Chapter 1 When Did the Red Lantern Society Become So Generous?

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment, looking at Steward Xu's serious face.

Normally, Steward Xu wouldn't be able to make decisions like this, especially with the Incense Burner and Red Lantern Goddess behind him.

But the Incense Burner never concerned himself with the mundane affairs of the society, and the Red Lantern Goddess even less so. Steward Xu immediately realized that this was a good opportunity. Without even needing to go back to the city for instructions, he made the decision in front of the Red Lantern Goddess.

Of course, there was no one to ask for instructions anyway. Grand Incense Master Zheng was missing, and the position in charge of these matters was vacant...

Hu Ma was overjoyed, and Steward Xu was also quite happy.

Even the lantern held by the Incense Burner seemed relieved, quietly dimming. The Red Lantern Goddess had left.

Only Yang Gong, who stood with his arms crossed, glanced at Hu Ma with disappointment:

"This naive brother actually dared to leave the village to manage affairs at this time. Does he even know what he's been through?"

"You've saved the Goddess's face, but do you know you almost lost your life?"

"..."

After speaking at the village entrance for a while, Hu Ma hurriedly invited Steward Xu and the others in. However, the Incense Burner, who hadn't dismounted, saw the red lantern dim and, without a word to Hu Ma, turned his horse and left.

Hu Ma hesitated, unsure whether to stop him, but Steward Xu said, "Let them go. They have important matters to attend to on this trip!"

Hu Ma asked, "Should I invite them to eat in the village?"

Steward Xu laughed and said, "Taking care of us is enough. The Incense Burners never eat with the village managers."

"Sometimes they don't even need to eat; incense is enough."

"..."

"They're probably like the Green-Clad Page. Having been with evil spirits for too long, they're more like ghosts than people..."

Hu Ma nodded, not asking any more questions, and busied himself with inviting Steward Xu in. Even Yang Gong had to follow the Incense Burner.

As they entered the village, they saw Little Hong Tang holding down a little ghost and beating it.

The little ghost covered its head, not fighting back. When Hu Ma entered the village, it hurriedly shouted, "Greetings, Master Hu!"

"What's going on?"

Hu Ma hurried forward to pull them apart and gave the lame little ghost a piece of meat.

The lame little ghost happily took the meat and ran out of the village to chase after Yang Gong.

It turned out that when the Goddess was present, it didn't dare to show itself to beg for a reward, so it hid in the village to wait for the Goddess to leave. But this village was Little Hong Tang's territory, and it hadn't even greeted Sister Hong Tang before hiding here, so it was beaten by Little Hong Tang.

"Apprentice Brother Yang's little imp is famous in the society..."

Steward Xu watched the lame little ghost hobble out of the village and smiled wryly. "Some people used to tease this little ghost with blood offerings, but now they don't dare to, fearing Apprentice Brother Yang's anger."

"But Apprentice Brother Yang always complained. Now that he's gotten used to it, he doesn't want to change it, saying he'll just make do with it for now..."

"..."

"Yang Gong has finally made it..."

Hu Ma sighed inwardly. He used to think he was improving quickly, but in the Red Lantern Society today, Yang Gong was much more powerful than him.

He already had the qualification to act alone with the Incense Burner, following the Red Lantern Goddess.

However, these Incense Burners and the Red Lantern Goddess came to his village but didn't stay, didn't even eat. Where did they go?

As they talked, they entered the inner courtyard. Steward Xu saw several shop assistants in the village with injuries, wrapped like dumplings, and guessed how big the previous incident was and what risks the village had gone through in the past few days.

After sitting down in the inner courtyard, he whispered the truth to Hu Ma: "Hu, my nephew, it's not just me saying this, but you really avoided a great calamity this time!"

"This matter is not simple?"

Hu Ma cooperated with him, showing an expression that said, "I also have some awareness."

"Not simple at all!"

Steward Xu lowered his voice and said, "Some people we dare not even think about are involved. Otherwise, how do you think that Green-Clad Devil, with such great power, disappeared without a word?"

"Even if our Goddess personally fought with this Green-Clad Devil, it would be easy to drive him away, but difficult to kill him. Who could have guessed that there would be such an expert hidden in our Ming Prefecture?"

"Yes..."

Seeing his solemn expression, Hu Ma could only sigh along. "Who could have guessed?"

"Now, the rules of the Red Lantern Society are going to change."

Steward Xu continued, "After this incident, the Goddess gave the order that the temple in Zhu Gate Town must be built. In the future, the shop assistants in all the villages must strictly abide by the rules, be kind to others, and if they cause trouble, the Goddess will definitely punish them severely."

"This time, the Goddess also wants to pray to the gods of all directions, establish a grand vow to receive incense, and seek blessings for the surrounding people..."

"..."

"Pray to the gods of all directions?"

Hu Ma found it a little strange. She was a great evil spirit; what gods would she pray to? Just now, she was in such a hurry to take the Incense Burner and Yang Gong and the others away. Could there be something else going on?

As they were talking, outside the village, near Old Yin Mountain, the Incense Burners rode horses that had been specially trained not to neigh or panic at night, silently arriving at an open space as if they had merged into the darkness.

They were all silent, including the Red Incense disciple Yang Gong and the others who followed behind. They all felt immense pressure, each shutting their mouths and not speaking, sensing the heavy darkness.

They walked silently until they saw a red lantern lit in the wilderness ahead. The surroundings were pitch black, and only the red light of the lantern shone faintly. On either side of the lantern sat a person wearing a red robe and a smiling or crying mask.

When the Incense Burners saw them, they reined in their horses and raised the lanterns in their hands high.

The red light in the lanterns was originally dim, only emitting a weak glow, but now that they were raised, the light gradually grew brighter, shining in all directions, gradually illuminating a strangely blood-red ground, as if a space had been dyed with blood.

The expressions and eyes of the Incense Burners became even more solemn and suppressed, and they began to chant strange incantations.

"The two Protectors are actually waiting here too?"

Yang Gong and the others who followed behind had not yet reached the point of chanting these incantations, but they could only follow along, closing their eyes and feeling the weirdness in the incantations.

He didn't know why the Red Lantern Goddess had come here, but he only knew that only a loyal Red Incense disciple like himself, who had been appreciated by the Goddess, was qualified to follow along. His palms were soaked with sweat.

Was it time to show his loyalty to the Goddess again?

Yang Gong never doubted himself, because he had gone from a starving stray who was almost dug in the eyes, his hands cut off, and thrown into the street to beg, to walking in the city, feared by everyone, and addressed as "Grandmaster Yang Gong." All of this was due to his loyalty to the Red Lantern Goddess.

Therefore, no matter who the Goddess's opponent was, he dared to charge ahead.

If he died, he died. If he didn't, he would make a career for himself.

So, now that the Goddess had come to this quiet and deserted place, bringing only her confidants, and the two Protectors were waiting here in advance, what was she here to do?

He couldn't help but think of the rumor that earlier, various places in Ming Prefecture were haunted by evil spirits, and the Red Lantern Goddess strictly forbade her subordinates from coming out. Until later, he heard that a powerful figure had taken action and solved the Green-Clad Devil.

Could it be that the Goddess was here to find him?

It seemed that today would be another hard battle...

Yang Gong wiped the sweat from his palms on his clothes, gripped the nails hidden in his belt, and clenched his teeth.

The incantations grew more urgent, the red light grew brighter, and the eerie light seemed to turn this place into a hellish space. One could even see that this eerie red light seemed to come alive.

Squeezing and intertwining in the night, it vaguely transformed into the appearance of a slender and graceful woman in palace attire, lightly appearing on this wide ground, her figure ethereal and illusory, looking down at the darkness, with a feeling of ruling the world.

That was the Red Lantern Goddess, whom Yang Gong had vowed to serve since he joined the Red Lantern Society, the supreme being.

Even as a Red Incense disciple, Yang Gong had only seen the Red Lantern Goddess appear a few times. Each time he saw her, his heart was shaken and he couldn't control himself.

No matter who the Goddess was going to deal with this time, he would go forward...

...Then, just as Yang Gong was thinking excitedly, he saw the Red Lantern Goddess appear in this darkness and then suddenly, like a willow swaying in the wind, kneel down powerfully.

"?"

Yang Gong's eyes widened in disbelief.

He saw the Red Lantern Goddess facing Old Yin Mountain, or rather, not exactly facing Old Yin Mountain. It seemed that she was just kneeling in this direction, her voice clear and gentle, ethereal and difficult to pinpoint. It was difficult for ordinary people to hear her words clearly, but as a Red Incense disciple, he could still vaguely distinguish a few words.

It seemed to be something like "Not knowing the sacred was here, many offenses," "The Meng family's incense token, building a temple is a must," "Wholeheartedly doing good and accumulating merit," and other similar words.

"Goddess, that's enough."

After the Red Lantern Goddess had knelt for a long time, the smiling mask, one of the two Protectors, whispered to persuade her: "If the noble person is here, then they have already heard. To be on the safe side, we must go to all the places where these noble people might be..."

"After going through this, even if the noble person is not in these places, they must have understood the Goddess's sincerity..."

"..."

The Red Lantern Goddess finally agreed, reluctantly rising, her figure fading and returning to the lantern. But suddenly, the light of the lantern grew brighter, as if she had remembered something important.

The Incense Burners' expressions seemed a little strange as they listened to her words.

The two Protectors who had been waiting here early were also silent. After a long time, the smiling mask said, "That's right, it's better to be careful. We can't let the little manager of Qing Stone Town talk nonsense and ruin the Goddess's reputation."

Yang Gong was numb listening to this...

The Red Lantern Goddess came here not to find some so-called expert, but she ran here in the middle of the night to...to make a guarantee?

This scene had a huge impact on Yang Gong.

I didn't want to update today because I have a cold and a bit of a fever, but after all, it's the end of the month, so I'll update first. I'll take cephalosporin and sleep for a while to see if it can alleviate it. I'll continue writing after I wake up.