Chapter 497 Paying Respects to Stone Horses and Hanging Red Lanterns

"Never imagined that coming to Yiqian Teaching, besides the cultivation methods, I'd also make a profit of two large livestock..." Originally, Hu Ma wanted to hitch the horse to the cart, but the two horses from Yiqian Teaching were supposed to be led back by Bai Shanzi. However, now that Ma Ye had a lot of opinions about him and ignored him completely, he had no choice but to drive them along like this.

Leaving the Stone Horse Town, Sun Laoqi, Hong Shifu, Bai Shanzi, and others stopped at the entrance of the town to see him off, watching him disappear into the distance. Hu Ma could sense that there were more than just these few people watching him in the town.

Thinking about the exchanges of the past few days, he smiled wryly in his heart. There were many things he wanted to know, but he had no way to answer the questions asked by that Eldest Brother.

What could he say when asked about what it meant to be Bu Shi Niu (Non-Eating Ox)? Since this Bu Shi Niu already had its own philosophy, he had no choice but to go along with it. Who didn't know how to talk nonsense that sounded profound but wasn't really anything? He didn't expect that when this Eldest Brother heard it, he seemed deeply moved... Good, just keep this style up, or if you make it too profound, I really wouldn't know how to answer you.

"Hoo..." Once outside Stone Horse Town, Hu Ma let out a long sigh of relief. Because the copper coffin was heavy, he didn't crack the whip, letting the two horses slowly pull it forward. On the way, he looked at the villages and farmlands in the mountains, carefully observing them.

He found that most of the houses were intact and inhabited, seemingly unaffected by the Lantern Blessing Assembly of Yiqian Teaching.

Thinking about the past few days, the Yin General, the Great Hall Official, and all sorts of battles, evil arts, and strange methods, it was all a chaotic mess.

For these ordinary people to have preserved their lives and property in such chaos was great luck.

However, things were a little different from when he had come. He saw that several villages had hung up red lanterns, the paper still bright and new, obviously just made.

When passing by the entrance of one village, he saw a peddler carrying a bamboo pole on his back, with more than a dozen red lanterns hanging from it. He was teaching the children playing around him,哄ing them with candy to sing a nursery rhyme: "Pay respects to Stone Horse, hang red lanterns, one copper coin to summon Yin soldiers."

"Summon Yin soldiers by the millions, to take back money and grain to供 (gong - provide for) ancestors."

Hu Ma was shocked when he heard this. It had only been a few days, and even such a nursery rhyme had been composed? This nursery rhyme sounded simple, but it could potentially kill people... Taking advantage of the cart passing by, he carefully looked at the peddler. He saw that he was healthy and full of smiles. He seemed unaware of Hu Ma's gaze, but after Hu Ma passed, he suddenly turned his head and smiled at him.

Hu Ma immediately understood that this was probably someone from the same world, maybe even a Bu Shi Niu follower.

With their participation, this made sense. Where Bu Shi Niu followers were, hiding books in fish bellies, stone men in the Sand River, and foxes鸣 (ming - chirping) at night were all basic operations.

And this was also them trying to expand the influence of the Lantern Blessing Assembly as much as possible. However, he didn't expect that the Red Lantern Goddess also had a place in this, even ranking higher than Yiqian Teaching? Looking at the red lanterns hanging in the mountains, with a tendency to spread like a wildfire, although the name of the Red Lantern Goddess wasn't explicitly mentioned, he couldn't even say for sure what kind of impact this would bring in the dark.

"Anyway, the Red Lantern Goddess has built a temple and is in the process of widely accepting believers, so I'm helping her, right?" He simply stopped thinking about it and drove the cart straight towards his own blood food mine.

"Ancestral Master above, your disciple only asks for one word from you..." While Hu Ma left Stone Horse Town and headed back to the blood food mine, Lao Suanpan (Old Abacus), who had returned two days earlier, was in his small house in the mine, killing a chicken, taking out flowers and fruits, setting up an incense table, and taking out the flag he usually hid in his crotch.

He respectfully inserted it at the head of the table and sincerely prayed: "This guy is too good at causing trouble, I can't watch him with my meager skills." "I originally calculated that his fate was quite heavy, so I followed him to earn some benefits, but who would have thought that his ability to attract trouble would be so terrible, and he even mixed with the妖 (yao - demon) people of Bu Shi Niu. I see that the局 (ju - situation) at his house is probably very difficult to turn around." "Now, I won't say anything else, old rules, if you nod twice, I'll go back quickly, okay?"

While muttering for a long time, he shook the copper coins in his hand a few times and scattered them on the ground, but they were all tails.

Unwilling, he picked them up again and scattered them three times, but not once did they come up heads.

Lao Suanpan's face changed. He picked them up again, put on a smiling face, and prayed, "Nodding twice is too tiring, just nod once and your disciple will understand."

As he spoke, he哗啦哗啦 (hua la hua la - rattling sound) tossed them ten times in a row.

But for ten consecutive times, they were all tails. Lao Suanpan was furious. He suddenly jumped up, picked up the肥 (fei - fatty) chicken offered on the incense table, and cursed, "Don't eat you, you won't nod even after ten tosses, is that reasonable?"

According to the邪 (xie - evil) spirits of the past, this didn't conform to probability at all. I've been供 (gong - provide for) you with good food and drink every day, but when it comes to business, you insist on pushing me into the fire pit?"

The Ancestral Master ignored him, but a slight breeze came, and the flag seemed to shake.

Lao Suanpan was so frightened that he fell to the ground and cried, "You can't坑 (keng - trick) your disciples like this, could it be that you..."

The flag shook again, still silent. Lao Suanpan suddenly thought of something: "Or rather, do you think this family still has a chance of winning?"

He quickly grabbed the copper coins and tossed them a few more times, but the result was dumbfounded.

Still tails.

Just as he was sitting呆 (dai - blankly) in the room, not knowing what to do, he heard a commotion outside. It turned out that Hu Ma had returned. He hurriedly put away the copper coins and left the plate of 肥 (fei - fatty) chicken for the Ancestral Master to enjoy, and came out in his long robe.

"Put the coffin under the shade of the trees at the edge of the valley, dig a pit and bury it. Tear some sour jujube branches to surround it, and paste a circle of eye-catching red paper around it, lest someone gets drunk and bumps into it."

Hu Ma was arranging for people to drag the cart to unload the coffin there, bury it in the soil, and take it out when needed. He also asked people to tie the two large animals he had earned into the horse stable and feed them, and then carried his包袱 (bao fu - bundle) into the hall.

He happened to see Lao Suanpan coming out, so he smiled and squinted his eyes and said, "Old brother, you're not honest. We brothers went to the town together, and when something happened, you didn't wait for me and ran back early."

When Lao Suanpan heard this, he was even more angry than him, and said with a crying face, "You still have the nerve to say I'm not honest, you're the one who's not honest!" "You Shou Sui Ren (Year Watchers) run fast, but I don't run fast. That night was so dangerous, with the衰 (shuai - decline) God worshipping the lanterns, and Bu Shi Niu妖 (yao - demon) people appearing, and the Shou Sui Da Tang Guan (Year Watcher Great Hall Official) attacking the town, this old man was so frightened that he hid in the coffin all night, and I didn't see you helping me!"

"... Okay!"

Hu Ma originally wanted to擠兌 (ji dui - to tease) him, but he didn't expect him to be even more aggrieved.

On the surface, everyone's actions seemed to be about the same, so no one would say anything.

He had people make food to eat, and invited Lao Suanpan into the hall, and even took the initiative to pour him a cup of tea, and said with a smile, "Actually, I was quite worried when I came back, that I would see you run away, but I didn't expect that old brother was still righteous and stayed to help me."

Lao Suanpan was immediately戳 (chuo - poked) at his pain point and tentatively said, "Why don't you settle my wages for this period, and I'll get you a younger accountant?"

Although the Ancestral Master didn't let him go, if someone insisted on摔 (shuai - to throw) himself away, that would be reasonable, wouldn't it?

"No need."

When Hu Ma heard this, he immediately refused with a smile, and looked even more 친 (qin - affectionate) than before. He said with a smile, "It is said that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. Although you are my old brother, a peer, you are also old, aren't you?"

"Actually, on the way back this time, I was thinking about discussing something with you. Do you old know about the Dao of human soul cultivation techniques?"

"Ask me?"

Lao Suanpan was stunned for a moment, and said, "Didn't you learn great skills at Yiqian Teaching?"

"I only know what it is, but not why it is."

Hu Ma said, "I did learn something, I can feel my soul growing stronger and my energy is sufficient, but I don't understand the mysteries. Being粗 (cu - rough) and direct is okay, but if I want to accurately grasp it, it will be a bit difficult."

"The Shou Sui (Year Watching) method is all like this, only caring about when you're alive, not caring about what happens when you die..." Lao Suanpan thought thoughtfully, sighed softly, and slowly said, "But the way of the soul is much more complicated, what do you want to know?"

"I have a friend..." Hu Ma looked into his eyes, had been considering it all the way, and now he was not polite, and asked directly, "Originally, his family had some foundation, but he was forced by enemies, and they almost killed this only seedling. Later, he was saved."

"But that enemy was not so kind-hearted to let him go. He seemed to be saved, but it seemed that someone had tampered with his soul. Now he has discovered the problem and is confident in forcing this thing out." "But he's still not very clear about how to do it specifically. Old brother, you are knowledgeable, do you have any good ideas to guide your little brother?"

After saying these words, he looked at Lao Suanpan seriously, with a smile on his face, but he took out the knife from his 包袱 (bao fu - bundle), slowly admiring it, while waiting for his old brother's answer.

This old guy was藏头露尾 (cang tou lu wei - hiding his head and showing his tail), and he wasn't sure how much skill he had, but that Eldest Brother of Bu Shi Niu had keen eyes. He couldn't hide anything that happened in the town these days from him, and he also carefully told him about it.

Usually everyone was brothers, and they糊里糊涂 (hu li hu tu - muddle-headed) got by, but now that the mountains and rivers have been revealed, if he is not willing to speak, then...

When Lao Suanpan saw that Hu Ma was asking seriously, he panicked slightly in his heart. He should have left early, and the Ancestral Master wouldn't let him leave, could it be that it was related to such a troublesome thing? He wanted to avoid this karma, but he was a Shou Sui Ren (Year Watcher).

The Shou Sui Ren (Year Watcher) was holding a knife in his hand, close at hand, and asking him for advice with a smile. How could he be embarrassed to refuse?

"Too much!" Lao Suanpan was righteously indignant and slapped his thigh heavily, and said, "Your friend, this is encountering something to绝户 (jue hu - cut off descendants)!" "Unforgivable, who can bear this?"