Chapter 1 Leaving

After leaving the gate, Hu Ma traveled continuously, wishing he didn't have to rest even at night. Even Zhou Datong and the others felt that Brother Ma was in such a hurry this time, as if he wanted to make a great contribution.

Besides, at first Hu Ma seemed to say that he was going to investigate a murder case in the home of a wealthy man close to the Red Lantern Mother, but why did it seem that the direction had deviated?

However, Hu Ma didn't explain. He took them three or five hundred *li* away before slowing down and becoming more relaxed.

Just past noon that day, he took them to a wild inn and checked in for a rest.

This wild inn was located in front of a village next to the official road, with five or six large thatched houses and a large stable.

Hu Ma and the others spent a tael of silver to reserve a large *kang* that could sleep more than a dozen people, not allowing anyone else to enter. Then they bought some flour from the owner, fetched some firewood, boiled water on the stove outside the house, and cooked the noodles in a pot.

They brought their own salted meat and asked the owner for some pickles and garlic to eat with it.

This was the typical treatment at this kind of wild inn, mostly for traveling merchants who just wanted a convenient place to eat and drink, without much fuss.

The kind of grand inns seen in movies and TV shows from his previous life only existed in cities. If you wanted to stay in a better place outside the city, you could only stay in a post station, but post stations were for officials, and people like them from gangs were not qualified to stay there.

However, the current imperial court existed in name only, and no new emperor had emerged. All the post stations had long been abandoned everywhere. The silver on Hu Ma's body was certainly enough to stay there, but to be on the safe side, it was better to keep a low profile.

What if the Red Lantern Mother was omnipotent and found him in the post station?

After eating, they boiled water for washing their feet. Seeing that the sky was already dark, they prepared to sleep on the *kang*.

Hu Ma didn't rest. Seeing that it was still early, he gave Zhou Datong a tael of silver, allowing him to buy some wine and food to satisfy the guys. He went to the lobby of the wild inn, ordered a pot of wine and a handful of peanuts, and slowly drank by the brazier.

The lobby was also very simple, with only a curved wooden counter.

There were three or five tables in the room, but very few people sat down to order wine and dishes.

Most people ordered a pot of wine, grabbed a handful of peanuts, or cut half of a salted egg they brought themselves, and sat around the brazier, chatting about everything under the sun.

Now that the weather was getting warmer, they weren't huddling around the brazier for warmth, but to feel more secure guarding the fire at night.

Hu Ma came over to inquire about some information.

This world was not like his previous life, where all kinds of hotels and restaurants were everywhere. Especially out here, there might only be one such place for dozens of *li*, where people from all over would gather. As they chatted, you could hear many stories.

These people didn't know each other, but when traveling, they valued having more friends and more paths. They chatted very happily.

When it was just night, some people talked about interesting local stories and evil spirits, where zombies were causing trouble, and where people were being haunted by vengeful ghosts, but as the night deepened, they dared not talk about it anymore.

Some went back to the *kang* to sleep, while others leaned against the haystack, taking advantage of the wine, and fell asleep.

"Old man, I can't hold my liquor, I ordered too much. Have a cup."

At this time, Hu Ma greeted a traveling merchant who had been very talkative by the fire pit.

This traveling merchant was about fifty years old. Listening to him, he was also a well-traveled man with great knowledge. From him, Hu Ma vaguely saw the appearance of Second Master, thinking that Second Master was similar to him when he was young, but later returned to the village and took people to cut the *taisui*.

The old man's pot of wine had long been empty, but he didn't seem to have had enough.

"Oh, thank you so much..."

When the old man heard that Hu Ma was going to treat him to wine, he was very happy, but he didn't use his own pot and asked for a cup from the counter.

He really craved wine, but he was also experienced. After getting the cup, Hu Ma poured the wine into it. He first glanced at the wine, then sniffed it, and smiled, "This is good wine. This old man has taken advantage of you today..."

Only then did he take a sip.

In fact, this was not good wine at all. It was directly poured from the counter, the same as what he had just drunk.

The old man asked Hu Ma to pour it into the cup to take a look at the color and smell it, to see if it was sour and if the taste was right.

This was also to worry that Hu Ma had put something in the wine.

The colorless and odorless poison in legends only existed in legends. The things used in the martial world were mostly sleeping pills. Once they were put in, whether it was the color or the smell, it would be quite obvious.

"Alas, I can't hold my liquor either, but I'm just worried, so I ordered a pot of wine to drink."

Of course, Hu Ma didn't expose him, but sighed, "I came from the Lao Yin Mountains. The village had a plague of insects this year. Seeing that the harvest will not be too good, the elders in my family sent me and a few brothers out, thinking of earning some money to save our lives."

"But I don't know where there is a business that can make money in this world?"

"..."

"Young man, it's not that I'm being harsh, but it's difficult for you to earn money..."

After drinking the wine, the old man also sighed, "It's good enough for those who come out to make a living to have enough to eat. Where can they really earn money to take back?"

"I guess your adults didn't really expect you to earn money. Sending you out is first to save some food for the family, and second, if there is really a famine, at least the family doesn't have to watch each other starve to death..."

"Yes."

Hearing what the old man said was true, Hu Ma also nodded, refilled his wine, and said:

"But a few of our brothers also learned a few tricks from the elders in the village. We have some skills."

"But I don't know where to find a way to exchange them for money."

"..." "You know some skills?"

The old man glanced at the knife on Hu Ma's waist, smiled, and spoke more politely, saying, "Then it's easier to find work than others. You can go to a wealthy family to be a bodyguard."

"These days, it's chaotic, and wealthy families are uneasy."

"Of course, it's best to join the Blood Food Gang. Those masters rely on cutting blood food to make a living, and the government doesn't dare to provoke them. They are the most comfortable..."

"...But it's also difficult. The Blood Food Gang pays attention to rules, and they don't easily accept people."

"..."

"We from the Blood Food Gang are respectable in front of outsiders..."

Hu Ma thought in his heart, chatted a few more words, and then said to the old man, "I just heard you say that Mancang Town over the mountain is now haunted by a *hanba*?"

"The people there have raised money to hire someone to deal with it, but I don't know how much reward is being offered now?"

"..."

"I was wondering why you were willing to treat this old man to wine?"

Hearing this, the old man smiled and looked at Hu Ma, saying, "So you were inquiring about information."

"This is true. I've been to Mancang Town a few times for business. It used to be a good place, with beautiful water and fertile fields, and every family was full of grain. But it's only been in the past few years that the rainfall there has been decreasing year by year."

"At the beginning of the year, there were only two light rains, and the river didn't flow anymore. Some knowledgeable people said that it was haunted by a *hanba*. If it wasn't removed, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any rain next year."

"When that underground thing becomes powerful, it might even cause disaster!"

"They did raise money to hire capable people. It's also a last resort. To find this thing, they've dug up so many graves, but they haven't found it yet, and they've also caused several brawls, killing many people."

"Now they've raised more than two hundred taels of silver and asked us merchants to spread the word. If they can hire a capable person to get rid of it for them, it would be a great act of merit!"

"However, I don't think you should join in the fun."

"That's something that only experts can do. If you go there and can't do it, you'll only be resented."

"..."

"Thank you, old man. I'm just asking around. I know my own limitations."

Hu Ma smiled and thanked the old man, chatted for a while, and then went back to sleep.

"Now that I have nothing to do, I can go over and take a look."

Although he said he was just asking casually, Hu Ma took this matter to heart.

These few hundred taels of silver could actually be earned.

For no other reason than that *Zhen Sui Shu* had methods for finding and eliminating *hanba*.

And what was different from the traditional thinking of him as a reincarnated person was that this method was actually quite simple.

In his previous life, they were influenced by TV and movies and thought that *hanba* were very powerful.

Some even described them as ancient gods, flying and escaping, but according to *Zhen Sui Shu*, this *hanba* was actually a kind of evil spirit, a change in underground corpses affected by *feng shui*.

Naturally, it would be powerful if it became powerful, but before it became powerful, even the people in the village could burn it if they could find it.

There were wandering spirits, evil spirits, and evil things in this world. The old turtle he encountered in Niujia Village earlier could be considered the most powerful he had ever seen, and it could already be regarded as an evil thing, but this *hanba* actually only belonged to the evil spirit type, and it was still a weaker type.

If he eliminated it and earned a few hundred taels of silver, he wouldn't lose out.

As for the task assigned by the Red Lantern Mother's society, Hu Ma never planned to go in the first place.

The reason was also very simple. That rich man's death was strange.

Dozens of people up and down the family, including the master and the servants, all died in one night, and they all had a yellow paper pasted on their faces, which sounded weird and terrifying... Only a fool would investigate this.

As for how to explain it later?

Take advantage of this trip to earn more money, and then go to the city to bribe, what task can't be handed in?

It was just a matter of getting the people above to nod their heads. Was there any essential difference between completing the task well and getting them to nod their heads, and stuffing them with silver to get them to nod their heads?

Hu Ma thought there wasn't.

Of course, he couldn't be idle when he was free. He really had to take on a few jobs and earn more money. After all, the trip to the city, plus all the things he needed to buy in order to further study and master the methods in *Zhen Sui Shu*...

It was all money!

The more he calculated, the greater the pressure. If he didn't earn more than a thousand taels of silver on this trip, he would feel like he had lost too much.

Thinking in his heart, he returned to the room and saw that Zhou Datong and the others were drinking with flushed faces. He just smiled and ordered, "Finish drinking early and rest. We'll set off early tomorrow morning."

"Let's go to Mancang Town to make money."