CHAPTER 374: CHAPTER 371: THE PERSON WHO CLOSED THE MINE (3 MORE)

"?" Hu Ma thought, startled. Suddenly hearing this response, he felt both surprised and delighted.

He was delighted because all his calls that night had not been in vain. Finally, at the last moment, he had received a response. As long as this place also had a Reincarnator, many things would become much easier to handle.

Arriving in an unfamiliar place, knowing neither the land nor the people, and understanding nothing, having someone here who understood the situation greatly settled his heart. Even if he couldn’t gain much significant assistance, acquiring some useful intelligence would still be good.

What surprised him, however, was that this fellow’s reply seemed a bit unusual. Listening to his tone, it’s as if he really doesn’t want to be found.

"Are you... hiding here?"

Hu Madou paused, then said with a smile, "Listening to you, friend, it sounds like you’re not too happy about being found?"

"I wasn’t hiding. I was just born here and have always grown up here."

The Reincarnator codenamed Monkey Wine slowly replied, his voice tinged with a unique laziness, "But I don’t like being called by other Reincarnators..."

He sighed. "Every time I’ve convinced myself that this is a real world, just when I’m about to forget everything from my past life and prepare to live a good life here, you all show up. You disturb my peace and remind me of what I’ve just managed to forget..."

As he spoke, a hint of distress crept into his voice. "I’m already depressed..."

"I can’t figure out anymore whether our world—the one from before—is real, or if this world is the real one..."

Hu Ma listened, finding it all rather bizarre. There are Reincarnators like this? The Reincarnators I’ve encountered so far are hardly typical; those other few I know of seemed to adapt very well to their identities. Their emotions were remarkably stable. How is there one who’s so confused? Has he eaten too much Black Tai Sui? Can’t he distinguish reality from illusion?

"Do you think I’m boring? That I shouldn’t be focusing my energy on such things?"

Out of politeness, Hu Madou didn’t voice his thoughts. Unexpectedly, Monkey Wine continued, speaking quite effusively, "I don’t want to think about these things either, but these problems are right in front of me, aren’t they?"

"I’ve also analyzed the reasons. Others probably don’t think so much because they’re somewhat shallow. But I’m different. I graduated from a prestigious university; I even pursued a doctorate..."

"So, from a young age, I developed the habit of living by logic and seeking the essence of things."

"For instance, when I first arrived in this world, I believed it was fake."

"But in my efforts to find evidence of its falsity, I researched and observed a great deal. Gradually, I discovered more and more that this world was real. Even though it has so many phenomena and powers that defy scientific principles, it is still a real world."

"Everything here can form its own internal logic; it’s just that at the level of its fundamental rules, some mysterious distortion has occurred..."

"So, if this world is real, could the world in our memories actually be the fake one? Could everything from our past lives just be a dream?"

"These... I’ve discussed these with other Reincarnators. They are genuine, concrete problems!"

"But they don’t understand me. They even think I’m a Madman. It’s probably because their education level is relatively low, and they aren’t very intelligent..."

He paused at this point, then asked, "By the way, what’s your education level?"

"Huh?"

Caught off guard, Hu Ma felt a bit flustered and quickly said, "That’s not important!"

"Friend, I’ve just arrived at Huozi Ridge and have some matters I need to handle. So, I was wondering if you could..."

Before Hu Ma could finish, Monkey Wine suddenly interrupted him. "Don’t say it!"

"If you tell me, I won’t be able to resist helping you, because interacting with other Reincarnators also gives me a sense of reality."

"However, when I cooperate with Reincarnators, I always end up doubting this world. And once I start thinking this world might be fake, I can’t help but want to research certain things..."

"But the things I research... they seem to be taboo in this world..."

"For example, women born during the Yin Month, Yin Day, and Yin Hour are optimal for cultivating moth gu. It just requires precise surgical techniques to transplant a half-grown moth gu into the woman’s uterus, then seal her Seven Apertures with mercury, nail her Life Gate shut with coffin nails, and finally nourish her body with Blood Tai Sui..."

"If this were a fake world, this would just be normal research. But if this is a real world, wouldn’t what I’m doing be a bit... excessive?"

Hu Ma was completely bewildered by him. Excessive? That’s not just excessive. That’s downright cruel, isn’t it?

"So, I’ve always been troubled by problems like these."

Monkey Wine, as if sensing Hu Ma’s thoughts, continued muttering to himself, "This world seems real. The people living around me are my relatives, my clansmen. I can’t test these ideas on them."

"Even the captives we bring in are living human beings. I can’t experiment on them with those anti-human things to cultivate gu insects..."

"But after interacting with Reincarnators, I can’t help but feel this world is fake..."

"If it’s just a fake world, then as long as I can prove my ideas, whatever I do shouldn’t matter, right...?"

Hu Ma felt a sudden urge to back away. He drew a sharp breath. Maybe I shouldn’t seek help from this Reincarnator after all? I’ve encountered quite a few Reincarnators by now—some cautious, some radical, some ruthless... But this one... how did I end up finding someone who seems not quite right in the head?

"Forget it, go ahead and tell me!"

But just then, Monkey Wine suddenly added, "I originally didn’t want to bother with you. But since we’ve already started talking, if you don’t tell me, I’ll be itching with curiosity."

Hu Madou was taken aback. What kind of mindset is this?

"Do you find my mindset very complicated, utterly incomprehensible?"

As Hu Ma was pondering this, Monkey Wine continued, "Actually, my mindset is quite normal. It’s like... like seeing your ex-girlfriend’s social media updates. You know you’ll regret it if you look, so you don’t actively seek them out. But if you accidentally scroll past one, you still can’t resist clicking on it..."

Hu Ma took a deep breath. Listening to Monkey Wine’s continuous, rambling monologue, he felt a little unnerved.

However, after careful consideration, he decided to maintain a probing attitude. He thought for a moment, then slowly said, "I haven’t thought of any specific objective yet. I just wanted to ask, do you know much about the Witches here?"

This Monkey Wine isn’t quite normal. It’s best not to mention specifics for now. If I can get some intelligence out of him, that would be good enough...

"I remembered my past life when I was seven. I’m twenty-nine now..."

Monkey Wine listened and slowly replied, "I’ve lived here all these years. I see them every time I open my eyes. Do you think I understand them or not?"

Hearing this, Hu Ma’s heart stirred. There’s an opening! It seems this Monkey Wine is indeed a Witch in this world, and likely not of low status. This is perfect for gathering intelligence.

Originally, Hu Ma hadn’t intended to ask too much at once. But faced with such a peculiar individual, he paused for a moment, then said softly, "Well then..."

"In Huozi Ridge, there’s a blood food mine specifically for harvesting Tai Sui. It was originally the property of the green clothes gang, but now it belongs to the Red Lantern Society. In the past, they coexisted peacefully with the Witches here, even calling each other brothers. But now, the mine has been inexplicably surrounded..."

"They haven’t said why, nor what they intend to do, but several lives have already been lost."

"Friend, have you heard anything about this matter?"

Monkey Wine fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then sighed softly. "I know. The one who surrounded that blood food mine is a Great Witch Sage from among the Witches."

"He’s using the Twelve Paizi Formation from the Witch Alliance’s Path. It’s incredibly powerful. Once it’s sealed, anyone from the outside trying to break this gu must pass through twelve successive gates. If they fail at any single gate, the person attempting to break the gu will die along with it."

"So, with this seal, the blood food mine has become a deathtrap—one can enter but cannot leave. It’s exceedingly dangerous."

Hu Ma’s heart skipped a beat. A Great Witch Sage? He hadn’t expected to learn something so important.

He quickly asked, "Then, do you know why he sealed this blood food mine? Do you know the reason?"

"There must be something in the mine that he wants."

Monkey Wine said slowly, "The Witches’ gu refining Skill has been passed down from their ancestors, orally transmitted for many years, long before Tai Sui Blood and Flesh appeared."

"But Master Tai Sui’s advent affected all Paths and legacies, and the Witches were no exception. It was discovered long ago—for instance, I myself found—that some gu insects which originally required specific human blood for cultivation could achieve the same, or even better, effects when Tai Sui Blood and Flesh was used instead."

"Blood food mines occasionally yield items that Witches need. However, Witches are generally poor. They can’t afford good Blood Food, their manpower is limited, they don’t know about stoking the furnace, and they can’t employ Shousui, so they can’t occupy a blood food mine for themselves."

"Fortunately, the materials Witches need for gu refining are mostly different from what ordinary people require. ’Your poison is my strange treasure,’ as they say. Picking up a few scraps and leftovers is usually enough for them, so generally, they kept to themselves and didn’t interfere with others."

"But if something a Witch truly desires appears in a blood food mine, they will stop at nothing to obtain it."

Hu Ma exhaled softly. Just as I thought... He then slowly posed his most crucial question: "Since that’s the case, do you happen to know the weakness of the Witch who sealed the blood food mine?"

He quickly added, "...Don’t worry, friend. I can offer equivalent intelligence in exchange."

"Or perhaps, consider it a favor I owe you. I can help you with something significant elsewhere later on; that would also be fine."

Once Hu Ma asked this, Monkey Wine unexpectedly fell silent.

After a long pause, he finally sighed and said, "His weakness... I do know it. But telling you... that wouldn’t be quite right, would it?"

Hu Ma was stunned for a moment. "Why?"

"Because I’m the one who sealed this blood food mine..."

Monkey Wine sighed again. "Even though we’re both Reincarnators, if I tell you my own weakness and then let you come deal with me... wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate?"