Beating up Cui Xie'er was one thing, but feeling anxious about it was another.
Hu Ma didn't want to cause trouble, but even a clay figurine has its limits.
Cui Xie'er had been constantly provoking him with his sarcastic remarks, and if Hu Ma didn't respond, it might lead to bigger issues.
Moreover, Cui Xie'er's provocations weren't just verbal.
Every morning when they distributed the White Tai Sui, he would always shortchange Hu Ma.
Although compared to Hu Ma's current daily meals, this bit of White Tai Sui was insignificant, it was still his lifeblood.
Every coin counted...
Rather than dragging it out, it was better to settle it once and for all.
Even so, Hu Ma first convinced Little Red Tang to help him secretly, planning to give Cui Xie'er a good beating to teach him a lesson.
But wasn't Cui Xie'er supposed to be the strongest in the village after Second Master? How come he was so fragile?
While the other kids were still in shock, Hu Ma had already rushed out of the village, dragging the unconscious Cui Xie'er back from the thorny bushes.
Looking at his pale face, Hu Ma shouted for someone to call Second Master back from the woods while he pinched Cui Xie'er's philtrum and performed CPR, sweating profusely, almost kneeling in desperation.
"What happened?"
Second Master's alarmed voice soon rang out from outside the village.
He had just finished patrolling the woods and happened to run into the messenger.
Seeing the scene in the village, he glanced at Hu Ma as if seeing a ghost and hurriedly shouted, "Quick, bring the Black Ointment!"
Not all parts of the Meat Mountain were edible.
For example, the Black Tai Sui could make you sick or even poison you if eaten.
However, the Black Tai Sui wasn't useless.
When cut and mixed with various herbs gathered from the mountains, it could be refined into a kind of ointment called Black Ointment, which was excellent for treating external injuries.
Second Master lacked many things, but he had plenty of Black Ointment, prepared specifically for the boys to practice their fighting skills without fear of injury.
Grabbing a handful of the black, lard-like ointment, Second Master tore open Cui Xie'er's shirt and rubbed it on his chest.
His technique was much more effective than Hu Ma's.
Soon, Cui Xie'er groaned and slowly regained consciousness.
But as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Hu Ma's worried face, he panicked and shouted, "Ghost! Ghost!"
"Stop making a fool of yourself! Take him to rest in bed," Second Master scolded, slapping Cui Xie'er on the head, almost knocking him out again.
Whether there were ghosts or not wasn't important, but someone learning skills from Second Master being so afraid of ghosts was just ridiculous.
"You, come with me!"
After having someone take Cui Xie'er back to his room, Second Master glared at Hu Ma and walked towards the main hall.
Hu Ma felt uneasy: "Am I going to get scolded?"
But once inside, Second Master closed the door and turned to Hu Ma with a look of astonishment:
"How did you knock him out?"
"..."
"I..."
Hu Ma was caught off guard and cautiously replied, "I used a little strategy..."
"Not that," Second Master said nervously.
"I mean, this little scorpion has been with me for almost three years. He's been down the Blood Ore Mine once, his furnace is blazing, and he's obedient. His family even found him a wife, but he's too shy to even hold her hand. How did you manage to knock him out?"
"Even his furnace almost went out!"
"..."
"I just hit him..."
Hu Ma couldn't explain it clearly, gesturing vaguely.
Second Master's face darkened.
After a moment of thought, he called Hu Ma over and pressed his hand against Hu Ma's lower abdomen:
"Activate your energy!"
"..."
Hu Ma didn't understand but didn't dare to delay, so he followed his usual method to circulate the fire energy in his body.
In an instant, the furnace in his lower abdomen, which was like a pile of glowing embers, suddenly flared up as if a gust of wind had blown through it.
The embers brightened and then burst into roaring flames.
Hu Ma felt his body instantly heat up, especially where Second Master's hand was pressed, emitting a wave of fire energy that pushed Second Master's hand away.
"My goodness..."
Second Master stepped back, his voice almost a moan: "How is your furnace burning so fiercely?"
"This..."
Hu Ma couldn't answer and asked, "Is it really that fierce?"
"It's burning hot! Isn't that fierce?"
Second Master was almost in a frenzy before he suddenly realized something and looked at Hu Ma: "Besides having Little Red Tang bring you buns and good food, did she bring anything else?"
Hu Ma knew Second Master had figured it out.
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded cautiously under Second Master's intense gaze.
Second Master's voice trembled slightly: "She didn't bring you Green Tai Sui every time, did she?"
Hu Ma was about to nod when he caught the look on Second Master's face.
Although Second Master was asking for confirmation, his expression showed he had already guessed what Little Red Tang had been bringing Hu Ma daily.
Considering Second Master's relationship with Granny, lying now would be pointless.
So Hu Ma remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.
"My heavens..."
Second Master slowly slapped his forehead, his voice changing: "Has Granny invited the Tai Sui Lord into our home?"
...
...
"Is Second Master feeling down?"
Seeing Second Master's deflated state, Hu Ma didn't dare to speak too loudly.
Second Master's eyes looked off, like someone who had just realized they'd spent a fortune in a bathhouse.
He looked at Hu Ma, wanting to say something several times but stopping himself.
That huge piece of Green Tai Sui he had, and he had been giving it to Hu Ma piece by piece.
He had thought his actions were already incredibly wasteful.
If it weren't for his gratitude towards Granny for saving his life and knowing the Hu family's dire situation, he wouldn't have been so generous.
But now, after almost finishing that big piece of Green Tai Sui, he realized that his sacrifice was just a snack.
How could someone treat such a precious thing as a daily meal?
Wouldn't it be better to exchange it for gold to buy a house or marry a wife?
Second Master wasn't inexperienced; he had been to the city in his youth.
Even the young masters of wealthy families didn't eat like that.
They saved it for their elders to prolong their lives.
Not to mention the rich merchants and nobles, even the high-ranking officials of the Red Lantern Society couldn't afford such a luxury...
...
Wait, if you're eating that every day, why are you still eyeing my Green Tai Sui?
"Actually, it's not every day..."
Hu Ma was a bit worried and replied softly, "Just occasionally, once or twice..."
"Even once or twice is outrageous..."
Second Master sighed: "That thing isn't meant to be eaten; it's meant to be sold for money..."
"I meant that occasionally, there are one or two days when I don't eat it."
Hu Ma thought to himself: "Besides, if we exchange it for money, wouldn't someone else eat it anyway?"
But he didn't say that, afraid of further upsetting Second Master.
Fortunately, Second Master's sixty years of discipline were formidable.
After a while and a couple of smokes, he slowly recovered.
He sighed and said to Hu Ma: "Well, it's a good thing after all."
"But you should have told me earlier so I could help you change the talisman in time..."
"..."
The two stared at each other.
Hu Ma thought: "You never mentioned anything about changing talismans before. You just said to watch the pig's rear to gauge my progress..."
"Who could have guessed you'd progress so fast?"
Second Master also pondered and suddenly remembered something: "Do you crave women?"
"?"
Hu Ma was caught off guard by the question: "Who doesn't?"
But perhaps because he had been preoccupied, his attention was divided, and he didn't seem too eager.
"Be careful. Others progress gradually, but you've surged ahead so quickly, which can easily lead to trouble."
Second Master warned seriously: "Don't touch married women in the village, nor widows. And stay away from the sheep pen..."
"What are you talking about..."
Hu Ma was speechless: "I may crave, but not that much..."
Second Master, seeing he wasn't like those other hopeless cases, relit the fire pit and took out the willow branches they had brought back from the woods earlier.
He had Hu Ma take off his coat and sit by the fire.
After muttering some incantations, he burned one end of the willow branch and began drawing on Hu Ma's chest again.
Just like last time, it felt cold and the yin energy bit into his bones.
But this time, Hu Ma's internal fire was so strong that the yin energy dissipated upon contact.
"Huh?"
Second Master frowned, repeatedly drawing, but Hu Ma's internal fire was too strong, making it hard to imprint the talisman.
It was like trying to write with a dry brush; after several attempts, it barely took.
Once the talisman finally worked, Second Master looked at the shriveled willow branch and threw it into the fire, sighing:
"We'll have to go to your godmother to get another one."
"..."
Hu Ma asked curiously: "Do we need to change it often?"
"Of course."
Second Master explained: "Lighting the furnace requires using yin energy to seal the yang energy in your body, so it can burn brighter."
"But as your furnace burns, the initial yin energy gradually fades. At that point, you need more yin energy to replenish the sealing talisman."
"For us, this is called changing the talisman."
"Normally, after changing the talisman once, you can go down the mine."
"But you..."
He couldn't even finish his sentence.
The entire willow branch couldn't complete one talisman.
How should he gauge Hu Ma's progress?
The master never taught this...
Hu Ma thought of the Blood Tai Sui Granny brought him daily and sighed softly: "It's all because Granny has been so good to me."
"Huh?"
Second Master looked at him in surprise: "You do have some sense!"
"Since you know Granny's efforts, don't slack off."
He stood up and said: "Now that your furnace is ready, it's time for me to teach you some real skills."
(End of Chapter)