Twilight Boundary-Chapter 510 - 502 Blood Food Storage

"Oh, my!" Startled by Hu Ma’s reaction, Li exclaimed, "Is Brother Ma Zi’s temper really that big?"

If he were to ask himself whether he was angry or not, he definitely was. Brother Ma Zi had entrusted the manor to him, along with the safety of the surrounding villages’ neighbors, and mentioned the honor of carrying red lanterns for night patrols. It was quite a respectable task.

But once the Truth Sect arrived, they went everywhere preaching, deceiving the people, and even accused the Red Lantern Lady of being an evil spirit, forbidding them from doing night patrols.

The workers in their manor naturally felt indignant and argued a few times. However, honestly speaking, fights had never broken out, probably because the disparity in levels was too significant for a physical altercation.

The anger was certainly there, but when it came to actually complaining, he found he didn’t have much to say. It was only after hearing Hu Ma’s perspective that a startling thought struck him: "Is it really such a great sin not to kowtow to the Red Lantern Lady?"

"I’ll handle this matter myself."

Having vented his anger, Hu Ma sat back down and, while eating, said, "Check how much Blood Food remains in the manor, bring it all to me, and prepare a fast horse."

Upon hearing this, Li hurriedly went to prepare and soon returned with three Blood Food Pills.

When Hu Ma left, he had given Li five Blood Food Pills for emergencies, and now three were being returned.

After eating, Hu Ma strapped the Punishment Officer’s Great Saber onto his back, swallowed two Blood Food Pills, mounted the fast horse, and headed straight towards Zhu Men Town.

Relying on his Pure Yang Foundation and Three Column Tao, he knew he could slowly recover even without Blood Food Pills. However, the fourth incense stick represented an external fate, requiring at least ten or more Blood Food Pills to be fully perfected. Considering future confrontations, regular nourishment was also necessary, so naturally, he needed to have more on hand. Thus, it became essential to procure a batch of Blood Food. But presently, with no village nor inn nearby, where could he find any? Of course, he’d seek reimbursement from the Red Lantern Lady.

Riding the fast horse, after a few lashes, he barely made it to Zhu Men Town before dark.

From afar, Zhu Men Town already appeared to have a stifling atmosphere. Households had closed their doors and extinguished their lights, save for a few red lanterns hanging at the ends of the streets and alleys.

Outside the town, groups of Red Fragrance disciples bearing weapons patrolled various junctions. Hearing hoofbeats approaching, two groups came forward wielding their weapons.

As they approached, Hu Ma, who had already noticed them, had a moment of reflection.

The Red Lantern Society, unlike the One Coin Sect, aimed for grand endeavors, controlling armor, salt and iron, and other supplies.

After all, the Red Lantern Society was merely a jianghu sect. All disciples wore commoner’s clothing. However, the number of dispatched disciples appeared far more formidable than during the previous duel with the Green Clothes Gang, showcasing the severity of the current situation.

"Who goes there?"

"I’m Hu Ma, the green belt shopkeeper of the Red Lantern Society. Brother Liu, we’ve met before."

...

As he drew closer, Hu Ma dismounted and nodded in acknowledgment toward one of the men.

Being a Shousui man with keen vision, he had recognized an acquaintance during his ride.

The Red Fragrance disciples, however, only recognized him when he was right before them. They quickly ordered their subordinates to put away their weapons and one came forward to take Hu Ma’s horse by the reins, laughing, "Oh, Brother Hu, it’s been a while! What brings you here so late?"

Previously, when Hu Ma had followed Yang Gong, he had made acquaintances among the Red Fragrance disciples, even sharing drinks with them on several occasions. This man was one of them.

Hu Ma laughed, "I just returned from the mine. Important matters delayed me. Why is the town so tense?"

The disciple surnamed Liu waved his hand and sighed, "What else could it be? It’s all because of that Heavenly Destiny General of the Truth Sect causing trouble."

"Brother Hu is our society’s shopkeeper, not an outsider. Let him in!"

...

Saying this, they tied Hu Ma’s horse to a willow tree outside the town and, without removing the saber from his back, let him enter.

Once inside the town, Hu Ma familiarly made his way directly to Incense Master Xu’s small courtyard. As he pushed the door open, he witnessed Incense Master Xu holding a disheveled woman on a stone bench, chuckling, his mustache brushing against her as he nuzzled her.

"Ah?"

Hu Ma’s entrance shocked all three of them. Incense Master Xu hastily pulled the woman’s clothes over her head to cover her face and, with a push at her waist, sent her running back into the hall.

"Uncle Xu, you’re..."

Hu Ma, both embarrassed and speechless, commented, "Why didn’t you bolt the door?"

Incense Master Xu, equally embarrassed, was puzzled, "I thought I did..."

Glancing back, Hu Ma couldn’t help but feel a little helpless; perhaps as a Shousui man, his strength was simply too much...

Realizing the situation, Incense Master Xu looked Hu Ma up and down and asked, "Not early, not late, why did you pick this specific time to come over?"

Hu Ma turned to bolt the door again, replying, "Things at the mine have settled down. Shouldn’t I come back and let you know?"

"Was my timing off?"

...

"Well, yes, quite off..."

Incense Master Xu shook his head, motioning for Hu Ma to sit down, and whispered, "Didn’t you notice not even a single lamp is lit in town? That Truth Sect general is domineering as hell. Who knows if he’ll suddenly decide to come and demolish our Red Lantern Lady’s temple without a word?"

Hu Ma was surprised. "Demolish the temple? That harsh?"

Incense Master Xu sighed helplessly. "We’re not on the same path, so naturally, our methods differ. Our Red Lantern Society is just trying to make a living. They, however, are wildly ambitious. Since we’ve blocked their path, of course, we can’t let our guard down."

"But you were doing fine staying at the blood food mine, perfectly positioned to avoid this calamity. Why on earth did you choose now to return?"

...

"This..."

The topic made Hu Ma slightly embarrassed. The oppressive atmosphere within the Red Lantern Society made his initial intentions difficult to voice. Yet, considering Incense Master Xu was no outsider, he earnestly poured him a cup of tea, saying,

"The mine has its own difficulties. Didn’t I ask the society for some funds and provisions earlier? I came back this time precisely for that."

"Big Brother Xu, you absolutely have to allocate some. The brothers at the mine are about to starve..."

...

"Ah? You came for funds and provisions?"

Incense Master Xu was shocked. His stare made Hu Ma slightly uncomfortable, then he suddenly laughed and said, "Speaking of funds, provisions, and Blood Food, our society has them. Plenty of them, in fact!"

"Oh?"

Now it was Hu Ma’s turn to be surprised. He studied Incense Master Xu, wondering what had changed in the old fellow.

"Heh heh, it’s true. Our society has never been this prosperous!"

Incense Master Xu chuckled lowly. "Perhaps you don’t know, but our Red Lantern Lady’s Club is currently at its peak. After the Lady built the temple, her power and influence grew so vast that even Plum Blossom Lane was scared off directly..."

"Plum Blossom Lane?"

Hu Ma was rather astonished. The last time he was in Shima Town and saw Er Guotou, he had only heard that they had just gained the upper hand. How could they have been scared off in just a few days?

"See why it’s interesting?"

Incense Master Xu, bringing this up, also found it somewhat ironic. "You know, in our society, for all major decisions, if you go up the chain, it’s the two Protectors who call the shots."

"Both of them were originally quite cautious in their actions, especially the Left Protector. Although it was noticeable that he grew bolder after the Lady built her temple and was gradually putting pressure on Plum Blossom Lane, that was understandable..."

"But what’s truly incomprehensible is that just a few days ago, he suddenly had an epiphany overnight. He was muttering something about ’a Chaotic World is coming, no room for misplaced benevolence,’ and his stance towards Plum Blossom Lane abruptly hardened."

"We all expected a fight, a showdown to determine who was superior. But Plum Blossom Lane proved to be surprisingly timid! The moment our attitude became firm, they packed up and left without a second word. This incident shocked the entire Mingzhou Prefecture, and people flocked to pay their respects to the Red Lantern Lady."

"We underlings were overjoyed! We went to the Blood Food Storage that Plum Blossom Lane had always managed, and inside..."

...

At this point, he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment, then slowly continued, "...it was rich!"

"Frankly, I’ve been with the Blood Food Gang for half my life, and I’ve never seen so much Blood Food!"

...

"Good heavens..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma couldn’t help but feel his spirits lift. "And then what?"

"Then the people from the Truth Sect arrived..."

Incense Master Xu let out a deep sigh. "Their arrival was incredibly sudden. They didn’t even give a heads-up. Dozens of them came, including Altar Masters and Protectors, not to mention wave after wave of their followers."

"Upon arrival, they entered Mingzhou Prefecture, mingling with government officials and noble lords of the city. They completely overlooked our Red Lantern Society, yet they politely dispatched an Altar Master to our door, wanting to ’borrow grain’ from us..."

Hu Ma was momentarily confused. "Borrow grain?"

"To put it bluntly, Blood Food."

Incense Master Xu explained, "For actual rations and supplies, they naturally approach the government officials. But people in the Path value Blood Food the most."

"Now, those two large Blood Food Storages are nominally under our Red Lantern Society’s control. They were polite, which is like acknowledging our Red Lantern Society’s future authority over Divine Incense Distribute. But asking to ’borrow grain’ like that – isn’t that just a way of saying they want to take all the Blood Food in those storages?"

Hu Ma listened, growing angry. "How can something like that be lent out?"

"No one is willing to lend it..."

Incense Master Xu waved his hand. "But you need to have a way to deal with them. The Truth Sect has powerful figures backing them. Allegedly..."

He lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously, "...their surname is Hu!"

Hearing this, Hu Ma gave a slight smile. "So what if their surname is Hu? My surname is Hu too..."

...

WHOOSH! This startled Incense Master Xu, and his expression changed drastically. He hurriedly came to cover Hu Ma’s mouth, "Are you crazy, you young fool?"

"How can your ’Hu’ be the same as their ’Hu’?"

"If they’re surnamed Hu, how dare you still be surnamed Hu?"