Chapter 1 The Allocation

Having settled the distribution of this batch of blood provisions, Hu Ma could finally sleep soundly. He had indeed been through a night of fright, shock, and injury, expending a great deal of energy.

Zhou Datong and the brothers in the stockaded village were still reliable in their work. Following Hu Ma's instructions, they wrapped the corpses of the Altar remnants in straw mats. The intact ones were placed in the manor, while the mangled ones were piled up.

As for the monster corpses from the altars, most of them rotted away, leaving only a few dry bones after being exposed to the sun. Some were burned directly.

The remaining belongings of the Altar remnants, such as weapons, clothing, and altar fragments, were also piled up.

These were kept as evidence, waiting for the people from the city to come and inquire.

After a detailed questioning of Zhou Datong, he learned that the old shopkeeper, after resting for a while, had come out once in the early hours of the morning to inspect everything. The workers didn't know what he was up to.

Hu Ma understood that the old shopkeeper was trying to conceal the matter of the blood provisions, so as to avoid taking a bigger fall. That's why he wanted to make sure that all the Altar people were dead, completely dead, to prevent the news from leaking out and causing further trouble.

Knowing this, he didn't say anything.

He didn't even bother with the morning greetings. After all, he was still holding a grudge!

After a night of running around, the workers looked tired, but they were still able to hold on. Hu Ma knew that time was of the essence, so he not only didn't let them go back to rest, but also specifically had them clean the courtyard and wait patiently.

During this time, many neighbors from the surrounding area came to the door, poking their heads in and inquiring about what had happened.

Hu Ma knew that last night's commotion was too loud and had frightened the neighbors, so he reassured them one by one.

Before long, it was noon, time to prepare the meal.

But Hu Ma told the workers to hold on for a while. Sure enough, soon they heard the sound of hooves from the town outside.

The workers opened the gate and saw several horses galloping into the manor. A glance revealed that it was two stewards, accompanied by three or four workers. These three or four workers looked young, about the same age as Hu Ma and the others, but they wore red belts around their waists.

"Red Fragrance workers?"

Hu Ma thought to himself, even recognizing one or two familiar faces.

Now that these Azure Fragrance disciples hadn't even gotten a horse yet, they were already riding horses, coming and going like the wind.

The workers in the outer courtyard, seeing these important figures suddenly arriving, were all uneasy and stood by the side, not daring to say a word.

"Brother Sun, Brother Liu, I'm relieved that it's the two of you who came..."

The old shopkeeper also walked out of the inner courtyard upon hearing the sound of hooves. After a night, his injuries not only hadn't improved, but seemed to have worsened.

His eye sockets were sunken, and he smelled strongly of herbal medicine. His movements were slow and sluggish.

For a Night Watcher, this was extremely rare. After all, Night Watchers refine life from death, possessing the strongest life force. Healing injuries was much faster than others. They were known for being tough. Even a serious injury could be alleviated after a night of rest.

But the shopkeeper's injuries were not faked. It must have been that his bitter fight the night before was too fierce, and he had injured his foundation.

"Shopkeeper Wu..."

The two stewards who came also jumped off their horses and cupped their hands from a distance, sighing, "How could such a thing happen?"

"We received the Lady's message last night and came as soon as the city gates opened."

"..."

"Isn't it still the Altar remnants causing trouble?"

The old shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "Being able to keep this life is already thanks to the Lady's protection..."

"Please, come inside and sit down, and I'll slowly tell you what happened."

"..."

As he spoke, he was about to lead these people into the inner courtyard. The two stewards stepped forward, but one of the Red Fragrance disciples who had followed, a long-faced one, frowned and glanced at the workers in the outer courtyard and the collected bodies of the Altar remnants.

He suddenly said, "Why not ask here? If there's anything, it's good to ask the workers in the manor."

Shopkeeper Wu looked embarrassed upon hearing this and glanced at the two stewards.

"Hehe, let's go inside and talk!"

One of the two stewards smiled and spoke to these Red Fragrance disciples very politely, saying, "What could these workers know? At most, there are some private matters that are best asked behind closed doors..."

The other one also smiled and looked at Hu Ma and the others, saying, "Don't just stand there."

"Move these corpses outside, and have a few people quickly prepare a feast. We'll eat here at noon."

"We rushed here early in the morning, and our stomachs are still empty."

"..."

Seeing that the two of them had said so, these Red Fragrance disciples stopped talking, got off their horses, and followed them into the inner courtyard.

Hu Ma knew that they were ordered by the Red Lantern Goddess to ask the old shopkeeper about the whole incident. Everything else was easy to say, but the matter of the batch of blood provisions, he didn't know how the old shopkeeper would cover it up. But that was his business.

Thinking about it all night, he must have already figured out how to say it. He wouldn't pay attention to it, but just arranged for the workers to move the corpses outside and quickly prepare the food and buy wine.

These corpses were originally for these people who came down to see, but they didn't seem to care much, which meant that the higher-ups didn't take this matter that seriously.

After clearing the corpses, they set up a few tables directly in the outer courtyard, slaughtering sheep and cooking rice. It had been more than an hour of busy work.

The few people who had entered the inner courtyard with the old shopkeeper, he didn't know what they had asked, but when they came out again, they all had faint smiles on their faces. Even those Red Fragrance disciples who didn't smile easily had softened expressions.

Someone went over to check the corpses, but only glanced at them a few times, perfunctorily, and didn't say anything.

It seemed that the old shopkeeper still had some ability. This matter had been muddled through.

"Um, who's called Hu Ma?"

After leaving the inner courtyard, the shopkeeper, the two stewards, and the Red Fragrance disciples sat down at the table.

One of the stewards smiled and turned his head, asking everyone.

Hu Ma walked out of the crowd and respectfully saluted the steward.

This old bastard was also pretending. He must still recognize him.

Because he was the mustached steward who sent him to this manor. It had only been a few months, but his mustache had grown longer.

And in terms of his current status, he was also a steward, but this man worked by the side of the Fragrance Master, with a status equivalent to the shopkeeper's. Of course, he couldn't compare, not by a long shot!

The stewards inside and outside the city were simply not on the same level.

"You're very good..."

The mustached steward's surname was Xu. When he saw Hu Ma, he naturally recognized him. He nodded with a satisfied smile and said, "We already know that last night, the Altar demons attacked, causing quite a bit of chaos."

"Your shopkeeper was overwhelmed, but you risked your life to protect the Red Lantern from being extinguished, which led to our Lady descending here and solving the gang of remnants, showing the majesty of our Red Lantern Goddess."

"This is a great achievement, you should be rewarded!"

"Tell me, what reward do you want?"

"..."

"I..."

Hu Ma hesitated slightly, looking a little at a loss.

But he understood in his heart that after this conversation in the inner courtyard, the shopkeeper had said some nice things.

He knew how he should act now, so he pretended to be a little panicked, paused, and then said, "I don't know anything. The shopkeeper told me that I must guard the Red Lantern and not let it be blown out by those evil spirits. I was just acting on orders."

Hearing Hu Ma say this, the mustached steward looked even more satisfied.

He chuckled and nodded to Shopkeeper Wu, seemingly praising him for teaching his people well.

Then he said to Hu Ma, "Your shopkeeper's instructions are his business, but you guarded the Red Lantern, which is your dedication."

"Rewards cannot be lacking, otherwise, outsiders will laugh at our Red Lantern Society for not being clear about rewards and punishments."

"Um, let me think. You've made this contribution, you should be promoted to steward, but your shopkeeper said that you are diligent and considerate in your work and have already promoted you to steward."

"Then let's do this. According to the practice of our Red Lantern Society, here are thirty taels of silver and twenty catties of Azure Provisions, I'll give them all to you. Hehe, your contribution is not small, even if you want Blood Provision Pills, we can report it and get you a few." (catties: A Chinese unit of weight, approximately 500 grams or 1.1 pounds)

"..."

"Ah?"

Hearing the steward say this, the surrounding workers couldn't help but widen their eyes.

Thirty taels of silver, what a value!

Earning this bounty, you can directly go back to the stockaded village to build a house and marry a wife, and you can't even spend it all, and you can eat and use it for a long time.

Not to mention twenty catties of Azure Provisions. Usually, they only get half a catty of quota each month.

Hu Ma received three or four years' worth all at once?

Not only the workers in this manor, but even the Red Fragrance disciples were a little surprised and looked at Hu Ma with envy.

"If that's the case..."

Hu Ma estimated that the time was about right, and said, "If possible..."

"I would like to ask the steward to show mercy. I don't want the silver or the blood provisions. Blood Provision Pills are good things, but I don't dare to think about them..."

"Can this reward be exchanged for Azure Jade Paste?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

The steward was a little surprised when he heard this, "That thing doesn't nourish the body, what do you want it for?"

Hu Ma looked in the direction of the inner courtyard, paused, and said, "I have a sister who's injured. I want to ask for Azure Jade Paste to treat her."

Hearing this, the old shopkeeper sitting at the table suddenly changed his expression greatly, unable to control himself.

And inside the inner courtyard, the gaze that was secretly looking out of the house also became chaotic, and there was a faint sound of sobbing.

Hu Ma just raised his head and looked at the shopkeeper, his face solemn. This request was what he had planned in advance and discussed with Brother Erguotou.

It had nothing to do with the shopkeeper, only for the sake of that sentence left by Wu He, his sister. (Erguotou: A type of strong Chinese liquor)