The Blood Tai Sui, which he once found quite repulsive, turned out not to be Tai Sui but his own life!
As Hu Ma ate the bowl of meat brought by Little Hongtang, he gradually began to understand many things. No wonder Second Master's skills seemed more suited to solving his problems than the old fire pit, yet Granny had no choice but to send him here as a last resort. Because Second Master's skills, if not learned, or learned incorrectly, would expose an even more fundamental issue with him… His original body was already dead. He had been brought here by Granny's soul-summoning and forcibly anchored into this body. Back in the village, he had always relied on the Blood Tai Sui to stay alive, and now, the situation was essentially the same. It was just that he couldn't feel it before. Now that he had succeeded in stoking the furnace, it was crystal clear. Stoking the furnace hadn't solved his underlying problem; it had merely made it evident to him. Or perhaps, stoking the furnace could solve his constant affliction by evil spirits, but it exposed another, deeper problem. To strengthen his Tai Sui, he had to eat more Tai Sui to make his internal stove fire burn stronger.
So he finished every last bite of the Tai Sui Granny had sent, feeling too embarrassed to meet Little Hongtang's resentful gaze.
Understanding the problem brought a sense of calm to his heart.
After eating this large bowl of Blood Tai Sui, the two steamed buns he had weren't enough to satisfy his hunger. Thoughtfully, he walked back, buns in hand.
Unintentionally, he failed to notice that the gazes of the surrounding youths followed him as he entered the room. They stared at the two large, white flour steamed buns in his hands, their eyes practically fixated, and some couldn't help but gulp down a large mouthful of saliva.
Hu Ma was momentarily taken aback before realizing that white flour steamed buns were indeed a delicacy in this world. Even these slightly yellowish, cold, and hard buns were a rare treat, not something one would necessarily eat even during the New Year. Following Second Master usually meant subsisting on sweet potatoes, millet porridge, and coarse cornmeal buns. Granny had specially sent Little Hongtang with Blood Tai Sui to treat his condition. But including two large white flour steamed buns along with the Blood Tai Sui showed her concern that Hu Ma might not be eating well here.
Second Master shook his head. He had initially thought Granny had sent Little Hongtang for something important, only to discover it was merely to deliver food.
With a sigh, he said to Hu Ma, "Come over, let's continue practicing the forms."
"These lads have been training for over two years. If you want to catch up to them, you'll need to put in considerable effort."
"Second Master…" Hu Ma instinctively started to agree and took a few steps forward, then he saw the youths in the training yard.
While he had been out meeting Little Hongtang, they hadn't been idle. He saw that the three or four boys in the center were now covered in mud, sweat dripping, panting heavily; some even had bruised and swollen faces.
It seemed this was Second Master's method of teaching these youths fisticuffs and forms—simple and direct. If one wanted to learn how to fight, then one should simply fight more. The more they fought, the better they would understand.
But in his heart, he recalled Granny's words and sighed inwardly, saying to Second Master, "Perhaps I shouldn't start learning just yet?"
"Hmm?" Second Master's eyes immediately widened. "Everyone else is practicing, why aren't you?"
Because others have abundant energy and too much fire qi, so they need this kind of release, he thought. But I rely entirely on Tai Sui to sustain my life; any exertion is a drain. This kind of practice would only needlessly consume the stove fire I've painstakingly replenished with Tai Sui… When Granny first sent me here, she said I didn't need to learn fisticuffs, just to focus on stoking the furnace. I didn't pay much attention back then. It wasn't until she had Little Hongtang relay the message again, telling me to conserve my strength, that I finally understood. Granny had known about my problem all along and was reminding me…
Hu Ma silently decided it was best not to tell Second Master about these issues. Judging from Second Master's previous reactions, my current state is clearly beyond his comprehension.
So he simply said, "Little Hongtang just relayed a message. Granny said I've just recovered from my injuries and shouldn't overexert myself."
"You…" Hearing it was Granny's instruction, Second Master was rendered speechless. He could only say, "Alright then. Find someone to teach you the forms."
He glanced towards the youths, but they were clearly uninterested. The practice Second Master spoke of involved paired sparring. Even if it meant getting beaten black and blue, it was still engaging and a good way to vent their boundless energy. Teaching the forms, however, meant one-on-one instruction on stances, which was tedious and boring. Furthermore, Hu Ma's delicate appearance didn't appeal to them, so none of the youths were willing to volunteer as his instructor for the forms.
Then, a chubby youth raised his hand. "I'll do it! I'll teach him!"
"Alright then!" Second Master glanced at the boy and waved his hand with a hint of resignation. "Zhou Datong, go and teach him. Teach him well. If he doesn't learn properly, you'll both be punished!"
"Hehe…" The chubby youth, Zhou Datong, eagerly approached Hu Ma, watching the others spar with a look of immense relief on his face.
Hu Ma, feeling rather listless, asked, "Why aren't you practicing with them?"
"That's not practicing," Zhou Datong scoffed. "That's just getting thrashed!"
"I'm the Clan Leader's grandson, after all. If I get beaten like this every day, how will I be able to take over as head of the village in the future?"
"The Clan Leader's grandson?" Hu Ma was genuinely impressed, yet also a little surprised. "You're the Clan Leader's grandson, yet they still dare to hit you so hard?"
"It's precisely because my grandfather is the Clan Leader that I get beaten up…" Zhou Datong said with a mournful look. "They all came to learn the arts of Tai Sui worship from Second Master. I'm different."
"My grandfather thought I was disobedient, so he sent me to Second Master here to learn some discipline…"
"Hit harder! Harder still… Aim for the groin! Don't you see those two big bells hanging there?" Second Master was nearby, loudly instructing the youths engaged in paired sparring. "Don't be afraid of injuring anyone. Our village might be short on other things, but we have plenty of black oil ointment."
"With your meager strength, as long as you don't use knives, any injury can be healed."
"So, the harder and more ruthlessly you strike now, the better you'll be able to defeat others when it truly counts!"
He turned his head and saw Hu Ma and Zhou Datong sitting idly to one side, chatting. They were neither grappling nor showing any intention of practicing the forms.
He sighed inwardly with helplessness. I actually thought the boy had turned over a new leaf, but it seems he's still too coddled.
「...」
From that day on, Hu Ma stayed at Second Master's place.
This group of youths learning various abilities had a packed schedule under Second Master. Every day involved many tasks and lessons.
They started in the morning with mountain runs. After returning and eating breakfast, they would lift stone dumbbells, practice forms, or follow Second Master into the forest to patrol and eliminate some of the burgeoning, eerie evil spirits around the village, or post red paper warnings for the other villagers.
When the sun began to dip westward, it was time for the second meal, which was similar to the morning meal, except for the absence of the salted meat in the porridge, which was cured from White Tai Sui.
By evening, they usually didn't practice fisticuffs. Instead, while there was still daylight, they would learn a few characters from Second Master, or listen to him speak about the rules of the jianghu, local customs, and various taboos.
Although Hu Ma hadn't been there long, he had observed a few things. This Second Master was a man who had traveled extensively in his youth. He was literate and knew arithmetic. These peers of his had been sent from the village to learn the skills of mining ore. Of course, it seemed Second Master was teaching them a little more than just how to be miners. The money they earned from mining ore would support them for three or four years at most, but the other skills they learned could benefit them for a lifetime.
However, Hu Ma, who had initially intended to appear more sensible and diligent after realizing his physical condition, gradually became the cautionary tale among his peers. While others ran the mountains daily, he would sleep until he woke up naturally. While others lifted stone dumbbells to hone their physiques, he would sit in the courtyard, basking in the sun. While others competed fiercely, striving to be the best, he was content to be an idler, a 'salted fish'. He stood out for his deliberate avoidance of the competitive grind.
Sometimes, even Second Master couldn't stand it and would scold him, only to be rendered speechless by a single sentence from Hu Ma: "Granny doesn't allow it…"
However, when it came to learning literacy and arithmetic, Hu Ma performed much better than his peers. He learned characters quickly and his calculations were both swift and accurate. This astounded even Second Master, who would often exclaim what a pity it was—such a clever mind, if only he were willing to endure a little hardship, he would be perfect.
Hu Ma himself was rather speechless; he found it hard not to stand out in this area… The culture and fundamental knowledge of this world surprisingly bore many similarities to those of his previous life. Even where there were differences, they were mostly minor variations in terminology. After all, in his past life, he had been a university student who never failed a course. In his eyes, Second Master's level of literacy and general knowledge was, at best, equivalent to that of a primary school student from his previous life. Therefore, he hardly needed to learn; he just needed to adapt a little. Of course, he usually had to hold back, or else he could have had Second Master step aside and teach the class himself.
In stark contrast to his laziness and slackness in other areas, Hu Ma's progress in stoking the furnace during this period was frighteningly fast.
Little Hongtang would occasionally bring Hu Ma the finest quality Blood Tai Sui to eat.
And Second Master, too, was a man of his word. Although he found Hu Ma lax in his training, he still meticulously prepared the large piece of Green Tai Sui that Granny had sent, giving it all to Hu Ma to nourish his body.
This caused Hu Ma's body to constantly roil with wisps of heat, all of which were drawn into the furnace within him.
If others' furnaces were fueled by straw and corn husks, his was now stoked daily with the finest charcoal.
If others' cultivation practice was languid, equivalent to merely smothering a fire to let it slowly smolder, then his diligent daily cultivation practice was like using a bellows to vigorously fan the flames.
This caused the stove fire within his body to burn increasingly hotter, and his progress was terrifyingly swift.