The Ways of the World

After staying with Second Master for several days, Hu Ma gradually heard about what had happened to the Cui Family.

What Cui Family Grandmother had done this time had violated a grave taboo. Even the Old Clan Leader, such a famously kind-hearted man, had flown into a rare rage and adamantly refused to allow the dead members of the Cui Family into the Old Fire Pit.

For one thing, they had used wicked arts to harm others and could not go unpunished. For another, they had died from the backlash of those wicked arts, making their deaths unclean. Sending them into the Old Fire Pit might also taint the Ancestors.

Though the Cui Family had plenty of uncles, brothers, and cousins, they did not dare openly defy the people of the stronghold over such a matter. In the end, they merely placed Cui Family Grandmother, along with the eldest, second, third, and fourth sons, into thin wooden coffins, had several people carry them away, and buried them in the Woods.

There were quite a few households bearing the Cui surname, yet none of them had anything to say about it. If anything, they blamed that family even more bitterly in their hearts.

As for Hu Ma, he did not care much about any of this. All he could think about was Cui Xie'er.

But Second Master feared that the Cui households in the stronghold might do him harm, and protected him so thoroughly that Hu Ma had no chance to make a move against Cui Xie'er.

And if he did not act himself and sent Xiao Hong Tang instead, there were two problems. First, the Ancestors throughout the stronghold were watching now. Xiao Hong Tang had become familiar with the place and could play wherever she pleased without issue, but if she harbored the malicious intent to harm someone, she might alert the Ancestors.

The other problem was that although Xiao Hong Tang was one of the Evil Spirits, her nature was pure.

Hu Ma had tested the waters by asking whether she had ever harmed anyone, and Xiao Hong Tang had admitted it with complete honesty.

"I have. That time I fought with you!"

"..."

Hu Ma nearly could not hold himself together. No matter that she was an Evil Spirit, she looked like a little child. He could not bear to let her hands be stained with blood.

But if that was the case, how was he supposed to get this done?

Ask Erguotou?

Hu Ma thought to himself that if he asked Brother Erguotou, he would most likely agree.

But murder was no small matter.

Even if Brother Erguotou truly held great power and status in this world, asking him to help kill someone was still far too abrupt.

Besides, once Cui Xie'er was dead, the favor Erguotou owed him would truly be wiped clean. Hu Ma might even end up owing him a favor instead. With the Night Watcher method not yet securely in hand and so many questions still to ask him, that would be an extremely poor bargain.

That left only one thing to do: have Xiao Hong Tang keep an eye on Cui Xie'er's movements for now.

Still, because of what had happened to the Cui Family, the stronghold had grown much tenser without anyone quite realizing it, especially those families whose children had already been chosen to join the Red Lantern Society.

The thought that someone had actually harmed others just to snatch such a spot made them treasure their own children all the more. They hounded the Old Clan Leader three times a day, wishing they could send the children to the Goddess Society in the city more than half a month early.

The Old Clan Leader was driven half mad by the pestering. After discussing it with Second Master, he set an earlier departure date.

"We'll be leaving home, after all, and there's no telling when you'll return. You ought to go greet your acquaintances and relatives..."

Once Second Master had set the date, he said to Hu Ma again, "Your Old Woman is gone, but the roots of your Hu Family are still here. You need to start learning the ways of the world!"

"Acquaintances and relatives?"

Hu Ma was taken aback. "Does our Hu Family still have any of those in the stronghold?"

"Your godmother..."

Second Master said, "Your godmother's nearly gone bald worrying over you. Now that you don't need her, you're just going to ignore her?"

"?"

Hu Ma suddenly remembered that he had such a relative, and immediately agreed again and again.

Still, he obediently followed Second Master, prepared several sticks of incense and a few offerings, then entered the Woods to find his godmother. After gaining one stick's worth of cultivation, he no longer needed Yin Qi to seal the furnace, so he had saved several sticks for his godmother.

When they arrived by the stream, his godmother was comfortably stretching out her branches, drinking in the spiritual essence of the Woods. The sudden sight of Hu Ma and Second Master approaching made her shudder violently.

"Willow Mother, I've brought your godson to pay his respects."

Second Master led Hu Ma beneath the willow tree and burned incense. "Your godson has made something of himself. He's going to pay homage to the Red Lantern Goddess."

"When he comes back after learning his skills, he'll bring you better offerings..."

"..."

They did not seem to be here to cut willow branches? Yet his godmother still faced them as though confronting a great enemy, not daring to let down her guard.

Second Master had Hu Ma kowtow to his godmother, burn incense, and offer fruit and sacrificial meat. Then, after some thought, he also had him bow in the direction of the Woods and said, "Your Old Woman had deep ties with the Woods, and they're all your elders too. You can't neglect the proper courtesies."

Hu Ma thought that made sense, so Second Master took back all the offerings that had just been placed before his godmother and set them out again facing the Woods.

"You can do that?"

Hu Ma even felt a little sorry for his godmother. Second Master had been born and raised here, so he surely understood the rules of the Woods.

But he normally could not run into Evil Spirits, and his temperament was rather rough besides, so he tended to overlook the finer details.

Yet when Hu Ma faced the Woods, planted three sticks of incense, and knocked his head four times, he did not know whether it was an illusion, but the silent, ethereal Woods truly seemed to stir faintly to life.

In the dim forest where sunlight could not reach, the shadows lay scattered and fragmented. It seemed that many things were swaying there, watching the polite Hu Ma with great satisfaction.

In particular, Hu Ma did not know whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he rose after knocking his head four times, he caught sight of a broken stump beyond several rows of trees.

If there were other presences in the Woods, they had merely stood off to the side while he kowtowed, watching him with smiles.

But that stump, and the indistinct silhouette that seemed to be sitting upon it, were directly before him as he kowtowed. It calmly accepted his respects, its gaze seeming faintly pleased as well.

Was that Old Woman's acquaintance?

Hu Ma recalled that when Old Woman had first taken him out of the stronghold, they had encountered him. She had even stopped to reminisce with him for a while. He also remembered that when he had brought Old Woman back to the stronghold, that man had come to see them off.

Now that he was leaving the village to learn some skills, the man had actually come to see him off like a proper elder.

Only after all the courtesies were observed did Hu Ma return with Second Master.

A bullock cart had already been prepared in the village, stocked with dried provisions and bedding, as well as something the Old Clan Leader had furtively slipped to Second Master. Hu Ma, Zhou Datong, Li Wa, Zhao Liang, and several other boys, including Zhou Zhu, were already sitting cross-legged in the cart, waiting.

After Hu Ma placed his bedding roll onto the cart, the Old Clan Leader pulled him aside and earnestly advised him:

"The Old Woman is gone, so there's no one in your family to pack your things for you. I had Datong's mother sew an extra jacket and make you a pair of cloth shoes. The provisions are all ready too."

"Keep them safe. Once you get to the city, you brothers must look after one another..."

"..."

Hu Ma had cut thirteen times in a row and wiped out the Cui Family.

Though the matter had been forced upon him, and Hu Ma himself had been the victim, it had still caused quite a stir in the village. The Old Clan Leader might look muddle-headed, but his heart was perfectly clear. He knew that once these boys reached the city, they would inevitably have to rely on Hu Ma to look after them.

He had already instructed Zhou Datong at home earlier. Now, he had come personally to entrust Hu Ma with the matter again:

"Remember, us folks from Great Sheep Village make our living off blood food. Once you enter the Goddess Society, learning your craft comes first."

"Wear a smile for others, never fear being pushed around, and just stay safe and steady."

"Save your wages properly when you get paid. A little food and drink is nothing, but don't go wandering into alleyways at random. You're still so young, don't be so greedy for women. After you've worked for two years and come back to the village, there'll be plenty of wives for you to find throughout the ten villages and eight hamlets. You must keep an eye on them..."

"..."

He droned on endlessly, but Hu Ma had already heard plenty of this from Second Master.

He merely smiled. "Clan Leader Grandfather, rest assured. I know what I'm doing."

The Clan Leader truly found it hard to rest assured.

Who could have imagined it? Just last year, these had been the two most troublesome brats in the village, and now they were heading out together to make a living.

Especially since he had once been unwilling to let his own grandson play with that bastard boy from the Old Woman's family, afraid his grandson would be led astray. Yet now, he had to swallow his pride and personally say nice things to that spoiled grandson of hers, all because he feared Hu Ma would refuse to help his own grandson...

A person's faults really ought to grow alongside their abilities.

Unlike his own grandson, who only knew how to be bad and had no brains to speak of. What a headache.

"Let's go..."

Seeing that the Old Clan Leader showed no sign of stopping, Second Master grew impatient. He called Hu Ma onto the cart, then raised his whip.

The Clan Leader and a group of villagers stood at the village gate to see them off. Some were beaming with joy, while others wept because they could not bear to part with their children.

"Mother, I'll take you to Grandmother's home in Snake Village."

Yet no one noticed that, as this group of children followed Second Master toward the city, Cui Xie'er—who seemed to have grown up overnight—was also leading his mad mother away from the other side of the village. He led the last great blue mule he had protected with his life after the Cui Family's possessions had been looted, carrying only a small amount of luggage as he quietly left the village in another direction.

He knew of the bustle on the other side of the village, but held himself back from turning to look.

"Mother, this village has no place for us anymore. We won't stay here and suffer people's scorn. Once we reach Grandmother's house, I'll give this mule to Uncle and ask him to take care of you."

Leading the mule, he walked step by step. His mother could no longer understand his words, so it was as though he were speaking to himself.

"Then I'll leave."

"I'm going to learn some skills too. Once I've mastered them, I'll avenge Eldest Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, my father, and my grandmother."

"The people in the village have no sense of loyalty. They didn't remember a shred of old friendship—they took Grandmother and fed her to wild dogs. The uncles of the Cui Family have no sense of loyalty either. We're relatives, yet when trouble came, not one of them stepped forward to say a word. All they cared about were our family's mules and horses."

"As for the Hu Family, Hu Ma... once I've learned my skills, I'll see his whole family exterminated, root and branch..."

He rambled on, constantly bolstering his own courage. His hatred was too deep; he blamed everyone, and had even forgotten that he was in the Woods.

Nor did he notice that the branches of the ancient trees around him had, at some unknown moment, come alive...

In Old Yin Mountain, cutting oneself off from the village made it hard to stay alive.

Not long afterward, Hu Ma, seated in the bullock cart and gradually moving farther from Great Sheep Village, heard the message Xiao Hong Tang had passed on to him. His heart gave a slight start.

He had not expected that some matters would not even require him to lift a hand.

The ways of human feeling and worldly dealings in Old Yin Mountain truly were a profound field of study...