In this wild village, the young boys all believed in growing up tough and rugged.
The fight between Hu Ma and Cui Xie'er had showcased Hu Ma's dominance.
The cold, mocking remarks from the other boys had lessened, replaced by a growing sense of awe and fear.
As the grandson of the village's revered Granny, Hu Ma held a special status in the eyes of Second Master.
His mysterious aura, combined with his brutal and ruthless fight against Cui Xie'er, the most skilled boy in the village, had left everyone in awe and fear.
"Rumors say Granny can raise ghosts. Could it be that he has a ghost following him too?"
These whispers made the boys look at Hu Ma with a mix of fear and respect.
The next morning, when the porridge was being served, the ladle had been handed to someone else, and Hu Ma was given the largest portion without question.
As for Zhou Datong, he was even more impressed by Hu Ma.
He was the second laziest among the boys learning from Second Master, with Hu Ma being the laziest.
Zhou Datong had even taught Hu Ma some of his moves and knew exactly how skilled Hu Ma was.
But so what?
Hu Ma knew dark magic!
The other boys, with their limited understanding, only saw how terrifying it was when Cui Xie'er stumbled as soon as he got close to Hu Ma.
Even Zhou Datong, who was close to Hu Ma, was now treated with more respect and got into fewer fights.
Hu Ma, however, didn't let his guard down.
He knew his current situation well.
With plenty of blood offerings, he needed to quickly and efficiently build up the fire in his furnace.
His physical condition didn't allow him to train as hard as the other boys, but he still diligently practiced the moves Second Master had taught him.
Xiao Hongtang continued to bring him food, and with the steady supply of blood offerings, the fire in his furnace grew stronger.
Second Master took him into the woods again to visit his "godmother."
They offered three sticks of incense and two steamed buns, and in return, they brought back four or five willow branches.
Because the fire in his furnace was so strong, Hu Ma had to replace the talismans every two or three days.
Each time, the amount of yin energy consumed increased.
The first time, only half a willow branch was burned to draw the talisman.
The second time, a whole branch was used.
By the third time, several branches were needed.
Second Master often clicked his tongue in amazement but never slacked off.
Whenever they ran out of willow branches, he would take Hu Ma to his godmother to get more.
After several trips, one day they arrived at the usual spot by the stream but couldn't find the godmother.
After searching, they finally found her trembling behind a large tree about thirty meters away.
"Why are you running around?" Second Master scolded.
"I brought your godson to visit, and we couldn't even find your home."
He then cut a bundle of willow branches and, to prevent her from running away again, tied her up with a red string.
After a few more trips, even Hu Ma felt a bit sorry for her.
"Second Master, if we keep cutting, she'll go bald..."
Second Master replied, "It's fine. If it comes to that, we can just call her godfather instead..."
The old willow tree, now with only a few branches left, shivered in the cold wind, its rustling leaves sounding like curses.
Despite the godmother's suffering, the fire in Hu Ma's furnace grew stronger.
His energy surged, and he felt like a new person.
Now, he wasn't just confident about leaving the village—he even dared to venture into the woods alone.
He continued to diligently practice the skills Second Master taught him, never slacking off.
The only thorn in his side was still Cui Xie'er.
After their fight, Cui Xie'er had spent half a day in bed, seemingly severely injured.
But by the third day, he was back to his lively self, thanks to the miraculous black ointment.
Though his wounds had healed, Cui Xie'er clearly still harbored resentment.
The other boys thought he would challenge Hu Ma again, believing his first loss was due to some dark magic.
But to everyone's surprise, Cui Xie'er had become unusually quiet.
Second Master saw through the situation, and so did Cui Xie'er himself.
He didn't dare to provoke Hu Ma directly but would often glare at him from behind.
Hu Ma didn't mind.
Since arriving in this world, he had been watched and scrutinized countless times.
Cui Xie'er's hostility was nothing new.
Focused on cultivating his furnace, Hu Ma reached a breakthrough after a month of training.
After finishing a bowl of blood offerings brought by Xiao Hongtang, he felt a sudden surge in the fire within his abdomen, as if something had been melted by the intense heat.
At that moment, Hu Ma was lying on his bed, quietly guiding the fire energy within him.
As this sensation washed over him, he felt drowsy, and the room filled with a dark red mist.
Before he knew it, he found himself back in that eerie, shadowy temple.
The mist parted, revealing an incense burner with a single stick of incense standing upright.
He remembered pulling out the incense stick the last time he left this dream, but now, there it was again—a three-foot-long stick with golden patterns, its flame flickering faintly.
"Wait, that's not right!"
Hu Ma looked to the side and was surprised to see another incense stick, about two or three fingers long, dark red and slender—the one he had pulled out last time.
"Did one stick turn into two?"
He vaguely sensed that this change was related to the breakthrough he had just experienced.
It seemed that as his cultivation reached a new level, the incense in the temple had also reached its limit, giving birth to a new stick.
Could it be that this incense was connected to the blood offerings he consumed?
Suppressing his excitement, Hu Ma approached the incense burner for a closer look.
The faint light from the incense seemed to illuminate the surroundings slightly, revealing the shadowy outline of a statue behind the altar.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out the details.
He attempted to walk around the altar to get a better view, but as he moved, the mist shifted, and the space seemed to warp, making it impossible to reach the front of the statue.
Hu Ma stopped in his tracks, his mind filled with questions:
"One stick turned into one and a half. If I keep progressing, will it become two sticks, or even more?"
"What is this temple, really?"
"The reincarnator I connected with last time mentioned that many people like me have come to this world..."
"Were they also summoned here by mistake?"
These questions swirled in his mind, but there were no answers.
He didn't know if every reincarnator had a temple like his.
"If the incense has grown so much, does that mean my ability to communicate with others has also strengthened?"
He focused on the incense stick in the burner.
It was now as thick as a fist and half a meter long, a far cry from the slender stick he had first seen.
The smoke it emitted was denser, drifting through the red mist, seemingly reaching out to somewhere unknown.
Though he knew leaving the incense burning might consume it, Hu Ma didn't pull it out.
He thought of the reincarnator trapped in Fox Coffin Village, who had said he could hold out for a month.
Half that time had already passed.
Hu Ma had learned some skills, but they were barely enough for self-defense, let alone rescuing someone.
If he could connect with a third reincarnator, he might be able to find help for the trapped man.
But so far, there had been no response.
"Should I just forget about him for now and focus on finding other reincarnators once I leave these mountains?"
From their brief conversation, Hu Ma knew that the trapped reincarnator had valuable knowledge.
If he could speak with him again, many of his current questions might be answered.
But the man was in trouble, and Hu Ma had his own problems.
How could he help?
As Hu Ma pondered these thoughts, the dark red mist around him began to flow, faster and faster.
By the time he noticed, the mist had turned into a raging torrent, and within it, a sharp blade suddenly shot toward his face.
He woke with a start, his eyes snapping open.
And there, right in front of him, was Cui Xie'er's pale face, his hands gripping a rusty knife aimed directly at Hu Ma's forehead.
(End of Chapter)