Chapter 488: with translation of chapter title

I followed that red silhouette, running all the way, and ran into the deep mountains and wild forests. Afterwards, the red silhouette began to vanish without a trace, and in the wild forest I could no longer find even a hint of her.

Pangzi didn't follow behind me; he must have gone to pick up the turtle‑blood net that fell into the river. Turtle‑blood is cold and yin; this stuff injures the soaring snake, so it shouldn't be left long near the soaring snake's lair.

Looking around at the dim, tranquil wild forest, there's not a trace to be found right now. But I'm not a pushover; the Yin Mountain Sect's art of dispatching troops is best at finding people.

Thinking this, I immediately took out the command flag, chanted the troop incantation, began to open the ghost gate, and summoned wandering wild ghosts to scout ahead. Just as I was dispatching a few wandering wild ghosts to my side, a mocking voice came from the deep mountains and wild forest.

"Yo, I didn't expect you to still be able to command troops. But what the heck is this you've summoned? Even I, Grandpa, can't stand to look at it." Though the voice called itself "Grandpa", it was definitely a girl.

Moreover, this tone, this way of speaking—how is it so familiar to me!

Holy shit……this voice, isn't that Han Duo who extorted money from me!

It seemed to prove my words, that silhouette quickly walked out from behind a big tree. The voice's owner was indeed Han Duo, still wearing that all‑red outfit, red boots, and a red long whip.

"Holy shit, how is it you, this money‑grubbing bastard, what are you doing here?" Although I had a premonition, I still jumped in shock.

After Han Duo came out, she crossed her arms and coldly snorted at me: "What's up, I can't be here? Oh right, you still owe Grandpa money." As she spoke, Han Duo accurately pulled out from her waist pocket the IOU I had been forced to write, and extended her hand saying: "Hand it over."

"Uh… um, could you cut me some slack? I'm broke right now." I instinctively lowered my head in embarrassment, but after a moment, damn it, it seems I was chasing a thief, yet I ended up being chased for debt instead.

"Don't change the subject—tell me, why did you place the turtle‑blood net at the Yang family ancestral grave? Was it you who placed the ill‑fated plow‑head talisman that ruined the Yang family grave's feng shui?" I stepped back, gripping the command flag, pinching my finger seal, staring dead at Han Duo.

Han Duo gave a snort, rubbed her nose, and snorted upward: "What plow‑head talisman? Grandpa doesn't know; Grandpa just takes money to do a job. Tonight I came here and tossed a torn net. But running into you—this is an unexpected surprise."

"Taking money to do a job? Whose money are you taking, and whose job are you doing? Speak up, or I'll have these wandering wild ghosts gang‑rape you, you man‑woman." I gave a sinister laugh, trying to make my tone even more gloomy.

Despite my threats, Han Duo showed no reaction; instead she sighed, let out a breath, and looked at me with a very pitiful gaze.

She said: "You little brat, don't threaten Grandpa with your half‑ass troops and commanders. When Grandpa was playing with ghosts, you weren't even born yet."

This woman isn't old, but her tone is big. Her tone naturally infuriated me; although I know she's an insider and her skills aren't low, her tone makes me want to beat her up badly.

"Don't say that commanding troops is like kids playing mud; have the guts to summon your own troops and commanders so I can see them properly." I stared at her, mocking.

"Sigh, how can people nowadays be so clueless?" Han Duo still had that high‑and‑mighty look, and when speaking to me she kept that tone of "I'm not attacking because it's for your own good."

"You little brat, you better think it through—once Grandpa makes a move, all you can do is turn tail and run."

"Fine, go ahead and strike—let me see if it's really as earth‑shattering as they say."

"Sigh, you really thought it through! Do you really have to force me to strike?" Han Duo's expression was torn.

Me: ……, damn it, hurry up and strike already.

"Exactly, I'm just trying to force you—look at you: in your past life you fell into a money pit, this life you're a weird sort of man‑woman, nobody's butt is bigger than yours, nobody's appearance is more hateful than yours; I'm sure, absolutely no man wants to get near you. If you don't strike, you won't even have the dignity of a person in front of ghosts." I was fuming with rage from Han Duo, and I cursed with every dirty word I could think of.

Under my tirade, Han Duo completely lost it, her face flushing red with anger. She glared at me, cracking her knuckles, and said "good" three times.

"Good, good, good!" Han Duo shot me a cannibal‑like glare, gritted her teeth and said: "You're the first person to make me this angry; Grandpa will now use troops to gang‑rape me!"

After saying that, Han Duo actually spat a few mouthfuls of saliva, scooped up two handfuls of dirt from the ground, mixed it with saliva and smeared it on her face, then took out a mask from her waist and put it on her face.

What is Han Duo doing, blackening herself? And what kind of mask is this? Besides looking like the evil ghost yaksha often shown in movies, the style is also very familiar.

Although the mask looked very familiar, I didn't think much of it; instead I continued to mock and jeer at Han Duo on my own.

"Come on, you've got guts, come on, summon a few man‑women like yourself and gang‑rape me… gang‑rape me… gang‑rape me." By the end my momentum waned, I stared wide‑eyed at Han Duo, repeatedly gulping saliva, repeating the word "gang‑rape", almost forgetting what I wanted to say.

The reason I zoned out like that is because I heard a spell from Han Duo's mouth.

"Disciple lifts eyes to behold the azure sky; disciple goes forth and mountain folk transform into the Heaven‑shaking, Earth‑moving Five Rampage Troops; those who block the way become the Mountain‑binding, Person‑intercepting Five Rampage Troops; the ancestral master leads the Five Rampage Troops; … I obey the Supreme Elder Lord's command, swift as law."

As the incantation fell, mist began to condense around Han Duo; with each wisp of mist gathering, a sense of unprecedented danger welled up in my chest. Seeing her upside‑down posture and recalling her previous actions, my scalp instantly went numb.

Without thinking, I immediately turned and ran. Damn it, Han Duo is actually a member of the Plum Mountain Master Sect, and her cultivation is such that she can summon the Five Rampage Troops—among troops, they are bizarrely vicious. How the hell am I supposed to fight? The Five Rampage Troops are one of the fiercest units in the military; aside from the Yin Mountain Slaughter God Troops, the Huaguang Fire Spirit Troops, and the Maoshan Six Jia Troops, ordinary wandering wild ghosts aren't even a match for them in a single round.

Now I finally understand why, when I first saw Han Duo, I felt a hint of dread in my heart. It turns out she is indeed a member of the Plum Mountain Master Sect, and her practice has reached the point where she can freely dispatch the Five Rampage Troops.

The Plum Mountain Master Sect is a religious lineage that formed autonomously within an ethnic minority due to regional culture. The ethnic minority's characteristics are extremely strong; although it is a Daoist teaching, their whole being exudes a shamanic aura. They claim to be the closest to ghosts and gods, and the most able to communicate with heavenly and earthly powers—a Daoist lineage.

The chief deity of the Plum Mountain Master Sect is the Hunting God, Zhang Wulang of the overturned altar; this deity is easy to recognize, with an inverted body, belonging to the lower altar god. Disciples of the sect all revere this spirit as their ancestral grandmaster, they release rampage and collect troops, and often imitate their ancestor's inverted posture. Although the sect's Dao lineage comes from the Lushan Teaching, because the imperial court at the time had edicts forbidding "no contact with Han civilians" and "no farming or herding", they had no choice but to make a living by hunting; due to regional isolation, this gave rise to the Plum Mountain Master Sect's alternative Daoist shamanic teaching. Although it is a Daoist teaching, their whole being is the embodiment of shamanism. Moreover, the Plum Mountain Master Sect's Five Rampage Troops are enough to make ordinary Daoist teachings pale at the mere mention.

Among troops, Daoists usually summon wandering wild ghosts; even vengeful spirits that have become evil are still low‑level troops, which we generally categorize as Yin soldiers and Yin officers.

The Five Rampage Troops are different: they refer to mountain monsters and tree spirits that died at sites where spiritual energy crystallized. In Daoist teaching, this type of troop is exactly the Five Rampage Troops. This kind of troop is rebellious and unruly, the hardest to control. Those who play with troops can easily be killed by these rampage troops without even knowing how it happened.

In folk wild histories, the legendary mysterious Five Penetration Gods are a type of the Five Rampage Troops. Any Daoist teaching that dares to mess with the Five Penetration Gods is certainly no soft persimmon.

Aside from the Yin Mountain Slaughter God Troops, the Huaguang Fire Crow Troops beneath Huaguang, and the Six Ding Six Jia Divine Troops, there are hardly any troops that can oppose the Five Rampage Troops. This is because those Five Rampage Troops formed at the crystallization sites love to feed on evil wandering ghosts; they are practically the natural bane of ordinary troops. My Yin Mountain banner, however, has never undergone the purification of the Five Direction Slaughter Gods, so it cannot truly be called a Slaughter God banner, nor can it summon Slaughter God troops—how am I supposed to fight Han Duo?

"Damn it, I should have realized earlier. The Plum Mountain God Zhang Wulang, plum passes soot—don't the disciples of the Plum Mountain Master Sect like to smear dirt and saliva on their faces to make them grimy, thereby showing their identity?" While running, I blamed myself regretfully.

Long before Han Duo wiped saliva, put on the mask, and stood upside down, I should have guessed her identity. The Plum Mountain Master Sect is indeed the most recognizable Daoist lineage: they stand with both hands inverted, learning Zhang Wulang's "Standing Heaven Pillar," and when performing rituals they often like to wear the rampage god's mask.

Hearing the wind behind me growing closer, and seeming to hear some strange cries from the troops, I quickly caught my breath, kicked off my shoes and ran even faster. Han Duo, blinded by my anger, will certainly not go easy on me when she gets her hands on me. Moreover, I now only have the command flag in hand, I haven't prepared any talismans or other magical implements, but in terms of troop‑commanding arts I am certainly no match for Han Duo. Therefore I absolutely cannot clash head‑on with her; I can only choose among the Thirty‑Six Stratagems, and fleeing is the best policy.

As I was running, far ahead I saw a silhouette walking toward me. Upon closer look, it was Pangzi, his hand holding that turtle‑blood net torn in half.

"Pangzi, save me, come help quick—I can't hold on!" Seeing Pangzi, I instantly felt delighted, my feet involuntarily sped up, and I ran even faster.