"You?"
Just as they hesitated, distressed, Hu Ma's words immediately drew both their gazes.
Meeting their gaze, Hu Ma smiled. "Yes, Xiang and I share a certain fate. I found her in the river, and she's been diligent, getting along well with the folks in our Manor, so we're friends now.
"Saving her is a merit I've earned. My Granny taught me that if you're going to help someone, you should help them all the way. If the old Shopkeeper has a way to save her, just use the medicine. At worst, I'll cover the medicine money for her."
He smiled again, a hint of pride in his voice, and added, "Fortunately, God has helped me. I'm no longer begging for food in the village. I've joined the Blood Food Society, and I earn several dozen taels of silver in monthly wages. I should be able to cover this medicine money for her."
"This..."
When Hu Ma said this, the old housekeeper was already deeply moved, while the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper was taken aback, his expression turning slightly awkward. He cleared his throat and then lowered his voice to say,
"Young brother, you have a kind heart, but you're still a bit inexperienced.
"Now that you've found success and are earning from the Blood Food Gang, do you have any idea how much silver it will take to treat her?"
"..."
"Is it really expensive?"
Hu Ma was slightly curious. "I've seen plenty of Blood Food."
"It's different."
The Five Ghosts Shopkeeper smiled helplessly. "Blood Food is indeed valuable, but it can be harvested from various blood food mines. If not this year, then next. But to treat this girl, you need the Golden Silk Tai Sui.
"This isn't like the black, white, blue, or red varieties that can be harvested annually. Occasionally, it's found in a blood food mine, but it won't grow back the following year. It's a rare commodity with no consistent market.
"To be frank with you, we don't even keep this kind of thing regularly stocked in our shop; its uses are quite limited. Only our Miss has a small amount, and that's reserved for a specific purpose.
"She agreed to part with it out of consideration for fellow members of the jianghu."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the old housekeeper grew worried again, his face turned bitter. He couldn't speak, clearly knowing this was the truth.
"Ah?"
Hu Ma was slightly stunned. "Then how much does it cost?"
"Price?"
The Five Ghosts Shopkeeper smiled faintly and said slowly, "We won't sell it for less than ten times the price of ordinary Blood Food."
"What?"
Hu Ma was shocked—genuinely shocked this time, not just acting.
Isn't Miss White Wine being a bit too ruthless?
Could the Golden Silk Tai Sui really command a price ten times that of Blood Tai Sui? She said she'd do him a favor, but isn't this favor a bit too exaggerated?
If it could be sold for ten times the price of Blood Tai Sui, wouldn't that mean the piece of Gold Pattern Tai Sui he, Er Guotou, and the others had split would be worth hundreds of pounds of Blood Tai Sui?
His shock seemed entirely reasonable to the other two. They saw a kind-hearted, if somewhat naive, little shopkeeper who had been willing to cover the medicine money, only to be frightened by its exorbitant cost.
The old housekeeper clearly hesitated. A guarantor... He seemed unable to think of anyone who could help here. Then, it dawned on him, and he suddenly turned to look at Hu Ma, words caught in his throat.
The time is ripe...
Hu Ma sensed this but feigned distress, deliberately turning his head to avoid the old housekeeper's gaze.
"You two discuss it. I must report back to the Miss."
The Five Ghosts Shopkeeper seemed to sense something. He shook his head, sighed, and said to Hu Ma, "It's just, young brother, I could tell from seeing your Granny that she was a kind-hearted person, but... making a living is hard!"
He didn't actually know what Hu Ma and Miss White Wine had arranged; at this moment, he was simply offering a well-intentioned reminder. Even this reminder had to be veiled. What else could he say? Could he bluntly tell Hu Ma not to save the girl?
Once the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper had departed, the old housekeeper of the Li Family finally steeled his resolve and abruptly turned to Hu Ma.
"Please, don't kneel..."
Hu Ma had anticipated this and quickly reached out to stop him. "Sir, I understand what you mean.
"But please don't make it difficult for me..."
A bitter smile touched his lips. "I was planning to cover the medicine money, but... I assumed it would be a matter of a few dozen taels of silver. If it's more than that, what can I possibly do? I've only just managed to climb to this position of little shopkeeper in the Blood Food Gang, and this is all I earn in a month."
This was no exaggeration. Several dozen taels of silver was already a fortune for an ordinary family.
Hu Ma wanted to agree on the spot, but he had to play out the whole charade. People weren't fools, after all. It would be highly suspicious if a mere little shopkeeper readily agreed to shoulder such an enormous medicine cost.
The old housekeeper also found it hard to speak. By now, he didn't doubt Hu Ma in the slightest, but he was deeply conflicted.
After a long moment, he suddenly gritted his teeth, as if having reached a momentous decision.
Since Hu Ma wouldn't let him kneel, he cupped his fists and said with great solemnity, "Benefactor, my surname is Dong, and my given name is Liangshun. I once had a name for myself in the jianghu. Later, after being saved by the Ghost Cave Li Family, I willingly entered the Li Residence to serve as a housekeeper.
"I am not a person of great influence, but I have never done anything to betray my conscience in my entire life.
"Right now, all I want is to save our Miss. I only hope that you, Benefactor, will see this through to the end and lend us your aid.
"I am willing to write an IOU and swear a deadly oath. I will even hand over my 'shengchen bazi'—my eight characters of birth time. I will use this old life of mine as the guarantee! As long as you, Benefactor, save our Miss, I will definitely repay this debt threefold.
"If I am even slightly remiss in repaying you, may I be struck by five thunders from heaven and die a horrible death!"
"..."
Even in his previous life, swearing such a venomous oath would have made one shudder. In this world, it carried even more weight. Hu Ma could see the depth of the old housekeeper's resolve.
Yet, a bitter smile remained on Hu Ma's face as he said hesitantly, "No matter how dire your oath, sir, no one can predict the future. All I know is, if I take on such a massive sum, and any trouble arises, my entire life's prospects could be ruined."
The old housekeeper could tell he was speaking frankly. From listening to his conversation with the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper, he had also gathered that this little shopkeeper was merely scraping by in the village just last year. To have now climbed to the position of a shopkeeper in the Blood Food Gang was nothing short of a blessing from his ancestors. For someone from a village, achieving this was rarer than passing the imperial examinations. If such a precious future were to be ruined, it would be unbearable for anyone.
He couldn't force Hu Ma's hand, so he could only lower his head deeply in despair.
Hu Ma, for his part, indeed looked deeply troubled. After a long pause, he sighed, lowered his gaze to the still unconscious Xiang, and murmured softly, "But...it is a life, after all...
"I'm not doing this for you, but for Xiang. I pulled her from the river with my own hands. I can't bear to see her lose her life so senselessly now. To gamble everything on this for her...
"...I truly don't know if it's worth it."
"..."
"Ah?"
Hearing this, the old housekeeper, who had been taken aback, saw Hu Ma begin to yield. Overwhelmed with emotion, he exclaimed repeatedly, "It's worth it! It's worth it! Benefactor, rest assured, the Ghost Cave Li Family never goes back on its word! If you save our Miss's life, the entire Li Residence will be eternally indebted to your great virtue!"
"Have you two come to an agreement?"
Just then, the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper came back down. Seeing one sighing in resignation and the other overcome with gratitude, he pretty much understood the situation.
He sighed and said, "I just went to ask the Miss. Even she says that you, little shopkeeper of the Blood Food Gang, are a person of integrity. We at Grass Heart Hall are willing to befriend someone like you.
"Of course," he continued, his tone shifting, "admiration is one thing. But if you truly intend to provide this guarantee, and the medicine money isn't repaid later, Grass Heart Hall will still have to seek payment from the Red Lantern Society. I imagine your Lady wouldn't help you default on such a debt."
"..."
Hu Ma sighed in resignation. "But what choice is there? Can I just stand by and watch someone die?
"Old sir, say no more, lest I change my mind. Bring the IOU; I'll sign it!"
"..."
Hearing this, whatever trace of pride the old housekeeper had previously held in his heart and eyes instantly shattered, vanishing completely. He had tried to kneel several times before, only to be stopped by Hu Ma. This time, he did not kneel but instead performed a deep, solemn bow, two streams of aged tears bursting from his eyes:
"Our Miss has suffered a cruel fate, enduring such a terrible ordeal. But to encounter a benefactor as noble and righteous as you, sir, one who turns peril into safety, it is truly...
"...it is truly Heaven taking pity on the Li Family's hard-earned merits!"
"..."
At that moment, not only was the Five Ghosts Shopkeeper sighing with emotion and the old housekeeper deeply moved, but even the assistants in the shop had pieced together what was happening.
Although it seemed like he was taking on a guarantee for someone, with the prospect of at least a threefold return—apparently a surefire profitable deal—in the jianghu, how many truly good things like this actually existed?
They all stole glances at Hu Ma, wondering whether this little shopkeeper had stumbled upon great fortune or was about to fall into a deep pit.