CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 77 LITTLE SISTER HE

"This..."

Hu Ma couldn’t deny that he was tempted. Now that he had obtained this dharma method, he wanted to refine his body quickly and was indeed considering acquiring some Blood Food.

But after hearing Er Guotou’s words, another thought immediately came to his mind. After a brief hesitation, he asked honestly, "Did you have this idea long before I arrived at this Manor?"

He found it a bit strange. It shouldn’t be like this.

This Er Guotou didn’t even know I would come to this Manor in the first place.

Unless... he was the Moustache Manager?

HISS...

... Could it be that the gifts our Second Master sent ended up with this kid?

As he pondered over these possibilities, Er Guotou burst into laughter upon hearing his question. "How could I have the foresight to plan all this?"

"Besides, if I were to directly arrange a place for you, I wouldn’t choose somewhere so risky. Otherwise, if something happened, wouldn’t you hate me? Even Miss White Wine might become wary of me."

"People like us don’t even meet, yet we need to build trust. We’re already struggling to maintain goodwill, so how could we dare to make such calculations?"

"..."

"This..."

Hu Ma listened and sensed no deceit, so he smiled and said, "In my past life, I never won the lottery, so I’m naturally cautious."

"If you consider it a lottery, then you’re bound to be disappointed."

Er Guotou explained with a smile, "This matter is still up in the air. Whether we profit or not depends on our luck."

"In the future, by interacting more with Reincarnators, you’ll come to realize that within the Red Lantern Society, and even here in Mingzhou Prefecture, there are numerous ways to earn money. Opportunities to make a fortune abound—or rather, similar opportunities exist all around the world."

"But for deals like this, even for us Reincarnators, we need to wait for the right opportunity."

"It was only after you went to this Manor that I secretly investigated the situation there and the Shopkeeper named Wu. That’s when I noticed this potential opportunity."

"Now that you’ve learned the dharma method, and considering your current position along with the intelligence I have, we can join forces to investigate. If he did indeed take that batch of Blood Food, we might just make a small fortune."

"Of course, it’s also up to you whether you want to take this deal and the associated risk."

"But I’ll say this upfront: we’re merely speculating. It’s possible that after investigating for a while, we find the Blood Food was indeed stolen by someone else, or never there, leaving us empty-handed."

"..."

Why does this sound like that saying... ’Banks are everywhere, it just depends on which one has our inside contact’... Hu Ma internally complained. Still, he seriously considered the matter, running through several possibilities in his mind before slowly agreeing, "Alright."

"I’ll keep an eye out first."

"But let me make it clear: I’m a timid person without much skill. I can’t handle anything too risky right now."

"..."

Er Guotou laughed. "Just keep an eye on things. If that batch of Blood Food really exists and the opportunity is right, we’ll go for it. If not, we’ll find other opportunities to collaborate."

After hearing this, Hu Ma felt relieved.

As long as he retained control, it would be fine. After all, no one had solid evidence; he was just keeping an eye on things for now. Whether to actually take action would require careful, long-term consideration. Based on the current situation, he still couldn’t make up his mind.

However, he had to admit, he did find some aspects of this Manor odd and mysterious. The old shopkeeper’s actions were also quite enigmatic and hard to comprehend.

In a previous incident, many of his trusted apprentices had died tragically, and even his own daughter was injured. On the surface, he appeared to be the victim. However, considering the old shopkeeper’s nature, Hu Ma felt he might be capable of harming his own apprentices. After all, whether it was Xu Ji or that employee who was enchanted by a ghost and hanged himself in the wilderness, the old shopkeeper had seemed indifferent, as if he didn’t care at all. He had pleaded for a chance to stay and atone for his past failures, but he didn’t seem diligent in his duties. He even appeared less than loyal to the Red Lantern Lady... And his daughter—why was she always hidden away, never making an appearance?

Naturally, Hu Ma kept these doubts to himself, continuing to manage his daily tasks and focus on practicing diligently.

As time went by, his left hand became increasingly nimble, noticeably different from before.

Now, having stopped taking Blood Food Pills, he relied solely on the limited green food from the Manor for sustenance. Consequently, there were occasional signs of insufficient vitality. Whenever this happened, he would still feel a chill throughout his body. Of course, the chill wasn’t a major issue now; it could be easily remedied by slightly adjusting the stove fire.

To his surprise, even when his entire body became cold, this left hand of his remained warm and full of vitality.

To describe it precisely, was it like a dead person’s body had been grafted with a living person’s left hand?

...YIKES, that’s a bit terrifying.

But this strange description really did fit his current state.

The more he realized the profundity of the Shousui man’s dharma method, the more motivated Hu Ma became to practice his cultivation. However, limited by his three life incense, he couldn’t practice without restraint. What if all three life incense were consumed? What would he do if something unexpected occurred?

This was where Hu Ma differed from other living people. Others might only have one life incense, but they could deplete it entirely since it would eventually recover. Hu Ma had three, but he needed to use them sparingly, as they wouldn’t replenish.

Ultimately, it still came down to Blood Food. If, as Er Guotou had suggested, he could obtain that batch of Blood Food, he would not only be free of these restrictions, but his cultivation level would also rise.

Having made up his mind, he continued with his daily responsibilities, always keeping an eye on his surroundings.

「One day」

After finishing his practice, Hu Ma went to the front yard. He noticed the sun was about to set, meaning it was time to prepare for the night watch.

But as he looked around, he found it odd. None of the workers in the outer yard had lit the lanterns. No one was tending to the stables, and there wasn’t a single grain in the feeding trough.

Feeling puzzled, he suddenly saw that all the yard workers were standing uniformly still, as if paralyzed, their eyes fixated on the inner yard where the old shopkeeper resided.

WHOOSH...

This eerie scene sent a chill down Hu Ma’s spine. Had something happened? Given that this Manor dealt with surrounding evil spirits daily, could some powerful entity have infiltrated?

Stunned, he began to step back, trying to figure out what was going on.

Just then, he heard a distinct GULP. Following the workers’ line of sight, he saw that a girl of about seventeen or eighteen had appeared in the old shopkeeper’s inner yard.

She wore a small, black, floral-patterned jacket and white silk trousers that accentuated her slim waist and legs. A jade bracelet adorned her fair wrist. Her whole demeanor was one of graceful beauty, combined with a capable and refined air.

At that moment, she was seated by a stone stool, preparing tea for the old shopkeeper.

Her presence seemed to instantly brighten the dimming twilight.

"A wo—"

"—woman?"

How could there be a woman in the Manor? And such a beautiful one at that?

Having been in this world for quite some time, Hu Ma was dumbfounded.

He had sealed his inner furnace, accumulating yang qi. Although Granny called him a "Half-Yin Body," eating Blood Tai Sui every day was incredibly nourishing—so much so that he felt overwhelmingly vigorous. Of course, he wasn’t as unrestrained in his desires as the Second Master and other youths his age, but he still felt a craving deep inside. Yet, the men and women he usually saw wore coarse, dark clothes, their luster worn away by life’s hardships. It had practically forced him to act like a proper gentleman. Beauty was a luxury one considered only with a full stomach; until now, those he encountered were merely "people." But here, right before his eyes, stood an actual woman. And a truly beautiful one at that—delicate features, a slender figure, radiantly lovely.

It was no wonder the workers in the outer yard were so entranced they couldn’t move their legs. Even Hu Ma couldn’t help but take a couple of extra glances.

However, drawing on his past-life experiences, Hu Ma quickly regained his composure. Seeing the workers in the outer yard already losing their decorum, their stares openly impolite, he initially thought he should offer some advice or a mild reprimand. But as the words were about to leave his mouth, it suddenly struck him: these young men, unlike him, hadn’t had the benefit of so many ’teachers’ regarding such matters. Their desire for women was perfectly natural. For them, just getting to look like this was probably a rare treat, a ’perk’ they’d never experienced before. He decided he couldn’t be the bad guy here.

So Hu Ma pretended not to notice and turned to head back to his small room. Just then, unexpectedly, the Shopkeeper called out, "Hu Ma, you’re here. Come over and meet her."

"..."

"Meet who?"

Hu Ma was a bit surprised, but he couldn’t ignore the Shopkeeper’s orders. He tidied his clothes and walked past the crowd of workers.

Upon hearing Hu Ma was approaching, the workers, who usually held him in awe, didn’t move aside. Instead, seeing that Hu Ma had the chance to enter the inner yard and see the young woman up close, they were incredibly envious, almost begging Hu Ma to take them along with his eyes.

But Hu Ma couldn’t possibly do such a thing. Keeping his gaze fixed forward, he entered the inner yard and sat down across from the Shopkeeper.

"This is my daughter. Her name is He," the old shopkeeper said, gesturing for the girl to pour Hu Ma a cup of tea. He continued in a calm tone, "Although we don’t officially have a master-apprentice relationship, I have taught you, and I’ve been guiding your skills. It wouldn’t be out of place for you to call me ’Teacher’."

"By that logic, He can be considered your younger sister."

"Her health isn’t good, so she rarely goes out. Now that you’ve met her, there will be some matters in the future where I’ll need you to look after her."

Hu Ma quickly stood up and saluted. "Greetings, Sister He."

The young woman also nodded demurely at Hu Ma and, holding the teapot with both hands, poured him some tea.

The workers outside, witnessing this, looked as if the envy in their eyes was about to burst.

Little did they know, Hu Ma was inwardly quite puzzled. So this was the Shopkeeper’s daughter? The one who had supposedly been hiding in her room, secretly watching him all this time? She had never come out before, so why had she suddenly appeared today?