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Chapter 145: The Four Spirits' Absolute Killing Formation
Yin Cheng transformed into a Paper Figurine and moved its hands and feet, addressing the ghosts: "I will not let down the heartfelt intentions of the villagers. I will investigate the truth and ensure that none of you become unjustly dead spirits."
The Paper Figurine returned to the city, only to find it filled with corpses, and the air was thick with a green corpse poison. The Paper Craftsman had long since disappeared.
The Paper Figurine first arrived at the county office and discovered large red lanterns hanging inside. In the courtyard, seven coffins were already arranged, and white ribbons had been used to seal them. The Paper Figurine created by Yin Cheng could not comprehend what the Paper Craftsman was trying to achieve, but it knew it could not disturb those seven coffins. The methods of that Paper Craftsman were numerous and profound, far beyond its own capabilities. Now that it was in a weakened state, it could not fight back, so it devised a plan to seal off the county office.
Yin Cheng's Paper Figurine instructed the ghosts to search for four items: a Black Dog born on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that had never mated with a female dog, a snake with a one-foot-long comb on its head, a rooster that had just crowed for the first time, and a turtle capable of carrying a stone tablet. Moreover, they had to find these within a few hours; otherwise, all efforts would be in vain.
This request was exceedingly harsh. It should be noted that all four items Yin Cheng needed were difficult to find, especially since there wasn't even an ant left in the entire city. Seeing that Yin Cheng's demands were so urgent, the ghosts took advantage of the darkness to split into numerous teams and search everywhere. Meanwhile, Yin Cheng was busy preparing magical tools at home. Although the Paper Figurine was essentially Yin Cheng, its movements were greatly hindered.
Yin Cheng directly set up an offering table at the city gate, waiting for the ghosts' return. The first item found was a bamboo leaf green snake with a slight comb on its head. The top of the snake's head split open like a cockscomb with a fleshy lump; this snake was on the verge of becoming a spirit. In several decades, it would grow legs, and after several hundred years of cultivation, it would develop two more legs and become a "jiao" (a type of dragon). Yin Cheng sought this kind of snake for its pure yin blood.
Next, a turtle about the size of a pot was also brought back by the ghosts. Turtles live in water, and even a hundred-year-old turtle is considered pure yin; Yin Cheng also sought its pure yin blood. The rooster and black dog were harder to find since both are considered pure yang creatures that ordinary ghosts cannot approach. Fortunately, the ghosts lured many dogs from nearby villages with meat bones; there were black ones and spotted ones alike. The rooster was captured by ghosts using bags; since it was midnight, it did not crow and could only be taken away quietly.
In front of Yin Cheng were groups of dogs and chickens. Ten hours had already passed, leaving only two hours before the Paper Figurine would dissolve. Yin Cheng had no choice but to select the black dog with the most yang energy and the rooster with the most yang energy.
With all four animals found, Yin Cheng did not kill them but merely took a little blood from each to fill a bowl. Then Yin Cheng took out a brush along with four already prepared paper figures: one tiger, one phoenix, one dragon, and one black tortoise.
The four types of blood sat together in one bowl yet remained distinct from one another. Yin Cheng used the brush to mix all the blood together before skillfully drawing talismans on each of the four paper figures.
Yin Cheng originally intended to use the four legendary spirit beasts to form a Four Spirits Formation. The four spirit beasts do not exist; they are merely legends. I know this. Yin Cheng is using the power of The Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions in the Heavens to create the formation, which consists of the seven lodges in the east: Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji; the seven lodges in the west: Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, Bi, Zhi, and Shen; the seven lodges in the south: Jing, Gui, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, and Zhen; and the seven lodges in the north: Dou, Niu, Nu, Xu, Wei, Shi, and Bi.
After Yin Cheng finished tying up the four paper animals, he left his final words: Once this formation is completed, the county office will become a trapped land. No matter how powerful one is, unless it is destroyed by human hands, even various Ghosts will not be able to pass through. That evil Paper Craftsman must have left this place; the corpse poison will definitely not dissipate within one or two hundred years. I suppose he will not return. What he intends to do remains unknown to me. Moreover, the coffins in the county office are extremely dangerous, especially regarding the Paper Craftsman. We must not let them enter the county office; it is necessary to kill them if needed.
Yin Cheng arrived at the county office and placed the tied paper animals at the southeast and northwest corners. With each animal placed down, he inserted a strand of golden light into it. It seems he was using his own soul to serve as the formation eye for each paper animal. After placing down all four animals, Yin Cheng sat beside the Paper Figurine without moving and slowly transformed into bits of shredded paper that floated in the air and disappeared.
The story made my heart race. The hunchbacked old man narrated it while others occasionally chimed in, making the entire tale feel incredibly vivid as if they had personally experienced it.
Since being deceived by Bear Steward's trickery, I have become vigilant. This place is too dangerous and there are many aspects that don't make sense. Even if that Paper Craftsman killed everyone in town, why would he put County Magistrate Xiong's family in a coffin locked with white silk? Knowing that corpse poison cannot dissipate for one or two hundred years, why not just kill Yin Cheng directly instead of letting him escape and set up a grand formation? That Paper Craftsman could not possibly cast a spell to create a corpse spirit that takes thousands of years to form because he could never live for a thousand years.
The events here felt like a layer of mystery that I couldn't comprehend. Cao Qilong quietly asked me beside him: "This feels just like telling a movie story; it's too real!"
I felt the same way. This time we had already acted recklessly; if it weren't for that Four Spirits Formation, both Cao Qilong and I would have died here. We must not act recklessly or easily trust these ghosts who have been dead for over a thousand years.
I said to the hunchbacked old man: "Thank you for your detailed explanation; we truly feel enlightened."
The hunchbacked old man waved his hand and said: "No need to thank me; I am merely a storyteller who has made the tale more vivid. However, Yin Cheng died for us; this is only right!"
"Damn!" Both Cao Qilong and I cursed simultaneously. So you made a living from this! Cao Qilong and I exchanged glances filled with distrust. I took advantage of the situation and said: "Once again, thank you for your help. To be honest, we feel quite ashamed; at the entrance of the office for our lives' sake we claimed that the corpse spirit inside had been eliminated when it was not true at all. Our weapons have already been thrown into the river; now we are unarmed and cannot fight! We do not know where Yin Cheng's home is in town; we hope to find some suitable weapons to eliminate that corpse spirit."
After speaking, I pressed my hand on my sword. If those ghosts were just deceiving us earlier and intended to attack now would be a good opportunity. However, they did not trouble me or Cao Qilong. The hunchbacked old man stood up and said: "Please follow me."
Cao Qilong and I followed behind him slowly as we walked further into secluded areas until we reached a small hill next to the county office. The hunchbacked old man pointed at the hill and said: "Yin Cheng's home is right up there."
I tugged at Cao Qilong's sleeve and whispered, "Be careful, this group of ghosts might harm us."
Cao Qilong nodded, indicating he understood. We walked at the back, estimating that we were several steps away from the group of ghosts, giving us time to react if they tried anything.
We climbed a small hill and arrived at a courtyard built with green tiles. In the yard, there was a pile of large bamboo tubes, and several Paper Figurines and Paper Horses were placed around. It seemed that the Old Man wasn't lying to us.
The Hunchbacked Old Man clasped his hands and said, "I will take my leave now; you two Yin Yang can rest here."
After saying that, the Hunchbacked Old Man floated down the mountain with the ghosts. Cao Qilong shouted at him, "Hey, old man, I haven't eaten yet!"
Seeing the Paper Figurines made Cao Qilong excited. He recited a spell and collected all the Paper Figurines and Paper Horses into his jade pendant. I held a Ghost Lantern given to me by the Hunchbacked Old Man and entered Yin Cheng's home. The house was very simple, with not much furniture—mostly broken Bamboo Sticks, cut-up white paper, and jars of Cinnabar.
These were exactly what Cao Qilong and I needed. We collected everything we could and left what we couldn't for now since it wouldn't run away. Walking into the inner room, which should have been Yin Cheng's bedroom when he was alive, I found various Yin Yang books, talismans, and other miscellaneous items. Cao Qilong and I kept rummaging through them; there weren't many useful items—mostly useless stuff—but we unceremoniously took all the talismans.
After searching for a long time, we found a few talisman seals. Cao Qilong and I took those as well because these things were valuable. The white cloth had several large seals stamped on it; upon examining the seals closely, they indeed differed from the three seals on the white cloth. It seemed that the white cloth used to seal the coffin was not created by Yin Cheng.
In truth, none of this was particularly important. What I was looking for was whether there were any ancient books on paper crafting techniques. The art of paper crafting has lost its former glory over time; many techniques have been lost to history. The paper crafting techniques we possessed could handle minor ghosts but would likely lead to our demise against something like a corpse worshipper, which Yin Cheng could easily eliminate. If we could find ancient books, not only would our chances of survival increase, but we might also find the Ming Ship faster to search for Lin Xiaoqi.
After rummaging for a long time without any gains, just as I was about to leave, I noticed a Compass hanging on the wall. The bronze body looked quite nice, so I planned to take it as well. However, as soon as I touched the bronze Compass, it fell and shattered into several pieces. I felt regret! If I had known to handle it carefully! Who would have thought that inside the broken Compass was a corner of a book exposed?
I felt a stir in my heart and quickly picked it up. It had four large characters written on it: Qian Zhi Ling Pu. I immediately called out to Cao Qilong excitedly, "I've found a treasure!"
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