Chapter 1 Entering the City

"Enter the city?"

Hearing this, Sun Niuzi felt a mix of fear and relief.

The fear stemmed from the gravity of the matter. The incense master himself was summoning people to the city at night, something that hadn't happened in years.

The relief came from the fact that luckily, the Hu fellow had left; otherwise, it wouldn't be his turn.

His brother-in-law had initially sent him to contend with that Hu fellow, and he had been eager to prove himself. But the man had been easily defeated and had retreated, and now this good fortune had arrived.

He knew that participating in such a significant event would cement his position as manager. Even if that Hu fellow returned, he wouldn't be able to challenge him.

So, he looked around, considering whom to bring, but not wanting to benefit them, he only summoned his own attendant and ordered him to quickly ready the horses.

In the dim night, he followed the red lanterns of the group, urging his horse toward Mingzhou Prefecture.

Countless evil spirits along the way were frightened and fled far away.

Sun Niuzi became increasingly excited, but as he watched the red lanterns flickering ahead, a chill crept into his heart.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind: perhaps this wasn't such a good thing?

But he quickly dismissed it. If it were truly bad, his brother-in-law would have warned him. The lack of warning meant it wasn't a major issue. He could always ask his brother-in-law for clarification after entering the city.

Before long, they arrived at Mingzhou Prefecture. The city gates, usually tightly closed at this late hour, had been opened at the west gate specifically for them. Without delay, they were led to a large courtyard adorned with red lanterns.

Sun Niuzi entered the courtyard and saw three or four tables already filled with people.

Some looked older, some younger, all with a commanding air – the managers from various locations.

Red Incense disciples stood silently around, creating an atmosphere of oppressive solemnity in the courtyard.

Sun Niuzi initially felt apprehensive and hesitated to join them, but remembering his position, he puffed out his chest and walked toward the tables.

He tentatively sat down, feeling somewhat uneasy, but once settled, he began to feel equal to the other managers and grew somewhat arrogant.

Suddenly, he heard a cold laugh.

He turned and saw Yang Gong, who looked surprised when he saw Sun Niuzi. After a moment, he sneered.

Sun Niuzi, having been beaten by Yang Gong before, didn't dare provoke him and simply turned away.

Just as he was wondering when he could find his brother-in-law, he suddenly saw a square-faced man in expensive clothing approach him. The man took one look at Sun Niuzi sitting so seriously at the table and his expression immediately turned to horror.

"Why is it you?"

"..."

"Brother-in-law..."

Seeing the man, Sun Niuzi immediately relaxed and eagerly stood up, smiling. "I finally found you."

"I sent that Hu fellow away to work outside a few days ago, so I'm representing the manor as manager."

"Why are there so many people here? What's going on?"

"..."

"You..."

The square-faced man, Zheng Xiangzhu, listened to Sun Niuzi and his face grew desperate. "You sent him away?"

"Yes."

Sun Niuzi said, "He's very timid. He wouldn't dare disobey me."

"If he hadn't left, I wouldn't have had the chance to attend this meeting..."

"..."

Zheng Xiangzhu had only taken a moment to check on the young Manager Hu. He had been busy all night. Now, seeing Sun Niuzi, his heart sank.

Seeing the smug look on his face, he wanted to slap him.

But time was short, and he didn't have time. He grabbed Sun Niuzi's arm, wanting to quickly get him out of there.

But as soon as he reached out, a sinister voice came from behind, "This is the manager we brought back from the manor. Red Lantern Matron has important things for them to do. Each radish has its own hole. What does Zheng Xiangzhu want to do?"

Zheng Xiangzhu's back tensed, and his heart turned cold.

Looking at the remaining smugness on Sun Niuzi's face, he wanted to slap himself.

"You came, where did that fellow... go?"

"..."

"..."

Meanwhile, Hu Ma was already over a hundred *li* away in a remote roadside inn, sitting around a bonfire and quietly drinking coarse wine.

Calculating the time, it had been five or six days since he left the manor. The important event that Er Guotou had told him about must have already begun. He just wondered if Sun Niuzi was foolish enough to eagerly jump into the trouble.

Of course, if he didn't, it didn't matter. When this was over, he would return and find a way to drive him away again.

"Red Lantern, Green Robe, Wilderness Duel!"

"..."

Even now, recalling the events, he couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

Working for a blood-eating gang wasn't easy. It wasn't just about doing the work and occasionally achieving something. The managers of each counter received so much money, grain, and blood offerings; they didn't get it for nothing.

Perhaps when something happened, they would have to risk their lives fighting others.

He was currently in the Red Lantern Society, but only at the bottom. There were too many hidden dangers that he couldn't see.

Before, he only saw the Red Lantern Society's thriving business, with so much blood food coming in every day, as if they were sitting on a gold mine. Not only the higher-ups, but even the staff could get some Qing food to eat.

But after listening to Er Guotou, he realized that the Red Lantern Matron Society wasn't worry-free. Now, they faced the provocation of another blood food gang in Mingzhou Prefecture, the Green Robe Gang he had encountered before.

The Green Robe Gang was originally another large society in Mingzhou Prefecture, only overshadowed by the Red Lantern Matron Society.

The secret struggles between the two sides had never stopped for many years, and countless Red Incense disciples had been buried, but this time, it wasn't a secret struggle. Instead, the Green Robe Gang had issued a challenge, openly inviting the Red Lantern Matron Society to a duel.

The danger lay here.

If it were a secret fight, kidnapping and assassination, those were the work of the Red Incense disciples.

But this kind of open duel would fall on the managers of the Red Lantern Matron Society.

After all, the Red Incense disciples were just the inner circle. On the surface, the Red Lantern Matron Society was represented by the managers and the meat-cutting team leaders.

Whenever the two sides dueled, the people chosen were mostly from these managers.

Especially the night watchmen, they couldn't escape.

The importance of Er Guotou's information lay here. If he hadn't known earlier, and had truly prepared lavish gifts to visit the city, this manager position might have fallen right on his head.

Not only would it fall on his head, but if they saw that he was so eager, they would take the opportunity to give him the duel.

They would even say: "Don't you want to be a manager? Well, here's your chance."

But after Er Guotou's reminder, Hu Ma understood.

With his current cultivation, let alone the chances of winning the duel being small, even if he won, he would probably be crippled.

That's why he hoped Sun Niuzi would be even more arrogant, hoping that this guy would quickly put the manager title on his head.

As for him?

Run!

After leaving the manor, he didn't stop for a moment and ran straight away from Mingzhou City.

Not only did he run quickly, but he was also worried that the people in the Red Lantern Society would try to summon him back. He considered all aspects of the worry and specially instructed Little Red Tang: "Once we're out, we won't accept any messages from the Red Lantern Society for a while. If a little ghost messenger comes..."

"...beat him up!"

"..."

He was really worried that someone in the Red Lantern Society would send a little ghost messenger to call him back.

Little Red Tang didn't know what was going on, but seeing Hu Ma so serious, and having eaten a large piece of Qing food, she also mustered her strength and widened her eyes.

The day after they left the manor, just as they had settled down to rest, Hu Ma was suddenly awakened by the sound of chickens flying and dogs barking. He quickly got up and saw that Little Red Tang had actually caught a little ghost, pinned him down, and was beating him on the head.

He took a closer look and quickly stopped Little Red Tang, grabbing the little ghost and recognizing him.

It was Yang Gong's lame little ghost.

It was the first time Hong Tang had defeated an opponent, and she even beat up someone she knew, and the little ghost didn't fight back.

Pulled up by Hu Ma, he timidly shrank his head and said, "Master Yang Gong sent me to find Master Hu, he asked me to bring a message, saying to tell Master Hu to hide quickly, something big might happen in the city soon, staying in the manor will be troublesome."

"When I got to the manor, Master Hu wasn't there, but I had seen Master Hu before, so I followed the scent..."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma was slightly moved by this.

Yang Gong was a loyal man. He must have gotten the news in advance and risked a great deal to come and inform him.

You must know that the reason why the news of this matter was so tightly sealed was to prevent anyone from secretly informing others. Every manager in these branch counters had some connections. If you informed one, and I informed another, everyone would run away, then who would go on stage to duel for the Red Lantern Matron?

So, excluding Er Guotou, Yang Gong being willing to think of informing him was already putting his future on the line.

"Thank your master for me."

Hu Ma was somewhat moved, and then said to the lame little ghost who had been beaten, "I'm sorry for you."

The lame little ghost rolled his eyes and directly kowtowed, "Master Hu, good fortune!"

"Alright, alright, good fortune, good fortune..."

Hu Ma was helpless and tore off a finger-long piece of Qing food from his package for him. The lame little ghost immediately happily left.

Although Yang Gong gave him the news he already knew, Hu Ma remembered this favor.

Run, run as far as possible!

According to Er Guotou's instructions, this matter would probably be decided within a few days. Since Yang Gong had already received the news, perhaps that Great Incense Master Zheng would also receive the news and look for him to go back, so of course, he had to run farther and farther.

The Red Lantern Matron and the Green Robed Evil Ghost fighting was the manager's business, what did it have to do with Hu, the head steward?

(End of Chapter)