CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 352: CLINGING ONTO A POWERFUL THIGH

"You can’t afford to be careless..."

Upon hearing Hu Ma’s reply, Er Guotou seemed to become quite excited and hurriedly said, "Brother, you’ve really made it big?"

"I saw you sitting at a table drinking with that small hall officer! That look, that aura—I couldn’t see through her at all. She’s clearly a person of high stature..."

"..."

Hu Ma hadn’t expected Er Guotou to be so impatient. He knew that since he had orchestrated this setup, he now needed to establish his persona properly. This would make it easier to reveal intelligence or seek help in the future.

So he chuckled and said, "Truth be told, it could be considered a success."

"I knew Seventh Aunt from before, but we weren’t exactly close. In this matter, I honestly performed well in front of her. I completed the tasks she assigned me neatly, and she also saved the person I asked her to."

"Now, it seems she holds me in high regard. In the future, we can at least consider each other allies."

"Of course..."

As he spoke, he also lowered his voice, "The most crucial part is that this time, while following her, I finally got to see the esteemed person from the mountain and even sat with him at a table for a short while..."

"Huh?"

Er Guotou also hurriedly lowered his voice and said in haste, "So, this esteemed person who slew the Five Evil Gods is really the one you mentioned from the mountain?"

"That I didn’t see..."

Hu Ma said honestly, "But I did see him appear in Yellow Dog Village, and he even fought with the Five Evil Gods. A vast green canopy enveloped the entire village, confusing the little ghosts accompanying the Five Evil Gods, making them scream and holler confusedly, completely disoriented."

"But the one who slew the Five Evil Gods didn’t seem to be him. Instead, a Great Walking Ghost I’d seen before had set up an altar. However, I know this Great Walking Ghost; he probably didn’t have the ability to slay the Five Evil Ghosts..."

"Anyway, at that time, many of the malevolent entities held by the Five Evil Ghosts at the wedding feast witnessed it. With your great skills, you might as well summon them and ask..."

"..."

"It’s just a case of borrowing an altar to slay a god..."

Er Guotou sighed deeply and said, "Summoning evil spirits for inquiries? Better not. I do have this ability, but would I dare to summon them? Besides, even if I dared, would they dare to speak? When it comes to matters involving such figures, they’d probably utter just a word or two before their souls scattered."

Hu Ma also sighed. "Indeed..."

After saying what he’d just said, it was more or less enough. He didn’t say more because speaking too much could easily expose him, and it would prevent others from using their own imaginations.

Letting others use their imagination to fill in the gaps is a great quality.

Upon receiving Hu Ma’s confirmation, Er Guotou also let out a deep breath, hurriedly lowered his voice, and said, "Those evil spirits don’t dare to speak, but we Reincarnators don’t need to worry about that..."

"Tell me, what kind of character is this esteemed person, and this small hall officer whose support you’ve managed to secure?"

"..."

"I don’t know much about the esteemed person, but this small hall officer’s support is quite easy to hold on to..."

Hu Ma said, "She seems a bit muddled, and her words often don’t make sense. She doesn’t appear to have many skills, and whenever I ask her anything, she just pretends to be confused. Sometimes I even wonder if she’s genuinely foolish..."

"..."

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Er Guotou was suddenly startled, his voice turning serious as he said, "You mustn’t think that way!"

"Muddled? If you consider her muddled, then you’re the one who’s muddled."

"Think about it. That esteemed person hid in Mingzhou for who knows how long. The first time they acted, they slew the Green-clothed Evil Ghost. The second time there was any news, it was about them appointing this small hall officer. To be noticed by such an esteemed person, how could she possibly be truly muddled?"

"In the future, when you’re around this small hall officer, you must be extremely cautious. Don’t let her play dumb to get the better of you and uncover all your secrets..."

"..."

Playing dumb...

Hu Ma tried to imagine Seventh Aunt ’playing dumb to get the better of someone’ but found it quite hard to picture.

She was more skilled in posing as a tiger to prey on pigs.

But listening to Er Guotou’s earnest advice, Hu Ma solemnly nodded and said, "I understand. I’ll be careful."

"Indeed. Such individuals, whether they are genuinely muddled, feigning deafness and muteness, or intentionally hiding their identities, all have their reasons. The gap in our levels is too vast; it’s best not to speculate idly."

At this moment, another clear, cool voice sounded. It was Miss White Wine.

Only then did Hu Ma realize that not only Er Guotou but Sweet Potato had also come in with her.

Previously, after resolving any matter, he would be the one to initiate discussions with them. After all, as seniors, they were much calmer than he was. But this time, they had all come on the very same night, showing just how much this matter concerned them and how anxious they were.

"Just like this time, we initially thought it was just another jianghu squabble, perhaps messing with the Five Evil Altar Envoys to make the Five Evil Gods suffer a small loss and retreat. Who would have thought it would escalate to this magnitude?"

Miss White Wine seemed somewhat moved as she sighed, "A being who was clearly a temple god, yet someone suddenly chopped off their head."

"I’ve been in this world for a while now and have experienced a few things. I’ve seen temple gods punished and exiled, but to be directly killed... honestly, this is a first for me."

"Initially, we were worried about standing out too much and becoming targets!"

"Looking at it now, we were overthinking. It’s such a grand scheme that even on tiptoe, we can’t see what’s happening."

"..."

Listening to her, everyone seemed to agree. Before this, they hadn’t even considered the possibility of the Five Evil Gods dying. For people in the jianghu Paths, not suffering a loss at the hands of a Guest was already good; making a Guest suffer indicated great skill.

Unexpectedly, now they had witnessed a temple god being decapitated? Wasn’t that terrifying?

After finishing her lament, Miss White Wine turned to Hu Ma and said, "Have you achieved the goal you set when you organized this setup?"

"Yes."

Hu Ma let out a low sigh. "Of course, it also depends on the subsequent arrangements."

"I handled things well this time, and the small hall officer was quite satisfied. After she had eaten and drunk her fill, she even gave me a piece of advice, telling me to take a trip to Old Yin Mountain in the coming days, to kowtow and report my accomplishments to the esteemed person in the mountains."

"If all goes well, I might even secure a position..."

"..."

"Go into the mountains?"

Upon hearing this, Er Guotou’s expression grew extremely serious. "If they’re allowing you to go and kowtow, it shows they’ve truly taken a liking to you. Listen to me, you must be meticulous."

"This matter is as significant as dealing with the Five Evil Altar Envoys."

"If you can truly latch onto that esteemed person’s support, who knows how much useful information we’ll be able to gather in the future..."

"..."

"Understood, understood..."

Hu Ma quickly agreed and then eagerly asked, "What about you all? Did you manage to get the benefits you wanted?"

"Those treasure hunters must have had quite a few treasures on them, right?"

"..."

Hearing this, Er Guotou was momentarily stunned. "Treasures... what treasures?"

"I managed to get something."

Miss White Wine let out a light sigh, her voice surprisingly carrying a hint of amusement. "I caught a lucky break and seized a fortuitous opportunity."

"Er Guotou, regarding that treasure you wanted from Fox Coffin Village, half of it is with you, and half with me. Find an opportunity later, and you can retrieve the half I’m holding... Of course, we must settle the accounts clearly. If you want it back, you’ll have to give me something of equal value as compensation."

"Huh?"

Er Guotou was clearly a bit surprised. "You don’t need the items from Fox Coffin Village anymore?"

"Does this mean... you obtained something even better?"

"..."

"HEHEHE..."

Before Miss White Wine could confirm this enviable outcome, Sweet Potato, who had been holding back for a long time, suddenly let out a smug laugh and said loudly, "I got mine too!"

"I must thank Senior Old White for giving me such a great opportunity, and also thanks to the generosity of Five Evil Master... I captured the Blessing Evil Altar Envoy and earned several treasures, then captured the Luck Evil Altar Envoy, and the treasures on him were simply..."

"..."

"Holy crap..."

Before Sweet Potato could finish speaking, Hu Ma was already somewhat dumbfounded. This girl caught two of them all by herself?

No, isn’t she the weakest among the Reincarnators, without any backing from a faction, nor any personal power base, and she even has a limp... When did she capture the second altar evil? Didn’t she just say earlier how much she feared the Luck Evil Envoy?

Moreover, because they only needed to destroy the Five Evil Altar, their initial plan hadn’t even involved capturing all five—they even let one go—yet this girl managed to snatch up the ones they missed?

"So... does that mean..."

But before Hu Ma could voice his surprise, Er Guotou’s voice, somewhat shaky and dazed, cut in, "Does that mean all of you benefited?"

"Hold on, I put in a lot of effort too! I used the name of the Red Lantern Society to rally all the jianghu Paths in Mingzhou..."

"I’ve been running around for days, leading people to hunt down those Five Evil Altar Envoys, turning the entire Mingzhou jianghu upside down. I haven’t eaten well or slept well, and I even had to soothe Red Lantern Lady when she was throwing her little tantrums..."

"...But in the end, all of you profited, and I got nothing?"

"..."

It’s not like you got nothing... Isn’t the Red Lantern Society about to get an Emperor? Hu Ma thought to himself.

"Heh, if you’re saying you didn’t get any benefits, well, you can hardly complain..."

Upon hearing Er Guotou’s complaints, Sweet Potato immediately clammed up, afraid this senior might demand a share of hers. But Miss White Wine simply sneered, "Although it’s been chaotic these past few days, I haven’t been completely oblivious to what’s happening outside."

"You certainly caused quite a stir over there, but you let that Wealth Evil Altar Envoy run rampant everywhere with a pair of gold and silver dolls, creating such a huge mess with that Evil Creation..."

"If you hadn’t been so ’meticulous’ in personally dealing with him, how could he have possibly escaped? Had he not, those gold and silver dolls would have surely ended up in your hands, wouldn’t they?"

"..."

Er Guotou was momentarily speechless.

The other two, meanwhile, showed a hint of schadenfreude. "Even you, the thick-browed, big-eyed Er Guotou, have a day like this, huh..."