Chapter 161: Formation

"What on earth are you talking about?" I asked, completely baffled by the Fat Man's convoluted reasoning.

"I really worry about your intelligence, Fatty Wu," the Fat Man said. "The Yuhuang Sect killed Guo Zhongyong, and whatever the remaining members of the Ghost Sect are up to next is the very secret the Yuhuang Sect wants to uncover. Think about it: after Guo Zhongyong's death, what would the Ghost Sect—especially Guo Zhongyong's disciples—do?"

"Vengeance?" I blurted out, stunned.

"You really are a pig. Let me give you one final hint. If the Ghost Sect has a way to bring the dead back to life, would they resurrect Guo Zhongyong, that peerless genius who stirred up such massive storms? What the Yuhuang Sect wants is the Ghost Sect's method of resurrecting Guo Zhongyong. And this Ghost Tailor specifically left behind the words, *'He will return.'* Could this 'he' be Guo Zhongyong? Add to that the fact that Sun Congwen knelt before you today, and sometimes I can't help wondering: could you be the reincarnation of Guo Zhongyong whom the Ghost Sect is planning to resurrect? But upon reflection, that doesn't seem right either. If you were Guo Zhongyong's reincarnation, the course of events wouldn't be unfolding like this at all. Therefore, in my opinion, you are definitely a crucial component of the Ghost Sect's plan to resurrect Guo Zhongyong, and you might even be directly connected to it," the Fat Man declared.

The Fat Man's words made me feel as though I could grasp something, yet I couldn't quite touch its core. Moreover, the Fat Man himself was likely in a state of chaos when he spoke these words. At present, the complexity of the situation forced each of us to speculate, to guess at the truth—yet no one truly knew what the truth actually was.

However, I had to admit that the talisman the Fat Man used today to temporarily summon my celestial lamp, combined with Sun Congwen's kneeling, really said a lot. Just what kind of secret was hidden within me that could cause a prominent member of the Sun family, who had betrayed the Ghost Sect, to drop to his knees before me?

After the Fat Man and I chatted outside for a while, we went back inside the room and fell asleep on our respective sofas. When we woke up, dusk had already fallen. We were woken up by the return of Sun Chengcheng, who brought back several handguns wrapped in oil paper along with a few ammunition magazines. These things were strictly contraband, but the black market had existed since ancient times, so it wasn't surprising that Sun Chengcheng, with the resources of the Sun family, managed to get his hands on them. The Fat Man tested the guns, then asked me and Xiao Qi, "Do you know how to use these?"

Xiao Qi nodded and said, "I've been to a shooting range a few times before. I know how to use them."

I shook my head and said, "I really don't."

The Fat Man handled the weapon skillfully. Loading the bullets and stripping the gun were done in one fluid motion, as if there was nothing in this world the Fat Man couldn't do. After he demonstrated it to me a few times, I felt the thing was actually quite simple. The Fat Man laughed and said, "You thought it was just like the toy guns you played with when you were a kid? Forget it, I wasn't counting on you anyway. It's just for self-defense. Take it, and make sure you don't end up shooting yourself."

We each distributed a firearm along with two ammunition magazines. Then, for the sake of caution, Sun Chengcheng used a chessboard to simulate the layout of the Sun family's manor once more and confirmed our route. Finally, Sun Chengcheng said, "As much as I want you to succeed, I still have to say that safety comes first. The moment you run into any trouble, retreat immediately."

We had a simple dinner, after which Sun Chengcheng drove us back to the Sun family's manor at the foot of the mountain. Once night fell, the manor was pitch black, and any areas that weren't dark were hung with red lanterns, giving off a desolate and somewhat eerie atmosphere. We parked the car at a distance and waited until one or two in the morning. Sun Chengcheng said, "It's almost time. Remember, you must prioritize your safety."

"You are the biggest variable in this operation of ours," the Fat Man said, casting a meaningful glance at Sun Chengcheng.

With that, the three of us bent low and moved forward along the predetermined route. The wall of the Sun family's manor wasn't very high. Despite his bulk, the Fat Man was remarkably agile; with a few quick moves, he vaulted up and then hauled me and Xiao Qi up one by one. The three of us dropped quietly down the other side. Silence surrounded us entirely, and I had to admit the feeling was intensely thrilling—just like being a damn thief. Because we had rehearsed the route many times, the buildings before my eyes had transformed into pieces on a board. The Fat Man waved a hand and whispered, "Let's go, quick and decisive."

We lowered our bodies, treading forward as softly as possible to keep our footsteps from making too much noise. Following the original plan, we reached the restricted area of the Sun family in about five minutes. Unlike other parts of the Sun family estate, this courtyard truly looked as though no one had lived in it for a very long time. Not only was the wall paint peeling and mottled, but the weeds at the base of the walls grew deep. The courtyard wall was even taller than the main perimeter wall of the manor, and not a sliver of light emanated from within. Recalling Sun Chengcheng's mention that the bodies of the many women played to death by Sun Congwen were buried right beneath the lawn inside, I even fancied that the air itself felt bone-chillingly cold.

The Fat Man walked over to the corner of the wall, squatted down halfway, and motioned for us to step on his back to get over. Without hesitation, we walked over, stepped on the Fat Man's shoulders, and leaped onto the top of the wall. Once up, I reached out and pulled Xiao Qi up beside me. As for the Fat Man, the wall posed no difficulty whatsoever; with a brief, light run, he grabbed the top edge and hoisted himself up.

After the Fat Man joined us on the wall, the three of us crouched there, frozen in place. From our vantage point, we had an almost unobstructed view of the entire courtyard. Bathed in the moonlight, I saw shadow after shadow standing upon the lawn beneath the wall. Those silhouettes looked remarkably like people—specifically, women.

"What on earth are those?" I swallowed hard.

"Shh!" The Fat Man made a silencing gesture toward me, dropped down from the wall, and motioned for us to follow him down. Trusting the Fat Man to a certain extent, I jumped down immediately. He caught me, and then signaled for Xiao Qi. But Xiao Qi, tough as she was, seemed thoroughly spooked by those dark figures and hesitated to come down.

"Hurry down! Little Qi, where did that nerve you had to smash up Sun Chengcheng's company go? Don't worry, I might not be great at fistfights, but catching ghosts and subduing demons is my specialty. Even your idol Sun Zhongmu couldn't match me in this area!" the Fat Man whispered urgently.

Xiao Qi gritted her teeth and jumped down as well, immediately shrinking behind the Fat Man. Seeing her looking so nervous suddenly made me feel much less afraid. I understood why Xiao Qi was terrified; smashing up Sun Chengcheng's company was backed by the pride and confidence of the Li family. But fearing ghosts was something innate to human nature, let alone for a young girl like her.

Holding a yellow paper talisman, the Fat Man took the lead and marched forward. As we approached the lawn, we were now extremely close to those dark silhouettes. The Fat Man flicked a yellow talisman forward; it flew toward the shadow closest to us, and with a *whoosh*, burst into flames. This illumination finally allowed us to see what those shadows actually were.

They were human figures.

Yet they looked as though they had been cast from concrete.

"Damn it, Sun Chengcheng really lied to us. Those girls weren't just buried in this lawn by him—they were turned into dead man's stakes! These shadows are corpses, poured over with cement and left to solidify into this shape," the Fat Man said, his face dark.

"Good grief, that ruthless?" I muttered.

The Fat Man stood up. Although he claimed that catching ghosts and subduing demons was his forte, he didn't rush rashly inside. Instead, he circled the perimeter of the lawn once, came back, and said, "This is a living-person formation. These girls weren't just killed and encased in concrete after death—they were thrown straight into the cement while they were still alive. Their resentment is immensely heavy, and the way they're arranged is quite peculiar. It's a living-person array; if an ordinary person walked in there, they wouldn't stand a chance of surviving."

With that, the Fat Man began rummaging through his all-purpose backpack once more. After a moment, he actually pulled out a small figurine. Crafted to look very cute with a round head and limbs, it resembled a cloth doll. The Fat Man took a yellow talisman, pasted it onto the doll's forehead, pointed a finger at it, and commanded, "Go!"

Following that, the figurine actually began to move on its own, stepping directly onto the lawn.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Breaking the array. Every array is divided into gates of life and gates of death. If you want to get through, you must find the gate of life, and crossing to the other side requires following a specific set of steps. This array isn't particularly sophisticated, but a single wrong step will cause massive trouble. Let's have the doll test it first," the Fat Man explained.

Having spoken, the Fat Man concentrated deeply, using his finger to guide the doll's trajectory, while Xiao Qi marked down every single footprint the doll took on the ground.

From my perspective, the little figurine appeared to be twisting and turning as if dancing.

The Fat Man seemed well-versed in such arrays; the doll kept moving forward without encountering any anomalies. However, halfway across, when the doll took a single step forward, the dark figures standing upon the lawn suddenly jolted into motion.

In the very next instant, the figurine—along with the yellow talisman pasted to its forehead—burst into flames, turning into a pile of ashes within the blink of an eye.

"No wonder Sun Chengcheng asked me to handle this. Aside from Fatty Wu here, no one else could pull this off!" the Fat Man said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.