His intention to beat up Cui Xie'er had been genuine, and his current unease was just as real.
Hu Ma didn't want to cause trouble, but even a clay figure has its breaking point. If this Cui Xie'er kept targeting him with such a passive-aggressive attitude every day, not responding might lead to bigger issues.
Moreover, this targeting wasn't just verbal. Every morning when the White Tai Sui was distributed, Cui Xie'er would always shortchange him. Although this little bit of White Tai Sui was insignificant compared to his current daily meals, it was still his life source. Even a single copper coin was money to him.
Better to settle it once and for all than to drag it out.
But even so, Hu Ma had first convinced Little Hongtang to secretly help him, planning to beat the guy black and blue and teach him a lesson.
However, wasn't this fellow supposed to be the most formidable in the Manor, second only to Second Master?
How could he be so fragile?
While the other children were still bewildered, Hu Ma had already rushed out of the Manor. He dragged the unconscious Cui Xie'er, who had fallen into a jujube thorn bush, back inside.
Looking at Cui Xie'er's pale face, Hu Ma shouted for others to go into the woods and call Second Master back. Simultaneously, he pinched Cui Xie'er's philtrum and performed chest compressions, sweating with anxiety and nearly falling to his knees.
"What happened?"
Outside the Manor, Second Master's surprised voice was quickly heard. He was just returning from his patrol of the woods and had run into the messenger.
Upon seeing the scene in the Manor, he glanced at Hu Ma as if he had seen a ghost and hurriedly shouted, "Quick, get the black oil ointment!"
Not all parts of the meat mountain were edible. For instance, consuming Black Tai Sui could cause illness or even poisoning.
However, Black Tai Sui wasn't useless. It could be cut off, mixed with various herbal medicines gathered from the mountains, and rendered into an ointment called black oil ointment, which was excellent for treating external injuries.
Second Master was short on many things, but he had plenty of black oil ointment, which was intended for these youngsters to use when they boldly practiced their fighting skills.
Grabbing a handful of the black, lard-like ointment, Second Master tore open Cui Xie'er's shirt and rubbed it onto his chest.
His method was indeed more effective than Hu Ma's. After a short while, Cui Xie'er groaned and slowly regained consciousness. But as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Hu Ma looking at him with concern, his face filled with horror, and he shouted loudly, "A ghost! A ghost!"
"Stop embarrassing yourself! Get him to bed to rest."
Second Master angrily slapped him on the head, nearly knocking him out again.
Whether there was a ghost or not didn't matter. What was ridiculous was that someone learning skills from Second Master would be so terrified of ghosts.
"You, come with me!"
After having someone help Cui Xie'er back to his room, Second Master finally stood up, glared at Hu Ma, then turned and walked into the main hall.
Hu Ma was also anxious. Am I going to get a scolding?
Unexpectedly, once they were inside, Second Master closed the door, spun around, and looked at Hu Ma with an expression full of astonishment.
"How did you knock him out?"
"..."
"I..."
Hu Ma was a bit slow to react and said cautiously, "I used a little... strategy."
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Second Master said nervously, "I mean, this little Xie'er has been with me for almost three years. He's even been down to the blood food mine once. His stove fire is extremely strong, and he's obedient. His family even arranged a fiancée for him, but he doesn't even dare to hold a woman's hand. How on earth did you manage to knock him unconscious?"
"You even nearly scattered his stove fire!"
"..."
"I just... hit him like this."
Hu Ma couldn't quite explain it clearly, gesturing vaguely as he described the scene.
Second Master's expression darkened. After a moment of thought, he hurriedly called Hu Ma over and pressed his hand against his lower abdomen.
"Circulate your qi!"
"..."
Unsure what was happening, Hu Ma dared not delay. He began circulating the fire qi within his body according to his usual cultivation method.
Instantly, if the furnace in his lower abdomen had previously been like a pile of merely red-hot coals, then as he circulated his qi now, it was as if a bellows had pumped air into it. The coals instantly blazed brighter, and roaring flames shot up.
He felt his body become scorching hot almost immediately. Especially at the spot where Second Master's hand was pressed, it emitted such a burst of fire qi that it actually pushed Second Master's palm away.
"My dear mother..."
Second Master staggered back a few steps, his voice holding a hint of a groan. "How is your furnace burning so fiercely?"
"This..."
Hu Ma couldn't answer, asking in confusion, "Is this considered very fierce?"
"It was scalding hot to the touch! Isn't that fierce?"
Second Master looked utterly flustered. He paused and then looked at Hu Ma. "Usually, when Granny had Little Hongtang bring you steamed buns and other good food, did she include anything else?"
Realizing that Second Master had already figured it out, Hu Ma hesitated for a moment. Meeting those wide eyes, he timidly nodded.
Second Master's voice trembled slightly. "She didn't bring you Green Tai Sui every time, did she?"
Just as Hu Ma was about to nod, he understood something from Second Master's expression.
Although Second Master was asking for confirmation, his expression revealed that, judging by the intensity of Hu Ma's fire qi, he had already guessed what Little Hongtang had been bringing him every day.
Considering Second Master's relationship with Granny, there was no point in obvious lies now.
So he simply remained silent, neither confirming nor denying it.
"My heavens..." Second Master slowly slapped his own forehead, his voice strained. "Has Granny invited Master Tai Sui himself into our home?"
「...」
Is Second Master feeling down? Seeing him looking so dejected, Hu Ma didn't dare to speak too loudly.
At this moment, Second Master's eyes clearly looked a bit off.
His expression was like that of someone who'd been promised a fortune (a 'three' followed by five zeros) only to be handed a pittance (a 'three' followed by two zeros).
He stared at Hu Ma, opening his mouth several times as if to speak, but then closing it again.
He had such a large piece of Green Tai Sui, yet he had unknowingly given it to Hu Ma to eat, bit by bit.
He had originally thought this act of his was already an astonishing waste.
If it weren't for his gratitude for Granny saving his life back then, and knowing the immense trouble the Hu Family was currently facing, he would never have parted with it. But now that this large piece of Green Tai Sui was almost finished by Hu Ma, he realized that what he had painfully parted with was merely a snack to the boy.
No, how could anyone eat something so precious as a regular meal?
Wouldn't it be better to trade it for golden pancakes to pay a bride price or buy a house?
It wasn't as if Second Master was someone who hadn't seen the world; he had knocked about in the city when he was young.
Even the young masters of great households didn't eat like this. What little they had was used to sustain the lives of their old masters. Never mind those wealthy merchants and nobles; even those high-and-mighty old masters of the Red Lantern Society couldn't afford such Blood Food.
No... you eat that stuff every day, and you still had your eyes on my piece of Green Tai Sui?
"Actually, not every day..."
Hu Ma was a little worried now and answered in a small voice, "Just occasionally, for a day or two..."
"Eating it occasionally, even once or twice, is still outrageous!"
Second Master lamented, "That thing isn't meant to be eaten by people; it's for trading for money!"
"I meant to say, occasionally, for a day or two, I *didn't* have any to eat."
Hu Ma thought to himself: Besides, if we take this stuff and exchange it for money, wouldn't it just be eaten by someone else anyway?
Of course, he didn't say this aloud, afraid of provoking Second Master further.
Fortunately, Second Master's sixty years of childhood skills were no small matter. After the space of time it takes to drink a cup of tea and smoke two pipes of tobacco, he gradually recovered.
He sighed and said to Hu Ma, "Well, it's a good thing, after all."
"But you brat, you should have told me sooner! I could have helped you change your talisman in time..."
"..."
The two of them, one big and one small, stared wide-eyed at each other.
Hu Ma mused: You never told me anything about needing to change talismans before. You just said to watch the pig's rear to know my own fire qi level...
"Who could have imagined you'd progress so quickly?"
As he was pondering this, Second Master suddenly remembered something: "Do you crave women?"
"?"
Hu Ma was momentarily stunned by the question. "Who doesn't?"
However, perhaps because his mind had been preoccupied with other matters, he didn't seem particularly desperate.
"You need to be careful, understand? Other people progress step by step. You've suddenly surged forward so fiercely; it's easier for things to go wrong."
Second Master earnestly advised, "In the village, don't touch married women. Don't touch widows either. And stay away from the sheep pen..."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Hu Ma was speechless. "I might have cravings, but I'm not *that* desperate..."
Seeing that Hu Ma didn't seem like one of those unpromising lads, Second Master relit the fire pit. He took out the willow branch they had brought back from the woods earlier and had Hu Ma take off his outer clothes and sit by the fire to wait.
He muttered under his breath for a while, then lit one end of the willow branch and began to trace on Hu Ma's chest again. As before, the touch was ice-cold, the yin qi chilling him to the bone.
But the difference was that Hu Ma's internal fire was now raging. When this yin qi touched his body, it was immediately dispersed by the surge of his fire qi.
"Hmm?"
Second Master frowned and tried to draw it again and again, but the fire qi in Hu Ma's body was too strong; he simply couldn't draw the rune.
It was like trying to write with a brush that had run out of ink. Only after several attempts did he barely manage to complete it.
When the rune finally, with difficulty, took effect, Second Master looked at the now withered and shrunken willow branch in his hand, tossed it into the fire, and sighed, "We'll have to go to your godmother's place and cut another one."
"..."
Hu Ma asked curiously, "Does it need to be changed often?"
"Of course."
Second Master explained, "Stoking the furnace means using yin qi to seal the yang qi within your body, so that it can burn hotter and hotter.
"But as your stove fire burns, the initial yin qi is gradually overwhelmed and thinned out. At that point, you need even more yin qi to replenish the Sealing Yang Talisman for you.
"For people like us, this is called 'changing the talisman.'"
"Normally, after changing the talisman once, you're ready to go down into the mine shafts."
"But with you..."
He trailed off, unable to continue. An entire willow branch hadn't been enough to draw a single talisman. How was he supposed to gauge this level of fire qi?
Master never taught this...
Thinking of the Blood Tai Sui Granny brought him every day, Hu Ma sighed softly and said, "What credit can I take for this? It's all because Granny is good to me."
"Oh?"
Second Master glanced at him in surprise. "So you do have some sense about you!"
"Since you know Granny doesn't have it easy, don't you dare slack off."
Saying this, he stood up. "Now then, since your fire qi has reached this level, it's time for your Second Master to teach you some real skills."