CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 365: THE GRAND SHOUSUI

"Long admired my name," my arse! Hu Ma thought. Listening to Mine Chief Zhuang’s words, he almost chuckled aloud. Even Zhou Datong and the others caught the insincerity, blinking to suppress their amusement.

Damn it, I’ve never even heard of this master he’s referring to... Mine Chief Zhuang was visibly flustered. The moment he saw Hu Ma display that skill, he knew Hu Ma was of the Shousui Path and had learned his craft well. Hu Ma’s abilities might even be on par with his own. But just look at Hu Ma’s age compared to his!

Reasoning thus, whoever had trained Hu Ma must possess true skill and likely a great reputation. Yet, despite racking his brains, Mine Chief Zhuang couldn’t for the life of him recall who this Second Master Zhou of Old Yin Mountain was, or what kind of expert he might be...

Perhaps Gunzhou and Mingzhou were simply too far apart, and this expert maintained a low profile, so his name hadn’t reached here...

Regardless, the idea of establishing a connection through lineage was clearly a dead end. He quickly pondered the situation.

Meanwhile, Hu Ma simply watched with cold eyes. After entering the village, he had already noted all the arrangements, gradually forming a plan.

Whether or not there were any gu insect cultivators hidden in the mine, at least with Mine Chief Zhuang right in front of him, if it came to a fight, capturing him first would prevent any rebellion from the others.

As he contemplated this and signaled Calculation, who was beside him, with a glance, he noticed that on the other side, a large, square, raw-wood table had already been set up. The dishes hadn’t been served yet, but two jars of wine already sat heavily upon it.

Mine Chief Zhuang, as if an idea struck him, slowly stood up, cupped his fists, and said to Hu Ma, "We naturally need to discuss official matters, but there’s no rush for this very moment. Manager Hu, since you’ve come all this way, you are our guest. Why not take a seat and have a couple of cups first..."

The dishes aren’t even served, what kind of wine is there to drink? Hu Ma thought to himself but refrained from asking. Glancing at Mine Chief Zhuang’s posture and demeanor, he understood. Well, well, he wants to ’shake hands’?

So he also slowly stood up, walked towards Mine Chief Zhuang, and said with a smile, "Please!"

As he spoke, he walked slowly towards Mine Chief Zhuang. He wasn’t in a rush to take a seat. Instead, he cupped his hands together, leaned forward slightly, and executed a partial Four Ghosts Salute.

Yin qi immediately started swirling around him. Their cupped hands, his and Mine Chief Zhuang’s, lightly collided.

Mine Chief Zhuang appeared to invite Hu Ma to take a seat, but one had to listen to the undertones; his true intention was to invite him for a ’handshake’—a test of skill.

’Shaking hands’ was a common method among Shousui men to test each other’s abilities.

After all, in the jianghu, people indeed relied on their skills to make a living. However, one couldn’t just resort to mindless fighting and killing. Especially among Shousui men, if both parties possessed similar abilities, wouldn’t trying to determine a clear winner inevitably lead to a fight to the death?

No one wished to escalate a minor issue too far, so this custom of ’shaking hands’ developed. They would reveal their skills, a light touch, and thus understand each other’s foundation.

It avoided hurting feelings but still allowed one to gauge superiority. If status within their circles or lineage couldn’t settle matters, then this was what they could ’discuss.’

Whoever lost would have to speak with less authority...

This rule of the jianghu was actually taught to him by Shopkeeper Wu Hong. However, ever since Hu Ma began roaming the jianghu, whenever he encountered trouble, he always resorted to drawing his knife and cutting people down, never having played such pretentious games.

But he also knew there were intricacies to this ’handshaking’ custom, so he used his real skills from the outset.

SWOOSH!

First, cupping his fists and leaning forward slightly, he executed the trump card of the Four Ghosts Salute. A torrent of yin qi surged through his body and crashed towards Mine Chief Zhuang’s fists. At the same time, he employed the ’Chest Shatters Great Stone’ technique, holding his breath to protect himself.

The instant this wave of yin qi struck towards Mine Chief Zhuang, Hu Ma’s entire being abruptly shifted, the deathly yin transforming into vibrant life, becoming a potent yang force. His Five Organs resonated in unison, and Power qi burst forth.

His clasped fists, now imbued with the Big Stone Breaking Hand technique, vibrated with solid power as they pressed forward.

It looked like a mere light touch of their clasped fists, but Hu Ma had already unleashed four consecutive trump cards. His Power, complex and interwoven, carried the overwhelming momentum of toppling mountains and overturning seas as it surged towards Mine Chief Zhuang.

Instantly, a fierce gale swept through the room. A powerful gust billowed up, causing the fire basins on either side of the room to flare and crackle violently, casting chaotic, flickering shadows.

The disciples on both sides all retreated, shielding their eyes with their sleeves.

BANG!

As Mine Chief Zhuang cupped his fists to meet Hu Ma’s, Power also surged around him. One wave of force stacked upon another, as if three or four distinct layers of Power had combined, making his fist stance incredibly heavy.

This Power clashed with Hu Ma’s partial Four Ghosts Salute and surprisingly seemed to gain the upper hand.

From this exchange, it was clear he possessed genuine skill and was not to be trifled with.

But he had never imagined Hu Ma could switch techniques so rapidly. In an instant, that swirling yin qi transformed into the potent yang power of the Five Thunders Golden Toad Roar.

Simultaneously, his own Power, upon reaching Hu Ma, was completely neutralized by a concussive force. Seizing this opening, Hu Ma’s Big Stone Breaking Hand then struck him solidly, sending him flying backward.

CRASH!

He smashed into the wooden shelves and chairs behind him, landing in a battered heap and spitting out a mouthful of black blood.

"Huh?"

Even Hu Ma was momentarily stunned. He had seen that Mine Chief Zhuang’s skills were not poor, so he hadn’t dared to be the least bit careless.

He still had trump cards like the Heart Piercing Drill and Soul-seeking Head waiting in reserve.

But who could have imagined that his opponent wouldn’t even withstand this initial exchange and would just collapse?

And even spit blood?

I clearly didn’t even intend to injure him just now...

"How dare he injure someone! Cut him down!"

At this same moment, seeing Mine Chief Zhuang sent flying, the onlookers were instantly filled with shock and anger. This was especially true for the two disciples who had been by Mine Chief Zhuang’s side; their eyes turned red with fury and anxiety.

They grabbed nearby tables, chairs, and benches as makeshift weapons, about to charge at Hu Ma. The already panicked Meat Cutting workers also suddenly became agitated, a collective fury brewing.

"Who dares to move?"

But at this same moment, Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, who were nearby, also sprang into action.

Their reactions might not have been the quickest, but being on someone else’s territory, they were constantly vigilant. The moment they saw the others about to make a move, they immediately leaped forward.

Zhou Liang swung his left hand, unleashing his Soul-seeking Whip technique. In an instant, the table held aloft by one of Mine Chief Zhuang’s disciples was neatly split in two. Simultaneously, a wave of yin qi lashed out, sending that disciple stumbling back several steps.

Zhao Zhu, on the other hand, thrust his steel pitchfork forward. It shot through a gap between the tables and chairs, aimed directly at the face of the other disciple.

The quickest to react was Zhou Datong. Seeing the crowd about to surge forward, he had already employed his Ghost Ascending Stairs technique, scrambling swiftly up the wall. His agile form moved like a shadow as he kicked two hanging fire basins, sending them crashing down near the doorway.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

The two fire basins landed, spilling the grease within. Instantly, two large fires erupted, forcing the advancing Meat Cutting workers to fall back.

Those on the opposing side who had been eager to attack were momentarily checked, their momentum blunted, but the crisis was far from over.

Something isn’t right,ŸŸŸ Hu Ma felt, but he had no time to think it through. He was just considering whether he should be decisive, capture the leader first—meaning take down Mine Chief Zhuang—and then deal with the rest, when suddenly a voice shouted:

"Do not move!"

Silence fell as everyone turned to look at Mine Chief Zhuang.

He was struggling to push himself up, wiping the black blood from the corner of his mouth. After that shout, he looked at Hu Ma and said in a deep voice, "Just now, it was my skill that was inferior. I lost that exchange. It’s not that he intended to harm me..."

After saying this, he then looked at Hu Ma, his expression now tinged with reverence and admiration, and said, "I wonder what kind of expert this Second Master Zhou of Old Yin Mountain truly is... to have trained such a young Great Shousui, and disciples who each possess such remarkable trump cards!"

"..."

"Hmm?"

Hearing himself addressed as a "Great Shousui," Hu Ma’s movements also slowed.

Within the Path, there was Ascension, Entering the Mansion, Shangqiao, and Returning Home.

But Ascension and Entering the Mansion were major cultivation realms. Ordinarily, one rarely encountered so many high-level miracle men or skilled individuals. To put it bluntly, most were more or less at the same level, just trying to make a living together.

Yet even within the same Path, and at ostensibly the same level, there were always some individuals who possessed more trump cards or greater abilities than others. Thus, out of genuine respect and admiration, people would add the prefix "Great" to their titles.

For instance, Aunt Zhang had not yet achieved Entering the Mansion, but her abilities surpassed those of other Ghost Walkers, so everyone called her the Great Ghost Walker.

Now that Mine Chief Zhuang had called Hu Ma a "Great Shousui," it signified his complete acknowledgment and respect.

Hearing his words, Hu Ma frowned slightly. He turned towards the front of the hall where the two fire basins kicked down by Zhou Datong had halted the agitated Meat Cutting workers outside. However, this place was constructed of wood, and with the flammable grease, the fire could easily spread.

He took a deep breath. His lungs seemed to channel a deathly coldness as he suddenly exhaled a gust of yin qi forward, instantly extinguishing the blazing flames that were nearly two men tall.

This display of skill was even more astonishing, leaving everyone around staring at him, dumbfounded.

Only then did Hu Ma turn back to look at Mine Chief Zhuang and ask, "Were you already injured before this?"

In fact, during that ’handshake,’ he had sensed it. This Mine Chief Zhuang possessed the ability of refining life in his Five Organs, and Hu Ma himself had held back some of his strength. It shouldn’t have resulted in him being beaten so badly...

"It’s not an injury..."

Mine Chief Zhuang struggled to rise. Supported by a disciple, he sat down beside the round table. Hearing Hu Ma’s question, he gave a bitter smile. "I’ve been afflicted with gu!"

As he spoke, his face showed a degree of helplessness. He glanced outside the valley, sighed softly, and then said to Hu Ma, "The valley outside... it’s likely crawling with gu insects, isn’t it?"

"I didn’t see any people, but there were indeed a great many gu insects," Hu Ma looked at him and said slowly. "First, someone used a Gu Dog, intending to harm us. Later, gu insects were even laid out all over the road. Finally, it was thanks to that old horse managing to break through the Gu Array that we reached your place."

"Heh, we actually thought you were dissatisfied with us coming to audit the accounts and had deliberately used this method to block our path."

"..."

"Block?"

Mine Chief Zhuang gave a wry smile. "Those things outside... they aren’t there to block you from coming in. They’re there to stop us from getting out."

"The brothers at the mine have been trapped for several days now. Panic has spread, and we’ve been completely helpless..."

As he spoke, a look of genuine relief appeared on his pale face. He gave Hu Ma a deep bow and declared loudly, "But things are better now! A Great Shousui from the Association has come down! My brothers here at the mine... we’re finally saved!"