CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 80: THE VILLAGE PEDDLER

Apart from the inexplicable girl, everything else went quite smoothly.

Although he wasn’t sure what they, the father and daughter, were thinking, this note and the green food indeed benefited Hu Ma greatly.

And within the Manor, Hu Ma was increasingly adapting to his role as a manager.

Now, not only did the staff of the outer courtyard respect him, but even in the surrounding towns and villages, where he occasionally passed by during nightly patrols, some people recognized this young and capable manager from the Manor. When they saw him, they called him Manager.

Whenever something happened in the surrounding villages and towns, they were accustomed to inviting this young Manager over to handle it.

After resolving the case of the old lady who stole pig feed at night and the minor issue of the ghost husband blocking the door following a clandestine affair after death, Hu Ma’s reputation gradually grew.

Of course, the only issues he could deal with for now were those with shallow yin qi. As for matters like a runaway ox, where people wanted him to divine its location, Hu Ma truly couldn’t do it. So he asked the Shopkeeper, who simply waved him off, saying to dismiss it.

"This isn’t a government office, and besides, we don’t have the ability..."

"..."

As Hu Ma became more familiar with the surrounding area, the Manor also became more peaceful.

The daughter of the Shopkeeper, who initially caused some chaos in the Manor, gradually began going out less.

Occasionally, she would glance at Hu Ma from a distance with a smile.

She might ask, "How’s your Cultivation progress lately?"

Or tilt her head and ask where the rouge and powder Hu Ma promised her went.

Hu Ma didn’t mind buying her some rouge and powder. Living in the Manor, there weren’t many places to spend money anyway. The two or three small silver coins Granny had left him, despite his expenses over a long period, had now grown to seven or eight...

But the rouge and powder were truly hard to buy and had to be obtained in the city.

Yet as the manager of the Manor, he hardly had any chances to go to the city...

"Alright, take some tonic and rest for a few days. The important thing is not to go to the West Mountain again."

That day, the village chief of Xue Family Village sent someone to invite Hu Ma over to see a woodcutter who had been possessed by an evil spirit. The man wasn’t seriously ill, but he had gone to the West Mountain to chop wood and saw a peach tree.

It was winter, yet the peach tree was in full bloom, vibrant and splendid.

A normal person would avoid such an evil object, but this woodcutter was inexplicably drawn to it.

He slept under the tree and dreamt of a beautiful woman smiling seductively, enticing him into intercourse, so he did.

On the second day, he went again and did so once more.

On the third day, he went again and did it twice.

By the fifth day, he fell ill.

Upon seeing him, Hu Ma knew the problem. The peach blossoms were obviously strange, but they were far from the Manor, and he was not keen on running over thirty miles to exorcise them. So, he merely used a wisp of stove fire to rid the body of the accumulated evil energy and advised him to recuperate.

Before leaving, the woodcutter mustered some extra strength, grabbing Hu Ma’s hand, "Little Master, will I recover?"

"Of course, you will. Don’t worry, just rest."

Hu Ma comforted him with a smile.

In this world, evil spirits had various ways of harming people: some took lives, some were driven by obsession, and some drained yang qi.

This woodcutter was lucky; it didn’t take his life, only stole his vitality.

In truth, recovery wasn’t as simple as I made it sound. The tonic would merely hasten his recovery so he could chop wood and make a living, but after such an ordeal, he would likely lose twenty years of his lifespan. But there was no need to mention this to scare him.

Hearing he could recover, the woodcutter held Hu Ma’s hand even tighter, "Can the tonic be stronger?"

"I want to get better quickly so I can... go again!"

"..."

"?"

What kind of nonsense is this? Lacking the Second Master’s abilities, but sharing the Second Master’s interests? Does he think anyone can improve without harm, as the Second Master did?

"If you want to die, go ahead."

Hu Ma could only leave him with a parting remark, "Your lifespan has already been reduced by at least thirty years. Go a few more times, and there’ll be nothing left."

This wasn’t just to scare him. Shousui men cultivate their lives and their own level of cultivation. Their vitality itself can be used to estimate lifespan. They are also keenly sensitive to the vitality of others, so their general judgments are usually accurate.

Such human-demon intercourse was extremely detrimental. In the case of this woodcutter, despite his lost yuan yang, his usual hard work made him fit. He had a potential fifty years of vitality, but each encounter reduced it a bit, already damaging his root.

Leaving the woodcutter to cry inside, Hu Ma exited and discussed the donation with the village chief.

He remembered the old shopkeeper’s words: every time an evil spirit was exorcized, the due donation shouldn’t be omitted.

The collected funds would supplement the Manor, providing wages for the workers, which was a good thing.

As for those who were too poor to pay, Hu Ma didn’t worry about it. The village chief handled such matters.

All Hu Ma could do was not to pressure or extort them.

Having settled the matter and declined the village chief’s invitation to stay for a meal, Hu Ma slowly walked back to the Manor. As he reached the village entrance, he heard the sound of a small rattle drum and saw, by the small river at the village head, a peddler with a shoulder pole attracting business.

Recalling the promise of rouge and powder for Sister He, Hu Ma turned and walked toward the peddler.

From a distance, he saw many children gathered around the peddler, all looking enviously at the sweets and candies in his basket.

These peddlers traveled from village to village, their shoulder poles carrying good things on both sides: from needles and threads to tea bowls and jars, even candies and steamed buns, feather dusters, and seasoning like soy sauce and vinegar. They were walking general stores between towns and villages.

Upon hearing the sound of the rattle drum, those with needs at home quickly came out. If they wanted something, they’d say so, and if not, they’d ask the peddler to bring it next time.

At that moment, the peddler seemed to have finished serving the villagers and was preparing to pack up and leave.

The adults had all gone, leaving only the children, unwilling to leave, their eyes filled with longing.

From poor families, few could truly afford treats for their children. They might yearn now, but they wouldn’t once grown.

"Don’t grab it, and hey, don’t wipe your snot on me..."

"Stand nice and still, there’s candy for everyone..."

Hu Ma arrived just in time to see the young peddler handing out candies, entertaining the drooling kids. He even handed a yellow caramel stick to a sturdy little kid, then teased the others with another piece.

"Be careful. If their parents aren’t okay with it, you won’t get your copper coin back."

Hu Ma approached and laughed amicably.

"Hi."

The startled peddler turned around. He was a robust, naturally cheerful-looking young man. Smiling, he said to Hu Ma, "I don’t collect copper coins today. Business was good, so there’s a bit left to tease the kids with. I’ve got to sell out and return early."

"I’ve been fond of kids since I was young. Giving them some doesn’t hurt. This little Master, what might you be looking for?"

Seeing Hu Ma dressed in clean clothes, with a green cloth belt at his waist and wearing green cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, the peddler knew his status was not ordinary and directly addressed him as Old Master.

Hu Ma didn’t chat much, just smiled, "Rouge and powder, do you have any?"

"Yes."

The peddler squatted down, rummaged through his basket, and took out several wooden boxes for Hu Ma to choose from.

Hu Ma casually picked a few, paid, and pocketed them before returning to the Manor.

Now that it was getting late, Hu Ma arranged for the night patrol. However, there was no sign of Wu He.

He went to the inner courtyard, found the old servant, and had him deliver the items to Junior Sister.

He then checked the tasks in the Manor, found everything in order, had dinner, and waited for the night patrol staff to return. Then, he took the Wooden Sword and Zhou Datong’s waist knife, led Little Hongtang, and slowly left the Manor gates.

Under cover of night, he walked seven or eight more miles, unexpectedly returning to the village he visited earlier. Borrowing the moonlight, he reached the village entrance, sat under the old willow by the riverbank, and silently closed his eyes to meditate.

Everything around was pitch black; though there was some moonlight above, no one could see him as he sat within the shadows of the tree.

Thus, he waited for about two to four hours, and the night deepened.

Positioned at the village entrance bordering the wilderness, it being winter, no sounds of insects or birds could be heard. The livestock, cats, and dogs in the village slept deeply.

Not a sound could be heard, as if forgotten by the world.

I’ll wait another two-hour period, then head back to the Manor, Hu Ma thought.

But just then, outside the village, a cool wind arose, faintly carrying the sound of a small rattle drum.

The sound was extremely distant, extremely light, blended with the night wind, almost inaudible.

Hu Ma opened his eyes and looked towards the sound of the rattle drum. Yet he saw only a dark mass, unable to see anything, only feeling the chilling wind. Howling along the rural paths, it brought an instinctual sense of eerie coldness.

He turned his head and frowned slightly.

He vaguely saw several small, wriggling dots on the village’s dirt road, gradually approaching.

Hu Ma sat still, also holding back the curious Little Hongtang, simply fixing his gaze under the tree. Not long after, the small dots passed in front of him, revealed to be a few sleepwalking children.

They seemed to still be asleep, eyes closed, their chubby hands reaching out, groping forward in the night.

It was like they were sleepwalking, their steps and movements somewhat wobbly, occasionally stumbling, but never stopping, forming a line towards the village’s outskirts.

Inside the village, there were no lamps, not even a dog’s bark. The adults were already asleep, unaware this group of children had come out.

PHEW...

After the group of children passed, Hu Ma exhaled softly, holding tight to the Wooden Sword on his lap.

"Go, back to the Manor and wake Zhou Datong, tell him..."

He whispered instructions to Little Hongtang, making everything clear before standing up with his sword, trailing the children deeper into the wild lands.