Twilight Boundary-Chapter 589 - 580

"Is everyone here? Great."

With so much happening already, the stage was set, and the spirits were about to show themselves. Hearing Miss White Wine's words lifted Hu Ma's spirits significantly.

He hurriedly asked, "Where are they now?"

Before the words had fully left his mouth, a lazy voice suddenly chuckled softly, "What? Missed me already?"

The voice sounded like a woman's but wasn't Miss White Wine's. Hu Ma glanced down and saw that aside from Miss White Wine's, another thread of Life Incense extended from the dark red mist, connecting with the Life Incense in his own incense burner. His heart relaxed instantly, and he smiled, saying, "Miss Red Wine, since we parted ways in Anzhou, we finally get to talk again..."

The incoming connection was indeed Miss Red Wine. She seemed to be in a good mood, smiling as she said, "Why does your voice sound a bit guilty to me?"

"Back then, I led you to defeat the Beggar Gang's Ji Tang. When we returned, I asked you to pass on a message to Bai. Did you not deliver it?"

"..."

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was taken aback, hesitantly saying, "I did deliver it..."

"Oh?"

Miss Red Wine asked, "Then why, when I asked Bai, did she say with a frown that she never received it?"

"?"

This stumped Hu Ma. The questions they were concerned about were so peculiar—one wanted to know where the other's birthmark was, while the other was concerned with the breadth of one's heart—making him, the messenger, feel rather awkward. Fortunately, before he could figure out how to answer without offending anyone, Miss White Wine couldn't hold back her anger.

"Everyone shut up!"

"Is this any time to be fooling around? Since we all know this matter is quite serious and concerns everyone's life and safety, we should all treat it with the gravity it deserves."

"When the end truly comes, will it be too late for tears?"

"..."

Hu Ma heard the anger in Miss White Wine's voice and promptly fell silent. Miss Red Wine, however, laughed, saying, "Exactly, exactly."

"I always said we were right to be cautious, but there was no need to be *that* cautious. The best way to avoid danger is to face it head-on and resolve the crisis."

"It's just that some people didn't believe me and even said I was courting death. Looking at it now, wasn't I the one who was right all along?"

"..."

Miss White Wine didn't take the bait, but the temperature in the room noticeably plummeted.

Hu Ma hurriedly interjected, "Miss Red Wine, weren't you planning to vie for that position of Small Hall Officer of the Trickster Path? And now..."

"That, naturally, has been settled."

Miss Red Wine's voice carried an unmistakable tone of pride as she said, "I am now the Sword-Catching Small Hall Officer of the Trick Door in the Pingnan region. All the Trick Door disciples there are my followers."

"Yes, yes, congratulations..."

Hu Ma replied, sighing in his heart, A position even dogs would disdain has become a standout achievement among us?

"Actually, Bai doesn't need to blame herself so much. Everyone has their own karma; I just acted a bit earlier. If you adopt the right attitude now, with your skills as the Holy Hand Young Master of Grass Heart Hall, it wouldn't be difficult to win a Small Hall Officer position in the Siming Path. Of course, you'd have to start as a runner, then get promoted to steward, and only after becoming a steward could you compete for this Small Hall Officer position."

Miss Red Wine, seemingly oblivious, continued to rub salt in Miss White Wine's wounds, "Sigh, in any case, we need to change our old ways."

"Back then in Shangjing, if we hadn't been so overly cautious, if we hadn't scattered like birds and beasts because of that incident, we might now be among those closest to crossing the river."

"..."

"Closest to crossing the river?"

Hearing her words, Hu Ma felt a flicker of curiosity. He knew they had been part of the same organization in Shangjing back then, but something had happened.

Miss White Wine had never elaborated on the specifics, though her trip back was related to that matter.

As they were speaking, Miss White Wine's anger had clearly reached its breaking point when, unexpectedly, a voice filled with panic cried out, "What's going on?"

"Brother Old White, didn't I ask you to keep an eye on Little Red Lantern for me? How is it that the moment I return, Little Red Lantern has become the mother of a hundred children?"

"I told you we needed to keep a low profile, didn't I? It's only been a few days, so what in the world is this about Little Red Lantern becoming a Divine Fragrance Hall Official?"

"..."

SWISH!

This voice startled everyone present. Hu Ma looked down and saw another thread of Life Incense connecting. Listening to the voice, it had to be Brother Er Guotou.

Before Hu Ma could figure out how to explain, Miss Red Wine, who had been speaking, was taken aback.

"Divine Fragrance Hall Official? Who?"

"Is there such an expert within our Reincarnator circle?"

"..."

"Hmph, not much of an expert."

Miss White Wine's voice, cold and faint, finally sounded, "Merely a minor evil spirit raised by a fellow from our Mingzhou Reincarnator circle."

"Under our arrangements, she has now become the Divine Fragrance Hall Official of the Walking Ghost Path."

"By the way, there was a crucial piece of information left by the previous generation's Reincarnator, Big Red Robe, that I haven't told you yet."

"As for the Small Hall Officer position, when it comes to the problems Reincarnators are facing now, even dogs look down on it..."

"..."

Miss Red Wine: "?"

Hu Ma: "?"

Er Guotou: "???"

Hu Ma thought, Wait, Miss White Wine has such a harsh side too?

Er Guotou, on the other hand, was completely baffled. "Who is this sister? And Miss White Wine, were you also involved in my Little Red Lantern becoming a Divine Fragrance Hall Official?"

It was Hu Ma who suddenly reacted, quickly saying, "Brother Er Guotou, this is Miss Red Wine from Anzhou. She's a good friend of Miss White Wine. Regarding Lady Red Lantern, I was planning to update you when you returned. We managed to secure her position in Divine Incense distribution. And now, her influence isn't limited to Mingzhou; her Blood Food network is expanding everywhere..."

"You're handling this like a start-up, are you?"

Er Guotou sounded even more overwhelmed. "Not only developing the Mingzhou business but also expanding nationwide, right?"

"Stealth! We need stealth!"

"Although we are indeed changing, we can't just shoot up this fast, can we? I know Little Red Lantern's true character perfectly well. How did she manage to end up by that nobleman's side?"

"..."

There was no stopping it; the atmosphere at that time was just too perfect, Hu Ma thought helplessly, then said, "Honestly, so much happened in Mingzhou while you were away. Look at me..."

"...I'm now a Sword-Catching Great Hall Officer of the Walking Ghost Path, am I not?"

"..."

"?"

Hearing this unexpected statement, before Er Guotou or Miss White Wine could even express their shock or ask questions, Miss Red Wine's voice suddenly cut in.

"What?"

Her voice trembled slightly, filled with bewilderment. "Are you... Are you all in Mingzhou this aggressive?"

"...No, Brother Old White, aren't you from the Shousui Path?"

"I was the one who helped you obtain that Entering the Mansion dharma method..."

"..."

It was evident that Miss Red Wine was severely shaken. Although Hu Ma had already decided not to hide this identity, he still felt a bit awkward and said:

"This matter... it's a long story..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly heard Miss White Wine let out a cold snort and say calmly, "Boasting loudly doesn't mean you can actually accomplish things beautifully."

"What we're doing here in Mingzhou is hardly something outsiders can easily comprehend."

Saying this, as if Hu Ma's explanation was no longer needed, she cleared her throat and continued, "Such topics are not worth discussing. However, everyone, since you've all returned, you should focus on important matters. Mr. Er Guotou, weren't you planning to search for the previous generation's Reincarnator, Biluochun, to gather information? I wonder if you found any valuable clues?"

Her voice now sounded very rational, and her tone was quite placid, yet, inexplicably, one could detect a hint of smugness.

"None."

Hearing her question, Er Guotou sighed. "I went to the place where I first met him and called out for several days, but there was no response."

"I suppose too much time has passed; he's likely no longer there."

"What about you two? Shangjing is the imperial city, and you caused quite a stir there back then. Did you find any valuable clues?"

"..."

Miss White Wine, upon hearing this, also let out a soft sigh. "Not much progress either."

"This time, I merely dealt with some family matters and reconnected with a few former associates. I had intended to find Nu'er Hong, the one who organized us all back then. Unfortunately, there were no clues. They disappeared too suddenly and mysteriously. We didn't dare to investigate deeply at the time, and going back now, it's too late."

"..."

It was clear they were all feeling somewhat dejected. This was, after all, a consequence of this generation of Reincarnators keeping too low a profile, which had delayed too many things.

Hu Ma took a deep breath and said, "This is already very good."

"Back then, Er Jiu analyzed for us that there were primarily four things to do. One, find the previous generation of Reincarnators and understand what exactly happened back then."

"Two, inform more Reincarnators."

"Three, contact those who do not eat beef, to prepare for this goal of slaying Tai Sui and vying for destiny."

"As for the fourth point, he took it upon himself, so we don't need to consider it for now."

"..."

He continued slowly, "Of these four objectives, it seems at least two have seen progress. You all have managed to notify more Reincarnators to come."

"As for contacting those who do not eat beef, I am also working on it. Furthermore, regarding the matter of vying for destiny, we can say there's been some advancement."

"I just don't know when these Reincarnators we've invited will actually meet with us."

"..."

"Meeting face-to-face is difficult, but it's essential that we first gather to exchange information."

At this point, Miss Red Wine, who had been struck speechless earlier, finally spoke again, sighing, "We've invited quite a few people, and more will be arriving soon. However, not all of them are willing to show themselves. Even when contacted via their Lifebound Spirit Temple, they remain suspicious. Not everyone dares to set foot in the Mingzhou domain..."

"After all, Mingzhou is currently the eye of the storm." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"..."

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback by this, then promptly said, "If they're unwilling to come to Mingzhou, that's simple enough. We can just arrange to meet in Guazhou instead."