CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 85: SPECIAL TRAINING

"What kind of treasure is this?" Hu Ma wondered. He carried the oil lamp, clutching the small porcelain bottle the old shopkeeper had solemnly given him, and returned to his room.

First, he closed the door. Then, he placed the oil lamp on the table and carefully opened the small porcelain bottle. An extremely familiar scent of blood instantly wafted out. He was slightly taken aback. Carefully, he poured the contents into his palm. He stared, dumbfounded for a moment, then felt an urge to both laugh and cry...

Blood Food Pill.

The exquisitely expensive small porcelain bottle contained a Blood Food Pill, and there was only one. What’s more, it was even a bit smaller than the one Granny had left for him.

Looking at this beautiful small porcelain bottle and then thinking of the jar Granny had given him—which resembled one used for pickled vegetables—It truly was...

One so ornate, the other so plain!

However, on second thought, perhaps in the old shopkeeper’s eyes, this truly was considered a top-tier treasure?

His heart felt more at ease.

From the old shopkeeper’s earlier attitude towards him, he had harbored some suspicions. So, when Sister Wu He mysteriously gave him notes and then green food, it made Hu Ma somewhat uneasy. This was all because he could discern the authenticity of cultivation methods. Otherwise, even if those notes were placed right in front of him, he would have worried about deception and not dared to look at them.

Now that he understood the old shopkeeper’s situation and intentions, Hu Ma breathed a sigh of relief.

This world is all about mutual exploitation, a game of chicken to see who breaks first.

It wasn’t that he feared others having uses for him, but rather the uncertainty of not knowing their intentions.

Despite this, Hu Ma remained somewhat puzzled. The old shopkeeper’s words and actions didn’t seem feigned at all. Not to mention the pitiful appearance of Sister Wu He.

Could it be that the batch of Blood Food was indeed taken by the Tan’er Sect?

Additionally, the old shopkeeper didn’t seem to care about the position of shopkeeper at all. It was said that when he sought someone to intercede for him last year, his ostensible reason was to rebuild the Manor. In reality, it was to stay and seek revenge. But this raised a critical question...

How did he know those people would definitely return? And if he truly wanted to deal with the Tan’er Sect, wouldn’t it be better to inform the city authorities and request aid, rather than personally training a disciple to assist him?

He had some theories, but he mulled them over privately, deciding to keep them to himself for now and discuss them with Er Guotou on the next Zero Day. Whether or not to actually go after that batch of Blood Food, he hadn’t yet decided, but he knew he needed to understand the situation clearly first.

He went to sleep for the night. By the next morning, his right leg was already stiff and unresponsive.

In other words, it was "dead."

Only by "dying" could it be "refined into life." Although Hu Ma didn’t need to go through this exact process, a performance was still necessary.

So he called Zhou Datong in and had him find a sturdy, forked tree branch and carve it into a crutch.

Zhou Datong was quite adept at such tasks. After delivering the crutch and seeing Hu Ma hobbling about with it, he couldn’t help but remark from behind him, "No wonder my grandfather always said to stay back when there’s trouble. Being the leader really isn’t easy..."

"First a broken hand, and now a useless leg."

"Brother Hu Ma, if you keep this up, will you even need to find a wife?"

"..."

Hu Ma was so angry he wanted to smack him with the crutch.

Suppressing his irritation, Hu Ma organized the work in the courtyard. Everyone was familiar with their tasks by now, so there wasn’t much to arrange. Hu Ma’s main focus shifted to the large cart that had been brought back the previous day. He began to meticulously sort through the items the peddler had left behind.

To his surprise, he actually came across a small windfall.

At the very bottom of a basket, inside a small cloth bag, he found seven or eight small silver coins and, surprisingly, even a piece of gold. Although it was only one or two taels, it was still quite valuable.

Confiscated for the collective!

Beyond that, he cataloged numerous other items. Although the peddler’s identity was merely a cover, his wares were surprisingly complete: clay pots, copper mirrors, Wheaten Sugar Men, shoe patterns, combs, embroidered purses—some of which were of the suggestive "sprites at play" variety.

It was quite an eye-opener for Hu Ma. He had the attendants pack everything up to be added to their communal stores. He pretended not to notice Zhou Datong secretly pocketing one of the embroidered purses.

The rattle-drum the peddler had left behind was also exquisitely made. However, remembering the peddler had used this rattle-drum to perform evil skills, Hu Ma didn’t dare be careless. He took it to the inner courtyard for the old shopkeeper to examine and decide how to handle it.

The old shopkeeper glanced at it once and said, "Items used for evil skills require specific witchcraft and mantras to activate. They’re useless to others, but since it’s not a good thing, just burn it."

After speaking, he paused for a moment, then added a warning, "One more thing. Since that peddler met his end here, his accomplices might come looking for him."

"Tell the attendants to keep a sharp lookout for any unfamiliar faces appearing nearby recently..."

"But don’t let them act rashly. Our men are no match for those types."

"..."

Hu Ma agreed. He took the rattle-drum out but didn’t burn it immediately. Since the old shopkeeper had examined it and found nothing out of the ordinary on it, Hu Ma thought it would be fine to keep it for now. He placed it in Little Hongtang’s basket for her to play with.

He had just finished instructing the attendants to be more diligent in their patrols around the nearby villages when he heard a clamor of gongs and drums from outside the Manor. It turned out to be the village chief and residents from the village that had lost a child the previous day. They had come, carrying a fattened pig, for incense-burning to fulfill their vow of gratitude.

The loss of a child was a major affair, and now that Hu Ma had helped find him, the villagers were naturally deeply grateful. They were not only grateful to Hu Ma; Red Lantern Lady also shared in the reverence. A boisterous crowd gathered before the Manor, burning paper money and kowtowing—their actions spoke louder than words.

Although most living people dreaded others burning paper offerings at their front door, especially directly facing their main gate, for the Red Lantern Society, this was a good thing. Their attendants, as a rule, couldn’t drive such well-wishers away.

However, the old shopkeeper in the Manor had always disliked dealing with such matters and disdained the commotion. He shot Hu Ma a look, clearly indicating that Hu Ma should handle it.

Hu Ma, currently limping on one leg, had no more inclination to deal with these things than the old shopkeeper. So, he gave Zhou Datong a subtle glance. Zhou Datong, who had been itching for some excitement, immediately beamed and stepped forward to greet them. By the time Hu Ma retreated back into his room, the villagers were already enthusiastically dragging Zhou Datong off to their village for a celebratory feast.

It wasn’t that Hu Ma disliked lively gatherings; he simply knew what his priorities were. Members of the Tan’er Sect had already shown their faces. Trouble could erupt at any moment. Mastering his abilities as quickly as possible was the most crucial task.

The old shopkeeper had repeatedly stressed that he needed to master the techniques for at least one hand and one leg before he could possibly be of any help.

For Hu Ma himself, this standard was effectively doubled.

He felt he had to master the techniques for both hands and both legs to have any real confidence when facing those bizarre Paths.

However, the training for one hand and one leg was done openly, while the other hand and leg were trained covertly. This way, neither was neglected.

After this understanding was reached with Hu Ma, the old shopkeeper indeed kept his promise. Besides that one Blood Food Pill, Hu Ma was also allowed to enter the inner courtyard each night to eat with him. And without fail, there would always be a small bowl of green food on the table, specially reserved for him.

Hu Ma had already sensed the connection between the supply of Blood Food and the speed of refining life, and this new arrangement further confirmed it. With such a generous supply of Blood Food—something unimaginable for an ordinary attendant—he quietly cultivated his hands and legs. Nevertheless, the toll on his cultivation progress was still astonishingly high.

Each day, the One Incense stick in the incense burner visibly dwindled at a rapid pace. In return, the meridians in his hands and legs gradually cleared, blood and qi flowed more smoothly, his vitality slowly awakened, and he was steadily acquiring the skills of a Shousui man.

Not only was he learning the Shousui man’s skills, but Hu Ma also no longer hesitated to ask the old shopkeeper questions about cultivation. Whenever a question arose, he would head straight to the inner courtyard and kick the door open... well, actually, he would knock gently before entering to ask about the corresponding principles of cultivation, one by one.

On the surface, he appeared to be wholeheartedly pursuing knowledge, asking about everything. In reality, this was also part of his preparation to understand the Hu Family’s Age Suppressing Book. The words of that Heavenly Book were seared into his memory, but truly mastering it would require immense effort.

The old shopkeeper wasn’t much of a teacher. Although he had an agreement with Hu Ma and would answer any questions asked, he clearly lacked enthusiasm for it. However, on one occasion, when Hu Ma posed a particular question, Sister Wu He’s timid voice suddenly came from the inner room:

"Brother Hu Ma, the term ’Xingming Sanfen’ refers to the body, the soul, and vital destiny..."

"..."

Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised. He listened as Sister Wu He patiently explained his doubts from behind the wall.

The old shopkeeper saw this, sighed, and went out into the courtyard to enjoy the cool air.

From then on, Hu Ma often came by and would converse with Sister Wu He through the wall. Although Sister Wu He was not a Ghost Walker, the fundamental principles of many of this world’s Paths were interconnected. What he learned from her could be flexibly applied.

As he gradually gained more understanding of some of this world’s more esoteric Paths, Hu Ma occasionally found himself hoping that after completing this ’course’ of study, he might soon be able to try deciphering the contents of the Hu Clan’s Age Suppressing Book on his own.

...

If not for the ever-present threat of the Tan’er Sect, Hu Ma’s days would have been quite peaceful, focused solely on learning new skills.

However, the thought of the Sorcery-wielding peddler and the enigmatic Aunt Tan kept Hu Ma from relaxing his guard. He continued to diligently supervise the attendants’ patrols. When the next Zero Day arrived, he recounted everything he had learned to Er Guotou.

He didn’t mention Sister Wu He’s specific condition, however, only stating that the old shopkeeper’s daughter did indeed seem to be injured.

By now, he was quite certain that even the higher-ups in the Red Lantern Society were unaware of Sister Wu He’s true condition.

Had the old shopkeeper deliberately kept it from them?

Perhaps it involved delicate matters like fear of ridicule, or protecting a daughter’s reputation. Hu Ma didn’t understand such sentiments, but he respected them.

"Tan’er Sect?" Upon hearing Hu Ma’s account, Er Guotou was clearly hesitant.

"Wu Hong’s earlier report to the leadership mentioned the same thing," Er Guotou said, his voice tinged with hesitation. "He claimed the Tan’er Sect had lured those evil spirits to steal that batch of Blood Food. To put it bluntly, it was because he named this group that the investigation by the higher-ups was eventually dropped."

"I never expected those people to dare show their faces again. But brother, if you’ve run into them, you absolutely cannot afford to be careless!"

"The Tan’er Sect, the Insect Sect, the blind beggars who call souls..."

Er Guotou sighed softly. "Throughout the entire Mingzhou Prefecture, how many people would dare to provoke them?"