"So, did Miss White Wine actually send me a letter, or..."
Meanwhile, as Miss Red Wine was explaining the contents of that letter to those around her, Hu Ma, who had left their sight and was driving south, was silently pondering, Am I the letter?
Some questions were hard to ask but impossible to ignore.
Miss Red Wine was a warm-hearted person. Even though Hu Ma was merely a messenger, she helped him deal with the Li Family's affairs and introduced him to the jianghu. She even went as far as to give him a chance to face off against Ji Tang, the Beggar Gang Leader, in an ambush, allowing him to gain valuable experience.
Every step since arriving here had felt like winning the lottery.
But did he deserve such good fortune?
Ultimately, in the eyes of these Reincarnator seniors, he was just a newcomer from a small place. Everyone was trying to survive in this bizarre world, constantly living with the risk of having their identities exposed and meeting a dire fate, buried in an unmarked grave.
Why were they risking exposing some of their foundations to help him understand this world and remind him of its hidden truths?
Was it the seniors' care for the newcomers?
Ha, if Reincarnators were all so protective of newcomers, Gua Shao's leg would have been healed long ago.
"There are no fools in the jianghu..."
After pondering for a long time, Hu Ma sighed deeply. He accepted a truth with a clear conscience: although he was indeed handsome and not ill-natured, he wasn't worth such special treatment. Since they were looking after him so attentively, they must have had a compelling reason to do so.
However, even though he sensed this, he didn't ask.
Some things are easier to feign ignorance about if you don't ask; if he asked, he was afraid they might actually tell the truth.
Besides, even if he understood everything clearly now, with the limited abilities he currently possessed, could he really bear the weight of so many lives, such immense karma?
Take it slow. Learn the skills first, then we'll see.
With his thoughts settled, he urged the horse on, traveling swiftly and lightly towards Mingzhou. Previously, he had journeyed slowly with Aunt Zhang, Housekeeper Zhou, the coachman, and two other attendants. But now, traveling alone, even with a carriage, the journey was remarkably swift. This was because the horse pulling the carriage was truly unique—it would just lower its head and rush onward, tireless, as if it had no fear of being worked to death.
What also puzzled Hu Ma was this horse, which seemed to have a death wish. He had assumed he was only using it for safety, leading up to the encounter with Ji Tang, the Beggar Gang Leader. He never expected Miss Red Wine to gift it to him when he headed south.
Can such a thing really be given as a gift?
Every time Hu Ma looked at this silent, intensely driven horse, which would only sleep at night after drinking wine, he felt a wave of strangeness. To be honest, a horse that worked hard on the road was fine. Needing a drink to sleep at night was also okay. But when, in the dead of night, the horse raised its head to gaze at the moon with tears in its eyes, that felt rather eerie...
Forget it, I'll take it back to the manor first.
With this horse, his travel speed increased considerably, and it wasn't long before he returned to Mingzhou. The journey wasn't entirely without trouble, of course. A lone man driving a carriage was quite conspicuous. But the Jianghu Spring Book phrases he had learned from Miss Red Wine proved very useful. Whenever he encountered highwaymen or river bandits blocking the way, he would immediately call out: "Traveling the roads, through mountains, toward the riverlands; with a little silver to speed us on a sunny day. Friends, behind closed doors, we're all one family."
"I am an apprentice of Craftsman Li of the Beggar Gang on Pingnan Road, delivering something for his esteemed self down south!"
"What, you won't even show me that little respect?"
"..."
The Beggar Gang on Pingnan Road was not to be trifled with; they wielded considerable deterrent power over those who roamed the roads. Of course, this was also because news of the Beggar Gang's complete uprooting hadn't spread yet. In this era, without telephones or telegraphs, information relied entirely on word of mouth. It traveled slowly and often became more fantastical and exaggerated with each retelling. For instance, his own burgeoning fame in Anzhou would likely ferment over time. Who knew if he'd eventually be rumored to be a hero eight feet tall and eight feet wide!
Posing as an apprentice of Craftsman Li, the man who had actually died at his hands, Hu Ma found that no one dared to block his path. In fact, wherever he went, people would serve him and even help clear the way. They would also proactively warn him about any dangerous areas ahead, so he could avoid trouble.
Of course, it wasn't all convenient; there were hassles too. Hu Ma once encountered someone who, upon hearing he was from the Beggar Gang, very enthusiastically tried to cozy up to him. Slapping his chest, the man claimed to be Godmother Cui's brother and to have rendered her significant help. He suggested, "You're Craftsman Li's apprentice, so we're practically family..."
So Hu Ma promptly drew his knife and finished him off!
First, the man was genuinely familiar with Godmother Cui, and Hu Ma wouldn't have been able to keep up the pretense if questioned too closely. Second, the man had helped human traffickers, so he wasn't a good person.
Thus, he hurried on his way. After about half a month of travel from Pingnan Road, he reached Mingzhou Prefecture, arriving at his manor in Green Stone Town by midday.
He flicked the reins, and the horse pulled the carriage straight into the manor through the unlatched main gates. He had expected the manor to become lively immediately but was surprised to find it eerily quiet, with no other staff in sight. Looking up, he only saw Li leaning against the kitchen doorframe, dozing off.
Hu Ma cracked the whip lightly in the air. "What's happened? Where is everyone?"
Li jolted awake. Rubbing his eyes, he first thought he was dreaming, then suddenly grew excited. "Brother Ma Zi, you're back?"
"I'm back!" Hu Ma laughed as he jumped down from the carriage. "Help me with the baskets on the..."
He was about to ask Li to help him unload the baskets from the carriage and move them to the inner courtyard, but he stopped himself. Smiling, he said, "Forget it, just go make me a bowl of noodles!" As he spoke, he lifted the two large baskets himself, one in each hand, and carried them directly into a room in the inner courtyard. If the other staff had been around, he would have had them do this heavy lifting. But Li's constitution was currently too fragile for such heavy lifting.
"Where is everyone?" Hu Ma asked curiously as Li began to light the fire. He had already carried in the two baskets, unfastened the horse's harness, and settled 'Master Ma' in the stable with the best fodder.
"Half of them have gone into the woods with Brother Datong to practice their skills, and the other half are at a banquet in Yellow Dog Village," Li replied. "And Liangzi and Brother Zhuzi are helping out in Zhu Men Town now. They said they want to earn money for oil lamps."
"Brother Datong is really impressive now. Recently, there was a reanimated corpse that three or five strong men couldn't hold down. He went up, tripped it with one kick, and then stepped on its chest so it couldn't get up. Liangzi and Brother Zhuzi were instantly envious."
"Now, to earn money, they'll do any kind of work. The other staff have also realized the importance of practicing their skills, so now they follow Brother Datong into the woods every day to chop trees."
"Widow Zhou complains every day. She says they promised to help chop firewood but ended up making a mess of the trees they cut."
"..."
Hu Ma listened, somewhat speechless. Why was it that wherever Zhou Datong went, a widow inevitably appeared?
What kind of principle was this?
Of course, he also felt a slight sense of relief. It was good that they knew to learn skills. Previously, in this manor, he was the only one who consistently put effort into learning skills. Even when the other staff saw him get promoted from manager to shopkeeper, they weren't envious; it was as if they felt it was only natural. It wasn't until Zhou Datong learned some real skills that they finally became motivated.
"Alright, call everyone back!" Once Hu Ma had settled things, he told Li, "Xiang was safely escorted back, and she's been cured."
"This time, I've brought back a lot of good things for us!"
"By the way, this afternoon, call Shopkeeper Sun and his wife from the town over. Xiang has been thinking of them; the things she sent include a share for them."
"..."
If it had been any of the other staff members here, they would have probably asked about Xiang the moment they saw Hu Ma. Only Li wouldn't ask; he didn't even seem to care. Nevertheless, Li was genuinely happy that Hu Ma had returned. He eagerly hurried off to Widow Zhou's woods to call the others, already thinking about what dishes to prepare to properly welcome Brother Ma Zi back.
Soon, the manor livened up. Zhou Datong and the others came running out, bare-chested and overjoyed. They crowded around Hu Ma, asking him all sorts of questions, especially about Xiang. They asked if she was betrothed, if she had any sisters, and so on.
Later that afternoon, Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu also returned. It wasn't because they were called back; they just happened to finish work then. And so, the whole manor became a hive of activity. They slaughtered chickens and sheep, fetched wine from the town's tavern, and also invited the tavern owner, Shopkeeper Sun, and his wife to join them. When Shopkeeper Sun and his wife heard that Xiang had returned home safely, they were overjoyed and eagerly lent a hand with the preparations. However, seeing the manor preparing such a grand feast specifically to host the two of them made them feel a little awkward.
That evening, after the usual night patrol, two large tables were set up in the courtyard, laden with food and wine. Hu Ma also brought out the two large baskets from his own courtyard. He smiled and said, "We're all good people here, and it seems good people are indeed rewarded. After we sent Xiang back, her family expressed their immense gratitude, saying how kind everyone here is."
"Xiang also kept saying that the few days she spent with us were the most comfortable she's ever been, even better than her life as a young lady in Lingshou Prefecture!"
"Look, when I was leaving, she specially had her family pack many local specialties for us—two whole baskets full..."
"Come on, there's a share for everyone. Let's divide them up."
"..."
Hearing this, everyone was delighted, their curious eyes fixed on the two large baskets. Seeing their expectant gazes, Hu Ma didn't hold back. He directly opened the two large baskets, reached in with a slight smile, and then took out countless good things to distribute among them.
"Look, this is cloth Xiang picked out for Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun. Won't it make beautiful clothes?"
"Datong, this is wine Xiang sent for you. It costs several taels of silver per jar!"
"And look at these sweets and pastries, so exquisitely made! You can tell Xiang put a lot of thought into this..."
"And this... bright, shiny silver. Everyone gets at least..."
"...two taels each!"