"Mr. Hu, please use this gourd to collect the spring water. Take as much as you can."

Unable to refuse the Li family's hospitality, Hu Ma, who wasn't seeking any reward but acting out of righteousness, could only reluctantly agree. The head of the Li family then handed him a natural gourd.

Seeing him point to the spring water drawn from the mountains, Hu Ma was surprised. "This spring water is what you were talking about earlier..."

"People have three souls and seven spirits. After death, the seven spirits dissipate, and the three souls are different."

The Li family's head looked at Hu Ma, smiled, and said, "The three souls are the Yuan Soul, the Jue Soul, and the Sheng Soul, which are further divided into the Wangsheng Soul, the Inguo Soul, and the Shoushen Soul."

"After death, the three souls each go their own way."

"One soul is reborn, one guards the body, and one is said to go to weigh karma."

"Those who come to the Guidongzi Li family are all Sheng Souls. The Sheng Soul knows things, and the Jue Soul knows fate. The Li family fears that the Sheng Soul will suffer in the ghost cave, so we serve them one last meal and help them wash their souls."

"This spring water is the water of the netherworld that has washed souls."

"Then this..."

The head of the Li family smiled, "Just pour it on white paper in a shady place. The heavier the yin energy, the better. When the yin energy dissipates, the words will disappear..."

"..."

Taking this was enough for Hu Ma, and he was very satisfied. He tied a hemp rope around the gourd's waist and carried it with him, so no one would notice.

Smoked it…

The other one was from the Guidongzi Li family, and they actually used it to smoke cured meat...

Even more astonishing was that, as if worried he wouldn't be able to carry it easily, they even smoked it…

"We Li family members cannot leave easily. It's very troublesome to even watch a play."

"There's one more thing."

"Alright..."

"If you use the Li family's gourd to collect this soul-washing water, you will naturally get what you want."

Since his rebirth, who hasn't treated blood food as a treasure, carefully and meticulously refining it to be eaten as medicine?

But it was different from the ones previously distributed to those martial artists. It looked a bit bigger and had an antique shape. He whispered, "The master personally instructed me to give this to you, sir."

He had only met two people who used such a down-to-earth method to process Blood Tai Sui.

At this moment, the head of the Li family, seeing that there was no one else around, stepped forward and took out a copper coin strung with a red string.

The head of the Li family was a little surprised, but still smiled and didn't say anything, just cupped his hands and invited Hu Ma to go out for the feast.

Only then did Hu Ma agree. He took the gourd, brought it to the spring water drawn from the mountain, and started gulping it down. When it was almost two-thirds full, he pulled it back, put in the stopper, and held it in his hands.

He was becoming more and more surprised, but he couldn't show it. If he showed that he knew it was valuable, he wouldn't know how to treat the other party. Could it be that he should kneel down and thank the Li family for their reward because the gift they gave was too precious?

As for the two large baskets, Hu Ma also glanced at them, of course not to see what was inside, but just to see how to bring them back conveniently. Of course, in this glance, he confirmed that they were indeed full of blood food, and definitely not the inferior kind like green food or white food...

Hu Ma was very reserved, but since they had handed him the gourd, he could only nod silently, and then curiously asked, "After receiving it, how do I see it?"

One was his own mother-in-law, who would cut off ten or eight pounds of it every day and stew it like pork, and force him to eat it in big mouthfuls.

"But sometimes, we also need someone outside to help out, either to buy things from outside, or to deliver messages for the Li family, etc. You are acquainted with Miss, so the master asked you to help buy some rouge and powder."

"This copper coin is a token. It will be convenient to deal with certain things in the future."

"..."

"Just buying some rouge and powder requires a token?"

Hu Ma took a deep breath, knowing that this was just an excuse. It wouldn't be easy to buy things in Mingzhou and send them here.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps the purpose of this copper coin was the Li family's protection for him?

But since they had already said it so euphemistically, he didn't want to get to the bottom of it, just nodded and agreed, and then said, "What about Miss Xiangyu? Why hasn't she come out today?"

"She is preparing a thank-you gift for you, sir."

The head of the Li family smiled and said, "This spring water is the Guidongzi Li family's thanks to you, sir. The things in the baskets are just some special products."

"Miss herself also feels grateful for your noble righteousness and insisted on preparing a thank-you gift."

"This is not something our outer mansion people can ask about. When she is ready, you will see it, sir."

"..."

Hu Ma nodded and didn't say anything more, following the head of the Li family out.

"Little friend Hu is back..."

Outside, everyone at the banquet was drinking merrily. After all, they were martial artists, and they could still drink until their faces were red in the early morning.

Seeing Hu Ma come out, they all stood up to greet him.

Many people were secretly sizing up Hu Ma, knowing that he had just gone in because the Guidongzi Li family was expressing their gratitude. They had only come along for the ride and had each received a life-saving copper coin.

So, what reward would the Li family give to this young friend who had traveled thousands of miles to escort their young lady back?

If he really couldn't carry it, should they help him?

Amidst the enthusiastic gazes, Hu Ma sat down and drank a few cups. Before the other martial artists could open their mouths to probe, he heard Madam Han on the opposite side suddenly and calmly say, "I only lifted a finger, but I got such a big advantage. It's all thanks to you, young brother."

"Besides, you were able to get rid of those evil people on Pingnan Road, which is even more admirable."

"I'll thank you with a cup first."

"After this matter is over, why not come back to my manor with me for a few days and have a good chat?"

"..."

Hu Ma knew that the Red Wine Miss was helping him out, and quickly smiled, "I couldn't ask for more. I really want to ask for advice from you, senior."

Seeing this, the surrounding martial artists immediately understood and put away their thoughts.

Some people, upon hearing that Hu Ma had eliminated several evil people on Pingnan Road, knew that he was quite capable and put away their thoughts.

Others, upon hearing that Madam Han had invited him to visit her manor, thought that Madam Han was probably going to strike first. Since she had cut off the opportunity, it would be difficult for others to intervene.

They continued to drink and feast until noon, when everyone left under the farewell of the people from Guidongzi Li family.

When they were about to reach the stone tablet that said "No Entry for the Living," Xiang丫tou, who they thought wouldn't show up again, rushed up in a hurry, accompanied by an old nanny and a young girl of the same age.

She was panting and hurriedly handed a package to Hu Ma. Everyone around was craning their necks, wondering what was inside. Hu Ma suddenly understood and directly opened the package.

Inside, there were no rare treasures or evil objects, only a pair of shoes, newly made.

"Thank you, Miss Xiangyu..."

Hu Ma also sighed softly in his heart, then got off his horse and, looking at the somewhat blushing Xiang丫tou in everyone's sight, solemnly gave the shoes to his Xiang丫tou. After a moment of contemplation, he accepted the shoes with both hands.

As a transmigrator, how could he not understand the little girl's feelings?

When did she fall in love?

It was impossible when she was in Mingzhou, although she lived there for a long time and would help him wash clothes and make shoes, but that wasn't romantic love.

It was just a little girl without a sense of security, subconsciously getting close to him, with a bit of flattery.

If she could fall in love like that, then that kind of love would be too worthless.

And after she had an accident, he helped her pay the consultation fee and acted as a guarantor. She was unconscious at the time, so she couldn't have known, and there was even less to talk about so-called gratitude.

So, was it during the time from Dongchang Prefecture to Anzhou?

This was difficult to figure out. He had saved her and lived in Mingzhou for several months, but these little thoughts hadn't arisen. Who knew that in the last short seven days, such a change had occurred.

It's a pity...

Hu Ma put the shoes in his arms, then solemnly bowed to Xiang丫tou to say goodbye. "Miss Xiangyu, take care after this farewell."

Xiang丫tou's eyes immediately turned red, and she just nodded vigorously.

What else could she do?

It was just this!

...

...

"He will not stay in the end, but it doesn't matter."

At the same time, inside the Guidongzi, the Li family's master, who knew what his daughter was preparing, also sighed softly, raised his hand to stroke his forehead, and the iron chains wrapped around his body suddenly rattled. His expression looked a bit lonely.

His gaze looked into the depths of the ghost cave, as if he was talking to something, and said in a low voice, "I always felt that this daughter didn't seem like mine, but like yours..."

"But now I see that someone finally gave her a breath of life..."

"..."

Inside the cave, the yin wind howled, blowing through the holes, as if something was whispering.

The Li family's master listened for a long time, then laughed in a low voice and said, "It's really been a waste of planning. In the end, nothing has changed?"

"The girl's fate is heavy. Even though she fell into Mingzhou, she could still avoid all the calamities and return to the cave safely. It should be the protection of ghosts and gods in the dark, but even with protection, she is far away from the ghost cave. How is it possible that there is no change at all?"

"As I see it, there are only two possibilities."

"One is that the variable has already occurred. Whether it is good or bad, it has been buried. I don't know when it will cause trouble."

"The second is..."

He paused slightly before saying, "It may be smaller, but it's not impossible..."

"That is, the reason why she was able to return safely is because the little shopkeeper who escorted her back had a heavier fate than her and helped her suppress all possible variables..."

"I'm just a little afraid to think about it. The girl is a natural yin person. In this world, how many people have a heavier fate than her?"

(End of this chapter)