The three returned to the义庄 in a daze.
Xu Rongyu collapsed onto the ground, while Lin Heier and Wu Pifu briefly recounted the events that had transpired outside.
Over a hundred bandits had been almost completely wiped out, and even the notorious leader of the Yanshan Flying Hawk, Xu Zhenshan, was in a state of uncertainty regarding his life or death...
No, given the circumstances, Xu Zhenshan was likely dead...
No, he had probably turned into a paper man for sure.
“... Mr. Xu Zhenshan has dominated the Xuanhua Prefecture and the borders for over twenty years, being a prominent master in the North. I never expected he would fall here,” Lin Heier said with a heavy heart.
Wu Pifu was at a loss for how to comfort Xu Rongyu.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Xu Rongyu, take heart. You can still inherit your father’s legacy. I heard you mention that your father had thousands of bandits under his command. Losing just over a hundred here shouldn’t be too devastating. Your father must have some trusted subordinates, right? After returning, you can continue this promising career as a mountain bandit.”
Lin Heier looked at Wu Pifu in astonishment, while Xu Rongyu, who was weeping, had his lips twitching.
Even Yamada and Xu Shilan felt their faces flush with embarrassment.
Yamada directly said, “Wu, if you can’t comfort people, then just don’t speak.”
Xu Shilan added, “In this era, those who can ride horses and wield firearms are undoubtedly Xu Zhenshan’s core subordinates. Even if he commanded thousands, the core might only be a few dozen. I was quite surprised when you mentioned there were over a hundred; it shows how strong Xu Zhenshan’s control over his men was. However, once he loses these core members, Xu Rongyu might return to find himself without a place to rest.”
Wu Pifu was momentarily stunned and then exclaimed in shock, “Wait, you’re bandits, not a court! Why would there be infighting?”
Everyone looked at Wu Pifu in speechless disbelief, realizing for the first time that he could be so utterly clueless.
This was largely due to Wu Pifu having read too many unreliable novels, where there were tales of fifty thousand iron cavalry at the borders, and then an imperial edict would come down, causing everyone to kneel and surrender, only for the protagonist to be wronged and die, and so on...
Lin Heier then said to Xu Rongyu, “If you don’t mind, after this battle, come back with me to Tianjin. Whether it’s the Boxers or the Red Lantern Society, we’re all good friends, and there will be a place for you, Brother Xu.”
Xu Rongyu buried his head in despair, remaining silent.
At this moment, Wu Pifu spoke again, “Let’s focus on surviving this first… No need to speak of bad luck. Let’s talk about something practical: those paper men have become stronger.”
Everyone fell silent.
There was no doubt that those paper men had indeed grown stronger, beginning to exhibit some supernatural powers.
The way they ran out, creating a ghostly wall, was evident; they took seven or eight minutes to cover a short distance.
The key was that, aside from Wu Pifu, the others didn’t even notice, which was terrifying.
Perhaps, if they fell into that state, they would be no different from the bandits.
Being devoured or transformed into paper men, and not even realizing it.
Lin Heier immediately raised this concern.
After thinking for a moment, she countered, “This shouldn’t be possible. The master’s Yin Yang Eye or Wisdom Eye allows us to see the paper men. Whether we see them or not, and whether we notice them for the first time is crucial. In Buddhism, this is called awakening, or enlightenment. The reason why Senior Xu became enlightened is likely because he didn’t notice all of this. Otherwise, with Senior Xu’s mastery, escaping wouldn’t be a problem.”
Xu Shilan shook her head and said, “But from your descriptions, it’s clear that the paper men are getting stronger, and their speed of becoming stronger isn’t slow. This is absolutely certain. Now they’ve killed over a hundred people, some of whom have turned into new paper men, while the old paper men devour wandering souls and living people. How powerful will they become?”
Yamada added, “Don’t forget, Xu Zhenshan has also turned into a paper man. He is the master you speak of. What abilities does he have now that he’s a paper man? How strong is he? That’s still unknown.”
This was one of the main concerns for both Wu Pifu and Lin Heier.
They were both暗劲 martial artists and naturally understood the vast difference between暗劲 and ordinary people.
It could be said that it was a crushing superiority.
If even the paper men transformed from ordinary people made them hesitant to approach, then what about the paper men transformed from暗劲 martial artists?
Xu Shilan continued, “And there’s another strange thing. Don’t you think it’s been too quiet these past few days?”
Everyone looked at her, and Xu Shilan spread her hands, saying, “With over a dozen paper men attacking, even if they fear fire, you’ve all seen how slowly they burn. And what about us? Aside from you two, Wu Pifu and Lin Heier, or perhaps adding Yamada, we only have three with combat capability among five people. Under the assault of over a dozen paper men, we could only flee to the back mountain. So why did those paper men run away at first, and why haven’t they entered the义庄 in these past few days?”
Wu Pifu immediately said, “You mean… those wandering souls and wild ghosts?”
Xu Shilan nodded, “What the miraculous conch said may not have been misleading or a deliberate trap for us, but rather that staying away from the living and closer to the dead allows us to combat these paper men. These paper men are not only enemies of the living but also of the dead. Unfortunately, we reacted too slowly. Now, most of the wandering souls and wild ghosts have already been devoured, and we lack effective means to communicate with them. So now, we are left to fight alone.”
A heavy weight settled in everyone’s hearts.
Wu Pifu stood up and walked towards the side hall.
Everyone watched him, and Lin Heier followed Wu Pifu to the side hall.
Yamada asked, “What are you doing?”
Without turning back, Wu Pifu replied, “We missed our chance with the wandering souls and wild ghosts. Now that the paper men have grown stronger again, I estimate they will launch a full assault in the next couple of days. Even if it’s just a last-minute effort, I need to quickly master the Sitting Lotus Technique. Otherwise, we won’t even have the strength to fight back.”
At this moment, Xu Rongyu had already lifted his head and sat up.
He exclaimed in panic, “We can run to the back mountain! Didn’t I and Brother Wu already scout the way?”
Wu Pifu then turned slightly, shaking his head in resignation, “That was before. Those paper men moved slowly, like ordinary people walking. We could hide and run. But today, as you’ve seen, those paper men can already float and fly, moving slightly faster than ordinary people. If we really run to the back mountain, I and Lin Heier might hold out a bit longer, but what about you? You wouldn’t even make it three miles before all of you would die there, and then it would be my turn.”
After saying this, Wu Pifu went into the side hall without looking back, while Lin Heier silently followed him, carefully observing his stance and pointing out his shortcomings.
That night, the others barely slept, waking up from time to time.
Meanwhile, Wu Pifu and Lin Heier stayed awake all night, constantly trying to comprehend and successfully master the Sitting Lotus Technique.
The more Wu Pifu studied, the more he felt that the Sitting Lotus Technique was extraordinary.
In his complete set of Tiger Demon Skill, there were vague descriptions regarding the Dan Skill.
That was after reaching the Transformation Skill, where the entire body was trained to be transparent.
The so-called “no feather can be added, no fly can land” was an achievement of condensing power to the surface of the skin.
The external martial path of National Martial Arts actually reached its limit at the Transformation Skill, and to advance further, one could only seek from within, which was the Dan Skill.
This involved transporting one’s own qi and blood to a certain acupoint in the dantian, thereby forming the so-called “Golden Dan,” or Dan Skill.
Essentially, it was the achievement of a martial artist completely controlling the flow and operation of their own qi and blood.
Once reaching the Dan Skill, the control over one’s qi and blood would reach an incredible realm, leading to numerous changes, such as further growth of the physical body, purification, and restoration.
At the same time, Dan Skill martial artists could explosively unleash more than ten times the power of a Transformation Skill master in an instant, and they could control this immense power with precision, demonstrating many abilities that seemed almost divine, such as turning iron to mud or blowing a cup to dust.
Currently, Wu Pifu was far from achieving the Dan Skill.
Even attempting to forcibly condense qi would result in a complete reversal of qi and blood, potentially leading to his own demise during the condensation process.
He hadn’t even discovered the acupoint for condensing the Golden Dan yet.
However, the Sitting Lotus Technique was quite unique; it didn’t require one to truly condense a Dan but rather to virtually create a dantian acupoint for condensation, simulating a false Dan in a short time, and then quickly unleashing it, using about ten to twenty percent of the actual Dan Skill’s power and control, thereby consuming the condensed qi and blood.
Although this would cause significant damage to oneself, it wouldn’t harm the root.
With time, it could be slowly nurtured back to health.
Moreover, the qi and blood condensed at the false Dan would explode, not causing qi and blood exhaustion or reversal, while also allowing one to practice the Dan Skill through the false Dan, which would greatly benefit the achievement of the Transformation Skill.
After a night of silence, the next morning, Xu Shilan began preparing breakfast.
She turned all the remaining ingredients into food, filling the table to the brim.
The others had lost their appetite and simply gathered around the table to eat heartily.
After the meal, Xu Rongyu lifted his spirits and began helping Yamada create throwing tools, while Xu Shilan quietly checked the oil supplies, made torches, and placed them in suitable locations, patrolling the ignition points around the entire义庄 repeatedly.
Everyone knew that the final battle was imminent.
Even Wu Pifu, Yamada, and Xu Shilan no longer entertained the thought of delaying for five more days.
The paper men would not allow them to survive for five days.
They either had to eliminate the source of the paper men and survive together, or they would all die in the upcoming assault by the paper men.
There was no third possibility!
Morning turned to noon, then dusk, and the anticipated assault by the paper men did not occur.
However, the weight in everyone’s hearts grew heavier, until at sunset, at the very moment the last ray of sunlight disappeared, cries, wails, and shouts erupted from around the义庄.
“Senior Sister, where are you?”
“Senior Sister, we have ascended to the celestial realm, reached the true vacuum homeland. Why didn’t you come with us?”
“Rongyu, Father has finally attained the Dao. Come out quickly and follow me to the heavenly realm.”
“It hurts so much, don’t kill me…”
“All my wealth is here, spare my wife and children…”
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”
A faint mist enveloped the义庄, and from that mist, shadowy figures began to appear.
They were not paper men but rather humanoid beings with dazed expressions, their features outlined in black lines.
They wore the same vacant smiles, pushing the uncanny valley effect to its limits.
Ten, a hundred, a thousand...
Thousands of humanoid figures emerged from the mist, all stiffly walking towards the义庄!
(End of Chapter)