Chapter 55: Nesting Doll Formation
What do you mean, have you seen Tan Xiao’s photo?
It is normal to say that he has seen the real person. After all, Tan Xiao has performed so many rituals with Tan Chunying. Even if he really has, they just couldn't find him.
Seeing the photo has a different meaning. Is there an internet connection in heaven?
No, there is another possibility.
Tan Xiao said awkwardly: "He also visited relatives and had a feast during the New Year? Does he know my sect master?"
Master Lu sensed it and said, "Yes, but not familiar."
Tan Xiao: "..."
Kong Xuan! Why are you showing off to others if you don't know me...!
Master Lu seemed to be startled and remembered that he was still performing a ritual. He quickly stopped interrupting Tan Xiao and walked back with Yu Bu.
Mu Fei turned to look at Tan Xiao. In this kind of ritual, usually what happened was the mage's imagination and borrowing of power. It was difficult for him to appear as easily and frequently as the peacock. But what Master Lu said was obviously based on facts. And it was impossible for him to be possessed, so he must have communicated with the spirits. This situation is also quite rare... rare gossip.
"...Did Peacock God also bring your photo with him?"
What's the point of bringing Tan Xiao's photo back home after the New Year?
"He has a cell phone." Tan Xiao recalled how proud he was at school. "He must have shown his cell phone to everyone. It contains a group photo of our class."
Was he showing off his cell phone, or the inherited spirit witch... Tan Xiao could almost imagine Kong Xuan's proud expression. Thinking that even the unfamiliar Lei Jiang knew him, he felt helpless and embarrassed, and his ears were burning. Kong Xuan was the same. Why didn't he come down to visit when he had time?
"No wonder General Lei said that. It's like a peacock turning on the phone screen, right?" Mu Fei told a cold joke.
Tan Xiao: "..."
Master Lu issued an order to encircle and search for the place where the souls and ghosts were hiding. He made a "Heavenly Net" and opened and closed his hands, symbolizing the action of trapping the evil spirits.
"Collect!" Master Lu pointed his fingers and felt the coolness between his eyebrows disappear suddenly. He felt lost, but he naturally failed to collect the evil spirit.
He put his hand down dejectedly, and said with regret and confusion: "I clearly felt that there seemed to be some traces lingering, but...how..." He held his breath and tried to write the talisman again, but saw a small black dot appear on the talisman.
Master Lu stared at the small black dot, and at first he didn't realize what it was, until the small black dot gradually expanded and burst into flames, almost hitting his face, and then gradually fell back, burning the entire talisman . Master Lu was in a panic and pushed over the incense burner on the altar, the incense ashes fell out, and the three incense sticks went out, like some ominous omen.
"What!" Master Lu wiped his face, adjusted his glasses, and said in shock, "Throwing fire from a distance? This Huo Dou... this Huo Dou... has become a spirit!"
He also said nonsense.
However, this Huodou's fire control ability was obviously more advanced and sophisticated than the one Kong Xuan had seen in school. It even learned anti-reconnaissance techniques. It was able to search but failed to catch it.
"Did it attend some military academy on earth?"
"It's possible. The previous dog appeared in our school. Maybe after attending high school courses, everyone is quite tolerant of dogs. This one might have attended classes in college." Tan Xiao stepped forward to help Master Lu lift up the incense burner and said solemnly. He became more alert and it seemed that it would not be easy to deal with.
Everyone looked at each other, stared at each other, and reached a consensus.
"Sister Mu, are we going to start today? I may need some time to prepare." Tan Xiao asked.
"No rush. In that case, let's get ready." Mu Fei said calmly, and turned to his newest assistant Jiao Guangquan and said kindly, "Do you know what steps our action will take?"
Although Jiao Guangquan was a modern monster, he was also confused about the process of handling 404. "Uh... prepare incense and instruments..."
"No, no, no, I'll walk you through it all from the beginning." Mu Fei turned on the computer and created a new document. "This is an action that requires the responsible units to work together, so let's make a work plan first. Here, the title, Fang Zheng Small Standard Song Simplified..."
Tan Xiao: "..."
He further felt why Sister Mu was so enthusiastic about focusing the aperture, "Sister Mu, I won't disturb you from teaching then."
Master Lu started the conversation by saying, "Student Tan Xiao, since this evil fight was caused by the Heavenly Dog Star, I think it is within the scope of Chu Wu's handling. Chu Wu's 'drum and shoot', you should have a peach wood bow at home?"
At that time, Tan Xiao was invited by Mu Fei to the Tomb of the King of Chu. There was a pair of witch figurines in the tomb, one beating a drum and the other shooting an arrow, which represented the two standard configurations of the Chu witches when they performed rituals.
The "Daily Book" in the unearthed Yunmeng Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips recorded how the witches at that time punished evil spirits, which was "using peach as bow, thorn as arrow, and chicken feathers to shoot at the evil spirits". As a great witchcraft country, Chu would present peach bows and thorn arrows to the King of Zhou, which shows the significance of peach bows and thorn arrows to the witches of Chu.
A colleague who didn't know much about it said in surprise, "Will the police misunderstand me if I bring a bow? That would be very troublesome to explain."
"I've already said that this time we're dealing with the evil caused by the Tengu star. Do you know what 'there are arrows to save the moon and bows to save the moon' means?" Master Lu shook his head and sighed at his colleague's ignorance.
When a solar or lunar eclipse occurs, the Zhou Li says that in addition to beating drums, "to save the sun, use crooked arrows; to save the moon, use regular arrows", that is, to shoot with bows and arrows to drive away the monsters that devour the sun and the moon. If you encounter gods and monsters other than birds and beasts, you can also "shoot them with the Taiyin bow and crooked arrows".
In other words, the wizards' bows and drums can drive away ghosts and save the sun and the moon. Or, in other words, they were first used to save the sun and the moon, and then expanded to shoot and kill various demons. The sound of the drums and arrows work together to drive away the evil spirits and shoot them.
"My family does have the Taiyin bow, and it's inherited from our ancestors, just like the drum and the costumes." The Chu witches called the peach wood bow the Taiyin bow, naturally because it was originally used to save the sun and the moon.
Tan Xiao said helplessly, "But my mother donated the original to the Folk Museum a long time ago. We only have the later imitation hanging drum at home. I think we don't have any imitation bows because we don't want to hurt tourists by mistake when using them."
His imitation has been used for so long, and he can still use it to exorcise ghosts. However, as for the bow, there is no time to make it now.
"I'll go back and prepare the ingredients. Let's think of a solution." Tan Xiao said goodbye temporarily and ran back to prepare. When he saw Tan Chunying at home, he approached her and asked, "Mom, do you think it's possible to borrow our Taiyin bow from the Folk Museum for two days?"
"Impossible." Tan Chunying answered without thinking, and after a while, she turned around and asked, "What do you want the Taiyin bow for? Are you taking private jobs?"
"Uh, yes." Tan Xiao could only admit it.
Tan Chunying sneered, "You should do something else. You don't have time to practice archery. Unlike your mother, I was a sharpshooter who could shoot an arrow through a hundred steps... And you, you don't even rest during the New Year. I closed the shop for you in vain, didn't I?"
She remembered that in order to create a good environment for Tan Xiao to prepare for the exam, she had even declined visitors. As a result, Tan Xiao was quite excited about receiving orders.
"I just want to have some fun during the holiday!" Tan Xiao ran away quickly.
…
As soon as Tan Xiao showed up with his gear and food, the monks in the Laomei Temple came to look at him frequently.
The bag he put in was filled with beef liver and pig heart. Because he was going to fish for dogs, Tan Xiao chose the internal organs with a stronger fishy smell.
Meanwhile, several magicians and heavenly masters gathered at the 404 Office, including Elder Baoping, who also brought his orange cat. This cat-loving elder couldn't leave his cat alone even when he was on a mission. The orange cat circled around Tan Xiao's legs and sniffed the ingredients in his bag. It seemed that the smell was strong. Tan Xiao raised the bag a little, and the cat couldn't help but move his dangling clothes.
"What a strong smell." Mu Fei said after seeing it, "I've never fished for a dog before, is this smell good enough?"
"I'm not sure either. If it's not enough, just add more." Tan Xiao said, and found that everyone present had a flickering look in their eyes. "What's wrong?"
"When you weren't here just now, Fang Zhu volunteered to be the bait." Liu Qingquan floated over and said, "We are discussing whether this is a good idea."
"......Ah." Tan Xiao really hadn't expected this. Yes, he had used swallow porridge to lure Fang Zhu, and Fang Zhu had also been chased by an unidentified Yorkshire terrier demon - not to mention, now that Jiao Guangquan was being targeted, the identity of the dog demon was questionable.
Does that mean that the deliciousness of clams is also very attractive to dogs?
Use Fang Zhu as bait?
This sounds feasible, but as Liu Qingquan said, is it good? After all, Fang Zhu is a pregnant man, and now is his weakest time. Under normal circumstances, he still has the power to protect himself.
"I am also selfish. I know I am still guilty," Fang Zhu said while touching her belly. "Maybe you will judge me after I give birth. If I can make up for my crime, I hope you can give me a lighter sentence..."
Fang Zhu had kidnapped Mu Fei before because of the demon-killing disk, but he let her go because she was pregnant. With his personality, he was always uneasy about this, and when he saw an opportunity, he immediately wanted to clear himself.
"This..." Although Tan Xiao was the executor of the plan, Bao Bao had shares in Mu Fei, so he looked at Sister Mu.
Mu Fei frowned.
The ginger cat of Elder Baoping rubbed against Mu Fei's legs, and the elder came over and picked up the ginger cat, pointing at himself. The celibacy he practiced was also called silent meditation. Although he couldn't speak, it was enough to express simple meanings .
Mu Fei lowered her head and asked, "If Fang Zhu is used as bait, would the elder be willing to protect him nearby?"
Elder Baoping nodded.
Mu Fei felt relieved now. "Thank you, Elder. It depends on the situation. If the internal organs cannot be fished out, we can switch to Fang Zhu."
After that, Mu Fei seemed to be thinking about something, and said to everyone: "Weren't you just asking about the code name for this plan?"
According to usual practice, everyone formed an action group. Originally, the group name could be Huodou, but now there are two Huodou at the same time, so it is better to give them another name to distinguish them.
When Mu Fei asked, everyone started thinking about it. The previous one was the transformation of a beagle, so everyone called it a beagle, but no one seemed to say what breed this one was.
While everyone was still thinking, Mu Fei had already revealed her true intention: "I think we should call him 'Jules'."
Everyone: “…………”
What a hell of a joke!
Fang Zhu hadn’t read much since he came ashore, so he was a little confused about what the plot was, but he still supported it and said, “Great!”
There was silence for several seconds, and everyone was confused. Tan Xiao simply opened his phone and searched for the original text to show Fang Zhu...
"Hey, spiritual master, didn't you get the Taiyin Bow?" Master Lu came over and asked Tan Xiao.
"No, they can't be loaned out casually, but I brought the thunder drum and this. I took the thunder drum down and put it outside." Tan Xiao took out a wooden slingshot from his bag.
Master Lu: “?”
Tan Xiao said: "My grandpa made this for me when I was a child. I remember it was made of peach wood. Then I thought about it and thought that I could use a talisman to wrap the projectile instead of the Heng arrow. It should be a simplified version of the Taiyin bow."
Everyone: “…”
Mu Fei hesitated and wanted to say something, but when she thought of the techniques that Tan Xiao had improved, she thought it would be better for her to keep silent.
Fang Zhu had already finished reading the text and cried out, "Jules opened an oyster, and I am a clam! A sea clams!"
Tan Xiao comforted him: "They are all shelled, it's a good thing I didn't put enoki mushroom vermicelli on you."
Fang Zhu sobbed: "…………"
Everyone also discussed the location for fishing the dogs, and decided on an unfinished building so that it would not be too desolate to arouse Jules's vigilance, nor would it affect the safety of the city.
Tan Xiao tied up the entrails with a red rope and hung them up, while the others stood guard in different positions. Because they wanted to take advantage of the fishy smell of the entrails, they naturally did not cook them. Tan Xiao also cut a moon out of paper and pasted it on the outer wall, imitating the moon's aura.
Tiangou is an evil star that offends the moon, so it is naturally sensitive to the moon's energy.
After setting up the mechanism, everyone hid their bodies and used hiding talismans and hiding spells to restrain their breath, otherwise they might not be able to fool the dog's nose.
Tan Xiao saw that Elder Baoping still brought his orange cat, and felt a little suspicious. He thought that the elder was indeed very skilled and courageous.
Liu Qingquan was in charge of the reconnaissance. He hid in a dark road and observed patiently. He waited until dark, but there was no sign of Yu Le.
Mu Fei directly made a divination and said after looking at the hexagram: "It smelled it and is hesitating. It is not attractive enough." She looked up and said, "Let's officially start the Yule Plan."
Fang Zhu nodded, walked to the internal organs consciously, and turned back to his original form. A huge clam gently opened its shell, revealing a little bit of white and soft meat, and released the breath.
Elder Baoping also followed his promise and sat behind the clam shell. He clasped his hands together and his whole body became like a stone or a plant, losing all sense of existence.
…
A homeless man sat on the side of a deserted road, chewing on some bread he had picked up, looking at an unfinished building a little further away. That was where he often stayed recently, but today he and his companions were prevented from getting close. Perhaps the unfinished building was going to be rebuilt again. He had no choice but to leave with his companions.
Although he called them "comrades", he couldn't even remember their faces. They would change every two or three days. Some went to relief stations, some were found by their families, and some moved to new places.
The person next to him heard him eating bread and pushed him: "Give me some."
There was still a lot of bread left, but the tramp said, "Go away."
The other party was staring at him in the dark, and the atmosphere was a little tense. At this moment, they heard the humming and barking of a dog nearby, and it sounded like a pet dog acting coquettishly.
The two homeless men looked at each other in tacit understanding: "Let's go?"
It made sense for the homeless to eat the stray dogs. They immediately made peace, picked up sticks and bricks, and walked towards the place where the whimpering sound came from.
The two men groped forward in the dark and saw a schnauzer. It had no owner and no leash. It was lying on the ground with its butt sticking up, sniffing something. Then it raised its head and ran towards the unfinished building.
The two homeless men saw it and didn't hesitate, just run to the unfinished building, which they were familiar with. They followed closely and saw the Schnauzer sticking his butt out near the broken iron gate outside the unfinished building, as if he wanted to go inside.
Without any hesitation, they rushed forward together, shouting threats and hitting the dog that was digging in the soil with sticks and bricks in their hands.
Just at this moment, the dog turned around, revealing bloodshot eyes. It opened its mouth wide enough to swallow a person, with the skin and flesh at the edges torn apart, and the tendons and blood still connected together, "Woo——"
"ah!!"
The two tramps screamed in fear and scrambled backwards.
The Schnauzer growled, but did not move. It hesitated for just a second between chasing them and continuing to look for the source of delicious food, then walked back and passed through the iron gate. It saw a huge clam in front of the unfinished building, which was slightly opening its shell and inhaling the moon's air to its heart's content.
The snow-white flesh was slightly exposed, and the Schnauzer's saliva flowed down, falling to the ground and turning into flames.
The petite dog ran towards the clam, breathing hot air, and its sharp, excited barking echoed between the buildings, "Woof! Woof!"
The clam's white flesh was trembling slightly, and it could almost feel the schnauzer's flames. It was horrified to find that the schnauzer was extremely fast, faster than it had imagined. After all, it was a meteor that hit the dog. It even jumped up and pounced -
Elder Baoping grabbed Fang Zhu from behind and threw him backwards, avoiding the Schnauzer's big mouth. At the same time, the Schnauzer twisted suddenly in mid-air, causing it to fall flat on its face. It stood up and saw the bullet wrapped with runes on the ground, with horror on its face. It fell just to avoid this thing. This, this is...
This seems... not quite right...
The Schnauzer raised his head slowly. When Elder Aquarius dragged Fang Zhu, the hiding technique had become ineffective. The figures of other people also appeared. He found himself surrounded and could not help but growl anxiously!
"It works." Tan Xiao held the slingshot in his hand and shouted, "Jules, you have been surrounded, just surrender."
Schnauzer: “?”
Who the hell is Jules...
The Schnauzer looked at the wizards in all directions, and it seemed that there was nowhere to escape, but it did not surrender. Fire spread under its feet, and it looked like it was ready to fight hard.
Tan Xiao seized the rare opportunity to practice and recited the dog-locking trick directly: "Thousands of hemp ropes, tens of thousands of hemp ropes, tie the dog's head first, then the dog's feet..."
But Tan Xiao had never expected that Yule was so brave! As soon as he thought of the dog-locking technique, it started biting him, tearing the invisible rope that Tan Xiao had put on his body directly along with his fur. It was covered in blood, clawing at the ground, and with a low roar, its torn skin kept bleeding. Flames began to emerge from its seven orifices, including its buttocks, and its blood also turned into flames.
These flames stuck to the ground like fluid, spreading on the ground as if they had their own consciousness, and formed a circle around the people in Office 404!
It in turn surrounds the 404.
"Damn! You even know how to counter-encircle?" Mu Fei cursed. It was really an upgraded version of the evil spirit. She immediately wanted to signal Jiao Guangquan to cosplay as Peacock to scare the dog.
But Tan Xiao was very unconvinced. He muttered something and started drawing on the ground. It was a very simple picture, just a hexagram, a dog in the middle and nine peacocks on the sides.
Draw the Eight Trigrams and Nine Provinces on the ground, and set up a formation of nine birds surrounding a dog!
The surrounding flames seemed to be covered with dew, emitting water vapor with a "hissing" sound, as if water and fire collided and competed with each other. The rough chirping of birds could be heard faintly from the periphery, which also corresponded to the low roar of the evil fighters, as if nine peacocks were forming an encirclement.
Mu Fei: “…”
It was still Tan Xiao who was generous. He cosplayed nine peacocks at once, and Mu Fei pressed the focus aperture.
Back in No. 1 Middle School, Tan Xiao just read out Kong Xuan's real name and it made Bi Dou feel afraid. Now that he drew nine birds surrounding a dog, this Schnauzer actually dared to roar at him. Tan Xiao was terrified!
The Schnauzer howled at the moon: "Awoo—"
The moonlight was dim, and the clouds gradually blocked the moonlight. Darkness enveloped them from all directions, as if it was surrounding them from the outside world.
Tan Xiao didn't expect it to do so much: "Surround us again?!"
Mu Fei: “…”
...I've never had such a fight like this, with all the surrounding going on.
"Everyone stick to your positions." Mu Fei knew that no matter how the dog changed, he must just want to escape, so she asked everyone to chant a spell with a cold face. As long as they stick to their positions, they can only beat the dog after closing the door.
The darkness was wrapped in a cold wind, and it was almost impossible to see anything around. All the light was obscured by the thick night, or in other words, swallowed up. Endless darkness would bring despair to people and nourish fear. Under such an oppressive feeling, it was hard not to tremble.
At this moment, a red sleeve flashed in the darkness, like some kind of signal. Tan Xiao slapped the thunder drum with one palm. With a "dong" sound, it was like a spring thunder shaking the earth, and the darkness rolling in from the sky broke through!
The continuous beating of the drums seemed to have invisible ripples dancing in the air, vibrating and pushing aside the thick night. Each rhythm seemed to tighten Tengu's heart.
The Schnauzer's four legs went limp and it almost fell down. The thunderous drum sound and the peach wood bow brought it the ancient fear. It was also at this moment that it was sure that what Tan Xiao was holding in his hand was really the Taiyin... slingshot.
Seeing Tan Xiao holding the slingshot again, it was not sure how much damage this mini version of the Taiyin bow could cause. It only knew that the sound of the drum was about to shatter its heart.
"Woof!!" It barked fiercely and sharply at Tan Xiao, took two steps back, and suddenly changed direction, and unexpectedly jumped towards Fang Zhu!
What it wants is to be unexpected, to make people panic, so that it can find a flaw, and then it can escape with its own escape method that is comparable to that of a meteor.
But 404 had no plan, so Mu Fei shouted, "Elder Baoping!"
Tan Xiao was aiming at the evil spirit with a slingshot, and saw the elder Baoping beside Fang Zhu bending over and sticking his butt out, pushing the big clam to the side with great effort. Fang Zhu didn't know why he didn't return to his original form. But this was not a reason for the elder to run away, and Tan Xiao couldn't help but get anxious. Of course, if they met on a narrow road, they had to go up and couldn't run away. If they ran away, there would be a gap in the formation, which was exactly what it wanted.
The elder not only ran away, but also tripped Fang Zhu, causing him to stumble. He cried out "Ouch!" and asked, "Are you okay? Fang Zhu, why can't you walk?"
What is this? Elder, you don't want to practice grammar anymore? Tan Xiao felt something was wrong.
"Elder--" Tan Xiao just shouted, and saw the orange cat jumped up at lightning speed, and quickly slapped the dog's head thirty-eight times in ten seconds with its paws, then slapped it back, then landed gracefully, looked back at Tan Xiao, and licked its paws silently, as if asking: What?
Tan Xiao burst into tears, and quickly recalled the several times he had met "Aquarius Elder". Oh, no... you, your Laomei Temple... you are not the Cat Slave Elder, but the Cat Elder? !
