CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 88 OLD WHITE CALLS ER GUOTOU

Leaving behind the chaotic room without concern, Hu Ma and the Shopkeeper quietly departed and locked the door.

Nobody knew how long it would take for the villagers to discover the dismembered bodies inside. It was sure to create a major uproar.

But Hu Ma and the old Shopkeeper would not bring up the situation voluntarily, because such a gruesome case had reached the level where the village had to report it to the officials. This was not something the Red Lantern Society could easily dismiss with a few comforting words.

The murders in the surrounding villages were different from the internal affairs of Hu Ma’s Manor.

The Manor was under the Red Lantern Lady’s Club’s management, and the employees were essentially risking their lives for the society. One or two deaths were handled internally, and the government did not interfere.

However, these villages and settlements within a ten-mile radius were nominally still under the jurisdiction of the government. Of course, this was just talk, and Hu Ma understood well that these days, local governments were merely for show.

Since Tai Sui’s emergence, the world had descended into chaos. The Yi Dynasty had long been just a name, and most places were roughly autonomous. The Zhou Official, who were nominally still part of the Yi Dynasty, could hardly manage their own affairs.

In a sense, despite being an evil spirit, the Red Lantern Lady truly seemed like the legitimate authority within this hundred-mile radius.

Why was the Red Lantern Lady regarded as the biggest evil spirit in the area?

Because even the officials secretly worshiped her!

If the Red Lantern Lady did not agree, they could not hold their positions as officials and might be killed at any time.

Under the cover of darkness, Hu Ma took a small path through the village and saw Zhou Datong and others with a cart waiting there. They had successfully completed the exchange, not only tying a few sheep with grass ropes but also gaining some jars, salt, pickled vegetables, and other items on the cart.

"The little lady from the pickle family is really something..."

Zhou Datong was chatting excitedly with Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu when he suddenly saw the old Shopkeeper and Hu Ma approaching. The old Shopkeeper’s stern face made him stop speaking.

Hu Ma waved his hand, climbed onto the cart, and everyone hurriedly set off towards home.

Some pulled and some pushed, quickly distancing themselves from the village. They were curious about what Hu Ma and the old Shopkeeper had done but didn’t dare to ask. In the darkness, details were hard to see. However, they noticed a faint smell of blood on the old Shopkeeper but pretended not to.

When they returned to the Manor, some people tied up the sheep while others moved the pickled vegetables.

Seeing that the night patrol had already set out, Hu Ma had one less thing to worry about. Before long, rice was cooked in the kitchen, and the other workers ate.

These days, Hu Ma dined with the Shopkeeper in the evenings, so no meal was prepared for him by the kitchen. After arranging the affairs in the outer courtyard, he entered the inner courtyard and saw the old Shopkeeper had already changed into a white gown, and the old servant had prepared the meal.

In front of Hu Ma was a large bowl of Blood Food, glistening with oil, almost overflowing.

"Let’s eat first."

The old Shopkeeper sat to the side, smoking a pipe, not rushing to say anything, only gestured to the meal on the table.

Hu Ma had been eating like this for some time and, naturally, didn’t ask any questions. He quietly ate, then cleared the dishes and took them to the small kitchen.

"I suppose you’ve noticed something."

The old Shopkeeper, who had been silently smoking his pipe nearby, spoke only after Hu Ma finished eating, "You’ve seen the methods of those practitioners, haven’t you?"

His voice betrayed a deep-seated hatred beneath its calm surface. The entire brightly lit and spacious room was suddenly filled with an air of vengeance, becoming somewhat oppressive and dark. Even the oil lamp on the table flickered, making a WHOOSHING sound.

Hu Ma quickly responded, "I wanted to ask the Shopkeeper about that moving human skin..."

"Just a shadow play..." The old Shopkeeper replied calmly. "They flay, extract bones, and paint skins as shadows; there’s nothing they can’t do."

"And that’s just for ordinary people. If you offend them, they can use even more vicious and sinister methods."

From the inner room, Hu Ma heard the sound of splashing water. It seemed that Sister Wu He, in the jar, was so agitated her body began to tremble.

Without needing the Shopkeeper’s reminder, Hu Ma recalled the tragic fate of the woman from the Tofu Zhao family and understood their ruthlessness.

This was just an ordinary member of the Tan’er Sect...

Sighing to himself, he said aloud, "People like this should have been dealt with long ago."

"Of course, they should be eradicated, but that’s not an easy task."

The old Shopkeeper did not see fear or hesitation on Hu Ma’s face. Seemingly somewhat comforted, he candidly said, "I’ve been waiting for these Tan’er Sect members to return for more than a year."

"Over the past year, I’ve made many preparations, but I’m still not confident."

"Sigh, I originally thought they would come during the end-of-year holidays, when the Manor was empty. But I didn’t expect them to be even more impatient than I thought—they came more than a month early. As a result, the time left for you to learn things has become quite tight."

Hu Ma listened intently and finally said, "Shopkeeper, please don’t blame me for speaking out of turn."

"Why didn’t you report this to the city?"

"The city?" The old Shopkeeper scoffed. "Report what? That the batch of Blood Food is still here?"

"Haha, if I mentioned it, they would only send people to find that batch of Blood Food and haul it back to the city. Without the Tan’er Sect’s interest, why would they return?"

"Haha, I don’t care if the Blood Food can be retrieved. I don’t even care if I remain the Shopkeeper. But there’s only one thing I care about: avenging my girl!"

Hu Ma nodded silently as he listened. He had already thought of this, but he still asked for reassurance.

After some consideration, he seriously looked at the Shopkeeper and asked, "When they arrive, what exactly do you want me to do?"

At this point, he was genuinely puzzled.

If it were just a matter of fighting the Tan’er Sect members, trading blows in a direct confrontation, the Shopkeeper wouldn’t have needed to remind him so deliberately and repeatedly.

The Shopkeeper paused briefly, took a puff from his pipe with a PFFT, then suddenly looked at Hu Ma and asked, "How much progress have you made with refining your right leg?"

Hu Ma responded, "It’s starting to feel warm."

By now, his right leg had significantly improved. Not only that, but he could also move a few fingers on his right hand.

The old Shopkeeper, naturally, didn’t know the true extent of his progress. Hearing that Hu Ma’s right leg had started feeling warm seemed to alleviate some of his worries. He sighed lightly. "You’ve worked hard. It seems none of the Blood Food given to you has gone to waste."

"However, it’s still too slow."

"The Tan’er Sect won’t wait for us. During this time, you should eat more Blood Food."

"When your leg is fully refined, come find me."

Saying this, he seriously looked at Hu Ma and added, "I taught you these skills for one important task."

"If you succeed, any favors between us will be settled."

"But if you fail—heh heh—that’s your fate, my fate, and also, my girl’s fate."

Hearing these weighty words, Hu Ma felt a subtle pressure.

After a moment, he nodded and said, "I’ll do my best, even if it’s just to vent Sister He’s anger."

The old Shopkeeper sighed softly, saying nothing more.

When Hu Ma turned and left the inner courtyard, Sister He’s trembling voice echoed from the side room, "Father, Brother Hu Ma is actually a good person..."

"Why don’t we just tell him everything?"

The old Shopkeeper sat silently for a long time before asking, "Do you not want to recover?"

The side room fell silent, except for soft sobbing from Wu He.

Why does the Shopkeeper seem somewhat strange?

After leaving the inner courtyard, Hu Ma felt gloomy. The situation seemed to have become clearer—at least he was certain the Tan’er Sect would return. Yet, for him, this clarity brought an even greater sense of ambiguity.

He had learned skills from the old Shopkeeper, so it was only right to help, especially against such demon people. But what exactly did the old Shopkeeper want him to do? Why was he being so secretive about it?

And another thing, even if it was confirmed that this batch of Blood Food hadn’t been moved, where exactly had the Tan’er Sect hidden it?

Blood Food wasn’t like gold or silver that could just be buried anywhere.

This stuff was a magnet for evil spirits. Even if people couldn’t find it, if it stayed in one place for too long, evil spirits would inevitably be drawn to it.

Of course, the most important problem now before him was a choice: the old Shopkeeper was waiting for his help with a revenge plot that had been a year in the making. Meanwhile, Brother Er Guotou was also waiting for intelligence on this batch of Blood Food.

He was caught in the middle. How should he choose?

This seemed like a dilemma, but Hu Ma quickly came up with a plan.

He returned to his room and engaged in practicing for a while, continuing to refine his right leg and right hand. He did this until the large bowl of green food he had just eaten was slowly digested, transforming into Life Incense. This replenished the reserves he had depleted through his diligent refining life practices recently.

Then, he entered a state of sleep and ventured into the Lifebound Spirit Temple.

Although it wasn’t one of the designated days (days ending in zero), he had decided to proactively enter the spiritual temple to awaken Brother Er Guotou.

It was quite simple, wasn’t it?

Right now, should he help the old Shopkeeper get revenge, or should he go after this batch of Blood Food?

Hu Ma’s answer was: he wanted both.

When things were still unclear, it was best to be prepared for both eventualities.

Helping with revenge was something he should do. Even if it meant becoming an enemy of the Tan’er Sect and facing immense danger, it was what Hu Ma ought to do to repay the kindness of being taught the Magic.

But he also had to scheme for that batch of Blood Food. As a Reincarnator codenamed Old White, this was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss.

Embracing such thoughts, as he appeared in the mist-shrouded Lifebound Spirit Temple, Hu Ma slowly approached the incense table. He observed the Divine Statue’s left hand behind it, entwined in golden threads, almost fully revealed.

Parts of the right hand also showed some golden threads, though not as completely as the left. Additionally, the right leg, positioned in a sitting cross-legged pose, was also partially manifested.

These were his abilities, his foundation in this world...

Hu Ma thought to himself, carefully reviewing the intelligence and plans he had gathered several times. Only then did he approach the incense burner and place his hand on its side.

He took a deep breath and quietly said, "Old White calling Er Guotou, there are urgent matters to discuss, can you hear me?"