now, his inner turmoil would only grow.

"It's all on you then, brother..."

Hu Ma thought, then smiled and said, "Even though I didn't dare to ask the noble, you could tell from the small hall officer's tone how favorable the opportunity is."

"When working for such a noble, waiting for his complete approval isn't quite right."

"Once he gives his approval, it's just a task. Anyone can carry it out then. But if you manage to oust Plum Blossom Lane before he says yes, to say nothing of the advantages, the act itself is an achievement..."

"..."

At this point, he fell silent, confident that Brother Er Guotou would understand.

"Makes sense..."

Er Guotou fell silent instantly as well, apparently lost in rapid contemplation.

Hu Ma knew his goal was achieved, so he smiled and changed the topic, "By the way, there's something I'd like to ask you. How much do you know about the Reincarnators before us?"

"..."

"The ones before?"

Er Guotou paused momentarily and then said, "After the Great Cleansing, most went silent. Why do you ask?"

Hu Ma said, "Now that I've secured a powerful patron, I'm feeling unsure. I just want to see how they did things."

That was a hard-to-refute reason. Er Guotou pondered for a moment before saying, "Truth be told, I don't know many. Just once, while still learning on West Mountain Road, I contacted someone who goes by the codename Biluochun."

"But he just gave me a few pointers and then disappeared. We've never met in reality, so his situation is unknown to me."

"Those people seemed quite mysterious, not engaging much with Reincarnators of our generation."

"..."

"Biluochun?"

Hu Ma was puzzled, "Aren't their codenames usually types of alcohol?"

Er Guotou said, "I wouldn't know. The one I encountered used tea for his codename, and I've heard of a few others like that. But whether they're all like that, I can't say."

"...Their styles are said to be different from ours. Our batch tends to hide away and live quietly, but as for them..."

"..."

Hu Ma, listening intently, became curious and asked, "What are they like?"

"I've only heard..."

Er Guotou sighed, "They seem to place great importance on wiping out entire families..."

"?"

Hu Ma was stunned by this answer, recalling Gua Shao. Indeed, both Er Guotou and Miss White Wine tended to lie low, yet this little girl seemed quite old-fashioned in that regard.

"Then..."

Pausing slightly, he slowly and cautiously asked, "What did that batch of Reincarnators, the ones before the cleansing, do?"

"Those ones?"

When Er Guotou heard the question, he paused for a moment and said, "I'd forgotten. You've only been in contact with Reincarnators for just over two years. You're still a newcomer, so you don't know much about the stories of Reincarnators."

"Like us, the number of people who've reincarnated into this world isn't actually that large. Everyone is cautious, only contacting each other when necessary."

"Take us, for example. We only became familiar because we'd been in the same place for a long time. Most of the time, everyone is busy with their own affairs and only contacts each other when their paths happen to cross, looking for opportunities."

"As a result, complete and thorough information isn't readily available; it's mostly passed by word of mouth. You might give some intel to me, and if I find a suitable chance, I'll help pass it on."

"From what I know now, we aren't the first batch of Reincarnators. Those before us are now probably about fifty to sixty years old, meaning they've been active in this world for four to five decades."

"However, after the second cleansing, most of that group vanished. Some were possibly killed, while others sensed the danger and went into hiding..."

"..."

Listening to him, Hu Ma felt a stir within and said, "In hiding?"

"Could it be that some of them already understood what Reincarnators need to do, like some sort of mission..."

"..."

"Mission?"

This was a speculation Hu Ma had made after hearing the Mountain Lord's words. Er Guotou, hearing this, was clearly puzzled and then laughed, "Given the nature of Reincarnators, what sort of mission could there be?"

"Stirring up trouble is more like it."

"Anyway, from what I've seen or heard, some Reincarnators aspired to marry a hundred wives, some wanted to gain fame in the entire brothel industry, some hid away to live peaceful lives, and then there were the stubborn ones who wanted to cling to powerful nobles..."

"Everyone plays their own game. Although all were awakened by a mysterious voice, they heard nothing further after that awakening, so of course, everyone just did whatever made them happy."

"..."

So, there was another commonality among Reincarnators: being awakened by a mysterious voice...

Hu Ma quietly pieced together this information, realizing an important issue: he had not experienced this.

Other Reincarnators were reborn into this world. Between the ages of three and ten, they heard a mysterious voice, understood their identities, and could naturally use their Lifebound Divine Statue for cultivation. They could contact each other and had a greater opportunity to learn skills than ordinary people.

Aside from their past life memories, this was their most important commonality, yet he didn't share it. He had been brought here by Granny, a latecomer to the scene, initiated midway...

He didn't even know what that voice they spoke of sounded like—was it old or young? Besides awakening them, had it given any other special instructions?

However, this information was too vital for Hu Ma to ask casually.

He could only sigh softly and say, "But when I went to Anzhou under Miss White Wine's introduction and met other Reincarnator Organizations, I found they seemed to have a significant fear of the Ten Surnames' cleansing and have already started making certain preparations."

"Brother Er Guotou, how much do you know about this cleansing event? Is it something done by the Ten Surnames, or by one particular family among them?"

"..."

"Unclear!"

Listening to Hu Ma's question, Er Guotou's answer was unusually certain. He said in a low voice, "Not only do I not know, but I also think other Reincarnators don't fully understand it either."

"All I know is that this cleansing took place about twenty years ago, and that batch of Reincarnators suffered greatly. But how it was executed, how they were discovered—I truly don't understand."

"Honestly, if we could figure it out, we wouldn't need to be so careful..."

"..."

It seems that the group of Reincarnators represented by Brother Er Guotou, including Miss Red Wine, doesn't know that the cleansing was related to Zhensui Mansion, or possibly even that it might have been spearheaded by the Master of Zhensui Mansion.

Hu Ma nodded silently. By cross-referencing the information from the Mountain Lord with that from Brother Er Guotou, he analyzed and deduced many things. Then he let out a low sigh and said, "So, what I'm curious about now is actually just one last question..."

"What exactly is Master Tai Sui?"