Yin Soldiers

Dachang Village lay east of Qingyu Village. It too had been founded by refugees clearing the land. It had sixty households and over three hundred people. Together with Qingyu Village, Qingshan Village, and Yuanhe Village, it fell under Qingxi Township's jurisdiction. The villagers here were mostly fierce and valiant, fond of chivalrous honor and faithful to their promises, renowned throughout the township.

Fang Ming walked on while observing his surroundings. There were few wandering souls along the road, most gathered in shady places. He knew ghosts favored yin, so if he came at night, he would surely see many more. During the day, he could only search deep mountains and ancient forests to find more yin ghosts. There might be Vengeful Ghosts there, though. Within Qingyu Village, where he was one with the land, he had nothing to fear. Here, however, things were somewhat troublesome.

Still, if he made a few more rounds during the day, he would always gain something. Steadying himself, he inspected the ghosts and discovered that they too possessed Fate Patterns and Fortune. Most had white qi, but gray specks constantly clung to it, leaving it tottering on the brink. Occasionally, there were small clumps of Fortune, but they too were steadily dispersing. He knew that once their Fortune had fully scattered and their innate qi snapped, the day of their souls scattering and spirits dispersing would arrive. This usually took around seven days.

After walking a little farther, he came upon a fine spectacle.

A group of ghosts was engaged in a brawl, divided into two sides, all fighting barehanded. One side had only five or six ghosts, all sturdy and fierce, led by a burly man. His attacks were savage, and he commanded his group with considerable order. They beat the dozen or so ghosts opposite them until they wailed and howled, holding an overwhelming advantage. Fang Ming was delighted. Looking closely, he saw that the burly leader had thick brows and large eyes. Beneath his bronze-colored skin, muscles bulged high, and his bearing was intimidating. Above his head, his innate qi was white tinged with red, while over a dozen strands of white Fortune churned overhead. Yet several threads of black qi ran through it, faintly stained with blood, causing Fang Ming to frown.

He had also studied Fortune. He knew that common folk usually possessed white qi, followed by red qi. As for whether anything lay beyond that, he was uncertain, since he had never seen it. Ordinary ghosts had gray mixed into their Fortune, while Ferocious Ghosts that had eaten people carried a thread of black qi within theirs, with blood faintly hidden inside. The more people they ate, the heavier the black qi became.

By then, the battle below had ended. The burly man alone had killed five or six of the opposing ghosts, and the survivors scattered like birds and beasts. The other side erupted into loud cheers, their spirits soaring.

Seeing this, Fang Ming did not hesitate and descended into the field.

The burly man saw white light flicker, and a young official came strolling over, his steps deep and weighty, carrying great authority. His expression tightened, and his eyes shifted. His men understood at once and subtly spread out, clearly intending to encircle Fang Ming. The burly man clasped his fists in salute and said:

"Where does this official come from? I offer my respects. May I ask what brings you here?"

Fang Ming smiled faintly, unconcerned. "I merely happened to pass by and saw that you possess considerable courage and strength. Why not follow me?" The burly man sneered. "I knew you harbored ill intent. Attack!" He lunged first, Sha Qi pressing down on Fang Ming. The brothers around him immediately closed in.

Fang Ming shook his head. With a turn of his right hand, the Land God's Golden Seal appeared. He brushed it with his left hand, and white light spread outward, covering the surroundings and locking the burly man and his subordinates firmly in place. The man felt as though a thousand catties bound his body. Crushed to one knee, he could not move at all. Cold sweat poured down his face as he gave a bitter laugh.

"So be it. Please take me away, sir! But I alone committed that deed; it has nothing to do with my brothers. I beg you, sir, raise your hand in mercy and spare them. I will be endlessly grateful!"

Fang Ming smiled faintly. "You must be mistaken. Simply confess everything you did before, truthfully. If there were extenuating circumstances, it would not be impossible for me to spare you."

A look of surprise crossed the burly man's face. "You are not from the county's Ghost-Banishing Office?"

"You rash fool, the Ghost-Banishing Office only reaches Subordinate Ninth Rank at most. Can't you even recognize an official's robes?"

The burly man was startled. He inspected Fang Ming carefully, then unconsciously let out a breath of relief before hastily apologizing. "This lowly one failed to recognize Mount Tai and offended you. I beg your forgiveness, sir!"

Fang Ming waved his hand and withdrew the official seal. "Quickly tell me about your affairs. If a single word is false, heh heh..."

A chill ran through the burly man's heart. "I would never dare deceive you!"...

He then recounted his origins in full.

The burly man was named Wang Liulang, a native of Dachang Village. He had possessed great strength since childhood and was renowned throughout the township. Yet he also knew to strive upward. From time to time, he visited the village tutor to seek instruction and learned a few characters. Thus, the county had taken notice of him and made him a county soldier, serving as a squad leader. Under the Great Qian Empire's military system, five men made a squad, and the leader was called a squad leader. He had also learned a fair amount of military arts.

Last month, he had died in a bandit-suppression campaign and become a ghost. After wandering the battlefield for a day, he gathered the newly dead ghosts from his village and resolved to return home, for fallen leaves return to their roots. But misfortune fell from the sky. A month earlier, his father had argued with a villager, accidentally fallen and injured himself, then died several days later when his injuries worsened. Military discipline was strict, so Wang Liulang had only learned of it now. When he saw that the culprit had suffered no punishment beyond a small fine, his fury soared to the heavens.

He was a decisive man, swift to kill. He immediately gathered his men and waited for an opportunity. When the culprit's entire family went out, he suddenly struck. Ghosts could battle one another, but against humans, they had only one method: draining human vitality.

The village had only a small altar and no Ancestral Spirit, so its protective power was weak. He and his subordinates were mostly military souls, fiercer than ordinary ghosts. Thus, they slaughtered the enemy's entire family and avenged their great hatred.

One person's vitality could allow a yin soul to remain in this world for a month. Wang Liulang and his brothers had therefore endured, but they had not continued killing people and bringing calamity upon the village. Instead, he restrained his men from harming others freely, while driving away Ferocious Ghosts from elsewhere. They had even killed several bandits, keeping the village safe. The yin ghosts they had driven off today were wandering ghosts from nearby.

He knew little of the county's affairs. He only knew of a Ghost-Banishing Office that specialized in dealing with murderous Ferocious Ghosts like him, so he had been wary. Today, he had mistaken Fang Ming for someone from the Ghost-Banishing Office.

Fang Ming nodded. "In that case, your circumstances are understandable. I naturally will not pursue the matter."

He then asked, "Answer truthfully. Since becoming ghosts, how many people have you killed?"

Wang Liulang replied, "Only three."

Fang Ming looked above his head and saw that there were indeed only three strands of black qi. He nodded, then questioned the other villagers. Most had killed only one or two people, and those killed were largely bandits and the like.

After pausing, he continued, "Still, it is no solution for you to gather here. I happen to be short of brave warriors. Are you willing to enter my command?"

Wang Liulang was startled. He thought, I heard in the army that Ghost Kings recruit Vengeful Ghosts and Evil Ghosts, establish military systems, dominate one region, and turn an entire prefecture into a rotting mess beyond cure. Could this man have such ambitions as well?

Seeing his expression, Fang Ming knew what he was thinking and laughed heartily. "Rest assured. I am not one of those Evil Ghosts. I am the heaven-appointed Land God deity of Qingyu Village. I will not have you commit evil deeds."

Wang Liulang's expression eased. "May I ask what a deity is?"

"One who safeguards peace and stability in a region, bestows blessings upon the common people, shapes a golden body, and remains undying and indestructible—that is a deity!"

Wang Liulang finally made up his mind. "I am willing to serve you, sir!"

He performed a great salute. "Wang Liulang pays respects to my lord!" The subordinates around him all knelt as well. "We pay respects to my lord!"

Fang Ming laughed loudly. "I appoint you squad leader, effective immediately. The rest of you shall be Yin Soldiers of the Land God Temple, under his command." As his words fell, a portion of the Fortune above his head separated and entered Wang Liulang's head. The Fortune condensed into a clump, while every other man also received a strand of Fortune. Within Fang Ming's own Golden Seal of Fortune, one layer diminished slightly. Amid the rolling white qi, what seemed to be a thread of red Fortune flickered in and out of sight.

With another wave of his hand, Divine Power surged forth and divided into six white streams, each entering one of them. Wang Liulang's stream was slightly thicker.

After receiving the Divine Power, the six rolled on the ground. When they rose again, their forms had changed greatly. All six had lost their wounds, and their gray qi had vanished. Wang Liulang wore a suit of leather armor, a long blade at his waist, his bearing calm and composed. His five subordinates each wore soldier's uniforms and carried weapons. Seeing their own conditions, they were overjoyed and saluted. "Thank you for your grace, my lord!"

Fang Ming nodded in satisfaction. He knew that with only a few more men, they could utterly defeat the swarm of ghosts from Qingyu Village that night. After all, having armor and blades made an enormous difference.

Ordinary ghosts fought barehanded. Only after advancing into Vengeful Ghosts could they possess Yin Power, understand its transformations, and use it to create objects. The scar-faced man that night had been able to condense a long blade, so he truly had only one foot outside the threshold of becoming a Vengeful Ghost. If he had been allowed to slaughter an entire village, he would certainly have advanced because of it.

Yet the leather armor and weapons under Fang Ming's command had been condensed from his Divine Power, making them extremely lethal against ordinary ghosts. Moreover, Wang Liulang came from the military. Once he trained the soldiers using military law, they would naturally prove useful in the future. Both Yin Soldiers and Yin generals existed through Divine Power. Each consumed one thread a day, halved within the Divine Domain. They could not produce Divine Power themselves and could only rely on Fang Ming's replenishment, so betrayal was basically impossible. They were exceedingly useful. At this thought, Fang Ming felt great joy fill his chest.

He immediately laughed and said, "Today is a happy day. We should hold a feast!"

He used Divine Power again to create tables and stools. With a thought, the tables filled with all manner of wine and dishes, and they held a banquet beneath the open sky.

This was Fang Ming's own innovation since arriving in this world. Ordinary ghosts in this world could not pass into yang, and after death, they could not touch a single thing of the human realm. Even if delicacies from land and sea were laid before them, they could not eat them. The sole exception was that they could feel a little fullness while draining human vitality. Most ghosts could not endure **, and so they fell into depravity.

Sacrificial Spirits and Ancestral Spirits were even more miserable. Every day, they watched offerings presented before them, yet could not touch so much as a morsel. Fang Ming retained memories of his previous life and knew that gods could also enjoy offerings. After many experiments, he found that he could extract the essence from offerings made to the Land God, blend it with Divine Power, and form fine dishes, occasionally satisfying his own appetite.

The effect was tremendous when he used it now. Wang Liulang incredulously lifted a bowl of wine, looking left and right as though holding a priceless treasure. He took a small sip, and tears immediately streamed down his face. Then he abandoned all decorum and fought with the soldiers below for wine and food, eating with immense delight. From time to time, human farmers passed nearby, yet they turned a blind eye to this sight.

Holding his wine cup, Fang Ming watched the scene of yin and yang divided by separate realms, unsure what taste filled his heart.

Only after Wang Liulang had eaten and drunk his fill did he start in alarm and come to his senses. He hurriedly restrained the soldiers and apologized to Fang Ming. "This subordinate has lost all decorum. I beg my lord's forgiveness!" After a pause, he continued, "My lord's divine abilities are vast. How could I not die for my lord!"

Fang Ming waved his hand. "Enough. Follow me back to the village." He knew that although Wang Liulang possessed a little Fortune and bearing and had once been a squad leader, this was the limit of his ability. He could not demand too much and did not take it to heart.

The group returned to Qingyu Village. Wang Liulang and the others had already accepted Fang Ming's appointments and entered his system, so they naturally could enter the village. As they walked along and looked around, they were greatly astonished.

When they later entered the Land God Temple's Divine Domain, they were even more amazed. The temple had expanded again and now covered twenty mu. The ghost soldiers were astonished beyond measure by Fang Ming's divine abilities.

In the main hall, Fang Ming sat in the seat of honor and looked at the ghost soldiers lined up below in military ranks. Knowing that he had won their hearts completely, he shouted, "Wang Liulang!"

Wang Liulang stepped forward and dropped to one knee. "This subordinate is here!"

"You may reside in the side rooms on the right. Focus on honing your martial skills and await future use. Each morning, noon, and evening, leave the temple to patrol the area around Qingyu Village. Drive away Ferocious Ghosts and gather intelligence. If there are any ghosts who possess a basic grasp of reading and writing, bring them to see me. Do you understand?"

"This subordinate accepts the command!"