Chapter 1 Arriving on This Day

That day, the manor opened its gates early in the morning, hanging Red Lantern Mother's lanterns in the courtyard. Even the neighbors who came to burn paper offerings and fulfill vows were asked to wait until the day after tomorrow.

The entire manor had prepared to welcome them, but to their surprise, from morning till night, the entire day passed without a single glimpse of the Green-Clad Child or Zheng, the grand incense master.

Just as dusk fell, and Hu Ma was about to arrange for a night patrol, a sudden gong rang outside the manor.

The manor's servants hurried to look, only to be met by a gust of yin wind, sending chills down their spines.

A thin mist had risen outside, its chill biting into the bones.

People's gazes and the light from the manor's lanterns seemed blocked, unable to penetrate beyond six feet.

As the mist surged into the manor, seven or eight bouncing figures emerged, clad in emerald pants, bare-chested, with strange little braids at the back of their heads, and garish rouge on their cheeks. Their shapes were bizarre and comical, unlike living beings.

They escorted a sedan, but atop it sat not a person, but a rusty iron mask, vaguely resembling a demonic visage.

Hu Ma had seen it during the Red Lantern Society's battle with the Green-Clad Gang. It was the Green-Clad Devil's mask, like the Red Lantern Mother's lantern.

"This..."

The servants trembled at the sight of these ghostly figures rushing into the manor, turning their heads in alarm.

"Guests have arrived. Don't lose face, and don't lose courage."

Hu Ma reprimanded the manor's servants in a low voice, then slowly stepped forward to greet them.

"Hu Ma, manager of the Green Stone Branch of the Red Lantern Mother, respectfully awaits the arrival of Lord Green-Clad, respectfully awaits the arrival of Senior Green-Clad..."

The expected pleasantries had to be said.

The Green-Clad Gang and the Red Lantern Society were locked in a fierce struggle. In private, the Red Lantern Society referred to Lord Green-Clad as the Green-Clad Devil, and the Green-Clad Gang had equally unflattering names for the Red Lantern Mother. But in public, they still had to be polite, addressing the other side as "Lord."

"Hee hee..."

Hearing Hu Ma's polite words, the Green-Clad Children giggled and swayed their heads.

But before they could answer, a man with a square face and a brocade robe emerged from the thick fog.

He looked at Hu Ma with a chilling smile. "Hello, little Manager Hu..."

"It's been a while since we parted ways after the battle in Zhu Men Town. I've been thinking about you..."

"..."

"Grand Incense Master Zheng..."

Hu Ma sighed slowly as he looked at this person, meeting his gaze. He said calmly, "I've also been looking forward to Grand Incense Master Zheng's arrival. I just didn't expect you to be so busy that you only arrived at my manor at this time..."

"Heh heh..."

Grand Incense Master Zheng stepped forward slowly, looking around. He said softly, "I was ordered by the Mother to bring my Green-Clad brothers to search for someone."

"We've searched all seventeen manors of our Red Lantern Society, starting with the most populated and capable. After going through them one by one, your manor is naturally the last..."

"...Is everyone here? You haven't hidden anyone, have you?"

"..."

Hu Ma said, "Including me, there are nine people in the Green Stone Town branch. We're all here."

"Grand Incense Master Zheng is working so diligently for Lord Green-Clad. How would I dare delay your great deed with such trivial matters?"

"I'm just wondering, who exactly are you looking for?"

"..."

Grand Incense Master Zheng was unconcerned by the fact that Hu Ma was neither servile nor overbearing, and even carried a hint of mockery.

Things were so strange. Before the relationship soured, he would have put on airs in front of Hu Ma. Even a slightly unpleasant word from Hu Ma would have brought a torrent of scolding. Now that the relationship was broken, he wouldn't care even if Hu Ma hurled abuse at him.

"Only nine people?"

He smiled coldly and said, "Then call out everyone between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five!"

"You don't need to ask who we're looking for. The Green-Clad Brothers will understand with one look."

"..."

"Fifteen to twenty-five... then no one in our manor can be spared. Everyone has to be examined..."

Even before they arrived, Hu Ma had understood their procedure at each manor, so he wasn't surprised. Moreover, before their arrival, he had already smeared the mud he had dug up from Old Tree Stump on his chest. With Old Tree Stump's protection, he felt much more at ease.

So he stepped forward and said, "Then everyone in my manor has to be examined, including me, the manager. Let's start with me!"

Grand Incense Master Zheng was somewhat surprised to hear this.

They searched for people at each manor, but rarely examined the managers, since most of them were past that age range. But this was different. He had wanted Hu Ma to be examined anyway. He hadn't expected Hu Ma to step forward directly without him even having to say a word.

After a moment of contemplation, he smiled and turned to bow to the ghostly Green-Clad Children. "Brothers, please!"

"Easy, easy!"

The Green-Clad Children answered with high-pitched giggles, like infants. These people were equivalent to Red Incense Disciples. Or rather, they were very close to the Green-Clad Devil, the most loyal of the possessed, comparable to the incense burners.

Each of them was tainted with too much evil energy, seeming more like ghosts than humans. Seeing Hu Ma step forward, two of them bounced forward, each holding an end of a strange round mirror, pointing it at Hu Ma and shining it directly on him.

"Hmm?"

Hu Ma's face was calm, but his heart was tense.

Old Tree Stump Senior had given him that mud, saying it could help him avoid their prying, but he only said "it should work."

If anything went wrong, the trouble would be immense...

But some things couldn't be avoided. He could only brace himself, puff out his chest, and look at the mirror.

As he looked, he suddenly felt a ghostly chill, a wave of yin energy rushing toward him, like a bucket of cold water poured from head to toe in the dead of winter.

He felt as if he was being scrutinized from head to toe by some powerful being, but he stared fixedly at the mirror, seeing black ripples on its surface. Something flashed across the mirror, then disappeared.

Below the mirror, a faint red line rose slightly, then stopped.

"Not him, not him."

Looking at the mirror, the group of Green-Clad Children said repeatedly, "Far off, far off."

Grand Incense Master Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head slowly, then smiled again. "Then please examine the others, brothers."

"Did I pass this stage?"

Hu Ma breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and stood to the side.

It would have been a lie to say he wasn't nervous. Old Tree Stump hadn't given him any guarantees either. If something had really been detected on him, he really didn't know if he would have any room to resist in front of this Green-Clad Devil.

Even if the senior in Old Yin Mountain had promised to help, he had to be able to get into Old Yin Mountain first...

However, it seemed that Old Tree Stump's power was still profound. Although he said he wasn't sure, the mud he gave him easily broke through the other side's magic.

This ordeal, which had been hanging over his head like a sword of Damocles for more than half a month, had been overcome so easily.

He glanced at Grand Incense Master Zheng, but saw that he was also looking down, seemingly without any other reaction to his ability to avoid this ordeal.

Presumably, no matter what, he wouldn't dare to mess around with the matter of the noble above.

However, while he was slightly relieved, he also became curious.

What exactly were these people examining?

A red line rose from the mirror, and there were faint inscriptions like zi, chou, yin, mao on the frame. What was this measuring?

As he was thinking, the other servants also came up to be examined one by one. The speed wasn't slow. Each person only needed to stand in front of the mirror for three breaths to be finished.

Moreover, Hu Ma noticed that the lengths of the red lines that appeared on each person were different, some more than three fingers long, some a foot, or a foot and a half.

The Green-Clad Children and the others didn't even bother to look at these people. They just took a quick look and sent them to the side.

Seeing that the servants had all been examined, Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and the others who had helped arrange for the servants to come over also came over.

First, Li Wazi from the kitchen walked up. He was as skinny as a pole, seemingly able to be blown over by the wind. No one else took it seriously, but unexpectedly, when he stood in front of the mirror, everyone was startled.

The red line suddenly rose, exceeding two feet, the highest of those who had been examined.

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to his face.

Li Wazi panicked and quickly looked at Hu Ma. "Brother Ma Zi, this..."

Hu Ma was also startled and quickly scanned the faces of the Green-Clad Children, then looked at Grand Incense Master Zheng, trying to see if he was the one who had played a trick.

Grand Incense Master Zheng lowered his eyelids and didn't say anything, only slowly saying, "There are a few more. Let's examine them together!"

The last ones to be examined were Zhou Datong and the others. They had been helping to maintain order, so they happened to be at the end.

With Li Wazi in front, the Green-Clad Children seemed to become excited. They busily brought the mirror over and shone it on Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu. The faces of Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu flashed across the black lenses one by one.

A terrifying scene suddenly appeared. The red line in the mirror suddenly soared.

Zhao Zhu was still alright, a little over two feet, about the same as Li Wazi.

But when it came to Zhou Liang, it had reached two and a half feet. And when it came to Zhou Datong, it was approaching three feet, almost reaching the red line.

The entire manor suddenly fell silent. Everyone was silent, only the cold wind blowing.

"Four, four..."

On the other side, the Green-Clad Children were overjoyed, grinning, shaking their heads, and bouncing while pointing at Zhou Datong and the others and shouting. Some said, "Three, three..."

As they spoke, some of them even took out chains.

Grand Incense Master Zheng lowered his eyelids. After a long while, a smile slowly rose on the corner of his mouth, and he said softly, "Now that they've been found, let's take them away!"