Chapter 79: Life with a Woman
Chapter 79: Life with a Woman
"Elder Brother Hu Ma looks young, but his actions are extremely steady."
Just as Hu Ma felt a slight doubt, the girl named Wu He also raised her eyes to look over.
In this world, women are often shy. Even the widows in the village would only glance at men secretly, but she seemed quite bold.
Her gaze swept carefully over Hu Ma's face, examining him in great detail. As she sized him up, she pushed the tea to Hu Ma with a smile, pursing her lips and saying, "I see you all the time."
"And the way you helped the Village deal with the evil spirits, the innkeeper told me about it, and I admire you very much!"
"..."
"Indeed, it's her..."
Feeling her gaze, Hu Ma was once again certain.
She was indeed the one who had been secretly observing him from inside her room, and she didn't even hide it in her words.
This made him feel even more curious, and he glanced at her, but with the innkeeper nearby, he couldn't look for too long.
As he stood up to take the tea, he smiled and said, "Not at all, I come from the village and know nothing, all thanks to the innkeeper's guidance."
"Elder Brother Hu Ma is too polite."
Little Sister Wu He said, "But from now on, I won't be polite with Elder Brother Hu Ma. My body is weak, and it's inconvenient for me to go out. In the future, if I need needles, thread, rouge, or powder, I'll have to trouble Elder Brother Hu Ma to bring them in from outside the Village..."
Hu Ma quickly replied, "That's my duty."
As he took the tea, his fingers accidentally touched something. He looked down, and her hand had already quickly withdrawn.
Hu Ma sniffed, frowned, but didn't say anything, only speaking politely with the innkeeper.
He had thought that today, the woman who always hid in her room would finally show up and say something, but in the end, nothing happened. The innkeeper only brought his daughter to the courtyard to drink tea, chatted some family matters, and then went back inside.
Seeing the sun was already setting, Hu Ma left the inner courtyard and continued to arrange for the apprentices to patrol at night and feed the horses.
Even though the apprentices were reluctant, seeing that their little junior sister had already retreated back into her room, they all groaned in unison and reluctantly came to work.
Hu Ma wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but while he was directing the apprentices to work, he felt as if his back was being watched by someone...
Before he had never met this girl, he felt a bit uneasy, and now this feeling was even stronger.
He didn't dare to be careless, so he followed the apprentices out of the Village.
He thought this junior sister looked beautiful but had an inexplicable oddity. These days were not like his previous life, where well-bred ladies would never leave their inner chambers.
The innkeeper's precious daughter not only looked at him boldly but also smiled faintly when sitting in the courtyard, seemingly unconcerned about the apprentices' gazes.
How strange, everything was so strange!
But the other apprentices, unlike Hu Ma, were immersed in that moment of beauty, each with a foolish smile on their faces, lost in their memories and unable to pull themselves out. Once they left the Village, Zhou Datong was already excited, repeatedly asking, "Brother Hu Ma, Brother Hu Ma, tell me, what scent?"
"Scent?"
Hu Ma looked at him in surprise, and the few guys drooling beside him, and finally understood.
Feeling a bit helpless, he said, "There's no scent..."
Zhou Datong, and even Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, all looked disbelieving.
Looking at their expressions, Hu Ma guessed that even if he cut them half a pound of blood food, they wouldn't be this unsatisfied.
"Really, there isn't."
Hu Ma thought for a moment, then suddenly felt something strange. He raised his finger and sniffed, saying, "But to be honest, there seems to be a faint foul smell, just masked by the herbal scent..."
"Foul smell?"
Zhou Datong was stunned for a moment, then decisively said, "That's impossible!"
"I could smell the fragrance from ten steps away, it was just that I didn't get close enough to know how fragrant it was..."
"..."
"Uh-huh!"
Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, two honest and simple guys, even nodded in agreement, "Second Elder Brother also said that women have a scent like steamed buns..."
"Second Elder Brother said that the steamed buns on women are very fragrant..."
Hu Ma thought about it, but seeing their serious expressions, he swallowed his words to correct them.
What else could he say?
It's a universal law that the smell depends on the face!
...
Originally, with Hu Ma firmly in his position, everything in the Village had entered a dull and standardized routine. But with the appearance of this junior sister, everyone suddenly became more lively.
Even when Hu Ma spent money to treat them to wine and meat, he couldn't get them this excited. They walked as if they had the wind at their backs, humming little tunes even when going to the toilet.
And hygiene.
Hu Ma, although he no longer stayed in the large dormitory, had still trained them to be cleaner. Don't be covered in mud,, with thick layers of dirt on their collars, the smell of young boys would make Little Red Apricot walk around their room.
a wide berth.
Bathing, not practical.
Changing clothes frequently, for some apprentices, was also impractical.
"At least you should wash your feet, right?"
But when it came to such matters, they all seemed too lazy to move, as if they subconsciously categorized these things as personal freedom, outside the scope of management. However, now, these people who wouldn’t listen to Hu Ma suddenly became clean and tidy...
Not only did they love washing their faces, but they also enjoyed bathing outside their houses.
And it was already winter...
But there was a problem: the night patrol job, which everyone used to fight for, suddenly lost its appeal.
The reason was simple. Every dusk, this Junior Sister might come out of her room and take a stroll in the Inner Courtyard.
It was only a possibility, and she didn’t come out every day.
But because of this slim chance, the Apprentices were eager to wait around.
Hu Ma sighed at the drawbacks of burning the furnace but adapted to the situation and came up with a few ideas. When he had a moment, he casually pointed at someone and said, "Go clean out the latrine; it's almost full. Scoop it clean and spread some fresh soil and stove ash."
"Then, take the rest to the Village and sell it to the headman’s family. You can get three copper coins... Keep the coins yourself, and you can buy some crispy yellow baked cakes on the way..."
In the past, no one wanted to do this job.
Even if they didn’t dare disobey Hu Ma, their unwillingness was obvious.
But now, Hu Ma noticed their reluctance and added, "After you finish, go to the Inner Courtyard and deliver something to the Innkeeper."
"Of course, change your clothes first!"
"..."
At this, the Apprentices suddenly became highly motivated, almost ready to fight.
As for the Innkeeper’s daughter, she didn’t look as severely injured as the rumors suggested.
Now, all the Apprentices in the Outer Courtyard were so captivated by her that Hu Ma actually wanted to avoid her. He couldn’t quite figure her out. She had been confined to her room for so long, but now she occasionally appeared.
Most importantly, it seemed she knew Hu Ma was deliberately avoiding her. One time, she even came directly to Hu Ma’s small house.
Usually, for the sake of his Refinement techniques, Hu Ma wouldn’t let anyone, not even Zhou Datong, enter. If there was something, they would call him from outside the door.
Now, seeing her barge in, he was somewhat surprised, "Junior Sister, is there something you need?"
Wu He Sister stood in the doorway, smiling at Hu Ma, "Can’t I come if there’s nothing?"
"Miss, you wouldn’t want the Innkeeper to know you came to my room secretly, right?"
A naughty thought flashed through Hu Ma’s mind, but he swallowed it and managed a smile, "I thought you had something to ask me."
"Why all this talk of asking and ordering?"
Wu He Sister said, "My father is the Innkeeper of the Lady Society, and you are the Steward of the Lady Society. We’re on the same level, so why call it an order?"
She smiled, "But I do have something. What about the rouge and powder you promised to buy for me?"
Hu Ma was a bit embarrassed, "I haven’t seen any hawkers around lately, and I haven’t had the chance to go to the city."
"Alright, just remember it."
As Wu He Sister took a few steps forward, Hu Ma caught a faint, decaying odor from her.
This time, they were alone in the room, and she was closer to him than she had been in the Inner Courtyard. The decaying odor was clearer, making Hu Ma’s heart race, and he instinctively stepped back.
Then he realized this might upset her.
Sure enough, Wu He Sister, either noticing Hu Ma’s frown or realizing that a man and a woman being so close in a small room looked improper, took a step back and said, "I actually have something else to talk about."
"The current you..."
"..."
She hesitated, bit her lip, and seemed to make a decision, "How far have you progressed with the Age-Guarding Sect’s cultivation techniques?"
"Huh?"
Hu Ma was slightly startled. Why was she asking this?
But then he thought that these techniques weren’t a secret to her, so he slowly answered, "I’ve made some progress, but it’s not easy to cultivate."
"I’m just starting, so I’m being very careful to avoid mistakes. Also, cultivating these techniques requires Blood Food..."
"..."
He had already refined his left hand and was hesitating about refining his right leg, but he couldn’t tell her that.
This was a good opportunity to mention Blood Food and observe her reaction.
"Alright..."
Hearing that Hu Ma’s progress was slow, she seemed a bit disappointed, almost as if she didn’t want to hear it. She muttered, "You need to try harder..."
"..."
She walked to the doorway, but then seemed to remember something and suddenly turned to Hu Ma, "Elder Brother Hu Ma, don’t be afraid. Everyone is scared of making mistakes when cultivating these techniques..."
"My father has a notebook where he writes down his thoughts during cultivation. He treasures it and doesn’t let anyone see it."
"If I give it to you, will it help you progress faster?"
"..."
"Ah?"
Hu Ma was genuinely surprised. What was she up to?
(End of Chapter)
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