修行，修行，修行个屁！

Instead of suspecting ghosts and achieving nothing, I should focus on the important things, cultivate diligently, and master my skills.

A Night Watcher's skills, bit by bit, are life-saving.

Now, I have already begun to cultivate the fourth Zang, the all-important kidneys.

Speaking of which, for other Night Watchers, each Zang is a small hurdle, not so easy to cultivate. Just accurately killing this Zang, and then slowly refining it back to life, is a great feat.

But Hu Ma now has ample blood food, and is already dead. In addition, the Old Shopkeeper did not hold back when teaching the Dharma, and the methods were complete, making his cultivation smooth.

In fact, now that he has reached the cultivation of the fourth Zang, if he were to tell others, he would probably be immediately arrested as an evil thing.

It's too fast.

Of course, Night Watchers also have a benefit: they are easy to hide.

If you don't display this skill of turning life into death in front of others, or perform some specific unique skills, outsiders can't see it.

If you really want to understand your potential, you have to cut yourself open.

"This is the benefit of being a shopkeeper..."

While thinking, Hu Ma retrieved another batch of blood food pills, plus the ones that Red Lantern Niangniang would reward him with, and quickly began the cultivation of the fourth Zang.

…

…

Outside Zhumen Town, there is a desolate hill that is not very high, with sparse trees and jagged rocks.

In famine years, infants who died young in the town were often thrown on this mountain, and homeless people who died violently were abandoned in the mountains, resulting in piles of white bones.

Every night, will-o'-the-wisps rise and drift all over the mountain.

The people in the town, not to mention night roads, would detour far away from this mountain even as dusk approached.

But now, on this desolate mountain, there are Qingyi (blue-clothed) children wearing biyou trousers, kneeling in the mountains, their backs bare, exposed to the cold wind of the mountain. Guarded amongst them is a palanquin, on which is placed only a hideous mask of an evil ghost.

Because of it, even the will-o'-the-wisps on this mountain dare not float out.

They waited here for a long time, but Zheng Zhi'en, the Red Lantern Society's Xiangzhu (incense master), who was usually nothing in the eyes of the Qingyi Lord, arrived a full hour late after the Qingyi Lord had arrived on the mountain.

He was wearing a coarse cloth robe with the ties undone, his hair disheveled, and holding a long wooden frame in his hand.

On the wooden frame, there were as many as seven or eight zhang-long yellow banners, fluttering in the night wind, adding a bit of ghostly aura to this gloomy desolate mountain.

"Zheng Zhi'en, you have a lot of airs..."

Seeing Xiangzhu Zheng coming up the mountain, a Qingyi child kneeling near the top of the mountain raised his head and said grimly, "Just because of a word from the benefactor, you don't know your place anymore? Dare to make the Qingyi Lord wait so long?"

"Serving the benefactor is ultimately the Qingyi Lord's job. You're just a guide..."

"Senior brother, please believe me."

Xiangzhu Zheng was scolded, but he was not annoyed. However, at this time, there was no longer any of the previous flattery on his face.

He just smiled faintly and said, "I am a zougui ren (ghost walker), and you are fu ling ren (spirit bearers). Of course, you know the Qingyi Lord better, but I know xiesui (evil spirits) better."

"So it was right for that benefactor to finally ask me for help. Only then could I help him find the person."

"Of course, I wouldn't dare to steal the credit from the Qingyi Lord. Now, I'm just desperate and want to make a living."

"..."

"Make a living?"

The Qingyi child listened, and his face was full of sarcasm: "Isn't it yourself who caused this?"

"Hehe, it is indeed."

Xiangzhu Zheng didn't even refute. Earlier in the fighting, he could be considered to have made a contribution. But just because of a word from the Protector, the burning incense people were full of hostility towards him. Yang Gong, who had recently been performing extremely well and had entered Niangniang's eyes, was becoming more and more powerful.

He, who had received the credit for fighting, couldn't even stay in the Society anymore.

Even this errand of leading the Qingyi gang to find someone, which was destined to offend people, the burning incense people insisted on assigning to him, saying that he was willing to do it.

He understood in his heart that when the fame brought by this credit disappeared, he probably wouldn't even be able to keep his position as Xiangzhu. Having no other choice, he made plans early and simply followed the Qingyi to try his luck in front of the benefactor.

Now, he had actually succeeded, but was this the result he really wanted?

Seeing his depressed look, the Qingyi child couldn't bring himself to mock him for a while. After a slight silence, he said grimly, "Then what do you plan to do?"

"I've picked out a few places for the Qingyi Lord."

Xiangzhu Zheng stuck the wooden frame into the ground. He was quite strong, and it went three inches into the ground in one go, standing firmly.

Then, under the fluttering banners, he turned his head and said, "The places where yin qi (yin energy) is thick are where people might be hiding. But how to focus on these places depends on the Qingyi Lord..."

"Just picked out a few places?"

The Qingyi child listened and couldn't help but sneer, "I'm afraid some that you don't like have also been specially added in, right?"

Xiangzhu Zheng didn't even deny it, but just smiled and said, "If senior brother sees anything you don't like, you can add it now."

The Qingyi child was shocked: "You..."

"The benefactor just asked us to find someone, how would they care how we find them?"

Xiangzhu Zheng smiled and said, "Moreover, using this method to find people always sounds bad. If we don't make this decision and insist on getting the benefactor's approval before doing anything, then if something goes wrong, will it be our fault or the benefactor's?"

The night wind was silent, and the desolate hill was silent.

The evil ghost mask placed in the middle of the desolate hill, on the palanquin, did not make any sound, only a faint cold laugh seemed to be heard in the wind.

"Then thank you, Qingyi Lord..."

Xiangzhu Zheng bowed deeply to the evil ghost mask, then stood up and pulled out a piece of yellow cloth from his sleeve.

He spread it on the ground, then took out incense, candles, and oil lamps, and even placed a few stones as offerings.

The Qingyi children next to him were already indignant. This Zheng was a zougui ren (ghost walker), and zougui ren (ghost walkers) were indeed good at driving the power of xiesui (evil spirits), but he used such a simple altar and even took stones as offerings, which was simply an insult to the Qingyi Lord.

But thinking of the benefactor's instructions, who dared to say anything?

Xiangzhu Zheng said nothing. After placing everything, Xiangzhu Zheng stood up, sighed softly, and then picked up a tree branch.

With his hair disheveled and his outer robe untied, he looked ghostly in the blowing night wind, looking like a madman, gesticulating and reciting:

"Desolate graves in the wilderness, resentful qi (resentful energy) wounds, born in the desolate ancient road."

"I now capture you as a divine general, to help me perform the Dharma to purify yin and yang."

"Lofty Mount Tai, illustrious yin and yang, lonely wild ghosts listen to my command, create good deeds and receive offerings..."

"..."

The Qingyi children next to him were suddenly furious, glaring fiercely at Xiangzhu Zheng. This bastard was not inviting spirits, but rather commanding spirits, treating the Qingyi Lord as a lonely wild ghost to be ordered around?

But before they could say anything, Xiangzhu Zheng had already used the withered branch as a sword and pointed forward sharply:

"The benefactor's command cannot be disobeyed, go quickly!"

"..."

Whoosh!

On the desolate hill, a ghostly aura suddenly rose, and the seven or eight zhang-long yellow banners on the wooden frame behind him were blown by the wind at the same time.

The strangest thing was that the yellow banners on one frame were fluttering in different directions at the same time, beckoning and swaying, like Yellow Spring Road guides extending to the unknown places around.

…

…

Hu Ma had no way of knowing anything else. He could only focus on cultivating the fourth Zang.

He had already paid special attention to this Zang earlier, or rather, everyone would pay special attention to it if they were in his place. Now that he had started cultivating, he was putting in several times more effort than usual, practicing diligently day and night...

...Finally, on the fourth or fifth day, Hu Ma woke up from his dream.

Looking down, he was immediately so excited that his scalp went numb.

It's up!

Without using the blood qi (blood energy) of the Blood Tai Sui to forcibly prop it up, that flag stood up.

It stood up with its own strength!

"I..."

At this moment, Hu Ma couldn't wait to stand up and announce loudly: "I've come back to life!"

Of course, theoretically speaking, his body was still far from being alive, but precisely, Hu Ma felt a taste of being alive again at this moment, a feeling of being reborn.

A feeling of being reborn.

This was not the revival of the previous owner of the body, but his own revival.

Because Night Watch is about turning life into death, and then refining death back into life. Between one life and one death, old things are replaced with new.

Those refined back to life are solid and real, and they are his own!

"Hahaha..."

Hu Ma was afraid of scaring others, so he didn't dare to laugh too loudly, but his expression was already expressing his excitement at this moment.

That's why it's convenient to have his own place. The blood food that he had conspired with Erguotou and Miss White Wine earlier, and even the rewards he had received from the Niangniang Society, were now being put to good use. He refined the fourth Zang with irresistible force.

This meant that he could no longer be considered weak among the Night Watchers.

With the foundation of these four Zang supporting him, the Four Ghosts Salute the Door was naturally more powerful, and he was close to grasping the essence of the Five Thunder Golden Toad's Roar.

This joy was truly indescribable for a moment.

Originally, he was afraid every day that something unexpected would happen. How could it be that now, under pressure, his skills had improved?

"Brother Ma, something bad has happened..."

But at this moment, Zhou Datong suddenly rushed in from the outer courtyard nervously. Suddenly bursting into the room, he saw Hu Ma draped in his coat, looking excited, and was startled.

He had never seen Hu Ma so happy before, which diluted his nervousness and urgency, as if he was disturbing Hu Ma's important affairs because of some small matter.

"Next time, you should at least knock on the door, even if you kick it..."

Hu Ma hurriedly rubbed his face to make his excitement less obvious, and then asked:

"What's wrong? Why are you so nervous?"

"..."

Zhou Datong reacted and hurriedly said, "A strange thing happened in Ganzi Village, and they want to ask the people from our village to go and take a look..."

"Strange thing?"

Hu Ma had been quite nervous during this period of time, but because the surprise this morning was too sudden, he couldn't adjust his emotions for a while. But seeing Zhou Datong's expression, his heart sank.

He hurriedly threw the earlier surprise to the back of his mind, put on his clothes, got out of bed, and walked out together: "What strange thing?"

(End of this chapter)