The Red Lantern Goddess Society

After talking things over with Brother Erguotou, Hu Ma had gained a somewhat deeper understanding of this world. He silently pondered the questions in his mind, but whatever else might be true, becoming a true Night Watcher was what mattered most.

With Brother Erguotou's promise, he waited patiently.

But the village gradually grew busy. There was no mystery to it: the Steward Lord of the Blood Food Gang's Red Lantern Society was coming down to the village.

Worshipping Taisui, put plainly, meant cutting flesh. It was a major event for the village, and for the Blood Food Gang.

Every year, before spring, they sent stewards down in advance to survey the meat mountain and estimate its yield. Then they decided where to recruit workers and how many, where to set up camp, and which routes to use for hauling the meat back. Roads that needed building were built, and bridges that needed repairs were fixed ahead of time.

In one way or another, every stage of the work was closely tied to the surrounding villages. After all, even if not everyone could cut meat, hauling supplies, selling grain, and gathering mountain herbs were all ways to earn money.

So every year, when the Blood Food Gang's steward came down, the surrounding villages competed to host him.

For the past few years, the meat mountains around Great Sheep Village had been harvested by a Blood Food Gang called the Red Lantern Goddess Society. The villagers had gotten used to the name and usually called it the Goddess Society.

The steward always came on a set date. A few days beforehand, the Clan Leader was already busy telling people to clean out empty houses and put up tents. He even had the sheep fed a few extra handfuls of grass.

On the day the steward came down to the village, all the important people and elders in the village were waiting eagerly from early morning.

By nightfall, torches had been lit throughout the village. When the steward arrived with two attendants, the Old Clan Leader hurriedly led the village's leading figures out to greet him.

Under the tent, a sheep had already been slaughtered, and a jar of the village's precious, rarely opened wine had been set out.

"Steward Lord, please eat and drink your fill."

The Old Clan Leader's face crinkled like an orange as he smiled and played the attentive host. He even ordered, "Send for Widow Sun."

"Have hot water ready tonight, so she can wash the steward's feet."

"..."

"Don't bother..."

The Steward Lord smiled politely. "I've never cared for that sort of thing. The Society entrusted this assignment to me, and I only hope to do it well and return with the job properly done. That'll be more than enough for me."

"Of course, of course."

The Old Clan Leader smiled. "There's not a village in these ten miles we don't know. Just tell us what you need."

Then, after they had raised their cups a few times, he cautiously asked, "How many people are we recruiting this year?"

Everything else was a minor matter. Once they had worshipped Taisui, the real question was how many of the village's young men would be chosen to go cut meat.

More than a dozen, maybe twenty, young men in Great Sheep Village had learned the trade from Second Master. But how many of them would actually get to work in the mines was up to the Steward Lord.

Of course, the steward wouldn't dare make careless choices. Recruiting people who weren't up to the job might hurt the harvest, but if one of them was possessed by an Evil Spirit and turned wicked, causing trouble for the others who were working, that would be a much bigger headache.

"Alas, it's a small year."

The steward sighed. "I reckon we'll only recruit a hundred or so people. Then we'll worship Taisui and be done."

The Old Clan Leader's face immediately fell. "What?"

Taisui harvests had small years and big years because White Ganoderma, Green Ganoderma, Blood Ganoderma, and Black Taisui all grew and recovered at different rates. If all four kinds were growing vigorously—the white, green, blood, and black—there was more to harvest, so naturally they recruited more meat cutters.

In a small year, the operation was limited, so they didn't need as many people.

The steward gave a wry smile too. "Can't be helped. We harvested Green Ganoderma last year, so there isn't much this year. And the most annoying thing is the Blood Ganoderma. I searched for days and didn't see a trace of it."

"I reckon only the White Ganoderma is still around, and we don't need to be so careful with that."

"..."

The Old Clan Leader listened with some regret, but there was nothing he could do.

If they recruited only a hundred or so people, divided among the villages in the area, each village might get no more than eight or ten places. Great Sheep Village had over twenty young men waiting. Wouldn't half of them be left out?

The Old Clan Leader was already working out his next move. He'd slaughter another sheep later, and have Li's wife replace the woman who was supposed to bathe the Steward Lord that night.

Could he get them a few more places?

He was still turning it over in his mind when the steward suddenly lowered his voice and said with a smile, "Brother, don't rush to think up a way around it. We may be recruiting fewer miners this year, but there's something else."

"This year, our Red Lantern Society is opening a shrine."

"..."

"Ah..."

When the Old Clan Leader heard that, he could hardly believe it at first. Then delight swept over him, and his hand trembled as he held his wine cup.

The others sitting with them were even more thrilled, their eyes shining.

"Slaughter a sheep! Slaughter a sheep! Kill that old ram. It's been ten years—bring the ram's treasure to the Steward Lord..."

"Bring the wine! Bring the wine! Take out the jar we'd been saving for Datong's wedding feast..."

"..."

"..."

Gongs and drums thundered throughout the village, and the place was alive with excitement. But Hu Ma was already lying in bed, silently practicing his breathing as he prepared to sleep.

The village's celebrations had little to do with the Hu Family.

Old Woman had passed away. To the villagers, he was just an only child with no kinship ties to the village, an outsider among outsiders. Or perhaps...

...even when Old Woman was alive, the Hu Family had been on the village's fringes?

He had already intended to leave, and so he had never made a point of befriending the villagers. He simply went about his own business.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just as he was drifting off, someone suddenly pounded on the little wooden door so hard it shook the whole house.

Hu Ma had no choice but to get up, throw on his clothes, turn up the oil lamp by his bed, and go to open the door.

As soon as he opened it, he saw Zhou Datong standing there, his face full of anxious excitement. "What are you doing sleeping at a time like this?"

Hu Ma stepped aside in surprise to let him in. "What's going on?"

Zhou Datong eagerly started to come inside, but stopped just before stepping over the threshold and asked cautiously, "That little ghost you keep at home isn't here, is it?"

Hu Ma glanced up at Xiao Hong Tang, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes on the roof beam. "She's not here."

"Good, good. Let's go inside."

Zhou Datong hurried in and shut the door behind him, then excitedly told Hu Ma, "I've got good news..."

"Brother Hu Ma, the Blood Food Gang's steward is here. They say they're recruiting workers in our village this year!"

"..."

That left Hu Ma momentarily stunned. "Don't they recruit every year?"

"It's different this time."

Zhou Datong rubbed his hands and stamped his feet with excitement. "In past years, they only recruited people to worship Taisui. Those were short-term jobs, two or three months. This year, they're recruiting workers to officially join the Society..."

"We've struck it rich! We might get a chance to go to the city!"

"Second Master specifically sent me to tell you. Make sure you get to the estate early tomorrow."

"If you miss this chance, you might never get another in your whole life!"

"..."

"Hm?"

Hu Ma was taken aback. He faintly understood. "So this is the opportunity Brother Erguotou was talking about?"

Well, well...

Since Reincarnators were cautious, they were afraid that meeting in person in the real world might arouse suspicion. So he hadn't dared come and help him out of nowhere. Instead, he had simply created an opportunity like this—one that would bring a whole batch of young men up from the village.

What could he say...

...It was a good plan, and it had a reckless streak to it!

After making Zhou Datong promise again and again that he wouldn't be late, and telling him to reassure Second Master, Zhou Datong cautiously left a bowl of lamb trotters that he'd hidden inside his robe for Hu Ma. Then he rushed back, eager to keep feasting with the others.

Hu Ma looked at the bowl of meat and couldn't help laughing helplessly. The chubby kid was loyal. As the Clan Leader's grandson, he could use the chance to host the steward to sneak some meat.

And after all that, he'd still thought of Hu Ma.

Hu Ma wasn't hungry. He gave the lamb trotters to Xiao Hong Tang to gnaw on, then shut the door and went back to sleep.

Early the next morning, he put on a coarse cloth jacket and straw sandals, tied up his hair, and walked out of the village.

To his surprise, men and women from the village were all heading out too, in little groups of two or three, making their way to Second Master's estate. Some carried shoulder poles, others brought stools. It looked as lively as a temple fair.

"Brother Hu Ma, over here! Hurry!"

Hu Ma had barely left the village when he spotted Zhou Datong standing by the woods, waving to him.

Hu Ma walked over and asked in surprise, "Why are there so many people?"

"They're here to watch the excitement," Zhou Datong said. "The Red Lantern Society is opening a shrine. That's a big deal."

"How much money can our village make in a year by worshipping Taisui for the Blood Food Gang? But this time, if the steward picks you and you join the Goddess Society as a worker, you'll get paid every month. You'll get to learn a trade, too, and they'll provide you with Blood Food."

"Save up for a few years, get yourself a house in the city, marry a wife, and you'll have made something of yourself!"

"..."

"The Red Lantern Society..."

Hu Ma was a little surprised. "Does the government recognize it?"

He had already decided he would join, but he was surprised to see the villagers so excited.

Perhaps memories from his previous life were affecting him. He had always thought of the Blood Food Gang and the Red Lantern Society as some kind of illegal organizations. Even if the village was poor, surely people wouldn't be this happy about getting the chance to send their sons into a gang?

"What does it matter whether the government recognizes them or not?"

Zhou Datong looked blankly at him, then started praising what he'd heard the previous night. "They make an honest living."

"Which of the Blood Food Gang's workers in the city doesn't return to the village looking grand?"

"..."

Hearing that, Hu Ma gradually understood the place the Blood Food Gangs held in this world and said no more.

So this was working in the city, not joining the underworld...

He took a deep breath and, with Zhou Datong, headed toward the hope he had found in becoming a Night Watcher.