Chapter 27

I positioned Old Zhou in a spot I had predetermined to be safe, as the situation had changed, so did my original plan.

Previously, I only intended to ensure Old Zhou's safety myself, without doing anything special. But now, with this situation, I couldn't quite figure out what was happening, so I could only set up an array here.

The night was long, and I had plenty of time, so I wasn't in a hurry when setting up the array. This unhurried pace could appropriately give Old Zhou a sense of reassurance.

The array wasn't difficult; to be precise, it was a summoning array, but not a complete one. Instead, it required a 'trigger' to summon. The 'trigger' was a paper figure I placed at intervals within the array.

These paper figures had been specially treated and cut into the shapes of celestial soldiers and generals. Once the array was activated, they would transform into 'celestial soldiers and generals' to protect the person standing in the special position of the array—Old Zhou.

It sounded magical, like the idea of turning beans into soldiers. In reality, they weren't actual celestial soldiers and generals, but rather a form of divine invocation, summoning a trace of their power, which was much weaker. However, the advantage was in their numbers. As long as the array was set up without limit, the number of paper figures could be infinite.

However, even the simplest array, when expanded infinitely, would increase in difficulty. The yin energy here was strong, but from my earlier perception, apart from the aura of ghosts, I didn't sense anything else. Therefore, this array was sufficient to protect Old Zhou.

While setting up the array, Old Zhou kept chattering at me: "Old Three, what are you drawing on the ground? Picasso? Abstract art?"

"Old Three, are you randomly placing Go stones here? Who are you going to play Go with?"

"Old Three, why are you placing so many paper figures? Oh, I get it. Even though I believe in science, I know there's a folk practice called 'beating a small person,' which involves these paper figures. Are you going to beat a small person?"

Old Zhou had many questions, and some were intentionally silly, I think to ease his tension. However, even for the simplest array, I had to take it seriously, as my master had taught me. So, I didn't answer any of Old Zhou's questions.

Only after completing the last part of the array did I stand up, walk to Old Zhou, and hand him an array seal, saying, "Old Zhou, I just set up an array. If you feel the situation is beyond your control, throw this seal under your feet, and you'll be safe."

"What do you mean?" Old Zhou held the seal, clearly not feeling secure with this small thing. He looked at it with confusion and asked, "Don't you have some divine weapons or something? That's how it's shown on TV! At the very least, you should give me a peach wood sword to hold. One swing, and a ghost is dead."

"You're too nervous. Even if I had such things, I wouldn't give them to you. It's a taboo to destroy a ghost's soul without reason. Rest assured, when you throw this, an army will come to protect you. But you can only use it once, so don't slip."

At this moment, I took out an array pattern pen from my yellow cloth bag to make Old Zhou see the ghosts. I still needed to do some processing.

"An army? Really?" Old Zhou held the seal, clearly puzzled. I had exaggerated a bit, but I couldn't explain much to Old Zhou, as it involved the secrets of my master's lineage. I could only say, "Yes, with the seal in hand, an army isn't too much to ask for, right?"

"Right." As he spoke, Old Zhou put the seal in his pocket and kept his hand in it, ready to throw it at any moment.

I then suddenly clapped my hands on Old Zhou's shoulders, extinguishing the two yang fires on them. Old Zhou was taken aback by my sudden action but didn't ask much when he saw my serious face.

There's a folk legend that you shouldn't pat someone's shoulder at night, as it can extinguish the yang fire on their shoulders. This isn't entirely baseless, but in reality, yang fire is an intangible thing, a person's yang energy field, which can't be extinguished by a physical hand. To extinguish it, you need to infuse your hands with spiritual energy or use the power cultivated by a Taoist.

Just like how fire can be extinguished with water or sometimes with soil, the principle is the same.

I didn't want to use any power, as my spiritual energy was too strong, and it would be a waste not to use it. Indeed, with one clap, the two yang fires on Old Zhou's shoulders were temporarily 'extinguished.' I quickly said, "Quick, take off your shirt."

"What are you going to do?" Old Zhou looked innocent.

I gave him a speechless look, then took out a cinnabar box from my backpack, opened it, and dipped a pen in the cinnabar. Without looking up, I said, "I'm not Hai Dafu, you don't need to worry."

By this time, Old Zhou had already taken off his short-sleeved T-shirt and smiled at me, saying, "Actually, I just wanted to lighten the mood."

I stood up and used the array pattern pen to draw a mysterious symbol on Old Zhou's shoulders. This symbol was a simple array pattern, derived from the folk practice of corpse handlers, who used it to seal the soul. After being modified by my master's lineage, it could not only seal the soul in a person's body but also, with slight changes, seal the yang energy, preventing it from leaking out.

"Zheng Ling, don't underestimate this simple array pattern. It has countless variations. In the martial world, it's said that the Li lineage is skilled with red ropes, which can seal souls, yang energy, and even various auras, including spiritual senses. However, our master's basic array pattern, with its countless variations, is no less effective than the Li lineage's red ropes."

"Old man, you always talk about the martial world, mentioning the Li lineage, the Xiao family, and others. Are they real, or are you just obsessed with martial arts novels? Can you tell me where the martial world is and where these people are?"

"Can't say, can't say. Hehe."

"I knew it, you old fraud."

This array pattern is a basic one from my master's lineage. Despite the memories it evoked, it was a simple variation to lock the yang energy, which I could draw with my eyes closed.

After drawing the two array patterns on Old Zhou's shoulders, I moved to his chest. This is the center of a person's yang energy and the key position to seal the soul. Here, I quickly drew a basic array pattern with two layers of variation. This pattern could not only lock Old Zhou's yang energy but also his soul.

This was to ensure absolute safety. I was afraid that if an uncontrollable situation arose, this would at least give me some time to use my techniques and prevent Old Zhou from being possessed by a ghost.

With three array patterns on his body, the effect was immediate. Because the yang energy was locked, Old Zhou suddenly broke out in goosebumps, and even in the summer night, he was shivering, saying, "Old Three, why do I feel so cold?"

"Feeling cold is normal. This is a mild way to make you see the thing. If we used some folk methods, you wouldn't even know how you died." I said without looking up, then put away the cinnabar box and pen.

I took out incense and candles from my yellow cloth bag and lit them in front of Old Zhou. The incense was a sign of 'respect' to the ghosts, indicating no ill intent, and I offered it to them.

The candles, however, were not ordinary ones. They contained special ingredients. If the ghosts couldn't see Old Zhou, these candles would act like two giant searchlights, making it impossible for them to miss him.

This was somewhat dangerous, but it was a necessary risk because the negotiation had to proceed, and Old Zhou, the 'obvious target,' had to be placed out there.

After completing everything, I stepped out of the array I had set up for Old Zhou and shouted to him, "Do as I told you before."

Old Zhou's face was very pale due to the locked yang energy and fear. Hearing me, he became even more afraid, but his pride as a man made him clench his teeth and not say a word of fear.

After taking a deep breath, he began to shout in the special rhythm I had taught him, on the grassland backed by a small forest: "Zhao Ying, I'm here. Zhao Ying, I'm here."

Yes, Zhao Ying was the name of the female ghost, which I had specifically instructed Old Zhou to find out. Since Old Zhou was going to negotiate with her, calling her by name was a sign of respect, telling other wandering spirits not to come and cause trouble.

But given the current situation, I wasn't sure if this precaution would be effective. Leaning against a tree, I smoked a cigarette and kept a close eye on Old Zhou. At this moment, the wind suddenly picked up.