Mountain God Lord Takes a Bride

The Old Woman really had found herself a good method.

With a steady supply of blood food, Hu Ma not only stopped feeling that chill in his limbs, but the fire within him grew stronger.

He gradually discovered the relationship between his condition and Tai Sui.

After eating Tai Sui Meat, even if it was only White Ganoderma, warmth would well up inside his body.

Of course, the effect was rather faint, especially when he ate only a little—so faint it could be ignored.

After eating Green Ganoderma, the warmth in his body could linger for a day or two.

That was, of course, if he didn't practice his cultivation. If he did, the warmth would be used up in half a day.

Blood Ganoderma was different. After eating it, Hu Ma could feel his body surging with energy for a day or two, his strength and vitality boundless.

When he practiced his cultivation, he made twice the progress with half the effort.

During this period, he felt the furnace fire in his belly change almost every day. What had begun as a faint little flame became a brazier in just a few days. After a few more days, he even felt as though there were a real, roaring furnace burning in his lower abdomen.

His whole body felt warm, and he was just as full of energy, as if he had strength he could never use up.

Every morning when he got up, his flag stood straight and taut.

Of course, Second Master didn't raise pigs here, and Hu Ma hadn't gone back to the village, so he didn't know if seeing a pig's backside would make him drool...

But with that blazing furnace fire in his lower abdomen, the bone-deep chill he'd occasionally felt before had indeed weakened considerably. The eerie shadows he used to see from time to time also seemed to have disappeared.

In his usual state, he no longer needed someone watching him every moment. He could even occasionally leave the compound and walk around.

Of course, after dusk, he still didn't dare take a single step outside.

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

The good news was that Second Master's method worked. To some extent, he'd truly managed to ward off the Evil Spirits' attacks, and his inner fire was even raging.

The bad news was that without Tai Sui, it wouldn't work. His inner fire couldn't grow stronger and would instead slowly weaken.

So, in the end, it all came down to Tai Sui.

Or rather, the Old Woman.

But Hu Ma couldn't understand where the Old Woman had managed to cut so much Blood Ganoderma from, when it was so precious.

How much more could she bring him?

Hu Ma didn't know the answer. All he could do was make sure not to waste even the tiniest bit.

In the quiet side room, Hu Ma sat cross-legged on the bed, slowly practicing his cultivation and drawing the heat into his furnace.

Hu Ma was lazy about practicing his forms, but he was as diligent as could be when it came to cultivation.

Whenever he had the chance, he practiced, drawing the heat into his furnace and storing it there. That way, if his blood food supply ever ran out, the furnace fire he'd built up would keep him going a little longer.

After all, if he didn't practice, even if his vitality was sealed by Liu'er's talisman and couldn't dissipate, it would still be gradually worn away by his ordinary movements, sitting and lying down, or strenuous activity.

Only by drawing it into the furnace and storing it there could he make effective use of it.

Of course, to others, his behavior might look like putting on an act. They were at the age when they were full of energy. They were eager to practice their forms and fight, but sitting still and cultivating went against their nature.

Hu Ma paid them no mind. Every day, he merely made sure to keep the bare minimum of warmth in his body to carry on, drawing the rest into the furnace.

But while he was cultivating that day, he suddenly heard an irritated voice say, "You two, go fill the vats with water."

He opened his eyes and saw a tall, thin boy staring coldly at him, giving orders as if he owned the place.

"Huh?"

Zhou Datong, who was in a pile of bedding not far away, jolted awake too and swallowed.

"I said you two should go fetch water and fill the vats."

The tall, thin boy grew annoyed as soon as he saw them. His face cold, he said, "Everyone else is practicing their forms, studying medicinal properties, and going with Second Master to patrol the Woods. You two lazybones do nothing but hide in your room and slack off. You won't put in the effort to learn anything. Fine."

"But surely I can put you to work?"

"There's no water in the kitchen. Go to the spring and bring back a few loads. Keep going until the vats are full."

"..."

The spring was at least three or four li from the compound. Two buckets filled with water would weigh fifty or sixty jin. Hu Ma frowned.

But before he could say anything, Zhou Datong beside him started complaining. "I already told Second Master. Someone stole my quilt last night, so I caught a chill and got diarrhea..."

"Diarrhea? You could be shitting out your guts and you'd still have to go!"

The tall, thin boy said coldly, "Learning a skill takes hard work. Why are you two so lazy?"

"Try refusing and see what happens!"

"..."

With that, he slammed the doorframe, glared at Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, and turned to leave.

The boy was named Cui Xie'er. He was one of the children from the Cui Family in Great Sheep Village, and the oldest among the boys learning from Second Master.

He had already made a Tai Sui offering with Second Master the year before. Since he had learned his skills properly, he no longer had to run the hills and practice forms with the other boys. Instead, he tended the stove, cooked, and helped Second Master with odd jobs. Among the boys, he was practically their Senior Disciple Brother.

He'd already learned all the skills he needed. He stayed here mainly to run errands for Second Master and handle big and small matters.

Hu Ma hadn't been here long and didn't have many friends. He was even more careful not to make enemies.

But Cui Xie'er seemed to dislike him on sight.

When porridge was served in the morning, Hu Ma's dried meat was always a little smaller than everyone else's. Sometimes he didn't get any at all. In the first few days after he arrived, Cui Xie'er had been the one leading the others in making snide remarks.

Since Hu Ma kept a low profile and didn't go out of his way to talk to people, he hadn't made an issue of being shorted a piece of cured meat at breakfast. At first, Cui Xie'er hadn't had an opening to go after him. But he refused to give up, and little by little, he'd gone too far. Now he was openly ordering Hu Ma around.

"Well, shall we go?"

Zhou Datong blinked and looked at Hu Ma uncertainly.

He was genuinely afraid of Cui Xie'er. When they practiced their forms, Cui Xie'er could really lay into him.

He didn't have it as easy as Hu Ma, who had made it clear he wasn't learning the forms and had thus avoided getting beaten.

"All right, then!"

Hu Ma let out a sigh. Right now, heavy physical labor wasn't good for his condition, but he could just about manage a normal person's workload.

Besides, he wanted to use the chance to ask Zhou Datong a few things.

When he thought about it, the grandson of the Old Clan Leader was also the first friend he'd made here.

As Second Master had put it, "You two ought to be friends, shouldn't you?"

Hu Ma had been spoiled rotten before, and he was famous in the village for being good for nothing.

Zhou Datong, on the other hand, was simply a troublemaker. He was always bouncing around the village, stirring things up, and was famous as a little menace.

Simply put, they were the village's pair of hidden dragons and crouching phoenixes.

But back in the village, Hu Ma's predecessor hadn't been friends with Zhou Datong. The two had even disliked each other.

Now that they were at Second Master's place, things were different. Zhou Datong had been given special attention by Second Master, and since he was one of the younger boys, he'd become more well-behaved.

As for Hu Ma, someone else now inhabited his body, and his temperament was no longer so prickly. The two had also been paired up to learn the forms, so they gradually got to know each other.

Of course, Hu Ma had made friends with him because the guy was a bit of a dope, yet somehow knew all sorts of gossip. It was easy to wheedle information out of him.

The two picked up a shoulder pole, hooked on a pair of buckets, and walked out of the compound.

"What's that guy's problem? He seems to have it in for me."

Only after they were out of earshot did Hu Ma quietly ask Zhou Datong.

He'd lived two lives and was naturally low-key. On top of that, his body was in poor shape, so he wasn't about to pick fights and waste his energy.

Even if he didn't go running through the hills or practice his forms, that was his own business. It wasn't as if he were taking advantage of anyone. But Cui Xie'er had seemed to have it in for him from the moment he arrived. Now he was bullying him to his face.

Zhou Datong looked at Hu Ma in surprise. "You've forgotten what happened to Cui Family Sister?"

"What happened to Cui Family Sister?"

Hu Ma felt a deep helplessness.

Everyone knew he wasn't good at remembering things, but they all thought he'd only forgotten a little.

I've forgotten everything, all right?

But he never let on, often acting as if he understood more than he did.

"It was a few years ago..."

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

"She couldn't keep down food or water. Worshiping at the Old Fire Pit didn't help, so the Cui Family went to your Old Woman. After taking a look, she said Mountain God Lord had come to ask for a bride. She told the Cui Family to throw away everything they'd picked up recently, lock Cui Family Sister in a room, and wind red thread around the doors and windows. No matter what sounds came from inside that night, they weren't to open the door. She would go talk things over with Mountain God Lord and see if she could settle the matter."

"But that very night, Cui Family Sister cried and screamed for half the night. The next day, they found her hanging."

"..."

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was a little taken aback. He said instinctively, "Even if she couldn't be saved, that doesn't mean it was the Old Woman's fault, does it?"

"Anyway, the Cui Family was really unhappy about it. Afterward, they even came to your house and blocked the door, cursing. My grandpa was the one who dragged them away. I heard the Cui Family complaining at the time. They said there was no such thing as Mountain God Lord. Everyone knew about the powerful Evil Spirits around the village, and if all else failed, the ancestors in the fire pit would tell them in their dreams. But no one had ever mentioned this Mountain God Lord except the Old Woman."

Zhou Datong explained at length. "We don't know the whole story either, and your Old Woman never brought it up with the Cui Family again."

If you don't know, I'm even more in the dark...

Hu Ma sighed to himself, but at least 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 have it in for me, but why is he so rude to you too?"

The chubby kid beside him was the Clan Leader's grandson, after all.

Do people around here really show so little respect to the village leader's descendants?

At the mention of it, Zhou Datong looked so aggrieved it was almost heartbreaking. "I don't know why. It's like beating me makes him feel important."

"..."

This village leader's grandson has it rough...

Hu Ma silently weighed the pros and cons, and after turning things over in his mind a few times, he gradually came up with a plan.