Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 6 Who is he?
At night, several village representatives knocked on the village chief's door with serious expressions.

Looking at the demeanor of these people, the old village chief knew that something bad was going to happen. "Come in and we'll talk."

The old village chief turned and walked into the house, took out a tinder and lit the oil lamp on the table. The oil lamp flickered with flames, and the shadows of the villagers were reflected on the wall, pulling and swaying.

As soon as everyone sat down, someone said, "The village's food reserves are not enough for five days."

"Hmm? I've personally counted the grain stored in the public granary, and it's more than enough to last until the wheat harvest." The old village chief looked around and locked onto a bearded man. "What's going on? Erniu, tell me!"

The man lowered his head and said, "A few days ago, I followed some uncles to offer food to the bandits, hoping that they would spare our village, but..."

"Stupid! You actually hid such a big thing from me!" The old village chief grumbled, his face flushed. "The thieves saw you were showing weakness and secretly storing food, so they thought you were a fat sheep. How could they not rob you!"

"I'm confused, but now we have made enemies with the Black Wind Village. Either they come to kill us, or we starve to death."

"How about harvesting the wheat in advance?"

"No!" the old village chief sternly objected. Harvesting the wheat early would be tantamount to cutting off production, which would leave even less food. "The women and children in every household will have to skip a meal, leaving some for the workers so they can get by."

"Where is the Heavenly Master and his spiritual soldiers? How much food can forty-one men eat every day?"

"I'll go and plead for mercy with the Heavenly Master." A rather spirited uncle raised his head. "I was the one who carried the Heavenly Master back..."

"The Heavenly Master helped our entire village survive this catastrophe. His kindness must never be forgotten!" the old village chief said sternly. "Don't miss out on the due offerings. If you anger the Heavenly Master and he leaves, what will you be able to protect when the bandits come?"

Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing this.

"You said the Heavenly Master could turn beans into soldiers and had great magical powers, so why would he be lying in the wilderness?"

"Perhaps the Heavenly Master went astray in his cultivation and suffered a temporary disaster. Without this opportunity, how could we have survived yesterday's catastrophe?"

"I guess this is a test from the Heavenly Master."

"Test, what test?"

"Think about it. Storytellers tell strange stories about gods and Buddhas. They all say that otherworldly masters often disguise themselves as distressed old women or injured people to test the virtues of passersby. If the passerby is kind and saves the injured, they will be generously rewarded... Perhaps Yang Er carried the Heavenly Master back, and the Heavenly Master took a fancy to him, so he gave us a little help to repel the bandits."

"That makes sense." The old village chief pursed his lips and nodded.

"That's right!" A simple-looking man's eyes widened in surprise. "When I saw the Heavenly Master admonishing the spiritual soldiers yesterday, he spoke with a foreign accent, like those Liao soldiers who came south to fight."

"Oh?" The old village chief stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Last year and this year, there were many major battles between the government army and the rebel army, affecting several provinces and causing many casualties. So, those spirit soldiers were likely Liao soldiers who died in battle. So, after being awakened by the Heavenly Master, they crawled out of the ground, and the Liaodong accent was left behind."

"So, the Heavenly Master didn't just cast beans to create soldiers, but he brought the dead back to life?"

"I don't think it's resurrection, but rather awakening the walking dead, recruiting the living dead—some spiritual soldiers were hacked to death by the thieves, and in the blink of an eye, they crawled out next to the Heavenly Master...

Also, you saw those spirit soldiers acting strangely during the day. Sometimes they acted like normal people, and sometimes they were strange and difficult to deal with. Some of them couldn't even walk properly, jumping around all day long, as if there was a fire in the ground, and standing there for a while would burn their feet.

Their speech is also incoherent. Sometimes when you talk to them, they might respond a few words, but then it becomes something like, "Everyone in Huanglongjiang wears Bluetooth," which is very obscure.

"After all, it was a human-faced war beast summoned by a celestial master through magic, so it must speak the language of strange people and beasts. The ways of these divine beasts are beyond the comprehension of us mortals. As long as they don't disturb the peace of our families, everything will remain the same."

"The Heavenly Master's spiritual soldiers learned from the bandits that there are at least two hundred bandits in Black Wind Village, twenty or thirty miles away. The spiritual soldiers said they were going to attack Black Wind Village." "Attack Black Wind Village? Forty people against two or three hundred?"

"Didn't you see the spirit soldiers wielding swords and killing people? Even though they grew out of the ground, they're not just showpieces. I think they might be able to defeat the enemy with fewer troops and wipe out the bandits in one battle. Besides, the Heavenly Master is here too, and the spirit soldiers who died in battle can pop out of the ground at any time."

"Eh! The spirit soldiers really don't take Black Wind Village seriously. I heard that one spirit soldier claimed that if they had 5,000 of them, they would dare to attack Nanjing."

"Are you talking about French fries?" The knowledgeable old village chief immediately pointed out the key point.

"Yes! It seems to be this one."

"Could this potato be the same as the sweet potato grown in the field?" An old farmer who often went to the market raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know."

"It must be sweet potatoes. Elder Xu promoted this a lot back then... It seems we've been thinking about spiritual soldiers the wrong way." The old village chief suddenly realized, "Spiritual soldiers should actually be potato soldiers. The Heavenly Master lives in seclusion in the city, and what he practices isn't 'resurrection' or 'military tactics', but the Five Elements Essence of Earth, which he refines using substances from the earth."

The villagers shook their heads and showed expressions of approval.

The voices of praise and boasting rose and fell, and the old village chief gradually lost himself in the cheerful atmosphere. Taking advantage of the excitement, he added again:

"Those spirit soldiers, no, potato soldiers, jump around. I see, because they're born from the earth. They can't get too close to the earth, lest they melt, nor can they be away from it for too long, severing their vitality. That's why they sometimes stand, sometimes jump around. This is the golden mean."

The old village chief's analysis was well-reasoned and even interconnected. The villagers couldn't help but clap their hands in amazement, exclaiming that the village chief was really knowledgeable and could see through the essence of the matter at a glance.

"Oh!"

"It really has to be my uncle."

"You read a lot of books, so you're really not ordinary."

"Hmph." The old village chief said modestly, "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten wheat. Now that I understand the Taoist sect and magic of the Heavenly Master, I'll make a decision for once... Yang Er, marry your nephew to the Heavenly Master as a Taoist child."

"Ah?" Yang Er was slightly stunned when his name was called. "But Wen Pan is a girl."

"What's wrong with the girl?" the old village chief said, "Yesterday, the Heavenly Master spent some time with your nephew, and they had a pleasant conversation. That's a blessing for your nephew. Now is the time to get closer and accumulate some good karma, absorb some of the Heavenly Master's spiritual energy, and learn some of his profound magic. He'll be able to protect our Yang and Chen families in the future..."

Even if she is dull and cannot learn anything, she can use her status as the Heavenly Master's apprentice to speak well of him. Even if our Yang and Chen families cannot become rich and powerful, we can still ensure peace for generations to come!"

"Ah, this." Yang Er was already confused by the old village chief's verbal attack and didn't know how to respond.

"Yes, uncle is right. Just do as you are told, Yang Er. Uncle has never cheated us before."

"Besides, your nephew will have no worries about food and clothing if he follows the Heavenly Master. Just think of it as a favor to Wen, and you should do as he says!"

Yang Er looked at the villagers' expressions, which were all as if it was natural. He thought for a moment and felt that Wen Pan had reached this age and it was time to find a way out for her.

Even if the Taoist priest took the potato soldiers away from Yangjia Village, they would be protected by magic and "spiritual soldiers" and would not be harmed or starve anywhere.

Yang Er glanced into the village chief's eyes, then lowered his head heavily and replied, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)