Mountain God Lord Takes a Bride

The Old Woman really found a good method for herself.

With a sufficient supply of Blood Food, Hu Ma not only stopped feeling that icy coldness in his limbs, but his internal fire grew stronger.

He also gradually discovered the relationship between his own condition and the Taisui.

After eating Tai Sui Meat, even if it was just White Ganoderma, a warmth would spread through his body.

Of course, it was relatively weak, especially if he only ate a small amount; it was negligible.

When he ate Green Ganoderma, the warmth generated in his body could last for one to two days.

This was, of course, without cultivating. If he cultivated, it would be consumed in half a day.

Eating Blood Ganoderma was even more different; Hu Ma could feel his body surging with energy and boundless vitality for one to two days.

When cultivating, it was twice as effective.

During this period, he felt the furnace fire in his abdomen changing almost daily. What started as a subtle flame quickly became a brazier within days. After a few more days, he even felt as if there was a blazing furnace burning in his lower abdomen.

His body felt warm all over and full of energy, as if he had inexhaustible strength.

Every morning, that "thing" would stand erect.

Of course, Second Master didn't raise pigs, and he hadn't returned to the village, so he didn't know if he would be tempted by the sight of a pig's backside...

However, with this vigorous furnace fire in his lower abdomen, the bone-chilling coldness he had felt before had indeed weakened significantly, and the strange shadows he used to see seemed to have disappeared.

He no longer needed to be watched constantly; he could even occasionally go out of the manor to wander around.

Of course, he still didn't dare to step outside after dusk.

And that gloomy, terrifying forest was a place he wouldn't go near, day or night.

The good news was that Second Master's method was effective. He had indeed, to some extent, avoided the harassment of Evil Spirits, and his internal fire was even fierce.

The bad news was that without Taisui, he couldn't improve his internal fire; instead, it would slowly weaken.

So, in the end, it all came down to Taisui.

Or rather, the Old Woman.

But Hu Ma couldn't understand where the Old Woman got so much of this precious Blood Ganoderma.

How much could she bring him?

Hu Ma didn't know the answer to this question. All he could do was to waste not a single bit.

In the quiet side room, Hu Ma sat cross-legged on the mat, slowly cultivating and drawing the fire energy into the furnace.

Hu Ma wasn't diligent in practicing his skills, but he was most diligent in cultivating.

Whenever he had the chance, he would cultivate, drawing this heat into the furnace to store it. Only in this way, if the supply of Blood Food were ever cut off, could the accumulated furnace fire allow him to last longer.

After all, without cultivating, even if his vital energy was sealed by Liu'er's Talisman and wouldn't dissipate, it would still be consumed bit by bit through his daily actions, sitting, or strenuous activities.

Only by drawing it into the furnace and accumulating it could it be used effectively.

Of course, his actions might be seen as pretentious by others. After all, he was at an age where he should be active and lively. If they were asked to practice fighting skills, they would be full of enthusiasm, but asking them to calmly cultivate went against their nature.

Hu Ma ignored them, calculating each day to leave the minimum amount of heat to sustain himself, and channeling the rest into the furnace.

But during his cultivation that day, he suddenly heard a displeased voice: "You two, go fill the water vat."

He opened his eyes and saw a tall, thin young man looking at him coldly, ordering him around.

"Huh?"

Zhou Datong, who was in a pile of bedding not far away, also woke up abruptly and swallowed.

"I told you two to go fetch the water."

The tall, thin young man became angry when he saw the two of them, saying with a cold face, "Everyone else is practicing their skills, learning medicine, and following Second Master to patrol the forest. Only you two lazybones know how to hide in the room and slack off. If you don't put in the effort to learn skills, that's one thing."

"But you can at least do a little work when asked, right?"

"The kitchen is out of water. You two go to the spring and fetch a few loads of water until it's full."

"..."

The spring was at least three to four li away from the manor. Two buckets filled with water would weigh fifty to sixty catties. Hu Ma frowned immediately.

But before he could speak, Zhou Datong next to him began to complain: "I told Second Master, my quilt was stolen at night, and I caught a cold, and I have diarrhea..."

"Diarrhea? Even if your intestines fall out, you have to go!"

The tall, thin young man said coldly, "Learning skills requires effort. Are you two just this lazy?"

"If you don't go, try it!"

"..."

Saying this, he slammed the door frame, glared at Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, and turned to leave.

The young man was named Cui Xie'er. He was a child from the Cui Family in Great Sheep Village and the oldest among the young men following Second Master to learn skills.

He had followed Second Master to worship Taisui once last year. Because he learned his skills diligently, he didn't have to run around the mountains practicing skills with the other young men. Instead, he cooked and helped Second Master with chores, serving as a senior disciple among these youths.

He had already learned all the skills he could, and staying here was essentially just doing odd jobs for Second Master, handling all sorts of big and small matters.

Hu Ma had been here for a short time, made few friends, and was even more careful not to make enemies.

But it was as if he was naturally disliked, this person seemed to have some issue with Hu Ma.

In the mornings when porridge was served, Hu Ma's dried meat was always a little smaller than everyone else's, and sometimes it was missing entirely. In the first few days he was here, he was always the one leading the sarcastic remarks, and it was him.

However, because Hu Ma kept a low profile and didn't proactively interact with outsiders, he didn't make a fuss about the smaller portion of preserved meat in the morning. At first, this person had no way to start, but he was unwilling to give up. Gradually, his actions became more outrageous, and he was now openly and righteously ordering Hu Ma around.

"Well, shall we go?"

Zhou Datong blinked and looked at Hu Ma with a bit of uncertainty.

He was genuinely afraid of this Cui Xie'er, because when practicing skills, the other party could be ruthless towards him.

He didn't have the same treatment as Hu Ma; it was clear he wasn't learning skills, which also meant he avoided beatings.

"Alright then!"

Hu Ma let out a sigh of relief. Nowadays, strenuous physical labor was not beneficial for his condition, but this level of exertion, comparable to ordinary people, was still barely acceptable.

Moreover, he wanted to take this opportunity to ask Zhou Datong some things.

Come to think of it, the Old Clan Leader's Grandson in this village was also the first friend he had made here.

As Second Master put it, "Aren't you two supposed to be friends?"

Hu Ma used to be spoiled and full of bad habits, notorious in the village for being a disappointment.

As for Zhou Datong, he was purely mischievous, always jumping around the village causing trouble, notorious in the village as a troublemaker.

Simply put, these two were the "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chicks" of Great Sheep Village.

However, back in the village, Hu Ma's previous self hadn't become friends with Zhou Datong; the two even disliked each other.

But now, here with Second Master, things were different. Zhou Datong, due to Second Master's special attention and his younger age among these youths, had become much more well-behaved.

Hu Ma, on the other hand, because the person inside had changed, his temper was no longer as difficult, and they had become a pair for learning skills, so they gradually got to know each other.

Of course, Hu Ma befriended him because he thought this guy was simple-minded, but he happened to have a lot of inside information, making it easy to pry information out of him.

The two of them picked up the carrying poles, hooked the two buckets, and walked out of the village.

"What's wrong with that guy? He seems to have a problem with me."

Seeing that no one was around, Hu Ma quietly asked Zhou Datong.

He had lived two lives, was naturally low-key, and coupled with his poor health, he wouldn't pick fights with people for no reason and waste energy.

Even if he didn't go running in the mountains or practice skills normally, that was his own business, he wasn't taking advantage of anyone. But this guy named Cui Xie'er, ever since he arrived, had a problem with him, and now, he was directly bullying him to his face.

Zhou Datong looked at Hu Ma with some surprise and said, "You forgot about Cui Family Sister's matter?"

"What about Cui Family Sister?"

Hu Ma felt a deep sense of helplessness in his heart.

Everyone knew he didn't have a good memory, but they all thought he had only forgotten a small part.

In reality, he had forgotten everything, alright?

But he didn't usually show it, often pretending to understand but not quite.

"It was a few years ago..."

Zhou Datong said, "Cui Family Sister, that is Cui E, Cui Xie'er's sister, went out of the village to harvest rice and fell ill when she returned."

"She couldn't eat or drink, and even praying to Old Fire Pit was useless. So the Cui family found your Old Woman. After the Old Woman took a look, she said the Mountain God Lord was proposing, and told the Cui family to throw away all the things they had recently picked up, lock Cui Family Sister in her room, wrap the doors and windows with red thread, and no matter what noise was inside at night, they couldn't open the door. She said she would go and talk to the Mountain God Lord to see if the matter could be resolved."

"As a result, on that very night, Cui Family Sister cried and struggled for half the night. The next day, she was found to have hanged herself."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma was slightly surprised and subconsciously said, "Even if they couldn't save her, you can't blame Old Woman, right?"

"Anyway, the Cui family was quite dissatisfied with this matter. Afterwards, they even came to your house and cursed at your doorstep. It was my grandfather who pulled them back. I heard the Cui family complaining at the time, saying there was no Mountain God Lord at all. They had heard of powerful Evil Spirits around the village. At worst, the ancestors in the Old Fire Pit would have appeared in a dream, but this Mountain God Lord, besides Old Woman, no one ever mentioned him."

Zhou Datong explained in detail, "We don't know the specifics. Your Old Woman didn't mention this matter to the Cui family again later."

"You don't know, and I'm even more clueless..."

Hu Ma sighed inwardly, but he finally understood why Cui Xie'er was targeting him.

"But..."

He looked at Zhou Datong beside him, "It's one thing for him to be dissatisfied with me, why is he so rude to you too?"

After all, this little fatty in front of him was the Clan Leader's Grandson.

Were people in this place so disrespectful to the village's second generation?

It was better not to mention it. Zhou Datong looked wronged to the point of being pitiful, "I don't know why, but it seems like he gains a lot of face by beating me up?"

"..."

This village's second generation was really living a miserable life...

Hu Ma silently pondered the pros and cons, and after several considerations, he gradually formed an idea in his mind.