Twilight Boundary-Chapter 562 - 553: Burning and Killing Hungry Ghosts
Seeing the enemy so confident, Yang Gong, who was positioned above, also grew excited. "If we can immobilize a chicken, we can secure a great victory? What’s the reasoning behind that?"
"The Dianyou Technique."
Beside him, the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, also took a deep breath and said with a smile, "That’s the polite term for it. To put it bluntly, it’s a method rascals and beggars use to steal chickens. But used here, it’s quite practical."
"These hungry ghosts are constantly burdened by vindictive souls; their five senses have long been in disarray. Using this Dianyou Technique is perfect for first confusing the Vengeful Ghosts that follow them."
"Once the vindictive souls lose their way, the hungry ghosts will also lose their way, becoming disoriented and easily immobilized here."
As he spoke, he cupped his fist towards Yang Gong and said with a laugh, "General, now that we have a Method to deal with these hungry ghosts, we should take advantage of their unstable footing and secure a victory. We just need someone courageous enough to raid their camp under the cover of night!"
Yang Gong was overjoyed at this and quickly had the various unit leaders summoned, asking who dared to undertake the mission.
At this question, many of the junior leaders below turned pale, and no one volunteered. In just a few short days, an unknown number of soldiers had gathered under Yang Gong. These troops had not yet been properly integrated; each leader still commanded their own men, and some soldiers hadn’t even become acquainted with one another.
Having suffered a major defeat only that day, now they were being asked to venture out at night; no one dared to take such a risk. Just then, a voice suddenly laughed and said, "Then let me go. I wanted to make a move during the day, but someone else seized the chance."
When everyone looked, they were dumbfounded to see it was Zhou Datong, the now-famous Golden Horn General.
This fellow usually relied on his pair of gold and silver dolls to charge about recklessly. But hadn’t those dolls already been neutralized earlier?
It wasn’t just the others; even Zhou Liang looked over, worried, his brow furrowed. Zhou Datong, however, waved his hand and said to them in a low voice, "Don’t worry, I’m not looking to get myself killed. I’ve just figured something out."
"When we first arrived on this battlefield, I actually found it fun. We have real skills, and it was quite impressive how easily we handled those weaklings. But now, there are many capable people in the army, and our abilities don’t seem so remarkable anymore."
"I’m planning to achieve something significant to bring honor to our village. I don’t intend to stay in the army for long, though. It’s better to return to the Manor and learn skills from Brother Ma Zi."
Yang Gong looked at Zhou Datong, his brow also furrowed. He didn’t actually want him to go, fearing that if something happened to him, it would be difficult to answer to Hu Ma.
But now, with everyone watching, and Zhou Datong having volunteered, it was difficult to refuse.
However, the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, who was nearby, saw this and said with a laugh, "This young General certainly has courage."
With that, he called Zhou Datong over. He rolled up Zhou Datong’s trouser legs, drew two talismans on his calves, and said with a laugh, "One look at your abilities, and I knew most of your training has focused on your legs. Now, I’ll lend you a hand by drawing these two talismans for you."
"Remember, a camp raid is one thing, but don’t go deep into enemy ranks. The moment you sense trouble, run back immediately. I guarantee no one will be able to catch you."
Zhou Datong was even more delighted and readily agreed. He immediately went out to select the soldiers he would take. Seeing this, Yang Gong also had his trusted men arrange for his own personal soldiers, whom he had trained in the mountains, to be assigned to Zhou Datong, lest Zhou Datong have trouble commanding them.
While Zhou Datong was out, others asked Iron Mouth in surprise, "Why are you being so generous this time?"
"Those two Godspeed Talismans your senior brother passed down to you, you’re just giving them away like that?"
Iron Mouth laughed. "These lads all have significant destinies; they can’t be ruined here. If I don’t use the talismans now, when should I?"
Saying this, he clapped his hands and called over the beggar and several other eccentrics who did not eat beef. "All of you, bring out your real skills! The Sect Hierarch is watching us from inside the town, you know!"
After some discussion, as dusk settled, they lit fires and prepared a meal. In Yang Gong’s camp, meat dishes were served, and they ate their fill. Once word came that preparations on the other side were complete, they led their soldiers out, slipping away under the cover of darkness.
They did not ride horses. They had discovered during the day that the hungry ghosts emitted a baleful aura that easily terrified horses. It was better to rely on their own two legs. Taking advantage of the night, they made a wide detour and crept to the edge of an area where a group of hungry ghosts had gathered.
In the darkness, they saw no tents or lights, only a large, bubbling cauldron that the hungry ghosts were guarding.
Logically, before reaching Mingzhou Prefecture, they should have had provisions. Yet, in their cauldron, there were only a few scattered grains of rice. The food was meager, the porridge so thin a chopstick wouldn’t stand in it, but everyone stared intently at this pot of gruel.
Zhou Datong took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped out. He and his soldiers charged forward, and he shouted, "Golden Horn General Zhou Datong of Old Yin Mountain, here to raid your camp!"
As he shouted, he jumped out from behind a hillock, and all his men drew their bows and loosed arrows.
In the dead of night, such a commotion would startle anyone. Yet, those hungry ghosts showed no reaction at all. Only a few of them cast a cold, vacant glance in their direction before turning away again.
Arrows flew towards the hungry ghosts. Some missed, some were caught, and others struck individuals in the chest. However, the targets merely pulled them out silently, showing no reaction; even blood flowed sparsely.
The plan was to draw the enemy out, but their reaction was so indifferent. How could they be lured away now?
And they certainly didn’t dare charge directly into the horde of hungry ghosts. After all, they had seen that these creatures would genuinely gnaw on people as if they were sweet potatoes.
Just as Zhou Datong’s men were growing worried, he gave a slight chuckle. He took out a slingshot, drew it taut, and aimed with narrowed eyes—not at the hungry ghosts, but at their cauldron. WHOOSH! A stone shot out and overturned the cauldron of gruel they were guarding.
The hungry ghosts guarding the cauldron instantly flew into a rage, scrambling to scoop up the spilled gruel and rice from the ground. But Zhou Datong, not stopping there, fired several more stones, overturning nearly three or five more cauldrons of gruel.
SNARLS...
This was like stirring up a hornet’s nest. The expressions of the hungry ghosts instantly contorted, their eyes turning bloodshot.
Making guttural sounds, they swarmed towards Zhou Datong and his men. Zhou Datong hastily led his troops in a retreat. The hungry ghosts pursued them relentlessly, but their movements were slow, so they couldn’t catch up immediately.
Zhou Datong, in particular, felt a searing, burning pain in his legs as if they were being branded. Yet, the more they burned, the faster he ran. He actually had to stop occasionally to prevent leaving the hungry ghosts too far behind.
From within the pursuing pack of hungry ghosts, someone whistled loudly, apparently trying to call them back. But the hungry ghosts whose gruel had been overturned had lost all reason and chased farther and farther away.
They chased them to the bottom of a slope. There, Zhou Datong spotted a marker and feigned a stumble, nearly falling. His soldiers had already dispersed as planned. Seeing this, the pursuing hungry ghosts opened their gaping maws wide and lunged at him. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
But in that instant, Zhou Datong rolled aside. Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums erupted, and torches flared all around, illuminating the area brightly. Then, the Monkey Beggar leaped out.
He was no longer young, perhaps in his fifties or sixties, but his movements were remarkably agile. He held a tattered banner aloft. With a sharp cry of "Strike!" he precisely planted the banner in the ground right in front of the charging hungry ghosts, exactly where Zhou Datong had feigned his fall.
"Grain and rice fill the urns, meat and wine pack the guts..."
The beggar planted the banner, then darted back and said with a grin, "It worked!"
Strangely, when the hungry ghosts reached that spot, they had been brimming with murderous intent, gnashing their teeth and glaring, about to seize Zhou Datong. They should have been accelerating with all their might, but now, they suddenly seemed bewildered.
They began to circle the banner endlessly, still grinding their teeth and glaring as if Zhou Datong were right in front of them, completely unaware of how comical their actions had become.
"Heh heh..."
Nearby, the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, led a group of men out from behind the slope. He sneered at the group of Evil Ghosts and commanded, "Set fire!"
A squad of personal soldiers, who had been brought over, were fearful seeing the hungry ghosts so close. But upon the Think Tank’s command, they hastily tossed torch after torch into the depression below.
WHOOSH!
The piles of grass in the depression had already been soaked with black oil ointment and sulfur, igniting instantly.
In an instant, flames surged skyward, dyeing half the sky crimson. Although the hungry ghosts seemed impervious to pain and unafraid of death, they were, in part, still living beings. As their flesh sizzled and crackled, they appeared to feel the agony and desperately tried to escape.
Yet, the more desperately they tried to flee, the faster they circled the banner. They continued this until their bodies were burned to a crisp and they collapsed, one by one, still oriented around the banner as if in pursuit.
A collective shiver ran through the onlookers.
Witnessing this bizarre spectacle, the men felt the night wind turn chilling. They found it hard to recover their composure; even though they had clearly won this skirmish, an unsettling feeling pervaded them.
"This Method really works! Confusing the vindictive souls attached to these hungry ghosts is the same as confusing the hungry ghosts themselves."
Noticing the dip in morale, someone deliberately laughed loudly and said, "Such a treasure! If we make a few more of these, won’t we be able to deal with these hungry ghosts however we please, killing them at will?"
"Heh heh, this is war. It’s never that easy."
But the Think Tank, Iron Mouth, looked on and sneered. "On the battlefield, there’s no single Method that can guarantee victory over the enemy. If we want to be certain of dealing with these hungry ghosts, one Method isn’t enough. We’d need at least eight or ten."
"But that doesn’t matter for now. Since we’ve found a vulnerability, let’s first make these hungry ghosts taste our strength."
"Let’s return quickly. They’ve suffered a major defeat and will surely come to attack us soon. This will be the perfect time for us to show them what we’re capable of!"
Beside the fiery pit, the companions who did not eat beef all roared with laughter. They whistled loudly, slinging arms over each other’s shoulders as they headed back to camp. Even the soldiers who had been assigned to their command now felt their hearts pound with a mixture of fear and awe.
