Having witnessed the strange phenomena of this world and the astonishing abilities of Second Uncle, Hu Ma had developed a strong interest in the powers of this realm.
He eagerly wanted to ask Second Uncle to teach him immediately.
However, before he could voice his request, he suddenly remembered something important.
Suppressing his excitement, he asked with a serious expression:
"Does this 'virgin body' you mentioned need to be maintained forever?"
"..."
The ability sounded good, but if it required lifelong celibacy, wouldn't it be better to just marry that ghost wife?
"Of course not," Second Uncle was momentarily stunned by Hu Ma's question and shook his head.
"If all of you remained virgins, who would bear the children in the village?"
"Besides, Grandma only has you as her grandson. If I didn't let you marry, do you think she'd let me off the hook?"
"..."
He continued to explain: "This is just a method to seal and accumulate the fire energy within your body. The more you accumulate, the stronger your strength and vitality will become. Of course..."
He paused: "...you'll also become more... eager for women."
"In short, once you've reached the right level of fire energy, you can move on to the next step."
"Look at those young men outside. They take advantage of these two years of 'cutting the meat mountain' to earn money. Once they've saved enough, they marry and have children."
"Of course, after marrying, they can no longer participate in 'cutting the meat mountain' because their yang energy dissipates, and their furnace breaks. So, 'cutting the meat mountain' is really a young man's job, only lasting a few years."
"In the entire village, only your Second Uncle here has been cutting the meat mountain for sixty years..."
"..."
"The more proudly you say it, the more I feel sorry for you..."
Hu Ma couldn't help but think to himself, then asked the most crucial question: "So, when will I know I've reached the right level of fire energy?"
Second Uncle gave him a deep look: "When you start craving even a pig's rear end, that's when you've reached it."
"Yikes..."
Hu Ma imagined the scene and couldn't help but shudder.
However, since he didn't need to remain a virgin forever, he perked up and asked, "So, how do we do this?"
"It's simple. I'll just draw a talisman on your body," Second Uncle said.
"I'm telling you this in advance so you can prepare yourself. Once this talisman is drawn, you'll need to eat more meat to build up your strength, exercise more, and bask in the sun to increase your fire energy as much as possible."
"Normally, since you were recently possessed by a ghost, we shouldn't rush this. Forcing the furnace open might make you too weak to handle it..."
"But Grandma has a point, and since you've eaten so much Tai Sui meat, it shouldn't be a big problem."
"Of course..."
He became serious: "You also need to be mentally prepared. Once the talisman is drawn, you absolutely must not lose your virginity during this period."
"I heard you used to sneak peeks at the widow bathing in the village... you can't do that anymore either."
"..."
"How could I?"
Hu Ma felt extremely awkward.
What kind of person was his previous self? It seemed like he wasn't very well-liked in the village.
Seeing how serious Second Uncle was, Hu Ma thought of another question: "Just no losing my virginity?"
"What about... myself?"
"..."
As he spoke, he made a gesture with his right hand, thumb and forefinger forming a circle and moving up and down.
It took Second Uncle a moment to understand, then he immediately shook his head sternly: "Absolutely not. Hold it in!"
"It will dissipate your fire energy!"
"..."
"Alright..."
Hu Ma had no choice but to agree, but then he remembered something else: "What about in dreams? What if I can't hold it in while dreaming..."
He had experience from his past life.
At such a vigorous age, who hasn't had to wash their underwear in the middle of the night?
"Dreams?"
Second Uncle sneered: "That's evil energy entering your dreams, trying to make you lose your fire energy. Once I draw this talisman on you, you shouldn't have such dreams... Of course, there's always a chance, but if you do, and if you're still conscious, hold it in. If you're not conscious, a little leakage is fine... Otherwise, how do you think I've maintained my virginity for sixty years?"
Hu Ma immediately thought of Second Uncle's legendary feats in his youth and nodded vigorously: "Understood."
With everything explained, Second Uncle took a straw basket and had Hu Ma sit opposite him.
Facing such an important moment, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel excited, trying to calm his breathing.
Second Uncle, however, was experienced and took his time.
After all, this was just the first step in learning these skills, not a big deal.
Both of them remained relatively calm.
Meanwhile, not far from the stone house, on a low hillside, Grandma, who should have returned to the village, was still standing there.
She had seen Second Uncle take Hu Ma out at night to visit the Tai Sui Lord and even acknowledge a godmother.
Several times, she frowned.
She had always thought Second Uncle was reckless and unreliable, but she hadn't expected him to be this unreliable.
Yet, she just watched from afar and ultimately said nothing.
"Grandma doesn't think highly of Second Uncle's skills and doesn't want Hu Ma to learn from him," Little Hong Tang suddenly said.
"Little Hong Tang also doesn't want Hu Ma to learn from Second Uncle. Little Hong Tang is afraid to get close to Second Uncle, but being near Hu Ma is comfortable. If Hu Ma learns Second Uncle's skills, Little Hong Tang won't dare to get close to him anymore..."
Grandma slowly lowered her gaze and after a long while, softly said, "Grandma doesn't dislike Second Uncle's skills."
"It's just that Second Uncle's skills are good, but he hasn't mastered them fully."
"Don't worry, Little Hong Tang. No matter how much Hu Ma learns, he won't scare you..."
"..."
Little Hong Tang tilted her head, seemingly not fully understanding.
...
"Others use the ashes of their ancestors from the old fire pit to light their furnaces," Second Uncle said in the stone house, having Hu Ma remove his coarse cloth vest, revealing his pale, thin chest with clearly visible ribs.
"But the ancestors don't recognize you, so I had to take you to acknowledge a godmother and borrow this willow branch."
As he spoke, he took out a willow branch and placed it in the fire, muttering what sounded like prayers for the ancestors' blessings.
Hu Ma guessed that since he wasn't using the ashes from the old fire pit, Second Uncle's prayers probably didn't concern him.
Most likely, Second Uncle always recited these prayers when lighting furnaces for others, so he did the same now.
After a while, the willow branch dried and caught fire.
Second Uncle suddenly picked up the burning branch and quickly drew patterns on Hu Ma's chest.
Hu Ma instinctively flinched but found that the burning branch wasn't hot.
Instead, it was icy cold, even more so than when he had touched the ghostly wooden stake earlier.
The coldness seemed to penetrate his skin, branding his very soul.
As the ash from the branch formed strange runes on his chest, Hu Ma felt a cold line swiftly moving across his chest.
He vaguely heard countless eerie laughs and mocking voices, and his vision blurred.
Suddenly, he looked down and thought he saw pale hands reaching out from the darkness, pressing and rubbing against his chest.
"Ah!"
Hu Ma jolted upright, startling Second Uncle, who was finishing the last stroke of the talisman.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
Hu Ma focused and saw that there were no pale hands on his chest—it was just an illusion.
The faint ash lines Second Uncle had drawn on his chest gave him an unusually clear sense of coldness.
The runes formed by the ash also gave him a strange feeling.
It was as if his body had been wrapped in an invisible coat, blocking the escape of heat from within.
Completely isolated from the outside world.
The heat inside his body, just about to escape through his skin, was pushed back inside, circulating endlessly.
"Remember the pattern I've drawn," Second Uncle said, giving Hu Ma a strange look but quickly instructing in a low voice:
"From now on, the fire energy within your body will be continuously blocked and redirected. Follow the pattern of this talisman and accumulate this fire energy, bit by bit, guiding it to your lower abdomen. Over time, a vast furnace fire will gather there."
"This is your furnace. The furnace will burn hotter and hotter, and you will grow stronger and stronger, until you begin to learn new techniques..."
"With this furnace, you won't have to worry about encountering those ghostly things anymore."
"They'll avoid you from afar."
"..."
"This..."
Hu Ma suddenly thought of a question and cautiously asked, "What if an evil spirit enters my body?"
"Haha..."
Second Uncle chuckled coldly: "Even if some fool dares to enter your body, they'll feel like they've jumped into a furnace, burning unbearably, and will flee in no time. If they can't escape, they'll likely be burned to ashes by the furnace fire..."
"Ah?"
Hearing Second Uncle's serious tone, Hu Ma quickly checked himself and felt relieved:
"Nothing's wrong..."
"I don't feel like I'm about to burn up. Instead, I feel warm and comfortable inside..."
"Does this mean I'm not an evil spirit?"
"..."
"..."
At the same time, Grandma, watching the light from the stone house from afar, sighed almost imperceptibly and said no more:
"Let's go."
"..."
Her hunched figure, accompanied by the little red-clad girl, slowly disappeared into the depths of the forest.
(End of Chapter)