At the foot of the hill, spring water gushed out from a crack in the rocks.
By inserting a sharpened bamboo tube, the water could be directed into a bucket.
While others carried water with a shoulder pole and two buckets, filling them quickly and moving fast, Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, the so-called "sleeping dragon and phoenix chicks," only managed to fill two buckets and then carried them together using a shoulder pole.
They wobbled their way back to the village, where Cui Xie'er was directing a few people on duty to do miscellaneous tasks.
Seeing that the water they had brought only filled less than a third of the water vat, Cui Xie'er's face turned cold, and he ordered them to go fetch more water.
"Rest only when the vat is full," he barked.
As the two left the village in frustration, Cui Xie'er called over some other youths: "The vegetable field in front of the village needs watering too. Take this water and go water the vegetables."
The youths exchanged glances.
Normally, watering the winter radishes was a task everyone did together.
Sensing that Cui Xie'er was deliberately targeting Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, one of them hesitantly said, "Brother Xie'er, why are you picking on them? One is from the clan leader's family, and the other is from Granny's family..."
Cui Xie'er sneered, "So what? Here, it's all about skill. I can't stand their lazy attitude. They eat well, use good stuff, but don't put in any effort. If that's the case, the blood food might as well be saved for us."
The youths fell silent at this.
When Hu Ma and Zhou Datong returned with the second load of water, they found the vat empty again and immediately understood what was going on.
Zhou Datong, who didn't dare speak up in the village, finally vented once they were outside: "This is too much! Why don't we just pee in the bucket and let him drink that!"
Hu Ma was startled and quickly said, "Don't you drink from this vat too? Don't make things worse for yourself!"
"Then what should we do?" Zhou Datong fumed.
"I can't beat him. He's got solid skills. Last time I even grabbed a weapon, but he still beat me until I knelt and called him 'Brother Xie'er.'"
"I definitely won't..."
Hu Ma thought to himself, looking at the clueless Zhou Datong.
But after some consideration, he realized he wasn't confident either.
He had barely practiced any martial arts, and while his progress with the furnace was decent, that was for warding off evil spirits, not fighting people.
Just as he was pondering this, a red figure flashed in the distance, and Hu Ma suddenly had an idea.
He stood the shoulder pole upright and said to Zhou Datong, "You go fill the buckets first. I have something to take care of."
Zhou Datong nodded and went to fetch water, while Hu Ma turned and called out to the nearby weeds: "Come out, Little Hongtang."
A cold breeze swept through, parting the weeds, and from behind a crooked stone tablet on the slope, Little Hongtang poked her head out, holding a basket covered with a red cloth.
She had been responsible for bringing Hu Ma his meals lately, and to avoid drawing attention, Hu Ma had gotten used to eating outside the village.
He sat down on the slope, opened the basket, and started eating the meat inside.
"What's Granny been up to?" he asked curiously between bites.
"I haven't seen her around lately."
"She's been looking for someone," Little Hongtang said, playing around the stone tablet.
"She found them, but they ran away, so she's gone to look again. At her age, she has to help you cut the Tai Sui and do all these other things..."
Hu Ma felt a pang of guilt.
He sighed softly and then asked, "Do you know a girl from the Cui family named Cui E?"
"Little Hongtang knows! She was taken away by the Mountain God!"
Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat.
"Really? I heard the Cui family wasn't too happy about it."
"That's not Granny's fault!" Little Hongtang puffed up angrily, sitting on the stone tablet.
"The Cui family went into the forest to cut trees and found a piece of gold. That was the Mountain God's dowry. Whoever finds it has to give their daughter in marriage. Granny told the Cui family to return anything they found recently, but they secretly kept a small piece. So, in the middle of the night, the Mountain God took Cui E away. But the Cui family denied it and even cursed Granny for lying."
"Is that so?" Hu Ma frowned.
"What about the Mountain God?"
"Granny drove him away," Little Hongtang said.
"He was an evil spirit from outside. When Granny saw he had taken a life, she wouldn't let him stay. Later, Granny said she should have dealt with him more decisively from the start, or Cui E wouldn't have been killed by that thing..."
"No wonder the villagers haven't heard about it..."
Hu Ma slowed his eating, feeling a mix of emotions for Granny.
Thinking about how Cui Xie'er had been treating him with disdain, he grew even angrier.
Granny's already been wronged by you, and now you're still picking on me?
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
He whispered to Little Hongtang, "Little Hongtang, are you afraid of Second Master?"
Little Hongtang thought for a moment and nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Hu Ma pondered for a bit, then asked, "What about the others in the village? Are you afraid of them?"
"No," Little Hongtang said after some thought.
"They're all warm, and I don't like getting close to them. But I'm not afraid. Second Master is untouchable—he burns if you touch him. But the others... they don't burn."
"I see..."
Hu Ma thought silently.
He picked up a piece of meat and suddenly said, "If that's the case, can you help me with something later?"
Little Hongtang looked up, puzzled.
Hu Ma waved the piece of meat in his chopsticks.
"If you do a good job, this piece of meat is yours!"
Little Hongtang's eyes lit up instantly.
She was ready to go through fire and water for that meat.
...
...
"Three trips, six buckets of water. Can we rest now?"
Back in the village, Hu Ma and Zhou Datong poured the water into the vat, which was still less than half full.
Normally, six buckets would fill the vat, but since the water had been used to water the radishes, it looked pitifully low, not even enough for cooking lunch.
Seeing Hu Ma put down the shoulder pole and head back to his room, Cui Xie'er flew into a rage.
He slammed his chopping knife down and glared at Hu Ma.
"Didn't I tell you to fill the vat? Didn't you hear me?"
"Normally, it would be full by now," Hu Ma said calmly.
"Today, six buckets didn't even fill it halfway. Maybe the vat's leaking. Should we flip it over and check?"
The other youths quietly looked up.
Flip the vat over? Was he serious?
Cui Xie'er was so angry he laughed.
He cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.
"You said you were injured before and couldn't train. Now you can carry water, so you must be healed, right? Since Second Master isn't here today, I'll see how much you've learned."
Hu Ma exhaled and said, "Alright, come at me then."
"Are they really going to fight?"
The other youths gathered around excitedly, while Zhou Datong quietly slipped to the side.
Seeing that Hu Ma wasn't backing down, Cui Xie'er was slightly surprised but quickly hardened his heart.
"You asked for this. Don't go crying to Second Master if you get hurt..."
Before he could finish, he lunged forward like a rabbit, covering three to four meters in an instant, his fist heavy and powerful.
The surrounding youths gasped.
"Hu Ma's in trouble. Brother Xie'er is going all out!"
"First, he beat the clan leader's son, and now he's going after Granny's grandson. This is getting serious..."
"Thud!"
Just as everyone's hearts were in their throats, a cold breeze swept through the courtyard.
Cui Xie'er, who was about to punch Hu Ma in the face, suddenly tripped and fell flat on his face.
Only Hu Ma could see that Little Hongtang had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Cui Xie'er's legs.
"Good job!" Hu Ma praised silently.
He rushed forward, signaling Little Hongtang to spread Cui Xie'er's legs, exposing his groin.
Hu Ma then kicked with all his might.
...
After all, Second Master said that with the black ointment, any injury could be healed, right?
...
I may not practice martial arts much, but I've been paying attention to Second Master's teachings!
And since we're fighting, there's no holding back.
You've been looking down on me just because I'm Granny's grandson, right?
You keep saying our Hu family raises little ghosts?
Well, you're right!
Having lived two lives, Hu Ma knew that you shouldn't go looking for trouble, but if you can't avoid it, it's better to face it head-on.
The more proactive you are, the easier it is to find a solution.
This is for the salted meat in this morning's porridge, or maybe... for Granny's grievances?
"I'll kill you..."
Cui Xie'er, dazed from the fall, felt a sharp pain in his groin.
Though it felt oddly satisfying, he was furious.
With a roar, he stood up and swung his fist high.
Hu Ma quickly stepped back, but Cui Xie'er's fist didn't come down.
Confused, Hu Ma saw that Little Hongtang had climbed onto Cui Xie'er's shoulders and was covering his eyes with her tiny hands.
The other youths couldn't see Little Hongtang.
They only felt an eerie chill in the courtyard, their hairs standing on end.
They were baffled—Cui Xie'er had tripped, and now he was spinning around like a headless chicken?
"Can it really work like this?" Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised.
Little Hongtang was even more useful than he thought!
Seizing the opportunity, Hu Ma dashed forward and punched Cui Xie'er in the stomach.
Cui Xie'er was indeed tough.
Even after taking a kick to the groin, he seemed fine.
Hu Ma didn't hold back this time, putting all his strength into the punch.
Unexpectedly, the furnace in his abdomen flared up, amplifying the force of his punch.
With a loud "thud," Cui Xie'er spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying like a ragdoll.
He crashed into the courtyard wall, creating a gap, and tumbled out of the village.
"Whoa..."
The other youths gasped, the courtyard suddenly feeling much colder.
Little Hongtang, who had also been flung a few meters away, panicked and quickly grabbed her basket before disappearing.
"Uh..."
Hu Ma was also stunned.
After a few seconds, he snapped out of it and hurried toward the wall.
"How could he be so weak? Please don't die, Brother Xie'er..."
(End of Chapter)