"Miss Red Wine and her group were attempting a playstyle distinct from other Reincarnators..."
Seeing Miss Red Wine sitting among the crowd like a Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, steering conversations, Hu Ma gradually comprehended, a deep sense of admiration welling in his heart.
The greatest hiding is within the world itself. Miss Red Wine and her group aren't truly fearless, charging blindly forward. They hide within the jianghu, understanding the rules, stirring up storms, only nudging things at crucial moments.
With this thought, Hu Ma considered whether Miss Red Wine and her group might be more like the Great Evil Spirit hidden in this world. The Reincarnators of Mingzhou were still behind closed doors, seeking their own benefits, living their small lives day by day, chatting, and playing cultivation games... But the Reincarnators led by Miss Red Wine in Anzhou had already begun to secretly build momentum, manipulating people's hearts.
However... isn't playing this way actually quite risky?
Hu Ma suddenly understood Miss White Wine's reason for leaving them.
Playing with someone as daring as her must be unnerving.
Another question increasingly surfaced in Hu Ma's mind—why was Miss Red Wine so good to him?
He had known her for less than half a month. Yet, during this time, she had introduced him to the jianghu, helped him complete the Dongzi Li Family's affairs, guided him through the Shousui man's Entering the Mansion inheritance, and pointed out his weaknesses.
Now, she had even revealed to him the ambitions of the Anzhou Reincarnator Organization and their "playstyle" without any reservation.
Was it truly because of a letter from Miss White Wine that she considered him one of their own? Even for one of their own, this is incredibly generous. After all, even among their own, one would usually start as a newcomer, yet she seemed to have allowed him access to some of the core secrets of the Anzhou Reincarnator Organization in a very short time. Was she genuinely reckless by nature? If she were indeed so reckless, would so many people in the Anzhou Reincarnator Organization still be willing to play along with her?
While he pondered silently, Hu Ma had yet to figure out which among the diverse martial artists at the tables were Reincarnators and who were merely unknowingly influenced by them. By then, a consensus had already formed in the heated discussion.
Those present, filled with righteous indignation, collectively made several decisions.
Firstly, to completely rid the Beggar Gang of these scoundrels. Secondly, to perform a Soul Search on Ji Tang, obtain evidence of his crimes, and hand him over to the government.
Acting promptly, the martial artists chose a young man in a brocade robe, apparently of high status. It was said that one of his beloved concubines had been abducted by the Beggar Gang.
He immediately had a black cloth, about a zhang wide, set up to enclose the courtyard. A lantern was lit by his side. He then took the Kongming Lantern from Miss Red Wine's hands, releasing the moth within. He placed a sand table before him, held a rooster in his arms, and began the lengthy and mysterious Soul Search ritual.
The moth fluttered inside the Kongming Lantern, while the rooster's claws continuously scratched at the sand table.
Every so often, he would scrutinize the marks made by the rooster, and someone beside him meticulously recorded everything.
"Is this Soul Search method really reliable?"
Watching from the side, Hu Ma found it rather peculiar. This concerned the great matter of his dharma method for Entering the Mansion; if the rooster's claws missed a crucial spot, wouldn't that be problematic?
The Webei Wei family, whose generations have overseen punishments, truly possess an impressive ancestral skill.
As he was thinking this, a voluptuous woman dressed in sheer fabric, her profession seeming less than formal, approached him with a smile, saying, "He understands the Soul Inquiry Skill and excels in the Netherworld Language. He can inquire about every detail, leaving nothing unexamined."
"Indeed, it's truly an eye-opener..." Hu Ma responded with a smile, their eyes meeting. He saw her eyes curve into crescents as she winked playfully, then drifted away.
Watching her departing figure, Hu Ma couldn't help but wonder: Is she a Reincarnator, or is she interested in me? Having encountered so many strange things recently, he was starting to feel paranoid.
The Soul Search continued throughout the entire night.
It was said that Ji Tang's Living Soul confessed to many things. These included treasures the Beggar Gang had hidden over the years, some Beggar Gang members who had not revealed their identities and remained hidden in various places as Worship, and some deeply unspeakable secrets.
The most exhilarating revelation was that, based on Ji Tang's confession, they found a group of women and children in a secluded mountain hollow. Guarded by two beggars, they had not yet been sold.
They chose to report this to the authorities, leading to a universally joyful outcome. Everyone was jubilant, feeling they had accomplished something incredibly meaningful.
Even though these martial artists normally wouldn't take the government seriously, their faces bloomed with joy when the chief constable, visibly moved, thanked them for their righteous deeds.
Hu Ma did not witness some of these final events firsthand.
Early the next morning, after receiving a scroll from Lady Han, he packed his belongings and set off on the road south, back to Mingzhou.
To those in Anzhou and some along Pingnan Road, he was just a little shopkeeper from Mingzhou who, alongside Lady Han, had rid them of the great blight that was Ji Tang of the Beggar Gang. After that, he declined invitations from his fellow martial artists to stay and began his journey home.
He left behind a reputation, waved his sleeve, and only took away two large baskets of Blood Food...
...and a final message that Miss Red Wine had specially composed in the Lifebound Spirit Temple, making him memorize it word by word, intended solely for Miss White Wine.
The contents of the message were somewhat awkward to relate, but they had to be conveyed regardless, didn't they?
"That fellow just left like that?"
After Hu Ma's carriage departed, Miss Red Wine stood at the road leading out of Bull Head Town, watching until his silhouette was swallowed by the wind and dust. Only then did a man in a black robe approach her side.
Smiling, he said, "He seemed to leave in quite a hurry. Maybe our way of doing things scared him. Considering he's aligned with Miss White Wine, he probably isn't used to our recklessness." He then mused, "In retrospect, he's probably been the luckiest newcomer in recent years, wouldn't you say?"
Before he finished speaking, the voluptuous woman in sheer fabric appeared beside them. With a faint smile, she said, "No initiation rituals, no trials, yet we treated him as one of our own from the start."
"We taught him crucial skills and revealed almost everything about ourselves."
"Sister Red, you're known for your... righteousness in our circle, and we all trust you. But I still find your treatment of him quite extraordinary."
"So... what exactly was in that letter?"
Miss Red Wine remained silent for a moment before replying, "Bai didn't say much. She just asked if I was dead, if my cover was blown, and if the promise we made—that I would destroy my Divine Soul if my cover was ever blown—still stood."
"Then she said that if none of those issues had arisen, she had a favor to ask of me."
"The messenger is very important to her. She has a critical matter that relies on him, and she wants him to learn the necessary skills quickly."
"She couldn't appear herself, so she entrusted this task to me, asking me to teach him more so he could better survive in this world."
"Is that all?"
The two flanking her were somewhat surprised by her words.
They had fully cooperated with Miss Red Wine's subsequent, obvious efforts to train the newcomer. This was despite some matters falling into the category of secrets that Reincarnators would worry about leaking and wouldn't easily agree to share.
They trusted Miss Red Wine's rationale and believed she would explain it to them.
But the crucial letter only said that little?
"Indeed, that's all it said..." Miss Red Wine chuckled in response to their startled expressions. Then, she smiled and said, "However, there are some things you don't know."
"When Bai was dissatisfied with my high-profile methods and decided to leave, she made an agreement with me."
"She said..."
After a pause, she looked at the two curious people and whispered, "She didn't want to get caught in a second cleansing, so upon leaving, she didn't plan on seeking me out again."
"She even made me swear an oath: if my cover was ever blown, I would destroy my Divine Soul to avoid implicating others."
Hearing this, the expressions of the two beside her turned somewhat grave. They knew Miss Red Wine was under this curse and that Miss White Wine was involved. Still, reflecting on it, the agreement seemed a bit...
...cold.
"However, though she spoke so decisively, saying she wouldn't see me after leaving, there were two exceptions."
Miss Red Wine continued, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled, "One exception is if I die. No matter the risk, she will come to pay her respects."
"The second is when she finds a way to save my life."
「As Hu Ma was also leaving Pingnan Road」
At the Dongzi Li Family's estate on Big Stone Cliff in Lingshou Prefecture, a member of the outer mansion entered the cave holding a candle and spoke in a low voice, "The benefactor has safely left Pingnan Road. He also teamed up with Lady Han to eliminate Ji Tang of the Beggar Gang."
"That's good."
Old Master Li nodded gently and sighed. "Lady Han understands reciprocity. She knows to protect our benefactor, whom our group cannot openly support. Henceforth, we can ask for her aid when needed."
"But he is, after all, just a little shopkeeper who hasn't yet achieved Entering the Mansion. Entrusting him with the token and letting him travel back alone—is that truly wise?"
The person holding the candle paused mid-sentence, evidently finding the situation somewhat inappropriate.
Old Master Li, however, fell silent for a long time. Then, he unexpectedly turned to him and smiled. "Liangzhong, do you believe in destiny?"
"If I were to say that this little shopkeeper's destiny is heavier than Xiangyu's, would you believe it?"