"Trusted by soone?"
Hu Ma listened, his heart already shocked, more surprised than when Miss White Wine had revealed his true identity.
Since she had already guessed his identity, why didn't she make it public?
And who had enough influence to persuade soone as cautious as her to protect him so much?
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Miss White Wine seed to hesitate. She paused for a long while before softly saying, "That person once asked what I thought of you. My response at the ti was that you are... a trustworthy person.
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure if this was completely accurate. Perhaps because of my cautious nature, I find it hard to fully trust anyone. I've observed you and inquired about you from various sources.
"Er Guotou has also done similar things, but I have to admit, I have no reason not to trust you. Sotis I feel that your reputation for being straightforward isn't just a joke."
"But what about Er Guotou? Do you really think he aroused so much suspicion from others just because of misunderstandings?"
"No, it's because he indeed had more suspicious points than you!"
"..."
Listening to Miss White Wine's questions, Hu Ma felt a very strange sensation erging in his heart.
It was as if a void in his heart had suddenly been struck.
As a Reincarnator, he was naturally suspicious. Initially, he always wanted to hide his differences from others. This idea still persisted, but as their cooperation deepened, he couldn't avoid facing so issues and began to wonder about exploring them.
But, there were indeed suspicious points about himself. So, did Er Guotou also have so matters he had never honestly spoken about?
And, who was the person who asked Miss White Wine to take care of him...
"You've done so much for the Reincarnators."
During his contemplation, Miss White Wine said softly, "But I need to remind you, don't think that just because this Reincarnators' gathering was convened, everyone will truly work together.
"So Reincarnators have hidden away. They didn't participate in the Guazhou gathering, and even now, they haven't shown themselves.
"Among them are several we t in Shangjing and entrusted our lives to."
"..."
"There are still Reincarnators hiding?"
Miss White Wine's words instilled a peculiar feeling in Hu Ma. Due to ti constraints and the Reincarnators being scattered across different places, it was certain that this eting hadn't managed to gather all of them.
Even now, Miss Red Wine had the responsibility of recruiting more Reincarnators, but what Miss White Wine spoke of was clearly different.
Was she implying that so knew about the gathering but were still deliberately hiding in the shadows?
"Get your own matters straight!"
In the silence, Miss White Wine sighed softly, saying, "Our abilities aren't enough to see through everything.
"Perhaps, once you figure things out yourself, the person who entrusted with this will naturally appear to et you."
"Yes."
Hu Ma sensed her thoughts and slowly nodded. "I will set off tomorrow to return to Old Yin Mountain.
"Before that, I intend to borrow sothing from you."
"..."
"..."
After exiting the Lifebound Spirit Temple, Hu Ma pondered for a while longer, then dismissed these miscellaneous thoughts and fell into a deep sleep.
「The next morning」
When he rose, Zhou Datong and Li, who had long been looking forward to returning to the village for the New Year and enjoying so festive excitent, had already piled the New Year's goods they had purchased onto the donkey cart. They were unwilling to delay even a mont, fearing they might miss the village's annual Fire Sacrifice Pond.
But Hu Ma still asked them to wait for another two two-hour periods. First, he hand-wrote a few letters for Little Hongtang to deliver to Aunt Zhang and Seventh Aunt. Then, he saw a white cat appear on the courtyard wall, a bell in its mouth, squinting as it crouched there.
Hu Ma took the bell, carefully putting it away. He grabbed a piece of salted at and made two soft chirps with his mouth: "CHIRP CHIRP."
The white cat gave him a cold glance, turned, and ran away.
Hu Ma, helpless, stuffed the salted at into his own mouth, chewing slowly. With a crack of the whip, he drove the donkey cart straight into the depths of Old Yin Mountain.
In previous years, he would return with Datong, Li, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu. This year, however, it was Zhou Datong and Li accompanying him, while Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu had followed the Food Protection Army to fight battles and were not in town.
However, their opponent this ti wasn't particularly formidable, so it shouldn't take too much ti. Before departing, those two had told Zhou Datong they would return directly to the village from the army.
With the New Year fast approaching, they couldn't afford any delays and traveled day and night to rush back.
When they finally returned to the village, it was already a scene of bustling festivity. The Old Clan Chief and the adults of each family visited the village entrance three tis a day. Though Hu Ma had returned once already in the middle of the year, he wasn't as excited, but Zhou Datong and Li were incredibly enthusiastic.
And surprisingly, Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu had returned to the village two days earlier than them.
These two ca back riding large horses, wearing iron armor, and even brought several army attendants with them, cutting quite an imposing figure.
The village was about to slaughter chickens and oxen, preparing for a grand banquet to celebrate them, spreading the joyous news far and wide.
But they firmly refused, wanting to wait until Hu Ma, Zhou Datong, and Li had all returned before having the feast.
The villagers, seeing Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu's impressive presence, were wide-eyed with amazent, feeling as if they were in a dream. Hearing their insistence, they assud Hu Ma, Zhou Datong, and Li had achieved even greater success and, of course, waited with eager anticipation.
Unexpectedly, the three of them returned just as they had in previous years, driving a donkey cart laden with New Year's goods. This surprised many, leading to hushed discussions among them.
Only Second Master wasn't picky. Seeing Zhou Datong and Li being whisked away by their respective families, he led Hu Ma back to the Hu Family's grass hut, saying, "Kid, did you have a revelation, or did you know this would happen already?"
"Those Zhou and Zhao kids, their skills and abilities used to be no match for yours. How, after just a few years away, did they beco officials outside? My heavens, they even have attendants when they return to the village!"
"It's not just those two who beca officials."
Hu Ma laughed. "Datong has also earned military rits; he just doesn't want to stay in the army."
Hearing this, Second Master was even more amazed. He lowered his voice and asked, "And what about you?"
Hu Ma thought for a mont. "I've entered the Path, focused on learning skills, and have made so progress. This could also count as bringing honor to my ancestors, right?"
Second Master unceremoniously said, "That definitely doesn't count. What Path or Path skills? Isn't learning skills for becoming an official? That's even more prestigious than being a manager for the Blood Food Gang, I'm telling you!"
He leaned forward, advising, "Your Second Master has seen a thing or two. In recent years, it's the incense masters and Shopkeepers of the Blood Food Gang that have been considered prestigious, but that's only because the tis are unstable. When the Emperor sits on the throne and rules the world, true prestige cos from being an official!
"Don't get mixed up in those chaotic things, talking about Paths, jianghu, and whatnot... Of those who are truly blessed, how many actually run around the jianghu?
"No matter how famous a martial artist becos or how great their skills, they're like dog at—it can't be served at a formal banquet!"
"..."
Hu Ma was speechless; Second Master's reasoning was indeed brutally honest...
In terms of official status now, he truly wasn't as high-ranking as Zhou Liang or Zhao Zhu. Although they weren't really Great Generals, at most they were minor leaders under the food-protection general. Only if the food-protection general declared himself a King could they be considered minor generals. But admittedly, their current official positions were real. Since the food-protection general hadn't declared himself king, he was nominally the general of Mingzhou Prefecture. Though self-appointed, this was recognized by all parties. So, he [the food-protection general] was technically an official of the Yi Dynasty. And though the Yi Dynasty's influence was minimal now, in the eyes of the mountain people, it was still much better than those local grasshead kings.
"Second Master, I understand your reasoning, but I still believe that having skills is what keeps one's path steady."
Hu Ma understood this, so he simply smiled and said to Second Master, "Regardless of who, our village finally has two officials, and impressive generals at that. Isn't it truly ti for the Sacrificial Mountain ritual?"
"The Sacrificial Mountain, of course, the sooner, the better. I was just about to discuss this with you."
Second Master had been talking about this for years, yet now that it was finally imminent, he seed sowhat apprehensive. He said softly, "It's not even about needing two generals; actually, one would have been enough...
"To be honest, I can tell these two lads aren't genuine Great Generals, but with this title, everything becos easier!
"For now, there's no other way. Tis are turbulent, with chaos and war raging outside, and more and more people are fleeing into the mountains. The sooner we handle the Sacrificial Mountain matter, the greater the blessing. The village will remain peaceful, and any future disasters or calamities won't co here!"
"..."
Seeing Second Master so decisive in such matters, Hu Ma felt relieved. However, hearing the ntion of disasters, he frowned slightly and softly asked, "Second Master, I was young back then, so I don't rember many things clearly.
"I just heard that my... father, he also perished shielding us from a disaster?"
"..."
"Your father?"
Upon hearing Hu Ma's words, Second Master grew somber. He sighed lightly and said, "Actually, I wasn't very familiar with him. He only lived in the village for a short while. He was usually silent and didn't talk much to people.
"And during those years he was in the village, he often went out, disappearing for ten days or half a month at a ti...
"Of course, although we weren't familiar, everyone in the village knew that Old Hu Shan was a true man. Not only did he help our village solve a famine, but he was the only one I ever saw brave enough to go out and face the Black Wind Disaster."
"..."
"The Black Wind Disaster?"
Hu Ma had heard of it before, but he still wanted to hear Second Master talk about it. He asked softly, "What exactly was that?"
Second Master sighed deeply. "They say it was because the King of Hell's subordinates were insufficient, so they ca up to draft more soldiers...
"You younger folks are lucky. You've co upon good tis. It's been peaceful for over a decade, and you haven't seen a Black Wind Disaster. But in the past, this Black Wind Disaster would sweep through every three or five years...
"Your father, he stood against the last Black Wind Disaster this village ever saw..."
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