Chapter 77: The Stolen Blood Food (Thank you, J, my Silver Alliance supporter)
Chapter 77: The Stolen Blood Food (Thank you, J, my Silver Alliance supporter)
After handling the minor incident and inquiring about Hu Ma's household situation, the innkeeper seemed more at ease. He entrusted all the large and small matters to Hu Ma. Not only the nightly patrols and the cleansing of evil spirits, but also the monthly "tribute" from the surrounding villages and the distribution of blood food to the servants in the outer courtyard, as well as the accounting of money and grain, were all left to Hu Ma to manage.
He only made a brief appearance in the city, visiting relatives to fetch Xu Ji. The person who came seemed to be a distant relative, knowing nothing about Hu Ma and Xu Ji's competition. He took the innkeeper's silver coins and left happily, not even mentioning the redwood sword.
Only after this matter was settled did Hu Ma finally relax. He put away the redwood sword and went to the village to buy a plump rooster, an old hen, a dozen eggs, and a bag of brown sugar. He filled Little Hong Tang's basket to the brim and even hung some around her neck before sending it over.
According to Little Hong Tang, the family had been pressing hard, threatening to charge interest if the items weren't delivered soon. But Hu Ma found it odd that they weren't worried about the old innkeeper seeking revenge.
Of course, it now seemed that the old innkeeper had no such intention. He had told Xu Ji that he couldn't help avenge him because the Huang family had fled into the Old Yin Mountains. Now, it appeared that was just an excuse.
This made Hu Ma curious. Was the innkeeper really that laid-back?
He had some doubts, but for now, he couldn't afford to dwell on them. Cultivating the New Year's Guardian technique was his top priority.
Thanks to the evil spirits in Stone Cliff Village, Hu Ma had a preliminary understanding of the power of the New Year's Guardian technique. The old woman, driven by resentment, had become an evil spirit. Even with a group of strong men armed with weapons, they couldn't subdue her. But with his partially cultivated left hand, he could resist the negative energy and throw her off balance. What would happen when it was fully cultivated?
This confirmed that the technique the old innkeeper taught him was genuine.
However...
...the only problem was that his cultivation progress seemed a bit too fast.
The old innkeeper had said he hoped Hu Ma could cultivate one hand and one leg by the next spring. But in just seven or eight days, his left hand already had some power.
This progress was far beyond the old innkeeper's expectations.
But upon analysis, it made sense. Most other New Year's Guardians started practicing the technique with one pillar of cultivation, while Hu Ma had three. The speed at which he cleansed and invigorated his body was much faster than others.
Additionally, his body was already dead, saving him a step. He also had his life-bound divine statue to monitor his cultivation and prevent mistakes.
Of course, these three reasons were all secrets he couldn't reveal to the innkeeper.
So, not only could he not tell the innkeeper about his rapid progress, but he had to be careful to hide it.
Another problem was...
...Hu Ma sighed deeply. He was running out of blood food!
The jar of blood food pills the old woman gave him was almost empty. Only three remained, and Hu Ma knew they wouldn't do much good now. He decided to keep them as a memento and a backup.
His cultivation of the New Year's Guardian technique was progressing quickly, but it also consumed a lot of energy. As he cultivated, his body would use less of the three life incense sticks, but relying solely on them wasn't practical.
This was a wasteful way to use his resources!
Hu Ma was determined to save and not waste. Every bit he used was a bit he would regret.
Moreover, the New Year's Guardian technique primarily relied on life energy. Combining it with his advantages, he realized a simple truth: the more blood food he had, the faster he could cultivate.
But where could he get another jar of blood food pills?
He thought about the manor, where the warehouses would be filled with blood food by next spring...
"No, no..."
Hu Ma was startled by his own thoughts and reflected deeply. "My skills are still far from enough..."
"...It's too early to think about that!"
"..."
He needed to find another way. As a New Year's Guardian, he couldn't fail to secure some blood food.
The old woman could do it, so could he!
With this in mind, he washed his face and feet, then lay back in bed. He calculated that it was the 20th day of the month, a day to thank his friend, Second Pothead.
After all, he couldn't just accept so much help without saying thanks.
"Congratulations, congratulations..."
When Second Pothead heard that Hu Ma had learned the New Year's Guardian technique, he immediately congratulated him, though he wasn't surprised.
"Given that you're a reincarnated soul and with my help, it would be a joke if you didn't succeed."
He then asked Hu Ma about his progress and whether he had used the life-bound divine statue to verify the technique's authenticity.
Hu Ma finally understood that the surprise brought by his life-bound divine statue was actually a common occurrence for other reincarnated individuals. Everyone instinctively did this.
By being honest, he avoided potential suspicion in the future.
"Now, this is just the beginning. To truly learn the skills of a guardian, you’ll have to endure some hardships."
Ergetou chuckled, "But, we’ve finally reached this day. We can also consider a deal."
Hu Ma was a bit surprised, "A deal?"
"Get some blood food!"
Ergetou laughed, "We practice all sorts of methods; how can we do without blood food?"
"Especially for you guardians, you naturally need to live off blood food."
"..."
The name 'guardian' didn’t seem to come from the idea of guarding the great spirit...
Hu Ma thought to himself but didn’t argue, asking instead, "You seem to have some ideas already?"
"Of course."
Brother Ergetou said, "Ever since I knew you went to the village in Qingshi Town, I had this idea."
"Brother, haven’t you forgotten that I told you the village had an incident last year?"
"..."
"An incident?"
Hu Ma suddenly realized, his heart stirring.
Ordinary Qingxiang disciples, once they joined the Red Lantern Society, had the chance to learn the true skills of a guardian if they were diligent and favored. However, this was undoubtedly a difficult and long process, and even the lucky ones might have to endure for over a decade.
But he had the opportunity to learn in a short time. Wasn’t it because of the incident at the village?
Mr. Wu, the innkeeper, had been sent there by the Red Lantern Society with some trusted and familiar assistants. But last year, something strange happened. Evil spirits invaded, causing his people to die or flee, leaving only his old servant and a young helper.
Now, there’s something suspicious about this?
"It’s just a guess."
Brother Ergetou chuckled, "The incident happened last year. Our Red Lantern Society had good luck and found a new blood food mine, digging out a thousand pounds of green spirit meat and even some blood spirit meat."
"This was a windfall, and they were eager to transport it back to the city. But right when that batch of blood food was resting at his village, evil spirits caused chaos, leading to a major disaster!"
"Supposedly, it raged for a night, killing and injuring many people, and that batch of blood food disappeared."
"According to Mr. Wu, it was taken by evil spirits and bandits who fled into the Old Yin Mountains. The Red Lantern Society’s leaders and managers didn’t have the ability to verify his claim by going into the mountains."
"Moreover, many people died in that incident, including his trusted assistants and even his own daughter. Others couldn’t easily suspect him."
"But the suspicion never went away."
"..."
"Daughter?"
Hu Ma’s heart stirred. Was it her gaze from the courtyard?
He focused and listened as Brother Ergetou continued, "The first point of suspicion is that blood food is hard to transport."
"You’ve heard this before, right?"
"In our Red Lantern Society, many know some transportation methods, but blood food, especially in large quantities, is very difficult to move with magic. That’s why we have to transport it by foot, step by step."
"Those evil spirits would also face the same issue. If they caused chaos, entered the warehouse, ate some, contaminated some, or even took some away, everyone could understand."
"But the fact that such a large batch of blood food just disappeared raises suspicion."
"Even if we assume it was taken by bandits, some traces should have been left behind during the transport, but there were none."
"So..."
"..."
By this point, Hu Ma understood, "So, the only possibility is that the old innkeeper was involved?"
"That’s what everyone thinks."
Ergetou smiled, "Such things have happened before."
Hu Ma asked, "Hasn’t anyone investigated?"
"Of course. Red Fragrance disciples and managers have been down there."
Brother Ergetou said, "But no evidence was found. Plus, Mr. Wu indeed suffered significant losses in this incident. If we pressured him too much, other innkeepers might lose heart and no one would help our Red Lantern Society."
"Later, Mr. Wu went around seeking support, refusing to retire. He insisted on staying there to revive the business."
"Your opportunity to learn the guardian’s methods came from this."
"..."
Hu Ma understood, pondering for a moment, "You mean..."
"Like everyone else."
Ergetou laughed, "I suspect that batch of blood food ended up with Mr. Wu."
"Now, you have the perfect opportunity. If you can find it, we can take him down, split the spoils, and both get rich, won’t we?"
(End of Chapter)
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