Clan Leader's Grandson

The Blood Ganoderma, which once disgusted him, wasn't Taisui at all, but his own life!

As Hu Ma ate the bowl of meat brought by Xiao Hong Tang, he gradually understood many things. No wonder Second Master's skills seemed more suitable for solving his problems than Old Fire Pit's, yet Old Woman only sent him over as a last resort.

It was because Second Master's skills, if not learned at all, would instead expose a more fundamental problem with him...

His original body was already dead.

He had been summoned by Old Woman and forcibly bound to this body.

Earlier, in the village, he had been relying on the Blood Ganoderma to sustain his life, and it was the same now.

He just couldn't feel it before, but now that the Furnace had been ignited, it was clear as day.

Igniting the Furnace hadn't solved his problem; it had only made the problem clear to him.

Or rather, igniting the Furnace could solve his constant encounters with Evil Spirits, but it exposed another problem.

Taisui—only by eating more Taisui could his Furnace burn brightly.

So, he finished the bowl of Blood Ganoderma sent by Old Woman without leaving a single bite, feeling too embarrassed to look at Xiao Hong Tang's resentful eyes.

Now that he understood the problem, his heart felt at ease.

After eating the large bowl of Blood Ganoderma, he couldn't handle the two steamed buns anymore. Lost in thought, he walked back holding the two buns.

Unintentionally, he didn't notice the gazes of the surrounding youths, which were all drawn to him as he entered the room. They stared at the two large white steamed buns in his hands, their eyes glazing over, and involuntarily swallowed hard.

Hu Ma also froze for a moment before realizing that white steamed buns were a delicacy in this world.

Even these slightly yellowed, cold, and hard buns were a rarity, not even seen during the New Year.

Normally, when he was with Second Master, he survived on sweet potatoes, corn buns, and millet porridge. Old Woman had specifically asked Xiao Hong Tang to bring him Blood Ganoderma to treat his illness.

But sending Blood Ganoderma and then adding two large white steamed buns meant she was worried Hu Ma wouldn't eat well here.

Second Master shook his head. He had thought Old Woman sending Xiao Hong Tang meant something important, but it turned out she was just bringing food.

He sighed and said to Hu Ma, "Come here, let's continue learning the skills."

"These kids have been training for over two years. If you want to catch up, you'll need to put in some effort."

"..."

"Second Master..."

Hu Ma instinctively wanted to agree and took a few steps forward, only to see the youths in the training area.

They hadn't been idle while he was out meeting Xiao Hong Tang. The three or four youths in the middle were covered in mud, drenched in sweat, panting heavily, and some were even bruised and swollen.

It seemed this was Second Master's method of teaching the youths to train their fists and skills—simple and direct.

If you want to learn to fight, then just fight more. The more you fight, the more you'll understand.

But in his heart, he remembered Old Woman's words and sighed inwardly, saying to Second Master, "I won't learn for now, okay?"

"Hm?"

Second Master's eyes immediately widened. "Everyone else is learning, why aren't you?"

Because others have abundant energy and too much fire, so they need this kind of release. But I rely entirely on Taisui to sustain my life; every bit of consumption counts. This kind of training would only needlessly deplete the Furnace fire that I've barely managed to replenish with Taisui...

When he first brought him here, Old Woman had said he didn't need to learn martial arts, only to ignite the Furnace. He hadn't paid much attention then.

It wasn't until she sent Xiao Hong Tang with a message this time, telling him to conserve his strength, that he finally understood. Old Woman had known about his problem for a long time and was reminding him...

Hu Ma thought silently. It would be best not to tell Second Master about these issues.

Judging by Second Master's reaction before, his current state was beyond Second Master's understanding.

So he just said, "Xiao Hong Tang just brought a message. Old Woman said my injury has just healed, and I shouldn't get tired."

"You..."

Hearing that it was Old Woman who said it, Second Master was speechless and could only say, "Then forget it. Find someone to teach you the skills."

He scanned the youths, who clearly weren't very interested.

What Second Master had just mentioned about training skills was sparring—even if they got beaten up and bruised, it was still fun and a good way to release their pent-up energy.

But teaching skills meant one-on-one guidance on postures, which was tedious and boring. Moreover, Hu Ma's delicate appearance made these youths dislike him, and none of them wanted to be his sparring partner.

A chubby boy raised his hand. "I will! I'll teach him!"

"Alright!"

Second Master glanced at the boy and waved his hand helplessly. "Zhou Datong, go teach him. Teach him well, or you'll both be punished if you don't learn properly!"

"Heh heh..."

The chubby boy, named Zhou Datong, excitedly approached Hu Ma, looking relieved as he watched the others spar.

Hu Ma lazily asked, "Why aren't you learning with them?"

"What kind of learning is that?"

Zhou Datong scoffed. "That's getting beaten up!"

"I'm the Clan Leader's Grandson, after all. If I get beaten up like this every day, how will I inherit this village?"

"..."

"The Clan Leader's Grandson?"

Hu Ma, however, became solemn and a bit surprised. "You're the Clan Leader's Grandson, and they still dared to beat you up so badly?"

"It's precisely because my grandpa is the Clan Leader that I got beaten..."

Zhou Datong said with a bitter face, "Everyone else comes here to learn the skills of Worship Taisui from Second Master. I'm not like them."

"My grandpa sent me here to Second Master to learn discipline because he thought I was disobedient..."

"..."

"..."

"Hit harder, even more so... you're kicking him in the groin, can't you see those two big bells?"

Beside them, Second Master was loudly reminding the sparring youths, "Don't be afraid of injuring anyone. We have plenty of other things in our village, and Black Oil Paste is everywhere."

"With just this bit of strength you have, as long as you don't use knives, any injury can be healed."

"So the harder you hit, the better. The harder and more ruthless you are now, the better you'll be able to fight others when the time comes!"

"..."

Turning his head, he saw Hu Ma and Zhou Datong sitting stupidly on the side, chatting. Neither were wrestling each other nor preparing to practice skills.

He sighed helplessly in his heart. I actually thought this kid had changed his ways. Looking now, he's still too spoiled.

However, from that day on, Hu Ma stayed at Second Master's place.

The youths learning skills here had a lot to learn and do every day under Second Master.

In the morning, they would start with running the mountain. After returning from the run, they would eat. After eating, they would lift stone blocks, practice skills, or patrol the forest with Second Master to eliminate the strange Evil Spirits breeding around the village, or paste red paper to warn others in the village.

When the sun was setting in the west, they would eat their second meal. The food was similar to the morning meal, except there was no salted meat from the White Taisui pickle in the porridge.

In the evening, they usually didn't practice martial arts.

Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, they would learn a few characters from Second Master, and occasionally listen to him talk about jianghu rules, customs, and taboos.

Although he hadn't been here long, Hu Ma could see.

This Second Master had traveled extensively in his youth, was literate, and understood arithmetic. These youths of the same age were sent by the village to learn the skills of Mine Cutting. Of course, what Second Master taught them seemed to be a bit more than just being a miner.

They could earn money from Mine Cutting for at most three to four years, but the other skills could benefit them for a lifetime.

However, realizing the problem with his own body, Hu Ma, who had originally intended to appear more sensible and diligent, gradually became a negative example among the other youths.

While others ran the mountain every day, he slept until he woke up naturally. While others lifted stone blocks to temper their bodies, he sat in the courtyard basking in the sun. While others fought fiercely for dominance, he was content to be a salted fish.

He was outstandingly uncompetitive.

Sometimes even Second Master couldn't stand it and would say a few words to him, but he would be discouraged by just one sentence.

Old Woman wouldn't allow it...

However, when it came to teaching literacy and arithmetic, Hu Ma was much smarter than the other youths his age. He learned characters quickly and calculated arithmetic accurately and swiftly. Even Second Master was surprised, exclaiming regretfully, "Such a smart brain, it would be great if he were willing to endure a little hardship."

But Hu Ma was also speechless. In this area, it was hard for him not to stand out...

The cultural knowledge of this world had many similarities to his previous life. Even with some differences, it was just a slight gap in vocabulary and meaning. After all, he was a university student in his previous life who never failed a course.

In his eyes, Second Master's cultural knowledge was, at best, at the level of an elementary school student from his previous life. Therefore, he barely needed to study; he only needed to adapt.

Of course, he had to hold back most of the time, otherwise, he would have Second Master sit below while he lectured them.

Unlike his laziness and slackness in other aspects, Hu Ma's progress in tending the stove was frighteningly fast during this period.

Xiao Hong Tang would occasionally come to give Hu Ma meat to eat, all of which was the highest quality Blood Ganoderma.

Second Master was also a man of principle. Although he felt Hu Ma was not diligent in practicing, the large piece of Green Ganoderma that Old Woman had given him back then was all slowly made into supplements for Hu Ma's body.

This caused Hu Ma's body to churn every day, with wisps of heat being channeled into the stove.

If others burned straw and corn leaves, then his stove burned the finest charcoal every day.

If others practiced their internal energy lazily, only equivalent to covering the fire and slowly roasting, then he, who diligently practiced every day, was like using a bellows to blow forcefully.

This caused the fire in his body to grow stronger and stronger, and his progress became frighteningly fast.