C26 The Battle Formation

I had arranged with Wang Dali to head to the pine forest the following morning to take care of the old ghost once and for all. When I arrived the next day, Wang Dali was already there waiting for me. He had managed to bring over the box we'd gotten from the Taoist temple, and he had finished sewing the vest made from sanitary pads.

Wang Dali looked pale, with dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept at all the previous night, his eyes bloodshot. He wasn't in the best shape, and I knew that being so out of it made him vulnerable to malevolent spirits. So, I checked in on him with genuine concern.

"Dali, are you okay? If it's too much, we can always go tomorrow. Your sister can hold on for another couple of days..."

But Wang Dali just waved his hand, signaling that he was fine, though it took him a while to finally speak up.

"Let's just do it today. Who knows how many more vests you'll have me sew if we wait another two days!"

I could tell that making the vest out of sanitary pads had taken a psychological toll on Wang Dali, which made me feel quite guilty. But that guilt was fleeting; after all, I was doing this for his sister's sake, not my own wife's.

Still, I insisted that Wang Dali put on the vest. The burly man nearly broke down in tears as he did so.

"Wang Xu, you can't do this to me. My father always said, 'A soldier can be killed but not insulted.' I may have been rough with you, but..."

I let out a chuckle, found a rope, and secured the vest made of sanitary pads on him before responding:

"Dali, you've got it all wrong. I'm not holding a grudge over our scuffle. I've moved past that a long time ago! But you're not aware of how formidable the ghosts in this forest are. Once we're in there, I have spells to counter them, and even Xiaoxiao has her ways, but you're just a regular guy... No matter how strong you are, you can't fight off ghosts with your bare hands!

But wearing this vest changes the game. Only a ghost with a death wish would dare to mess with you now, right?"

With the vest on him, he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate.

"Alright, I'll wear it. Are we charging in now?"

I shook my head, pulling a small piece of willow wood from my bag. I faced east, the direction of the Earth Temple, and bowed three times.

Once I finished, I lit a stick of incense. Amidst the swirling smoke, a troop of Yin Warriors approached us. I counted about fifty—well-equipped, but the numbers were scant. They were likely a favor from the Earth Goddess, borrowed through connections with the City God. Still, it seemed we had enough.

With a small knife, I etched the tally of fifty-four Yin Warriors into the willow, making it their temporary command token. I hadn't forgotten to use willow leaves to open Wang Dali's Yin Yang Eyes. The sight of the Yin Warriors startled him, but his fear quickly turned to excitement.

"This is fantastic, Wang Xu! With this many allies, leveling this forest will be a breeze!"

Wang Dali had been on lookout duty all of yesterday. He hadn't seen the enemy's numbers because, by the time he returned to the village to fetch the magical tools for me, the old ghost had already withdrawn his ghost soldiers and specters. Hence his naive optimism.

With Wang Dali, Bai Xiaoxiao, and our fifty Yin Warriors, we advanced into the ghost market dominated by the old ghost.

Having operated here for two decades, the old ghost's presence was no secret, even if he was confined by the array formation. As we entered the woods, we found the enemy's ghost soldiers—hundreds of them—already in formation, awaiting our arrival.

Our side had fifty Yin Warriors; theirs, several hundred. The odds were grossly uneven, and Wang Dali was ready to back out.

"Wang Xu, we should retreat. They outnumber us; we can't win this!"

I paid him no mind, raised the command token, and bellowed,

"Don't be a coward—attack!"

These weren't my Yin Warriors to mourn over. If they were all slain, I wouldn't shed a tear. The Earth Goddess would have to answer for it.

With the token's command, our fifty Yin Warriors charged without a second thought, weapons at the ready. I wasn't just a spectator—I pulled several talismans from my bag and scattered them over our warriors. The ash from the talismans invigorated them, enabling them to fight with the ferocity of two men each. But against the sheer numbers we faced, it was like trying to extinguish a fire with a cup of water...

"Wang Xu, what do we do? At this rate, we can't even get past their shadow warriors, let alone confront the old ghost himself!" Bai Xiaoxiao exclaimed in distress.

Wang Dali didn't voice his concerns, but it was clear he shared the sentiment; continuing the fight as is would be futile.

But I was prepared for this eventuality.

I produced a copper plate and a sheet of white paper adorned with strange symbols I had drawn the previous night. These weren't incantations but tactical diagrams.

I placed the command talisman on the copper plate and laid the diagram on top of it. From my bag, I counted out fifty soybeans and arranged them on the diagram.

Once on the diagram, the beans, as if drawn by an unseen force, rolled into specific positions that mirrored where our fifty Yin Warriors stood.

Within Mao Mountain arts, there's a technique for transforming beans into soldiers, creating golden-armored warriors to battle on one's behalf. While I lacked the power to perform such a feat, I could still manipulate the beans to control our Yin Warriors.

The old ghost's forces were numerous, but they fought in disarray, like headless flies. A touch of strategy on my part meant that my fifty Yin Warriors could take on several hundred without issue.

I adjusted the beans to their proper positions, allowing the fifty Yin Warriors to form a strategic array. Once in formation, their combat prowess surged, and they gained various enhancements.

With the formation in play, the old ghost's Yin Soldiers were quickly overwhelmed, slaughtered by my fifty, their morale shattered. Meanwhile, Wang Dali and Bai Xiaoxiao had yet to engage, effectively securing our victory with minimal effort.

After about a hundred of the old ghost's Yin Soldiers fell, something seemed to click on their side. The sound of a bell tolled, and their forces receded like the ebbing tide.

I manipulated the beans again, positioning the fifty Yin Warriors as a protective circle around us. Turning to Wang Dali, I said, "Dali, soon the old ghost will likely send a swarm of red-robed specters our way. They're tough adversaries, and our Yin Soldiers may not hold up against them. When that time comes, we'll be counting on you."

Wang Dali was completely bewildered.

"Ah? Me? Come on, Wang Xu, you've got to be kidding. How am I supposed to take on the red-robed specters...?"

Whether he was up to the task or not, the horde of red-robed specters, led by the Old Ghost, continued to advance like an unstoppable tide. The Yin Soldiers were merely spirits with a denser aura of malevolence. They wouldn't pose much of a challenge if not for their sheer numbers. The red-robed specters, on the other hand, were a different story altogether.

These specters harbored intense resentment. Once they latched onto someone, they wouldn't stop until they had wreaked utter havoc, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake. The power of the red-robed specters was so formidable that one could equate it to the combined might of eight or ten Yin Soldiers. Even a seasoned cultivator would find them a formidable nuisance.

I manipulated the soybean, directing the Yin Soldiers to form a perimeter, effectively trapping the red-robed specters within. The Yin Soldiers might not have been a match for the specters, but containing them was well within their capabilities.

Wang Dali was right behind me, energetically pumping his fists, rooting for the Yin Soldiers.

With a sly grin and a swift move, I sent him flying with a kick straight into the midst of the ghastly throng.