"This job was definitely doable..."
After careful consideration, Hu Ma immediately agreed. Missing such a good opportunity would indeed be absurd.
After all, Miss Red Wine was right. Wasn't it an old tradition for Reincarnators to kill and take Magic?
However, if I wanted to flawlessly lure out Ji Tang, the Beggar Gang Leader, it would indeed require some effort. What should I do?
Hu Ma first analyzed the situation. What did people in this jianghu see me as now?
He was a poor young man from a village, lucky enough to enter the Path of the Shousui man and make a living as a Shopkeeper in the small Blood Food Gang in Mingzhou. Because of his kindness, he saved the young lady of the Dongzi Li Family and sent her back across thousands of miles, thus hitting the jackpot.
In simple terms, I'm a rookie.
But this rookie not only made a name for himself in Anzhou but also received many benefits from the Dongzi Li Family.
The key issue was that the journey back from Anzhou to Mingzhou was a thousand miles. It was just as difficult as the journey here had been, with even greater risks.
Returning with these benefits is like a child carrying a treasure and parading through the market. What's the difference?
So, it's not just Ji Tang, the Beggar Gang Leader, who bears a grudge against me; even some Martial Artists with ulterior motives could harbor the idea of targeting me.
This gives Ji Tang a reason he has to act against me. Even if he doesn't, others will come after me, only to blame him later. Therefore, he's bound to carry this burden.
Since this is the case, what should I do?
The answer was to do nothing: take the simplest route, leave Anzhou, and return to Mingzhou.
Those who intended to make a move would naturally do so.
But this brought up another very important question. Hu Ma couldn't help but express his worries to Miss Red Wine, "It's not difficult for me to do this sort of thing; I just have to act a little stupid. Anyway, in others' eyes, being kindhearted is equivalent to being dumb."
"Since I'm seen as a kind-hearted person, acting even dumber would be perfectly reasonable."
"But the key lies with you. Since Ji Tang is a Shousui man who has Entered the Mansion and is the Gang Leader of the largest gang in the land, you must be confident in getting rid of him, right?"
Miss Red Wine responded indifferently, "I'm not very confident. I've only set up a few backup plans."
"As far as the outside world is concerned, there are only a few ways Ji Tang's death could play out."
"One scenario is that during your return trip, you encounter Ji Tang. He aims to kill you, but you turn the tables and kill him, taking his Magic."
"Another is that it appears the little shopkeeper returns to Mingzhou alone. But in reality, I will have informed you of the possible risks on this route, and you will have asked for my help. I'll use you as bait to lure Ji Tang out. When he makes a move against you, I eliminate him."
"As for the third scenario..."
She chuckled and said, "It's been a long time since the Anzhou Reincarnators had a group activity."
Hu Ma was taken aback. "Huh?" He quickly glanced at Miss Red Wine and whispered, "Which scenario do you think this will be?"
Miss Red Wine laughed. "That depends on how smart this Beggar Gang Leader is."
"Then let's do it." Hu Ma decided immediately; there was no reason to hesitate.
Not only did he decide to do it, but he even hoped that Ji Tang, the Beggar Gang Leader, would be smart enough to make things lively.
Thus, he stayed another day at Lady Han's Manor. On the morning of the third day, he altered his appearance with a simple disguise technique, then set out alone, driving a carriage out of the Manor.
The horse had been harnessed by Lady Han, and it didn't seem very normal.
Hu Ma gave Lady Han a puzzled look. She just nodded. "Yes."
"However, I should have released this one long ago, but he himself didn't want to leave. He insisted on remaining a beast to atone for his sins."
"This journey is dangerous, so you might as well take him. If he's killed by mistake, it would be a kind of release for him."
Looking into the horse's big black eyes, Hu Ma saw only emptiness. This made him genuinely curious, but he asked no more questions.
As the roosters crowed, before dawn had fully broken, Hu Ma left the Manor.
Taking a small path, he avoided the Anzhou Prefecture city and quietly headed south.
Upon reaching a secluded spot, he whispered to the horse, "Brother, can you understand me? Brother, everyone at Lady Han's place is guilty of heinous crimes. Why did she say you're voluntarily atoning for your sins?"
"Brother, if you understand, wiggle your ears?"
It was no use. The horse remained silent, merely pulling the carriage along.
This left Hu Ma with no other option.
The advantage was that the horse was obedient, so he didn't need to hire a carter.
He recalled that on this trip out, after separating from Aunt Zhang and the others, he and Xiang had hired two fast horses at Dongchang Prefecture. In theory, if they had ridden them back, they could have returned them to the Mule and Horse Market in Dongchang Prefecture and gotten their deposit back.
But considering the dangers of this journey, he had left those two horses at Lady Han's Manor. Fortunately, the benefits provided by the Li Family were ample, so it wasn't a significant loss.
Thinking about this, he silently apologized to the horses in his mind, then urged his current mount onward with a light tap of his heels, quickening his pace as he continued south.
"Look, is that him?"
Just as Lady Han had guessed, someone was indeed trailing Hu Ma as he drove the carriage past a crossroads.
They appeared to be a few dirty, grimy beggars sleeping in an abandoned Ancestral Hall by the roadside.
As Hu Ma passed, they were huddled around a fire, roasting a chicken they had procured from who knows where. When they saw Hu Ma approaching with the carriage, one of them immediately pulled a portrait from his bosom.
This portrait had been drawn by beggars from Dongchang Prefecture—those who had spied on him earlier but hadn't joined the commotion in the woods and had thus survived. The man in the carriage looked completely different from the portrait, but they were certain.
One nodded subtly to the others. "Heh, we wouldn't dare approach Lady Han's Manor."
"But anyone leaving that Manor and heading south must pass this crossroads. We've kept watch for two full days, and there have only been two or three suspicious individuals. We have people tailing each one separately. If he continues south, then it's definitely him."
"Send word to the Gang Leader!"
One of them pulled aside his ragged cotton coat, revealing a cage of pigeons underneath.
Surprisingly, there was even a literate one among the beggars. He quickly wrote a few words on a slip of paper, tied it to a pigeon, and released it.
The pigeon flew, stopping and starting, passing through several hands. Soon, the message reached a roadside tea house hundreds of miles away.
This location was no longer within Anzhou's borders but at the northern end of Pingnan Road.
In the tea house sat a man with neatly combed hair and sharply angled sideburns. His features could almost be described by the phrase "sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes." He wore an extremely luxurious robe.
Several servants stood by his side, along with a man resembling an old housekeeper who helped with letters, passed messages, and poured wine and tea. From his demeanor, he looked every bit the wealthy young master from an aristocratic family.
However, for some unknown reason, anyone who saw him would sense a sinister aura about him.
Those with particularly sharp eyes could even notice that his hands were mismatched—one seemed large, the other small.
He took the note, glanced at it, then held it out.
A servant immediately rushed forward and knelt, allowing the man to stuff the paper slip into his mouth.
The servant chewed twice, swallowed, then opened his mouth to show it was gone before returning to his original position.
The man in the luxurious robe smiled faintly. "He's almost here."
"Godmother Cui's death was not unjust. After being threatened, she should have reported it to me, but she didn't. She secretly dealt with the matter herself. I imagine it was because she wasn't confident in my abilities and didn't think I could protect her from others."
"But she brought her death upon herself. She deserved it."
"However, when things later became serious, she actually dragged Master Shou, Craftsman Li, and Wang Lai down with her. That was truly despicable of her."
"Now, because of her, three of the four elders of our Pingnan Road Beggar Gang are dead. We also lost Wang Lai, who was qualified to be promoted to an elder."
"The Beggar Gang has dominated Pingnan Road for so many years and has never suffered such a significant loss. More importantly, the Dongzi Li Family now undoubtedly considers us their archenemies. The resources on Pingnan Road have always been plentiful, but we can no longer operate here."
"We need to find a new patron."
The old servant attending him hastily said, "If we are to leave, the Hall Officer above would have no reason to refuse. But no matter what, we'll have to pay this year's tribute before they allow us to establish our new base elsewhere, correct?"
"That's natural," the man in the luxurious robe replied faintly. "But I've used the profits from the past two years on Entering the Mansion. Where would I find anything to hand over as tribute?"
"It seems unavoidable that we'll need to take the benefits that boy obtained from the Dongzi Li Family."
The old servant quickly said, "Yes. Since we've targeted him, we mustn't let him escape. The moment he leaves Anzhou and steps out of the Li Family's territory, we'll make our move."
"Make our move?"
The man in the luxurious robe sneered. "It's not that simple."
"My men saw clearly: he first went to Lady Han's Manor, stayed for two days, and then came out."
"Those friends of ours in the Anzhou jianghu were deterred from attacking the little shopkeeper because of Lady Han's actions. But Lady Han and he are mere acquaintances. Why do you think she's helping him so much?"
"I suspect Lady Han taught him something. It might look like we're waiting to catch an easy prey, but perhaps they're the ones fishing for us."
The old servant was stunned. "Then, should we..."
"If they can fish, can't we beat them at their own game?"
The man in the luxurious robe gave a cold snort, a flicker of malice in his eyes. He casually raised his cup of wine and said, "We'll use this opportunity to eliminate Lady Han as well."
"She's just a Knife Catching Steward under some minor Hall Officer. Yet, her actions are ruthless and leave no room for mercy. She has broken countless rules and angered many people. Eliminating her on this occasion would likely please the one above even more than presenting a hefty tribute."