Chapter 21 Perhaps Good Fortune?

Hearing Yang Gong's rough explanation, what could Hu Ma say? Could only say that this kid's fate had indeed changed for the better?

It turned out that after that time eliminating the bandits, Yang Gong led his men back to the mountains and was welcomed by countless mountain families. Several villages joined hands, offering fine wine and meat to serve them.

Even some families deep in the mountains, from quite a distance, led donkeys, pulled carts, and brought gold and silver, cattle and sheep, and burdens of wine and food to reward them.

Yang Gong and the other Red Fragrance disciples had never seen such a scene before and were all excited and happy.

During the banquet, elders with status and seniority, or some landlords and wealthy people from the villages, kept raising their bowls to compliment them, asking about their identities, ages, ancestral homes, and so on.

Many people even said that their villages had suitable women and wanted to marry them off to them. Yang Gong and the others were greatly embarrassed and declined, not taking up the topic. But later, no one expected...

"You're quite the wild one..."

Hu Ma was surprised to hear this, "You went to someone's village for a drink, and you were in the bridal chamber that very night?"

"It's not like that..."

Yang Gong immediately felt wronged, waving his hands repeatedly, and said, "I don't know what happened. The mountain wine tastes smooth, but it's potent. Once I got drunk, I didn't know anything. I woke up needing water, and when I reached out, it was smooth and soft..."

"No need to describe the details..."

Hu Ma quickly stopped him, full of curiosity, and hurriedly said, "Then you got married?"

"I couldn't not get married, she was a virgin..."

Yang Gong looked embarrassed and said, "Besides, she's from a well-known wealthy family in the village, a respectable family with countless fertile fields and herds of mules and horses."

"They said that what's done is done, so she had to marry me. They also said I didn't have a place to live, so they specially allocated a residence and even assigned a few servants to serve me..."

"..."

"Hiss..."

Hu Ma found it all bizarre. Such things were not difficult to understand, but Yang Gong now had a reputation in the mountains, and he had earned luck in the dark, but it shouldn't be so obvious yet.

Could it be that those mountain families had such a keen sense that they started betting so early?

While he was wondering, Yang Gong sighed again and said, "Afterward, I felt something was wrong and asked her what happened. She also said she didn't know, she was just muddled in a dream and was pushed into my room by her deceased grandparents."

"Who knows if it's true or not..."

"..."

"This..."

Hu Ma didn't know how to advise him for a moment. It seemed that the living might not have this kind of insight, but the dead might.

Yang Gong's reputation and abilities are great in the eyes of the living now, maybe he's even more popular in the eyes of the dead!

He could only pat his hand and sigh, "Since that's the case, then accept it!"

"Listening to you, your father-in-law's family has a solid foundation. You're just about to leave the Red Lantern Society anyway, so staying there to live isn't a bad way to find food, is it?"

"..."

"The key is right here..."

Yang Gong suddenly became indignant, suddenly got up, closed the door of the inner hall, and then turned to look at Hu Ma with a worried look. This attitude startled Hu Ma.

Then he heard Yang Gong approach him, lower his voice and say, "I'm only telling you this, Brother Hu Ma. If you tell anyone, I'll have to run outside and jump into the river. I..."

He struggled, looked down with hatred, and whispered, "My body is weak..."

"?"

Hu Ma was stunned, staring blankly at Yang Gong, blinking his eyes.

Yang Gong said, "It's that, it's because we carry the spirits (fu ling) and are usually too tired, so, that thing..."

Seeing Yang Gong gesticulating and trying to explain clearly, Hu Ma suddenly reached out his hand:

"Say no more, I understand."

"..."

Then he silently got up, went to the bedside, groped for two porcelain bottles, returned to Yang Gong, stuffed them into his hand, and sighed, "Born as a spirit carrier (fu ling ren), everyone understands..."

"Take these three Blood Food Pills. They are all good things from our Shousui Gate. After you eat them, don't use the previous methods to refine them, just let them digest. I think they can always make up for it."

Yang Gong was immediately stunned: "This is possible too?"

Hu Ma looked at him curiously and said, "You're a Red Fragrance disciple, haven't you seen it before?"

"We eat this to save our lives!"

Yang Gong said, "We risk our lives to earn half a pill, and we save it for dealing with tough opponents. Who would use it on this kind of thing?"

"Then now is the time to use it on this."

Hu Ma couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, patted his hand, and said, "Just take it as my wedding gift to you. Just accept it and don't wrong the bride."

Looking at Yang Gong's tangled and excited appearance now, he couldn't help but find it funny in his heart.

Fate, fate, what can I say about this thing?

Yang Gong's life, whether in the eyes of the Five Fiends or the Mountain Lord, is actually a very superficial type. Although he theoretically has the fate of an emperor now, if he really wants to compete...

Hu Ma could only shake his head secretly, far from it, too far from it.

He already knew a lot about the things in the sect, but he only had a vague understanding of this theory of fate, so he couldn't help Yang Gong too much. Now, everyone can only follow their own fate for the time being.

Perhaps one day, he would be able to understand this theory of fate, and if he had the opportunity, he could help him.

Of course, it was still far away. Now, he hadn't obtained the token and hadn't fully learned his skills. He didn't plan to really get involved in such a strange and mysterious game of chess for the time being.

On this day, after solving Yang Gong's major problem and learning something about his whereabouts, Hu Ma felt relieved. He set up a banquet in the village and invited Yang Gong for a drink. At night, he saw fine horses and a red sedan chair coming to the entrance of the village.

It turned out that the bride from the mountains was worried and personally brought people to pick him up.

"Some hide in the city, some hide in the mountains. Don't underestimate this small Ming Prefecture, there are many with solid foundations..."

Hu Ma nodded secretly as he looked at their formation. People in the sect ultimately belong to the martial world, and the ones that shouldn't be underestimated are them.

Speaking of it, the families in the mountains seem to be relatively poor, but who knows how many villages store grain and raise horses, paying attention to the situation in the world. Maybe there are still many aristocratic families who, when they see the situation in the world changing, hide in the mountains, waiting for the opportunity to come!

The ones who are now eyeing Yang Gong may be such families. They are also good at betting everywhere, and they seem to be low-key and raise many scholars around them!

In this world, the government is low-key, and few scholars come out, but they all have knowledge and learning. If they can let them stay honestly, either they are holding back something bad, or they are thinking about rebellion!

Speaking of which, these things are really interesting, allowing one to see the world more clearly, but for himself, the most important thing is entering the Fu.

Hu Ma understood in his heart, so after sending Yang Gong away, he brought his attention back.

Now, entering the Fu is simple, as long as there is enough Blood Food to nourish him. However, although he has a lot of Blood Food on hand now, it is only enough for half, so the other half couldn't help but make Hu Ma tempted.

He found some time to enter the city, found Hall Master Xu, brought a pot of fine wine and two boxes of cured meat, put them on the table, and said with a smile, "The Blood Food mine in the mountains that I mentioned before..."

"I was just about to inform you, it's time to leave. If we don't go again, something might change!"

Hall Master Xu also knew that the Red Lantern Society had been busy for a while, not knowing what they were busy with, but he had always kept in mind the matter he had agreed with Hu Ma earlier, and hurriedly piled the prepared contract documents and the like on the table.

"When can you leave?"

"..."

"Is there really a chance to go to the Blood Food mine?"

Hu Ma looked at the stack of contract documents and felt a little excited. He had already started flirting with Hall Master Xu about this matter as early as last year, and he was still afraid of something going wrong.

He didn't expect Hall Master Xu to handle things so properly. He hurriedly said, "I can go there in the next two days."

"But..."

Before taking the contract documents, he solemnly asked Hall Master Xu, "Uncle Xu, you also know that there are many things that need to be handled inside and outside the newly taken over Blood Food mine, and you have to appease everyone and take care of everything."

"I'm also inexperienced and have to adapt for a while, so the amount of Blood Food turned over to the Society from the mine next year may not be enough?"

"What kind of place do you think our Red Lantern Society is?"

Hall Master Xu was directly angered when he heard this, and looked at Hu Ma coldly, and said, "Aren't we compassionate?"

"The Society let you manage this Blood Food mine because they trust you, so how could they care about these things?"

"Even the emperor doesn't let his soldiers go hungry..."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma looked at the serious Hall Master Xu and nodded solemnly, "Understood."

If I turn in even a little bit next year, consider me a loser...

"Before you leave, go visit Old Pan Suan, make an appointment, and you can go together."

Hall Master Xu also instructed, "Going to the Blood Food mine is different from managing a village. You have to bring this old enshrined with you. We have already greeted him and drank with him. This old brother is also experienced, so I think nothing will go wrong."

"I know."

Thinking of Old Pan Suan, who owed him at least two hundred catties of Blood Food, Hu Ma felt that there was no pressure to bring him along, so he simply went that day.

When he arrived, Hu Ma immediately bowed deeply, "Old sir, from now on, we will have a good cooperation..."

"Don't!"

Old Pan Suan raised his hand in a grand manner to stop Hu Ma from saluting and said, "Just call me Old Brother, we are different in age, but not in seniority. I am an enshrined of the Society, and you are a hall manager of the Society. When it comes to the birthday of the Mother, we all sit at the same table!"

"You are pretending to be a junior in front of me now, wanting to get more benefits at the mine in the future, right?"

"Let me tell you, this old man is not easy to fool..."

(End of this chapter)