In this world, Fierce Ghosts ran rampant, and the common people struggled. Among the people Zhao Fusheng had encountered since her rebirth, whether it was the Fan brothers or Paper Man Zhang, none were anything but cunning, cruel, and indifferent. Although Liu Yizhen was not a purely good person, he was clever and steady, and dealing with such a person was the easiest.
Moreover, he had offered Zhao Fusheng a certain degree of goodwill at the opportune moment, showing a cooperative attitude. Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded in response: "Good."
With this small interlude, both relaxed considerably when they spoke again.
Liu Yizhen was curious about Zhao Fusheng's origins, so he asked her the reason for her taking charge of the Demon Suppression Division. This was not a great secret. Zhao Fusheng then recounted how "she" was bought into the Demon Suppression Division by the Fan brothers as a scapegoat, and how her parents were subsequently killed by a Fierce Ghost. Her soul possessing another body was her biggest secret, which she naturally couldn't tell anyone else. Therefore, she fabricated an excuse:
"...I miraculously survived and controlled the Fierce Ghost of the Demon Suppression Division."
"So that's how it is." Liu Yizhen was quite astonished by her experience after she finished speaking. Surviving a great disaster brings great fortune. The fact that she could escape from the hands of a Fierce Ghost and even subdue it showed that there was a reason she dared to venture into Beggar's Alley alone and ultimately resolved the Beggar Ghost problem.
"However, you must be careful," Liu Yizhen warned. "After a Fierce Ghost is disintegrated, it will temporarily enter a state of dormancy, but this period is not long. Once it revives, its killing rule may change accordingly."
"Turning into a search for its lost ghost arm?" Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred, and she asked. Talking to smart people was so much easier.
A smile appeared in Liu Yizhen's eyes. He nodded slightly: "The Fierce Ghost of the Confucian Temple back then was 'ghost-activated' by Su Long using a human—" He had a good impression of Zhao Fusheng. Now that they had exchanged registers, they were mutually restrained. He had a good opinion of Zhao Fusheng and was willing to befriend her, naturally not wishing for her to die too soon. He was willing to offer her a few more pointers on certain matters.
Of course, this was also because the ghost calamity in Beggar's Alley had been completely resolved—Zhao Fusheng had proven herself with her strength.
But the most important thing was not these. Liu Yizhen could sense that the new Commander of the Demon Suppression Division was very different from the ghost-controllers he had heard about in rumors. Zhao Fusheng had the aura of a Fierce Ghost about her. Even though it was well concealed, his natural sensitivity to ghostly auras still allowed him to sense that she had used the power of a Fierce Ghost. Yet, her eyes were calm, her speech restrained, and her mind and reactions were very sharp. Liu Yizhen didn't know why she could borrow the power of a Fierce Ghost without being influenced by it and going mad, but everyone had their secrets, and he didn't intend to probe further.
But Liu Yizhen understood that with Zhao Fusheng's intelligence, from the Beggar Ghost's killing rule, appearance, and the fragmented clues from their conversation, she might have already guessed the Beggar Ghost's origin. When the Beggar Ghost returned, it had lost its right arm, the one that "demanded" things—Liu Yizhen's gaze fell on Zhao Fusheng. He could sense that besides the aura of a Fierce Ghost, Zhao Fusheng also carried the aura of another ghost entity.
"No one knew if this method would succeed back then; it was just a desperate gamble." The Great Han Dynasty had suffered from ghost calamities for a long time. Everyone knew the terror of Fierce Ghosts and that ghosts were immortal, but no one knew how ghosts were generated, nor could anyone control Fierce Ghosts.
"Back then, Zhang Xiongwu's family had been researching the process of humans transforming into Fierce Ghosts for generations. Su Long also urgently needed a ghost to suppress a ghost, and my grandfather offered compensation. The three parties hit it off and reached a cooperation." He calmly recounted the past, saying: "Beggar's Alley had no shortage of beggars. Therefore, my grandfather, leveraging the convenience of the Liu family, selected a beggar whose birth time and characters were suitable. Zhang Xiongwu then killed him using corpse-making techniques."
During this period, Su Long also used the power of a Fierce Ghost to "activate a ghost." The content of the three parties' discussion was: after this beggar was killed by special means, he would be enshrined in the temple. With the Liu family's financial resources, alms would be given, attracting countless homeless poor people to reside there, who would "buy their lives" to feed this Fierce Ghost. Many innocent people, grateful for the porridge given by the Liu family's Confucian Temple, sought short-term survival without knowing that they were achieving this short-term survival by selling their own "fortune, longevity, and prosperity."
This method of "activating a ghost" was cruel and bloody, but it ultimately succeeded by chance. The beggar, killed by special means, successfully revived as a Fierce Ghost, but was ultimately suppressed by the Headless Ghost and controlled within the Confucian Temple. The strength difference between the two ghosts actually caused some disparity, but Liu Huacheng's act of "borrowing lives" through alms increased the Beggar Ghost's leverage, thus achieving a balance between the two ghosts. And the fact that Liu Huacheng dealt with two Fierce Ghosts throughout his life clearly showed that he himself was no ordinary person.
Perhaps it involved his own grandfather, Liu Yizhen did not elaborate on Liu Huacheng's past, but rather glossed over his life until the day he died.
"That day was my grandfather's hundredth birthday. Before his birthday, he knew his death was coming, which is why he instructed me to go to the Demon Suppression Division." The rest of the past, Zhao Fusheng already knew, so he didn't elaborate.
Once Liu Huacheng died, and the mutual restraint with the Headless Ghost was severed, the Beggar Ghost, which had been suppressed for forty years, immediately revived. It had begged for food in life, and now demanded lives in death. After a person dies and turns into a Fierce Ghost, there are no rules to follow, but the Fierce Ghost's killing rule can be discerned somewhat from its life before death.
"Every night, it would patrol the streets, randomly choose a family, knock on their door, and demand 'food'." The chosen family would all die by the Fierce Ghost's hand. Over forty years, the Beggar Ghost, suppressed by the Headless Ghost, reached a certain agreement with the Confucian Temple and Liu Huacheng: Liu Huacheng would "buy lives" with porridge to offer to the Beggar Ghost, and the Beggar Ghost, in turn, would implicitly use the vitality of these myriad lives to nourish the Headless Ghost. Therefore, after its revival as a Fierce Ghost, it not only killed but also took a head after a "full meal," which was used to appease the Headless Ghost.
Everything was clear. Using human lives to raise a Fierce Ghost and then suppress another Fierce Ghost— Zhao Fusheng let out a long sigh. This matter was not glorious, and Su Long back then perhaps still retained a certain degree of shame (here, shame does not refer to conscience), which is why he did not record the full story.
"Its begging arm represented its killing rule." Whether knocking on the door or taking a head, that ghost hand was exceptionally crucial. Now, Zhao Fusheng had forcibly dismembered it, tearing off its arm, rendering the Beggar Ghost's corpse incomplete. In the future, when this ghost revived again, the first thing it would do was to search for its body.
"So, it will kill people to get hands, but its ultimate goal is to find me, retrieve its ghost hand, and complete its ghost corpse." Zhao Fusheng's words were an indirect admission that the Fierce Ghost's arm was in her possession.
"Yes." Liu Yizhen was not surprised to hear her say this; he merely nodded: "So you still need to be careful yourself."
"I'll worry about that later," Zhao Fusheng waved her hand casually, speaking indifferently.
Liu Yizhen smiled and didn't take her attitude to heart. She seemed careless, but in reality, she was meticulous and extremely suspicious. The matter of the Beggar Ghost was probably already on her mind; she was merely pretending to be this way to mislead others.
"Besides, ghosts are Yin and malevolent. Carrying it with you, you must also take care," he reminded her again.
Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred, and she nodded. Just as Liu Yizhen said, she kept the ghost hand on her, but she wasn't affected by it. Was it because the ghost hand was temporarily dormant, or was it because the Investiture of the Gods List had previously deducted merit and cleared the influence? However, these questions could be answered later. She had more important questions that Liu Yizhen needed to answer.
She was thinking about how to steer the conversation to what she wanted to ask when Liu Yizhen broke the silence: "However, if I remain in the temple, and if the Fierce Ghost is about to revive, I will notify you."
"Aren't you afraid of something happening?" Zhao Fusheng asked casually.
"No," Liu Yizhen hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have my own methods for self-preservation. The Fierce Ghosts 'cannot see' me."
"Ghost Lanterns?" Zhao Fusheng, hearing him say this, naturally looked up at the top of the Confucian Temple. Many lanterns hung there, still lit. This was also where Zhao Fusheng found herself utterly perplexed.
The Ghost Lanterns passed down through the Paper Man Zhang family had a peculiar characteristic: if they didn't encounter a Fierce Ghost, the lamp oil seemed to burn endlessly and never extinguish, but if they encountered a Fierce Ghost, they would burn intensely, and the lanterns would even quickly break. She recalled entering the Confucian Temple after spending her first night in Beggar's Alley, attempting to observe the scene inside the temple, and sensing the Fierce Ghost's aura. At that time, the lanterns showed abnormalities, then emitted a foul odor, and then the ghostly aura reappeared. The lanterns quickly broke, the oil lamp containers shattered, and the foul lamp oil spilled everywhere. At the time, she didn't understand why, but looking back, it must have been the Ghost Lanterns protecting her from the Fierce Ghost's prying eyes. From this perspective, regardless of how cunning and cruel Paper Man Zhang's character was, he possessed quite some skill in dealing with Fierce Ghosts.
Thinking this, another doubt arose in her mind: "There are so many Ghost Lanterns in the Confucian Temple—" Her eyes darted, revealing a cunning expression as she deliberately asked: "Paper Man Zhang is not a benevolent person, so why would he give you so many Ghost Lanterns?"
This item was so precious that successive Commanders of the Demon Suppression Division were willing to befriend the Zhang family for it, showing that the Zhang family's skill in making these Ghost Lanterns was indeed extraordinary. And Zhang Xiongwu was not a good person. Zhao Fusheng didn't know the origin of the Ghost Lanterns, but from the name, the lantern exuded a strange aura. And the method of "activating a ghost" by using a human was an exceptionally sinister technique. She had dealt with Paper Man Zhang before. This person was insidious and vicious, skilled at flaying human skin to make lanterns, keeping half-corpse, half-human ghost servants, and had accumulated numerous human lives on his hands. Such a person would not do good deeds out of pure kindness.
"Back then, your grandfather used half of the Liu family's savings to persuade Su Long—" Su Long still retained a certain degree of human nature (here, human nature does not refer to conscience), so it was natural for him to develop greed when faced with the Liu family's immense wealth.
Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked: "But what price did your grandfather pay to move the Zhang family, causing that old man to repeatedly disregard his life and accompany Su Long in and out of the Liu family ancestral temple, which was occupied by Fierce Ghosts, three times?" She tilted her head, looking at Liu Yizhen: "You also said that the Headless Ghost here is no ordinary ghost and has a certain suppressing effect on Fierce Ghosts."
A ghost-controller like Su Long would have his power restricted in front of the Headless Ghost. Zhang Xiongwu daring to accompany him in and out under such circumstances was akin to risking his life.
"You've guessed it?" Liu Yizhen raised an eyebrow in surprise after hearing her question, then smiled as if not surprised at all: "Paper Man Zhang offending you is not good news." Her insight was truly astonishing; no slightest clue escaped her notice.
Since the past events had already been revealed, and this "not so glorious" matter could not be hidden from Zhao Fusheng, and they had also exchanged registers, in a way, they were mutually restrained and also indirectly bound to cooperate. Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, he replied: "My grandfather gave him an item."
"This item is extraordinary, isn't it?" Zhao Fusheng smiled. The Zhang family was ruthless and killed without batting an eye. To move Zhang Xiongwu to repeatedly appear despite risking his life, and to then give lanterns as a gift, this item must have been something valuable.
"It's a very powerful and extremely malevolent object." Liu Yizhen nodded. He had said everything that needed to be said, and even what didn't. He simply stated: "Actually, it's a coffin lid." He knew that Zhao Fusheng was naturally suspicious, and when it came to ghost cases involving human lives, she was even more meticulous and cautious, probing into many details. Rather than being cornered and questioned by her, and inadvertently revealing more information, it was better to tell her everything from the start.
"After the Headless Fierce Ghost's body was disintegrated back then, his body was placed inside a coffin." He placed the "Benevolence" character sign he was holding onto a stone table nearby, focusing on speaking to her: "That coffin is a peerless malevolent object. It must have been a powerful item that accompanied the awakening of a great ghost back then. Once a Fierce Ghost entered the coffin, it would be suppressed."
Later, for some unknown reason, the coffin fell into the hands of the imperial court and became one of its most important treasures. "The Headless Ghost's rule is special. In order to resolve this hidden danger, the court took out this treasure and placed the Headless Ghost's body inside." He sighed: "It is precisely because of this that the court has since attached great importance to Wan'an County." Besides worrying about the Headless Ghost reviving again, they were also concerned that someone might learn the truth of the event and take a dangerous gamble, regardless of the suffering of the populace, to steal this treasure.
After Liu Huacheng returned to his hometown, most of the Commanders who served in the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division were extraordinary individuals. Therefore, Wan'an County had a very long period of glory and stability.
"Unfortunately—" Liu Yizhen paused after saying this.
Zhao Fusheng continued: "Unfortunately, the coffin still had problems later?"
"How did you know?" Liu Yizhen instinctively countered. But after asking, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh: "Sometimes I really suspect whether the Fierce Ghost you control has the ability to read minds."
"No," Zhao Fusheng shook her head earnestly.
"..." Liu Yizhen looked at her with a strange expression. Zhao Fusheng then chuckled: "Just kidding with you." After speaking, she became serious again: "As the saying goes, there's always a thief for a thousand days, but never a thousand days of preventing a thief?"
"That's true," Liu Yizhen nodded. Zhao Fusheng asked: "Which part of the coffin was lost?"
He said in a low voice: "A coffin nail was lost." The coffin itself was a whole, only then could it form a perfect, peerless malevolent object for sealing Fierce Ghosts. Once it lost one of its parts, even a tiny coffin nail, its sealing effect would be greatly reduced. After the coffin nail went missing, the Fierce Ghost sealed within immediately revived.
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