It really was a bowl of egg drop soup.

Inside the delicate porcelain bowl, a few drops of oil floated on the surface. A white and pink poached egg was submerged in the soup, accompanied by a silver spoon.

Hu Ma watched as Fairy Miaoshan carefully picked it up and placed it on the small table next to her, but she didn't touch it. He sighed inwardly, *What's the point of making this crap? Isn't the blood food pill enough to eat?*

Naturally, he remained polite and said, "Why bother with this, Leader? I'm just here to help. Leaving aside the matter of the Unfed Ox, regarding our One Coin Sect, I've only received your guidance and done my best to contribute!"

"The Leader is too kind..."

Fairy Miaoshan, hearing Hu Ma's words, thought with emotion, "He says he's just here to help, but I even took off my Taoist robe when you told me to..."

"But that's right, the master of the Unfed Ox still needs the approval of the senior brothers. Now, there's only one sentence missing. Besides, the Leader has passed the Three Gates and Twelve Tribulations, and cultivated the Great Might Heavenly General Dharma Body. Who would dare to disobey him?"

"..."

"I'm a junior, serving the… Martial Uncle is only right and proper, isn't it?"

Thinking this, she became even more humble, unable to hide the joy between her brows, and reported to Hu Ma, "Subduing this demonic corpse has greatly encouraged everyone in the One Coin Sect."

"This evening's Lantern Blessing Assembly will surely be lively."

"..."

Hu Ma had questions he wanted to ask her, but she immediately derailed him with that sentence: "Lantern Blessing Assembly?"

"Indeed."

Fairy Miaoshan quickly said, "I followed the instructions of my senior brothers and came here to manage things for many years, just to establish the main altar in this Stone Horse Town. But now that the momentum is quite large, we still lack this Lantern Blessing Assembly to establish our name. Now that the preparations are complete, the time has come."

"However, the Lantern Blessing Assembly must have a guardian spirit from the altar to bestow blessings upon the believers. But several of our sect's guardian spirits have already been killed. We don't know where to find a replacement..."

"...I was just about to consult with Martial Uncle!"

"..."

"Huh?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but chuckle, "You're already facing imminent disaster, yet you're still thinking about this so-called Lantern Blessing Assembly?"

"Of course!"

Hearing this, Fairy Miaoshan said solemnly, "Our master gave us instructions long ago. The disciples of the Unfed Ox bear a heavy responsibility. We shouldn't be constrained by trivial matters. We can deceive officials, bandits, and even ghosts and gods, but we must never deceive the common people."

"The One Coin Sect promised that this day would be the Lantern Blessing Assembly. Now that the day has arrived and the people are waiting, we absolutely cannot break our promise..."

"..."

"Deceive officials, bandits, and even ghosts and gods, but never deceive the common people?"

While his thoughts were in turmoil, Hu Ma was suddenly stunned by Fairy Miaoshan's words.

His gaze passed through the door and fell upon Fairy Miaoshan's clear face. This beautiful Taoist nun, who initially seemed like a mysterious expert, had shown mostly bewildered expressions after he saw through her facade.

But now, the way she spoke these words didn't seem like a joke. There was a rare firmness, and even a sense of faith.

Hu Ma rarely saw this feeling on the faces of the natives. In fact, because of the expression on Fairy Miaoshan's face, he suddenly remembered that he himself rarely showed this kind of feeling anymore.

His mood became somewhat complicated. After a long silence, he slowly exhaled and said softly, "Have you prepared the account books and other things I asked you to prepare earlier?"

"I prepared them as soon as Martial Uncle instructed me."

Hearing this, Fairy Miaoshan quickly took out a stack of account books and registers from the cabinet next to her and placed them one by one in front of Hu Ma.

Everything about the One Coin Sect's development, the number of weapons and armor within the sect, the techniques and treasures, and the list of Dharma Kings and protectors, was all here. It could be said that she had given Hu Ma everything about the One Coin Sect.

This woman might seem pure, but she wasn't without brains. Earlier, when Hu Ma passed the Three Gates and Twelve Tribulations, she had already kowtowed and called him Leader, appearing obedient and subservient, but she hadn't offered all of these account books so readily.

But now, after seeing Hu Ma cultivate the Great Might Heavenly General Seal, she was truly and completely convinced. Only now had she revealed all her secrets.

"When did you establish this place as the main altar of the One Coin Sect? Was the stone horse already in the town when you arrived?"

Hu Ma picked up the account books and casually asked her a few questions as he flipped through them.

Earlier, he had asked her for them to see how solid the foundation of the One Coin Sect was, whether it could compete with the Great Hall Official outside. Now, he also wanted to learn more about the One Coin Sect to see if he could discover any secrets about "awakening the stone horse."

Hearing this, Fairy Miaoshan was very excited. *Look, even though the Leader says he's just an outsider helping out, isn't he working hard to understand the sect's affairs?*

So, she told him everything in detail.

Listening to her narration, Hu Ma indeed gained a better understanding of the One Coin Sect, but strangely, when it came to the stone horse, Fairy Miaoshan looked completely ignorant, as if she knew nothing about it.

"The stone horse is just a stone horse, isn't it?"

"It's been in this town for many years. When we came here, the grass almost drowned the horse..."

She didn't seem to be lying, and honestly said, "If Martial Uncle likes it, I can have someone move it over here and use it as an ornament for you… But what's the use of that thing?"

Hu Ma had to wave his hand and say, "There's no need for that. It's just that your One Coin Sect's foundation seems to be mostly in the prefectures of Gun Province, but why did you choose to establish the main altar here?"

"This..."

Fairy Miaoshan paused and said, "My senior brothers told me to come here..."

"Actually, before I came here, my senior brothers had already arranged everything here. That Old Master Sun, Butler Tang of Da Shan Treasures, as well as the Ten Thousand Horse Gang, Son-in-Law Xia, and so on… They were all connections that my senior brothers left behind. I just needed to come here, and they would naturally come to rely on me."

"..."

"So you really are just a figurehead?"

Hu Ma asked a few questions back and forth, confirming that she only handled secular affairs here, but the deeper things he wanted to know, she didn't seem to know much about, so he could only let her go back to her work for now.

He slowly flipped through the account books she had left behind, hoping to find some clues that even Fairy Miaoshan might not know.

"The information left by Da Hongpao mentioned the stone horse, and the disciples of the Unfed Ox had already chosen this place long ago, which means that this place really might be hiding some secret?"

"That stone horse is clearly just a stone and mud sculpture. How can it be awakened?"

"..."

Thinking silently, he flipped through the books for a long time, but he became more and more confused. The account books recorded a lot, but each entry was a real thing. It didn't seem like there were any secret clues.

At first glance, the One Coin Sect did have some foundation. Now, there were more than a thousand people in this Stone Horse Town, and most of them were members of the One Coin Sect.

Among these members, there were one or two hundred who had been trained and could be equipped with talisman armor and weapons for unified deployment. Or, with a call to arms, issuing grain, money, and armor, they could probably gather seven or eight hundred able-bodied men in a short time.

The number didn't seem like much, but it was actually quite considerable. In this small town, seven or eight hundred talisman-armored soldiers already had the ability to cross prefectures and counties and resist the yamen. Moreover, although they were said to be seven or eight hundred people, in reality, when things got lively, they would often claim to have tens of thousands of troops.

From these talisman-armored soldiers, it could be confirmed that the One Coin Sect was really preparing to do something big, not just bragging.

However, considering the skills of that Iron Steed Great Hall Official outside, Hu Ma was still heavy-hearted.

The One Coin Sect did have a foundation, with one leader, two upper altar envoys, eight lower altar envoys, and four Dharma Kings, as well as disciples and grandchildren serving the honored guests in the hall. It looked like a powerful gang in every way.

But only one of the two upper altar envoys was here, the eight lower altar envoys were only at the ascending level, and the four Dharma Kings and a group of disciples and grandchildren had already been crippled and couldn't help.

And it wasn't like there weren't any magical items. For example, there were ten large vats, raising some blessed things. In addition, there were some talisman bows and hard swords, etc. They were naturally useful at ordinary times, but they probably weren't enough to face the Great Hall Official.

Among them, the most abundant things in this Stone Horse Town were actually grain, cattle, sheep, and medicinal herbs...

...What are they hoarding so much stuff for?

With a soft sigh, Hu Ma threw the account books aside. He had vaguely confirmed that he couldn't find any information about the stone horse from them. He was also more certain that with the One Coin Sect's little foundation, trying to fight against the Year-Guardian Great Hall Official was simply a joke.

"I wonder if Brother Erguotou and Miss White Wine can get here in time..."

He couldn't help but think about it. Earlier, Monkey Wine had delivered the message for him, and he had handled it quickly. Those few also knew the importance of the matter and set off immediately. But the key was that the distance between the two places wasn't short!

Did they really have the ability to get here within three days to help?

More importantly, even if they came, did any of these fellow villagers really have the means to help deal with that Iron Steed Great Hall Official?

Brother Erguotou probably couldn't. He had said before that he had learned his skills to the Entering the Prefecture level, but he stopped learning deeper to avoid being discovered.

But what about Miss White Wine...

With a soft sigh, it wasn't like he didn't have any hope, but he couldn't consider things too idealistically.

While Hu Ma was feeling slightly troubled and sighing softly, a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. The old locust tree, with its drooping branches covering the entire courtyard, also rustled, sounding like an old man's low sigh.

He hadn't touched his pillow for two days and one night. Even though a Year-Guardian's body was strong, it was inevitable that he would be a little drowsy when he calmed down.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard a "creak." The door was pushed open, and a hunched old man with a white beard walked in with a smile, politely cupping his hands towards Hu Ma. "Young Sir, greetings..."

"This old man's surname is Yu, from West Kunlun. I've lived here for more than sixty years. Just now, I heard Young Sir's worried sigh and took the liberty of visiting. I wonder if there's anything I can help with?"
Chapter 1 The Beginning
作者：辰一十一
Chen Yi Shiyi