Chapter 160: The Heavenly Gangs and Earthly Fiends

I nodded, feeling slightly more at ease. At least Weiyang should still be within the village. Then, I said, "Daoist Priest Li, can you set up a boundary formation around this village to prevent evil spirits from taking Weiyang away? It is best for us to resolve this matter within the village. If it gets outside, the area will be too vast, and things will become rather troublesome."

Daoist Priest Li considered this for a moment and said, "There is a way, as long as we have a sufficient amount of willow branches and cinnabar powder."

Upon hearing Daoist Priest Li's words, the shaman woman said, "What is difficult about that? Willow trees are everywhere along both sides of the Fengxi River, and there are as many willow branches as you could want. As for the cinnabar powder, I have some at my place, more than enough for your use."

"That is wonderful," Daoist Priest Li said.

Following that, the two of us accompanied the shaman woman to the upper reaches of the Fengxi River to gather willow branches. Since no one lived in the upper reaches, this task was unlikely to be noticed by others, thereby avoiding alerting the enemy prematurely.

Daoist Priest Li explained that there were specific rules for the willow branches: the south of the river belongs to Yin, and the north of the river belongs to Yang. As the saying goes, the south of a mountain and the north of a river are Yang, while the north of a mountain and the south of a river are Yin. Thirty-six branches had to be Yang willow wood from the north of the river, and seventy-two branches had to be Yin willow wood from the south of the river.

Since there were plenty of willow trees by the river, completing this task was not difficult.

Once that was done, the two of us followed the shaman woman back to her house.

Daoist Priest Li ground the cinnabar powder with light ink to create cinnabar ink, and began carving symbols onto all one hundred and eight willow branches.

I had never seen the symbols he was carving before; I only felt that they somewhat resembled astrological charts, seemingly interwoven with talismanic patterns. His movements were practiced and swift. The shaman woman standing beside him watched in utter astonishment, frequently asking me which mountain the two Daoist priests had studied under.

In about two hours, Daoist Priest Li finished carving all one hundred and eight willow branches. Then, guided by Madam Wang the shaman, the two of us set out to locate the corresponding astral positions around the village.

I did not understand these things, but the shaman woman seemed to grasp them well.

She spoke of the thirty-six Tiangang positions, into which the Yang willow wood must be driven, and the seventy-two Disha positions, into which the Yin willow wood must be driven.

Each time a location was found, the willow branch would be driven into the earth and then covered over with soil. After all one hundred and eight locations were secured, Daoist Priest Li said, "The Tiangang Disha Formation is based on Yin and Yang willow wood. With this formation in place, whether people or evil spirits are in the village, no matter which path they take, they will not be able to walk out; they will simply loop back along the same path."

The Tiangang Disha Formation sounded quite formidable.

It felt somewhat akin to being trapped in a ghost's maze. Daoist Priest Li told me that it was indeed quite similar; a ghost's maze relies on confusing a person's natural perception of the Tiangang and Disha energies, causing them to lose their inherent sense of direction and thus become lost.

So that was how it worked. However, the shaman woman remarked, "I reckon the evil spirits in the village certainly won't leave just yet. Here in our Fengxi Village, very few people go out to work as migrant laborers, so the strong, able-bodied men all live in the village. Having tasted sweetness, those evil spirits probably aren't willing to leave just yet!"

What the shaman woman said made sense. Yet, without people going out for migrant work, there did not seem to be any particular livelihood in the village.

The shaman woman explained that there were gold mines on the nearby mountains, and most of the villagers made a living by privately refining and sorting gold. No wonder this seemingly remote little village had two- or three-story buildings in almost every household, making it much wealthier than our own village.

With Daoist Priest Li's magical formation in place, it was equivalent to having multiple layers of insurance. Once we made our move and drove them into a corner, the evil spirits might attempt to flee; but once we left, the evil spirits might well return to harm people.

With everything prepared, Daoist Priest Li and I accompanied Madam Wang the shaman to Wu Xiaogang's house first to understand the situation.

Wu Xiaogang's parents had died when he was young, leaving only him at home. However, he had relatives in the village, and his funeral arrangements were being handled by them. The shaman woman's maiden surname was Liu. As soon as she stepped through the door, Wu Xiaogang's relatives hurried over to welcome her, as Madam Wang held a certain status within the village.

"Madam Liu, you must put extra effort into Xiaogang's affairs. His death was most peculiar; if he is buried just like this, I'm afraid he won't rest in peace in the earth!" Wu Xiaogang's eldest uncle said.

Fengxi Village had an old custom: those who died unnatural deaths had to observe the seven days of mourning, keeping the coffin in the state for seven days.

Yet it was currently summer; if the coffin were truly kept for seven days, the body would rot.

Therefore, a shaman woman was usually required to perform rituals to appease the grievances of the deceased, after which the coffin could be kept for just one day before burial. Failing to perform the rituals was feared to bring disaster.

It was said that back in the Ming Dynasty, an incident had occurred in Fengxi Village: an old woman drowned in the river, dying a non-peaceful death. Her family found the mourning rituals troublesome and buried her directly without keeping the coffin. Who would have known that at night she would crawl out from the grave and bite the necks of her own family members? All seven members of the household died overnight, leaving the family line extinct.

Because of this, the custom had been passed down in the village ever since.

This was precisely why Madam Liu held such status in the village. Moreover, Madam Liu's family possessed a tradition handed down from the Ming Dynasty to the present day; her Liu family members had always served as the village shamans.

After Wu Xiaogang's eldest uncle finished speaking, Madam Liu thought for a moment and said, "A-zhong, rest assured, I came here precisely to handle this matter." Wu Xiaogang's eldest uncle was named Wu Azhong.

Once Madam Liu spoke, she brought out a pair of yellow hemp-soled white paper shoes and said, "Put these shoes on Xiaogang. The journey to the underworld is long; other shoes are of no use."

Wu Azhong immediately followed her instructions, expressing his gratitude to Madam Liu over and over again.

When we were on our way here, Madam Liu had told us that Wu Xiaogang was not very well-liked in the village because he frequently caused trouble after drinking, and consequently, there were relatively few people attending his funeral.

My purpose in following Madam Liu alongside Daoist Priest Li was primarily to observe the physiognomy of the villagers. Of course, I did not know how to read faces, but Daoist Priest Li understood this art. When evil spirits intended to harm someone, they would undoubtedly target them in advance and wait for nighttime to act; those who knew what they were doing could naturally tell who had been targeted.

When we finished this and were preparing to leave, Wu Azhong asked, "Madam Liu, when can the rituals be performed?"

"Do not rush. I will go take a look at Lizhu's family first, and I will perform them as soon as I return. Rest assured, it is broad daylight now, nothing will happen!" Madam Liu said.

Wu Azhong nodded. Such bizarre deaths made people deeply superstitious and fearful.

At the entrance of the courtyard, Madam Liu asked in a low voice whether there was anything amiss with the villagers in the yard.

Daoist Priest Li said, "There is a young man sitting in the corner of the yard. Tonight, it will definitely be him." I glanced back; having felt nothing amiss a moment earlier, upon casting a glance now, I indeed spotted a young man squatting in the corner of the wall. The man was only in his early twenties, sitting slumped in the shade of the wall with his head bowed, looking listless and devoid of the vigor a young man should possess.

Madam Liu stated that the man was Wu Xiaogang's paternal cousin, named Wu Xiaochao, who was fond of drinking together with Wu Xiaogang.

Daoist Priest Li nodded and said, "This matter is rather strange. His space between the eyebrows is darkened, signaling a major ominous omen. However, he carries no baleful or demonic Qi on his body. Whatever is haunting him is neither a ghost nor a demon!"

"Neither a ghost nor a demon? Then what could it be?" I asked.

"I am not yet certain. Let us go check the other household first," Daoist Priest Li replied. Led by Madam Liu, we then proceeded to Chen Ligen's house.

Chen Ligen's wife was sitting inside the mourning hall, looking completely devoid of her soul.

Upon seeing Madam Liu approach, Chen Ligen's wife stood up, weeping and begging Madam Liu to save her husband, even dropping to her knees before her. It was a heart-wrenching sight that left Madam Liu looking deeply troubled.

Several of the Chen family relatives, including Chen Ligen's father, used every persuasion possible before finally managing to help Chen Ligen's wife to her feet.

Madam Liu produced another pair of yellow hemp-soled white paper shoes and handed them to Chen Ligen's father, instructing him to put them on Chen Ligen.

She also told Chen Ligen's father that the two of us were her professional friends from another village possessing great skill, whom she had invited along to examine Chen Ligen's corpse out of fear that the burial hour might be incorrect, which could lead to the corpse rising from the dead and causing trouble.

Hearing this, Chen Ligen's old father immediately agreed and led Daoist Priest Li and me over. The deceased had been reduced to skin and bones; this state of death reminded me of my own uncle, stirring a pang of sorrow in my heart.

Examining the corpse was actually a request made by Daoist Priest Li; only by inspecting the body could the cause of death be determined.

After his inspection, Daoist Priest Li stated overtly, "Rest assured, his death was unusual, but it is nothing major. Once Madam Liu performs the rituals later, he can be laid to rest peacefully."

In private, however, Daoist Priest Li frowned involuntarily and said, "The entity harming people is indeed neither a ghost nor a demonic beast, but rather a wicked art of harvesting Yang energy to nourish Yin. This malevolent art is the foremost of the ten great forbidden arts of the Daoist sects. Having vanished for over a thousand years, I never expected it to surface once more!"

No wonder that at the other household, Wu Xiaogang's cousin Wu Xiaochao had been targeted yet carried no baleful or demonic Qi. As it turned out, what had entangled Wu Xiaochao was neither demon nor ghost, but a practitioner of forbidden sorcery.

Daoist Priest Li explained.

This evil art was similar to ghosts and demons absorbing human vital essence, except that practitioners of such sorcery harmed people to elevate their own cultivation level. Since the deceased were males, it indicated that the wrongdoer was undoubtedly a female Daoist heretic practicing the technique of harvesting Yang to replenish Yin. For those cultivating this method, strong and vigorous young men served as the supreme medicine for elevating their cultivation.

This was the true cause of death for both Chen Ligen and Wu Xiaogang.

Naturally, these words were spoken by Daoist Priest Li in private and could not be allowed to spread.

Having clarified this matter, I asked Daoist Priest Li whether there was any man targeted within Chen Ligen's courtyard. In fact, Daoist Priest Li had already looked; he stated that the person was not in the courtyard, but inside the inner room of Chen Ligen's house.

I walked over and took a peek.

Sitting in the inner room was a young man of twenty-two or twenty-three, wearing glasses and sitting with a vacant expression. His face was stained with tears and his eyes were red from crying just moments before.

When I asked Madam Liu, I learned that this man was Chen Ligen's younger brother, named Chen Litao. Chen Ligen had been exceptionally good to this younger brother; to scrape together money for his education, Chen Ligen had skipped primary school entirely and gone to carry mineral ores for other people's gold-mining operations. Chen Litao had just rushed back from school at noon, and upon seeing that his elder brother was gone, he had been weeping continuously.

Perhaps due to excessive grief, he appeared rather dazed at the moment.

Daoist Priest Li remarked that because of his overwhelming grief over his brother's demise, he was easily targeted. However, his vacant appearance was not merely due to excessive sorrow, but because dark sorcery had already been secretly cast upon him.

Therefore, the other person targeted tonight was none other than Chen Litao.