"Was this the right way to do it?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Under the watchful eyes of the Meat Cutting workers, Zhou Datong lifted the bright red lantern. Using the Ghost Ascending Stairs skill, he easily climbed to the gatehouse and replaced the weather-beaten, faded, shabby lantern. Instantly, a mysterious red glow bathed the old mine deep in the mountains. The people in the mine didn’t know the meaning of this action; they just stared blankly, afraid to disturb them.

Zhou Liang vaguely thought he understood but wasn’t entirely sure. He looked curiously at Old Calculation, who was smiling with approval and whispered softly, "Your Senior Brother is clever indeed! Think about it, what’s the most important thing for people living in this world? It’s nothing but the word ’rules’! Why do people who come to this mine have to be careful of those Witches? It’s because they have many rules, and we Xia people value fitting in with local customs, fearing we’ll break their rules. But if we’re afraid of offending them, courtesy demands reciprocity. They should also fear offending us, shouldn’t they? Hanging up the Red Lantern Lady’s lantern signifies that this is the Red Lantern Lady’s territory. Whatever happens here, they must consider the reputation of our Red Lantern Lady. When we broke their taboos, they used their gu. So, when they break our taboos, we must use our knives. The Witches’ insects are fierce, but are the knives of Shousui men dull?"

The people nearby also heard this. Seeing Old Calculation speak with such confidence, the artisans in the mine all nodded in agreement. Only the two apprentices of Mine Chief Zhuang muttered doubtfully, "Is the Red Lantern Lady’s influence that big?"

"Whether the Red Lantern Lady’s influence is big depends on the skills of us, her subordinates," Hu Ma said with a smile, having heard their murmuring. "Now that the rules are set here, let’s see if that one outside will give us face. If he gives face, that’s good. But if he doesn’t, it means opposing the entire Red Lantern Society and our Red Lantern Lady, who already has a temple built for her. Let alone one person who refines gu, even if it’s their entire branch of Witches, what can they do? When the time comes and the Red Lantern Lady or the entire Red Lantern Society arrives, they’ll flatten their village!"

Of course, although he spoke with such confidence in front of the people of the valley, Hu Ma also secretly discussed with Old Calculation, "What do you think he’ll do when he sees this lantern?"

Old Calculation chuckled. "If he’s sensible, seeing our setup, he’d at least show up for a chat, even if he doesn’t leave immediately. Those are the jianghu rules. And what are the jianghu rules? They’re about learning how to give someone a way out. But if he doesn’t show up and continues hiding in the dark to harm people, or even escalates his actions, then it can’t be helped. At least we’ll know this person isn’t open to discussion, and we should directly prepare the harshest countermeasures."

"But we must be able to win the fight," Hu Ma lowered his voice. "From the look on Mine Chief Zhuang, this person is probably no ordinary individual. Shousui men have the strongest bodies. Especially a Shousui man who has refined the Five Organs, yet he was injured to this extent."

"He’s certainly skilled, but it doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily suffer a loss," Old Calculation sneered. "Dealing with these Witches requires keen eyesight. First, we must see which sect or village he’s from. Witchcraft is divided into the Witch Path and the Gu Path, and there are also distinctions like the Insect Sect, the Livestock Sect, and the Ganzi Sect. Back then in Mingzhou Prefecture, there was the Tan’er Sect and the Insect Sect. There was also a saying about the ’three harms,’ which included the blind beggar who could call souls. You might be familiar with the Tan’er Sect, but you might not know that this Insect Sect actually originated from this very branch of Witches. It was quite famous in Mingzhou back then, but why did it later disappear without a trace? Wasn’t it because they fought and fought, but failed to defeat us? Now, there’s no need to panic. As long as we can figure out his origins and school of practice, dealing with him will save a lot of effort. To take a huge step back, even if we really can’t beat them... we can still go out and call for reinforcements!"

This old fellow is truly a seasoned member of the jianghu; his eyesight is incredibly sharp... Hu Ma knew Old Calculation had also seen the critical point. He smiled, "They’ve sealed the roads. How can you go for help?"

"You’re testing me, little brother..." Old Calculation suddenly laughed. "He can use a Gu Array to seal the road into the valley, but can he surround this entire valley? How could he have that many insects? Although I’m not a Shousui man, in the Red Lantern Society, I’ve seen more Shousui men than anyone, and I’m very familiar with your methods. He’s sealed the road into the valley, so ordinary people can’t come and go. But what do Shousui men care about such things? Behind us is a hillside. With your ability to fly over the eaves and walk on walls as if on flat ground, you can climb any high cliff. Wouldn’t it be easy to call for reinforcements then? Of course, if you leave like that, then if there’s anything good in this ore vein, it won’t be ours..."

"Indeed." What Old Calculation said was exactly what Hu Ma was thinking.

Actually, as soon as he arrived, Hu Ma had seen the dilemma of this blood food mine. The reason they were blocked by that person refining gu was that there was only one road in and out. Once sealed, the Blood Food inside couldn’t be transported out. For a Shousui man, escaping was still simple. But leaving meant abandoning the ordinary artisans in the mine, as well as the ore vein, not knowing what could be dug out of it...

It was ultimately a matter of greed!

As for myself... By rights, I’ve already profited from getting these few jars of Blood Food. But I’m in no rush to report it up the chain; I’ll first figure out how to earn a bit more. What if there’s truly something good hidden in that ore vein? Indeed, I’m greedy too... So what if others can be greedy? Why can’t I? Of course, I can’t be too reckless. First, hang the red lantern. If I can’t handle things later, then it’ll be perfectly justifiable to call the Red Lantern Lady to come and ’clean up the mess!’

With the plan decided, he told the people in the mine to rest and stop being so suspicious. Any issues could be discussed the next day when it was light.

Then, once again rejecting Old Calculation’s request to take a batch of Blood Food back to test its quality, Hu Ma moved the six jars into the wooden house that Mine Chief Zhuang had voluntarily vacated for him, and had Zhou Datong, Zhao Zhu, and the others sleep there as well.

This is a real windfall... Silently taking stock, Hu Ma couldn’t help but feel his heart race. The six jars that had fallen into his hands were all Blood Tai Sui. Their quality ranged from low to high, and the last two jars already contained Golden Silk Tai Sui.

It’s a pity. If all of them were of the Golden Silk Tai Sui quality like that last jar, I’d have gathered enough Blood Food for Entering the Mansion in one go. As it is now, it’s barely enough.

But this couldn’t help but make Hu Ma’s heart pound. If that ore vein truly yielded better things the deeper they dug, what treasures might it hold? At worst, even if there are no treasures, as long as it’s still Golden Silk Tai Sui of this quality, that would be enough for what I need for Entering the Mansion...

Suppressing his excitement, Hu Ma counted the jars back and forth three times before he felt slightly more at ease. He then settled down on the bed to rest and conserve his energy.

To find out what lies within that vein, I first have to deal with the trouble outside.

The others probably thought Hu Ma just intended to get a good night’s sleep, recover his strength, and then figure out how to deal with the mysterious Witch outside the next day.

However, Hu Ma himself had another plan. I’ve come to Huozi Ridge, a place I don’t know, and I’m being troubled by some unknown, mysterious person. Should I really just take Mine Chief Zhuang’s word for everything and stand at the forefront? If an ordinary person were put in this position now, other than stepping up or giving up the prize at hand without taking responsibility, they would likely have no other option. But I, after all, am a Reincarnator...

After falling asleep, Hu Ma arrived at the Lifebound Spirit Temple. Looking up, he saw his Lifebound Divine Statue emitting wisps of golden light that outlined its silhouette. Its limbs and organs were visible in the darkness. In the area of its head, the dense golden markings were now nearly half-lit. He just needed to consume enough Blood Food to fully achieve ’refining life.’

Hope is right before my eyes! If I—if I could just directly consume these few jars of Blood Food, perhaps this Entering the Mansion would be successful!

Hu Ma mused to himself, A pity one can’t become strong instantly; the refining speed is limited.

While contemplating, he temporarily set these thoughts aside. He slowly approached the incense table, placed his palm on the incense burner, evened his breathing, then altered his voice and called out softly, "Old White calling from Huozi Ridge."

"Code name Old White, calling from Huozi Ridge. Are there any Reincarnators who can hear me?"

After each call, he would wait quietly for a moment, observing the smoke drifting from the incense burner. It always dispersed, showing no sign of having connected to anything.

He wasn’t impatient. After calling several times, he stopped temporarily.

He silently consumed Blood Food and continued practicing. After about two hours, he entered again and called out several more times. Moreover, to broaden the range of his call, he had already placed all three sticks of Life Incense into the incense burner, not at all concerned about the consumption of Life Incense.

Calling out whenever one arrived at a new, unfamiliar place was a good habit every Reincarnator should cultivate.

But Hu Ma wasn’t actually very confident. This was the first time he was calling out without being sure if anyone would hear. Besides, this was deep in the mountains and wilderness, much like Er Guotou’s situation back in the Old Yin Mountain; the probability of being heard wasn’t very high.

But how would I know if I don’t try? Maybe someone just happens to be nearby?

Holding onto this hope, Hu Ma called out three more times. Seeing that dawn was just about to break and there was still no response, he couldn’t help but feel helpless.

Just as he was about to withdraw and give up hope in this area, a voice suddenly resonated, tinged with a hint of regret, "Code name Monkey Wine, responding to the call..."

"...Seriously. I hid myself in such a remote place, yet you still managed to find me!"