Chapter 11

I had heard from Brother Erguotou that the other transmigrators all had a statue behind the incense table in their natal spirit shrines.

That was the manifestation of their lives, reflecting their cultivation, which also allowed them to cultivate faster than ordinary people. But before, Hu Ma could only imagine what it was like. On the contrary, behind his incense table, there was only darkness.

But now, Hu Ma was only tentatively trying the New Year's Eve Vigil method, and he actually saw a part of the statue. Moreover, what he saw was precisely his left hand, which was refining life from death. Not only that, but even the golden traces that first emerged within that left hand were completely consistent with the trajectory of his own method, even to the slightest detail.

[My statue can also reflect my cultivation.]

Hu Ma was both surprised and delighted. After looking at it carefully, he became more and more certain of his guess.

But apart from the golden traces that appeared in the position of his left hand, the other places were still filled with deathly stillness, without any change.

[Could it be because my body is inherently dead, so this statue is also filled with deathly stillness, making it unclear?]

[Now that I have begun to try to refine life from my left hand, is that why the left hand of this statue is beginning to appear?]

[……]

He had some guesses in his mind, but he was still unsure.

However, Hu Ma knew that this matter of the statue was the biggest difference between him and the other transmigrators. Even if he had questions, he couldn't ask others.

So, after some speculation, he decided to silently cultivate and continue to try.

Sure enough, as he practiced the New Year's Eve Vigil method, the \[something] in the incense burner was like a burning flame, becoming more and more vigorous.

This was consistent with the method pointed out by the old shopkeeper. However, what surprised Hu Ma the most was that the meridians and blood vessels that this vitality passed through were all manifested on the left hand of the statue. Even, in order to confirm, Hu Ma boldly and deliberately allowed a strand of vitality to enter the wrong meridian. Immediately, a corresponding trace appeared on the left hand of the statue, but the color was a strange blood-red, and there was a faint appearance of that meridian being impacted, as if it were about to break.

He hurriedly retracted that strand of vitality, and he already had the answer in his heart.

[Great!] He couldn't describe the joy in his heart at that moment.

[After enduring for so long, I finally have the benefits that other transmigrators have.]

Earlier, he had felt a little uneasy when he obtained the New Year's Eve Vigil method from the old shopkeeper.

When he couldn't obtain the method, he only thought about seeking it with all his heart. But after obtaining it, he was also worried that the old shopkeeper might have held something back, or that he might have deliberately taught it incorrectly.

In this bizarre world, even learning a cultivation method was like walking on thin ice, cautious and careful. Especially the transformation from life to death and the refining of life from death in the New Year's Eve Vigil method, which required meticulous work in the details, with the meridians all over the body intertwined.

Cultivating this method was like a blind man embroidering, although careful and fearful, it was still possible to make a mistake somewhere, leaving hidden dangers. Only when something happened would he understand.

But now, \[the statue\] constantly reflected his progress, leaving no worries.

Thinking of this, Hu Ma felt even more joyful in his heart. He seized the opportunity, silently practiced, and became more and more skilled and ingenious.

A night passed, and Hu Ma only felt refreshed. He used cloth to wrap his left hand and hung it around his neck. This was because his left hand was already "dead" and wouldn't listen to commands.

This was a process that all night watchmen had to go through: first killing a part of themselves, and then refining it back to life. But Hu Ma could actually skip the "death" step, only needing to cut off the blood supply to that part.

At first, he borrowed an oil lamp to naturally cut off the supply. Maybe later he could even save the oil lamp.

Of course, he still had to nurture it for a while. Even though he had felt a slight warmth in his left hand after practicing for the whole night, it hadn't reached the point where he could manipulate it freely. Plus, it wasn't convenient for others to see the state of his left hand, so he simply wrapped it up.

Others only assumed that he was injured last night and didn't suspect anything else.

In the outer courtyard, the other workers had already gotten up. When they saw him, they all gathered around, eagerly trying to please him.

Yesterday, because of Xu Ji's death, coupled with the fact that they had been running around all night and were frightened, they were all a little listless. After resting for the night, they also knew that some changes had already occurred in this courtyard. Looking at Hu Ma again, they had a bit more of the awe of a superior.

After all, he had entered the old shopkeeper's eyes and learned some skills. Not to mention that, his status alone was different.

From this day on, Hu Ma not only held the position of supervisor, but also had the status of supervisor.

His monthly money, food, and blood food would also be distributed according to the supervisor's standards.

[Don't all stand here in a daze.]

Hu Ma saw the emotions stirring in the hearts of the workers, waved his hand, and said, [Working diligently is the right thing to do.]

The workers were embarrassed, only taking it as him putting on airs, but they didn't dare to complain. But as they turned around, Hu Ma thought for a moment and added, [At noon, have someone cut some meat and put it on the account in the cabinet. You all worked hard yesterday, so have a good补补 (bǔ bǔ - make it up/compensate yourselves).]

The workers were stunned for a moment, and then cheered. Their eyes were filled with more affection as they looked at Hu Ma.

This was also the difference between Hu Ma and Xu Ji's way of doing things. When Xu Ji held the position of supervisor, he only ordered the workers to do this and that. He was close to the shopkeeper, but he always had a stern face when he saw the workers.

But now, Hu Ma had become a true supervisor, and they were actually worried that Hu Ma's previous closeness to them was just an act. Once the goal was achieved, he would change his face.

If he really did that, the workers wouldn't be able to say anything.

After all, just the night before, Xu Ji had shouted, and most of them had followed him.

But now, Hu Ma suddenly said that he would give the workers extra food, which undoubtedly meant that the past was written off, and he intended to be close to them.

Thinking that the days ahead would be better, no one was unhappy.

[Brother Hu Ma.]

Just as Hu Ma was watching the workers cheer and go to work, their enthusiasm for sweeping the courtyard seemed to have increased a lot, Hu Ma turned around and heard a somewhat weak voice calling out. It was Li Wa Zi.

His face was pale as he leaned against the door frame, calling out to Hu Ma. Suddenly, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, saying with a sob, [Brother Hu Ma, I know I was wrong. You were the ones who were good to me.]

[Don't say that, get up first!] Hu Ma frowned, picked him up, looked him up and down, and said, [Are you better?]

The night before, Li Wa Zi was dragged into the well by a Yin spirit, and his body was stiff. Although Hu Ma brought him back, he didn't know if he would live.

The shopkeeper in the inner courtyard gave him a pill and fed it to him with water. He did wake up, but he was dazed and wooden. He didn't expect that he would wake up now and look like he was talking normally.

[I...I'm better.]

Li Wa Zi's body seemed extremely weak. As soon as he opened his mouth, he was about to cry again: [That Xu Ji wasn't a good person, he only thought about bullying people. They said...they said that if it wasn't for you going into the well shirtless to pull me up, I would have died.]

[No wonder he's so moved.]

Hu Ma understood. Seeing that everyone around was watching, he helped Li Wa Zi into the house.

Actually, he had no intention of saving Li Wa Zi. At first, he thought he was dead, and he was a little surprised that he could wake up.

However, Li Wa Zi had obviously heard from others that it was he who went into the well to pull him out, so his gratitude at this moment was not fake.

Of course, Hu Ma didn't necessarily have to make this clear.

It's rare to be confused.

He helped the weak Li Wa Zi to sit on the bed and carefully observed him. Although Li Wa Zi had woken up, he was clearly a strong young man just a day ago, one who would drool at the sight of a sheep's ass, and could lift a fifteen-jin stone roller in his hand as if it were a toy.

But now he seemed weak and weak, as if he had \[something], leaving him with only a breath of life in his throat.

[He's crippled.]

Hu Ma understood in his heart, but he didn't say anything.

The reason why this group of teenagers was chosen to join the Red Lantern Matriarch Society was because they had cultivated their inner furnace, and the fire was not weak.

Li Wa Zi was dragged into the well by a Yin spirit. If it were an ordinary person, he would have died long ago.

Because Li Wa Zi had an inner furnace, he resisted for a while. But he held on entirely by consuming the fire energy within the furnace. Now, although he had survived, the furnace fire in his abdomen had completely disappeared, and even his body had been eroded by Yin energy.

Now he was even worse than an ordinary person.

[Da Tong, Liang, Zhu, stop peeking, come in!]

Understanding this, Hu Ma shouted towards the door. Zhou Da Tong, Zhou Liang from the Big Sheep Village, and Zhao Zhu came in together. Looking at Li Wa Zi's appearance, their expressions softened a bit. They usually disliked him, but as teenagers, they wouldn't hate him to that extent.

[I wasn't satisfied with what you did before, and the brothers Da Tong, Liang, and Zhu weren't satisfied either.]

When everyone was present, Hu Ma turned to Li Wa Zi and said sternly, [We are brothers from the same village. You didn't trust us, but you insisted on trusting others?]

Hearing this, shame filled Li Wa Zi's pale face, adding a bit of color.

[Logically speaking, you brought it on yourself, and I shouldn't have saved you.]

Hu Ma continued to say to Li Wa Zi, [But Second Master instructed me before he left that we are all from the same village, and it wouldn't be good to leave anyone behind.]

[We four are all doing well here. If something happens to you, how can we explain it to your parents when we return to the village in the future? Just watching other families decorate with lanterns and colored streamers, while your family has to hang white and wear麻 (má - hemp mourning clothes), and offer incense at your grave? Or, we few can't make it and only you embraced a thigh, returning to the village in glory?]

Hearing these words, Zhou Da Tong was stunned for a moment, and his smiling expression lessened.

Zhou Da Tong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu felt that these words were spoken from the bottom of their hearts, and they looked at Hu Ma with some admiration.

As for Li Wa Zi, he just nodded, unable to speak.

Hu Ma also sighed and didn't say any more. He just waved his hand: [Rest here and recover. I won't tell the shopkeeper about your condition for now, or he will definitely send you back.]

Li Wa Zi was ashamed and excited, almost kneeling down again.

The other teenagers from the village were also clumsy and not good at words.

But everything was already understood without words.