Fighting with a Ghostly Puppet

At the foot of the mountain slope, spring water gurgled out from the cracks in the rocks. By inserting one end of a sharpened bamboo tube, water could be collected into a bucket.

When others carried water, they used a shoulder pole with two buckets. Once filled, they would walk quickly.

Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, that pair of mediocre talents, however, only filled two buckets and then threaded the shoulder pole through them to carry.

Staggering into the village, Cui Xie'er was directing several on-duty workers doing odd jobs. Upon seeing the water they brought, which wasn't even a third of a large vat, he put on a stern face and ordered them to fetch several more buckets.

They could rest only when the vat was full.

After the two reluctantly left the village, he called over the nearby youths. "The vegetable patch in front of the village needs watering."

"Take this water and go water the vegetables."

"..."

The summoned youths exchanged glances. Usually, watering the winter radishes was a task everyone did together.

Seeing that Cui Xie'er was intentionally making things difficult for the pair, one of them hesitantly said, "Brother Xie'er, why are you picking on those two?"

"One is from the Clan Leader's family, and the other is from the Old Woman's family..."

"..."

"Heh..."

Cui Xie'er sneered, "So what? Here with Second Master, it's about skill."

"I just can't stand their lazy ways. They eat well, live well, but don't put in any effort. Since that's the case, it's better to save the Blood Food for us."

Seeing this, the youths fell silent.

When Hu Ma and Zhou Datong carried the second load of water up and saw that the water vat was empty, they understood something.

Zhou Datong didn't dare speak in the village. Only after coming out did he say, "This is too much!"

"Why don't we just pee in the buckets and make him drink it all!"

"..."

Hu Ma was startled and quickly said, "Don't you usually scoop water from this vat? Don't make things difficult for yourself!"

"Then what should we do?"

Zhou Datong said indignantly, "We can't beat him..."

"He's got real skills. Last time I brought out my weapons, he still beat me down until I had to kneel and call him Brother Xie'er..."

"..."

"I definitely won't..."

Hu Ma looked at the dull-witted Zhou Datong, thinking to himself, but after some consideration, he didn't feel very confident.

He had barely practiced any martial arts. His progress with the Furnace wasn't slow, but that was for warding off evil spirits, not for fighting people.

As he was pondering, a flash of red appeared in the distance. Hu Ma's mind immediately came up with an idea.

He stood with the shoulder pole upright and said to Zhou Datong, "You go fill the buckets first. I have something to do."

Zhou Datong nodded and went to fetch water with the two large buckets.

Hu Ma turned around and said to the overgrown weeds nearby, "Come out, Xiao Hong Tang."

A gust of cold wind blew, parting the weeds. Behind a crooked stone tablet on the slope, Xiao Hong Tang, carrying a basket covered with red cloth, poked her head out.

She had been responsible for bringing Hu Ma his meals recently. To avoid attracting attention, Hu Ma always ate outside the village. He sat on the mountainside and opened the basket, eating the meat inside.

"What is the Old Woman busy with?"

He asked curiously while eating, "I haven't seen her come around lately."

"She's looking for someone..."

Xiao Hong Tang was playing with the stone tablet and said, "She found him, but he ran away again. So the Old Woman went to look for him again."

"At her age, she has to help me harvest Taisui and do all these other things..."

Hu Ma felt a complex mix of emotions.

He let out a low breath and then said, "There's a Cui family girl named Cui E, do you know her?"

"Xiao Hong Tang knows! She was married off to the Mountain God Lord!"

"..."

Hu Ma's heart stirred, and he pressed, "Did the Mountain God Lord really marry her? I heard the Cui family wasn't very satisfied?"

"You can't blame the Old Woman!"

Xiao Hong Tang said indignantly, straddling the stone tablet, "The Cui family went into the forest to chop trees and found a gold nugget. That was the Mountain God Lord's betrothal gift. Whichever family found it had to marry off a daughter. The Old Woman told the Cui family that anything they found recently should be returned, but the Cui family secretly hid a small piece and didn't return it. So Cui E was taken away by the Mountain God in the middle of the night."

"But the Old Woman said the Cui family found something they didn't return, and the Cui family denied it and cursed the Old Woman for lying."

"..."

"Is that so?"

Hu Ma frowned slightly as he listened. "What about the Mountain God Lord?"

"She was driven away by the Old Woman."

Xiao Hong Tang said, "That was an external Evil Spirit. The Old Woman saw it had taken a life, so she didn't let it stay here. Later, the Old Woman even mentioned several times that she should have killed it from the start, otherwise Sister Cui E wouldn't have been killed by that Ghostly Puppet..."

"No wonder no one in the village has heard of it..."

Hu Ma's eating slowed down, feeling a bit that the Old Woman's efforts were in vain.

Thinking of how Cui Xie'er treated him with such disdain, he felt even more annoyed.

My Old Woman was already wronged by you, and you still keep picking on me?

Suddenly recalling something, he lowered his voice and asked Xiao Hong Tang, "Xiao Hong Tang, are you afraid of Second Master?"

Xiao Hong Tang blinked, then nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Hu Ma thought for a moment, then asked, "Are you afraid of others? Like those people in the village?"

"No."

Xiao Hong Tang seemed to think seriously, "They feel warm, and Xiao Hong Tang doesn't like to be close to them."

"But Xiao Hong Tang isn't afraid."

"Second Master can't be touched, he burns your hand if you touch him. They... they don't burn your hand."

"..."

"Then I understand..."

Hu Ma thought silently, picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, and suddenly said, "If that's the case, can you help me with something later?"

Xiao Hong Tang looked up blankly, not knowing what he intended to do.

Hu Ma dangled the meat in his chopsticks and said, "If you do it well, I'll give you this piece of meat!"

Xiao Hong Tang's eyes immediately lit up, willing to go through fire and water.

"We've carried three loads and six buckets of water, can we rest now?"

Back at the village, Hu Ma and Zhou Datong poured the water into the vat. It was less than half full.

Normally, six buckets in this large vat would fill it, but the water had been used to water the radishes, so it looked pitifully low. It wasn't even enough to cook lunch.

Seeing Hu Ma put down the carrying pole and head for the house, Cui Xie'er became furious. He suddenly slammed down the firewood axe in his hand and glared at Hu Ma, "I just told you to fill the water, didn't you hear me?"

"It's usually full by now."

Hu Ma said, "It's not full even after pouring six buckets today. I wonder if the vat is leaking? Should we turn it over and look?"

The surrounding children quietly raised their heads. Turn it over and look? Is that even a thing?

Cui Xie'er was also angered into a laugh. Twisting his wrist, he stepped forward and said, "You said you were injured before and couldn't practice. Now you can carry water, so your injuries must be healed, right? Since Second Master isn't here today, I can see how much you've learned."

Hu Ma let out a breath and said, "Then come on!"

"Are you really going to fight?"

The surrounding youths looked excited and crowded around. Zhou Datong, however, quietly shrunk to the side.

Seeing that Hu Ma didn't back down, Cui Xie'er was a little surprised, then hardened his heart: "You asked for this yourself. Don't come crying to Second Master if you get hurt..."

Before the last syllable of "go" fell, he suddenly lunged forward.

Like a rabbit leaping from a snare, he covered three to four meters in an instant, his fist heavy.

The surrounding youths couldn't help but gasp, "Hu Ma is in trouble! Brother Xie'er is going to use heavy force..."

"He beat the Clan Leader's family first, then the Old Woman's family. This is impressive..."

"..."

"Plop!"

But just as everyone's hearts were in their throats, a gust of cold wind suddenly swept through the courtyard. Cui Xie'er, about to punch Hu Ma in the face, suddenly tripped and fell face-first.

Only Hu Ma could see that Xiao Hong Tang had suddenly appeared and grabbed Cui Xie'er's legs.

"Well done!"

He praised Xiao Hong Tang in his heart, then rushed forward, signaling Xiao Hong Tang with his eyes to spread Cui Xie'er's legs apart, exposing his groin, and then kicked.

... Anyway, Second Master said that with the Black Oil Paste, any injury can be healed, right?

... I don't usually practice my Skills, but I've memorized all the moves Second Master taught me!

And since he's already attacking, there's no such thing as holding back. You just don't like me because I'm the grandson of the Ghostly Old Woman, right?

And you always say our Hu Family raises little ghosts?

Let me tell you, you're right!

Having lived twice, he understood that one shouldn't provoke trouble actively. One should still dodge when possible. But once it's confirmed that dodging is impossible, it's better to take the initiative to resolve it.

The more proactive you are, the easier it is to come up with a solution.

Was it for the preserved meat in the morning congee, or... for the Old Woman's grievances?

"I'll beat you to death..."

Cui Xie'er tripped and fell, his head spinning from the impact. Then, he felt a pain in his groin. While it was a bit relieving, he was also furious and anxious. He let out a muffled roar, forced himself to his feet, and raised his fist high.

Hu Ma quickly retreated a few steps, but Cui Xie'er's fist didn't fall.

Feeling a slight suspicion, he saw that Xiao Hong Tang was actually riding on Cui Xie'er's neck, her small hands covering his eyes.

None of the surrounding youths could see Xiao Hong Tang. For them, the courtyard suddenly felt eerily cold, their hair standing on end for no reason. They were filled with surprise. Not only did Cui Xie'er trip, but why was he acting as if possessed, spinning around in place like a headless fly?

"It can still be like this?"

Hu Ma was pleasantly surprised. Xiao Hong Tang was more useful than he had imagined!

Seizing the opportunity while Cui Xie'er was spinning in place, he dashed forward a few steps and punched him in the stomach.

Cui Xie'er's resilience was truly remarkable. He seemed unfazed by the kick to the groin. Hu Ma didn't hold back with this punch, putting all his strength into it. Unexpectedly, as the punch landed, the furnace fire within Cui Xie'er's lower abdomen was suddenly ignited.

Although it was unintentional, the force of the punch surged.

With a "bang," Cui Xie'er was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He fell like a tattered sack against the courtyard wall, smashing a gap in the top of the wall before being sent flying out of the courtyard.

"Oh..."

All the surrounding youths of the same age gasped in unison, almost sucking all the air out of the courtyard.

Xiao Hong Tang also flew out a few meters. Seeing the trouble she had caused, she quickly slipped off, picked up her basket, and disappeared.

"Hiss..."

Hu Ma was also a bit taken aback. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he suddenly reacted and rushed towards the outside of the wall: "Why are you so fragile?"

"Please don't die, Brother Xie'er..."