It was still necessary to cooperate with the Anzhou Reincarnator organization as soon as possible...
Usually, that thing wouldn't come a second time at night after it had searched once, but Hu Ma remained vigilant, only warily dozing off for the second half of the night.
He was also thinking silently that the closer he got to Lingshou Prefecture, the greater the pressure became. Hu Ma didn't even know what this thing that had come looking for him was, let alone how to deal with it. Fortunately, this thing could be avoided with an incense array.
"Did someone from the Dongzi Li family send it to find Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl)?"
He also couldn't figure it out: "But this thing seems stiff and wooden, not very flexible..."
Although he thought so, he didn't dare to be careless. That thing made people instinctively vigilant.
However, he wouldn't be able to see Miss Red Wine until tonight, and only after seeing her could he inquire about these things.
"You rest in the room today, I'll bring food to the room."
After getting up, Hu Ma washed his face and said to Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl), "I need to scout the road to see how to send you back."
"It's not far from Lingshou Prefecture, but someone will definitely stop us, so we still have to be careful."
"..."
"Mmm."
Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl) nodded vigorously, just glanced at Hu Ma, and stopped talking.
Hu Ma smiled, "What's wrong?"
"Gongzi (young master)..."
Hearing this, Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl)'s eyes turned red again, and she said, "I don't know how to tell you, I relied on you to help me all the way, I... I'm so grateful to you, but I feel like I've said too much of this kind of thing!"
"..."
Hu Ma smiled when he heard this and said to her, "If I had known there would be so many things along the way, I might not have been willing to come."
"The people in the village all call you sister, if I don't help you, they probably won't be convinced by me."
"But, now that I think about it, it's better to leave you in the town!"
"..."
Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl) blushed after being teased and said, "I also think it's better in our village."
"Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun are good, and Datong Ge (older brother) and Pillar Ge (older brother) are also very good..."
"..."
'If it's really that good, I'll have your dad bring more good things later, and I'll take them back for you!'
Hu Ma thought to himself and smiled, "Just remember, when you're settled down, go to Mingzhou to play with them."
"Or when I'm free, I'll take them to visit your house, they can all eat a lot, don't be stingy then."
"..."
Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl) was amused and smiled through her tears: "If they come, they must sit at the Baxian (eight immortals) table, and I will ask Ah-Die (father) to pick Jinyu Gao (golden jade paste) for them to eat."
"What is Jinyu Gao (golden jade paste)?"
Hu Ma thought to himself, "Could it be a specialty of Lingshou Prefecture? I'll bring back two jin when I leave."
After comforting Xiang丫tou (fragrant girl), who was getting closer to home but felt more uneasy, Hu Ma went downstairs, first strolled around the city, then found a teahouse to drink tea, and chatted for a while in front of a stall selling pastries, where he was ripped off for dozens of copper coins.
But all of this was to inquire about news. After a round, he couldn't help but feel a little heavy and sighed, before returning to the inn.
Last night, that ghost thing passed through the streets, but no one in the city seemed to notice it.
And when asked about Lingshou Prefecture, the people in this Anzhou Prefecture city all changed their expressions drastically.
Especially the one selling pastries. Hu Ma had let him rip him off, and he had opened up and was willing to chat about anything. He even told him that his wife had recently been helping a woman named Wang Po make quilts.
But when he mentioned Lingshou Prefecture, his face changed, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "Guest officer, that's not a good place, it's best not to go there for business."
"I heard that it's a ghost city, and there are judges there who catch people and take them into ghost caves!"
"In other places, it's only spooky at night, in places with few people, but there..."
"Hey, it's spooky even in broad daylight!"
"..."
"What kind of place is this, to make people so afraid..."
After some inquiries, Hu Ma had a rough understanding.
Lingshou Prefecture seemed to be a spooky place, and few people had even heard of the big stone cliff.
Could there really be a gate to hell there, guarded by the Dongzi Li family?
With a belly full of doubts, he finally waited until night. After entering his natal spirit temple, as expected, when he connected with Shaodaozi (burning blade) at the same time as last night, he heard Shaodaozi (burning blade)'s call on time, and he agreed and connected with the other party.
And upon this connection, he saw that in addition to this Reincarnator code-named Shaodaozi (burning blade), there was another line of mist connecting to an unknown person.
"Brother Lao Baigan (old white liquor), this is Miss Red Wine."
As soon as Shaodaozi (burning blade) connected with Hu Ma, he immediately smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. Since it's a letter from Miss White Wine, I shouldn't listen, so I won't stay here."
With that, he cut off the connection with Hu Ma, leaving only him and Miss Red Wine.
"The Anzhou Reincarnator organization is so strict?"
Hu Ma was slightly surprised when he heard this. In Mingzhou, everyone was equal—except for Diguashao (sweet potato liquor)—but here, he could vaguely feel Shaodaozi (burning blade)'s respect for Miss Red Wine.
Also...
Shaodaozi (burning blade) retreated, and the natal spirit temple became extremely quiet, with only a wisp of incense connecting them.
Undoubtedly, his natal spirit temple had connected to a person, but was this person really the Miss Red Wine he was looking for?
Hu Ma didn't know how to speak for a moment. Should he first say the code?
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard a lazy, hoarse voice: "What is your relationship with Xiao Bai (little white)?"
This voice sounded like it had never changed, a very real voice, which surprised Hu Ma a bit. He subconsciously said, "Xiao Bai (little white)?"
"That's Miss White Wine, she's very white, all white, shining white, so she got the 'white' character..."
Miss Red Wine chuckled softly and said, "But she's very arrogant and suspicious, and never trusts people casually. She's actually willing to let you bring this letter over, so the relationship must be extraordinary... What is your relationship with her?"
"Shining white..."
Hu Ma imagined it. Miss White Wine was indeed quite white. Then why did Miss Red Wine get the 'red' character?
...No, that's not the point.
He coughed and said, "Miss White Wine helped me, and I helped her... a little favor, we have a relationship of mutual trust, and I happened to have something to do here, so she asked me to bring this letter."
"However, before I say anything, I should do some routine business first..."
After a slight pause, he said, "When Miss White Wine asked me to come, she also asked me to ask you a question. She said that Miss Red Wine has a birthmark on her body, where is it located?"
He said this in a low voice.
Asking this question was really impolite, but it was for safety!
After all, this was his first time in Anzhou, and his first time connecting with Miss Red Wine. How could he really be sure who the other person was?
This was the code that Miss White Wine gave him.
Miss Red Wine was silent after hearing this. Hu Ma held his breath and only heard her breathing seem to be getting heavier and heavier. His heart was in his throat.
Then he heard her say, "That girl is ruthless enough to send a man to ask me this kind of question."
"Forget it, don't give me this letter, I refuse to accept it!"
"..."
"Ah?"
Hu Ma panicked immediately.
She answered correctly!
Miss White Wine said that if she would rather not accept the letter than answer, then it must be her. If she answered, there must be a problem.
It was just that, although they had matched the code, he vaguely felt that these two people were not quite right.
One came up and said she was very white, and the other asked about the birthmark on her body...
...Hiss!
"I'm innocent..."
He said hastily, "I'm just here to deliver a letter, to match the code, Miss Red Wine, you really... you really matched the code."
"Heh..."
Miss Red Wine didn't really refuse to accept it, but sneered, "We've already communicated in the Reincarnator way, and now we've come to Anzhou, our territory, and you're still so careful, acting like thieves every day."
"This is why the Reincarnators are a disorganized bunch and can't accomplish anything."
"..."
Hearing the displeasure in her voice, Hu Ma quickly said, "I was born in a place that was too remote, and I had little contact with Reincarnators, so I don't know the rules very well."
"But since I've been entrusted with the task, I must be loyal to it. Now that I've found the right person, I don't know how to give you this letter."
"..."
If it was a message, he could just say it here, but because Miss White Wine asked him to bring a real letter, and he wasn't allowed to open it, only Miss Red Wine could see it.
This made delivering the letter a bit more troublesome.
Reincarnators mainly deliver messages by word of mouth, which is the most seamless, and no non-Reincarnator can detect it.
The next best thing is to put the thing in a place and agree to let the other party pick it up.
When Miss White Wine wanted to share that batch of blood food with Hu Ma, she used this method, which was also relatively safe.
Then, there was sending a letter with a Xiao Shi Gui (little ghost messenger), and meeting in person.
Sending a letter with a Xiao Shi Gui (little ghost messenger) should also be relatively safe, but if the other party has malicious intentions and catches the Xiao Shi Gui (little ghost messenger), it would be troublesome.
It can't be ruled out that some people can use the Xiao Shi Gui (little ghost messenger) to find out the master behind it.
As for the most dangerous thing, there's no need to say it, it's meeting in person to get the letter. Under the circumstances where the two sides are not familiar with each other, such a rash rendezvous always makes people feel uneasy.
While thinking, Miss Red Wine seemed to hesitate for a moment and said, "Taking the letter is one thing."
"I have another question."
"Last night, there was a Yi Gui (summoned ghost) entering the city, seemingly looking for someone, is it related to you?"
"..."
"Yi Gui (summoned ghost)?"
Hu Ma was stunned for a moment, then understood, and sighed softly, "That kind of thing wearing a tall hat and dragging chains?"
"It's possible that it's looking for me."
"..."
He was already asking for their help, so he had to tell the truth.
Unexpectedly, Miss Red Wine heard this and her voice sank. Before Hu Ma could say anything, she said, "How many days has this Yi Gui (summoned ghost) been looking for you?"
Chapter 1 Cooperating with the Anzhou Reincarnator Organization