Hu Ma really couldn't hold back, and quickly connected with Miss Red Wine. At the moment when that wisp of fragrance passed through layers of dark red mist and connected together, the outside sounds immediately disappeared.
Only with the naked eye, one could see wisps of fragrance wandering like spiritual snakes outside the dark red mist, as if trying to enter. It seemed that many reincarnators were trying to connect and communicate with him.
"The Blessed Spiritual Temple has this use?"
Hu Ma didn't have much experience in this regard either, and found it novel. But he had to take care of the main business first, so he said to Miss Red Wine, "Have all the people from Anzhou arrived?"
"..."
"Most of them have already arrived."
Miss Red Wine said lazily, "There are still a few who went to more distant places to notify, and they are on their way back."
"That should be enough."
Hu Ma thought of the group of Anzhou reincarnators around Miss Red Wine, many of whom he had met. They were all capable and reliable people, so he quickly said, "I need someone to help me investigate some things. I wonder if you could find me a few trustworthy people?"
"Just consider it a reward. Each person's blood food will be two… ten jin!"
He thought carefully, and decided not to set it too high, after all, he really had to give it.
"So generous?"
Miss Red Wine was a little surprised. Ten jin of blood food was really a lot. If refined into blood food pills, a hundred could be made.
She smiled and said, "Everyone is waiting for the meeting anyway, and they are idle. There's naturally no problem."
"What do you want to investigate?"
"..."
"Investigate the Temen Yan family of Guazhou Prefecture."
Hu Ma thought, and slowly said, "First, there is a kind of toad disease in Guafu City. I suspect it is related to the Snake God Temple by Green Water Lake. I hope someone can help me find out."
"Second, the Temen Yan family has a very good relationship with that snake ghost, but I believe there must be some hidden secrets within them. I hope to find a capable person to help me find out what's going on and also investigate this Yan family."
"And then..."
"..."
He paused for a moment before slowly saying, "The night after tomorrow, find a few people who are quick with knives to go kill people with me."
Miss Red Wine was stunned by these words, and then smiled, "Is that all?"
"After all, it's the people from our own family who are generous. This hundred jin of blood food is really easy to earn..."
"..."
"..."
"What exactly is this kid going to do?"
"His reputation as a zougui dazhuodao (ghost catcher) is probably not going to work in Guazhou..."
"Not to mention countless eyes are waiting to find him, but he also wants to investigate these things. How can he investigate when he knows nothing?"
When he got up the next day, because the young master of the mansion was improving, but not completely healed, the master of the mansion was afraid of a relapse, and very enthusiastically insisted on Hu Ma and the others staying for a few more days, treating them with good wine and good food.
This relieved Hu Ma and the others from worrying about their lodging for the night, but thinking of Hu Ma's attitude yesterday, Old Suanpan couldn't help but worry about him.
If he tried to persuade him, this kid often asked him questions, but he didn't listen to his words much.
If he didn't persuade him...
...What if he didn't give him the two hundred jin of blood food?
But despite his worries, Hu Ma appeared very calm. When he got up this day, he simply practiced his moves, instructed Zhou Datong, and then sat in the courtyard, chatting and drinking tea with the master of the mansion. The whole morning was spent like this.
With great difficulty, after eating lunch, he even took a nap. After getting up, he should go out to do business, right?
But no, he was actually sharpening his knife?
Old Suanpan was completely out of temper: "Could it be that this kid is just talking tough, but is actually giving up?"
But what Old Suanpan didn't know was that on this day in Guazhou, on the surface, countless Jianghu figures were coming and going, drinking and making friends, and building relationships, but in the dark, there were also clearly some more turbulent undercurrents that had quietly unfolded their influence with a reward.
"That zougui Hu family? What are they? How dare they provoke our Guazhou Master Yan?"
Someone mingled among this group of Jianghu people, cursing the Hu family more fiercely than anyone else, and casually snatched a purse from a passerby to treat the guests, filling a group of Jianghu heroes with red faces, and then, taking advantage of the alcohol, they talked about the Yan family while cursing the Hu family.
They revealed all the details of the Yan family and various overt and covert forces, and even the promises made to this group of Jianghu people who came to help.
Someone volunteered to go to the Yan family to help, showed off a unique skill, and really impressed the Yan mansion's housekeeper.
Someone went to the Tiekan army and rummaged through various things.
Someone went to a Yiming (one-life) hall, only saying that they were covered in cauliflower, and specifically asked the Yiming Hall's manager to come and take a look...
And when night fell, it became even more lively. In a graveyard ten miles north of the Temen Yan family's mansion, someone was gambling with a few gambling ghosts by the locust trees, shouting and yelling.
This attracted countless corpse-guarding ghosts in the graveyard, who curiously poked their heads out to watch the fun, and even held burial objects, eager to try their hand as well.
And the person who organized the game looked at the gambling ghosts gambling while looking in the direction of the Yan family, thinking in his heart: "I heard that the Yan family has been officials for seven generations and has a very strict family style, but I don't believe that after so many generations, there isn't a good-for-nothing?"
Sure enough, a group of gambling ghosts gambled more and more fiercely, and the noise became louder and louder.
But in the second half of the night, suddenly a gust of wind blew, and only a little ghost was heard calling: "Master Yan is here..."
Turning his head to look, he saw a wealthy ghost dressed in brocade clothes, with yellow paper pasted on his face, and a scent of incense all over his body being led over. While ordering the little ghosts to be careful and not to spread the news of his arrival, he sat down at the gambling table and started directly.
After gambling for half the night, he lost everything and even owed a large gambling debt. Master Yan immediately wanted to run, but the person who organized the game came out and scolded, "Pay back the money you owe, you have to admit it even when you're dead."
"If you don't admit this debt, I'll make a scene at the Yan family's door tomorrow and see if the other ancestors of the Yan family will dislike you for losing face and kick you off the offering table."
"..."
"..."
And outside the city, outside the Tiekan army camp, because there were many Jianghu guests coming to the city in these days, the brothels and courtesan houses were all occupied. The army masters had nowhere to go to play, and Tiekan Wang also issued an order, not allowing them to enter the city to prevent them from causing trouble after drinking too much.
But on this dark night, a plump and enchanting woman came to the outside of the military camp with a carriage. She found a spacious open space, asked the coachman to stop, and hammered the wooden pillars pulled on the carriage into the ground one by one.
Then she let the coachman go back, and she walked two circles between the pillars, flipped her hand and revealed a fragrant talisman, and wrapped it around the wood a few times.
After casting a spell secretly, there were giggling sounds spreading in the night. Several army masters in the military camp were slightly dazed and confusedly left the camp. Before long, they saw this open space, and in that open space, the pillars standing on the ground.
Their eyes lit up immediately: "When did we build such a high building and open such an exquisite restaurant outside our military camp?"
Drooling with greed, they ran forward, kissing and licking the wooden pillars one by one.
And the plump woman smiled even more happily, waving the handkerchief in her hand gently, and said softly, "Am I good?"
The army masters hugging the pillars arched together and shouted, "You are good, you are good, you are so fragrant..."
"Then am I better or Tiekan Wang better?"
"Of course you are better, you are darling, you are treasure, you are better than silver..."
The plump woman smiled even happier, her voice was even softer: "Then if Tiekan Wang turns around and wants to kill me, will you help me?"
"Of course, of course, whoever dares to hurt you will be chopped down..."
"..."
"..."
At the same time, someone quietly came to Green Water Lake and easily found the Snake God Temple, which was extremely popular with incense.
But now the temple gate was closed, and there were no pilgrims. Instead, many Jianghu people gathered here, making a fire to eat dog meat. They knew that someone was coming to make trouble for Lord Snake God, so they were specially guarding here to prevent anyone from destroying his temple.
"That zougui Hu family is unreasonable, I heard he has very ruthless methods and loves to smash people's temples the most..."
The man heard some of this from a distance, and walked towards the group of Jianghu people with a smile on his face, putting his hand into his arms as he walked, as if he was catching lice. When he got close, he pinched out a sleeping bug and flicked it gently towards the group of Jianghu heroes who were talking loudly.
Before long, this group of noisy Jianghu people had fallen into a deep sleep, and they didn't even wake up when their hair was burned.
And the man swaggered into the Snake God Temple. He looked around and saw that the Snake God Temple was built extremely exquisitely. In front of the hall, besides the futon, there was also a bench, which was wider than the ordinary ones, seemingly for people to sleep on.
And since there was no one burning incense in this temple, even the statue of the snake god was covered with red cloth. It was clear that the snake god was not there, and the temple had obviously been carefully cleaned up, and no clues could be found.
But the man didn't care at all, he just looked around, and an idea had already formed in his mind.
He lit incense, bowed to the beams of the temple, and recited in his mouth: "Beam God, Beam God, although you may blame me for calling the god, you are high above and have knowledge. I ask and you answer, I offer you sacrifices!"
"..."
After bowing, he got up, took out a soft mask, jumped up, and hung it on the beam.
The beam was originally ordinary wood, and the mask didn't seem to have any spirituality, but after it was hung on the beam, a strange scene appeared. The mask's eyes blinked, as if a face had really grown on the beam, and it suddenly came to life.
It opened its mouth and said, "Who is it? Who is worshiping me?"
The man said with a smile, "Beam God, I have a question to ask you. You are high above, have you seen everything in this temple?"
The mask on the beam said, "I have seen it, I have seen it. I have been here since the temple was built. All words have entered my ears, and nothing can escape my eyes..."
"That's good."
The man smiled and said, "I ask Beam God, what's the matter with the toad disease?"
"Did the Temen Yan family, who helped build the temple, have any secret deals with this Jitu (local earth) God, or said any unspeakable words?"
"If you know anything, just tell me, and I will offer you roast chicken to eat..."