Chapter 1 The Inception

It was impossible to describe the look of shock and paleness on the old shopkeeper's face the moment he saw Hu Ma's face.

Clearly, too many things had gone beyond his expectations this night.

However, even with the strong impact, a glance at the corpses of the Altar Church members around him, the shattered altar jars, and the strange gaze in the red lantern that seemed to be watching him, he suddenly reacted. Supporting his tattered body, he knelt down towards the red lantern and said loudly:

"Wu Hong, the shopkeeper of the Qing Stone Town branch, respectfully welcomes the arrival of the Red Lantern Goddess! Goddess... Goddess..."

"...Goddess, save my life! Wu Hong would die ten thousand times to repay your great kindness!"

"..."

Hu Ma simply held the lantern and stood calmly opposite the old shopkeeper, as if these kowtows were for him.

The light inside the red lantern appeared eerie and agile.

The surrounding night wind swirled around the red lantern, as if some rustling sounds were ringing in his ears, as if an invisible woman was whispering something in his ear.

So, he calmed down slightly, looked down at Shopkeeper Wu Hong, and said, "The Goddess asks you, what happened?"

"It...it's the Altar Church!"

The old shopkeeper's injuries were obviously severe, and his voice was trembling. He still tried to support himself, with a slight, almost imperceptible hesitation: "The Altar Church was bold enough to commit mischief last year, stealing the blood sacrifices of my Red Lantern Society."

"Although the Goddess did not punish me, Wu Hong also felt deeply guilty. This year, I have been thinking about making amends. Unexpectedly, I finally discovered the traces of the Altar Church members again, so I thought about capturing them and sending them to the Goddess to atone for my sins..."

He was worthy of being an old dog, and he didn't seem to have time to think, but as he spoke, he thought, and the more he spoke, the smoother it became:

"However, Wu Hong is already a criminal, and he is not completely sure. He did not dare to directly invite the Goddess's presence. He originally wanted to quietly take them down so that he could perform a service for the Red Lantern Society."

"But I didn't expect that my skills were low. If the Goddess hadn't saved me, I would have already..."

"..."

"Eh?"

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback as he listened. He didn't mention the blood sacrifice at all?

He had even made up some words to wait for it.

While hesitating, the woman's voice in the surrounding yin wind once again floated lightly into his ears.

So, he put on a straight face again, conveyed the Red Lantern Goddess's words, and said to the old shopkeeper, "The Goddess asks you, is that all?"

"...Yes!"

The old shopkeeper obviously answered with difficulty, but he still nodded.

Now he was also seriously injured, and his mind was not very clear. The matter of blood sacrifice was almost on his lips.

But in the end, he swallowed it back with difficulty, and only said, "The Altar Church is doing so much to confuse people. I don't know what it's for."

"But your subordinate doesn't want to think about these things. I just want to catch them and return to the Red Lantern Society to close the case."

"..."

After saying these words, he lowered his head and dared not look at the red lantern.

Beside him, Wu He, the girl, was also kneeling far away, also daring not look at the red lantern.

She was even afraid that the Red Lantern Goddess would ask her something.

However, after Hu Ma asked these questions for the Red Lantern Goddess, the eerie red light flashing inside the lantern slowly faded away.

The oil lamp inside the lantern was still lit, and it still shone a dark red light all around through the red lantern, but the eerie aura in the lantern had disappeared, and the indescribable pressure on everyone had quietly receded at this time.

"Has the Red Lantern Goddess left?"

Hu Ma secretly speculated in his heart, feeling a little relieved.

Sure enough, Brother Erguotou (a cheap spirit) said that the Red Lantern Goddess could see the movements within ten *li* (Chinese mile, approximately 0.5 km) centered on the red lantern. As long as Miss White Wine walked out of the ten *li* range before the Red Lantern Goddess arrived, there would be no problem.

Thinking in his heart, he hurriedly squatted down in front of the old shopkeeper and said in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, are you okay?"

"Shua!"

In response to Hu Ma's inquiry, the old shopkeeper suddenly raised his head and stared at Hu Ma.

As if he wanted to use this look to find the answers to all his questions.

After a long time, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice sounding a little low: "You... what exactly happened in the village just now?"

Facing the old shopkeeper's direct gaze, Hu Ma did not dodge, but also looked directly at the old shopkeeper, his face slightly gloomy.

After a while, he said faintly, "What's the rush, Shopkeeper? Let's go back and talk!"

The old shopkeeper met his gaze, and was suddenly a little guilty. The questioning look in his eyes was slowly fading away.

Hu Ma's performance at this time was too indifferent, but this indifference also seemed to be frank, but the alienation and indifference in that frankness made him feel a little guilty.

Saying let's go back and talk, Hu Ma didn't mean to help the old shopkeeper up.

He simply held the red lantern and stood aside, watching the seriously injured old shopkeeper. He supported himself several times, but he couldn't support himself up, and he fell very embarrassedly. Until Wu He, the girl, ran over, barely stood up, and supported the old shopkeeper's weak body.

Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu behind Hu Ma looked at Wu He, the girl, at this time, as if they had seen a ghost.

Coupled with the tragic scene and severed limbs around, they were more afraid than Hu Ma.

"Datong, Liangzi, Zhuzi, turn around!"

Hu Ma noticed that Wu He, the girl, was supporting the old shopkeeper, and under the gazes of Zhou Datong and others, she was ashamed and tears were about to flow out.

Knowing the thoughts of this kind of girl, she was originally beautiful, who would want to be seen in such an ugly and strange state?

So, his face sank, and he ordered loudly, and at the same time said: "Also, you must remember that what happened tonight is a major event in the Red Lantern Society!"

"The Red Lantern Goddess has seen it with her own eyes, don't say a word about it."

"After you go back, after a sleep, forget it all."

"..."

Zhou Datong was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly pulled the other two around, no one dared to look back.

Wu He didn't know why Hu Ma suddenly gave this order, but hearing these words, her heart couldn't help but soften.

Tears were about to burst out of her eyes.

It was difficult for her to describe what this suddenly wanted-to-cry emotion was, and she didn't quite understand that although what Hu Ma did was small, it represented respect.

"Brother Ma, what exactly happened?"

Hearing the footsteps of the old shopkeeper and Wu He, the girl, going away behind him, Zhou Datong couldn't help but ask carefully.

"Don't ask for now, this time the matter is a bit big."

Hu Ma whispered to them: "Go back quickly, and then call out all the people in the village and clean this place up."

"I'll tell you more about it when I have the chance!"

"..."

After speaking, he first went back to the village together. It stands to reason that this tragic place needs to be watched by someone.

But now it's the middle of the night, who dares to do it?

Letting Hu Ma stay here by himself, he was afraid in his heart, so he didn't let Zhou Datong and Liang and Zhu suffer this crime.

After returning to the village, he called out the other guys who were hiding in the house shivering, asked them to light torches, seal off that area, and leave it for the people in the city to investigate.

After all, although the Red Lantern Goddess asked, it was just a few casual words. There were still fewer people who would come over. As for Hu Ma himself, he hung the lantern back in front of the village, then took his knife and strode into the inner courtyard.

The old shopkeeper was already wrapped in strips of cloth, and looked very listless.

The robustness of a watchman's body is among the best in all trades. It is rare to suffer such serious injuries.

Seeing Hu Ma coming in, the old shopkeeper's eyes flashed, as if he wanted to ask something.

But Hu Ma didn't wait for him to ask. He looked directly at the old shopkeeper and said, "This night, I finally understood what death is like."

As he said that, he directly rolled up his sleeves, revealing the broken arm and traces of wounds.

The old shopkeeper looked at it, and his eyes shrank slightly, and he temporarily suppressed the words he wanted to ask.

Hu Ma straightened his body, looked at the old shopkeeper, his voice sounded very calm, and said, "Shopkeeper asked me to protect the lantern, saying that this is your last retreat, so I really tried my best to protect it."

"Shopkeeper said to let me hide in this formation, so I hid in it. Shopkeeper said that the word sticker you gave me could save my life at a critical moment, I didn't even care about myself, but pasted it on the lantern."

The louder he spoke, the more frank he seemed, and there seemed to be an undisguised indignation: "I came from a village in the mountains, and I don't have so many ideas. I just think that the shopkeeper treats me well. The things you have entrusted to me are so important, so I will do my best to help the shopkeeper accomplish it."

"But…"

He paused here, then whispered: "Shopkeeper, I'm not a fool either."

"If the Red Lantern Goddess hadn't been alarmed and taken the initiative to descend, I'm afraid my little life would have been handed over to you."

"..."

The things he said aloud were exactly what Shopkeeper Wu Hong wanted to know.

This shopkeeper originally had a lot of questions in his heart. He didn't teach Hu Ma how to invite the Red Lantern Goddess to descend. How did she come? He only taught him the method to enter the Ghost Gate, but not the method to leave the Ghost Gate. How did he survive?

But now, after listening to Hu Ma's words, the questions in his heart were directly answered. For a while, he dared not look directly into Hu Ma's eyes.

"I learned my skills from the shopkeeper, and I will not refuse you anything you ask me to do."

Hu Ma also looked up at the shopkeeper at this time and said, "I just have a question that I can't figure out..."

"...Why didn't the shopkeeper just tell me?"

"Even if you told me directly, I wouldn't refuse your instructions..."

"..."

When this last question was asked, not only did the gloomy face of the old shopkeeper suddenly have some complicated emotions, but also in the side room, there was a sudden sound of water shaking, and Wu He, the girl's voice with a cry could not help but said: "Brother Hu Ma..."

"...It's us, it's us who are sorry to you!"

"..."

This cry made the old shopkeeper a little lazy all of a sudden.

He waved his hand weakly and said to Hu Ma, "Don't say any more..."

"This old man has already taken off his skin, what other decent words can he say?"