Since the young man was so certain, there must be a reason for it.
Currently, Zhao Fusheng herself was like a clay Buddha crossing a river—barely able to save herself, with no extra leisure to meddle in these affairs.
She gave up on getting to the bottom of things. Her primary goal was to resolve the ghost case in Beggar's Alley.
"All right, since you say the ghost case from forty years ago won't restart, I'll believe your words and temporarily not bother with that. But the ghost in Beggar's Alley still needs to be dealt with."
"There's no way." The young man shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned and asked.
"You came too late."
'Sigh.' The young man let out a regretful sigh. Upon hearing this, an inexplicable anger 'whooshed' up in Zhao Fusheng's heart.
She immediately turned hostile and began to curse:
"What the hell are you babbling about! How am I late?"
Since her rebirth, she had activated the Investiture of the Gods List. She hadn't even dealt with the funeral of her original parents, but had rushed non-stop around this case, breaking into Beggar's Alley before dark, not even lingering to drink the soup offered by the old lady at the intersection.
"I didn't mean that—"
The young man was scolded by her and, seeing her unpleasant expression, he paused, then explained:
"I mean, the ghost domain has already formed; it's very difficult to break it now."
He considered for a moment and said:
"The ghost here has already reached the Fierce level; it's not easy to deal with. I suppose you've also noticed that the ghost's killing rule is based on this place's porridge distribution list."
Zhao Fusheng tacitly acknowledged his words, then remembered the Investiture of the Gods List's reminder during last night's porridge distribution, and asked:
"That 'Name Scroll'?"
"What 'Name Scroll'?" The young man furrowed his brows, somewhat puzzled by the term. Zhao Fusheng explained:
"That book you had beside you last night."
"Name Scroll?" The young man murmured, "That name is a bit odd, but that's not a Name Scroll—" He paused here, looking thoughtful, then nodded:
"Yes."
"In fact, that was the porridge distribution register left by my grandfather during his lifetime—" He looked at Zhao Fusheng here, a look of regret on his face.
"Go on," Zhao Fusheng felt a bad premonition. The young man heard her urging and sighed again, saying:
"Over the years, every person who has received porridge from Confucius Temple has been recorded in that register."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng seemed to realize something, and her expression subtly changed.
The young man continued:
"After the fierce ghost here revived, and the ghost domain enveloped this place, the fierce ghost will kill according to the register. This is an unsolvable situation."
As he spoke, Zhao Fusheng vaguely understood his intention.
Based on the few ghost cases she had seen the Demon Suppression Division solve in the past, there were two solutions to this kind of situation.
"To resolve this ghost calamity, there are two methods." The young man quickly articulated her thoughts:
"Either a general-ranked figure from the imperial court, who can command powerful ghosts, takes action to forcefully expel the fierce ghost, or—" He paused here, a look of difficulty on his face.
Zhao Fusheng then finished his unspoken words:
"Or you let the fierce ghost kill everyone on the register, and it will naturally leave this place."
The young man, whose intentions were bluntly pointed out by her, nodded with a composed expression:
"...Right." After saying that, he added:
"After this incident, I will no longer distribute porridge and will temporarily put an end to Confucius Temple's affairs. This fierce ghost will then no longer appear."
In this way, the problem of Confucius Temple would naturally be solved.
—In fact, this method of resolution was also one of the Demon Suppression Division's main approaches to handling ghost calamities. Ordinary people's lives were worthless, and once the ghost had killed enough people, it would naturally disappear from the area.
When the young man first mentioned two solutions, Zhao Fusheng had already guessed his plan.
But when she actually heard him say these words, and speak so lightly of these people's lives and deaths, an inexplicable anger still surged within her.
Fan Bisi always said that at this time, human lives were like blades of grass, and in this world, one lived day by day.
When she heard it, she couldn't understand it, and even now, she found it inconceivable.
The powerful in this world regarded human lives as ants, and the weak who were plotted against and lost their lives had to accept their bad luck.
Zhao Fusheng was displeased and calmly reminded him:
"There are at least a hundred people still remaining here."
The vast area of Beggar's Alley showed how wealthy the Liu family had been back then.
After being besieged for over a month, there were still over a hundred survivors under the ghost's slaughter, which suggested the original population size of Beggar's Alley.
During the time trapped in the ghost domain, countless innocents had fallen victim to the fierce ghost.
The more Zhao Fusheng thought about it, the more annoyed she became, her tone gradually turning severe:
"And even if, as you say, everyone within the Beggar's Alley ghost domain is killed, where will the fierce ghost go after it's finished killing the people here?"
The young man was startled by her sharp accusation.
He had always lived in Confucius Temple and didn't interact much with the Demon Suppression Division, but he had heard about their reputation.
Generally, most Demon Suppression Division directors were ghost wielders—people who commanded fierce ghosts. Influenced by ghosts, their temperaments were often gloomy and cruel, and their actions were no different from those of ghosts, regarding human lives as blades of grass.
But now, Zhao Fusheng seemed different from the rumored ghost-wielding directors.
He recalled their first meeting last night. She was quick-witted and responsive. After her name was maliciously put on the porridge distribution register, making her a potential target for the fierce ghost, she didn't become enraged and then use the ghost's power to slaughter innocent civilians.
After the ghost killed, she left early to find him, showing extraordinary courage.
After their conversation, the young man found her calm, restrained, and perceptive.
If she hadn't claimed to be a Demon Suppression Division director and a ghost wielder, the young man would never have believed she was someone who coexisted with ghosts.
Most importantly, she was polite and well-mannered. Hearing him mention the ghost calamity in Beggar's Alley, she even showed anger for the innocent civilians suffering the ghost's slaughter—
This meant that even though this Demon Suppression Division director wielded a ghost, she could not only remain clear-headed but was also compassionate.
For the first time, the young man's face lost its calm and composure. He stared at Zhao Fusheng with some curiosity and asked her:
"Are you really a ghost wielder?"
Ghost wielders were known for being temperamental and losing their humanity, which was vastly different from her demeanor.
And if she didn't wield a ghost, this place was dangerous; how dared she enter alone?
Zhao Fusheng ignored his trivial question. Seeing him beat around the bush, she grew even more displeased and snapped:
"Don't change the subject!"
As a ghost wielder, she had been friendly and laughing with him earlier, but now her stern reprimand carried more of the authority of a Demon Suppression Division director.
The young man lowered his eyes and replied:
"It might leave this place and seek out other survivors who were once on the register—"
Confucius Temple had been built forty years ago.
Over these forty years, the beneficiaries of Confucius Temple's porridge distribution were countless.
Not just beggars, but possibly even merchants and travelers who had passed through this area years ago—as long as they accepted a bowl of thin porridge from Confucius Temple, their names would be registered.
At that time, those who received the porridge and registered their names didn't think much of it. To them, they probably just came attracted by the Liu family's reputation, casually accepted a bowl of porridge, and then left their names.
These people might have forgotten about it themselves after drinking the porridge and leaving their names, unaware that an unwitting act many years ago could very likely bring disaster.
And the killing rule of the fierce ghost in Beggar's Alley wasn't just to kill one person, but to target 'a family'.
Once it escaped Beggar's Alley, the destructive power of this fierce ghost would be considerable.
Most importantly, ghosts evolve by killing.
The young man himself mentioned that the fierce ghost in Beggar's Alley, after more than a month of hunting and killing, had already reached at least the Fierce level.
If this fierce ghost was allowed to continue killing, it would surely evolve further. Once it did, how would the future ghost calamity be resolved?
This situation absolutely could not be allowed to worsen!
For the first time, Zhao Fusheng felt a sense of conviction, and finally understood the meaning of what the Investiture of the Gods List had mentioned: 'As a director of the Demon Suppression Division, the host is responsible for the safety of a county and should diligently perform their duties, protecting the peace of the common people.'
Fan Bisi had casually mentioned that once a ghost calamity left one's territory, it became someone else's headache.
If local counties couldn't resolve a ghost calamity, then the imperial court would get a headache. If the imperial court couldn't solve it either, then the common people were left to fend for themselves.
When Fan Bisi said this, Zhao Fusheng had no practical feeling.
But last night, she had personally witnessed the fierce ghost killing, personally saw a life vanish. That sense of shock was far beyond what a few casual words could convey.
This fierce ghost absolutely could not be allowed to evolve and then escape!
"How can that be allowed?" she said coldly.
"Other ghost calamities in the past were also resolved this way—" The young man was not ashamed or angered by her accusation. Instead, he said quite frankly.
Zhao Fusheng interrupted him:
"I don't know how others handle cases, but I will look again tonight to see if there's a way to resolve this ghost calamity."
After she said this, the young man was first surprised, then smiled faintly.
He was noncommittal about Zhao Fusheng's words, clearly not believing that she, a newly appointed director, could resolve the Fierce-level ghost in Beggar's Alley.
Although he didn't explicitly refute her, Zhao Fusheng sensed his disapproval, but she didn't argue with him about it.
She changed the subject, suddenly asking again:
"By the way, what's your name?"
Having finished the serious business, Zhao Fusheng suddenly remembered a crucial question.
As she asked, her hand involuntarily reached for her waist, touching the Jade Book of Souls and Fates.
A chilling sensation crawled up her fingers to her palm. In an instant, her hand became cold and numb, likely the ghost talisman on the Jade Book of Souls and Fates sensing her movement and clinging to her wrist.
But very quickly, that sensation receded like a tide.
The young man, completely unaware of her intention, replied upon hearing her question:
"My name is Liu Yizhen."
"Liu?"
Zhao Fusheng caught the special nature of his surname and asked:
"Are you also a descendant of the Liu family's collateral relatives from back then?"
The archives mentioned that after the Liu family suffered the incident, Liu Huacheng immediately sold his assets and moved his entire family out of Wan'an County.
But she hadn't expected that the person Liu Huacheng left behind to guard Confucius Temple was also surnamed Liu, and very likely a blood descendant of the Liu clan from that time.
However, after learning the young man's surname, she felt that Liu Huacheng's arrangement was not problematic.
After all, Confucius Temple had been able to continue distributing porridge for forty years. Even if it was just thin, watery porridge, the duration was long enough that the cost of this charity over the years amounted to a considerable sum.
Such a windfall, compared to being in the hands of outsiders, was naturally more reliable when held by one's own people.
However, Zhao Fusheng still had a doubt: regarding Confucius Temple, money was secondary to temptation. After all, it was about suppressing a fierce ghost. What kind of Liu family descendant would so wholeheartedly and faithfully execute Liu Huacheng's orders, neither enriching themselves through greed nor fleeing with the money out of fear, but remaining here for forty years, day after day?
Such a person values promises and stands by their word. This character is not an exaggeration to call a living saint.
As her doubt arose, Liu Yizhen nodded:
"Yes—"
Zhao Fusheng still somewhat doubted the truth of his words, but she had her own method of discerning.
Thinking of this, she suppressed the doubt in her heart and her anger at learning the cause and effect of the ghost calamity. She chuckled and once again pulled out the Jade Book of Souls and Fates from her bosom:
"Like this, you see, wasn't my name recorded in your 'Name Scroll'?"
She remembered her name being registered in the 'Name Scroll' last night, and that this fierce ghost claimed lives according to names. Although Zhao Fusheng was now past caring about minor troubles and major debts, this item was ultimately related to the fierce ghost. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, always thinking she needed to find a way to balance and control this situation.
"..." Liu Yizhen stared at her, seemingly not understanding her meaning.
Zhao Fusheng sneered inwardly, not caring if he was genuinely foolish or feigning it. She pushed the Jade Book of Souls and Fates towards him:
"I see you have extraordinary talent. You dared to go in and out of Beggar's Alley when it was haunted—"
Liu Yizhen explained:
"At that time, when I was entering and leaving, the ghost domain hadn't formed yet."
"That's not important. Anyway, you stayed behind in the ghost domain and even dared to continue distributing porridge while the fierce ghost was active. You're brave and resourceful. I knew at first glance that you're the kind of talent our imperial court is looking for."
"..."
Liu Yizhen's lips moved, but he didn't speak.
Zhao Fusheng smiled brightly, reaching out to grasp his wrist:
"Come join our Demon Suppression Division. We have many positions open now, and we truly need young people like you to join, so you can put your talents to use and realize your ambitions."
"Moreover, after you join, if you achieve merits in the future, the imperial court will not treat you unfairly. If the imperial court rewards meritorious service in the future, I will absolutely not claim credit for myself; what's yours will be yours!"
Liu Yizhen subconsciously pulled his hand back.
Zhao Fusheng's smile did not fade, but her gaze turned cold:
"You're well aware of what's happening with the ghost calamity in Beggar's Alley; it's related to the Liu family. It's best if we solve this problem together."
She had made up her mind to recruit Liu Yizhen and would not allow him to refuse:
"It's best if we can reach a consensus. We are all civilized people; resorting to force is not my original intention."
She elongated her tone, smiling as she looked at Liu Yizhen:
"However—"
"You misunderstand," Liu Yizhen said, smiling faintly and seriously:
"This matter is indeed our fault."
He said:
"You're right, I should indeed clean up this mess. Joining the Demon Suppression Division, if it can atone for our mistakes, is also acceptable. It's not that I'm unwilling, but I still have unfinished business at the moment and cannot return to the Demon Suppression Division with you just yet."
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