Chapter 1 Red Lantern Illuminates the Night

"Red lantern illuminates the night, all is peaceful..."

In the dark countryside, a red lantern swayed, slowly approaching from afar.

The voices of the workers, filled with a mix of excitement and trembling, broke the thick, almost tangible silence.

Countless rustling things, seeing the red light from afar, quietly retreated and hid in the deep night.

Even the will-o'-the-wisps floating above the solitary graves disappeared quietly as the red lantern approached.

Hu Ma carried the red lantern, with Zhou Datong, who was full of excitement and occasionally stretched his voice to shout, on his left, and Zhou Liang on his right, followed by three or five workers who came out to patrol the night.

They were all fresh and excited, their footsteps rustling on the dirt road. When they passed the graves, they didn't avoid them, but walked directly past them.

It seemed as if they were deliberately showing off.

"Wuwuwu..."

After they passed the graves, they vaguely heard a faint sobbing sound mixed in the wind blowing from that direction.

Looking back, they could vaguely see a few figures sitting by the graves, staring at their backs with fixed eyes.

Hu Ma stopped and glanced back, then suddenly walked back.

As the red lantern approached, a gust of yin wind suddenly swirled around the graves. When they got closer, there was nothing to be seen.

"We are sent by the Red Lantern Goddess to patrol the night, and we don't intend to disturb our neighbors."

Hu Ma held up the lantern and said in a cold voice, "But everyone should recognize us, so as not to cause trouble in the future, and it won't be easy for anyone to deal with."

The desolate graves remained silent, seeming to indicate that they had no objections.

Only then did Hu Ma turn around, continue to carry the red lantern, and walk forward. The workers all held their breath and didn't dare to breathe loudly.

This was the Red Lantern Goddess Society's night patrol.

Holding a red lantern, they walked through the villages and fields at night, dispelling wandering evil spirits.

This was the Red Lantern Society's rule. Once the red lantern was lit, no other evil spirits were allowed to stay within ten *li*. Even the lonely ghosts buried in the desolate graves were not forced to move, but they had to stay in their graves obediently.

Of course, with Hu Ma's current abilities, they didn't have such great power. This power came from the red lantern in their hands.

Ordinary evil spirits would run away as soon as they saw the red lantern.

But if there were families like the previous Huang Xian (weasel spirit) who didn't understand the rules, then they would have to compete.

First, they would explain the rules, then reason with them. If they couldn't reason with them, they would fight.

If they couldn't win, they would go back and call the shopkeeper.

And this was the most important task for these workers to come here.

"The Red Lantern Goddess Society not only has territory and incense halls in the city, but also has similar estates in various places."

As Hu Ma carried the lantern and walked this large circle, he couldn't help but think, "Does this Red Lantern Goddess really have such great abilities that, no matter where she is, hanging up a red lantern can make other evil spirits voluntarily retreat ten *li*?"

"Or is her power in these workers helping her patrol the night, so that once they really encounter trouble, she can descend into the red lantern?"

He remembered that when he drove away the group of weasels, there was a faint laughter from the red lantern.

But now, holding this lantern in his hand, he only felt that it was an ordinary lantern, without any divine power.

However, he didn't think so much about it, he just did as he was told.

Sixty *li* in one night, and in the desolate wilderness, was indeed difficult to travel, but fortunately, this night patrol wasn't required to be so strict. Moreover, they were all young men who had ignited their furnaces, and their footsteps were light, so they quickly completed this circle and returned to the estate.

Hu Ma put the lantern back and checked the stables and kitchen, and he had a clear understanding of the situation in various places.

Then he went to knock on the door of the inner courtyard. After hearing the sound from inside, he pushed the door open and reported to the shopkeeper in the courtyard:

"Everything has been arranged. Does the shopkeeper have anything else to tell us?"

"..."

The shopkeeper Wu was sitting on a stone stool in the inner courtyard, enjoying the cool air...

...Now that the weather was getting cooler, who knew what kind of cool air he was enjoying.

Seeing that it was Hu Ma who came to report, he didn't seem surprised, but nodded and looked Hu Ma up and down.

Suddenly, he said, "What's your name? How old are you?"

Hu Ma quickly replied, "My name is Hu Ma, from the Dayang Village in the Laoyin Mountains. I'm sixteen this year."

"Hmm..."

The old shopkeeper nodded, then suddenly patted his head and said, "I remember you now. You react quickly, that's pretty good."

Hu Ma nodded and didn't say much.

But the shopkeeper reached out and beckoned, smiling, "Come, let me test your *huohou* (literally, 'fire waiting', referring to the stage of cultivation)."

Seeing him reach out his hand, Hu Ma stepped forward and stretched out his palm. He had been tested by the steward who had come to survey the *taisui* (a mythical fungus-like creature with supposed medicinal properties) when he was in Dayang Village, so he knew the rules.

But unexpectedly, this shopkeeper Wu didn't just pinch his fingers like that steward, but directly grabbed Hu Ma's palm.

With a slight smile, Hu Ma suddenly felt a surge of *yin qi* enter his body.

Without showing any emotion, he quickly adjusted his *luhuo* (furnace fire, referring to one's inner energy) to resist.

But now that his first two incense sticks were full,

he put away the other two and only used the newly accumulated *luhuo*.

"Eh?"

The old shopkeeper tried it, released his palm, and said in surprise, "Your foundation is very solid..."

Hu Ma had already thought of his explanation, so he said directly, "My elders went into the mountains and found some good things and fed them to me."

"So I started *fenglu* (sealing the furnace, referring to the stage of cultivation) faster than others."

"..."

The old shopkeeper listened and nodded slowly, seeming somewhat satisfied.

With his eyesight, it was naturally impossible not to see that such a strong *huoli* (firepower, referring to the intensity of one's inner energy) could not be directly cultivated by Hu Ma at this age.

Sealing the *yang* and not leaking it, and then carefully honing his strength, it would be good to have this foundation by the time he was thirty.

But Hu Ma didn't just say that. As he spoke, he took out a paper package from his arms and put it on the stone table next to the old shopkeeper, saying, "This was born from a piece of *qing taisui rou* (green *taisui* flesh) that my elder cut off. It's a little different."

"My elders told me to bring it to you, Old Shopkeeper, please don't think it's too meager."

"..."

The old shopkeeper smiled and glanced at it, not paying much attention to it. He slowly opened the paper package, but when he saw the dark red and greenish piece inside, his expression suddenly changed slightly.

After looking at it carefully a few more times, he finally confirmed it, and a smile filled his face, his attitude much better than before.

He nodded repeatedly and smiled, "Not bad, not bad, your elders are very thoughtful..."

Suddenly, he changed his tone and asked, "Is there any more?"

"Yes!"

Hu Ma was prepared and nodded quickly, then took out the green *taisui* in the cloth bag, saying, "My elders were afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up, so they told me to take this to nourish my body. Shopkeeper, what do you think..."

The knife marks on it were clear, indicating that the piece on the table was cut from here, and he hadn't secretly kept any other pieces, only cutting off this one for himself.

The old shopkeeper saw it and suddenly laughed, waving his hand, "Keep it for yourself!"

"In the future, nourish your body properly. Your *huohou* has already reached the top, and soon it will be calculated according to your *daoxing* (cultivation level)."

"Also, keep a closer eye on the matters in the estate."

"Every day, come to my inner courtyard in the morning and evening. If there's anything, I'll tell you."

"..."

Hu Ma agreed and left the inner courtyard.

Listening to the old shopkeeper's words, it seemed that there was a good chance.

Of course, Hu Ma also wanted to directly ask him for a guarantee, but unfortunately, such a guarantee was impossible to obtain.

He returned to his bedroom to sleep. Zhou Datong and the others were still very excited. In just one night, they had become night patrollers, and they seemed to be a cut above others, and they all felt it was a little unreal.

They were excited for a while, and then worried that Xu Ji would suddenly come back and take away their treatment again. They were nervous and wanted to talk to Hu Ma, but Hu Ma was too lazy to talk to them about these things and just waved his hand to let them rest.

"Xu Ji and the others live in a three-person room, which is much more spacious, so we can snatch it over."

He only thought silently in his heart, "That way, Xiao Hongtang (Little Red Begonia) won't have to wander outside every night and sleep during the day."

"...After all, staying up all night every day is bad for her health."

"..."

"..."

Also in this estate, after Hu Ma left, the old shopkeeper excitedly picked up the piece of meat and entered the main room.

Lifting the curtain of the inner room, he saw the listless girl in the jar under the oil lamp and said excitedly, "Good girl, good stuff."

The girl in the jar opened her eyes tiredly and looked at the dark thing in his hand, "Grandpa, what's that?"

"This is called *qing yu gao* (Jade Green Paste)."

The old shopkeeper said excitedly, "The hicks in the village don't know the preciousness of this thing. They probably just saw that the color was red and thought it was *xue taisui* (blood *taisui*), and gave it to me as a gift."

"Actually, this thing isn't *xue taisui*, but it's more useful to us."

"Its effect isn't like *xue taisui*, which increases strength and cultivation level. Eating it will actually damage your *daoxing*, but it's excellent for treating illnesses, relieving pain, and removing fire energy. Aren't you always saying that you feel a burning pain all over your body every day?"

"With this, you'll be fine..."

"..."

The girl in the jar seemed a little excited and looked up at the dark thing.

But when she opened her mouth, she seemed a little hesitant, "Grandpa, are you going to teach people your skills?"

Only then did the old shopkeeper realize that the girl had probably heard the conversation between himself and the Hu boy from Dayang Village in his outer room.

After a slight hesitation, he said softly, "Our skills are a big deal. Giving them to anyone is a great kindness."

"This boy is actually stronger than the Xu boy, and he's from the village, so his background is cleaner. It all depends on whether he's willing to put in the effort..."

"If he's reliable, it's not impossible to teach him."