Chapter 317: Chapter 315: Plan a Big Job
Why did it feel like inviting Sweet Potato into the mix made the whole affair strangely off-kilter?
Hu Ma shook his head, brushing off this inexplicable feeling. On reflection, inviting Sweet Potato was indeed necessary. After all, though she was bold, when it came to getting things done, she was meticulous.
Moreover... when it came to taking blows, her acting was quite commendable.
Of course, the most important reason was that she was a treasure hunter and surely had experience dealing with those folks.
Treasure hunters weren’t really a distinct Path, just a profession in this world. Anyone from any Path could become a treasure hunter. Their hobby was wandering through mountains and rivers, stealing various Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures to sell for wealth or refine into Magical Treasures.
After making arrangements with everyone, Hu Ma spent another day preparing. He carefully sorted through all the potential issues he could think of, ensuring nothing was overlooked.
Whether this plan succeeded or not, and whether things would go smoothly in the future, largely depended on this particular plan.
Now, upon hearing that treasure hunters were involved, they were all intrigued. But the real point was whether he could persuade these three tonight.
He had no other way...
The descendants of the Hu Family were too lonely but, fortunately, Reincarnators were not.
He had been able to survive in this world all thanks to these Reincarnators. Now that a crucial moment had arrived and he had an important favor to ask, of course, he had to include them.
That night, at midnight, Hu Ma went to the Lifebound Spirit Temple. With a mere thought, he connected these individuals.
He watched the Life Incense split into three, each strand crossing the dark red fog to connect with the other three individuals. He took a deep breath. It vaguely felt as if, after witnessing the Reincarnators’ team-building in Anzhou, he was now inspired to organize something similar in Mingzhou.
Of course, Mingzhou was different from Anzhou. Anzhou had Miss Red Wine as its backbone; at her word, everyone cooperated.
Here in Mingzhou, however, he needed to do some real motivating himself...
"Oh dear..."
Just as he was sensing the solemn atmosphere of this gathering and organizing his words, a crisp voice disrupted his train of thought.
Sweet Potato burst in, overwhelmed with excitement. "Miss White Wine is here, and Senior Er Guotou is here too! Senior Old White’s presence sure carries weight. I tried to contact them before to team up for a job, but they wouldn’t even give me the time of day..."
"But with just a word from Senior Old White, they’re all here and involved..."
"..."
"COUGH."
Hu Ma, not expecting this kind of opening, quickly cleared his throat further, making his voice sound hoarse and grave as he said in a deep voice, "It’s different this time. I have serious matters at hand."
"I have serious matters too!" Sweet Potato looked a bit aggrieved. "I carefully picked out a few wealthy targets for a big job, but they just kept insulting me instead."
"?"
Hu Ma was quite curious. He hadn’t seen her in half a year; what had she been up to now?
"You should stop talking..."
Just as Hu Ma was wondering, Er Guotou’s voice, tinged with helplessness, cut in with a sigh, "Those people you picked... let’s just say it’s complicated."
"Sure, they have deep pockets, and some indeed have treasures hidden away. I have to say, your eye for targets is sharp. But take the Liu Family on the east side of the city, for example. You only see their booming businesses in tea, silk, porcelain, and salt. Why don’t you consider their ties with Plum Blossom Lane?
"Do you think such prominent families could run such large businesses, make so much money, and live so peacefully if they weren’t under someone’s protection?"
"..."
"Alright then..." Sweet Potato’s voice still held a hint of defiance. "What about the Sun Family on the west side of the city? They have Secret Techniques. I heard their ancestor possessed an extraordinary skill: surviving even if beheaded..."
"The Sun Family has been executioners for generations, part of the government’s justice department; they just live low-key..." Er Guotou said with a wry smile, "Didn’t your Master teach you that no matter how powerful people in the Paths are, they generally avoid messing with those holding official positions?"
"That applies to those in the Paths. We’re Reincarnators..." Sweet Potato muttered, pondered for a moment, then said, "The Yuan Family of Wild Reeds Town should be fine, right?"
"They’re wealthy and arrogant. I personally heard him boast in the brothel that a jar dug up from their pigsty would be worth enough to buy ten Oirans..."
"..."
Hearing this, Er Guotou grew even more exasperated and remained silent for a long moment.
Only when Sweet Potato prodded him did he sigh and say, "That’s one of our own in the Red Lantern Society. You could even say they’re minor shareholders..."
"How could we, in the Blood Food Gang, operate without maintaining good relations with the local gentry?"
"..."
"AH."
This exchange left not only Hu Ma and Miss White Wine speechless, but Sweet Potato was also stunned. It was as if her brimming enthusiasm had suffered a severe blow. Dejectedly, she said, "So..."
"Does this mean that by joining the Red Lantern Society, I can’t mess with anyone anymore?"
"..."
"That’s not it..." Er Guotou was rather perplexed. "Why do you insist on finding someone to pick a fight with? Can’t you just be a wealthy lady running your rice shop peacefully?"
"I have to get my leg treated..." Sweet Potato said aggrievedly, "I need a lot of money for that..."
"?"
Listening from the side, Hu Ma was startled. "Her leg still isn’t healed?"
"Let’s not talk about this anymore." Miss White Wine interrupted them, her voice calm. "We know money is tight for Sweet Potato, but here in Mingzhou, Reincarnators have always been cautious. Of course, we should seek benefits, but we mustn’t blow our cover due to momentary greed."
"Now, an opportunity has presented itself, hasn’t it? Old White has always had a keen eye for business. Our previous collaboration went rather smoothly..."
"Granted, the gains weren’t substantial that time, but it allowed us to gauge each other’s reliability."
"..."
That’s right... Listening to her words, Hu Ma suddenly had a realization. That last batch of Blood Food seized from the Tan’er Sect had yielded a hefty profit. But in the eyes of Miss White Wine and Brother Er Guotou, it probably wasn’t much, was it?
Of course, it was still a decent sum—no one would ignore gold lying on the ground. However, one of them (Miss White Wine) probably wasn’t short on funds, and for the other (Er Guotou), the Red Lantern Society was practically his own, so he had no reason to snatch it from others.
So, those two had likely used it as a pretext back then, leveraging the cooperation to test each other’s reliability?
And considering that Er Guotou himself had instigated the Blood Food matter, it became even clearer.
Every single one of them was quite cunning...
Fortunately, that collaboration had gone smoothly, invisibly drawing the three of them closer. If things had fallen apart then, he might never have learned their true identities, nor would he have known when they might have started to subtly distance themselves from him.
"COUGH."
Seeing the timing was right, Hu Ma cleared his throat again, interrupting their conversation. His voice was low as he said, "Brother Er Guotou is right. The waters of this world run deep. Even Reincarnators shouldn’t stir up trouble carelessly, lest they invite disaster."
"Alright..." Sweet Potato replied glumly. "If even Senior Old White says so, then I’ll listen. But what about you, Senior?"
"You said you have a good business opportunity for us. What is it exactly?"
"..."
Her tone shifted, casting aside her previous discontent, her voice now filled with anticipation. It was understandable; she was new and hadn’t participated in group activities yet.
Hu Ma chuckled. "The targets I’ve picked are outsiders, with no roots here."
"Besides, they’re all treasure hunters, so they’re bound to have valuable items on them."
"Most importantly, this group is unscrupulous and has broken the rules. Eliminating them will not only leave us with clear consciences, but we might even gain a reputation for ridding the populace of a menace!"
"..."
"Now, see? This is what a reliable person’s plan looks like..." Brother Er Guotou was full of praise. Miss White Wine remained silent, but her stillness clearly indicated her approval.
Even Sweet Potato sighed, clearly sensing the gap between herself and the seniors.
"You flatter me." Hu Ma gave an embarrassed smile. "However, the only issue is that this group also has a backer."
"Heh," Er Guotou sneered. "In this day and age, who in the jianghu doesn’t have a backer? Just tell us who it is!"
Sweet Potato eagerly chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Who cares about their backer? They’re outsiders anyway. We’ll find a secluded spot, take them out with a single strike, dig a pit, and bury them. We don’t even need to worry about their souls running back to tattle; I have ways to ensure their souls scatter completely..."
Seeing everyone’s high spirits, Hu Ma felt greatly relieved. He nodded and smiled. "Their backer isn’t all that formidable. Just someone enshrined on an altar."
"Known as the Five Evil Gods!"
"..."
Suddenly, the harmonious atmosphere of the group meeting vanished, replaced by a stark silence.
After a long pause, Er Guotou’s voice finally sounded, cautious and accompanied by a dry laugh. "HEH, HA HA. I didn’t quite catch that..."
"Who did Brother Old White just say it was?"
"..."
Hu Ma said, "The Five Evil Gods!"
"They are enshrined and receive incense. Those treasure hunters are merely their lackeys. They’ve come to Mingzhou to hunt treasures and engage in Evil Creation. Eliminating them is truly a service to the people, ridding them of a menace."
"..."
The atmosphere of the meeting once again plunged into an awkward silence.
After a long while, Sweet Potato said, a little dazedly, "I think I’ve heard that name before, but it doesn’t matter. When do we make our move?"
Er Guotou, however, suddenly seemed to recall something. He straightened up and said solemnly, "Brothers, sisters, you all carry on chatting. I just remembered something urgent. I need to go give Little Red Lantern a foot bath. See you in two months!"
"Huh?"
Everyone was dumbfounded. Miss White Wine suddenly spoke up, "Wait! Hear what Old White has to say before you go!"