"Ah! A mountain spirit!" the captain exclaimed, "How could it appear here!"
"What sort of creature is a mountain spirit?" I asked.
"Uh... a mountain spirit of the underworld, equivalent to a demon in the mortal realm. Humans become ghosts after death, while demons become mountain spirits."
Demons in the mortal realm, spirits in the underworld.
I suddenly understood. Demons were theoretically immortal and rarely died easily. However, due to constant conflicts with their own kind or being hunted by humans, their mortality rate was actually quite high. After death, they would enter the underworld. I had always thought they would turn into ghosts, but I never expected them to become these sorts of beings.
Bingbing reacted with lightning speed. Upon hearing the explanation, she immediately stepped forward, raised her gun towards the sky as a gesture of non-aggression, and asked the eagle spirit loudly, "Are you Bai Ze or Shan Hai?"
Her question startled the eagle spirit, which cocked its head and let out a "coo." At this moment, a figure also emerged from the troop on the left. It was a tiger-headed man, wearing a tiger skin cloak similar to those of his kin. This tiger spirit looked far more imposing, standing at a height of three meters with shoulders wider than a meter. If one of their heads were placed on an NBA player, they would undoubtedly be unstoppable.
"I am of the Bai Ze demon clan, who are you!" the tiger spirit boomed.
My heart instantly settled. Although they had died, they were still considered one of us.
"Can't you tell by our attire?" Bingbing, also relieved, deliberately pointed to their outfits and chuckled.
"Two living mortals from the mortal realm dare to impersonate the Yin and Yang Messengers, hehe." The tiger spirit laughed heartily.
Hearing this, the cavalrymen were quite startled, and they all looked at Bingbing and me with surprise.
"Calm yourselves, brothers. First and foremost, we are Yin Messengers, sent by His Highness Little King Yama to help you defend the city. Nothing else is important." I quickly reassured the troops. Currently, only the person in charge at the county office and Lord Jiang knew we were living Yin Messengers, and they had deduced it from their extensive experience. The ordinary soldiers were unaware.
"Since you are of the Bai Ze demon clan," I continued, addressing the tiger spirit, "why do you not bow when you see a reincarnation of Bai Ze?"
I wanted to see if they possessed the ability to recognize the identity of a Bai Ze reincarnation.
"You are a reincarnation of Bai Ze?" The tiger spirit's expression appeared somewhat confused. He muttered a few words to his subordinates and then laughed, "Impossible! The last reincarnation of Bai Ze was less than a hundred years ago. How could it be so soon!"
"Believe it or not, it's up to you. I have no proof," I said calmly. "But it doesn't matter. I am currently gathering the Bai Ze tribes in the mortal realm to prepare forces and resist the Shan Hai demons. I have come to the underworld to recruit experts. I don't see you as experts. Out of politeness, I must ask: why did you intercept us? For wealth, or for death."
Bingbing secretly gave me a thumbs-up, indicating that my words carried weight. As the leader of Bai Ze, I couldn't lose in terms of dominance.
The tiger spirit, upon hearing my audacious claims, did not dare to retort. He simply cupped his hands and said, "We were merely passing by and mistook you for Shan Hai spirits. It seems we were mistaken. Please, proceed."
"Wait," I said, raising my hand. "Are your two clans also at war in the underworld?"
"The underworld is in chaos. Even we who live in seclusion in the deep mountains cannot avoid being affected. Prince Qin has promised us riches, and we, the twenty-eight spirits of West Mountain, will serve her and go to Wu Si City for reinforcements."
So, they were mercenaries sent by the court to reinforce Wu Si City.
Upon hearing that they were reinforcements, the cavalrymen raised their spears and relaxed their tension. It was likely that helping defend the city with such underworld demons was a common occurrence.
"Esteemed Immortal Venerable, we are indeed from Wu Si City," the cavalry captain said. "The battle has already concluded. It was Lord Wu here who led us to repel the enemy, destroying over ten siege ladders and beheading more than two thousand!"
"...Your Wu Si City only has three thousand men, right? Beheading over two thousand? To my knowledge, the invading enemy numbered over thirty thousand!" the tiger spirit exclaimed in surprise.
I extended four fingers to correct him: "It was forty thousand. Although their numbers were greater, they retreated in a relatively disciplined manner, which is why our confirmed kills were only over two thousand. If you had arrived earlier, you could have helped me expand our victory."
"The battlefield is still there. You can go and see for yourselves," Bingbing said, pointing behind them, seeing the tiger spirit's continued bewildered expression.
The tiger spirit seemed to believe them: "Could it be... you truly are a reincarnation of Bai Ze?"
He likely thought that only a reincarnated Bai Ze could possess such power. In reality, the key to victory in the battle was the aerial cannon and the morale shift it caused between the two armies.
"You mentioned earlier that you were... the twenty-eight spirits of West Mountain?" I asked.
"Precisely."