“‘Fed’?”
Xiang Yatou's words did indeed surprise Hu Ma.
His understanding of the Yin Realm was still too shallow. Apart from the City of Wrongful Deaths and the Village of the Living, he hadn't ventured deep. And the legendary Eight Scenic Spots of the Yellow Springs, he hadn't seen a single one.
Therefore, it was difficult to understand the dilemma in Xiang Yatou's heart.
Only, he could see that she was different this time than before. Previously, she had an instinct, unable to bear seeing the wandering and lonely souls in the world, willing to enter the Ghost Cave to guide them. But now, she seemed to have some other kind of entanglement.
It was a pity that she clearly didn't want to say more, seemingly worried about something in the dark. She merely reminded Hu Ma slightly, then changed the subject.
They stayed in the village for half the night, talking by candlelight, chatting about the affairs of the Yin Realm. After dawn, Hu Ma bid farewell to the Li family of Dongzi, took the sweet potato spirit, and left the place, and Xiang Yatou was indeed very kind, providing him with a donkey cart, with several large baskets on it...
These blood offerings were of course what they needed, but it was inconvenient to travel with them.
So Hu Ma first went to Anzhou, calling out through his Natal Spirit Shrine, and sure enough, someone with the code name Old Gaoliang responded.
Anzhou was Miss Red Wine's territory. Although she now stayed near Mingzhou for convenience, she would not give up managing Anzhou. Old Gaoliang had returned here after finishing his mission in Guanzhou.
It was perfect timing. Hu Ma handed the blood offerings over to him, to be arranged for transport to Monkey Wine's hands, while he and the sweet potato spirit traveled light, using magic to rush to Mingzhou.
The two of them, one summoning the Measuring Heaven Boots, the other inviting little ghosts to travel, their speed was naturally beyond ordinary people.
Of course, speaking of which, the sweet potato spirit's skill in having little ghosts carry a sedan chair was now superb. It was thanks to Hu Ma being by her side to keep her in check that she didn't dare be too arrogant. Otherwise, with a handful of talismans thrown out, what she summoned wouldn't be sedan-carrying ghosts...
...but a gang!
It wasn't that Hu Ma wouldn't let her form a gang, nor was he afraid that she would run faster and leave him behind.
The main thing was that when she cast her magic, little ghosts were everywhere, and blood offerings were scattered around like they were worthless.
And also, she was still on the blacklist of the Li family of Impermanence. Before, in Wazhou, it was because she acted too high-profile that two minor officials, one black and one white, came to her door, chasing her to the point where she had no way to heaven and no door to earth.
She was tough, refusing to take out the minor official's warrant from the Bureau of Town and Suppress, and finally plunged headfirst into the Yin Realm, only to be brought up again by Hu Ma.
Now that she was up again, she had to be low-key, or she might be found by the Li family of Impermanence again if she wasn't careful.
So, traveling day and night for a few days, they had already returned to Mingzhou. Along the way, he did gain a better understanding of the situation in the world. In the various prefectures and counties, there were many more disasters of war, and bandits and defeated soldiers could be seen everywhere, with various flags emerging one after another.
Of course, this was still in the early stages of the world's chaos, the stage of big fish eating small fish.
Often, when a truly powerful grassroots king rose to fame, he would take in the various bandits and small flags, strengthening himself.
In this way, many surrendered at the sight of the wind, and few fought to the death, so the people suffered less.
It was only when those grassroots kings with comparable strength and unwillingness to submit met, when they were vying for luck, that they would fight to the death.
And also after rushing to Mingzhou, Hu Ma saw that it was quiet here, only the few camps that had previously been stationed outside the city of Mingzhou were empty.
After asking around, he learned that someone had knocked on the gate to borrow grain. The duty of the Grain Protection Army was to protect their own grain, so Yang Gong didn't hesitate to raise his flag and kill them. Now, he was probably fighting happily somewhere.
Hu Ma was satisfied with this.
The world was in chaos, and the various grassroots kings moved at the scent of it. If Yang Gong was still shrinking in Mingzhou City, that would be unpromising!
"Do you want to go home and hide for a while, or go back to the Red Lantern Society?"
After arriving in Mingzhou, Hu Ma said to the sweet potato spirit, "Or else, go help Miss Red Wine, she needs people."
"Senior, you don't need to worry about me, I'll see where it's fun."
The sweet potato spirit waved her hand and said, "But if there's a big job, you must think of me!"
"Don't worry, don't worry!"
Hu Ma sincerely assured her, "But you also need to be careful and keep a low profile. Our Reincarnators' Conference has already been held. The leader here is Brother Erguotou. If you have any questions, ask him. And also, give him my regards, just say I miss him..."
"The most important thing is your skills. I see that your skills have improved quite quickly. You've already pushed open two gates of the mansion?"
"If you want to learn skills, ask around in the Reincarnators' circle. The old brothers won't be stingy. The method of walking ghosts to set up an altar that you want to learn, I've already told you, but you must keep a low profile. Everyone is busy right now, and it's not a good time to help you deal with Li of Impermanence!"
"As for blood offerings..."
"...I still have a little bit, I'll give you two hundred pounds to use, as a reward for working in Wazhou."
"If you want more, you'll have to wait until next year, I'm also a bit tight right now."
"..."
"Boo..."
The sweet potato spirit's eyes were a little teary: "Senior..."
Hu Ma felt a chill: "What's wrong?"
The sweet potato spirit said: "The way you nag, it's like my grandma..."
"?"
Hu Ma was confused.
The sweet potato spirit said: "In my past life, only my grandma was good to me. Later, she was angered to death by me."
Hu Ma was speechless: "Just don't anger me to death..."
After receiving the sweet potato spirit's oath, the two parted ways in Mingzhou. Hu Ma went to Qing Shi Town, while the sweet potato spirit was going to play with her sworn sister, the Left Guardian of the Red Lantern Mother.
However, after Hu Ma returned to Qing Shi Town, the sweet potato spirit began to use her little head: "I was already targeted by the Li family of Impermanence before. Now that I've arrived in Mingzhou, will the Li family of Impermanence still come to my door?"
"The Li family of Impermanence is so capable, I'm afraid they'll be able to find me even if I hide."
"In that case, why don't I lure them out and strike first?"
"..."
"..."
When Hu Ma returned to Qing Shi Town, he saw that Zhou Datong, Li Wazi, and others had been waiting for him for a long time. Seeing that the end of the year was approaching, they had already bought the New Year's goods, waiting for Hu Ma to return and go back to the village together, but they didn't expect to see Hu Ma's shadow for a long time.
Hu Ma's return settled their minds about going home for the New Year. After resting for half a day, he entered the Natal Spirit Shrine in the evening, called out to Miss Red Wine, and smiled, "I'm back. What's the situation now?"
"Finally, I've waited for you to return safely."
Hearing this, Miss Red Wine seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and smiled, "Your safety is the most important thing among us right now."
"Oh?"
Hu Ma asked curiously, "Didn't Brother Erguotou tell you?"
He first contacted Old Gaoliang, but he was far away, so it was understandable that he didn't tell Miss Red Wine.
Brother Erguotou came so early, but he didn't say anything?
"I haven't seen him..."
Miss Red Wine said in surprise, "That's what we're worried about, afraid he's tricked you."
"Fortunately, hearing that you're fine, we're finally relieved."
"..."
He tricked me?
Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly, vaguely verifying something. He felt even more at ease. He sighed for a long time and said, "Although there were some twists and turns on this trip, it wasn't in vain."
"Miss Red Wine, I think you've all seen Senior Longjing's arrow. This legendary senior is indeed fascinating. I only regret that this senior was too busy after escaping and didn't have time to meet the rest of us."
"In addition, he also brought some very important news and told me the correct usage of Zì Tàisuì (Purple Earthly Sovereign)."
"Of course, the most important thing is that he brought the Mandate of Heaven back to the human world with one arrow. I think our goal of slaughtering Taisui and fighting for the Mandate of Heaven should begin..."
"..."
"It's already begun."
Miss Red Wine smiled and said, "Those seven arrows did bring a lot of things. Many people are now thinking about verifying some things."
"As for seizing the Mandate of Heaven, those grassroots kings and capable people who can rise in troubled times all have four ears and eight eyes. They don't need us to remind them. They can also feel that the world is in great chaos now, isn't it?"
"Before you came back, I had already talked to Mèn Dǎo Lǘ (Knock-Down Donkey). He is a grassroots king in troubled times. His perception was the clearest, as if there was some kind of destiny pressing on his head."
"Initially, he sent troops to attack Yanzhou, mainly to put some pressure on the Meng family, to facilitate your preparations."
"After all, he knew he couldn't be the emperor and was afraid of getting too involved and not being able to escape in the end."
"..."
Hearing this, Hu Ma was immediately curious: "And then?"
"And then he got even more involved."
Miss Red Wine smiled and said, "The Mandate of Heaven has descended, the human world is in great chaos, and everyone thinks he had foresight to attack the Meng family. Now that the situation is chaotic, the Meng family is in a mess and can't shrink back, so the surrounding troops have all gone to join him..."
"Without wasting a single soldier, his territory has expanded tenfold and his troops have tripled!"
"..."
"The world has been quiet for more than twenty years, and it's finally time for the heroes to rise together. The Meng family is ambitious to build a demon-revealing mirror, and it's time for them to suffer a big loss."
Hearing this, Hu Ma also sighed softly, and his voice began to become serious: "But to defeat the Meng family, we still can't get around another thing. Miss Red Wine, I actually have something to tell you."
Miss Red Wine immediately became serious: "Tell me quickly!"
"That..."
Hu Ma paused slightly before saying seriously, "Although there are many things I don't understand, it's true..."
"...I am Hu Ma, the only grandson of the Hu family of Town and Suppress, who has a blood feud with the Meng family of Tong Yin."
"..."
After saying this, he tensed up, waiting for Miss Red Wine's reaction.
Then, he heard Miss Red Wine silent for a long time, and then suddenly laughed "Chi" and said, "Okay, okay, I know."
"Oh... how scary!"