Chapter 1

"You were in the kitchen, you didn't see..."

Seeing everyone looking over, the landlady quickly said, "I saw an old man come this afternoon. He was dressed in rags, like a beggar."

"He ordered a bowl of noodles, but didn't eat much. He asked me what the girl in the kitchen was called, where she came from, and so on. I ignored him, went back to the kitchen, and he was already gone..."

Hu Ma frowned slightly and said, "He asked you, and you told him?"

The landlady blushed slightly and quickly shook her head. "No... I didn't."

"I didn't mean to blame you."

Hu Ma softened his tone and said, "If you did tell him, it doesn't matter, but you have to tell me."

Ordinary people aren't very vigilant about this sort of thing, and they don't know that some evil things can cast spells just by hearing a name.

"I really didn't say..."

The landlady said, blushing, "As soon as he asked, I said that Xiang-yatou had someone in her heart, and told him not to bother, even though she was working as a servant here, she might become the mistress of the shop one day!"

"...No wonder she was blushing!"

Hu Ma was speechless. Were the people in this world all so gossipy?

But he understood that since there was such a strange person, Xiang-yatou's problem must be related to him.

Had a demon infiltrated the area around his village?

"Let's find him!"

Just as he was pondering, the shop assistants outside the door shouted angrily, "How dare he sneak around us and harm people? Does he have a death wish?"

"Since he came around twilight, he probably hasn't left the town yet. We should be able to find him."

They also had some experience in the martial world and knew that not many people dared to run around at night.

Even many people in the know didn't dare to travel at night. Since that person was still here in the afternoon, he was probably still in town.

Just as they were getting excited and were about to light torches and go out to find him, Hu Ma frowned slightly. He saw Xiao Hongtang jump down, squat by the window, look out, and then turn around and tug at his clothes, pointing at the wall outside. He immediately understood.

Silently walking to the door, he suddenly said, "No need."

Zhou Datong and the others were stunned. Hu Ma said, "He's already here."

As he spoke, he bowed slightly in the direction Xiao Hongtang was pointing, and said, "Friend listening at the wall..."

"...Why not come out and meet us?"

He spoke very politely, but as he bowed, a slight breeze moved around him.

"Clatter!"

Hu Ma spoke politely and acted discreetly, so the surrounding people couldn't see anything, but outside the wall, there was a sudden loud noise. A figure jumped up as if his backside was on fire and darted away into the distance.

"Still trying to run?"

Hu Ma hadn't expected the other person to react so quickly, but after bowing, he had already dashed out, not letting him get away.

Using the ghost-step (gui deng jie) skill, he flipped over walls and courtyards as if walking on flat ground. He flashed in the night and appeared behind the person.

Picking up the manure fork he had just snatched from Zhao Zhu, he was about to stab him in the back.

But unexpectedly, that person reacted very quickly. Sensing the danger, he simply stopped running. Suddenly stopping, he stretched out his hands and took off his robe. The robe seemed to come alive as it slipped off his body and immediately wrapped around Hu Ma.

"Pfft!"

Hu Ma couldn't tell what kind of technique this was, but he was careful and spat out a mouthful of True Yang Arrow (Zhen Yang Jian), and at the same time stabbed with the fork.

It felt a little heavy, as if he had pierced the person, but when he looked closely, he saw that the fork had only pierced a dark robe. The other person appeared ten feet away and was turning around.

Hu Ma kicked up a cloud of sand, and at the same time raised the fork again, ready to give him another blow.

But with this opportunity, the other person suddenly shouted sternly, "Hold on! Do you know who she is? How dare you meddle with her?"

With this shout, Hu Ma stopped the fork in his hand, only an inch away from his face, the robe still hanging on the fork.

He frowned slightly and said, "I really don't know who she is. Do you know?"

"I..."

The person's voice was somewhat mournful, with a hint of crying, "Of course I know. This is our young mistress..."

"I... I've been looking for her for months..."

"..."

"Young mistress?"

Hu Ma sized up the person. He could see that his clothes were made of good material, but they were tattered, indicating that he hadn't changed them for a long time.

He also had many scars on his body, as if he had fought with someone. One of his legs was broken. If it weren't for this broken leg, he probably wouldn't have been able to catch him so easily.

Frowning, he said, "Who are you?"

"I..."

The old man's voice was still a little excited, and he said loudly, "My surname is Zhou, and I am the steward of the Li family of Da Shi Ya (Great Stone Cliff). You..."

"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have the backing of the Blood Food Gang. I advise you to hand over the young mistress to me so that I can take her back."

"Otherwise, when the master comes looking..."

"...Not to mention your little village, even your Red Lantern Granny won't be able to bear the responsibility!"

Seeing that his excited emotions were not fake, although his words were a little strange, Hu Ma withdrew the fork and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you are really Xiang-yatou's family steward, why don't you come to see us openly? Why are you acting so sneaky?"

"Listening to you calling your home a 'mansion' or something, like a wealthy family, you're being too timid and have no manners."

"I..."

The old man was originally very excited, but he was stunned by Hu Ma's scolding. "What do you mean by 'see us openly'? Wouldn't that be falling into your trap?"

"What's going on?"

At this time, Zhou Datong also came up, holding a rope in his hand, and said to Hu Ma, "Boss, should we tie him up?"

"The boy's pee is ready. If it doesn't work, should we splash it on his face first?"

After the last incident, they had become much more mature. They were good at using boy's pee for important tasks. Hu Ma's usual teachings had also taken effect. They knew that the martial world was dangerous, so when they encountered people from the martial world, they didn't easily call out their names, but instead called them "boss," "brother," or the like.

Of course, this situation was actually useless. The old man had inquired around and could easily find out Hu Ma's name.

But having this awareness was a good thing.

"No need for now. He just looks a little confused."

Hu Ma glanced at the old man and said, "I sent a letter to your family a month ago, asking you to send someone to pick her up. Why did only you come?"

"She seems to be under a spell now. Did you cast it?"

"Sent a letter? What letter?"

The old steward was even more confused. "Are you sure the young mistress is under a spell, but you didn't cast it?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhou Datong kicked him and scolded, "Xiang-yatou was picked up by our boss. If it weren't for him, she would have been thrown into the river to feed the soft-shelled turtles long ago."

"After picking her up, our boss took good care of her, living a life of luxury. At most, she just cleaned the tavern courtyard every day, washed clothes and dishes, bought vegetables, wiped tables, and cooked..."

"...We didn't let her do rough work like cleaning the latrines or carrying water!"

"Picked her up?"

The old steward was even more confused and couldn't keep up with their words. He looked a little dazed.

Just then, Zhao Zhu came over with a bucket, holding it far away from his face with both hands.

"Should I pour the boy's pee or not? If I don't pour it, it'll get cold."

"No need, no need..."

This time, without anyone telling him, the old steward hurriedly waved his hand and said, "You, are you really not lying to me?"

Hu Ma was already a little impatient and vaguely sensed that this seemed to be a misunderstanding. He said, "I picked up this girl half a year ago and said I would send her back, but she doesn't remember anything and I couldn't find out where her home was."

"Now that she finally remembers the place, I found someone to send a letter to her family, asking them to come and pick her up. What, you didn't come after receiving the letter?"

"Ah..."

The old steward finally understood now. He looked at Hu Ma in disbelief, and of course, he also saw the boy's pee that Zhao Zhu was holding, ready to pour down at any time, still warm...

...He finally knew that he had wronged someone. Tears of excitement welled up in his eyes, and he suddenly kowtowed and cried loudly, "Benefactor, you are a benefactor..."

"I didn't expect my young mistress to be so lucky, to have met such good people..."

"Fuck..."

Hu Ma was startled and quickly dodged to the side.

Another person kowtowing...

What's wrong with these people? He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was afraid that their heads were up to no good, using kowtowing to try to assassinate him.

Such insidious tricks had to be guarded against, after all, he knew a similar one himself.

But after avoiding the kowtow, he could see that the old steward didn't seem to have any malicious intentions. He shook his head and said, "Come in first and explain things clearly."

"My young mistress is so lucky..."

The old steward entered the shop and cried with relief, "I'm old and useless. I took the young mistress to see the lanterns, but I lost her."

"I didn't have the face to go back to see the master, so I left a letter at home and then desperately came out to look for her. Heaven has eyes and really let me find her along the way. I saw you treating my young mistress like a servant and thought you had abducted her."

"I secretly spoke to the young mistress in the shop, but she didn't recognize me. I knew she had been placed under a spell, so I didn't dare to make a fuss. I left during the day..."

"I was planning to come over at night and ask her properly, to see how to save her, but I didn't expect..."

"That is to say, he didn't come to pick her up after receiving the letter I sent to Da Shi Ya (Great Stone Cliff)..."

Hu Ma also understood the misunderstanding. He frowned and said, "Then she's not like this because of you?"

The old steward was shocked. "I... how dare I harm our young mistress?"

Hu Ma pondered slightly, then got up and said, "Then come and see if she is really your young mistress and what happened to her."

After all the commotion, the old steward finally had a chance to see Xiang-yatou up close. He hurriedly followed and, after looking at her, was immediately shocked. He hurriedly circled around Xiang-yatou's bed, and his voice was a little frightened:

"Young mistress... Our young mistress, has she been taken away?"

(End of Chapter)