Chapter 1 All Things Considered

Things could not be dwelled upon for too long. After resolving the matter of the green-robed evil spirit, Hu Ma had indeed felt, for a moment, that he was floating, reaching a different level. But after calming down and thinking about it, the pressure crept back in. He was, after all, just a small shopkeeper of the Red Lantern Society!

Sighing deeply, he fell asleep. The fatigue of many days came all at once, and by the time he woke up, the sun was high.

Sitting up, he felt a surge of power within him, a vibrant vitality. A slight introspection left Hu Ma feeling surprised. He discovered that the vitality within his body was actually much more abundant.

"I have the body of a dead man, and I've only brought half of it back to life. Without blood food to nourish it, I'll feel deficient in qi and blood."

"These past few busy days, I haven't had time to take blood food to replenish myself, but why do I feel..."

He was surprised and delighted: "My Dao cultivation has actually increased quite a bit?"

For a moment, he felt refreshed and full of strength. This surprise was truly indescribable.

Could it be that doing such conscientious deeds is also beneficial to increasing one's abilities?

But this seemed to involve things like yin virtue and good fortune, which made one feel ethereal, as if engaging in feudal superstition…

…But then again, this didn't seem like such a scientific world to begin with.

While he was wondering, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. A shop assistant ran in, hurriedly saying, "Brother Ma, come out and see! Master Xu, Brother Yang Gong, and even a few masked men on horseback are here!"

"Hmm?"

As soon as Hu Ma heard this, he knew people from the city had arrived.

In the past, when people from the city came, they would always send a little ghost ahead to inform them, after all, the village had to prepare food and drink, and tidy up a bit, to show respect for the Red Lantern Goddess.

Why were they here now without a word?

Logically, he should quickly get up and greet them respectfully. After all, although he had borrowed the Mountain Lord's power to eliminate the green-robed evil spirit, after that, he was still just a small shopkeeper of the Red Lantern Society.

How could he not be respectful when meeting his boss?

But he had no problem with this mental conversion, except when he thought of how the Red Lantern Goddess was actually a nurturing project of Brother Erguotou...

That respect just couldn't quite be mustered.

Even while thinking this, he still put on his robe and walked out. When he left the inner courtyard, he saw a large group of people who had already entered the village. At a glance, he saw Steward Xu, Yang Gong, and others, carrying a huge lantern.

Looking at their travel-worn appearances and calculating the distance, they must have set off before dawn, right?

"Hu Ma, manager of the Qing Shi Town branch, respectfully welcomes the Red Lantern Goddess's arrival..."

Hu Ma greeted them in the outer courtyard, bowing to the red lantern they were carrying. This was the rule; if they weren't carrying the red lantern, anything could be said, but if they were, he had to bow to the goddess first.

But before he could bow, someone jumped off a horse beside him. It was Yang Gong. He grabbed his arm directly, looking him up and down. Seeing that his arms and legs were all intact, he said, "Thank goodness, thank goodness, nothing happened."

"Cough!"

Steward Xu on the horse next to him coughed twice as a reminder, before putting on a stern face and saying to Hu Ma, "Manager Hu, look around. Everyone is panic-stricken. What happened?"

"There's been a paranormal disturbance," Hu Ma said. "We don't know why, but evil spirits are rising up all around us, harassing the people. It seems there's also a shadow of the green-robed evil spirit. The people around here all believe in and respect the goddess. We eat the money and grain the goddess provides, so naturally we can't ignore it. We've been running around for the past few days for the sake of the surrounding people."

"Ah, this..."

Steward Xu knew everything that had happened here, but he still pretended to be surprised, saying, "Such a big thing. Why didn't you invite the goddess over to take a look?"

"?"

Hu Ma was dumbfounded, thinking, "I f***ing invited her, but she ran away..."

But out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red lantern held by the incense burner, still shining brightly, with a hint of guilt in its light.

He sighed helplessly.

He still said, "It's really my fault. I have too little experience, and I thought they were all small matters that I could handle myself..."

"Next time, I'll definitely invite the goddess over directly."

"..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Red Lantern Goddess visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Manager Hu, you've worked hard."

Seeing that Hu Ma's answer was appropriate, Steward Xu looked at him with appreciation, then got off his horse, took his hand, and sighed, "You don't know how big a deal this has become."

"It's that green-robed evil spirit. It lost in a duel and wasn't willing to give up, so it's been causing trouble all over Ming Prefecture. I don't know how many places it's disrupted, making the whole Ming Prefecture restless, with crying everywhere."

"However, it's also reaping what it sowed, and was eliminated by a certain expert."

"But what's infuriating is our surnamed Zheng incense master..."

"..."

Steward Xu was just talking at first, but at the end, his voice suddenly sank, and he said sternly, "Our Red Lantern Society earns a living by collecting blood food. We usually care for the people, giving out rice and porridge, and helping to eliminate evil spirits for honest families."

"Our Red Lantern Goddess has a good reputation among the people, but this surnamed Zheng, because he was bewitched by the green-robed evil spirit, actually helped the evildoer, setting up altars for the green-robed evil spirit in the past and causing chaos in the prefecture. It's simply a heinous crime..."

"...Now it's good!"

He snorted coldly and said, "The matter has come to light!"

"Our Red Lantern Society immediately expelled him, and will never tolerate it. And this surnamed Zheng has already been arrested by the government, along with his entire family, and thrown into prison."

"It looks like they'll be heading to the slow-slicing platform in the next two days, but they deserve it!"

"..."

"?"

Looking at Steward Xu's indignant appearance, Hu Ma was stunned for a moment: "The surnamed Zheng has been dead for a long time, right? What slow-slicing platform?"

But seeing Steward Xu and Yang Gong giving him subtle glances, Hu Ma understood. He had to admire that Zheng incense master. He had guessed his fate in advance, and it was the same as he had thought. It was indeed related to the government.

Looking at Steward Xu's appearance now, how could he not understand?

This was to define the nature of this matter!

The paranormal disturbance was caused by the green-robed evil spirit, and the incense master who was bewitched was expelled from the Red Lantern Society. There were questions, punishments, causes, and effects, but there was no mention of the Meng family.

Hu Ma estimated that the final result of this matter would probably end with this narrative.

The shadow behind the Meng family, probably no one in Ming Prefecture dared to mention it, but causing chaos in a prefecture was no small matter, and in the end, there would always be someone or some evil spirit to take the blame.

In that case, what could be better than the green-robed evil spirit taking the blame?

It was still thanks to him for eliminating the green-robed evil spirit. Even if he hadn't eliminated it, it would probably...

...No.

If he hadn't eliminated the green-robed evil spirit, but had just appeared and met with the Meng family, then the green-robed evil spirit would have rendered great service in front of the Meng family. In that case, it would be inappropriate to let it take the blame.

After all, the Meng family couldn't do things without rules, otherwise who would dare to work with the Meng family?

In that case, the person who needed to take the blame might be someone else, and that would be...

...Zheng incense master?

What was this person trying to gain by sharpening his head and getting into this matter?

Looking at the whole thing, he was the only one who was destined to be pulled out to take the blame, no matter what the outcome...

And this kind of thing, normally speaking, was the tone of the higher-ups, and had nothing to do with him.

They were still able to come over and say a word because his village was the only one in the Red Lantern Society that had been involved in this matter, and was an eyewitness.

He killed the green-robed evil spirit, but didn't reveal his identity. Others could only guess that the "expert" was located in one of the seven places that had experienced a paranormal disturbance, or maybe he wasn't in those seven places at all, but just couldn't stand it and took action.

But after all, there was a possibility, so no matter who it was, they wouldn't dare to underestimate these seven places.

This was also why the Red Lantern Goddess had come in such a hurry.

Once he understood the matter, he cheered up and, facing Steward Xu's serious expression, he was also very serious, saying, "I didn't know that other places were in chaos. I thought it was just that Zheng incense master didn't like me and was deliberately making things difficult for me..."

"At that time, the people around this village were crying because of the paranormal disturbance. I didn't think about anything else, just thinking that our Red Lantern Goddess was just about to build a temple and was in the middle of establishing a reputation. We couldn't lose face for the goddess."

"So I gritted my teeth and helped the surrounding villages eliminate the evil spirits. In the middle of it, I was careless and almost got myself trapped."

"It was thanks to those enthusiastic wandering exorcists who came to lend a hand that I was able to hold on."

"...I was also thinking that the people around this village are taken care of by our Red Lantern Goddess, and their coming to help us is helping the Red Lantern Goddess."

"So I also treated them on behalf of the goddess, taking some blood food and medicinal plaster from the village to treat their injuries. In addition, there were several injured ones, and three who were harmed by evil spirits. Alas, look at them, they deserve this burial money..."

"..."

He said it very seriously. This was a very important issue!

Wandering exorcists are unwilling to deal with blood food gangs, but we can't let people suffer. We should fight for some things that should be fought for.

People come from afar, cast spells to eliminate evil spirits, eat, drink, and travel, and the incense and objects consumed are all very valuable.

Even more, there are several people's medical expenses and pensions.

We have to report it for people!

The only worry is that the Red Lantern Society will not recognize this bill...

"...You're right!"

He was worried when he saw Steward Xu excitedly grabbing Hu Ma's hand. His voice was raised, as if he was deliberately saying it for the red lantern behind him to hear: "Manager Hu, you've done a thorough job!"

"What is the surrounding village and people that our Red Lantern Goddess is taking care of?"

"In the future, these will all be believers of our Red Lantern Goddess. Their affairs, aren't they the affairs of our Red Lantern Society?"

"Don't worry, all the expenses and food will be borne by our society."

"You go back and plan it carefully, and then come to the city to clear the account..."

"..."

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment: "Huh?"