Twilight Boundary-Chapter 540 - 531: Red Lantern Envoy

"If you want Blood Food, take your father!"

When Shen Hongzhi, the Left Protector, received the letter from the Truth Sect, she flew into a rage, slamming the table and cursing, startling the Red Lantern Lady.

They were unaware that this was the repercussion of the Truth Sect being scolded by the Seventh Aunt at night. In the southern mountains, they had begun to gather troops, intending to overwhelm the mountain bandits in one blow. In the north, they were urging for Blood Food to recruit these Jianghu Strange People.

Now, whether it was the Truth Sect’s troops or the makeshift Food Protection Army from the mountains, both were temporarily cobbled together. Therefore, if He Fang recruited enough helpers, he could defeat all sides—a simple truth.

Hu Ma could see it clearly, and so could the Truth Sect. Consequently, at first, they were not eager to push the Red Lantern Society for grain. But now that it was time for a true confrontation, when exactly were they planning to hand over the thousand jars of Blood Food?

However, the letter almost made the Red Lantern Society’s Left Protector faint with anger. "The Blood Food was stolen by your Truth Sect using evil skills long ago, and you still dare to ask us for more?"

"Sneakily gaining benefits was one thing, but to demand more now? Both storages combined only have a negligible amount left, not even enough to feed the rats. Do they want to force us to sell the Red Lantern Lady to pay them?"

...

For a moment, they were baffled by the actions of the Truth Sect. Not long ago, the Truth Sect had sent people to raid the Blood Food Storage, and since that night, the Blood Food had disappeared. The Left Protector could not contact the Right Protector and had to investigate on her own for a long time, but without finding any clues.

Undoubtedly, the Blood Food Storage had been hijacked by the Truth Sect. But why would they borrow Blood Food publicly and steal it secretly? This was still unclear.

The Truth Sect had come to Mingzhou Town, ostensibly to perform Zhensui and propagate their teachings, but secretly, their actions involved surveying land and collecting grain. Everyone had noticed. Now, regarding the Blood Food, it was likely the same strategy.

Bullying those rural folks is one thing, but our Red Lantern Society also has a case god we worship! How can they think they can just push us around like this?

"Someone, I must see the true colors of this Truth Sect today!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Filled with rage, the Left Protector immediately gathered all the incense masters, Shopkeepers, and Worshippers from Zhu Gate Town outside the Red Lantern Temple. Brandishing the letter from the Truth Sect, she shouted, "It seems the Truth Sect has harbored malicious intentions from the beginning, determined not to let us live in peace!"

"They talk about borrowing grain, but in my view, they might be looking for an excuse to destroy us, to make a show for those nobles in the city. Only, we’re not pushovers!"

"Come out, some brave brothers! Come with me to Mingzhou City and confront them!"

"If they truly oppress us like this, then we fight!"

"Our Red Lantern Society has three to five hundred men. Are we really afraid of these foreign demon people?"

...

She, full of anger and righteous indignation, shouted passionately. But an embarrassing scene unfolded: even though the crowd below all showed resentment, when it came to actually entering the city, no one responded.

Unwilling to give up, she shouted again, "Come on, a few brothers! Let’s go into the city and reason with them. No one can act without reason!"

Yet still, no one responded.

The seasoned jianghu veterans below even began to lower their heads, not daring to meet her sharp gaze.

What a joke! They’re collecting grain, rallying troops, occupying Mingzhou City, and they’ve allied with various nobles. Clearly, they’re aiming for something big...

Our Red Lantern Society is just trying to get by in the jianghu. What’s the point of fighting them?

Whether it was the Shopkeepers, the Worshippers, or even the few incense masters in the Red Lantern Society, none of them were fools. When a jianghu organization encountered a faction involved in such major undertakings, the two were simply not on the same level...

In terms of experts, the Red Lantern Society indeed had many. They had seventeen Manors and blood food mines, most of which were manned by Shousui men. On the battlefield, each Shousui man was quite skilled and could easily gain a reputation.

But who dared to rebel?

Not only did they not dare to rebel, they did not even dare confront those who were rebelling. After all, Shousui men generally lived well and comfortably. Who would risk their life and livelihood for such a thing?

Therefore, after the Left Protector shouted for a long time, apart from a few silent Incense Burners willing to follow, none from the large group of Old Masters below dared to agree. In fact, many were rolling their eyes, thinking about temporarily distancing themselves from the Red Lantern Society...

Not just them, even the Red Lanterns hanging in the temple behind them seemed to flicker with uncertainty: ’Why not send someone over to explain? We’re not withholding it; we simply don’t have it anymore...’

’All this fighting and killing, it only harms goodwill...’

...

Yet, in this awkward silence, suddenly, someone began jumping excitedly, raising a hand high. "I’ll go, I’ll go!"

Everyone hurriedly looked over, only to see a young lady dressed in a silk jacket typically worn by rich wives, a bright red skirt, with a dangling hairpin in her hair. She was a stark contrast to the rugged Martial Artists filling the hall.

But among a group of burly men, she appeared with a face full of righteousness. "In times when the Society needs people, how can no one step up to relieve the Lady’s burdens?"

"Oh my..."

Shen Hongzhi, the Left Protector, was nearly speechless with anger. Upon seeing her, she immediately rejoiced, "It’s you! I’ve finally found you!"

"Little sister, you have quite the skill and are loyal to our Society’s matters. I noticed you last time. I wanted to find you afterward but couldn’t. You’re the Little White Waist Worshipper, aren’t you?"

"It’s unfair to you. After seeing you last time, I wanted to promote you to Red Waist."

...

"It’s all for the Lady’s affairs. White Belt or Red Waist, does it matter that much?"

The people around recognized her. She seemed to be the wealthy Mrs. Lu from the rice shop, who had reportedly come over from the side of the green-clothed Evil Ghost. Her husband’s surname was Lu. She had been ill, so no one had seen her before.

Such a junior Worshipper was actually part of the hidden forces of the Red Lantern Society. She usually managed business at home and only came in secret when summoned by the Society. No one understood why this rich lady was so cheerful and lively.

Even when facing the Left Protector’s intention to promote her, she merely waved her hand and said, "Just grant me a Red Lantern."

"I want to take it home to worship. As long as I worship our Red Lantern Lady, I’ll feel at ease doing anything. No matter the green-clothed Evil Ghost, no matter the Truth Sect, I’ve never been afraid!"

...

"Alright, alright."

Hearing her words, the Left Protector was so moved she almost cried. Especially when compared to this crowd of gutless Old Masters, she found Sweet Potato to be refreshingly different, growing fonder of her by the second. "You proactively help the Society and don’t even seek credit for it..."

"Sister, shall we swear sisterhood, advancing and retreating together? How about it?"

...

"Swear sisterhood?"

The Left Protector’s moved proposal made even Mrs. Lu from the rice shop pause for a moment. "I’ve never tried this before..."

Soon she became excited and said, "Alright, alright, let’s try it and see if it’s fun..."

Intentionally shaming the timid Old Masters, Shen Hongzhi then went down and, with this rich lady from Lu’s Rice Store—the Red Lantern Society’s Little White Waist—burned incense right there to swear sisterhood in front of everyone.

Then, she brought out a golden-patterned Red Lantern—one that only an incense master was qualified to carry in the Society—and presented it to Sweet Potato, signifying a formal appointment. Only then did she prepare to gather their forces and set off for Mingzhou City to confront the Truth Sect directly.

Initially, Shen Hongzhi, the Left Protector, also intended to go, but Mrs. Lu firmly insisted that she stay. "Sister, you should stay. It’s inconvenient for me to take you... and not safe. There’s a lot going on in the Society right now. If anything truly happens, you need to be here to manage the overall situation!"

...

Her words left the Left Protector deeply moved. Holding her hand, she whispered, "Sister, some things are best said in confidence. I had to sound tough up there earlier, but when you get there, please, you absolutely mustn’t speak that way..."

"Mainly, explain to them that we truly don’t have that much Blood Food left. If they only need one or two hundred jars, we might be able to scrape it together..."

...

"We still have one or two hundred jars?"

Hearing this, Sweet Potato said seriously, "Sister, rest assured, I know what I’m doing!"

Saying this, she took charge. She left the town alone, went to a nearby village, hired some people to carry her sedan chair, raised the Red Lantern high, and set off towards Mingzhou Prefecture City with music and fanfare.

This high-profile entry into the city immediately attracted countless onlookers. Along the street, Martial Artists brandishing "Truth" banners and carrying weapons, usually reclusive nobles, and government officials in their uniforms were all drawn out.

Amid this chaos and the pervasive fear of grain bandits in the mountains, seeing people from the Red Lantern Society arrive, everyone was naturally concerned about the situation.

"In the past, our Red Lantern Society didn’t have such prestige in Mingzhou Prefecture City..."

Meanwhile, as Sweet Potato entered the city, looking around from her sedan chair and seeing Truth Sect banners everywhere, she felt sorry for the Red Lantern Lady. Such a revered Lady used to be confined to the southwest corner of the city. She finally managed to build a temple, only to be driven out to Zhu Gate Town...

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. ’The Lady is so pitiful! I can’t stand this injustice on her behalf...’

As these thoughts crossed her mind, she had already arrived at the government office in the Prefecture City. There, she saw the Truth Sect Altar Masters, who had clearly received word and were waiting to greet her.

Sweet Potato alighted from the sedan chair and greeted the two Altar Masters courteously. They, in turn, made a gesture of welcome; seeing that she was a woman, they merely gestured and did not actually touch her. Smiling, one said,

"We were just about to invite our friends from the jianghu in the Red Lantern Society to discuss important matters. Friends from the Red Lantern Society are here! Please, come inside..."

...

"No need for that. I only came to deliver a message from the Society. You sent someone asking about the thousand jars of Blood Food. Our Lady said..."

Sweet Potato bashfully glanced at the people around her, then lifted her head, her chin slightly raised, and exclaimed loudly, "Don’t even think about it..."

"...there isn’t a single bit left!"