Chapter 178 Destiny?

"Could this be destiny at play?"

Upon hearing the report from his professional secret agent, Little Red Tang, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a slight surprise.

The commotion up ahead involved someone he knew.

He'd taken on a job in Yellow Dog Village to learn the method of a Shou Suiren (Guardian) entering a residence from Proprietor Wu Hong. He had persuaded the evil spirit in the well to move, and after completing the task, he hadn't given it much thought.

After moving from the well, the evil spirit remained peaceful, as she was simply obsessed with waiting for her unfaithful lover. She wasn't particularly interested in anyone else.

Hu Ma's reason for persuading her to move was to relocate her near the main road so she could easily spot her unfaithful lover's return.

Strictly speaking, it was just a way to fool a ghost, but who would have thought she'd actually been waiting?

No, that unfaithful man was incredibly unlucky. Normally, after a grave relocation, the wronged ghost within would be exposed to sunlight, and its resentment would quickly dissipate, vanishing into nothingness. But he had actually encountered her?

Of course, Hu Ma wasn't omniscient and didn't know that the evil spirit in the well was guarding it because the unfaithful man's ancestral home was in Yellow Dog Village, and his family's ancestral tablet was enshrined there. Although he had moved elsewhere, the tablet couldn't be moved.

Only he, or his descendants, could move it. Outsiders couldn't interfere, or it would be disrespectful to the ancestors.

By chance, it happened that Hu Ma had helped her relocate the grave.

"Cause and effect, it never fails."

"If I continue to fight, I'm afraid she won't dissipate, but your master will become an idiot first."

"My master is only returning home to worship his ancestors, but unexpectedly, he was targeted by this spirit…"

Thinking this, he told Zhou Datong and the others to watch the cart carefully while he racked his brain, recalling the surrounding paths, wondering if there was a way to transport the two large vats of blood offerings back to the manor first.

"…"

Listening to the layman's chatter, the priest sighed softly and said, "The wronged spirit isn't powerful, but the current situation is tricky."

"…"

The servant became increasingly flustered: "What is my master's status? Is he really going to be haunted by this one wronged spirit, with no cure?"

Although some details were unclear, Hu Ma roughly guessed the reason and sighed, deciding not to interfere.

"…"

The priest sneered, "It's precisely because it's karmic debt that it's difficult to drive out. Didn't you see that I whipped her, but she still wouldn't come out? She's determined to make your master pay with his life!"

The black-robed Daoist priest, upon hearing this, snorted coldly: "You make it sound easy, karmic debt? How can it be so easily removed?"

The servant was greatly alarmed and pleaded in a panic: "Can't you force her out?"

"Alas…"

"This thing in the grave, at least, was once legally married to your master, carried in through the front gate in a bridal sedan. Although there's no blood relation, she's still family, albeit a wronged one. Now that she's possessed your master, the entanglement is deep. Do you want me to eliminate your master along with her?"

He had helped her move the grave, settling that debt. This was no longer his concern.

"If I encountered this kind of spirit normally, I could blow her away with a single breath."

"Now, the whole family is waiting at home for my master to bring back the ancestral tablets. We can't let anything happen…"

While they stopped to discuss, on the road ahead, a man who looked like a steward was desperately begging the black-robed Daoist priest: "Master Priest, please save my master!"

"This, what can we do…"

"Hmph!"

"Ah, that won't do."

"But it just so happens that your master has an unclear relationship with this wronged spirit. The longer she possesses him, the deeper the entanglement becomes."

"He was targeted by this spirit the day before yesterday, and you only found me today. I delayed half the night before finding her bones, but there's nothing I can do. I burn her bones, but she doesn't care. She only wants your master to be buried with her, even if it means her soul dissipating."

"Do you know what this is?"

"It's like a small cold, dragging on and on, turning into an incurable disease, beyond the reach of ordinary mortal methods."

"…"

"Master, save me!"

The servant was quick-witted. Upon hearing this, he knew that the priest wasn't deliberately exaggerating the difficulty to demand more money, but that the matter was truly troublesome.

He hurriedly knelt down, begging repeatedly, "Master Priest also knows that my master is a nobleman of the Huai'an Wei clan, and there are important matters in the clan waiting for him to handle. He absolutely cannot have an accident here! Please, Master Priest, think of a way!"

"Nonsense!"

The priest scolded, "If it weren't for the sake of the Huai'an Wei clan, do you think I would have come?"

"Now, the difficulty lies in how to expel the wronged spirit without harming him."

"But this is not easy. In my opinion, we may have to invite Old Granny Wu over to have a chance to exorcise this wronged spirit."

"…"

The servant was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Invite her, invite her quickly."

The priest sneered: "Do you think Old Granny Wu is like those solitary spirits worshiped with blood offerings?"

"She's a deity enshrined in the hall, not so easy to invite."

"If we want to invite her, we must burn incense, bathe, and prepare three sacrifices and five offerings. Without full preparation, I wouldn't dare set up the altar."

"…"

The servant stammered, "Then…"

"Master Priest, please prepare quickly? The Wei clan can still afford three sacrifices and five offerings…"

"…"

"What's the use of being able to afford it?"

The black-robed priest sneered: "Your master has been possessed by the wronged ghost for two days. Every moment she possesses him, she destroys a fraction of his life. If it drags on too long, even if he's saved, he won't have many days left."

"In such a tight situation, even if I wanted to contribute, I'm afraid I couldn't even scrape it together, let alone your Wei clan."

"…"

The servant was dumbfounded upon hearing this, knowing that if his master died, he would certainly be buried with him. He cried loudly, "I beg Master Priest to think of a way. My master is highly regarded by the Wei clan and has already received an official title. He is about to take office."

"Only because of his lack of virtue did he think of returning to invite the ancestral tablets first. Who knew that before the great task was accomplished, he would be ruined here? If Master Priest saves my master's life, the Wei clan will certainly not forget your kindness!"

His cries annoyed the priest, but he quickly began to think.

He certainly wanted the Huai'an Wei clan's favor, but now there was such a tricky matter. What should he do?

At that moment, a disciple beside him, who had been listening the entire time, was slightly moved and leaned forward, whispering, "Master, there seems to be a blood offering gang's caravan coming up ahead. I saw vats on the cart, sealed tightly. It seems like those vats are filled with blood offerings."

"Oh?"

The black-robed priest was slightly startled upon hearing this, looking at the master on the cart who was possessed by the wronged spirit, his expression surprised: "Just as I was about to help him exorcise the evil, blood offerings were delivered to our door?"

"Could it be that he is truly a fortunate nobleman?"

"…"

Thinking this, he hurriedly pushed aside the crowd and quickly stepped forward.

On this side, although Hu Ma wanted to watch the excitement, he knew that important matters came first. He was arranging for the workers to turn around and find a small path back to the manor when, unexpectedly, those people who had been blocking the road suddenly shouted and rushed up.

The workers, not knowing what was happening, hurriedly drew their knives, watching them warily, surrounding an old man in a black robe who strode forward.

"Friends up ahead, are you from the Blood Offering Gang?"

The black-robed priest rushed to the front, forcing a smile, cupping his hands, and saying, "I am a disciple of Plum Blossom Alley, my name is Yan. Now, a nobleman has been possessed by a wronged spirit, and we are urgently trying to save him, but we lack offerings, fearing that the invited deities will be dissatisfied."

"I happened to hear that your gang is transporting blood offerings. This is truly fate. I hope that you will prioritize saving people and lend me these blood offerings first."

"Borrow blood offerings?"

These words made the cart workers even more vigilant.

They had encountered no shortage of robbers recently. Even the robbers followed the rules, none of them saying, 'I want to rob you' right away. Before taking action, they would always say 'borrow' first. What was the difference between them and these people?

However, Hu Ma didn't rush to answer, but listened carefully to the words "Plum Blossom Alley," and his expression slightly changed.

After resolving the Azure Robes Gang, Red Lantern Mother's Society could be considered the number one gang in Mingzhou Prefecture. But being the number one gang didn't mean that the Red Lantern Mother's Society could dominate Mingzhou Prefecture.

Strictly speaking, it was just the newly legitimized Little Red Lantern.

Earlier, while drinking in the city, Master Xu had warned him and Yang Gong, mentioning several existences that couldn't be provoked.

First, the Grass Heart Hall, the waters run deep, and their position in the martial world is extremely high. They couldn't be provoked.

Next was the Prefectural Government. Even if the imperial court didn't care much now, people of the martial world didn't provoke officials. This was the first iron rule.

The most mysterious was this Plum Blossom Alley.

Hu Ma didn't understand where Plum Blossom Alley's power came from, but after learning about the existence of "Hall Officials" from Miss Red Wine, he vaguely guessed something.

Hall Officials managed matters within the sect and the martial world, so they were naturally difficult to provoke.

He just wasn't sure which of the four halls, Zhuodao (execution), Wenshi (interrogation), Shuoli (persuasion), or Fenxiang (distribution), the people of Plum Blossom Alley belonged to.

"The master of our society has instructed us that the Red Lantern Society has a good relationship with Plum Blossom Alley and should help when they encounter trouble."

Thinking quickly, Hu Ma slowly said, "If you have encountered an urgent matter and really need to borrow them, then we have no reason not to help. However, could you first show me some token to verify your identity and write me a note so that I can report back when I return?"

"Relationship?"

The black-robed priest's expression was quite disdainful upon hearing these words, but it was difficult to see clearly in the dark.

He didn't seem to think that the Red Lantern Society could have a relationship with Plum Blossom Alley.

When he heard Hu Ma asking him to show a token and write a note, his expression became even more playful. He chuckled and said, "That's easy, but saving people is important. You don't need to doubt my identity. I'm afraid no one in Mingzhou Prefecture would dare to impersonate someone from Plum Blossom Alley."

"How about the shopkeeper give me the blood offerings on your cart first, and I'll give you the note after I save the person?"

"This…"

These words immediately made all the workers feel conflicted.

Hu Ma said, "Of course not."