Chapter 74: The Situation Worsens

"To hell with you, old woman! Today I’ll fight you all to the death!" As soon as Zhou Mo saw Commander Ma entering the village from the gate, he howled and tried to rush forward to confront him.

Mu Chen quickly grabbed Zhou Mo at his side. "Third Brother, calm down. If you go over there, it’ll only be suicide; they have guns."

Zhou Mo struggled to break free, but Mu Chen’s strength was far beyond his own, and he was forcibly dragged to the straw stacks by the street. "Calm yourself. None of them will escape tonight."

Zhou Mo slowly regained his composure. But when Commander Ma drew nearer, Zhou Mo lost control again, for Wu Qian was being restrained by two soldiers, following behind Commander Ma.

By now, all the villagers of Baishan Village had been herded to the front of Zhou Yi’s house by the soldiers. Commander Ma gave a cold, mocking smile and spoke.

"Rebel Zhou Yi, who went to the palace to assassinate the Emperor—his crime is unforgivable. By the Empress Dowager’s decree, the entire Zhou family is to be executed." Commander Ma had never really received a decree from Empress Dowager Longyu; he’d learned these lines from watching plays in teahouses. He was acting on orders from Zhang Xun, but feared the villagers wouldn’t know who Zhang Xun was, so he invoked the Empress Dowager instead.

The villagers whispered among themselves at Commander Ma’s words. Yet from their murmurs, it was clear most didn’t believe him.

Zhou Mo, hearing Commander Ma’s declaration, gnashed his teeth. "I—" Before he could finish, Mu Chen clamped a hand over his mouth. If Zhou Mo had shouted, the only thing awaiting them both would have been a hail of bullets.

Commander Ma glanced around but couldn’t tell who had cursed him, so he continued, "Zhou Yi the traitor still has remnants in your village. If you are among them, step forward now. The army will show mercy."

At this, most villagers immediately thought of Baozi, but after looking around, saw no sign of him, and thus found Commander Ma’s words a bit more credible.

"Come on, who here is Zhou Yi? Step forward. Your fiancée is in my hands. Can you bear to see your delicate bride—" Commander Ma didn’t finish the sentence, for they hadn’t sunk to such depravity. Though they frequented brothels, they’d never heard of anyone harming respectable women.

Wu Qian had been captured only to force Zhou Yi’s compliance.

As Commander Ma finished, Zhou Mo’s eyes reddened instantly. That was his sister-in-law; if he didn't step out now, what kind of man would he be? He bit Mu Chen’s hand hard, causing Mu Chen to withdraw in pain, and Zhou Mo dashed out.

By the time Mu Chen tried to grab him again, it was too late. Mu Chen couldn’t allow Zhou Mo to risk himself alone, so he stepped from the straw stack, drew two talismans from his chest, held them between his index and middle fingers over his heart, and began to mutter incantations.

Mu Chen was employing the Maoshan Soul Command technique. Its efficacy matched Zhou Yi’s Soul Search method, both summoning nearby vengeful spirits and wild ghosts, directing them to attack the targets the sorcerer wished. Mu Chen’s method was more complicated, but even less effective than Baozi’s Soul Search.

Mu Chen’s summoned spirits had barely gathered when Zhou Mo had already rushed to within fifty meters of Commander Ma. The soldiers spotted him and opened fire.

Though furious, Zhou Mo still hadn’t lost all reason. He dodged bullets as he ran, closing the fifty meters in a flash, and swung his woodcutter’s knife at Commander Ma.

It was too late for Commander Ma to draw his gun, so he retreated and dodged Zhou Mo’s blow. Zhou Mo fought as if he cared nothing for his own life, lunging again.

Xun Feng, who had somehow entered the crowd unnoticed, saw Commander Ma dodging and bit down hard on the back of his head, tearing off a chunk of scalp.

Zhou Mo, facing Commander Ma, brought his knife down on his skull. The bone shattered, and between Xun Feng and Zhou Mo, Commander Ma was killed.

Meanwhile, Baozi had rescued Zhou Mo’s mother from the cellar. The fire above had made the cellar unbearably hot and stifling, and Zhou Mo’s mother had fainted from lack of air.

Ignoring his own pain, Baozi carried her from the cellar to the house, then headed straight for the crowd.

Mu Chen’s soul command, after all his effort, had summoned only wild chickens and rabbits, and the strongest were two bears. In this peaceful mountain village, there simply weren’t many vengeful spirits. When people die without regrets, their souls pass on to reincarnation.

Mu Chen, seeing only beast spirits before him, shook his head in disappointment. But something was better than nothing, so he urged the beast spirits toward the soldiers.

A cold wind whipped up, clouds obscured the moon. The beast spirits reached the soldiers and attached themselves to them. In an instant, all the hundred-odd soldiers were down on all fours, howling and clucking like animals.

The villagers, witnessing this, shrieked and scattered in panic.

Mu Chen was quite pleased, but when he turned around, he was startled, crying "Mother of mercy!" "I never expected such a fierce ghost in this little mountain village. Today, out of compassion, I’ll spare you. Go, kill the head of those soldiers for me."

Mu Chen tried to command the fierce ghost forward, but it stayed motionless.

The fierce ghost stared at Mu Chen for a moment, then spoke. "You look more like a ghost than me! I’m Baozi—" Before he could finish, Baozi collapsed to the ground.

"Damn, Baozi, what happened to you?" Mu Chen glanced down at Baozi, wanting to help him up but not knowing how, so he let Baozi lie where he was.

The mountain beast spirits summoned by Mu Chen were not strong. If it hadn’t been nighttime, they wouldn’t have had the power to possess humans. Now, a few minutes had passed, and the weaker chicken and rabbit spirits were already being forced out by the soldiers’ own souls.

Souls also have their own strengths. If the possessing soul is stronger than the human’s, it will not leave without intervention from a Daoist or Buddhist priest. But if the human’s soul is stronger, the Yin spirit will be expelled. Usually this doesn’t happen, for weak Yin spirits avoid humans—their innate Yang energy is repulsive to them.

The soldiers, regaining their freedom, raised their guns and fired at Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo was now utterly bloodthirsty. His clothes soaked in blood, his woodcutter’s knife chipped and battered, he continued swinging it fiercely.

Xun Feng was equally fierce, always going for the throat. With each bite, someone’s windpipe was severed and they fell dead.

Just as the soldiers were about to shoot Zhou Mo, Mu Chen arrived in time and swung his coin sword, which had no effect on the soldiers.

The coin sword, lacking a blade, was meant for exorcising ghosts, not fighting humans. Seeing it was useless, Mu Chen drew a talisman from his chest and slapped it onto a soldier.

The soldier, thinking it some kind of hidden weapon, froze for a moment. When nothing happened, he tried to tear the talisman from his head, but it wouldn’t come off, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

"This is a Soul-Fixing Talisman. Whether you’re alive or dead, it works," Mu Chen said to the fallen soldier, then pulled out another talisman and affixed it to another soldier.

But as more soldiers regained consciousness, Mu Chen was quickly overwhelmed.

A gunshot rang out, and Zhou Mo fell with the sound.

...

Must it be this tragic? My new book’s release is a history of blood and tears... Please send some flowers, I’m powerless even on the new book chart of the small channel.