Chapter 30 The Little Official

Besides this inexplicable girl, everything else has been smooth sailing.

Although he wasn't sure what the father and daughter were thinking, the notes and the Green Food had indeed benefited Hu Ma greatly.

And in this manor, Hu Ma was becoming more and more accustomed to his position as steward.

Now, not only were the servants in the outer courtyard obedient to him, but even in the surrounding towns, and in a few villages that he occasionally passed during night patrols, there were people who recognized this young and capable steward of the manor. When they met, they would all call him "Steward Master."

When something happened in the surrounding villages and towns, they were also used to asking this young Steward Master to come and handle it.

And after solving the old woman who secretly ate pig food at night, and the small matter of a ghost husband blocking the door after death, Hu Ma's reputation gradually rose.

Of course, what he could handle now was only these minor evil spirits with shallow yin qi. As for those whose cows ran away and asked him to calculate it, Hu Ma really couldn't. When he asked the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper waved his hand and said to just send them away.

"We're not a yamen here, and besides, I don't know how..."

"..."

As he became more familiar with the surroundings, the manor became much more peaceful.

The daughter of the shopkeeper had made a brief appearance, causing chaos in the manor for a while, but later she went out less often.

Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of her, but she no longer approached, just watched Hu Ma from a distance and smiled.

Or she would ask him, "How's your cultivation progressing lately?"

Or she would tilt her head and ask Hu Ma where the rouge and powder he had promised her were.

Hu Ma didn't mind buying her some rouge and powder. Being in the manor, there weren't many places to spend money anyway. The two or three small silver coins that his mother-in-law had left him had turned into seven or eight after so long...

But this rouge and powder was really hard to buy, he had to go to the city.

But as the steward of the manor, he didn't have many opportunities to go to the city...

"Alright, take some tonics and rest for a few days, the main thing is not to go to the West Mountain again."

On this day, Hu Ma was invited by the village chief of Xuejia Village to see a woodcutter who had been invaded by evil spirits. This person didn't have any major problems, it was just that when he went to West Mountain to chop firewood, he saw a peach tree.

It was the twelfth lunar month, but the peach tree was full of flowers, bright and colorful.

A normal person would avoid this evil thing when they saw it, but this woodcutter approached it in a daze.

He curled up under the tree and fell asleep, and he dreamed of a beautiful woman laughing and approaching him, enticing him to mate. So, he did.

Hu Ma came over and knew the problem. The peach blossom was obviously abnormal, but it was already far away from the manor. He was too lazy to run more than thirty li to get rid of it, so he just used a wisp of stove fire to help him remove the evil qi accumulated in his body, and then told him to nourish his body.

Before leaving, the woodcutter mustered an extra bit of strength and grabbed Hu Ma's hand: "Little Master, can I get better?"

"Of course you can get better, just relax and take care of yourself."

Hu Ma comforted him with a smile.

Evil spirits in this world have many ways to harm people. Some take lives, some are driven by obsession, and some absorb people's yang energy.

This woodcutter had encountered a good one, not harming his life, just stealing his life force.

In fact, it wasn't as simple as Hu Ma said to recover. Tonics would only help him recover as soon as possible, so he could chop wood, work, and make a living. But after this incident, he was afraid that his lifespan would be shortened by twenty years, but there was no need to say that to scare people.

Hearing that he could get better, the woodcutter grabbed Hu Ma's hand even tighter: "Can the tonic be a little stronger?"

"I'll get better soon, so I can... go again!"

"..."

"?"

Hu Ma was stunned when he heard this. What was all this nonsense?

He didn't have Second Master's ability, but he had the same hobby as Second Master, right?

Did he think everyone could be like Second Master, not only unharmed but actually get a great tonic?

"Go if you don't want your life."

Hu Ma could only leave one sentence: "Your lifespan has been reduced by at least thirty years. If you go a few more times, there won't be anything left."

This wasn't to scare him. A night watchman cultivated life force, and his own cultivation was the life force of a person. With this, he could estimate lifespan, and he was also keenly aware of the life force of outsiders, and his general judgment wouldn't be far off.

This kind of intercourse between humans and demons was extremely harmful to the body. Taking this woodcutter as an example, he had already泄了元阳 (xiè le yuányáng - depleted his primordial yang), but he was usually diligent in his work, and his body was strong, so he still had fifty years of life force. One intercourse would damage one point, and he had already damaged the foundation.

Leaving the woodcutter crying inside, Hu Ma came out and talked to the village chief about the offering fee.

He remembered the old shopkeeper's words, and he would naturally not lack the offering fee that should be collected every time he exorcised evil spirits.

Collecting it to subsidize the manor and pay the servants was also a good thing.

As for those who were poor at home and couldn't afford it, Hu Ma didn't need to worry about it, the village chief would take care of it.

All Hu Ma could do was not urge or extort.

After discussing it, he also refused the village chief's invitation to stay for dinner. Hu Ma slowly strolled back to the manor. Just as he arrived at the entrance of the village, he heard the sound of a rattle drum. From a distance, he saw a peddler carrying a load on his shoulders soliciting business by the small river at the head of the village.

Thinking of the rouge and powder he had promised that He girl, Hu Ma turned and walked over.

From a distance, he saw many children surrounding the peddler, all looking enviously at the sweets and snacks in the basket.

These peddlers traveled from street to street and occasionally came to the village. The loads on both sides were full of good things, including needles and threads, tea bowls and bottles, and even sweets and guanguanmo (罐罐馍 - a type of baked bun), chicken feather dusters, and soy sauce, vinegar, oil, and salt, which could be said to be a mobile department store between villages and towns.

As soon as they heard the sound of the rattle drum, those who needed something at home quickly came out. If they needed it, they would buy it, and if they didn't, they would tell the peddler to bring it next time.

Now, this peddler seemed to have finished serving the business in this village and was preparing to pack up and leave.

The adults had all left, leaving only the children who were still greedy and reluctant to leave.

But poor families didn't really want to buy things for their children. They would just be greedy, and they wouldn't be greedy when they grew up.

"Don't reach out and grab, hey, don't wipe your snot on me..."

"Stand still obediently, and everyone will have candy..."

When Hu Ma came over, he happened to see this young peddler taking candy and teasing the drooling children. Hu Ma saw that he actually took a piece of dark yellow sugar cane and handed it to a tiger-headed and brainy child, and then took another piece to tease the others.

"You're so careful, if their parents don't acknowledge it, you won't be able to get the copper coins back."

Hu Ma walked over and suddenly said with a smile.

"Hey."

The peddler was startled and turned around. He was a strong young man with a natural smiling face, and he smiled at Hu Ma: "I'm not collecting copper coins. Business was good today, and there's only a little bit of stuff left. I'm just teasing the children. I'm waiting to sell it all so I can go back early. Little Master, I don't know what you want to buy?"

He saw that Hu Ma was wearing clean clothes, a blue cloth belt around his waist, and blue cloth shoes with a thousand layers on his feet, and knew that his identity was unusual, so he directly called him "Master."

Hu Ma didn't talk much, just smiled and said, "Rouge and powder, do you have any here?"

"Yes."

The peddler quickly squatted down and took out a few wooden boxes from the basket for Hu Ma to choose from.

Hu Ma casually picked a few, paid the money, and put them in his arms before returning to the manor.

It was getting late, and Hu Ma arranged for the night patrol, but that Wu He sister never showed up.

So he went to the inner courtyard and found the old servant to hand the things over to his junior sister.

He then looked around the manor to make sure that the work was arranged well, had dinner, and waited until the patrolling servants returned. He then took the red sandalwood sword and Zhou Datong's waist knife, led Xiao Hongtang, and slowly left the manor gate.

Taking advantage of the night, he walked another seven or eight li, and returned to the village he had come to during the day. Using the moonlight, he arrived at the entrance of the village, at the old willow tree by the river.

It was dark all around. Although there was some moonlight overhead, he sat in the shadow of the tree, and no one could see him.

He waited for about an hour or two, and the night grew deeper.

Being in the wilderness at the head of the village, and in the twelfth lunar month, not a single sound of insects or birds could be heard, and the livestock, cats, and dogs in the village were also sleeping soundly.

It was truly silent, as if forgotten by the world.

Hu Ma thought to himself that he would wait another hour and then return to the manor.

But at this moment, a cool breeze swept up outside the village, and faintly, there seemed to be some sound of a rattle drum.

The sound was extremely distant, extremely light, mixed in the night wind, almost imperceptible.

Hu Ma opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound of the rattle drum, but it was only a dark blur, and he couldn't see anything. He only vaguely felt the wind blowing, cold and piercing, swirling in the country road, causing people to instinctively feel a bit of cold and eerie.

Turning his head again, he frowned slightly.

He vaguely saw that there were a few wriggling small dots on the dirt road in the village, slowly approaching.

Hu Ma sat still, and also held back the curious Xiao Hongtang, just staring silently under the tree. After a while, he saw those little dots pass by him, and they were actually a few dazed children.

They seemed to be still asleep, their eyes closed, and they stretched out their chubby little hands, groping forward in the night.

They were like sleepwalking, their steps and postures were a bit unsteady, swaying, and occasionally falling, but their steps didn't stop, forming a line, and slowly walking out of the village.

There were no lights in the village, no sound of chickens or dogs, and the adults were already asleep. No one knew that this group of children had run out.

"Hoo..."

Hu Ma waited for the group of children to pass by him before he gently exhaled and tightened the wooden sword across his knees.

"Go, go back to the manor and wake up Zhou Datong, tell him..."

He whispered to Xiao Hongtang, explaining everything clearly, and then stood up with his sword, following the group of children from afar, step by step into the wilderness.

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