Chapter 1

"Master Ma, will you continue resting here, or come with me to the town for a stroll?"

That day, Hu Ma had packed his gear early in the morning. He wandered around the valley, checking on Master Ma, who was lying down.

Master Ma glanced at Hu Ma with his big eyes, then turned away, not even bothering to acknowledge him.

"If you're not going, I'll just take the donkey."

Hu Ma was out of ideas. Master Ma had been through several near-death experiences in this valley, and his mood was foul, likely due to severe frustration.

It was such a dangerous situation, with the valley filled with threats that could take a person's life at any moment, yet he, such a large target, hadn't been touched at all. This was even more devastating than someone failing to achieve anything after thirty years of hard work.

Leaving him to rest in the valley, Hu Ma went to the stable to fetch the donkey.

The donkey hadn't experienced any problems during this time; it had simply been enjoying itself, hiding in the stable and admiring the mares with a lecherous gaze. It had noticeably gained weight. If he didn't take it out for a walk, the mine might have several mules next year.

As he led it out, ready to leave the valley, he suddenly saw Old Suanpan, also dressed in a wrinkled new outfit, carrying his pipe and wearing a black fox fur hat, coming out as well.

Hu Ma laughed and said, "Why aren't you guarding the mine? If something happens, at least there would be someone there who could speak for us!"

"What could happen?"

Old Suanpan said, "I've already taken care of the money and grain matters. Most of the laborers who were being exploited have been paid and sent back to their fields. Now, the flesh and blood of the Grand Duke are still withered in the mine. Even if they wanted to be greedy, there's nothing left to gain."

"Besides, if there are any minor issues, your junior brothers seem quite clever to me..."

"...Except for the one who likes to use a pitchfork!"

"..."

"Did you resolve that?"

Hu Ma found it strange, "That was sent over by the seventh son of the Sun family..."

"If I hadn't brought it up, would they have given it to us?"

Old Suanpan spoke with conviction, and added, "Don't think you can leave me behind this time. I need to follow you and see what's going on. I've thoroughly investigated the details of the Yiqian Sect during this time. They're causing a lot of trouble in the Xiling area."

"The followers are restless and eager to rebel."

"You're so young. If you deal with them and get tricked into joining their rebellion, wouldn't that implicate our law-abiding Red Lantern Society?"

"I'll go with you to keep an eye on things, so you won't get deceived and trapped in the sect due to your lack of experience."

"..."

"Alright then..."

Hu Ma thought to himself that perhaps the world was truly about to descend into chaos.

The Red Lantern Society, formerly known as the greatest scourge of Mingzhou, was now considered law-abiding.

Based on his current interactions, this seemed to be true.

As he spoke, he waited for Old Suanpan to fetch a horse from the stable. Unexpectedly, Master Ma, whom he hadn't been able to move earlier, actually slowly got up upon seeing Old Suanpan. His big eyes gazed deeply at Old Suanpan, as if he wanted to follow.

Hu Ma was surprised, "What's going on?"

Old Suanpan looked a bit embarrassed, "I promised him something last time, but I haven't fulfilled it yet..."

Hu Ma asked curiously, "What is it?"

Master Ma immediately turned his head and glared at Hu Ma with unkind eyes. Hu Ma had to wave his hand and say, "Never mind."

And so, the two men, a donkey, and a horse slowly left the valley. Hu Ma sat sideways on the donkey's back, following the small path in the mountains. Master Ma followed beside him, while Old Suanpan carried his small bundle on his back, trailing behind Master Ma.

After walking for a few miles, Hu Ma couldn't resist his curiosity again and said, "The horse came out anyway. Why are you still walking behind? Are you reluctant to ride?"

Old Suanpan, with a dark face, ran as fast as he could, panting, "Isn't it because I haven't fulfilled the promise I made to him last time, so he's unhappy? If I ride him now, he might throw me off..."

"..."

Bringing this horse was worse than not bringing it at all...

Hu Ma was speechless, but since he didn't understand the feud between them, he simply rode his donkey.

Old Suanpan hesitated several times, hinting with his eyes that Hu Ma should give up the donkey, but Hu Ma pretended not to see it.

Anyway, they were just walking slowly. Old Suanpan was still strong for his age and should be able to keep up.

They traveled for most of the day, the journey taking them through the mountains. Everywhere he looked, there were continuous mountain peaks. Occasionally, he saw small villages with only a few dozen households nestled in the valleys by the streams, likely those who had moved in to avoid the chaos outside. There was nothing particularly unusual about it.

However, Old Suanpan, who had come out with Hu Ma, seemed very interested in the mountain villages. Every time he saw one, he would stop and look around, sometimes even going into the village to check out the chicken coops and pigsties.

If he was suddenly seen by a peasant woman holding a baby, she would be frightened and hold a rolling pin, watching him from a distance, thinking a chicken thief had entered the village.

Hu Ma didn't follow him in and waited outside the village. When he saw him being chased out of the village by a dog, covered in dust, he laughed and said, "What are you looking for?"

"Isn't it still that Yin General?"

Old Suanpan said unhappily, "Those small families have no manners. This old man is saving their lives, but they think I'm here to steal chickens..."

While scolding, he stuffed the egg he had hidden in his sleeve into his pocket.

'This is truly a thief who never leaves empty-handed...'

Hu Ma looked on, speechless, and said, "Are you worried that the Yin General will run into the village and harm people?"

"Didn't we organize people to search for it before, but couldn't find any trace of it?"

"..."

The mine was quite tense for a while after such a thing had escaped. Zhou Datong and Zhou Liang had both led teams to search near the blood ore mine. Later, it was said that Grandpa Sun had also arranged for people to search the mountains several times.

Of course, they didn't mention "Yin General" to Grandpa Sun, but said that a demonic corpse had escaped. The people from their mine didn't know what it was, but they wanted to warn everyone to be careful.

But after searching for so long without finding a trace, everyone gradually relaxed, and even forgot about it.

"That's what makes people uneasy."

Old Suanpan frowned upon hearing Hu Ma's words, and whispered, "The Yin General hasn't fully formed, but his nature is still there. How ferocious was he when he first escaped? And since he escaped, he shouldn't have run too far. How could there be no trace at all?"

As he spoke, his voice became tinged with doubt, "This thing's nature is similar to that of a zombie, driven by instinct, eating people and drinking blood. It shouldn't be able to hide so well."

Earlier, since they hadn't been able to find it, and he had many things on his mind, Hu Ma hadn't paid much attention to it. But after Old Suanpan's reminder, he frowned slightly and said, "Zombies and drought demons have the habit of seeking revenge for blood debts."

"This thing was transformed from Zhuang Erchang's eldest disciple. Could it have been attracted to his family and harmed them?"

"..."

"No."

Old Suanpan frowned and said, "I asked before. Zhuang Erchang's eldest disciple's surname is Cao. He only has an old mother at home, and she's living well, still unaware of her son's death."

"Moreover, the habit of seeking revenge for blood debts is formed by the zombie's own bloodline. But this thing is different. It was affected by the evil energy in the Grand Duke's flesh and blood. This evil energy suppressed his own bloodline instinct, so he might not necessarily harm his relatives."

"..."

Hearing him say this, Hu Ma also became confused and laughed, "Then according to you, this matter has become even more strange?"

"What about those related to Grand Duke Tai Sui isn't strange?"

Old Suanpan also clapped his hands, looked at the mountains and forests, and sighed, "Anyway, looking at it now, it's really impossible to find it. I think there are only two possibilities. One is that this thing is more fragile than we thought. As soon as it ran out, it disintegrated and rotted somewhere."

"The other one..."

He shook his head slightly and said, "Tsk, the possibility is small, but it's not impossible."

"If he gained Taoist power in the mine, then he would come out as a Yin General. Although evil, he would still be a proper entity. But since he didn't fully form, it's possible that he turned into a demon."

"When people die, they can become spirits, and they can also become drought demons. It's good to find them and burn them, but not all drought demons are so easy to deal with. If they grow hair on their bodies, they become even more powerful. If they become demonic corpses, evil corpses that don't decay, then it becomes a disaster."

"You're all so carefree and ignore everything. This old man is working hard, looking around everywhere, just to prevent it from undergoing such a transformation."

"..."

Hearing him speak so carefully, Hu Ma was shocked, "If it becomes that thing, will it be very powerful?"

"Hehe, it will cause a thousand miles of red land, and no living thing will survive..."

Old Suanpan chuckled twice and said, "But this matter is also uncertain. He was always in the mine before, nourished by the flesh and blood of the Grand Duke, which allowed him to transform into such an evil form in a short period of time."

"Now that he's run out, it'll be difficult for him to transform again. Without the nourishment of the Grand Duke's flesh and blood, he'll have to eat people and drink blood, but it's not enough to eat just one or two people. I'm afraid it would cause floating corpses to fill the river. The commotion would be even greater, and there's no reason we wouldn't notice it."

"..."

"Then we still need to pay more attention to it later."

Hu Ma also nodded, "However, if we're going to search again, we need to arrange for more people. Relying on you to look around, I'm afraid we won't reach Stone Horse Town even by nightfall."

"That's enough, that's enough..."

Old Suanpan waved his hand, "I'm just checking if there are any traces of that thing in these villages. Now it's settled. Let's go to Grandpa Sun's for the feast."

Saying that, he quickened his pace and continued on his way. The two men, a horse, and a donkey clattered along the mountain road into the distance, leaving behind only the vast, deep mountains. The dark forest rustled, the treetops undulating, vaguely sounding like the breathing of some mysterious being.

Crows swarmed above the forest, constantly circling and flying. By the roadside, lonely graves and desolate grass had faint shadows that appeared and disappeared. Only after this group had traveled far away did they suddenly rush out from both sides of the mountain road.

They knelt on the ground, sticking out their long tongues, greedily licking the path they had walked.

(End of Chapter)