Chapter 到底还是二锅头老兄老奸巨猾
After all, Brother Erguotou is cunning and thoughtful in his work…

Hu Ma didn't expect this arrangement in the end. It saved him from going on stage, helped him get a reward, and earned him a big favor.

He hurriedly helped up the head steward, who looked at least two rounds older than him, and sincerely said, "Brother, don't say that. It's all thanks to the association's great ability. I just happened to bring a message. I don't dare accept your bow."

Seeing the steward's face full of excitement and gratitude, his gratitude didn't seem fake.

These old-timers were afraid of going on stage, especially when the other side was challenging them.

By accepting his favor, he would have his own relationships and connections among these old stewards in the future.

"Hehe, you two can chat later. Let's go now!"

At this time, the smiling Right Protector waved his sleeve and said, "We've already arranged for people to take care of the other matters."

"Tonight, we must first win this battle!"

"..."

Seeing everyone's expressions relax and walking out together, Hu Ma was also a little curious: "Being challenged tonight, with Diguashao not arriving in time, I guess Sun Niuzi is going up."

"This person's ability seems average. What's the foolproof method they're talking about?"

Thinking this, he walked out and saw a group of people waiting outside, precisely Yang Gong and Shen Dabangzi and others.

Seeing Yang Gong's concerned expression, Hu Ma was about to go over and talk to him.

Before he could get close, a gust of joyful yin qi suddenly hit him, and a lame little ghost kowtowed to him.

"Greetings, Lord Hu…"

"..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Gong kicked him away and cursed, "You scared me!"

"You never show up when we burn incense, why are you so diligent now?"

"..."

Not only him, but even Hu Ma was taken aback.

No one wouldn't be afraid of a little ghost suddenly kowtowing, but when he saw it was Yang Gong's little errand ghost, he couldn't help but laugh.

He rummaged in his pocket and found that he still had a little bit of the qing shi (green food) jerky he had brought with him when he went out to do errands. He pinched off a piece and threw it to him, laughing, "Auspicious, auspicious, I'm indeed accepting your good words this time. I've struck a fortune."

"You spoil it too much…"

Yang Gong looked at it and complained to Hu Ma, but his expression was quite happy.

In the end, it was his own little errand ghost. He could complain and scold him, but others being nice to the little errand ghost was also respecting him.

Watching the lame little ghost happily holding the jerky and hiding to the side to enjoy it, he turned to Hu Ma and asked, "The fortune you're talking about is…"

"I don't have to go on stage."

Hu Ma leaned closer to him and whispered, "The higher-ups are thinking about me doing things for the association, and they're going to reward me for my hard work!"

He had brought back information about the other side's lineup, but he wouldn't say it for now, as it was already a secret.

"That's great…"

Yang Gong was overjoyed when he heard this, and his heart finally relaxed. He laughed, "This is worth celebrating."

"I have to go on duty in a while. Wait for me, and we'll drink together after it's over."

"..."

His boisterous nature made Shen Dabangzi frown behind him, and Hu Ma hurriedly patted him, signaling him not to say such things.

Of course it was a good thing that it wasn't his turn to go on stage, but saying it in front of so many people would imply that working for the Red Lantern Mother was a bad thing?

As he spoke, the group walked towards the arena in the middle of town, and saw that several round tables had been set up on both sides. Steward Xu was sitting at one of the tables, waving to Hu Ma from afar.

Yang Gong and the others sent Hu Ma over and went to patrol.

Although Yang Gong and the others had a high status in such important matters, they had to take on the job of patrolling and guarding, and they would not sit here to eat and drink.

The Bai Xiang (White Incense) disciples were busy setting up stoves, serving dishes, and acting as servants.

But stewards like Hu Ma, who had risen from the Qing Xiang (Green Incense) disciples, could sit at the tables on both sides and eat and drink.

Hu Ma sat down and told Steward Xu that he didn't have to go on stage. Steward Xu's face also showed a smile, and he introduced the people at the table to Hu Ma.

They were all people who held various positions in the city. Even the old man in green who had taken out the "ancestral plaster" to save Hu Ma's life during the day was at this table. His surname was Qian, and Steward Xu and the others jokingly called him Old Abacus. Hu Ma took a deep look at him, and then just smiled and raised his glass to thank him for saving his life.

"Easy, easy…"

Old Abacus smiled and looked at Hu Ma's head with concern: "If you don't sleep well at night, come and find me to change another patch."

"You want to scam me for another one, right?"

Hu Ma thought, "You bastard,"

"Just you wait, this matter won't be over until I get twenty blood-food pills back from you…"

Of course, he could only keep these thoughts to himself, and could only talk to them politely. The people Steward Xu was introducing to him at this time were exactly the ones he had planned to build relationships with when he left the village after earning money.

Now that he had met them here and had merit to back him up, he could save some money.

Of course, he still had to spend what he should spend, but he didn't have to buy expensive gifts as a stepping stone like he had planned before.

After sitting and talking for a while, seeing that dusk was approaching, there was a sound of gongs, and the bustling and noisy voices on both sides of the arena suddenly disappeared. Everyone stood up and saluted. On both sides of the arena, there were arrangements. On the Red Lantern Association side, the Left and Right Protectors brought a huge red lantern and hung it high on their side.

On the Qingyi Gang (Blue Shirt Gang) side, a huge piece of blue cloth was spread out.

In the middle of the blue cloth, a mask with a blue face and fangs was hung, symbolizing the Qingyi evil ghost they worshiped.

After the worship, everyone sat down, and the Bai Xiang disciples began to shuttle back and forth serving dishes, and the people on both sides began to eat and drink.

Because the Qingyi Gang had won a battle yesterday, and it was the Red Lantern Association who had challenged them, everyone was excited. Many people in the Qingyi Gang hadn't looked favorably on themselves before, and were planning how to defect to the Red Lantern Association. Now they found that they actually had a much better chance of winning.

Obviously, their drinking and talking were louder than those on the Red Lantern Association's side.

"Whether it succeeds or not depends on whether this battle tonight is stable or not."

Steward Xu sighed softly, expressing everyone's worries.

If the Qingyi Gang won another battle tonight, then even if the Red Lantern Association won the rest, it would only be a tie.

For the Red Lantern Mother, whose cultivation was already profound, this was a very embarrassing thing.

They were worried about this matter, and even if the feast was rich, they couldn't eat it. Of course, for them, they had already eaten for seven days, and they had no appetite. Hu Ma had been busy traveling these past few days, and his appetite had grown greatly. He ate heartily for a while, and even toasted the others.

After three rounds of wine, the sky was already dark, and suddenly there was another burst of gongs and drums, and everyone turned their heads at the same time.

On the Qingyi Gang side, a handsome man wearing a blue shirt walked slowly onto the stage holding a small tray.

Seeing him, Hu Ma was stunned. It was someone he had seen before.

He had met him in Niujiawan, and Yang Gong's great achievement was snatched from his hands.

He walked onto the stage, sat on a futon on the stage, glanced at the Red Lantern Association side, and smiled faintly: "Yesterday's battle was too bloody, hurting the harmony between the two gangs."

"Today, I'm here to challenge, but I don't want to make it so ugly."

"I brought a pot of good tea. I wonder which gentleman from your gang will come up and have a cup with me?"

"..."

Everyone on the Red Lantern Association side looked suppressed. No one really believed his nonsense. The more lightly he spoke, the more ruthless the prepared moves were.

After the other side challenged, Zheng Xiangzhu (Incense Master Zheng) took Sun Niuzi's hand and led him to the front of the stage. He turned around and tidied up his clothes for him, gently patted his shoulder, and looked at his slightly red eyes, whispering, "Go on stage!"

Sun Niuzi's lips trembled, and he seemed to be holding something in his mouth. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't.

Gritting his teeth, he still stepped onto the stage, his legs trembling, trying to stand straight, and gave a long bow to the other side:

"Brother, greetings…"

"..."

He said polite words, but his face was more ugly than crying, and he sounded like he had something in his mouth when he spoke, and his words were slurred.

This was already very rude, and it made the Red Lantern Association lose face.

But the man in blue didn't mind. He just smiled and invited him to sit down, clapped his hands, and a servant behind him brought up a stove with charcoal inside, burning brightly, and a large iron pot.

In front of everyone, he filled it with clear water, then squatted by the stove and silently stepped down. The young master of the Qingyi Gang smiled faintly and said:

"I invited you here, brother, to taste the good tea I brought."

"However, my skills aren't very good. No matter how much I boil it, this pot of water never seems to boil. Do you have any way to make it boil, brother?"

"..."

For a moment, the people on both sides held their breath, knowing that this was drawing a line.

Hu Ma also curiously looked at the stage, and saw that the stove was burning fiercely, and the flames were shooting out from under the pot, burning extremely hard.

But the black iron pot sat steadily, without any change.

Steward Xu leaned over and whispered, "Steward Xiao Hu, can you see the trick here?"

Hu Ma said, "The water won't boil. Could it be that there's a problem with the pot, or a problem with the water?"

He remembered that in his previous life, there were many ways to prevent a pot of water from boiling, but he didn't know what tricks the young master had done.

"I don't think so."

Steward Xu shook his head slowly and said, "If that's the case, then it would be inferior. Once the flaw is seen, he will lose."

"The Qingyi Gang is risking their lives to win this battle. It won't be that simple."

"..."

When he asked others, they all frowned.

At this time, an old man sitting opposite Steward Xu lowered his voice and said to everyone, "This level is a bit difficult."

"I think he should have used some method from the Hai Shou (Harm Head) sect."

"This method is called the Cooking Rice and Meat Uncooked Method. If you don't break this method, the pot of water will never boil, even if it's burned until dawn…"

"..."

"There's such a method?"

Hu Ma felt strange when he heard this, and became even more curious.

What method did Sun Niuzi, or rather the upper echelons of the Red Lantern Association, plan to use to break the other party's method? And how were they so sure that they could win this battle when they didn't even know how the other party would challenge them?