So, lighting a large stove within the body could exorcise evil spirits, cure diseases, and combat the bizarre?
Hu Ma was amazed by the wonders of this world, and at the same time, a great sense of comfort welled up within him:
Firstly, in this bizarre world, he finally had some method to protect himself.
Secondly, according to Second Master, once the stove was lit, any evil spirit that got close would find it unbearably scorching.
Didn't that mean that even though he wasn't an original inhabitant of this body, he wasn't like an ordinary evil spirit that would be burned by this body?
Was it because of his identity as a "Reincarnator," or were there other reasons he didn't know about?
Perhaps these questions could only be answered after he had a chance to talk with other Reincarnators.
After checking and ensuring he had properly lit the stove for Hu Ma, Second Master finally took him to a side room to rest.
Goodness, it was a large communal sleeping platform, already crowded with young lads.
When he had first awakened, Hu Ma had been sleeping in a side room at his family's home. Outside, there was only Granny chanting sutras all night and Little Hongtang, whose nature—human or ghost—was uncertain.
He had hidden in that side room, utterly alone and terrified. Now, however, he was suddenly thrust into the company of a dozen peers.
Each one was brimming with energy. They spent their days running in the mountains and practicing their forms, and evidently, hygiene wasn't their top priority.
The moment he stepped into the room, the smell nearly knocked him over.
Hmm, it was overwhelmingly pungent with the musk of young virgin boys…
"Now that you're with me, you certainly won't live as comfortably as you did in the village."
Second Master noticed Hu Ma frown the instant he entered the room, clearly ill at ease, and sighed, "Granny spoiled you rotten before. But you're here to learn skills, so you'll have to make do. It's not like I can have you sleep in my room, can I?"
"..."
Hu Ma thought: I just came out of your room. The smell there wasn't much different from here…
Outwardly, however, he merely nodded and asked Second Master where he should sleep.
Second Master glanced around, then pointed to a boy by the stove, telling him to move aside and make space for Hu Ma.
This large communal sleeping platform had a fire-stove built into one end in the left corner, effectively dividing the sleeping area. One side was crammed with seven or eight boys.
On the other side of the fire-stove, against the wall, there was only a narrow space, about half a meter wide, just enough for one person to sleep.
Compared to the conditions in the rest of the room, this was practically a private berth.
It seemed that although Second Master had said Hu Ma wouldn't receive special treatment, he was indeed getting some.
Hu Ma agreed and spread out his own bedding.
Looking at the others, some of their blankets were tattered and torn, with cotton wadding spilling out; others were so thin they resembled a pile of rags.
Granny, however, had brought Hu Ma a thick, wide black cotton quilt. It was perfect: half to lay under him, and the other half to cover him. The others didn't have proper pillows, merely using a pair of cloth shoes to prop up their heads for sleep. Granny, however, had provided Hu Ma with a wheat chaff pillow, which was firm and comfortable.
"Alright, everyone, get to sleep early. Tomorrow morning, we get up early for practicing. At night, don't make trouble; focus on your practicing properly, and don't let your thoughts wander!"
Second Master was somewhat surprised that Hu Ma lay down so quietly, without any fuss or complaint. Still, feeling that something was amiss if he didn't, he put on a stern face and delivered a sharp lecture to the group of youngsters before leisurely strolling back to his own main room.
"Hey, hey, look at him, getting his stove lit right after arriving. Such special treatment, it's enough to make anyone envious!"
"Heh, he can't even keep up running in the mountains, and he gets a stove lit..."
"..."
As soon as Second Master left, the side room fell silent for a moment. Then, the boys began exchanging glances and winks, and soon, whispers filled the air.
According to Second Master, the boys here had also lit their stoves, just like him, and their stove fires were more developed. Consequently, they were naturally more energetic. They were at an age where they'd stir up trouble even if there was none. Considering his treatment was clearly better than the others', it would have been strange if he hadn't attracted their taunts.
Hu Ma understood this, so he remained quiet, ignoring the others, and silently lay down, feigning sleep.
"Hey, Hu Ma, they say your family eats meat at every meal. Is that true?"
"Is it true that Granny raises little ghosts?"
"..."
A series of whispers arose, some probing cautiously, others punctuated by soft giggles.
But Hu Ma pretended not to hear, not uttering a single word.
One must gain a certain understanding of this world before letting down one's guard. For now, it's best to remain unchanged in the face of myriad changes.
"Heh, Granny's young master sure puts on airs, won't even talk to us..."
Seeing Hu Ma remained silent, his new roommates eventually lost interest. After a while, some began to whisper about their return to the village and what they would eat. Others calculated potential earnings from the upcoming spring when they would worship Tai Sui, figuring out how many years of work it would take to get a wife. This was interspersed with teasing like, "You like Sister Dong from the Dong Family," and "You're hard again," before they gradually drifted off to sleep.
Hu Ma continued to feign sleep, but he was actually listening intently to their conversations, trying to deepen his understanding of the village.
Only when his surroundings had completely quieted down did he finally organize his thoughts and turn his attention to the talisman drawn on his chest.
He could clearly feel that with this talisman, the heat within his body was no longer dissipating outwards but was slowly accumulating inside.
Gradually, it built up, and his body began to feel a sense of fullness, almost a swelling.
Hu Ma calmed his mind. Following Second Master's instructions, he touched his tongue to the roof of his mouth. In a state between sleep and wakefulness, he consciously guided the current of warmth, originating from the talisman drawn on his chest with a willow branch, bit by bit along the cold talisman seal into his lower abdomen, storing it in his "stove."
As he tried this, Hu Ma was slightly astonished.
According to Second Master, this first step, called practicing, was a skill that required patient, gradual effort and adaptation.
This was because the body's yang qi was typically scattered and weak, needing to be guided strand by painstaking strand. Beginners often found it difficult to grasp the subtle sensation.
But when Hu Ma attempted it, he felt the internal fire qi within him surging, incredibly vigorous.
With hardly any effort, the warmth flowed rapidly along the path of the cold talisman seal, stream after stream, into the stove.
The process was extremely comfortable. Before long, he felt his lower abdomen grow intensely hot, and his middle qi felt abundant.
With his middle qi full, his courage naturally swelled.
Ever since his reincarnation, that constant sense of unease, that timidity and apprehension, had vanished.
Thinking of the pitch-black night outside, he even felt brave enough to go out alone to relieve himself…
…On second thought, perhaps not.
Nevertheless, this discovery genuinely thrilled him.
"This must be a truly useful dharma method, right? Why didn't Granny let me come here sooner?"
He savored the feeling with delight, recalling how, when he had previously encountered evil spirits, or even at the old fire pit, he would first feel a chill, followed swiftly by bizarre hallucinations.
Some instinct made him realize that the heat now rising within his body was entirely different from that invasive cold.
If the body is warm, it naturally doesn't fear the cold. With a thriving stove fire, what evil spirit would dare to bother him?
This method seemed even better than relying on the old fire pit!
Relying on external aids was never as good as strengthening one's own foundation, was it?
If Granny had allowed him to learn this dharma method earlier, he probably wouldn't have feared those evil spirits for so long. Could it be…
…Could it be that Granny was truly just worried that if he learned this dharma method, he wouldn't be able to find a wife anytime soon?
These questions had no immediate answers, but for the first time since arriving in this world, Hu Ma felt a solid sense of confidence.
His initial attempt at practicing yielded such remarkable effects. Once his stove fire truly thrived, where could he not go? He'd be unstoppable, wouldn't he?
His heart brimmed with an unprecedented sense of peace and elation, and he enthusiastically continued his practicing, tirelessly stoking the fire in his lower abdomen, making it burn ever brighter.
Then…
…HUFF. A sharp gasp escaped him, and Hu Ma jerked awake.
He instinctively looked up. Outside, it was still pitch dark; he had no idea what watch of the night it was.
The other boys his age slept soundly nearby. Some were grinding their teeth, others mumbled lazily in their sleep, and one had rolled over, legs clamped tightly around his trousers, rubbing them restlessly.
It was now late autumn, verging on early winter. Despite some having a bare thigh or half their body exposed, the boys, brimming with youthful vitality, didn't seem to feel the cold.
Hu Ma, however, had been awakened by the cold.
He was a still sleeper; the thick quilt was still wrapped snugly around him.
Yet, his body felt as cold as a block of ice. A faint chill was rising, seeping slowly into him from his limbs and permeating his entire frame.
Only when this cold reached his lower abdomen did it seem to slightly disperse, as if encountering a few remaining charcoal embers glowing faintly within a cold, desolate stove.
"This isn't right…"
The more Hu Ma assessed his current state, the more uneasy he became.
Hadn't Second Master said that after the stove was lit for him, the heat constantly emanating from his body would be sealed within?
Guiding this heat to gather in the lower abdomen was supposed to create a fire.
This fire should continuously grow stronger, accumulating day by day. But why did it feel as if his internal fire was subtly shrinking?
Why was his body emitting a chill instead of warmth?
This sudden, strange sensation made Hu Ma afraid to go back to sleep. He propped himself up slightly, staring blankly out the window.
Outside, the dark purple night sky had, at some unknown point, begun to show the first fish-belly white of dawn. In the distance, a rooster from an unseen coop suddenly crowed loudly.
"Lads, get up! Time to run the mountains!"
Outside, near the main room, Second Master's loud voice suddenly called out.