Night Watcher

Hu Ma was taken aback. "Night Watcher?"

"Right. Not 'watching the year' as in giving New Year's money. It means someone who belongs to a particular path."

Erguotou's brother chuckled. "Night Watchers walk with ghosts; they harm the firstborn and punish souls... The world is full of strange, unorthodox things, and plenty of people deal with them. Since their methods and customs differ, they've split into many paths."

"Night Watchers are one of them."

"..."

Understanding dawned in Hu Ma's heart. No wonder Second Master's abilities were so different from Old Woman's.

The two of them belonged to different paths to begin with.

His interest stirred. He hurriedly asked, "Then how can I enter this path?"

"That's a more complicated subject."

Erguotou smiled. "Brother, how many pillars of cultivation do you have now?"

"..."

"How many pillars?"

Hu Ma hesitated briefly. Remembering that Old Woman had asked him the same question, he hurriedly said, "Do you mean our life incense, or the way people in this world talk about cultivation?"

"Both."

To Hu Ma's concern, Erguotou's brother simply laughed and patiently explained, "In this world, a person's cultivation is measured in pillars, according to their nature."

"If someone lives free of illness and disaster until the age of twenty, that's when their nature is at its strongest. At that point, their cultivation has reached its peak; they can drive away evil and ghosts, and malevolent spirits can scarcely approach."

"Among insiders, that level of cultivation is called one pillar."

"Three pillars make up a sixty-year cycle of cultivation."

"But for us Reincarnators, it's easier to measure. The Natal Spirit Temple reflects everything, and life incense can be seen directly. If you have one pillar of incense, you have one pillar of cultivation."

"If it's less than one pillar, it can only be called a level of maturity, not cultivation."

"To join the Night Watchers, you need at least one pillar of cultivation."

"..."

So that was how it worked. Hu Ma understood.

By eating Blood Ganoderma every day, he'd already gained more than one and a half pillars of cultivation, approaching two.

By any measure, that was unreasonable. He'd advanced too quickly.

Besides, Erguotou said one pillar of cultivation was enough to join the Night Watchers, but Old Woman had told him to wait until he had three.

She'd probably taken his unusual constitution into account.

He knew there were too many ways he differed from others; he needed an explanation. So he deliberately sighed. "I don't even have half a pillar!"

"I don't seem to be like the rest of you. I remembered my previous life early enough, but I was frail and sickly as a child, and nearly died several times."

"I lived with Ghost Walker Granny, but I was too weak to learn her skills. In the end, I lit a furnace under the guidance of an old miner, but because I was born deficient, my cultivation never really flourished."

"Then, a little over half a year ago, I accidentally ate some Blood Ganoderma, and only then did my Spirit Temple open. You're the first Reincarnator I've found..."

"..."

"You're a very straightforward brother. Next time, don't tell other people so much about yourself."

Erguotou laughed as he cautioned him, but didn't seem suspicious.

Hu Ma's situation—being summoned into this world by someone—must have been extraordinary even among the already extraordinary group of Reincarnators.

"Hm?"

Following his advice, Hu Ma asked, "Why?"

"Better safe than sorry!"

Erguotou sighed. "My habits aren't like Miss White Wine's. She's cautious to the extreme and never meets other Reincarnators face-to-face. She once saved my life, but I never even found out what she looked like."

"I'm different. I'm careful, but I don't have to be that suspicious of everyone. I just pay attention to my surroundings..."

"...Of course, I'm not telling you to imitate me."

Then he changed tack, his tone turning serious as he warned Hu Ma, "The people of this world are very hostile toward us, and plenty of them have extraordinary powers. They're determined to find us, and it'll be bad news if they discover you."

"So Reincarnators should help one another, but we should also follow the principle of not meeting face-to-face whenever possible. If you need something delivered in the real world, send a ghost messenger."

"I should've told you that the first time we met, but I was in too much of a hurry."

"..."

"Reincarnators shouldn't meet face-to-face?"

Listening to him, Hu Ma felt a stir in his heart.

He had a strange, vague feeling that there were many people in this world who came from the same world as him, people much like himself.

They knew one another existed and could communicate, yet they didn't meet...

"That's right."

Erguotou said, "Of course, it's only a principle. When your life's on the line, you can't worry about that."

"Among the Reincarnators I know, plenty have met in person. I've met a few myself..."

"...I'm just telling you the principle."

"..."

"Even so, I should be careful..."

Hu Ma quietly committed that to memory, then heard Erguotou continue. "As for the situation you described, it's not unheard of. Reincarnators all come from the same world and the same era, but once they arrive here, their circumstances can be worlds apart."

"Some are born into wealth and luxury, with Blood Ganoderma to eat like ordinary food and powerful people to protect them..."

Hu Ma found the description oddly familiar.

Erguotou sighed and changed tack. "But there are also people like you, born frail with nothing to nourish them, stuck out in the remote, sinister reaches of Old Yin Mountain. Just figuring out your own circumstances is hard enough, let alone anything else."

"No wonder the first methods you encountered were those of the Night Watchers."

"But those meat-cutters, who just seal off all the Yang energy in their bodies to withstand evil spirits and scrape together a few coins from the dirt, have taken a crooked path, even if they started on the right one."

"Calling them Night Watchers doesn't fit as well as calling them Human Candles..."

"..."

Hu Ma knew what he was saying was important and committed it all to memory. He paused. "Human Candles?"

"Exactly."

Erguotou said, "When you use the Yang energy in your body to fight evil spirits, each time you do it, you lose some of that energy. If you learn certain sinister techniques, it's even worse—you're using your own life to nourish those evil spirits."

"It's like a candle burning. The longer it burns, the more of its own life it consumes. That's why they're called 'Human Candles'!"

"People like that aren't rare. They're all pitiful souls..."

"..."

Hu Ma listened closely and hurriedly asked, "You said that was the crooked path. What's the proper one?"

"Keep cultivating until you become a true Night Watcher."

Erguotou said, "The Blood Food Gangs in the city—whether it's the Red Lantern Society, the Green Robe Gang, or Basket Gate—all the groups that make their living cutting up Blood Ganoderma have Night Watchers in their employ."

"These people spend years alongside the Blood Ganoderma, yet stay healthy and strong, blessed with long lives. That's because they've mastered special methods of preserving life."

"Of course, we don't know if it's true. We've only heard that some powerful Night Watchers can even bring the dead back to life, relying on their cultivation..."

"..."

Hu Ma listened, suddenly intrigued.

Was this why Old Woman insisted that he keep learning these methods?

His heart stirred. Lowering his voice, he said, "That's exactly what I want to learn. But how do I get in?"

Erguotou said, "If you really want to learn, you'll first need to get into a Blood Food Gang. Then you'll have a chance."

Hu Ma hurriedly asked, "How can I get in?"

He'd heard of the Blood Food Gangs, but the people in his village both revered and feared them, as if they were some great dignitaries. He'd never heard of anyone's child managing to join.

Erguotou hesitated briefly. "I can help you with that, but..."

"..."

"I saved your life, and you're still hesitating?"

Hu Ma felt a little displeased, but kept his voice even as he smiled. "But what?"

Erguotou sighed. "It's just that this is such a simple favor. It's not enough to repay you for saving my life..."

What an honest man. It was already more than enough that he was willing to help. And he was still weighing whether the favor was worth the debt?

"Don't underestimate those two words: 'a favor.'"

Hu Ma was genuinely surprised. Erguotou smiled and explained, "Among us Reincarnators, the most precious currency is favors!"

"You have to understand: there's nothing binding us Reincarnators together, and we don't dare form real-world friendships. Even when we help and look out for one another, we're just a group of wretches huddling together for warmth."

"But everyone's struggling to survive, and no one can spend all their time helping others. Still, you can never be sure when you might need someone else to save your life. So over the years, we've realized that the thing we should cherish most is a favor."

"To me, you saving my life is an enormous favor."

"Whether I arranged for you to join the Red Lantern Society or helped you with some small trouble, neither would even count as a flick of my hand. If I were to repay your favor, I should at least give you these methods outright..."

"...and throw in two pounds of Blood Ganoderma!"

"..."

Hu Ma was suddenly a little surprised.

For a moment, the idea of using favors as currency seemed far-fetched. Then again, it also seemed exactly right.

And that explained why Miss White Wine had insisted on giving him three pieces of information in return back then.

Had she been afraid of owing him a favor without realizing it?

"To you, it was just passing along a message. To me, it was you saving my life—and that's an enormous favor."

At this point, Erguotou grew serious. He said to Hu Ma, "If I brush you off, then the next time I deal with another Reincarnator, my favors may not be worth anything either."

"So, brother, don't be polite. Since you want to learn the ways of the Night Watchers, I'll find you an opportunity..."

"And if you have any other questions, just come ask me on the Days of Zero."

"..."

Only then did Hu Ma understand. He hurriedly thanked him.

Connecting burned life incense, so the two didn't use it to make idle conversation. After they'd talked for a while, they each withdrew.