Chapter 23: Paper Man and Shadow Troops

  There is a legend among the people that the yin soldiers borrowing roads are actually King Yanluo patrolling in the sun, so they lead a team of yin soldiers to open the way. It's best for the living to kowtow on the ground and not look up or back, otherwise the yin soldiers will blow out the yang fire on their shoulders, and they will definitely fall ill in the future. There are even rumors that they will be taken away by the yin soldiers. Whether it is true or false cannot be verified, but most of them are probably false. King Yanluo controls life and death and is a very strict ruler of the underworld, and he will not bend the law for personal gain.

  The Yin soldiers are caused by two reasons, one is that the ancient or modern army was defeated and died, due to their resentment not dispersing, plus the weather and geographical environment at that time. These yin soldiers are often very united, and their thinking is stuck in the time period when they were fighting, they all think they have not died yet and still want to continue fighting to maintain their military honor. These yin soldiers often appear in some remote and desolate places where sunlight cannot reach, so few people see them. The so-called yin place refers to a place where sunlight cannot shine, and the place where sunlight can shine is called yang place. Places that are sunny all year round are called yang places, and places that are not sunny all year round are called yin places. People live in yang places, and souls live in yin places. Therefore, graveyards are often chosen in yin places, and it's even better to have a mountain behind and water in front, which can bring good fortune to future generations.

  The second is often seen after a major disaster has killed many people, this yinbing refers to the ghostly soldiers and generals who come from the underworld to capture souls. After many major disasters occur, many people will die, and often these places have many vengeful spirits gathered together, reluctant to leave, at which time the underworld will dispatch its ghostly army to capture their souls. In fact, from ancient times to the present, some places that have experienced plagues and killed many people have had opportunities to see the legendary yinbing borrowing roads.

  "Master, is it true that there are Yin soldiers? Is it true that there is a underworld? Is it true that there is a Yanluo king?" I finally couldn't help but ask after hearing what Master said, this question has been swirling in my mind for a long time.

  The master nodded, his face becoming more serious: "Of course there is. The eighteen layers of hell under Yan Wang's rule are all divine realms, not something that ordinary people can compare to. As for the secrets within, perhaps you'll find out later. I haven't been to the underworld myself, but my own master has gone before. Unfortunately, when he came back, he refused to speak about what happened in the underworld."

  I nodded, already understanding in my heart that the underworld wasn't so simple after all. I stopped pestering him about this issue and watched as Master began preparing the talismans. He tore out small paper men from yellow paper with his hands, then used a brush dipped in cinnabar to draw a symbol on each paper man. However, I couldn't understand what he was drawing. As I saw Master struggling more and more, I finally couldn't help but say: "Master, why don't you teach me how to draw it? I can do it for you, look at how much effort you're putting in..."

  I see, so my master didn't appreciate my good intentions at all, instead he glared at me and snorted: "You don't understand anything. What's meant by 'a spark of inspiration is the symbol' is that in Daoist talismans, there are heavenly symbols and earthly symbols. Heavenly symbols can be created with just one stroke of the brush, which is what's meant by 'a spark of inspiration is the symbol'. Earthly symbols, on the other hand, have complicated rituals and rules. Do you think anyone can just draw a symbol? Many beginners don't understand the subtleties involved, as soon as they get their hands on a book of talismans, they start copying them without regard for whether their body is clean or not, without inviting the gods, without making offerings, they just grab some brush, ink and paper and start drawing away. Symbols drawn like that are useless, no matter how many you draw - one thousand, ten thousand, it makes no difference."

  "But Master, I didn't see you invite the gods to offer sacrifices either?" I'm completely used to teasing Master now. As they say, "don't be ashamed to ask", if you don't know something, you have to ask shamelessly, or else you'll never learn anything.

  Indeed, the master was so angry that he scolded me, his eyes filled with annoyance and helplessness. Yet, he continued to explain: "People think that when drawing talismans, one must recite the three incantations of quiet mouth, quiet body, and quiet mind three times each, then again, and then recite the true words for the brush, ink, and paper. They also believe that the room where the talisman is drawn must be clean and pure, using the Nine Phoenixes to purify it. Moreover, one must focus their energy and imagination when drawing the talisman, pay attention to the strokes of the symbol's head, foot, and gallbladder, and finally, sprinkle water on it after completion. Then, they must place the talisman in the palm of their hand and concentrate on it, before sending it to the master. This is what ordinary people think is the proper way to draw a talisman, but actually, this is just a trick used by those charlatans to deceive the world, pretending to be mysterious."

  The master shook his head, but after thinking about it, he felt a bit helpless. If they didn't make it seem mysterious, no one would believe them. He thought back to when he first came down from the mountain, full of passion and idealism, but no one believed him. It was actually better for those charlatans to be believed. Thinking about this made him sigh: "Listen, remember this - the so-called art of talismans and incantations originated from ancient shamans. When drawing talismans, you need to recite incantations, and when using them, there are also incantations. Every ritual has its own incantation. What we call talismans are actually a type of array, although they look like characters. This is the underlying structure of the array, which cannot have any mistakes. To ensure that there are no errors, you need to focus your mind and practice for a long time. Only then can you draw talismans with ease, without disrupting the array. If there's even a slight mistake, the entire array will be ineffective. This array is actually a way of accumulating the natural powers of heaven and earth, but the purpose of talismans and incantations differs. As for these incantations, they're not just nonsense - in ancient times, there was a tribe called the Heavenly Shamans who could harness the power of nature to do anything. Besides various rituals, the most important thing was the art of incantations. However, by now, it's mostly been reduced to swindling people."

  "Tiān Wū clan?" I've never heard of it before, what is Tiān Wū clan anyway?

  "In the ancient times, when heaven and earth were not yet separated, gods, immortals, demons, ghosts, and monsters all lived together. The gods were superior to all others. However, the Tianwu clan was dissatisfied with the rule of the gods and, relying on their ability to wield natural powers, launched a war against them. That war caused chaos in heaven and earth, blood flowed like rivers, and not only did the Tianwu clan almost become extinct, but even the gods suffered great injuries and could no longer suppress the demons, ghosts, and monsters. A time of great turmoil ensued, with wars breaking out everywhere, and all kinds of demons, ghosts, and monsters wanting to overthrow the rule of the gods. The entire Divine State was filled with war, and even the gods and immortals could not bear it. In order to preserve their foundation, a group of gods joined forces and divided the continent of Shenzhou, taking away all the sacred mountains and blessed lands, while the demons, ghosts, and monsters occupied Shenzhou, but only a small part was left behind. Moreover, the gods also took away the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making it difficult for people to cultivate from then on. This is what is known as the Great Calamity. Since then, very few people or demons have become gods or immortals."

  I still want to ask, the master is already somewhat impatient, waved his hand: "Alright, you little brat don't bother me anymore, if I let you keep asking, tonight's affairs won't be done."

  As soon as the words fell, he began to concentrate on drawing talismans. Dozens of paper men were already made, and Master didn't draw quickly, despite being very skilled. However, Master was still careful, finally understanding why every time he took out a talisman it was so painstaking. According to Master, this is still simple; if it's like the Five Thunder Talisman, Suspended Talisman, or Prayer for Rain Talisman, those more complex ones sometimes require one or two days to draw well. If there's even a slight mistake, all previous efforts are wasted. No wonder it requires cultivation. Ordinary people don't have such good physical strength, and it's also difficult to be so focused. At least I couldn't do it now, but Master just gave me a book of talisman secrets, and I can try when I have time.

  It was almost dark when the master finally finished painting, and he put down his brush and took a deep breath: "Finally done, haha, kid, they'll be scared to death tonight."

  Watching the master laugh so sinisterly, I was really speechless. Maybe the master just wanted to have some fun and wasn't doing it for me at all. After finishing his busy work, the master let loose and had a big feast, anyway, there was that prison guard who would foot the bill, and the master was very generous.

  Before he knew it, the sky had darkened and Master had eaten his fill, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes: "Heh heh, it's midnight, young one, get ready, bring me a bowl of water."

  Without hesitation, I hurriedly went to fetch a bowl of water and handed it over to the master. Before I could even retract my hand, the master grabbed my arm and said, "Young one, Master's fingers have been bitten several times already, this time it should be your turn."

  Before I could even react, the master had already bitten down on my middle finger with a swift and precise bite. By the time I realized what was happening, blood was already flowing out and dripping into the water bowl, forming a bright red patch that made me ache with pain. I thought to myself, "How many eggs will it take to make up for this loss?" But then I quickly dismissed the thought, hoping only to get out of there as soon as possible.

  The master swung my hand to one side, then picked up that bowl of blood water and took a big mouthful. He suddenly spat it out at those paper people, muttering: "Vast and obscure nine underworlds, fresh blood as the guide, hordes of ghosts at my command, the Great Supreme Elder Lord hastens like a law decree, pardon..."

  He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and water towards the paper men, and saw that they rose up in a burst of white smoke. Then all the paper men stood up, able to twist and turn like real people. As the paper men twisted, the smoke grew thicker, and slowly transformed into dozens of ancient soldiers wearing armor and holding knives and guns. At first, they were only half the height of a person. When the master saw this, he spat out another mouthful of blood and water, and the paper men began to grow taller, slowly reaching the height of real people. By the time the master had finished spitting out the bowl of water, the paper men had dispersed into smoke, and were indistinguishable from a team of real yin soldiers, arranged in two rows, looking very majestic.

  "March, with me as the beginning and end, follow me -" After finishing speaking, he formed a sword with his fingers and pointed forward. Those yin soldiers let out a loud shout and began to march in formation towards the front. Although there was an iron gate ahead, the yin soldiers didn't hesitate and charged forward, surprisingly passing through the wall, leaving me astonished yet excited deep down.