Seeing this, I told everyone to stop begging and to all get up. Everyone looked at me with fear and trepidation, then glanced up at the strange and sinister Secretary Baker on the roof. With no other choice, they stood up and gathered around me, begging me to think of a way to save them. Clearly, they had placed all their last hopes on me.

Seeing everyone’s terrified and helpless expressions, and noticing that Secretary Baker on the roof had no intention of stopping, I could only sigh, look up, and say to Secretary Baker on the roof, “I’ll ask you one last time: a life has already been lost—will you stop or not?”

Secretary Baker laughed and said, “Show me whatever skills you have. I’d like to see what tricks a little brat like you can come up with.”

Seeing this, I had no choice but to turn to Old Secretary and tell him to bring the villagers to my house later. After giving these instructions, I left and went home.

Chapter Eleven: Digging Up the Grave

Yes, I did have a way. I had found this method in the ancient book “Xun Long Xian Jing” that my grandfather left me. However, the method described in the book was rather sinister and ruthless, harmful to one’s karma, so I had never used it.

But now, the other side clearly refused to stop, not only causing a death but also threatening other villagers. At this point, I couldn’t worry about anything else—saving lives was the priority.

Not long after, Old Secretary led the villagers to my house. As soon as he entered, he asked if I had a way to deal with that thing.

Although Old Secretary was no longer the village head, he had served in that role for over a decade and was highly respected in the village. Whatever he said, the villagers would still listen. Seeing that Old Secretary had arrived, I nodded and told him that I did have a way, but I would need everyone’s cooperation.

As soon as they heard this, everyone nodded eagerly. Judging by their expressions, even if I asked them to bring all their money and grain to my house, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Next, I told everyone, “Alright, in a bit, some of you go help me cut seven peach trees and one ghost willow. The rest of the villagers should go back to Secretary Baker’s place to keep an eye on things in case something happens. Tonight, the men in the village should come to my place, and I’ll assign tasks then.”

After giving these instructions, I drew dozens of protective talismans for everyone to wear, to prevent that so-called general from possessing them. Although I wasn’t sure if the talismans would really prevent possession, at least wearing them would give everyone some peace of mind.

After these arrangements, Old Secretary waved his hand and assigned who would cut the willow, who would cut the peach wood, and had the others follow him back to Secretary Baker’s place to deal with things. Just like that, under Old Secretary’s organization, everyone scattered and got busy…

Around dusk, the villagers who had helped cut the ghost willow and peach wood returned. I took the ghost willow and peach wood from them and told them they could go home and rest for now, and just come back after dark.

After sending off the villagers, I also got busy. I made the ghost willow and peach wood into three-meter-long stakes, sharpening one end. Then I killed a chicken and used its blood to draw talismans on the ghost willow and peach wood stakes.

It was my first time drawing these talismans, following the illustrations in the “Xun Long Xian Jing” ancient book. It took me an hour or two to fill all seven stakes with talismans.

Drawing talismans isn’t as simple as just copying the shapes. As the old saying goes, “If you know the secrets of writing talismans, you’ll stir the spirits and gods; if you don’t, you’ll just make them laugh”—that’s what’s called “scribbling like a ghost!”

To draw talismans, you must first calm your mind and spirit. When your mind is quiet, stray thoughts disappear, evil intentions cannot arise, and malice has nowhere to start. With a blank mind, the divine is easier to approach. Because drawing talismans is like issuing orders from the gods or Buddhas, supervised or guided by them through your hand, only by calming your mind can the talismans be effective.

While drawing talismans, you also need to recite incantations, perform hand seals, and sometimes even walk special steps. As the saying goes, “talismans and incantations go hand in hand”—whether drawing or using talismans, they must be accompanied by incantations to be effective. With such intense concentration, it naturally took a long time to finish all seven stakes.

When I looked at the seven stakes covered in talismans in front of me, I finally let out a long breath. Looking up, I saw it was almost dark outside. By now, I was utterly exhausted, even more tired than after hard physical labor. I plopped down on a chair, just waiting for nightfall to lead the villagers in the final task.

Dragging my tired body, I made a simple dinner. Then Old Secretary brought a group of villagers to my house and asked how they should cooperate tonight. Now, the whole village looked to me for guidance—whatever I said, they would do exactly as I instructed.