Chapter 1 What Treasure Is This?

Hu Ma, holding the oil lamp and tucking away the small porcelain bottle that the old shopkeeper had so solemnly given him, returned to his room.

He first closed the door, then placed the oil lamp on the table. He carefully opened the small porcelain bottle, immediately smelling a familiar, extremely strong, bloody scent. Slightly startled, he cautiously poured some into his palm, then seemed dazed, a look of wry amusement on his face...

Blood Food Pellet.

This exquisite and expensive little porcelain bottle contained, surprisingly, a Blood Food Pellet, and only one.

The key thing was, it was even smaller than the one his grandmother had left him.

Looking at the beautiful little porcelain bottle, and then thinking about the jar that his grandmother had given him, which looked like it was filled with pickled vegetables, this was truly…

…one was flashy and showy, the other plain and unadorned!

However, on second thought, perhaps this really was the best thing in the old shopkeeper's eyes?

He felt more at ease.

He had been somewhat suspicious of the old shopkeeper's attitude towards him earlier, and then there was the mysterious Wu He girl, giving him notes and qing shi (green food). It made Hu Ma feel uneasy.

This was only because he could discern the truth from the falsehood in the cultivation methods.

Otherwise, even if the notes were placed in front of him, he would worry about a trap and not dare to look at them.

But now that he understood the old shopkeeper's situation and purpose, Hu Ma was relieved.

This world was about using each other, short grass stalks in hand, seeing who could trip up who first.

He wasn't afraid of being used, he was afraid of not knowing what the other party was thinking.

But in addition to this, Hu Ma was also somewhat puzzled. Judging from what the old shopkeeper said and did, it didn't seem fake at all.

Not to mention the pitiful appearance of the Wu He girl.

Could it be that the batch of Blood Food was really taken away by the Tan'er Sect?

Moreover, the old shopkeeper didn't seem to care about the position of shopkeeper at all. It seemed that when he asked someone to help him plead last year, he was ostensibly doing it to rebuild the village, but in reality, it was to stay and take revenge. But this raised a key question…

How did he know those people would definitely come back?

And if he really wanted to deal with the Tan'er Sect, wouldn't it be better to tell the city and ask for help? Why did he need to personally train a disciple to help him?

He already had some guesses in his mind, but he secretly sorted them out and silently kept them in his heart, waiting for the next Feng Ling Day (Zero Day) to talk to his old friend Er Guotou (Second Pot).

He hadn't made up his mind whether he really wanted to plot for this batch of Blood Food, but he had to figure out this matter before making a decision.

He temporarily went to sleep that day,

In other words, he died.

Only by dying could one refine life. Although Hu Ma didn't need to go through this process, he still had to put on a performance.

So he called Zhou Datong in and asked him to choose sturdy wooden sticks, forked ones, and whittle him a crutch.

Zhou Datong was quick to do these things. He brought the crutch over, and watching Hu Ma hobble along with it, he sighed from behind, "No wonder my grandpa said to stay behind when something happens. It's not easy being a leader…"

"First a broken hand, now a broken leg."

"Hu Ma, if you keep going like this, are you even going to get a wife?"

Hu Ma was so angry he wanted to hit him with the crutch.

He patiently arranged the work in the yard. Everyone was familiar with it now, so there wasn't much to arrange. Hu Ma's focus was on the large cart that had been pushed back yesterday, clearing out the things left behind by the peddler one by one.

Unexpectedly, he even made a small fortune.

In the innermost part of the basket, in a small cloth bag, were seven or eight small silver cakes, and even a gold one.

Although it was only one or two taels, it was still very valuable.

He directly turned it over to the public.

In addition, many other items were also sorted out. Although the peddler's identity was just a cover, the items he prepared were quite complete: pottery jars, bronze mirrors, noodles, sugar figurines, shoe patterns, hairpin combs, embroidered purses—

The kind with妖精打架 (yāojīng dǎjià - demons fighting).

Hu Ma also had his eyes opened a little. He had the helpers pack them up one by one, all turned over to the public. He turned a blind eye to Zhou Datong secretly hiding the purse.

In addition, the rattle-drum left behind by the peddler was exquisitely made, but thinking that the peddler had once used this rattle-drum to perform evil magic, he didn't dare to be careless. He took it back to the inner courtyard and asked the old shopkeeper how to deal with it.

The other party only glanced at it and said, "Objects used for evil magic need to be used in conjunction with some witchcraft and incantations. It's useless for others to take it, but it's not a good thing after all, so just burn it."

After saying that, he hesitated slightly and instructed, "There's one more thing. This peddler fell into our hands here, so his accomplices might come looking for him."

"Tell the helpers to keep a close watch and pay attention to any unfamiliar faces that have recently come to the vicinity…"

"But don't act rashly. Your skills aren't enough for them to even look at."

Hu Ma agreed and brought the rattle-drum out, but he didn't burn it.

Since the shopkeeper had looked at it and there was nothing unusual about it, he thought it would be okay to keep it for now. He put it in Little Hongtang's basket and let her play with it.

He had just instructed the helpers to patrol the surrounding villages more diligently recently when he heard a burst of锣鼓喧天 (luógǔ xuān tiān - deafening sounds of gongs and drums) outside the village. It was actually the village that had lost its child yesterday. The village head had brought the neighbors and relatives, carrying a fat pig and burning incense to fulfill their vows.

The loss of a child was a major event. Hu Ma had helped to find him, so the villagers were naturally grateful.

Not only were they grateful to Hu Ma, but even the Red Lantern Goddess benefited, and they were noisily burning paper and kowtowing in front of the village, not to mention more.

Although living people were quite wary of others burning paper in front of their homes, especially facing their own front door, this was a good thing for the Red Lantern Society. As usual, the helpers couldn't drive them away.

But the old shopkeeper in the village had never liked to manage these things, nor did he like热闹 (rènao - bustling activity). He gave Hu Ma a look, leaving it to him to handle.

Hu Ma was also hobbling on one leg now, and he didn't like to manage these things either, so he gave Zhou Datong a wink. Zhou Datong, who had already been unable to restrain himself, immediately greeted them with a smiling face. When Hu Ma returned to the house, the villagers were already pulling Zhou Datong to the village for a feast.

It wasn't that Hu Ma didn't like热闹 (rènao - bustling activity), but he knew what he should be doing.

The people of the Tan'er Sect had already shown their faces, and trouble might break out at any time. It was right for him to learn his skills as soon as possible.

The shopkeeper had repeatedly said that he should at least practice one hand and one leg to a certain level before he could be of any help.

As for Hu Ma himself, he had raised the standard by double.

He had to practice two hands and two legs to have some certainty when facing those strange tricks.

However, one hand and one leg were practiced openly, while the remaining hand and leg were practiced secretly, without delaying either.

After Hu Ma had made this clear, the shopkeeper had actually fulfilled his promise. In addition to the Blood Food Pellet, Hu Ma could also enter the inner courtyard every night and eat with him. Without exception, there was always a small bowl of qing shi (green food) on the table, reserved especially for him.

Hu Ma had realized earlier the relationship between Blood Food supply and the speed of refining life, and now he had even more confirmation.

Under the Blood Food supply that was now unimaginable for ordinary helpers, the Dao power he consumed to quietly cultivate his hands and legs was still astonishing.

Every day, the stick of incense inserted in the incense burner was burning at a speed visible to the naked eye. In its place, the meridians and blood in his hands and legs were gradually opening up, his life force was gradually reviving, and he was learning the skills of the Night Watchman little by little.

And not only was he learning the skills of the Night Watchman, Hu Ma was now no longer afraid to ask the shopkeeper some questions.

If he had any questions, he would walk to the inner courtyard and kick the door open…

…actually, he would knock carefully and then ask him about the corresponding principles of cultivation one by one.

It seemed that he was wholeheartedly seeking knowledge, asking about everything, but in reality, he was also preparing himself to understand the Hu Family's Town Spirit Book.

That heavenly book was recorded in his mind word by word, but it would still take a lot of effort to learn it.

The shopkeeper was not very fond of teaching people. Although he had made an agreement with Hu Ma, he would answer any questions he was asked, but he was obviously not very interested. But once, when Hu Ma asked a question, Wu He's timid voice suddenly rang out from the inner room:

"Brother Hu Ma, the meaning of 'life is divided into three' refers to body, soul, and fate…"

Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised and listened to Wu He patiently answering his questions through the wall.

When the old shopkeeper saw this, he didn't say anything. He sighed and went to the courtyard to cool off.

And Hu Ma often came, talking to Wu He through the wall.

Although Wu He was not a Ghost Walker, some of the basics of the world's arts were the same, and learning them could be used in practice.

He gradually gained experience in some of the world's evil arts, and he often hoped that, after making up for this lesson, he could soon try to figure out the contents of the Hu Family's Town Spirit Book himself.

If it weren't for the Tan'er Sect, which might come at any time, Hu Ma's days would be leisurely now, just learning his skills with all his heart.

But when he thought of the peddler with his demon arts, and the mysterious and strange Tan Gu Gu (Aunt Tan), Hu Ma didn't dare to be careless. He not only urged the helpers to patrol carefully on weekdays, but also told his old friend Er Guotou (Second Pot) everything he knew on this Feng Ling Day (Zero Day).

He didn't mention Wu He's situation, but only mentioned that the shopkeeper's daughter seemed to have been injured.

He was now very certain that the Red Lantern Society's higher-ups probably didn't know about Wu He's situation.

Was the old shopkeeper deliberately not saying it?

Perhaps it involved some delicate emotions such as worrying about others laughing at him, his daughter's reputation, Hu Ma didn't understand, but he respected it.

"The Tan'er Sect?"

Er Guotou (Second Pot) was also obviously hesitant after hearing Hu Ma's story.

"Wu Hong's report to the superiors earlier was also the same. He mentioned that the Tan'er Sect had attracted those evil spirits and stolen the batch of Blood Food. To put it bluntly, it was because he named these people that the superiors investigated the matter, but it ultimately came to nothing."

"I didn't expect these people to dare to come out, but you must not be careless when you encounter these people, brother!"

"The Tan'er Sect, the Insect Gate, the blind flower beggars calling souls…"

Er Guotou (Second Pot) sighed softly and said, "How many people in the entire Ming Prefecture dare to provoke them?"