Twilight Boundary

Some things were best not dwelt upon, Hu Ma realized after dealing with the green-clothed evil ghost. For a moment, he felt like he had ascended to another level, but once calm, the pressure crept back in. After all, I'm just a little shopkeeper in the Red Lantern Society!

With such heavy sighs, he drifted off to sleep. The exhaustion of many days finally caught up to him, and when he awakened, it was already past noon the next day.

Sitting up, he sensed a surge of energy within his body, a rolling vitality. With a subtle internal assessment, Hu Ma was slightly surprised to discover that his inner vitality had become significantly abundant.

I have a dead man's body, and I've only managed to refine life into half of it so far. Without Blood Food to nourish me, my qi and blood will seem insufficient.

These busy days left me no time to consume Blood Food, yet why do I feel...

He was both astonished and slightly delighted. Has my cultivation increased so much?

He felt spiritually complete and brimming with energy, a joy truly indescribable.

Could doing such guiltless deeds also benefit one's skills? But this seemed to touch upon matters like yin virtue and blessings, making it feel nebulous and akin to practicing traditional superstitions... Yet, come to think of it, this wasn't exactly a scientific world to begin with.

While he was deep in contemplation, a sudden commotion outside caught his attention. An attendant rushed in, hurriedly saying, "Brother Ma Zi, come quickly! Master Xu and Senior Brother Yang Gong, even several people on horseback with covered faces, have all come over!"

"Hmm?"

Hu Ma knew instantly that people from the city had arrived.

Previously, when people from the city arrived, they would first send a little ghost to announce their visit, since the Manor needed to prepare food and tidy up as a sign of respect for the Lady.

Why have they come now without even a word of greeting? By rights, I should have quickly gotten up to greet them courteously. After all, even though I borrowed the mountain lord's power to deal with the green-clothed evil ghost, once the matter ended, I was still just a little shopkeeper in the Red Lantern Society. Seeing the boss, how could I not be respectful? But this mental shift wasn't an issue for me. The moment I thought about it, I remembered that the Red Lantern Lady was actually being 'cultivated' by Brother Er Guotou... That kind of reverence was difficult to muster.

Despite his thoughts, he still changed into his robe and walked out. Yet, upon leaving the inner courtyard, he saw a large group of people who had already entered the Manor. At a glance, he saw Manager Xu, Yang Gong, and others, even carrying a giant lantern.

Looking at their travel-worn appearance and calculating the journey, they must have set out before dawn, right?

"Hu Ma, the Shopkeeper of the Green Stone Town branch, respectfully invites the Lady's magic presence..."

Hu Ma greeted them in the outer courtyard, bowing towards the Red Lantern they carried, as was customary. Without the Red Lantern, things were negotiable, but with it, one had to bow to the Lady first.

But before he could finish bowing, someone leaped off their horse—it was Yang Gong. He grasped Hu Ma's arm and looked him over from head to toe. Seeing that his limbs were all intact, he said, "Good, good, nothing happened."

"AHEM!"

Manager Xu, atop his horse, coughed twice as a reminder before adopting a stern expression and saying to Hu Ma, "Manager Hu, seeing the people here in such fear and panic, what has happened?"

"Evil spirits are causing disturbances," Hu Ma replied. "We don't know how, but evil spirits are rising all around, harassing the common folk. It seems like the shadow of the green-clothed evil ghost is still present. The local populace believes in and respects the Lady. Since we partake in the Lady's money and supply, we naturally cannot ignore this. We've been rushing about for these local people for several days."

"Ah, this..."

Manager Xu, though fully aware of what had occurred here, feigned surprise. "Such a major incident, why didn't you ask the Lady to come and see?"

"?"

Hu Ma was bewildered. I bloody well did invite her, but she ran off... His gaze then fell upon the Red Lantern held by the Incense Burner. It was still shining, its light swirling with what looked suspiciously like guilt.

He sighed helplessly.

Still, he said, "It is indeed my fault. I have too little experience and thought they were minor issues I could resolve myself..."

"Next time, I will certainly invite the Lady over immediately."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the Red Lantern Lady visibly sighed in relief.

"Shopkeeper Hu, you've worked hard."

Seeing Hu Ma's appropriate response, Manager Xu looked at him with considerable appreciation. He dismounted, took Hu Ma's hand, and sighed, "You have no idea how big this incident became."

"It was that green-clothed evil ghost. It lost the duel and, unwilling to accept defeat, wreaked havoc across Mingzhou Prefecture. It's unknown how many places were thrown into chaos, disturbing the peace of the entire Mingzhou Prefecture, with cries of sorrow everywhere."

"However, it brought about its own destruction and was casually dealt with by a certain expert."

"But the infuriating one is our incense master surnamed Zheng..."

"..."

Manager Xu began speaking lightly, but his tone turned grave. "Our Red Lantern Society makes a living by harvesting Blood Food. We are usually mindful of the people's hardships, providing rice and congee, and helping upright families by expelling evil spirits."

"The reputation of our Red Lantern Lady among the common folk is excellent, truly praised by all. Yet this Zheng, merely because he was deluded by the green-clothed evil ghost, actually aided that villain in his evil deeds! He helped that green-clothed evil ghost set up an altar to bring disaster upon the Prefecture. His crimes are simply enormous..."

"...Well, it's all come to light now!"

He snorted coldly. "The matter has come to light!"

"Our Red Lantern Society immediately expelled him, showing no leniency. And this Zheng has been arrested by the government, along with his entire family; they've all been thrown into the main prison."

"It looks like in the next couple of days, he'll take a trip to the Lingchi Platform, and he deserves it!"

"..."

"?"

Witnessing Manager Xu's indignant display, Hu Ma was baffled. That fellow Zheng died long ago, didn't he? What's this about a Lingchi Platform?

But seeing Manager Xu and Yang Gong exchange covert glances with him, Hu Ma understood. He couldn't help but admire Incense Master Zheng. The man had foreseen his own end, and it was just as he'd imagined—indeed connected with the government.

Looking at Manager Xu's current demeanor, how could I not understand? This is to establish the official narrative for this incident! The one causing the trouble was the green-clothed evil ghost. The one deluded was the incense master expelled from the Red Lantern Society. There's an inquiry, a punishment, a cause, and an effect—a neat package. But the Meng family is never mentioned. Hu Ma estimated that this was likely how the matter would be officially concluded. The power behind the Meng family—no one in Mingzhou Prefecture likely dares to speak of it. But for a disturbance of this magnitude, causing chaos throughout a state, someone or some evil spirit ultimately has to take the blame. Considering this, what could be a better scapegoat than the green-clothed evil ghost? This is because I eliminated the green-clothed evil ghost. Even if I hadn't killed it, it probably would have... No, that's not right. If I hadn't eliminated the green-clothed evil ghost, and had only appeared to meet the Meng Family, then in their eyes, the green-clothed evil ghost would have performed a great service. Making it the scapegoat then wouldn't be appropriate. After all, the Meng Family can't just act without any regard for rules; otherwise, who would dare to work with them in the future? In that scenario, someone else would have to take the blame. That would be... Incense Master Zheng? What was that man trying to achieve, diving headfirst into this affair? Looking at the whole situation, he was the only one destined to be dragged out to take the fall, no matter the outcome...

Such matters typically involved decisions from higher-ups and were irrelevant to him.

The reason they came to inform him was that his Manor was the only one in the Red Lantern Society involved in this incident; he was an eyewitness.

He had killed the green-clothed evil ghost without revealing his identity. Others could only guess that the "expert" was located in one of the seven areas where the disturbances occurred. It was also possible the expert wasn't in any of those seven places but had simply intervened because they couldn't stand by and watch.

But since the possibility existed, no one, whoever they might be, would dare to underestimate these seven locations.

This was also why the Red Lantern Lady had come over so promptly.

Thinking everything through, he straightened up. Facing Manager Xu's serious demeanor with matched seriousness, he said, "I actually didn't know other places were in chaos. I thought Incense Master Zheng just disliked me and was deliberately making things difficult for me..."

"When the area around the Manor was troubled by evil spirits, and the common folk came crying, I didn't think too much about other things. I just thought that our Lady was about to have her temple built, and this was a crucial time for her reputation. We couldn't tarnish the Lady's name."

"So, I braced myself and went around helping the nearby villages expel the evil spirits. At one point, due to a lapse in vigilance, I nearly got trapped myself."

"It was thanks to some kind-hearted Ghost Walkers who lent a hand that we managed to hold out."

"...I also thought that the common folk around this Manor are under our Red Lantern Lady's care. When they came to help us, they were helping the Red Lantern Lady."

"So, I also acted on the Lady's behalf and hosted them. I took some Blood Food medicinal salves from the Manor for their injuries. Also, several others were injured, and three were killed by the evil spirits. Alas, look, they should receive burial expenses..."

"..."

He spoke very seriously; this matter was very important!

Ghost Walkers are unwilling to deal with the Blood Food Gang, but we can't let them suffer a loss. We should fight for what they deserve. They came from so far away, casting spells to expel evil spirits. Their travel, food, and drink, not to mention the incense candles and other items they consumed—which of these isn't extremely valuable? And then there are the medical expenses and bereavement payments for several of them. They must be compensated! My only worry is whether the Red Lantern Society will agree to cover these expenses...

"...You're absolutely right!"

Just as he was worrying about this, Manager Xu excitedly gripped Hu Ma's hand. He raised his voice, seemingly intending for the Red Lantern behind him to hear, "Shopkeeper Hu, you handled this matter perfectly!"

"These surrounding villages and their people are more than just under our Red Lantern Lady's care!"

"In the future, these will all be our Red Lantern Lady's believers! Aren't their affairs naturally the affairs of our Red Lantern Society?"

"Rest assured, all expenses for money and provisions will be borne by our Society."

"When you have a chance, draw up a proper account, then come to the city to have it reimbursed..."

"..."

Hu Ma was momentarily stunned. "Huh?"