Chapter 1233: Night Raid on Cotton Village

He asked humbly: "What do you plan to do?" "Send out avian scouts." The Ghost King had already thought it through: "First destroy the reinforcements, then Shiji Village will be mine!"

Not long after, the troops were organized, totaling two thousand people.

Among them were not only the Bixia people, but also the Gaopu people who had surrendered earlier.

Commandant Shi then ordered all Gaopu people to step forward and sign a contract with the Ghost King, allowing the Xuanlu Ghost King to conscript their bodies for battle "when necessary."

The Gaopu people were naturally unwilling—who would willingly hand over their life and death to another? But with the square full of onlookers, swords and spears pointed at them, Commandant Shi declared that disobedience would mean immediate execution, so the Gaopu people had no choice but to reluctantly comply.

On this square, several shadow lamps remained lit, and the Bixia troops saw green light casting one phantom after another—pale-faced, fanged evil spirits, their gazes filled with greed and ill intent.

Though they had no physical form, anyone who approached them felt a chilling, bone-deep cold, their hands and feet turning icy.

Thus, the living and the ghost troops naturally stood apart, unwilling to draw near.

Among the ghost troops were also bizarrely shaped corpse puppets—these were the ones with physical bodies. Whoever dared to glance at them twice would have them turn their heads and smile at you, absolutely like creatures that only appear in nightmares.

If Fuliushan were here, he could see that within these corpse puppets' bodies were actually hidden one, or even two or three evil spirits. They drove the corpse puppets to move, just as He Lingchuan controls the Jin Jia bronze generals.

……

The moon passed meridian, the night deepened and all grew quiet.

One must say, Commandant Shi's integration speed was not slow—two thousand Bixia people completed preparations in just two hours, then moved under cover of darkness toward Gulong Valley.

The Bixia avian scouts flew back and forth with reports, allowing this mixed army of humans and ghosts to avoid the Boss Situ family's patrols and silently approach Mian Village.

Mian Village was surrounded by mountains on all sides, shaped like the character "冂", and lay in a depression. From the main road to Mian Village, there was a long, winding downhill slope.

Thus, this place was indeed Boss Situ's unequivocal choice for hiding troops. With trees blocking the view, the villagers' shadows and lights were not easily detected from outside.

The avian scouts had already gone on two reconnaissance trips, reporting no signs of human activity, yet the Xuanlu Ghost King was certain:

"There are people in the village!"

Commandant Shi wondered: "How do you know?"

"The corpse puppets I sent out sensed the presence of a barrier—meant to conceal human presence. Too crude; likely the work of some second-rate Daoist priest." The Xuanlu Ghost King said calmly, "They have already entered the village. Though no lights are lit, every household's door is shut. Moreover, two corpse puppets crawled through the windows and then lost contact with me."

That means they were taken out.

Commandant Shi had seen the scouts he sent out—they were all weasels, martens, flying squirrels, and other small animal puppets. Aside from their eyes glowing red and fur dried and brittle, they were just as agile as living creatures.

Without doubt, the Xuanlu Ghost King could borrow their vision to see the entire Mian Village clearly.

"There are only a few dozen houses here, even including the warehouse—hiding a thousand people would already be impressive." But Commandant Shi thought: if the other side clearly lured the Ghost King here, why send only a handful of people? That makes no sense.

"Behind Mian Village lies a large cavern, its entrance opened in the cliff face." The Xuanlu Ghost King's eyes flashed red light: "In the past, the people living here deliberately widened the cave to serve as a temporary shelter. Inside, three connected caverns of varying sizes could hold at least another thousand or more. Your last attack on Mian Village was swift—they didn't have time to flee to the rear mountain caverns."

It added: "These people know that being too close to Gulong Valley means the army cannot expose itself outdoors, or risk detection. So if there is a garrison in Mian Village, these mountain caverns are very likely to hold people as well."

"Now I understand." No wonder he's the Ghost King—he even knows this secret. Indeed, the Ghost King must have once come from this region, Commandant Shi chuckled, "They went into the caverns—that's just asking to block their own escape. We'll split our forces: one group takes a detour to the rear of the village to block that hidden cavern first; the other storms into the village to catch them off guard."

The Xuanlu Ghost King nodded: "First wave, suitable for fire attack."

At once, the forces divided—Commandant Shi went to block the stone cavern behind the mountain, while the Xuanlu Ghost King prepared to assault Mian Village.

Under the guidance of the Ghost King's doppelgänger, Commandant Shi soon discovered that the mixed woods behind the village were unnaturally dense—trees so close together that a person could barely squeeze through, and even if they did, they'd be scratched by branches. Yet there was a narrow path leading straight to the rear mountain; although the ground grass had grown over ankle-high, the trees had not grown nearly as fast.

Following this path inward, he soon encountered a solid rock face. The black, dense stone of Dashan in the night cast layer upon layer of shadow.

From this point on, the Bixia people had to be cautious.

If there were people inside the cavern, there would certainly be a formation or guards outside.

Commandant Shi gestured to the avian scouts, and two night owls flapped their wings and flew off, circling the stone wall carefully for inspection.

As they approached, the shadows on the stone wall seemed to twitch—something moved, then recoiled inward.

After the two night owls circled and changed angle, they continued to close in.

But this time, they detected nothing unusual—nothing in the mountain crevice.

Perhaps just a nocturnal small animal.

The Ghost King's doppelgänger pointed forward, indicating the cave entrance lay ahead, and simultaneously released several corpse puppet scouts.

These little things, upon touching the ground, slipped silently into the tree shadows.

After only a dozen breaths, the Ghost King's doppelgänger opened his eyes and said: "There are not a few people inside—they've dealt with my corpse puppets."

Commandant Shi immediately waved backward: "Forward!"

We're already at the cave mouth—no need to hesitate.

The Bixia troops strode forward, and indeed, behind the woods lay a cave mouth, artificially narrowed with packed earth, allowing only four or five to enter side by side. Long ago, people must have made this place easy to defend, hard to attack.

Before the cave stood three layers of hard stakes, inside and out, spikes pointing outward—any attacker would have to pass this barrier first.

The stake tips were very fresh, as if just whittled.

Behind the stakes, there had originally been thirty or forty guards. Seeing the Bixia troops charge out, they immediately shouted, raised their crossbows, and fired.

Strangely, their equipment did not resemble that of the Shi family's troops—Commandant Shi had never seen this style before.

But he had no time to ponder—having come this far, of course they must seize the cave mouth with the force of thunder before one can cover their ears.

"Kill!"

The Bixia troops, having received the order, charged forward despite the arrow rain.

The Xuanlu Ghost King's doppelgänger stopped, tilted his head, and looked ahead: "Not right!"

Commandant Shi was about to charge out, but at that moment he stepped back: "What?"

"These aren't living people!"

"……?" Besides the Xuanlu Ghost King, can the other side also command ghosts? "What now?"

Have they walked into the enemy's trap? Should they retreat? The Ghost King's doppelgänger decided instantly: "No retreat—continue the attack. Send some people to check the road ahead."

Commandant Shi immediately pointed to four or five men, ordering them to retreat into the dense woods to scout.

After thinking, before going to the hospital, I still need to get this update out.

Happy New Year, everyone!

(End of Chapter)