"What could be so precious?"
Hu Ma held the oil lamp and carefully took the small porcelain bottle that the old shopkeeper had solemnly given him.
He returned to his room, closed the door, and placed the lamp on the table.
With great care, he opened the small bottle and immediately caught a familiar, pungent scent of blood.
He was momentarily stunned, then carefully poured the contents into his palm.
He couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration...
Blood Pills.
Inside this exquisite and expensive little bottle was, surprisingly, a Blood Pill—and only one at that.
What's more, it was even smaller than the ones his grandmother had left him.
Looking at the beautifully crafted bottle and then thinking about the simple, unadorned jar his grandmother had given him, he couldn't help but chuckle.
One was flashy and ornate, while the other was plain and unassuming.
But then again, from the old shopkeeper's perspective, this might indeed be considered a treasure of the highest order.
This thought actually put his mind at ease.
Earlier, Hu Ma had been suspicious of the old shopkeeper's attitude toward him.
Then, when Wu He, the young woman, mysteriously gave him notes and some Green Food, he became even more uneasy.
It was only because he could discern the authenticity of cultivation methods that he felt somewhat reassured.
Otherwise, even if those notes were placed right in front of him, he would have been too wary to even look at them.
Now that he understood the old shopkeeper's situation and intentions, Hu Ma felt a bit more relaxed.
In this world, it was all about mutual use—whoever held the longer straw would have the upper hand.
He wasn't afraid of being used; he was more concerned about not knowing what the other party was thinking.
However, Hu Ma still had some doubts.
The old shopkeeper's words and actions didn't seem fake at all.
Not to mention, Wu He's pitiful state added to the credibility.
Could it be that the batch of Blood Food had really been taken by the Altar Sect?
Moreover, the old shopkeeper didn't seem to care about his position as the shopkeeper.
It was clear that when he sought help last year to rebuild the estate, his real goal was to stay and seek revenge.
But this raised a crucial question: how did he know that those people would definitely return?
And if he really wanted to deal with the Altar Sect, wouldn't it be better to report it to the city and ask for help? Why go through the trouble of personally training a disciple to assist him?
Hu Ma had some guesses, but he kept them to himself for now, planning to discuss them with his friend Erguotou on the next auspicious day.
As for whether he should really go after that batch of Blood Food, he hadn't made up his mind yet.
But he needed to get to the bottom of this matter first.
That night, Hu Ma went to sleep.
The next morning, he found that his right leg was no longer functioning properly.
In other words, it was "dead."
Only by "dying" could one be "reborn."
Although Hu Ma didn't need to go through this process, he still had to put on a show.
So, he called in Zhou Datong and asked him to find a sturdy, forked wooden stick to make a crutch for him.
Zhou Datong was quick with these tasks.
He brought the crutch over and watched as Hu Ma hobbled around on it.
He couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder my grandpa always said to stay in the back when there's trouble. Being the leader is no easy task..."
"First, you lost your hand, and now your leg. If this keeps up, Brother Hu Ma, you might not even need to marry a wife."
Hu Ma was so annoyed that he wanted to hit Zhou Datong with the crutch.
Suppressing his irritation, Hu Ma arranged the day's tasks for the estate.
Everyone was now familiar with their duties, so there wasn't much to assign.
Hu Ma's main focus was on the cart they had brought back the previous day.
He began sorting through the items left behind by the peddler.
To his surprise, he stumbled upon a small fortune.
Hidden deep inside one of the baskets was a small cloth bag containing seven or eight small silver ingots and even a piece of gold.
Although it was only a couple of taels, it was still quite valuable.
He decided to confiscate it for the estate.
Among the other items, there were quite a few useful things.
Although the peddler's identity was just a cover, he had prepared quite thoroughly—clay pots, copper mirrors, pastries, sugar figurines, shoe patterns, combs, embroidered pouches...
...and even some of the "naughty" kind.
Hu Ma was somewhat amazed and had the workers gather everything up to be confiscated.
He pretended not to notice when Zhou Datong secretly pocketed one of the embroidered pouches.
As for the peddler's rattle drum, it was quite finely made.
But remembering how the peddler had used it to cast some evil spell, Hu Ma didn't dare to take it lightly.
He brought it to the inner courtyard for the old shopkeeper to inspect.
The old man glanced at it and said, "Objects used for evil spells require specific incantations and rituals. In the hands of others, they're useless. But since it's still not a good thing, just burn it."
After a moment of thought, he added, "Also, since that peddler was caught here, his accomplices might come looking for him. Tell the workers to keep an eye out for any unfamiliar faces in the area recently..."
"But don't act rashly. Their skills are no match for those people."
Hu Ma agreed and took the rattle drum away.
He didn't burn it immediately.
Since the shopkeeper had checked it and found nothing unusual, he decided to keep it for now.
He placed it in Little Red Tang's basket for her to play with.
Just as he finished instructing the workers to be more vigilant and patrol the nearby villages, he heard a commotion outside the estate.
It was the village elder from the village that had lost a child the previous day, leading a group of villagers with a fat pig to offer incense and give thanks.
Losing a child was a big deal, and since Hu Ma had helped find the child, the villagers were naturally grateful.
They not only thanked Hu Ma but also gave credit to the Red Lantern Lady.
They noisily burned paper offerings and kowtowed in front of the estate.
Although living people generally disliked others burning paper offerings at their doorstep, especially facing their main gate, for the Red Lantern Society, this was a good thing.
The workers, as usual, couldn't chase them away.
The old shopkeeper, who usually avoided such matters and disliked the noise, simply gave Hu Ma a look, leaving him to handle it.
With his leg still injured, Hu Ma wasn't keen on dealing with the commotion either.
He gave Zhou Datong a signal, and the eager young man immediately put on a big smile and went out to greet the villagers.
By the time Hu Ma returned to his room, the villagers were already trying to drag Zhou Datong to their village for a feast.
Hu Ma wasn't averse to a bit of excitement, but he knew what his priorities were.
The Altar Sect had already shown themselves, and trouble could break out at any moment.
The most important thing for him was to learn his skills as quickly as possible.
The shopkeeper had repeatedly told him that he needed to master at least one hand and one leg to be of any help.
For Hu Ma, that standard was doubled.
He needed to master both hands and both legs to have any confidence against those strange and sinister methods.
However, while he openly practiced one hand and one leg, he secretly trained the other pair, ensuring that both were progressing without delay.
After Hu Ma had this conversation with the shopkeeper, the old man actually kept his word.
In addition to the Blood Pill, Hu Ma was allowed to enter the inner courtyard every night to dine with him.
Without fail, there was always a small bowl of Green Food reserved for him.
Hu Ma had already realized the connection between Blood Food and the speed of cultivation, and now this was further confirmed.
With the amount of Blood Food he was consuming—something ordinary workers could only dream of—his cultivation of both hands and legs was progressing at an astonishing rate.
Every day, the incense stick in the burner burned at a visibly rapid pace.
In its place, the meridians and blood flow in his hands and legs gradually opened up, and his vitality slowly returned.
He was steadily learning the skills of a Shou Sui Ren.
Not only was he mastering the skills of a Shou Sui Ren, but Hu Ma also didn't hesitate to ask the shopkeeper questions whenever he had doubts.
He would walk into the inner courtyard, carefully knock on the door, and then ask about various cultivation principles.
On the surface, it seemed like he was solely focused on learning, asking about everything.
But in reality, he was also preparing himself to understand the Hu Family's "Book of Suppressing Years."
That heavenly book, with every word and sentence memorized, still required a great deal of effort to truly comprehend.
The shopkeeper wasn't much of a teacher.
Although he had agreed to answer Hu Ma's questions, he clearly wasn't very enthusiastic about it.
However, on one occasion, when Hu Ma asked a particular question, a timid voice suddenly came from the inner room:
"Brother Hu Ma, the 'Three Parts of Life' refers to the body, soul, and fate..."
Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised.
He listened patiently as Wu He explained the concept to him from behind the wall.
The old shopkeeper, seeing this, didn't say anything.
He simply sighed and went out to the courtyard to enjoy the cool air.
From then on, Hu Ma often visited, conversing with Wu He through the wall.
Although Wu He wasn't a practitioner of the ghostly arts, the basics of many cultivation methods in this world were interconnected, and what she taught could be applied in various ways.
Hu Ma gradually gained more knowledge about the sinister practices of this world.
Occasionally, he even looked forward to the day when he could finally start deciphering the contents of the Hu Family's "Book of Suppressing Years."
...
If it weren't for the looming threat of the Altar Sect, Hu Ma's life would have been quite leisurely, focused solely on learning his skills.
But the thought of the peddler with his dark arts and the mysterious and eerie Altar Auntie kept him on edge.
He made sure to keep the workers vigilant and, when the next auspicious day arrived, he shared everything he had learned with his friend Erguotou.
However, he didn't mention Wu He's condition, only saying that the shopkeeper's daughter seemed to be injured.
He was now quite certain that the higher-ups in the Red Lantern Society didn't know about Wu He's situation.
Perhaps the old shopkeeper had deliberately kept it hidden? Maybe it involved some delicate matters like family honor or a young woman's reputation—things Hu Ma didn't fully understand but respected nonetheless.
"The Altar Sect?" Erguotou sounded hesitant after hearing Hu Ma's account.
"Earlier, Wu Hong reported to the higher-ups in a similar manner, mentioning that the Altar Sect had lured those evil spirits and stolen the batch of Blood Food. To put it bluntly, it was because of his report that the higher-ups eventually dropped the investigation."
"I didn't expect them to show themselves, but since you've encountered them, Brother Hu Ma, you must be extremely careful!"
"The Altar Sect, the Insect Gate, the Blind Beggars who can summon souls..."
Erguotou sighed softly.
"In the entire Mingzhou Prefecture, who dares to provoke them?"
(End of Chapter)