"Sister Wu He, are you feeling much better?"

Unexpectedly encountering this woman coming down from the mountain, Hu Ma was quite pleasantly surprised.

It was none other than Wu He, the daughter of the old shopkeeper Wu Hong, whom he had met when he emerged from Old Yin Mountain and went to learn at the Red Lantern Lady's Club.

She had been harmed by the Tan'er Sect's Life Gathering Technique, forced to live with a dog's skin. Later, with Miss White Wine's guidance, she and her father were led to seek treatment from the Divine Hand Zhao Family. From then on, they left, and it was several years without any news.

All these years, Hu Ma hadn't forgotten about them, but the vastness of the jianghu made it difficult to hear from each other. It was only now, unexpectedly, that he met them here in the mountain.

He was happy for her, remembering that when she was harmed by the Life Gathering Technique, she always had a lingering stench of decay, which was now completely gone, replaced by a light, sweet feminine fragrance, showing she had been healed.

"I must thank Brother Hu."

Upon hearing this, Sister Wu He's eyes brimmed with tears again, and she bowed to Hu Ma, sobbing, "Back then, you pointed us in the right direction, and my father took me to seek help from the Divine Hand Zhao Family."

"But with our limited abilities and short sight, it took us a long time to hear about the fame of the Divine Hand Zhao Family from an opera troupe."

"The Zhao Family is elusive, and even when we knew where to find them, we couldn't. It took us a great effort to have someone make introductions, and we ended up seeking out a Hall Officer from the Trick Door to help us."

"But how could the Divine Hand Zhao Family's status allow us to see them at will?"

"Seeking treatment was out of the question. But at that time, the name of Mingzhou's Ghost Walking Hu resounded through the jianghu, and my father mustered his courage, claiming to be from Mingzhou and an old acquaintance of the Zhen Sui Hu Family, which led the Hall Officer to introduce us to the Zhao Family."

"At that time, my father had no other way, hoping to meet the Zhao Family first and then take his own life as atonement, hoping to invoke the code of jianghu justice to win their pity to treat me."

"But unexpectedly, after questioning thoroughly, a Young Master Zhao laughed and said that due to his friendship with you, treating me to return the favor was only right."

"This is when we realized that the world-renowned Young Master of the Zhen Sui Hu Family was indeed..."

"...indeed none other than Brother Hu."

"..."

As she spoke, she recalled the shock and trepidation she and her father felt when they discovered Hu Ma's true identity from the mouth of the Young Master Zhao, and even now it felt like a dream.

She remembered how Hu Ma nearly died because of her, yet in the end, she was fortunate enough to be noticed and treated by the Zhao Family, all due to Hu Ma's reputation. This complex emotion stirred within her uncontrollably.

Tears streamed, and she said in a trembling voice, "The Young Master Zhao not only treated me but also promoted me, keeping me within the Trick Door as a runner under the Hall Officer's command."

"My father stayed back in Yue County, Lingzhou, and opened a small escort agency. He doesn't have the face to meet Brother Hu anymore."

"..."

"And this time..."

She paused at this point, glancing at Hu Ma's expression, saying, "This time, it was also Young Master Zhao who suddenly contacted me, saying he had a task for me to complete."

"He knew I've always wanted to return to Mingzhou to find you, so he allowed me to come back to express my gratitude and also deliver a few messages from the Trick Door."

"If you are willing, you could give him some face by handing over Tengzhou and directing your forces towards Quzhou, where an Evil God affiliated with the Impermanence Li Family resides. If you can eliminate him, he will remove these two mountains."

"..."

After listening to Miss Wu He's tale, Hu Ma finally understood what she had gone through in recent years.

He never expected that the sufferings she endured these years would ultimately be resolved with his involvement.

He suspected that the Young Master Zhao she mentioned was likely Zhao Sanyi.

Understanding the sequence of events, he smiled and said, "Sister Wu He, you have a kind heart, and you deserve this good fortune."

"The skills I have, I acquired thanks to your family. Seeing you well makes me happy, and there's no need to talk about debts or favors in the future. Since the Trick Door sent you to deliver a message, I'm curious about it. Did they say what if I don't want to yield Tengzhou?"

"This..."

Miss Wu He paused, speaking softly, "Young Master Zhao said that if you refuse to yield, these two large mountains might remain here for several more days until the mountain-carrying deities have rested enough to leave!"

"Goodness, the people from the Trick Door are indeed shrewd."

Hu Ma listened, smiling at Er Guotou, saying, "They want me to hand over Tengzhou and do them a favor against Impermanence Li, while still trying to gain my goodwill."

"..."

Er Guotou silently nodded, his brows furrowed tightly.

If one stays in a place for too long or remains confined to a single path, one's perspective tends to narrow over time. Er Guotou had stayed in Mingzhou long enough and focused his energies solely on researching the Ghost Walking Sect's Age Suppressing Book techniques.

While his skills naturally improved, he also found himself growing somewhat arrogant, unsure of when it happened.

Even though he had previously mentioned that the capabilities of the Ten Families shouldn't be underestimated, he never anticipated feeling so powerless himself.

The essence was that he thought you might have some skills, but he didn't expect you truly did...

"We supported the Food Protection Army out of Mingzhou and anticipated coming into conflict with the Ten Families."

Hu Ma then addressed Er Guotou, saying, "But I never anticipated that the first to come restrain us would be trickster Zhao."