Chapter 107 Acquaintances

Only after seeing this person did Hu Ma understand why Miss White Wine had asked him to come at this time, and who she meant by "old acquaintance."

The old shopkeeper was also slightly taken aback when he saw Hu Ma, as if struggling to remember something.

Hu Ma smiled, instructed Zhou Datong and the others to deal with the old butler, and stepped forward respectfully. He bowed deeply to the old man and said with a smile, "Senior, it's been a while. I wonder if you still recognize me?"

"Hold on, let me think..."

The old man quickly stopped him, "You look familiar, I'll remember in a moment..."

Seeing this, Hu Ma knew it would be difficult for him to recall.

He chuckled, "Shopkeeper, have you forgotten when I and Second Master guided you into the mountains last year?"

"Ah!"

The shopkeeper slapped his forehead and laughed, "It really is you! I thought you looked familiar, how are you dressed as a Blood Food Gang member?"

"It's not that my memory is bad, it's just that you've changed so much in just a year..."

"..."

It turned out that this shopkeeper was none other than the one Miss White Wine had brought with her into Old Yin Mountain last year to find the fox coffin.

He had even tried to help Hu Ma find his grandmother with the Five Ghosts technique, but unfortunately, that trick wasn't very effective in Old Yin Mountain. But it undoubtedly showed that he was also someone in the know. Hu Ma wasn't surprised to meet him here, after all, he was the shopkeeper of this herbal medicine store.

Hu Ma smiled, "Thanks to you and Miss, I joined the Blood Food Gang last year to earn a living."

"You gave me a roll of cloth back then to help me collect my grandmother's remains. I still remember that favor."

"..."

"That was for your grandmother, you don't have to be so polite."

The old shopkeeper laughed and sized Hu Ma up. "That's really great. You've become a steward? I heard the commotion just now, what happened?"

"It's my sister."

Hu Ma lowered his voice, "She's suffering from soul loss. I wanted to ask the doctors at Cao Xin Hall to take a look."

The old shopkeeper paused and said, "If she's lost her soul, just have a zou gui ren (soul summoner) call it back. Your grandmother was a zou gui ren, wouldn't you know?"

Hu Ma said, "It's not that simple, it can't be called back."

"I see..."

The old shopkeeper frowned slightly, beckoning Hu Ma over, "Then going to the clinic won't help. Bring her here!"

Hu Ma was overjoyed and quickly had Zhou Datong and the others bring Li Xiangyu over. The old shopkeeper led them upstairs to the second floor and placed her on a soft couch in a hall.

The shopkeeper raised his hand, and someone lit an incense stick in the incense burner next to the couch. Then, he gently opened Xiang Yatou's eyelids to examine her.

After examining her eyes, his expression became grave. He examined the red spots under her skin, then turned her hand over and pressed on her palm.

A shop assistant followed, and although he didn't chant like a doctor, he spoke as he examined, "To check for frightened or lost souls, first examine the di xin (center of the palm). If the di xin is rapidly pulsating, it's a recent illness. If it's pulsating slowly, it's a long-term illness."

"If the middle finger joints jump rapidly during eating, it means she was frightened at a crossroads."

"If the first joint of the little finger jumps, it means she was frightened by livestock, mostly fur-bearing animals. If the first joint of the ring finger jumps, it's mostly due to scaled monsters."

"If the di xin is normal, then look at both sides of the first joint of the index finger. Rapid jumping indicates a collision with a ghost. Rapid jumping of the middle joint indicates possession by a yellow willow. It can be dispelled by clamping it with chopsticks..."

"..."

He was very methodical, diagnosing and speaking at the same time. But after pressing Xiang Yatou's hand a few times, his expression turned somewhat ugly, and he stopped speaking. Finally, after examining several other places, he slowly stood up and said to Hu Ma:

"Little brother, we can be considered half-acquainted. It's not that I don't want to help you, but Cao Xin Hall probably can't treat the girl you brought."

"..."

Earlier, when he met Hu Ma in the village, Hu Ma was just a child in his eyes, without even a name.

Now that he saw Hu Ma had joined the Blood Food Gang and was dressed like a steward rather than an ordinary gang member, he was much more polite.

But despite the politeness, his final attitude startled Hu Ma. He remembered that this old shopkeeper was quite skilled and seemed willing to help, but how could he say he couldn't treat her after just one look?

The old shopkeeper seemed conflicted, and after a pause, he whispered, "Her soul was lost in a very strange way."

"Our Cao Xin Hall helps people with illnesses, but not with grudges."

"..."

Looking into his eyes, Hu Ma immediately understood the underlying meaning: "Xiang Yatou's soul was indeed taken away by someone?"

With suspicion, he turned to look at the old butler, vaguely guessing what had happened.

The old butler, who had been anxious, had wanted to find the siming ren (one in charge of life and death) here as soon as he arrived at Cao Xin Hall, but he couldn't find them. Seeing that an acquaintance of Hu Ma's was helping to examine her, he was secretly pleased and waited patiently. Now that he saw the other party refused to treat her, he became anxious again.

He hurried forward and bowed to the old shopkeeper. "Old sir, may I have a word with you?"

The old shopkeeper paused, turned to look at Hu Ma, who remained calm and said, "This is a relative of my friend, but... we're not very familiar."

"Then let's talk here!"

The old shopkeeper turned to the old butler and said, "Anyway, it's all about this one patient. Our Cao Xin Hall follows the rules. Why speak in secret?"

The old butler hesitated, looking around, unsure what to do.

The old shopkeeper of Cao Xin Hall ignored him and turned to Hu Ma, "Little brother, it's not that I don't remember old times, but your patient's illness is strange. I think you should find the root cause first!"

"Cao Xin Hall has its rules, and there's nothing I can do."

"..."

His tone was polite but resolute, causing those around to feel uneasy. The old butler was even more flustered, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Xiang Yatou's soul loss must have a reason, perhaps it's related to her dream soul summoning."

Hu Ma thought to himself, "Cao Xin Hall must have noticed something abnormal. Maybe Xiang Yatou was taken by something, and they don't want to offend it, so they're telling me to find the root cause."

"Normally, I should just leave at this point and not embarrass Miss White Wine."

"But Miss White Wine also said that she would show up if necessary, so should I leave or stay?"

"..."

As he was thinking, no one noticed that when Hu Ma and the others carried Xiang Yatou upstairs to the second floor, a cat had been lazily lying on the stairs on the third floor, its amber eyes watching everything.

When the atmosphere on the second floor became tense, a pair of slender feet wearing white embroidered shoes appeared from the third floor, followed by a pair of delicate hands that picked up the cat. The white embroidered shoes lightly descended the stairs.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, everyone subconsciously turned their heads and stared.

A woman in white, holding a cat, was coming down the stairs. She was radiant and beautiful, but her temperament was very refined, with a faint scent of herbs.

As if unintentionally coming downstairs, she glanced at the people here, and when her eyes fell on Hu Ma, she paused slightly. Then, she looked at Shopkeeper Wu, as if asking a question.

"Madam..."

The shopkeeper quickly stood up and smiled, "Do you remember this child?"

"When we went into the mountains last year, he guided us. Now he's doing well, working as a steward in the Blood Food Gang."

"..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma also politely stood up and bowed.

He thought to himself, Miss White Wine is even prettier than he imagined.

She had always stayed in her sedan chair in Old Yin Mountain, so this was the first time he had truly seen her.

Although they were already very familiar, he still had to act the part in reality and not show any familiarity. So he only bowed politely and glanced at her briefly.

"Not a steward, judging by the robe, he seems to be a shopkeeper."

Miss White Wine was even better at acting than Hu Ma. She glanced at him and said, "I thought this child was extraordinary back in the village. When I was in trouble in the forest, he knew to help me at a young age. His character is good."

"Shopkeeper?"

The Five Ghosts Shopkeeper was slightly surprised and sized Hu Ma up again.

Last year, Hu Ma was just a poor child in the village. Now, he had become the shopkeeper of the Blood Food Gang?

He had climbed fast...

Of course, he himself was the shopkeeper of Cao Xin Hall and didn't necessarily look up to the shopkeeper of the Blood Food Gang. But regardless, they were supposed to be on equal footing in public.

While surprised, he also vaguely thought, "It's not easy to climb so fast. Did he sell his body or his life?"

But he kept his thoughts to himself and smiled, cupping his hands at Hu Ma, "I was blind. Little brother, you're quite capable. Now that you're in the city, come here for tea when you have time."

"You're too kind, Senior."

Hu Ma also returned the greeting, noticing the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper's surprise and thinking of something else.

Climbing to the position of shopkeeper was about enough, he couldn't be too outrageous.

Last year, he was just a miserable teenager in the village, and in just over a year, he had climbed to the position of Blood Food Gang shopkeeper. Even if everything he had done on the surface was logical, it would still seem like a meteoric rise in the eyes of others.

If someone from the Ten Names really came, they might determine that he had a problem and cause unnecessary trouble.

In the future, it would be better to do some things in secret.

Seeing Hu Ma greet the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper, Miss White Wine acted uninterested, as if she had only recognized Hu Ma, asked a few questions, and then didn't care anymore.

She simply instructed the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper, "Since he's an old acquaintance, Shopkeeper Wu, please entertain him well. Have him stay for lunch!"

"Lady Red Lantern is building a temple now, and she's not a wild card. It's still okay to associate with the young shopkeeper of the Red Lantern Society, especially since they're acquaintances. It can't be considered a violation of Cao Xin Hall's rules."

"..."

Hu Ma quickly said, "Madam, we have a patient here. What do you think..."

Miss White Wine said, "Have Shopkeeper Wu take a look. You can't skimp on the consultation fee. We repaid the favor in the forest last year."

Hu Ma immediately relaxed and smiled, "Of course."