Igniting the Furnace

Having personally witnessed the strange occurrences in this world and experienced Second Master's astonishing abilities, Hu Ma had developed a strong interest in the powers of this world.

He eagerly wanted to beg Second Master to teach him quickly, but before he could voice his request, he suddenly remembered something important. He suppressed his excitement and asked Second Master with a grave expression:

"This virginity you mentioned, do I need to maintain it all the time?"

"..."

This ability is indeed good, but if it requires that, it feels worse than marrying that ghost wife.

"Of course not."

Second Master was taken aback by Hu Ma's question and shook his head. "If all of you maintain your virginity, who will give birth to children in the village?"

"Besides, Old Woman only has you as her grandson. If I don't let you get married, will she let me off?"

"..."

He went on to explain, "This is just a method to seal the 'fire energy' in your body and accumulate it. Bit by bit, save it well. The thicker the accumulation, the better. The thicker it is, the stronger you will become, and the more energetic you will be. Of course..."

He paused. "...you'll also become more lustful towards women."

"In short, once your 'fire' is sufficient, you can proceed to the next step."

"Look at the young men outside. They've been taking advantage of the 'Meat Cutting Mountain' these past two years to earn money. Once they've earned enough, they'll get married and have children."

"Of course, after getting married, they can no longer participate in 'Meat Cutting Mountain' because their Yang energy will be depleted, and the furnace will be broken. So, 'Meat Cutting Mountain' is actually a young man's game, only profitable for a few years."

"Only I, your Second Master, have been doing it for sixty years..."

"..."

"The more proudly you say it, Second Master, the more I sympathize with you..."

Hu Ma couldn't help but think this to himself again, then asked the most crucial question: "So when is the 'fire' considered sufficient?"

Second Master looked at him deeply. "When you start eyeing a pig's backside with desire, it's time."

"Hiss..."

Hu Ma imagined that scene and couldn't help but shudder.

However, since he didn't need to maintain his virginity all the time, he perked up and asked, "So, what do I need to do?"

"It's very simple. I'll draw a Talisman on you."

Second Master said, "I'm telling you this in advance so you can be aware and prepared. Once this Talisman is drawn, you need to eat more meat to increase your physical strength, exercise more, and get more sun, so your 'fire energy' becomes as strong as possible."

"Logically speaking, you were just 'cleansed' by a ghost not long ago. You shouldn't be in such a hurry. Forcibly opening the furnace might make you unable to absorb nourishment..."

"But Old Woman's words are reasonable, and since you've eaten so much Tai Sui Meat, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Of course..."

He became serious. "You also need to be mentally prepared. Once it's sealed, you absolutely cannot break your virginity during this period."

"I heard you used to sneak peeks at widows bathing in the village... You can't do that anymore either."

"..."

"How could I?"

Hu Ma was embarrassed by his words.

What kind of person was my previous self? Why does it seem like I wasn't very well-regarded in the village?

Seeing Second Master's serious expression, Hu Ma remembered another question: "Is it just not breaking my virginity?"

"That, what about myself?"

"..."

As he spoke, he brought his right thumb and index finger together in a circle and moved it up and down.

Second Master took a moment to understand, then immediately shook his head sternly. "Absolutely not. Endure it!"

"It will deplete your fire!"

"..."

"Alright..."

Hu Ma could only agree, but then he remembered something else. "What about in dreams? What if I can't resist in a dream..."

He had past life experiences and knew that at this age with such a strong foundation, who hadn't woken up in the middle of the night to wash their underwear!

"In dreams?"

Second Master heard him and sneered. "That's evil energy entering your dreams, trying to make you deplete your fire. After I draw this Talisman for you, you shouldn't have such dreams anymore... Of course, there's always a chance. But if it really happens, and you're still conscious, then endure it. If you're completely unconscious, losing a little bit is fine... Otherwise, how would I, Second Master, have maintained my sixty years of virginity?"

Hu Ma immediately recalled Second Master's heroic feat in his youth and nodded vigorously. "Understood."

All matters were explained. Second Master then took a straw basket and motioned for Hu Ma to sit opposite him.

Facing such an important matter, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a little excited and tried to regulate his breathing.

Second Master, being experienced, was calm and unhurried.

But ultimately, this was just the first step in learning the skill, not a major event. Both of them remained quite calm.

Not far from the stone house, on a low hillside, the Old Woman, who should have returned to the village, was still standing there. She saw Second Master take Hu Ma out at night to see Lord Tai Sui and acknowledge a godmother. During this time, she frowned several times.

She had long felt that this Second Master was reckless and crude, not very reliable, but she hadn't expected him to be so unreliable.

However, she only watched from afar and ultimately said nothing.

"Old Woman doesn't think highly of Second Master's skills and doesn't want Brother Hu Ma to learn from Second Master."

Xiao Hong Tang, standing beside her, suddenly said, "Xiao Hong Tang also doesn't want Brother Hu Ma to learn from Second Master. Xiao Hong Tang is afraid to get close to Second Master, but she feels comfortable by Brother Hu Ma's side. If Brother Hu Ma learns Second Master's skills, Xiao Hong Tang won't dare to get close to him anymore..."

The Old Woman slowly lowered her gaze. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "Old Woman doesn't dislike Second Master's skills."

"It's just that Second Master's skills were originally good, but he didn't learn them completely."

"Girl, you don't need to worry about not daring to get close to your Brother Hu Ma. No matter how he learns, he won't scare you..."

"..."

Xiao Hong Tang tilted her head, seemingly not understanding.

"When others ignite the furnace, they use the ashes of Ancestors from the Old Fire Pit."

Inside the stone house, Second Master had already asked Hu Ma to remove the coarse cloth vest he was wearing, revealing a fair, lean chest with clearly defined ribs. "But our Ancestors don't acknowledge you, which is why I needed to take you to acknowledge a godmother and borrow this willow branch."

As he spoke, he took out the willow branch and placed it into the fire to burn.

He muttered to himself, seemingly asking for blessings from the Ancestors.

Hu Ma guessed that since he wasn't using ashes from the Old Fire Pit, what Second Master was chanting now didn't have much to do with him.

Perhaps Second Master chanted this when igniting the furnace for others, so he was doing it now as well.

After waiting for a while, the willow branch dried out, and one end began to burn.

Second Master suddenly looked up, picked up the willow branch, and with the flame still on it, quickly drew on Hu Ma's chest.

Hu Ma instinctively flinched, but found that the willow branch, with its sparks, was not hot. Instead, it was bone-chillingly cold.

It was colder than when he had touched the Ghost Wood Stake earlier.

This coldness seemed to penetrate directly through his skin and imprint itself onto his soul.

As these ashes traced strange talisman shapes on his chest, he felt a cold line rapidly moving across his chest. Vaguely, he heard countless incomprehensible laughter and mockery, and his vision blurred intermittently.

Suddenly looking down, he seemed to see pale hands reaching out from the darkness, pressing on his chest and fumbling about.

"Ah?"

Hu Ma jolted, suddenly straightening his chest. Second Master, who was drawing the last stroke of the talisman, was startled.

"What's wrong?"

"..."

Hu Ma focused his gaze and realized there were no pale hands on his chest; it was just an illusion.

The shallow gray marks Second Master had drawn on his chest with the willow branch gave him an exceptionally clear, cold sensation.

And the talisman formed by these gray marks gave him a strange feeling.

His body felt as if it had been covered by an invisible padded jacket, preventing the dissipation of heat from within.

It was completely isolated from the outside.

The heat in his body, just about to radiate through his skin, was blocked back into his body, circulating repeatedly.

"Remember the marks I drew for this talisman."

Second Master glanced at Hu Ma strangely, but seeing that the talisman was complete, he quickly and quietly instructed, "From now on, the fire energy in your body will be constantly blocked and returned. You will follow the marks of this talisman to accumulate this fire energy, little by little, and guide it to your lower abdomen. Over time, a vast furnace fire will build up here."

"This will be your furnace. The furnace will burn hotter and hotter, and you will become stronger and stronger, until you begin to learn new methods..."

"With this furnace, you won't have to worry about running into those ghostly things anymore."

"They will retreat on their own when they see you from afar."

"..."

"This..."

Hu Ma suddenly thought of a problem and asked cautiously, "Then what if... evil spirits enter my body?"

"Heh heh..."

Second Master chuckled coldly. "Even if some blind fool enters your body, they will find it unbearably hot, like entering a furnace, and will scramble to get out. If they can't escape, they'll probably be burned to ashes by this furnace fire..."

"Ah?"

Hearing Second Master's serious words, Hu Ma quickly felt himself and then felt slightly relieved:

"I'm fine..."

"I don't feel like I'm going to be burned to ashes at all. Instead, my body feels warm and comfortable..."

"So this means I'm not actually an Evil Spirit?"

"..."

"..."

At the same time, the Old Woman gazed from afar at the light in the stone house. After a long while, she let out an almost imperceptible sigh and said no more:

"Let's go!"

"..."

Her hunched figure, a little girl in a touch of red against the night, slowly entered the deep forest.