Twilight Boundary

When the Red Lantern Lady was filled with tension, sincerely kneeling and bowing as she wrote her letter of guarantee, the atmosphere in the Manor was joyful, with wine and dishes being served as laughter and chatter filled the air.

Hu Ma, who had initially worried that the blood food and money expended on those Ghost Walkers wouldn't be recovered, found it unexpectedly agreeable that the Lady was now so accommodating, and he quickly came to respect this boss deeply.

Manager Xu, after the Red Lantern Lady left, also smiled contentedly and relaxed, saying, "From now on, things will be different."

"Nephew Hu, I must say, your behavior might not have mattered much in the past, but now our Red Lantern Lady's Club is different. Your support for the people, expelling evil and bringing peace, is precisely what our Red Lantern Lady's Club appreciates..."

"... "

At the time, I didn't think too much, but looking at it now, could I be held up as a model?

Hu Ma was vaguely beginning to realize that the Red Lantern Lady's Club might indeed be different from before because of this event.

Thinking about it further, a thought struck him, and he said to Manager Xu, "So, in other words, this incident could somewhat be considered an achievement?"

Manager Xu laughed. "Wouldn't it be considered an achievement?"

"Besides, with that fellow Zheng gone, there's no one managing these matters here. I'll report it for you first and see what happens."

"... "

Seeing Manager Xu looking so pleased with himself, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a bit stirred. He lowered his voice and smiled, "The positions of the Three Great Incense Masters in the Red Lantern Society are all lucrative posts, and now one is vacant."

"Could it be, Uncle Xu, that it's time for you to move up again?"

"... "

"Oh!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Xu quickly put on a straight face and waved his hand. "Such an important position, how could it possibly fall to me?"

Then he grinned quietly and said in a low voice, "I've already started making my moves."

"All the old-timers are supporting me. I can't be ungrateful, and if I really do get promoted, it'd be good to help everyone out with small favors, right?"

"... "

Well, now!

Hu Ma was taken aback. This whole incident had caused a huge stir throughout the city, involving everyone, whether connected or not.

Who would have thought that in the end, the one who benefited most would be this old Xu?

While they talked, Hu Ma had someone go into town to bring wine and food. It was delivered by that young blonde girl, Li Xiangyu, carrying a food container herself, which somewhat lifted the spirits of the Manor's staff.

Hu Ma then entertained Manager Xu for a meal. They chatted about many matters only insiders could discuss, thoroughly inquiring about the impact of this affair, the Red Lantern Lady's temple construction, and the takeover of the Blood Food Gang and various other businesses under the Green Clothes Gang. Everyone was very pleased.

It was only after they were full and satisfied that he saw them off, preparing to close the Manor for the night.

But just as he lay down, there was an unexpected knock at the door. Opening it, he was greatly surprised.

It was the Incense Burners who had left during the day. They now appeared at the Manor's entrance on horseback. Each held a rope connected to a cabinet. Without much ado, they placed the cabinet at the door and said, "A reward from the Lady."

"But don't tell anyone about this reward. Just stay in this Manor and do your work well from now on."

"... "

"A reward?"

Hu Ma was momentarily stunned. It came so quickly this time?

Wait, this matter, even if it were a meritorious deed, didn't warrant such a hasty reward. Moreover, there was no need for Incense Burners to come sneaking around in the middle of the night, telling him not to speak of it...

Hu Ma looked at the silent Incense Burners and the red lanterns they carried. He could sense that the light from the lanterns also seemed somewhat uneasy, as if secretly watching his reaction.

Suddenly, he realized. Good heavens, this Red Lantern Little Girl is trying to buy my silence!

"Thank you for the reward, Lady..."

Hu Ma hurriedly expressed his thanks, watching the two Incense Burners silently lead their horses away.

Only then did he move the large cabinet into his inner courtyard. Zhou Datong and the others were curious about its contents, but Hu Ma merely shot him a glare, telling him not to mention it.

However, once inside the inner courtyard, upon opening the cabinet, he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

Not to mention the bottles and jars inside, there was also a large, unprocessed chunk of Blood Tai Sui, not yet made into Blood Food Pills. Additionally, there were some pearls, jade, gold, and silver items. Anyone who didn't know better might think the Red Lantern Lady had moved her entire dowry over.

He understood in his heart. The Red Lantern Lady was afraid he would reveal her previous act of cowardice, which would tarnish her reputation. Therefore, she had used some resources not accounted for in public records and had the most tight-lipped Incense Burners deliver it, wanting him to keep this matter to himself.

But why go through all this trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just silence me permanently?

On second thought, she couldn't. The Red Lantern Lady now was probably at her kindest in many years.

Moreover, she would have to remain kind from now on.

As he mused, a thought stirred within him. This little wench is so scared now. If something comes up in the future, could I perhaps secretly use the Age Suppressing Book to give her a little reminder?

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, albeit a bit underhanded.

The Red Lantern Lady was quite pitiful, really. She appeared to have built a temple, but in reality, she had three Great Evil Spirits under her command...

His mood greatly improved. He took stock: the bottles and jars contained over thirty Blood Food Pills, more than the reward he had received for helping win that duel earlier.

That wasn't even counting the piece of Blood Tai Sui that looked to be over two pounds. As for the gold, silver, and jewels mixed in, they were certainly good things, but compared to this Blood Food, they were insignificant.

"Little Hongtang, catch!"

Suppressing his excitement, Hu Ma uncorked a bottle, took out a Blood Food Pill, and tossed it to Little Hongtang.

When Little Hongtang chewed it, she was still somewhat incredulous. Then, her eyes suddenly lit up.

Blood Food! It really was Blood Food?

"You see..."

Watching her excited expression, Hu Ma also felt a bit smug and said, "Aren't our lives getting better and better?"

Little Hongtang nodded her small head excitedly. "Does this mean we can eat Blood Food every day from now on?"

"... "

Hu Ma was suddenly a bit embarrassed. "Well, that's still a bit out of reach for now..."

This reward, or rather, this hush money, had really come at a particularly opportune moment!

He had been worrying about the Blood Food needed for cultivating the fifth organ.

If he truly relied on the meager provisions and money from this Manor, it would take who knows how many years to save up enough Blood Food for refining life into his heart...

Then let's refine!

Hu Ma, deeply aware of the importance of his abilities, had even less reason to stop now.

Starting that night, he began to try stopping the Blood Tai Sui's supply of blood qi to his heart, intending to use his cultivation for refining life instead.

THUMP!

As the last wisp of blood qi withdrew from his heart, its final beat was followed by a long period of deathly silence.

An icy sensation spread from his chest throughout his entire body.

It was as if only at this moment did Hu Ma once again truly feel the difference between himself and others.

This body of his... it was that of a dead man...

Without the strange vitality of the Blood Tai Sui supporting it, his heart wouldn't even beat.

After a soft sigh in his heart, he immediately mobilized his cultivation, beginning to refine life, thread by thread.

From this moment, the slow and patient work of refining life into the fifth organ began.

The hush money he had received from the Red Lantern Lady, the gift from Bald Zhang, and the Blood Food earned from that job with Er Guotou and Miss White Wine—he had quietly taken them all out and hidden them under his bed.

Every day, he consumed a large amount. Then, using the abundant cultivation provided by the Blood Food, he guided it, bit by bit, to infuse vitality into his heart.

Hu Ma had previously refined the Four Internal Organs. From the old shopkeeper's notes, he knew that the fifth organ was extremely difficult to refine and required a large amount of Blood Food. At the time, however, he hadn't known the specific reason. Now, he understood.

The heart was different from the other organs. It was the place where qi and blood were converted. A wisp of vital qi, when directed there, would only linger briefly before flowing away with the circulation, unable to truly stop and provide deep nourishment.

Refining the other Four Internal Organs was like forging metal with heavy hammer blows, tempering it hundreds and thousands of times.

Only the heart required something like a constant current of water, relentlessly washing over it, day and night, without pause.

Of course, the difference from ordinary water dripping through stone was that the current he used to wash his heart was full of golden sand.

Before refining this organ, he had thought that being a Ghost Walker was the most expensive Path.

Only now did he understand that the Path of a Shousui man, when it came to burning resources, was also something that could make one spend lavishly without batting an eye...

The hush money he had received this time was truly substantial. Who knew how many years it would take other Shopkeepers, combining legitimate earnings with embezzlement, to accumulate such an amount.

But now, it seemed like it was just barely enough?

...

However, the work of refining life into the fifth organ could not be rushed. Hu Ma now had time to polish it slowly. The hands in the Manor had all undergone some tempering and had become much steadier.

Besides, it wasn't yet time to harvest Blood Food, so there wasn't much work in the Manor, and they could manage it themselves. Of course, the area around the Manor was now remarkably free of evil occurrences, unlike other Manors where dealing with such things was much more troublesome.

Currently, for Zhou Datong and the other hands, besides patrolling at night, their most important task was mediating fights and disputes among the villagers.

When two groups of villagers started a brawl, armed with spears and clubs, Zhou Datong would simply walk over and cough once, and they would all quiet down.

He was practically more effective than the elders in these villages.

Construction of the Red Lantern Lady's temple had also begun. This young lady might soon be receiving incense offerings.

Hu Ma, however, suspected: in this world, even if a True God received incense offerings, were they still just puppets manipulated by others?

Days passed like this. Hu Ma made gradual progress in refining life into his heart, and the area around the Manor became increasingly peaceful. Vaguely recalling the overwhelming evil spirit disturbances from before, it felt like a gradually receding nightmare, somewhat unreal.

On this particular day, after consuming several more Blood Food Pills and practicing his cultivation, Hu Ma walked out of the inner courtyard.

If it weren't a waste to consume too many Blood Food Pills at once, he would have wanted to swallow them all in one go.

He had intended to see how the staff were doing, as he hadn't overseen things for a while. However, just as he stepped out, he heard a loud cheer from the outer courtyard.

The voices of the hands were filled with genuine, pleasant surprise. He could hear the scurry of hurried footsteps and shouts like, "She's here!" and "Quick, make yourselves presentable!" He was rather taken aback...

These lads, they're quite sensible after all, knowing how well I've looked after them.

Thinking this, he slowed his pace, considering that he should encourage them in a moment to work hard, learn their skills well, and so on.

Then, as soon as he stepped out of the inner courtyard, he was somewhat baffled.

He saw that not a single person was looking at him. Instead, they were all crowded around the Manor's entrance, surrounding the young blonde girl who had just entered.