On this day, early in the morning, the manor opened its gates and hung the lantern of the Red Lantern Lady in the courtyard. If nearby villagers ca to burn paper and fulfill their vows, they were asked to wait and co back in a day or two.
Everyone in the manor was prepared for their arrival, but unexpectedly, from morning till evening, not a trace of any Green-clothed Child or Great Incense Master Zheng was seen.
As night fell and Hu Ma was about to send people out for a night patrol, a gong suddenly sounded outside the manor.
The workers in the manor quickly looked out but were t with a chilling yin wind that made them shiver. Outside, a thin mist had appeared from nowhere, chilling to the bone. People's gazes and the light from the manor's lanterns seed to be blocked, hardly illuminating beyond seven yards.
As the mist flowed into the manor, seven or eight ghostly figures appeared, hopping about. They all wore green pants and were shirtless, with an odd little braid at the back of their heads. Their cheeks were painted with glaring rouge, and their strange, comical appearances made them look unlike living people.
They surrounded a palanquin, but atop it rested only a rusty iron mask, vaguely resembling an evil ghost. Hu Ma had seen it during the duel between the Red Lantern Society and the green clothes gang. It was the mask of the green-clothed evil ghost, an item of similar significance to the Red Lantern Lady's lantern.
"This..."
Suddenly seeing such a ghostly group rush into the manor, everyone's heart trembled as they turned to look.
"Honored guests have arrived. Don't lose face, and certainly don't lose your courage," Hu Ma calmly and sternly scolded the workers in the manor, then slowly stepped forward to greet them.
"Hu Ma, Shopkeeper of the Green Stone Town branch under the Red Lantern Lady, awaits the law-chariot of Old Master Qingyi, awaits the law-chariot of Senior Brother Qingyi."
One had to observe the proper formalities. The green clothes gang and the Red Lantern Society were locked in conflict. Secretly, the Red Lantern Society called Old Master Qingyi the 'green-clothed evil ghost,' and the green clothes gang used equally unflattering nas for the Red Lantern Lady. Publicly, however, they maintained courtesy and addressed each other as 'Old Master.'
"Hee hee..."
The green-clothed children giggled at Hu Ma's politeness, shaking their heads. Before they could respond, a man with a square face, wearing a brocade long gown, erged from the thick fog.
He looked at Hu Ma with a cold smile and said, "Shopkeeper Hu, how are you...?"
"Since the duel in Zhu Gate Town, we haven't t, but I've been thinking about you..."
"Great Incense Master Zheng..."
Hu Ma looked at this person and slowly sighed, eting his gaze steadily. He said faintly, "I've been thinking about you too, Great Incense Master Zheng. I just didn't expect you to be so busy that you'd only now visit my modest manor."
"Heh heh..."
Great Incense Master Zheng stepped forward slowly, looked around indifferently, and said, "By order of the Lady, I've brought my Senior Brothers Qingyi to search for soone everywhere."
"We've searched through all seventeen manors of our Red Lantern Society, naturally starting with the most populous and capable ones, and working our way down. Yours, of course, is the last one."
"...Is everyone here? You haven't hidden anyone, have you?"
Hu Ma said, "Including , the Green Stone Town branch has nine people in total. All are here."
"You are working for Old Master Qingyi and being so thorough; how dare I delay your important task over such trivialities?"
"But I do wonder, who exactly are you looking for?"
Great Incense Master Zheng listened to Hu Ma's composed, yet slightly mocking words, but remained unbothered. Things were strange. Before they had torn off all pretense of cordiality, he had maintained an arrogant facade before Hu Ma; even a slightly unpleasant word from Hu Ma would earn a severe reprimand. Now that the masks were off, he wouldn't care if Hu Ma made sarcastic remarks, let alone if he cursed him outright.
"Only nine people?" he rely let out a cold chuckle and said, "Then bring out everyone between fifteen and twenty years old!"
"You needn't inquire whom we're seeking. Once the Senior Brothers Qingyi take a look, they'll naturally understand."
"Fifteen to twenty-five. In our manor, that ans everyone must step forward and be screened," Hu Ma said.
He was unsurprised, as he already knew their procedure from their visits to other manors. Before their arrival, he had sared the soil dug from the old stump on his chest. With the old stump's protection, he felt quite assured.
Thus, he took a step forward and said, "Everyone in my manor must be screened, including as the Shopkeeper. So let's start with !"
Great Incense Master Zheng was sowhat taken aback. When searching other manors, they rarely screened the shopkeepers, as most were beyond that age range. But this place was different; he had intended to have Hu Ma screened anyway. Seeing Hu Ma step forward without prompting, he paused, then smiled and bowed to the ghostly green-clothed children, "Senior Brothers Qingyi, please!"
"Certainly, certainly!" the green-clothed children laughed, their voices shrill and sharp like young children.
These individuals were akin to the Red Fragrance disciples or, more accurately, they were very close to the green-clothed evil ghost. They were the most loyal contingent of negative spirit people, comparable to the Incense Burners. Steeped in so much evil qi, they already appeared more like ghosts than humans. Seeing Hu Ma step forward, two of them hopped forward, each holding one end of a strange round mirror, and directed it towards Hu Ma.
"Huh?"
Hu Ma maintained a calm exterior, though inwardly he was tense. The Old Stump Elder had given him that soil, saying it could help evade their scrutiny, but had only said it "should work."
If sothing went wrong, the trouble would be imnse...
But so things couldn't be avoided. He could only brace himself, stand tall, and face the mirror.
As he looked, he suddenly felt a ghostly chill, a wave of yin qi washing over him, like a basin of cold water poured from head to toe in the dead of winter. He felt as though so powerful entity had scrutinized him thoroughly. Yet, he stared fixedly at the mirror and saw black ripples appear on its surface; sothing flickered briefly within the mirror before vanishing.
Beneath the mirror, a faint red line rose by a finger-width and then stopped.
"Not him, not him," the green-clothed children declared after looking at the mirror. "Not even close, not even close."
Great Incense Master Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, shook his head slowly, then forced a smile. "Then please, Senior Brothers Qingyi, screen the others."
Did I pass this hurdle?
Hu Ma relaxed slightly and stepped aside. To say he hadn't been nervous would be a lie; the Old Stump Elder had also said it wasn't a sure thing. If the mirror had revealed anything suspicious about him in front of the green-clothed evil ghost, he wasn't sure if he would have had any chance to resist. Even if that elder from Old Yin Mountain had promised to help, he would first have to be able to enter Old Yin Mountain...
However, it seed the old stump's mana was indeed profound. Despite its claims of uncertainty, the soil it had provided easily thwarted their magical scrutiny.
This ordeal, which had hovered like a sword over my head for more than half a month, was overco so easily.
Glancing at Great Incense Master Zheng, Hu Ma noticed he too kept his eyes lowered, showing no particular reaction to Hu Ma having passed this test. He probably wouldn't dare act recklessly regarding matters concerning that important person from above, Hu Ma thought.
But as his tension eased, a curiosity arose within him.
What exactly are they searching for? That red line rose on the mirror, and the fra had cryptic markings resembling the earthly branches. What is it asuring?
While he was contemplating, the other workers ca forward one by one to be screened by the mirror. The process was quick; each person only needed to stand before it for about three breaths' ti. Hu Ma noticed that the length of the red line varied for each person: so were over three fingers long, others a foot, or even a foot and a half.
The green-clothed children seed indifferent to these individuals, barely glancing as they screened each person before quickly moving them aside.
Once all the workers had been screened, Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and the others who had been helping to arrange them also ca forward.
First ca Li from the kitchen. He was as thin as a pole, looking as if a gust of wind could topple him. No one paid him much mind until he stood before the mirror, startling everyone.
The red line shot up abruptly, exceeding two feet—the highest among those screened so far.
Instantly, all eyes in the manor turned to his face.
Li panicked and looked towards Hu Ma. "Brother Ma Zi, this..."
Hu Ma also felt a shock. He quickly scanned the faces of the green-clothed children and then looked at Great Incense Master Zheng, trying to discern if this was his doing.
Great Incense Master Zheng, his eyes still lowered, said nothing for a mont, then slowly spoke, "There are still a few left. Screen them all."
The last ones unscreened were Zhou Datong and the others. They had been helping maintain order, so they naturally ended up at the back.
With Li's result before them, the green-clothed children seed to grow excited. They eagerly brought the mirror over and directed it at them. The black mirror reflected the faces of Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu, one by one.
Then, a startling scene unfolded: the red line in the mirror suddenly surged upwards.
For Zhao Zhu, it was still alright, a little over two feet, comparable to Li's. But when it ca to Zhou Liang, it reached two and a half feet. And for Zhou Datong, it shot up towards three feet, just barely reaching the red line mark.
At this, the entire manor fell suddenly silent. The crowd was speechless; only the cold wind whistled through.
"Four, four!"
On the other side, the green-clothed children were jubilant. Grinning widely and nodding, they hopped about, pointing at Zhou Datong and the others, with so shouting, "Four, four!" and others, "Three, three!"
As they spoke, one of them even directly pulled out a chain.
Great Incense Master Zheng kept his eyes lowered. After a long mont, a slow smile crept onto his lips, and he said softly, "Now that they're revealed, take them away!"
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