Chapter 祖师爷
“Ancestor?”

Hu Ma had intended to seriously discuss things with Old Abacus, but he didn't expect him to divine in front of him, his eyes even looking a little strange.

Ever since they came together from Ming Prefecture, it felt like he could get involved in anything, especially with his fortune-telling and divination, always putting on a show, setting up an altar, and then spouting nonsense.

At first, no one took it seriously, but gradually Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu, and the others seemed to be convinced, their loose silver basically emptied by this old fellow, and they were still willing, even relishing it!

What kind of tricks did this Old Abacus have up his sleeve?

Hu Ma couldn't quite remember, it just felt like he could talk about any topic, especially his divination, always speaking so eloquently. Several times Hu Ma's fingers itched, wanting to try for himself whether his divination was effective.

Unfortunately, every time he had that thought, he dismissed the idea.

…The divination fee was too expensive.

Of course, Hu Ma wasn't just being stingy with the divination fee, he just felt that after suffering the loss of those several hundred blood pellet pills, to be swindled by Old Abacus again would make him seem too…

He sized him up and said with suspicion, "Is your method effective?"

"Hey..."

Old Abacus immediately looked annoyed, glaring at Hu Ma and saying, "Young man, I can tell you, you can joke about Old Abacus, but you can't joke about my ancestor. My divination is a real skill, not like those charlatans in the martial world."

"The divination shows the words of the ancestor. If you doubt the divination, you doubt my ancestor..."

"...Quickly, bring two blood pellet pills, I'll offer them up for you, and ask the ancestor to forgive you!"

"..."

Hu Ma was speechless, so he said, "Then tell the ancestor for me, I owe him. When I get the debt back, I'll offer him double..."

"Getting a debt back? Does someone owe you a debt?"

Old Abacus was also stunned for a moment, then said, "Getting a debt back is also my specialty. If your debt is hard to collect, entrust it to me. Of course, we'll have to split the recovered debt three-seven..."

Hu Ma: "...Very good, it's perfect to entrust this to you, but we need to consider it carefully. Let's talk about the main thing first."

"The main thing is simple."

Old Abacus shook his head, his expression also becoming serious, and whispered, "The ancestor's words can't be wrong. If he says the clan leader's words are true, then they're true. This matter..."

"I don't believe it even if it's all true."

Hu Ma said straightforwardly, "We just arrived and have already encountered so many things. I don't trust anyone's words now."

Old Abacus was stunned for a moment: "Then you..."

"There's no way around it."

Hu Ma laughed and said, "Suddenly, such a righteous and vengeful old clan leader comes to our door, wanting to help us get rid of this great enemy. I'm also very embarrassed, but even if we don't agree, we can't think of any other way for the time being, can we?"

"We can't really go out and fight those crazy Wu people, can we?"

"He just sent a dead crow and already injured Zhuang Erchang, who had refined his five organs, to this extent. Even if I went, I'm afraid it wouldn't be safe. What if I capsized in a gutter? Who would I cry to?"

"..."

These words were spoken with confidence, after all, he came to this mine under the orders of the Red Lantern Matron, to work for the Red Lantern Matron.

He couldn't just do this kind of life-risking thing casually. He was Green Incense, not Red Incense.

Of course, he had indeed accepted the benefits of this mine, but that was by his own ability. He believed the Red Lantern Matron was generous and wouldn't haggle over such trivial matters.

The more he thought about it, the more at ease he felt, laughing: "But dragging it on like this isn't a solution either. Everyone in the mine is scared."

"This clan leader has fame and prestige in the mine. If he wants to help and I don't agree, what would that look like?"

"To take a step back, if we don't ask him and rely on ourselves to call for reinforcements, how many people can the Red Lantern Society send? Not to mention the extent to which they can do things, I'm afraid we can't keep the blood food we just confiscated, right?"

"..."

Stopping here, it was more than just the confiscated blood food. The most important thing was that mysterious vein. Who knew what amazing things were hidden in that vein?

Old Abacus didn't know about Hu Ma's conversation with Monkey Wine, but seeing Hu Ma's attitude of not trusting anyone, he admired him somewhat, whispering, "You're right, I was really afraid you were young and would be easily coaxed..."

"I also think so."

"Not to mention the old clan leader, I don't quite trust that Zhuang either, but even the ancestor said their words are true, and I can't figure it out..."

"..."

He sighed slightly and whispered, "Since the situation is unclear, let him refine it for now."

"Once he refines the Gu, he will be very dangerous, but before he refines this Gu, he is more dangerous instead."

"Wu people refining Gu need to find a safe place, undisturbed, for fear of accidents that could lead to the Gu insects turning on them. He actually took the initiative to come here to refine Gu, he's very brave!"

"There's no need to worry about him refining Gu here and what impact it will have on the mine. In my opinion, what we should be worried about is him."

"A Gu person facing a Watchman head-on has no chance of winning. If he hides in the dark, he can fight with you for a few rounds, but if he makes trouble in front of you, you can chop him down with one strike. If it takes you two strikes, it means you haven't learned your skills well enough..."

"..."

"I feel like you're secretly scolding me again..."

Hu Ma smiled and glanced at Old Abacus, but didn't argue with him. After pondering for a while, he said thoughtfully, "Actually, this is exactly what I find strange..."

"In short, let's see if there's anything fishy going on first. Since he needs seven days to refine this Gu, then we also need to investigate things clearly in these seven days..."

"..."

While Hu Ma and Old Abacus were discussing, the people in the mine suddenly became busy.

Just as everyone was panicking, the red lantern outside was hung up, but it didn't bring much peace of mind. After all, the people in the mine didn't trust the Red Lantern Matron that much, but when Clan Leader Wu came, they suddenly felt like they had a backbone.

Soon, two sheds where sundries were piled up were torn down, and the wooden strips and boards were piled up in front of the valley. Following Clan Leader Wu's instructions, a strange altar was built.

Rather than calling it an altar, it was more like a shed, shaped like a cone, just enough for one person to sit inside, with the Hundred Gu Basin placed in front of him.

After the shed was built, Clan Leader Wu burned a few handfuls of artemisia and fumigated the inside thoroughly. Now, Wu Ya, who had recovered, also came out to help.

She took out bottle after bottle, filled with the stinking smell of fresh blood, and poured it little by little onto the shed. Then she squatted beside it, took out various herbs, and slowly pounded them with a stone mortar.

Looking at it suddenly, it was hard to tell whether it was refining Gu or making medicine.

After all the preparations were completed, it was almost dark. Mine Manager Zhuang came to Hu Ma specifically and said, "If the manager has no other opinions, they will start refining Gu tonight."

Hu Ma nodded and said, "Anyway, you're familiar with this old Wu person, so just cooperate."

Mine Manager Zhuang looked a little embarrassed, but still nodded and went back to tell Clan Leader Wu. Then Clan Leader Wu took off the circles of black cloth wrapped around his head, and tied them around the shed in strange knots.

After doing these things, he let his hair fall down, held the Hundred Gu Basin, sat in the shed, and then said a few words in a stern voice.

Wu Ya and another man brought by Clan Leader Wu immediately agreed, and then both of them carried bamboo baskets and quickly walked out of the valley.

Their conversation at this time was not in the official language, so the people outside couldn't understand, they just watched from afar, not daring to disturb them.

"This is the first step in refining Gu, seeking Gu!"

Beside Hu Ma, Old Abacus had been watching all along. Seeing this, he whispered, "This old clan leader's method of refining Gu is the most orthodox and oldest."

"Actually, it's different from what others think. When Wu people refine Gu, they don't refine whatever snakes and insects they want. Before they set up the Gu altar, they don't even know what they will refine, they just do it according to the method."

"Now, this old clan leader has set up the Gu altar, and he has to guard the altar himself. The two people under him have to follow his instructions, at a specific time, in a specific place, such as so many feet east of the altar, so many feet west of the altar, etc., to bring back any snakes and insects that appear there."

"No matter if it's golden toads, long worms, centipedes, scorpions, or geckos, as long as they appear, they have to be brought back and put into the basin. This first step is completed."

"..."

Saying that, he sighed softly, "These insects are just insects outside, but once they enter the basin, they are called Gu. To put it bluntly, the initial Gu is raising insects, picking out the most poisonous insect to harm people."

"Outsiders talk about the Wu people's methods as being so mysterious."

"But in essence, you can understand it as, you particularly hate someone, such as someone who owes you money and doesn't pay you back. So you find a group of snakes and insects, put them in one place, and watch them attack each other, finally choosing the most poisonous snake or insect."

"Then, you take this most poisonous insect and sneak into his bed at night, that's casting Gu..."

"..."

Hu Ma was surprised to hear that: "Your explanation is so down-to-earth..."

"Is it really that simple?"

"Hehe, anyway, the principle is the same, isn't it..."

Old Abacus smiled when he heard Hu Ma's words and said, "The things in the know are all simple when you boil it down. Isn't the skill of you Watchmen just chopping people with knives?"

(End of Chapter)