Village Rules

The unexpected result left the surroundings suddenly quiet. The villagers all seemed too stunned to react.

Cui Xie'er, standing beside Hu Ma, was the exception. After staring blankly for a long while, he suddenly lost control and shouted, "No, this isn't right!"

"You're being unfair, unfair!"

"..."

As if his shout had jolted them awake, everyone turned their attention to him, watching with great concern.

The plump Steward Lord merely smiled at Cui Xie'er. "Child, how is it unfair?"

Cui Xie'er realized he'd lost control only after shouting. But now that things had come to this, he could only press on, shouting, "I'm the one with the strongest furnace flame! I... I've trained better than all of them. They shouldn't all have been chosen while I'm the only one left out..."

Even Second Master seemed unsure whether to speak.

To be honest, Cui Xie'er had followed him longer than any of the other boys, and his furnace flame was indeed the strongest.

As for Hu Ma...

...There was no comparing them. Even Second Master couldn't compare with him.

But before Second Master could try to soothe him, the Steward Lord chuckled. He looked exceedingly kind, and though he spoke unhurriedly, he naturally carried an air of authority. "You are quite good."

"I can tell you're the one among these boys who's been Igniting the Furnace the longest, and you've put a lot of work into it. But if I'm not mistaken, you were recently struck by Evil Spirits, weren't you?"

"Your furnace flame isn't pure anymore. Go home and recover. We'll talk again next year!"

"..."

"I..."

No matter what anyone said, Cui Xie'er had been seething with resentment. But the moment this was brought up, his face suddenly turned pale.

His lips trembled, and his eyes filled with venom as he glared fiercely at Hu Ma.

Hu Ma understood what was going on, but paid him no mind. He turned away and began talking to Zhou Datong.

"Oh dear..."

After that brief pause, the Cui Family also came to their senses. They hurried over, pressing through the crowd. Cui's Third Uncle hadn't heard the Steward Lord clearly from where he'd been standing, so he still shouted indignantly, "No matter what, our Xie'er is still better than that Hu boy, isn't he?"

"He's been following Second Master for less than a month..."

"..."

Cui's Eldest Uncle shot his younger brother a glare. Then, seeing how many people were around, he put on a smile and squeezed over to the Steward Lord, lowering his voice.

"Steward Lord, could we have a word in private?"

"..."

The Steward Lord's expression was kind, but he only smiled without budging.

He was as proud as could be. He was an official sent by the Red Lantern Society—why should he take a step aside for them?

He merely raised his head to look at the sky and addressed the Great Sheep Village folk crowded into the courtyard. "I came to Great Sheep Village to see the children in passing. I still need to burn incense before Lord Tai Sui and hang up our Red Lantern Society's lantern."

"I don't have time to get any closer to the villagers just now. If you have matters to discuss, speak with the Clan Leader."

"I only need to see the five children from your village before the twenty-eighth of this month."

"..."

As he spoke, he lifted the front of his robe and left the courtyard. He declined the Clan Leader's invitation to lunch and rode off on his donkey.

The Cui Family didn't dare stop the Steward Lord as he left. They hurried to surround the Clan Leader, all talking at once.

Elsewhere, besides Hu Ma and Zhou Datong, the other three chosen boys still looked dazed. But their families were beaming with joy, crowding around to hug the children and look them over from every angle, unable to contain their delight.

Some immediately took their children by the hand to Old Fire Pit to thank their ancestors for their blessing. Others called over the neighbors and invited them to dinner and drinks that evening.

The excitement was just like a village in Hu Ma's previous life celebrating a child's acceptance into university.

"You really are one lucky kid..."

Second Master came over too and patted Hu Ma on the head with a sigh. "I knew you were ambitious and wouldn't settle for making a living by Worshiping Taisui. You were determined to learn real skills. Who'd have thought you'd actually get a chance to join the Blood Food Gang?"

He knew how far Hu Ma had come, so he wasn't surprised at all that Hu Ma had been chosen.

He was only marveling at Hu Ma's luck. The boy had been asking him all sorts of questions from the start, and it was clear he wanted to learn real skills. But Second Master couldn't teach him anymore, and the Goddess Society wasn't a place one could simply join. And yet, by sheer chance, an opportunity had come along.

Hu Ma smiled. "It's all thanks to your teaching, Second Master."

Second Master beamed at him, at a loss for words to praise him. Then he suddenly turned and kicked Zhou Datong.

"You're even luckier. You've got a good grandfather."

"..."

"Praise him all you want, but why'd you kick me...?"

Zhou Datong rubbed his backside, thinking that he wasn't the only lazy one in the courtyard...

"Clan Leader, this isn't right..."

At the same time, the Cui Family had pulled the Clan Leader over to the wall. They were upset and agitated, all talking over one another.

"Our Xie'er has followed Second Master for nearly three years. His furnace flame is absolutely the strongest."

"Exactly! Everyone else got chosen. Why not our boy?"

"..."

Surrounded by them, the Clan Leader's head was spinning. "What's this all about? Don't you already know?"

"Second Master told you a while ago. Evil Spirits struck your Xie'er. What can we do about that?"

"..."

After Cui Xie'er had run into the White-faced Mountain Fiend, Second Master had sent him back to the village to recover for a few days. The Cui Family knew all that, of course, but now they were unwilling to accept it, anxiously saying, "He was struck by Evil Spirits, so we can go find the Old Woman..."

They suddenly remembered the Old Woman was already dead. After a pause, they continued, "We can go to that old sheepskin fellow in Python Village and have him fix Xie'er up. But we can't let this opportunity slip by."

"The Goddess Society hasn't held a ceremony in years. Can you really bear to watch your great-nephew miss out like this?"

"..."

The Clan Leader felt his head starting to ache. "What can we do? The Steward Lord has already chosen. How dare we interfere?"

"What if we offend him and he refuses to take any of the village's children? Then what?"

"..."

The Cui Family grew even more flustered. Cui's Eldest Uncle told his brothers to keep calm, then said, "Listen to what he said. The Steward Lord said it was up to you, didn't he? If we're sending children to the Red Lantern Society, we should send the best. Put our Xie'er in, and take out whoever's got the weakest furnace flame. Simple as that!"

The Clan Leader's face fell at this. "My Datong isn't the weakest."

The Cui Family looked awkward. "We didn't mean Datong. That boy's... so hardworking. Of course he's good."

The Clan Leader was still the Clan Leader. No one in the Cui Family would dare object if he used an opportunity like this to get his own grandson in.

But when they considered the families of the other children who'd been chosen, they realized none of them were easy to deal with.

So they lowered their voices. "That Hu boy has only been up the mountain for less than a month, hasn't he?"

"How did he get chosen? Do you think Second Master secretly put in a good word for him with the Steward Lord?"

"..."

The Clan Leader couldn't help frowning.

He also suspected Second Master had spoken to the Steward Lord behind the scenes.

For one thing, Hu Ma had indeed joined them late, and he'd been quite the troublemaker before. He hadn't seemed like a promising boy.

Besides, when the Steward Lord had tested his furnace flame, he'd barely touched him before pulling away. It had clearly been perfunctory.

Seeing that the Clan Leader didn't answer right away, Cui's Eldest Uncle hurriedly said, "I think our Xie'er should go. He's older and more sensible. Once he gets to the Goddess Society, he can look after Datong and the other youngsters from the village."

"Otherwise, those five will all be clueless. They'll get into trouble somehow, and the Society might send them right back..."

Hearing that, the Old Clan Leader grew even more hesitant.

If anyone was likely to cause trouble in the village, it was his own grandson first, and that Hu boy second, wasn't it?

Seeing the Old Clan Leader hesitate, Cui's Second Uncle hurriedly leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear. Hu Ma caught fragments like "Half-jar Taisui" and "Golden Grains." The Old Clan Leader's eyes widened in surprise. He seemed tempted...

Then, under the Cui Family's eager gaze, he asked in surprise, "Your family has such good stuff stashed away?"

Cui's Second Uncle smiled without answering and asked ingratiatingly, "What do you think?"

"Very good, very good..." the Old Clan Leader said with a smile. Then he suddenly added, "With all these fine things, why go into town to work? Why not save them for Cui's boy to marry a wife?"

"As for joining the Goddess Society, why not leave that opportunity to young Hu Ma?"

"..."

The Cui Family were left rooted to the spot, utterly bewildered.

"What are they talking about?"

Hu Ma had seen the Cui Family surrounding the Clan Leader from a distance and chattering away. He asked curiously.

Second Master snorted. "It can't be anything good. I've never liked how overbearing the Cui Family is."

"But there's nothing to be done. That's how our village has always been. The family with the most sons gets to throw its weight around. The Cui Family's old matriarch was something else—she bore five sons. One died when he was little, but even so, they're one of the biggest families in the village now."

"Remember what the Old Woman told you, too. Once you get to the Red Lantern Society, learn your skills quickly, get married, and have children. The more, the better. The Old Woman is waiting for you back at the pit!"

"..."

He hadn't expected to be just sixteen in this world and already getting nagged about marriage.

Hu Ma could only smile. Then he caught onto something important and asked, "Once I've learned the Goddess Society's skills, I don't have to stay a virgin anymore?"

"Of course not."

Second Master glared at him. "Which officials or Shopkeepers in the Goddess Society don't have several wives?"

"They've got some serious skills!"

"They choose you boys because you're still untouched, like blank sheets of paper, and your foundations are good. That makes you easier to teach. But there's no rule that says you can't break your vow of chastity."

"Once you join the Goddess Society, do well, and rise to become an official—or better yet, a Shopkeeper—you'll have Blood Food provided just for you. With plenty of Blood Food, what skill couldn't you learn?"

"Even if you're only a hired hand for a few years, when you return to the village, even the Clan Leader will look at you with new respect..."

Hearing that, Hu Ma felt a little tempted. He paused briefly, then asked, "What about the Night Watchers' skills?"

"Hm?"

Second Master was slightly taken aback when he heard him say those three words. Then he realized the Old Woman must have mentioned them to him.

He sighed and waved a hand. "You really are ambitious. The Goddess Society does have that path, and once you learn it, you don't have to seal your furnace anymore. But it's not that easy. Even your Second Master has waited a whole lifetime..."

Hu Ma had a vague feeling that Second Master seemed a little uncomfortable whenever that path came up.