Chapter 1 You Say!

Hu Ma perked up at his words, becoming serious.

He knew that since coming to the city, he had grown closer to Erguotou, this fellow transmigrator. Arranging a meeting would be easy, but he also vaguely sensed that these transmigrators were quite cautious about meeting in the real world, so he hadn't held out much hope.

Now, hearing that Erguotou had some instructions for him, he didn't dare to be negligent. In times of confusion, he knew the importance of such information.

"Now that you've arrived, you should have noticed the Red Lantern Society's altar and the diverse range of recruits they've taken in."

Erguotou chuckled, "Strictly speaking, the Red Lantern Society has people from all walks of life, but they rarely recruit from the villages."

Hu Ma had already noticed this.

He had been quietly observing for the past few days and found that the recruits who had come this time could be roughly divided into several categories. The first were those with sturdy and robust physiques. They seemed to be descendants of Red Lantern Society members, raised in the city, and trained from a young age, with solid foundations.

After all, the Red Lantern Society had been operating in Mingzhou Prefecture for decades, with a strong influence. Many members had started families and had children, creating a second generation of the gang.

Others were young masters from merchant or commoner families, dressed in fine clothes. They were the most playful and boisterous, always eager to stand out.

They joined the society seeking protection or hoping to learn some skills.

Then there were those dressed in rags, whose origins were unknown.

"First of all, now that you've joined the society, don't actually think of it as some blood-soaked gang..."

Erguotou smiled and said, "The Blood Food Gang relies on blood food mines for their livelihood; it's essentially a business. If you join the Blood Food Gang, they won't support you for nothing. They'll always think about how to use you first, and then consider teaching you skills."

Hu Ma sighed softly and laughed, "I understand that."

"That's good. Among us transmigrators, some are living a second life, but still don't know which end is up."

Erguotou sighed in approval, "Next are some things you must pay attention to. After joining the Red Lantern Society, the first thing is to set up an altar and burn incense. Whichever incense you burn determines which path you take."

"You must be very careful with this. There are three incense sticks under the Red Lantern Altar: white incense, green incense, and red incense."

"Red incense is naturally the best. You learn skills quickly and the food is good. White incense is the safest, but what I want to tell you is..."

"..."

Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly: "Burn green incense?"

Erguotou laughed, "That's right. Only green incense is the right path."

"Only by burning green incense will you have the opportunity to come into contact with what you want to learn. Of course, green incense is also relatively safe."

"..."

"I understand..."

Hu Ma took a long breath and said, "Brother, teach me more?"

Erguotou laughed, "What else is there to say? The sooner you learn some skills, the better we can cooperate on other things..."

...

...

That night, after talking with Erguotou, Hu Ma had a rough idea of what to do.

He patiently stayed there, waiting quietly, eating a Blood Food Pill every three days and slowly practicing his gongfu (internal energy cultivation), strengthening his foundation.

Gradually, several days passed, and the surrounding houses were filled, lively and noisy all day long.

As the twenty-eighth day of the second month approached, that night, several sturdy thugs, along with a manager, came to the courtyard.

It was the old man with the small mustache. He smiled and said, "Tomorrow is the opening of the altar, and you must be impatient."

"Get some rest early tonight, change into clean clothes tomorrow, and our Xiangzhu (incense master) will be hosting a banquet for you..."

"..."

The young men were overjoyed to hear about the banquet, scratching their ears in anticipation.

The result was that after waiting for most of the day, it was not until evening that the manager came again, smiling and leading the young men out. After passing through three or five alleys, they saw a large open space ahead, surrounded by red lanterns.

In the middle of the lanterns were a dozen tables, some covered with red cloth, some with green cloth, and some with gray cloth...

...probably because white cloth was rare in this world.

...

When everyone had arrived, the manager with the small mustache walked over from a platform with large red lanterns on either side.

He said to the young men, "There are three incense sticks under the Red Lantern Altar, and each person has their own destiny. You are all lucky to have entered our Red Lantern Society. Today, our Xiangzhu is personally here to lead you in opening the altar and has prepared a banquet for you..."

"But our banquet is also different."

"Looking at these tables in front of you, if you want to eat meat and drink wine, sit next to the red cloth tables in front. If you want to eat steamed buns, sit at the green cloth tables. If you want to eat black cornbread, just sit at the tables covered with white cloth. The rules are that simple."

"The banquet will begin after one incense stick. Now, show off your abilities?"

"..."

Hearing this, the young men were all stunned.

Before anyone else could react, the sturdy young men in black robes suddenly charged forward silently.

They were originally from the gang, and their elders must have taught them long ago, so they were prepared. Not only them, but also some of the young men in brocade robes immediately targeted the red cloth tables in front, and rushed forward, presumably having received news in advance through certain channels.

The slowest to react were the ragged young men, but when they realized what was happening, their eyes turned red.

With a shout, they rushed towards the red cloth tables.

"Damn it, do you have to fight to eat here?"

Hearing this, Zhou Datong next to Hu Ma was dumbfounded, "How is it even worse than our Da Yang Village?"

The other young men were also nervous. Seeing that everyone else had rushed up, they couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Follow me, don't run around."

Hu Ma had already prepared himself and whispered his instructions. He immediately stepped forward. The other young men were still anxious and hurriedly followed.

They saw that Hu Ma had no intention of rushing towards the red cloth tables at all. Instead, after taking a few steps, he occupied a green cloth table at the corner, instructing everyone to surround it and not run around.

The area around the red cloth tables was a complete mess, with people jostling, shouting, and screaming. The green cloth tables, on the other hand, were quiet.

They easily occupied a table, and now they just had to defend it and watch others fight.

The fighting next to the red tables became more and more fierce, and people were constantly being thrown out.

The sturdy young men were heavy-handed, and the young men in brocade robes were lively but smart. However, the most eye-catching were the ragged young men.

They were usually honest and lived in the worst stables. When food was distributed, they waited until the young men from Da Yang Village had taken their share before rushing up to grab the soup.

But unexpectedly, at this time, they suddenly burst out with amazing power. Each of them was ruthless and tenacious. They had the largest number of people, as many as dozens, and they were all fighting for those few red cloth tables.

Hu Ma watched coldly, increasingly alarmed.

The ragged young men were actually far inferior to the others in terms of foundation, and he even doubted whether they had eaten blood food before.

But naturally, they had a fierce and desperate energy. Like madmen and ghosts, they gained the upper hand in most of the tables, driving the others back.

At the same time, Hu Ma also noticed that not everyone who was fighting for the red cloth tables was so invested. Some people retreated after a brief struggle, and some even sat down at the green cloth tables or even the white cloth tables from the beginning, watching the scene coldly.

As the incense stick was about to burn out, the number of people at the red tables had been determined, and those who had been defeated from the red cloth tables became anxious.

The green cloth tables immediately became popular, and those who had been defeated from the front surrounded the green cloth tables and fought again.

But Hu Ma and the others reacted quickly, occupying the green cloth table early. Now, the five of them surrounded the table, advancing and retreating together, and they had conserved their strength while others had been fighting. They managed to defend it with difficulty.

Seeing that this table was difficult to snatch, the others consciously retreated to the tables next to it.

Before long, the incense stick burned out. There were still many people who hadn't sat down, unwilling, resentful, glaring at everyone.

"Alright, alright..."

The manager in front smiled and clapped his hands, "Coarse cornbread can also fill your stomach. No need to fight today."

Only then did the thugs bring over stools, giving everyone something to sit on.

Looking around, most of those next to the red cloth tables were ragged young men, each with injuries on their faces, but each with some fierceness. Next to the green cloth tables, people were also covered in dust, with footprints from being kicked or torn clothes.

Next to the white cloth tables, most were young men in brocade robes, and a small number were ragged young men. The ragged young men were mostly the most seriously injured, but the expressions of unwillingness on their faces were also the strongest.

Hu Ma and his party of five were sitting next to the green cloth table, and their clothes were still relatively intact.

"Okay, serve the dishes!"

Seeing the noisy young men sit down, the manager with the small mustache clapped his hands with a smile.

Around them, baskets were brought up one by one.

Unexpectedly, these baskets did not contain food, but incense sticks.

The red cloth tables received blood incense, mixed with cinnabar, as red as blood. The green cloth tables received green incense, which was green in color. The incense brought to the white cloth tables was mixed with something unknown, half-yellow and half-white.

The young men each looked stunned, and each took an incense stick. Next to the front platform, a large vat had already been moved, filled with incense ash and talisman scraps.

"Welcome Xiangzhu (incense master)..."

Also at the same time that the vat was displayed, two rows of white-clad girls carrying red lanterns led a man in gorgeous clothes out. He ascended the platform covered with red cloth, sat between two blood-red lanterns, and slowly nodded to everyone.

Then, the small mustache's high-pitched and slightly sharp voice echoed throughout the arena: "Three incense sticks under the Red Lantern Altar, each person has their own destiny!"

"Light the incense..."