Chapter 510: Blood Essence Warehouse
Chapter 510: Blood Essence Warehouse
"Ah?"
Li Wazi was startled by Hu Ma’s reaction. "Brother Mazi, you’re so upset?"
To say he wasn’t angry would be a lie. Brother Mazi had entrusted the village to him, which also meant he was responsible for the safety of the villagers in the surrounding areas. Moreover, patrolling the village with the Red Lantern was a highly honorable task.
However, when the Truth Sect arrived, they wandered around, preaching and misleading the commoners. They even accused the Red Lantern Lady of being a malevolent spirit and forbade the villagers from patrolling at night.
The villagers were naturally unwilling to accept this, and there had been a few verbal confrontations, but no physical altercations. Perhaps the difference in their levels was too great, making it impossible for them to fight.
Although he was angry, when he tried to complain, he found there wasn’t much to say. Hearing Hu Ma’s words now, he was suddenly alarmed: "So, not bowing to the Red Lantern Lady is such a grave sin?"
"I’ll handle this matter."
Hu Ma, having calmed down, sat back down and said while eating, "Check how much blood essence we have left in the village and bring it all to me. Also, prepare a fast horse."
Li Wazi hurried to prepare, and soon he brought out three Blood Nourishing Pills.
When Hu Ma left, he had given him five Blood Nourishing Pills for emergencies, but now three were returned.
After finishing his meal, Hu Ma put on the Executioner’s Great Saber, swallowed two Blood Nourishing Pills, and then rode the fast horse directly toward Red Gate Town.
Now, with his pure Yang foundation and the first three pillars of cultivation, he could slowly recover even without the Blood Nourishing Pills. However, the fourth pillar of incense was an external life force, and he would need at least ten Blood Nourishing Pills to fully and completely nourish it.
Considering future battles and the need for constant nourishment, he would need to have more on hand.
This trip back, he didn’t really think the so-called Qingyuan Hu Clan was that important. The most crucial thing was to retrieve the Hu Family Relic. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, so he needed to prepare and supplement his four pillars of cultivation.
Therefore, having a batch of blood essence on hand was very important.
But now, with no villages or towns nearby, where could he get it? He should reasonably go to the Red Lantern Lady for reimbursement.
He spurred the horse a few times and finally arrived at Red Gate Town just before dark.
From a distance, he could see that the town was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere. Every household had closed their doors and extinguished their lights, with only a few red lanterns hanging in the streets and alleys.
Outside the town, groups of Red Incense Disciples from the Scarlet Lantern Society patrolled the roads, each armed with weapons. Hearing the sound of hooves, two groups of people armed with weapons came forward to meet him.
Before they approached, Hu Ma had already noticed them and felt a sense of admiration.
The Scarlet Lantern Society was different from the One Coin Sect, which was determined to do great things and had control over armor and iron.
In the end, the Scarlet Lantern Society was still a martial arts sect, and all the disciples wore simple clothing. However, the number of disciples dispatched now was much stricter than before, when they had clashed with the Green Robe Guild, indicating the severity of the situation.
"Who is it?"
"Green Waist Manager Hu Ma, Brother Liu, we’ve met before."
"..."
Approaching, Hu Ma dismounted and nodded to one of them.
As a Year Guardian, he had sharp eyes and recognized a familiar face while riding in.
However, these Red Incense Disciples only recognized him when he was close, and they quickly ordered their companions to put away their weapons and help Hu Ma with the reins, smiling, "It’s Brother Hu. We haven’t seen you in a while. Why so late tonight?"
Back then, Hu Ma had accompanied Yang Gong and met many of the Red Incense Disciples, sharing a few drinks with them, including this one.
Hu Ma smiled, "I just returned from the mine. I had important matters, so I arrived late. Why is the town so tightly guarded?"
The Liu-surnamed Red Incense Disciple waved his hand and sighed, "What else? It’s all because of that so-called Heaven’s Will General."
"Brother Hu is our manager, not an outsider. Let him in!"
"..."
He tied Hu Ma’s horse to a willow tree outside the town, didn’t remove the saber from his back, and let him in.
Entering the town, Hu Ma knew the way and went straight to Xu Xiangzhu’s courtyard. As he pushed open the door, he saw Xu Xiangzhu laughing while hugging a disheveled woman on a stone bench, his head with two mustaches burrowing into her chest.
"Ah?"
Hu Ma’s sudden entry startled all three of them. Xu Xiangzhu hurriedly pulled the woman’s clothes over her head to cover her face and pushed her to run back into the hall.
"Uncle Xu, you...?"
Hu Ma was both embarrassed and speechless, "Why didn’t you lock the door?"
Xu Xiangzhu also felt awkward and said in surprise, "I remember I locked it..."
Hu Ma glanced back, feeling helpless. It was probably because he was a Year Guardian and had too much strength...
Xu Xiangzhu, recovering, looked up and down at Hu Ma, "Why did you choose to come at this time?"
Hu Ma turned and fastened the door, saying, "The mine is at peace now, and you didn't come back to tell me about it?"
"Isn't it the right time to come back?"
"..."
"Then it's really not the right time..."
Xu Xiangzhu shook his head, gesturing for Hu Ma to sit down. Lowering his voice, he said, "Haven't you seen that our town isn't even lighting the lamps? That Heavenly Will General from the Truth Sect is extremely domineering. Who knows if he might suddenly decide to chop down our Red Lantern Lady's temple without a word?"
Hu Ma was startled by this, "They want to chop down the temple? Are they that ruthless?"
Xu Xiangzhu sighed helplessly, "Since we're not on the same path, it's natural that our ways of doing things differ. Our Red Lantern Society is just trying to make a living, but they have grand ambitions. Now that we're blocking their path, we can't be too careful."
"But if you're safe and sound at the Blood Feast Mine, why did you choose to return at this time?"
"..."
"Well..."
When the topic turned to this, Hu Ma felt a bit embarrassed. The oppressive atmosphere in the Red Lantern Society made it difficult for him to bring up his original idea. However, considering that Xu Xiangzhu was not an outsider, he eagerly poured him a cup of tea and said, "The mine has its own difficulties. Didn't they ask the society for some money and food earlier? I came back this time specifically for this matter."
"Xu, you must help us get some money and food. The brothers at the mine are almost starving..."
"..."
"Huh? You're here to ask for money and food?"
Xu Xiangzhu was also surprised by this. His gaze made Hu Ma feel a little embarrassed. Suddenly, he laughed and said, "If it's money and food, our society has plenty!"
"Oh?"
This time, it was Hu Ma's turn to be surprised. He looked Xu Xiangzhu up and down, wondering why this brother had changed so much.
"Hehe, it's true. Our society has never been this wealthy!"
Xu Xiangzhu chuckled, "You probably don't know that our Red Lantern Lady Society is at its peak of influence. With the temple built, our power has grown, and even the Plum Blossom Alley has been scared away..."
"Plum Blossom Alley?"
Hu Ma was indeed surprised. The last time he met Erguotou in Shijma Town, he had only heard that they had just gained the upper hand. How could they have been scared away in just a few days?
"That's why it's interesting."
Xu Xiangzhu brought this up, but he also felt a mix of laughter and tears. "As you know, in our society, all major decisions are made by the two Protectors."
"They are usually very cautious in their actions, especially the Left Protector. Although it was evident that with the temple built, his courage grew, and he gradually gained control over the Plum Blossom Alley, this was understandable..."
"But what's incomprehensible is that just a few days ago, he suddenly had a change of heart overnight. He muttered about the coming chaos and the need to be ruthless, and became tough on the Plum Blossom Alley."
"I thought there would be a fight to determine who's superior, but the Plum Blossom Alley turned out to be so cowardly. As soon as we showed a strong attitude, they left without a word. This shocked the entire Mingzhou Capital, and everyone started worshipping the Red Lantern Lady."
"We lower-ranked members were also delighted and went to the Blood Feast Warehouse, which was previously managed by the Plum Blossom Alley..."
"..."
At this point, he took a deep breath and paused, then continued in a soft voice, "It's... rich!"
"To be honest, I've been in the Blood Feast Gang for half my life, and I've never seen so much blood feast!"
"..."
"Wow..."
Hu Ma's spirits lifted as he listened, and he said, "And then?"
"Then the people from the Truth Sect came..."
Xu Xiangzhu sighed deeply, "They came so suddenly, without any warning. Several dozen of them arrived, including the altar master and the protectors, not to mention the followers."
"Once they entered the Mingzhou Capital, they made contact with the officials in the government office and the wealthy and influential people in the city. They didn't even glance at our Red Lantern Society. They even politely sent an altar master to ask to borrow food..."
Hu Ma was taken aback, "Borrow food?"
"In other words, they want blood feast."
Xu Xiangzhu explained, "For regular food and grass, they would naturally ask the government office. But for the people in the secret society, blood feast is what they value the most."
"Now, the two major blood feast warehouses are nominally under our Red Lantern Society's watch. Although they're being polite, it's as if they're acknowledging our right to manage these branch sects in the future. But asking to borrow food is just a way to take all the blood feast from the warehouse, isn't it?"
Hu Ma became angry as he listened, "How can we lend this stuff?"
"No one is willing to lend it..."
Xu Xiangzhu waved his hand, "But you have to find a way. The Truth Sect has powerful backers. It's said that..."
He lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously, "They're related to the Hu family!"
Hu Ma smiled slightly, "So what if they're related to the Hu family? I'm also from the Hu family..."
"..."
"Shh!"
This scared Xu Xiangzhu, and he hurriedly tried to cover Hu Ma's mouth, "You'll get us killed, you fool."
"How can your Hu family compare to theirs?"
"With their Hu family, how dare you still use the same surname?"
(End of Chapter)
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