The outrageous guess had become reality, and the revelation left Zhao Fusheng speechless for a long time.
Three Malevolent Ghosts simultaneously hidden within Fuzi Temple? How dared Liu Yizhen? He actually cohabited with three ghosts!
Her mind replayed the scene from yesterday when she came here to find Liu Yizhen, standing before Fuzi Temple and vaguely seeing the shrine. Although she hadn't clearly seen the 'divine statue' inside the shrine, it had given her an unsettlingly sinister feeling at the time.
But then the Ghost Lantern shattered, and Liu Yizhen appeared, interrupting her glimpse.
Zhao Fusheng's mood was complex as she followed the Malevolent Ghost around the street corner.
The lights of Fuzi Temple grew brighter and brighter. The stark white light pierced through the blockade of ghost mist, allowing her to clearly see the scene in front of the temple gate.
At the main entrance, a tall figure stood, each hand holding a wooden water bucket.
Perhaps the hour had arrived, as he seemed a little anxious, restlessly turning his head and looking around, as if waiting for something.
When he heard the heavy "thud, thud" of footsteps, the figure suddenly turned his head.
The stiff, deathly pale Malevolent Ghost, carrying a bleeding human head, walked unhurriedly into the range illuminated by the Ghost Lantern.
The young man holding the buckets saw this scene and instinctively looked at the human head held in the ghost's hand—
"Eh?" He then seemed to discover something strange, letting out a surprised sound.
The head appeared to be an elderly man, with uneven teeth. It seemed the person preyed upon by the Malevolent Ghost tonight was not Zhao Fusheng.
While the young man was still in startled uncertainty, a familiar voice rang out:
"What, didn't expect it wasn't me?"
This slightly mocking, yet abrupt, remark brought immense terror to the young man.
His body stiffened.
The water buckets he held in both hands crashed to the ground, the water spilling out, splashing all around with a "splash."
From behind the Malevolent Ghost, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows—
"It's you!" Liu Yizhen cried out in shock, stuttering, "You, how, how dare you—"
Since Zhao Fusheng first met Liu Yizhen, the young man had always given her the impression of being extremely calm and mature.
He showed no fear even when encountering ghosts, yet now he seemed badly frightened by her sudden appearance.
Perhaps it was astonishing that Zhao Fusheng not only hadn't died in tonight's ghost disaster but had also ambled half a street behind the Malevolent Ghost. He gasped for breath as he spoke.
His hands were splattered by the spilled water, his fists clenched then instinctively loosened, then tightened again, repeating this process multiple times, his pupils continuously contracting due to excessive shock.
Zhao Fusheng also shook her head, watching the Malevolent Ghost slowly shuffle step by step towards the temple gate.
The lamplight shone on the ghost's body, illuminating the blood dripping onto the ground with exceptional clarity.
The ghost passed by the disheveled Liu Yizhen. Whether it was due to the influence of the Ghost Lantern or because it had completed its killing rule for the night, it seemed to 'not see' the living person standing before it.
It stiffly ascended the steps, crossed the threshold, and then the "thud, thud" of footsteps echoed from within the quiet main hall. Amidst the reverberations, the ghost's aura gradually merged with the shadows inside the hall.
Not long after, a "clatter" of impact sounded, and then everything fell silent.
At this moment, the two living people stood in front of the temple gate, silently facing each other for a long time.
"I didn't expect it to be like this."
Zhao Fusheng shook her head again at this point.
"No, I should have realized it long ago."
No wonder yesterday her heart had stirred, and when she asked Liu Yizhen how many ghosts were in the temple, he just smiled without a word.
According to her original deduction, the ghost disaster currently plaguing Beggar's Alley had emerged to counter the Headless Ghost. The Headless Ghost was sealed within Fuzi Temple, so it wasn't impossible for the Head-carrying Fiend to be hidden inside Fuzi Temple as well.
It was just that Liu Yizhen's residence in Fuzi Temple had misled her. She hadn't expected a living person to dare coexist with a revived Malevolent Ghost.
Coupled with the Malevolent Ghost's revival after the old temple caretaker's death—Zhao Fusheng sighed, saying:
"Who would have thought that a mere Fuzi Temple in our Wan'an County would be home to such 'talented ghosts'?"
As Zhao Fusheng spoke, she looked up again at the Ghost Lantern hanging above, then her gaze fell on the two buckets of water beside Liu Yizhen.
She then recalled how the ground had been damp yesterday morning when she arrived, as if it had just been washed, which had raised her suspicions even then.
"..."
Liu Yizhen was momentarily speechless by her words, unsure how to respond. Finally, he calmed his racing heart and said:
"I'll clean up this place, then we can talk."
With that, he gestured for Zhao Fusheng to move aside, then bent down and tilted the two water buckets, which were more than half full, emptying them.
Water gushed out with a "whoosh," washing the ground. Liu Yizhen retrieved a long broom from the corner and began scrubbing away the traces left by the Malevolent Ghost.
It was evident he regularly performed these tasks, as his movements were swift and practiced. In just a few sweeps, the temple front was clean. After putting away the broom and buckets, he re-emerged and glanced at Zhao Fusheng—
Her expression was calm, but her eyes were deep, filled with caution and vigilance towards him.
The young girl wore a pair of worn cloth shoes, with tears at the big toes of both feet, vaguely revealing her socks underneath.
The soles and uppers of the shoes were almost soaked with blood, and after he had just poured water, they were practically dripping wet.
"Do you want to clean your shoes?"
Zhao Fusheng lowered her head to look at her feet and saw the toes almost poking out of the holes in her shoes.
Liu Yizhen's gaze settled on her feet. Her eyes darted, then she let out a laugh:
"Sure."
She pretended to bend down to take off her shoes:
"Then you can conveniently take them to help me scrub clean—"
"..."
Liu Yizhen was caught off guard by her reaction.
Generally speaking, people have a sense of shame. When a less dignified side of themselves is exposed, most people subconsciously try to avoid or justify it.
Although Zhao Fusheng had fortuitously become the Commander of the Demon Suppression Division, her humble origins meant her clothes were worn, a stark contrast to her current status.
Liu Yizhen deliberately mentioned her shoes, intending to embarrass her and thus steer away from their subsequent conversation.
Who knew she wore worn shoes with such composure, not an ounce of awkwardness? Instead, her movement to take off her shoes startled Liu Yizhen.
"Don't—"
He lost his composure again, shouting.
Zhao Fusheng's hand was still on the heel of her shoe. She hadn't intended to make any further move. Hearing the young man before her lose his cool, she couldn't help but let out a scoffing laugh:
"Just messing with you. Look how scared you got."
She straightened up.
Liu Yizhen's expression was initially quite annoyed, but hearing her laugh, he also found his own behavior comical. He had intended to turn the tables on her but ended up having his own trick used against him.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
With that shared laugh, the tense atmosphere between them instantly dissipated.
Liu Yizhen's expression seemed to soften considerably, but in reality, his vigilance towards Zhao Fusheng only increased.
She was intelligent and cunning, unpredictable in her actions, and particularly adept at understanding human psychology and controlling the mood.
Since the Malevolent Ghost's return, his emotions seemed to have been entirely within her grasp. Even his attempts to force her away, which he thought clever, seemed to have been within her predictions.
Zhao Fusheng didn't care what he thought. She calmly stated:
"I'm going to deal with ghosts in the future; I'll have to get used to these things eventually."
Liu Yizhen pondered this, nodding.
Zhao Fusheng said:
"It's just that I didn't expect the ghost in Beggar's Alley to be one you nurtured."
"No—"
Liu Yizhen initially tried to refute, but under Zhao Fusheng's steady gaze, he finally sighed:
"This is a long story."
"Then take your time telling it," Zhao Fusheng stared at him.
"I know you're still hiding some things, but now that so many lives are involved, you can't keep procrastinating."
Hesitation leads to trouble.
She was determined: if the ghost of Beggar's Alley was indeed nurtured by Fuzi Temple, and if Liu Yizhen, this insidious and cunning person, dared to fabricate lies to deceive her, she would find a way to kill him later. She absolutely could not leave such a potential source of disaster alive.
This person was quite peculiar.
He was a living human, without the sinister aura of a Ghost Tamer, yet Zhao Fusheng could also sense the faint ghost essence he had acquired from frequently dealing with ghosts.
This feeling was very strange.
Zhao Fusheng hadn't been Ghost Taming for long, nor had she dealt with many ghosts, but she vaguely felt that Liu Yizhen was quite special, as if the ghosts she commanded held no 'malice' towards him, and there was a subtle, inexplicable connection between him and ghosts.
He and the old temple caretaker, grandfather and grandson, successively took charge of the charity work and dealt with ghosts. They must have their own set of experiences in dealing with ghosts, which they were unwilling to share with outsiders.
Zhao Fusheng pushed aside her distracting thoughts. Liu Yizhen's situation could be investigated slowly after she dealt with the Beggar's Alley matter. The most important thing at hand was still the predicament in Beggar's Alley.
"You must be very clear about the origin of the ghosts in Fuzi Temple, right?"
"Yes," Liu Yizhen nodded.
Tonight, the Malevolent Ghost's movements had been exposed, which meant another one of his hidden secrets was out in the open.
Since the establishment of Fuzi Temple, this matter had been well-hidden for forty years.
Even after the incident in Beggar's Alley, and the Malevolent Ghost killing people consecutively, even if others had figured out the ghost's killing rules from previous deaths, ordinary people were mostly afraid of death and clung to life. None were as defiant as Zhao Fusheng, daring to follow closely behind the Malevolent Ghost, allowing her to discover the ghost's hiding place.
Liu Yizhen frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly chuckled:
"Forget it. This matter is originally related to the Demon Suppression Division anyway, so telling you isn't embarrassing."
Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated and spoke directly:
"I believe you've already grasped many things, and you've probably understood the situation of the ghost disaster in Beggar's Alley."
Zhao Fusheng nodded.
Liu Yizhen then asked:
"And the ghost disaster that befell our Liu family forty years ago, you know about that too, right?"
"Of course."
Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow, then responded again.
"The ghost disaster back then, Su Long and Zhang Xiongwu couldn't resolve it," he stated frankly.
Zhao Fusheng recalled what Paper Man Zhang had mentioned and asked:
"Is it because of the special power of the Headless Ghost's corpse?"
"Yes," Liu Yizhen nodded, saying, "This Headless Ghost's power is unique; it can suppress Malevolent Ghosts. My grandfather said that the Malevolent Ghost Su Long commanded back then had reached the Fiend-tier, but it was still suppressed in front of it and couldn't be controlled at all."
Zhao Fusheng had only heard Paper Man Zhang mention the terrifying nature of the Headless Ghost's corpse but hadn't realized its ability was so heaven-defying.
Connecting this to the Malevolent Ghost she herself commanded, her heart immediately stirred:
"I feel this ability is quite wonderful—"
The Malevolent Ghost she commanded, if it used too much power and revived, would take her life—if she could obtain the Headless Ghost's corpse, could she perhaps first borrow the power of her own Malevolent Ghost, and then immediately carry the Headless Ghost's corpse?
This way, the Headless Ghost's power would restrain her own Malevolent Ghost, effectively sealing her Malevolent Ghost, allowing her to exploit a loophole and borrow the Malevolent Ghost's power without limits, rendering her own entangled Malevolent Ghost helpless?
"Don't let your imagination run wild!"
Liu Yizhen, hearing her words and seeing her expression, seemed to instantly guess her intentions and loudly rebuked:
"Such naive notions have been attempted before."
The Headless Ghost could indeed restrain other Malevolent Ghosts, causing them to fall into a sealed state, but once it revived, who would restrain it?
"I advise you to abandon that thought. Once you borrow the Headless Ghost's power, it will first take your head, causing your immediate demise."
"...Alright."
Zhao Fusheng sighed with a slight hint of regret.
However, she hadn't completely given up.
The Headless Ghost's power was very useful to her, but currently, she just couldn't find a way to control it. If she could find a method, this ghost might prove to be of great use in the future.
Liu Yizhen saw her expression and knew she hadn't taken his words to heart, immediately feeling a headache.
"Don't mess around. When this Malevolent Ghost's corpse was complete back then, it caused great havoc in the Capital City, killing a Gold-tier General—"
Zhao Fusheng had already heard these things from Paper Man Zhang, and nodded with a smile:
"I know."
"But do you know? The Demon Suppression Division's general ranks, in addition to being related to merit, seniority, and a Malevolent Ghost's ability, are also related to the Malevolent Ghost's tier. My grandfather said that this Gold-tier General commanded a Malevolent Ghost of Disaster-tier or higher!"
Liu Yizhen said with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng truly paid attention.
Paper Man Zhang had mentioned the tiers of ghosts, which were divided into five major tiers: Wraith-tier, Ferocious-tier, Malevolent-tier, Calamity-tier, and Disaster-tier.
This meant that, among the tiers human beings assigned to Malevolent Ghosts, the Disaster-tier great ghost was already the most terrifying existence.
A general capable of commanding such a Malevolent Ghost actually dying in a ghost disaster within the Capital City—this was the reason why Zhao Fusheng cared about the matter.
"A Malevolent Ghost of Disaster-tier or higher?" She frowned.
Such details, Paper Man Zhang naturally wouldn't have explained to her thoroughly. That person was sinister and intended to give her incomplete information, precisely to lure her to her death.
"Yes," Liu Yizhen nodded seriously. Seeing her finally become serious, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"The tier of this Headless Ghost's corpse is actually so formidable, capable of killing a general commanding a Disaster-tier Malevolent Ghost. Then, back then—"
"Not entirely so," Liu Yizhen said. "The Headless Ghost's rules are heaven-defying, but there's a reason it was able to kill a Gold-tier General."
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