20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 654: Ghost Array

It is said that in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the emperor's sister Liu Jinding left her mother and went down the mountain to help Emperor Taizu of Song pacify the Southern Tang. She called on the Five Thunder Formation and ordered the killing of the Southern Tang's evil Taoist Yu Daohong.

Yu Daohong died and returned with a heavy resentment. After several attempts at instigation, he asked his mentor, Monk Tuotou, to set up a ghost formation and curse Liu Jinding to death.

The old monk was enraged, and he came down the mountain on a cloud to help the King of Southern Tang. He abandoned his 5,000 years of Taoist practice, ate dog meat, drank liquor, and ate the five pungent foods to invite the heavenly soldiers.

Ten talismans rose into the sky, restrained the stars in the sky, and drew out the ghost soldiers from Fengdu Hell.

East, south, west, north, center, heaven, earth, sun, moon, nine palaces in total, demons, ghosts, holy beings, immortals and Buddhas, all obey the master's orders, without exception, and none dare to disobey.

It was Liu Jinding's destiny to return to his rightful place in this calamity. After three gold bricks were smashed, he was reincarnated as Mu Guiying.

This story is the drama "The Ghost Array".

On the stands, someone was singing: "I want you to build a 33-foot-high altar on a flat, square ground, with all four corners covered with colorful silk. I also want you to prepare 72 water jars and 36 pits for trapping people. Put strange pythons in the water jars and poisonous insects in the pits..."

The opera is sung very quickly, it is more like recitation than singing, and it is as fast as a quick-paced book.

Jiang Lianheng went to the bathroom, and not long after he left, the artist on the stage was already so tired that his mouth was foaming, sweat was pouring down, and his eyes were red from fighting. His singing style was almost like a divine tune, and as he sang, his mind gradually became a little dazed, as if he really had a sense of the heavens. Although it was just a performance, it was still a little creepy once he went crazy.

At this time, they sang again: "I want you, fifty-five thousand five hundred and fifty-five twin horses, pregnant women want you fifty-five thousand five hundred and fifty-five, cut off human heads and put them on horses, cut off horse heads and hide human bodies, people want to walk like horses, horses want to walk like human voices, why cut off heads and change blood, turn around the nine palaces of the ghost array..."

The long passages of lyrics are sung faster and faster, and the intervals between breaths are getting shorter and shorter. It's really a time to show one's ability.

Everyone was so engrossed in listening that they froze in place, seeming to have forgotten to breathe.

Only Lao Mang had no leisure to listen to the opera. He sat there with a frown on his face, and could not help looking in the direction where Jiang Lianheng was relieving himself.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the stove: "Okay, the main dish is here!"

As people arrived, we saw more than a dozen cooks and waiters, each holding a small copper pot, passing the most important dishes in their hands to the table one by one.

"My fellow soldiers, this is one of our specialties. Please give it a taste and give us your comments." A fat-headed chef walked over and smiled obsequiously.

Lao Mang looked at the small copper pot and thought it was a stew, so he waved his hand and said impatiently, "Put it here, and come back later to ask for a reward."

"Okay, okay, thank you very much, General, thank you very much, General!"

The fat-headed chef narrowed his eyes, stood on tiptoe and reached out his hand, quickly placed the small copper pot in the middle of the round table, and then opened the lid.

It didn't matter that I lifted it up, because suddenly I saw a pair of big blood-red eyes staring out from the pot.

Without looking closely, there is nothing else in the pot but a bloody human head!
The person's head was facing upwards, his face slightly tilted, his eyes had a direction but no focus, and he still retained the fear and unwillingness before death.

The old Taoist priest jumped up from his seat, pointed at the head, and screamed, "Old Song!"

The incident happened suddenly, and the rest of the people panicked. Most of them woke up immediately from their drunken state, but it was too late.

Just when everyone was about to stand up, the fat-headed chef reached back and a sharp ox-ear knife appeared in his hand. Without waiting a moment, he aimed at a bandit sitting on the seat, grabbed the bandit's head with his left hand, held the knife with his right hand, and at the same time, he stuffed the tip of the ox-ear knife straight into his throat.

As soon as one person was killed, Liu Kuaitui suddenly stood up, picked up the wine jar at hand, swung his arm down, and immediately cut the man's head open. Then he pulled out a dagger, cut his throat first, and then stabbed his heart.

Blood splattered, dripping all over the table.

The man covered his heart with his hands, and before he could scream, he fell sideways, making the cups and plates on the table clink.

When Lao Mang saw this, his brows suddenly tightened and he quickly reached down to touch the gun at his waist.

Unexpectedly, when my hand reached my waist, my heart sank - where is the gun?
Without time to think, he leaned down again to reach the rifle stuck on the chair, but Shui Lianzhu suddenly tilted and fell to the ground, as if it had taken root, and he couldn't pull it out. When he looked down, he saw that Yuan Xinfa had stepped on the gun under his feet.

Lao Mang shuddered all over and was about to get up and run away, but he felt as if the back of his neck was pinched by an iron clamp, and his whole body was immediately pressed down by Yuan Xinfa's big hand.

It's too late to say, then soon!
Then, he heard the crackling sounds of a dozen round tables behind him. The soldiers and bandits had already been fighting each other, and the so-called cooks, waiters, and servants of the Shen family also joined in.

The screams were like ripples in stagnant water, washing away layer by layer, leaving no chance of peace for a moment.

Many bandits died before they could even react.

They were all from the same group, so why was there such a huge gap between them?
Being slightly drunk is one thing, singing to seduce the spirit is another, and being startled by a human head is another, but in the final analysis, it is still the four-character mantra:

The colorful sharp wind works every time!
However, the "Anti-Feng Army" had "many soldiers and generals" after all.

When the brothers saw the heads, they sobered up a lot; when they saw the murderous intent, they sobered up a little more; when the two sides started fighting, they had just woken up from the dream and had their own plans.

Some were busy escaping, some were fighting back, but the bandits in the last row of sheds stood up in unison, retreated far to the side, stood with their hands hanging down, like zombies, their eyes staring straight ahead, as if they were somewhat guilty, but more like they were mourning the loss of a rabbit, as they were the ones who were in pain in the end.

Even so, the "Anti-Feng Army" gradually stabilized its position with its numerical advantage. They fought left and right, and stabbed many cooks and soldiers to death with bayonets.

In a panic, Erma was shirtless and wanted to take off his pants. He shouted, "Don't hit me, don't hit me. I'm one of you. I have a code!"

Unfortunately, in this rush, how can we have the time to take care of both?
The swords and knives were merciless and kept passing by his eyes, scaring Erma so much that he dodged left and right with his hands holding up his trouser waist.

Just as everything was going on, a mountain wind suddenly blew in, causing the red lantern under the eaves to shake.

After careful listening, I realized it wasn't the wind, but the sound of galloping horses coming from the southwest!

He looked up in shock, and before he could see far away, the cavalry of "King Li" had already approached him!
The cavalry charged into the battlefield, invincible. More than two hundred Hu bandits formed a goose formation and rushed into the field, killing everyone in their tracks. When they came out, they set up a dragnet again!

Li Zheng and his men started a killing spree, no matter who surrendered or not, they killed every one of them, with blood flying all over the blades of their knives, showing no mercy!
The "Anti-Feng Army" was in disarray, no longer willing to resist, and just fled in all directions. But human legs can't outrun horses, and in an instant, they felt dizzy:
Looking forward, he saw no road ahead, so he turned back quickly; as he turned back, his head was chopped off by his enemies; he ran to the left, but there were corpses everywhere and he had nowhere to go; he fled to the right, and he saw the Bridge of Rebirth on the Sanzu River.

He stopped his feet and lowered his knife - if you think about it, it's okay, at least on the road to the underworld, I'll have enough food and drink!

Of course, those who let go and waited for death were only a minority after all. A dozen or so "Anti-Feng Army" were so panicked that they ran to the gate of the Lianzhuang Association, banged on the door and shouted for help.

But who is Haichaoshan?

In order to keep the Shenjiadian Lianzhuang Association secret, he sent Jiang Lianheng out. At this time, how could he open the door to the "Anti-Feng Army" and let this murderous aura break into the blockhouse?
So he immediately shouted, "Guard the gate. Anyone who dares to break in, no matter where they are, will be shot!"

The armed team members responded in unison, and suddenly there were a few more people on the wall. They all stuck out their guns along the parapet and watched the changing situation on both sides outside the village vigilantly, watching from the sidelines. At the same time, they were also witnessing this bandit fight or one-sided massacre outside the village that was completely without any mercy.

A banquet was held at Hongmen, and the surrendered soldiers were killed on the battlefield. The "Yanwang Li" gang had no taboos at all.

The irony is that while there was a massacre here, the actors on the stage over there were still singing non-stop.

This is probably a common practice in the folk art industry - the show is more important than anything else!
The play is performed to the heavens, the earth, humans, gods and ghosts. Once it starts, it must not stop until it is finished.

"This old Tuotou, hey hey hey——"

The tone on stage was still a little crazy.

The old monk's ten cremation talismans have risen into the sky, covering the nine palaces of east, south, west, north, and center, including the heaven, earth, sun, and moon. The ghost formation has suddenly opened!

All the ghosts and goblins, monsters and demons, all obey the orders of the law and help the old monk to kill Liu Jinding!
Such an evil formation, not to mention that mortals would not survive if they entered the formation, even immortals would have difficulty escaping if they entered the formation.

Looking at the artist's posture, his jacket was already soaked, and the hot sweat had caught his clothes on his skin. His mouth was full of saliva, and his teeth were chattering. He was too tired, so his steps were a little unsteady. His face was slightly pale due to lack of oxygen. His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were unable to open due to the sweat. He was in a trance and trembling. He was not like himself. The three-section board in his hand was getting more and more chaotic. Suddenly, he grinned, laughed, regained his spirits, and began to sing again:
"Looking east, the shock is thunder, the old ape has become a spirit with a helmet on his head and a small red coat on his body. He has shown his magical powers and you are doomed to die. I said you are doomed to die..."

At this moment, blood and flesh were flying everywhere on the field. "King of Hell Li" was fighting with the "Anti-Feng Army" fiercely. No one had the leisure to pay attention to such nonsense.

But a strong Hu bandit, whipping his gun, ran for a long time before catching up with one of Lao Mang's men. He leaned sideways and thrust the bayonet of his gun forward, piercing him through the heart immediately. Then he shot him again. Turning back, he found that he had chased too far and was afraid that he would not get any credit, so he hurried back.

The artist on the stage ignored it, walked in an awkward and affected manner, and then continued to sing with tears and laughter:

"Looking at Zhengnan, Li represents fire. No one dares to mess with a scorpion spirit. Its poisonous hook can kill people with one swing. Even a Golden Immortal cannot dodge it. I think it is difficult to dodge it too..."

Suddenly, Lao Shaozi was seen riding his horse into the shed. Before he could kill anyone, he saw the horse raise its front hooves and, with a clang, overturned five or six round tables in a row, and in the process trampled a soldier of the "Anti-Feng Army" half to death. He was about to rush out to kill, but was tripped by tables, chairs and benches and could not move his legs.

At the same time, the artist on the stage changed his voice to a sad tone, and his tone became full of complaints, sighs and hatred, and he sang:

"Looking due west, Dui is a marsh, the shrimp has become a spirit and changed its body into white. There is a vast grey fog in front of me, and torrential rain is falling. I said, come down..."

Sun Xiangyang shouted loudly, went around to the gate of Lianzhuanghui, stood on his horse with his sword in hand, and intercepted and killed the fleeing soldiers of the "Anti-Feng Army". With a few clangs of his sword, he killed three or five people in a row. However, he did not know that it is not advisable to pursue a desperate enemy. The "Anti-Feng Army" were so anxious that they turned over and fought with him. He did not hit anything else but the horse's legs. The horse was frightened and almost knocked Sun Xiangyang to the ground. He was so anxious that he quickly called his brothers to rescue him.

"Looking at the true north, Kan represents water. When a crab becomes a spirit, it has eight legs. The crab general leads thousands of soldiers and swings the river-turning hammer in his hand. I say, the river-turning hammer..."

Liu Kuaitui was a jerk on weekdays, and people always felt that he was unreliable, but when they really saw the real deal, they realized that he was also very skilled. He and Lao Mang were sitting at the same table, and when things got chaotic, he quickly took out his gun and killed all the rebel leaders at the table except Lao Mang and Ye Laodao.

He was closest to the stage, and when he fired his gun and moved his knife, a few drops of blood splattered onto the stage. Some blood even flew farther and landed on people's faces.

However, the artist on the stage remained unmoved, and his posture became more and more enchanting and weird: sometimes he looked like a sissy, twisting his waist and hips, shaking his head and tail; sometimes he looked like a desperado, glaring and scratching left and right.

Of course, the words about moving troops still gurgled out of his mouth like a dream:

"Four talismans are arranged, and the fifth talisman rises to the center. Looking at the center, Wu Ji earth, there is a male and female trapped in the pit. The strange python has been refined for many years and has become an immortal. She has coiled into the abyss and cannot see the sky. The lone wolf has realized the way for many years. After hindering others, he finally returned to the mountain. I said he finally returned to the mountain..."

At this time, "The Ghost Array" was nearing its end, and the "Anti-Feng Army" in the field was almost wiped out, and the surroundings finally gradually returned to peace.

There were corpses all over the ground and a strong smell of blood everywhere.

Sun Xiangyang and Lao Shaozi had actually found an empty table nearby, sat down, picked up someone's chopsticks, rubbed them under their armpits, looked at the bloody leftovers on the table, and didn't dislike them. They used the chopsticks to pick up two clean pieces and put them in their mouths, smacking, then picked up the broken wine jar fragments, sipped them, licked them, and went to find other wine jar fragments with residual wine. Apart from this, there was nothing else in his eyes.

Not far away, Er Maqin quietly emerged from under the table, only to see the "Anti-Feng Army" lying all over the floor, some dead, some dying, some begging to die...

Looking more closely, he found that among the mountain of corpses, there were many people like him, also shirtless, but they could not escape the disaster.

Seeing this scene, Erma became panicked, his calves were shaking, his thighs were weak, and he had only one thought in his mind - run now!
However, it is not easy to integrate knowledge and action!

I wanted to run, but my body wouldn't obey me. When I leaned forward, my whole body began to shake like a sieve.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky. As soon as he had this thought, he caught a glimpse of two figures from the corner of his eye, attacking him from both sides and flying straight towards him.

Li Zheng was holding a machete with a rolled blade. Seeing that there was still a living person, he immediately rushed over and started chopping with the machete.

When Erma saw the knife coming, he was so frightened that he lost his soul and froze in place. He could not say that he was waiting to be killed, but he was surrendering.

Unexpectedly, the knife light fell rapidly and suddenly stopped in mid-air, leaving a few streaks of bright red blood, which dripped onto Erma's face.

After calming down from the shock, he looked up again, only to see an empty hand holding the knife.

Zhao Guoyan remained calm, standing beside Li Zheng, holding the knife in one hand, and said calmly: "Master Li, you can't kill him. I will protect this man's life."

----

Note by Zhengzi: "The Yinhunzhen" is a traditional Errenzhuan opera, which was completed in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The whole play can be divided into several small sections, such as setting up the array, ten spiritual talismans, and observing the eight directions. The existing versions are slightly different, but basically the same. This book borrows and adapts it, but does not copy it mechanically, so the lyrics have been changed and the order has been disrupted. Please be informed!
(End of this chapter)