I become a god in another world

Chapter 486 Before Entering the County
Chapter 486

Zhao Fusheng looked at Zhang Chuanshi and saw that this old man who had always been afraid of death, loved to complain and nag, and deliberately argued with everyone in the Demon Suppression Division, as if he was intentionally trying to be annoying, had suddenly become a different person.

He seemed to have figured something out, and he actually looked directly into Zhao Fusheng's eyes, no longer avoiding his gaze as he did in the past.

"Sir, why don't you continue asking questions?" Seeing that Zhao Fusheng remained silent for a long time, Zhang Chuanshi took the initiative to speak.

Zhao Fusheng smiled:
"If I asked, would you tell me?"

"meeting!"

Zhang Chuanshi nodded:
"But I'm not sure whether it's true or not."

He was serious for a moment, then smiled playfully again:
"At that time, something big happened in the Imperial Capital, and my father and I were on the run. We were in a panic, so we may not remember many things clearly."

This old man's temperament is hard to figure out.

You may say he is annoying, but he is sometimes very good at trying to please people; you may say he is cunning, but he is sincere at the right time; just when you are about to praise him for his sincerity, he immediately reveals a cynical expression.

Zhao Fusheng looked at him:
"Father and son? Are you the only two of you left in your family?"

"Yeah." Zhang Chuanshi's smile gradually faded and he nodded in response.

Meng Po's heart moved, and she asked again:

"Xiao Zhang, how many people are there in your family originally?"

Zhang Chuanshi immediately turned to look at her and replied:

"Earlier or later?"

"What do you mean earlier and later?" Fan Wujiu was stunned for a moment. As soon as he spoke, Fan Bisi realized something and pulled his brother.

Meng Po was thoughtful:
"It seems something happened in your family too."

Zhang Chuanshi sneered and nodded:

"My parents loved each other and we lived a happy life. I had a younger sister, but something happened to her, and it was just me and my father who depended on each other."

He never talked about his family affairs - even the Fan brothers, who lived next door to him for a year or two, didn't know much about his past. It was not until this moment that they learned that Zhang Chuanshi had experienced family changes.

"How pitiful, how pitiful." Meng Po shook her head and sighed:
"This world—"

After that, she asked:

"Was it caused by the headless ghost disaster?"

"No." Zhang Chuanshi shook his head, "It happened before the ghost disaster."

His courage seemed to have been mostly consumed after he said these words. He lowered his head, not daring to look Meng Po and Zhao Fusheng in the eye, fearing that they would continue to question him.

Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng sighed silently and looked at Qian Zhongying again:
"We are Lao Zhang's own people. You can always ask me later if you have anything to say. The most urgent thing is to solve the problem of Shangyang County first."

Zhang Chuanshi was obviously relieved. He raised his head again and looked at Zhao Fusheng with gratitude in his eyes.

Qian Zhongying straightened his back immediately.

Zhao Fusheng asked him:
"What other news have you heard in Shangyang County?"

"To be honest, sir, the situation in Shangyang County is complicated. As Master Zhang said, the county is divided into ten districts, two of which are trading markets. Each market sells different items and is open during the day and closed in the evening."

There was almost no sunshine in the county for more than a year, and it was cloudy and rainy all year round.

"I am a Dianshi, nominally belonging to the government, and have nothing to do with the Demon Suppression Division, so I don't know much." Qian Zhongying licked his lips to ease the fear in his heart:
"But as far as I know, Qingzhengfang--" When he said this, he remembered that Zhao Fusheng and his friends were outsiders, and hurriedly explained:
"This is the center of the county town. The Shangyang County Demon Suppression Division is located in Qingzhengfang. There are the most wealthy families in the district, and many people are trying their best to live there."

After he finished speaking, he continued:
"But I heard from Uncle Yan, an old official in the government office, that Qingzhengfang is rumored to be haunted."

"Has Zhu Guangling been haunted since he took office?"

Ding Datong asked further.

Qian Zhongying shook his head:
"There have always been rumors of ghosts," he said.

"Uncle Yan is over 60 years old. He said that the first case he handled after taking over his father's job was in Qingzhengfang. At that time, he didn't know the rules and went to the home of a wealthy family named Shan. He heard from his servants that there was a ghost the night before and many people died."

Qian Zhongying said this and explained:
"Shangyang County is clearly divided into regions, and officials from other districts cannot take charge of Qingzheng District's affairs."

It was just that "Uncle Yan" had just taken office and didn't know the rules. He went there as soon as he heard the report and was scolded afterwards.

Many people in the government had heard of this incident, but they regarded it as a rumor in Shangyang County and did not take it to heart.

Even though there are many rumors about ghosts in Qingzhengfang, Shangyang County, it is still a holy place in everyone's imagination, and everyone wants to move there to live.

Apart from this, Qian Zhongying could not provide any other useful information.

To the Chang family, he is a high-ranking official who holds great power and has the final say over the life and death of the entire family.

But to the entire Shangyang County, Qian Zhongying was just an insignificant person and knew very little.

After Zhao Fusheng finished asking the question, he thought about it and said:
"The source of the ghost disaster is in Shangyang County. It is possible that Zhu Guangling is the source of the disaster. The laws of evil spirits are more like the way the 'plague' spreads -"

"Plague?" Liu Yizhen's heart moved, and then he thought of the source of the disaster, the means of 'infection', and nodded:
“It does look a bit like that.”

"Zhu Guangling was the source of the disease. He summoned the leaders of the 38 counties to the county seat. Then the people of these 38 counties were marked. Then these marked people returned to their respective counties."

This was equivalent to bringing the evil spirit's mark back to their own territory in disguise - as the officials went to the towns and villages under the county's jurisdiction to demand an increase in taxation, the evil spirit's mark was further spread to all parts of the county, leaving no one unscathed.

Zhao Fusheng spread his legs slightly apart, pressed his palms on his knees, and looked sharp:
"Zhu Guangling took office in June and called for people in September. I guess he was stable in the early stage, so he didn't do anything rash. Something must have happened in the two months in between that made him desperate and make such a crazy decision."

Wu Shaochun nodded and tried to express his own opinion:
"As Lord Ding said—"

Ding Datong interrupted him quickly:

"Just call me Lao Ding or Datong."

When they set out from Wan'an County, the grade of the evil spirit that Wu Shaochun controlled had reached the disaster level, and his strength was on par with Ding Datong, but Wu Shaochun's compatibility with the stove ghost was far beyond Ding Datong's - because he had the blessing of Zhao Fusheng's door god imprint in the early days, and he controlled the evil spirit through the stove ghost's memory. Relying on his trust in Zhao Fusheng and his sympathy for Guo's father at the time, Wu Shaochun rarely exerted the power of the stove ghost to the extreme.

In addition, his condition is more stable than Ding Datong, so his strength is above Ding Datong.

After entering Dongping Village, he began to collect incense points frequently, and his strength was further enhanced. Although the power of the stove ghost had not been promoted to the disaster level, it had already made Ding Datong feel fear.

Therefore, when Wu Shaochun spoke, Ding Datong immediately nodded his head modestly and responded immediately.

It's just a title.

Wu Shaochun smiled and followed suit:
"Old Ding said that the ghosts controlled by a county silver general are at least between disaster level and catastrophic level."

The situation in Shangyang County is not simple and the water is deep. If Zhu Guangling wants to enter here and control the situation, his strength cannot be low. It is possible that the ghost he controls is of disaster level.

"He couldn't hold on for two months. Maybe it was related to what the adults mentioned earlier, the death of Shangyang County General Yin who revived the evil spirit."

Where did the dead Silver General Ghost go?

This remains a mystery unknown to outsiders.

“It may become a legacy of history, which will become a thorny problem for the next successor.” Wu Shaochun speculated:

"This problem should be very serious. Even if Zhu Guangling is a silver general, he can't stand it, so he took the risk and did such a thing."

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Wu Shaochun with admiration:
"Shaochun has really put a lot of effort into handling several ghost cases, and he has become more and more thoughtful." After being praised by her, Wu Shaochun, who had been quite confident before, suddenly showed an expression that was somewhat embarrassed and excited.

"What he did is equivalent to dragging the entire Shangyang County into the water." Zhang Chuanshi blurted out: "Isn't he afraid?"

If something happens in Shangyang County, the imperial capital will not sit idly by.

"Perhaps his purpose is to muddy the waters."

Zhao Fusheng took back the topic:

"The situation at the Shangyang County Demon Suppression Division must be very complicated. He can't handle it, so he wants to make something big happen." She speculated:

"If Zhu Guangling is still sane, he has two purposes for doing this. One: to upgrade the power of the evil spirits he controls so as to deal with the chaos in Shangyang County; two: to make the matter bigger, preferably to the point where it threatens the Imperial Capital, so that the Imperial Capital will send people to resolve it."

Everyone nodded.

Zhao Fusheng said:
“But this is a risky move.”

Whether it is allowing the evil ghost to advance to a higher rank to resist the ghost disaster in Shangyang County, or making the situation worse to force the emperor to intervene, Zhu Guangling is gambling with human lives. After the matter is accomplished, the court will not let him live.

"From this point of view, the situation in Shangyang County may be worse than we thought."

Everyone was silent.

Zhao Fusheng patted his knee:
"Coming all the way from Dongping Village, the first thing we can be sure of is that Zhu Guangling's evil spirit law is related to footprints."

When a person dies, he leaves traces behind. If he does not become a resurrected ghost after death, it is fine. But if he becomes a ghost, he will definitely leave footprints behind.

This footprint is invisible under normal circumstances and will be hidden by the ghost realm, but if a stranger steps on it, he will be marked by the evil spirit immediately - "Based on the situation in Dongping Village, his mother is the second victim of Dongping Village after the accident of Master Wang San." Zhao Fusheng analyzed:

"His mother is paralyzed in bed," she said, looking at Li Dongping:

"Dongping, you are from Dongping Village. When did Master Wang San's mother become paralyzed?"

Li Dongping said:

"In fact, he was fine earlier, but he fell down while working in the fields a few years ago, and then he became worse."

"That means he has been paralyzed for several years." Zhao Fusheng thought thoughtfully:
"Then the existence of this kind of footprints may not only be limited to people who have been marked by the evil spirit law, but it is also possible that the footprints of the mother and son who had overlapped earlier also count."

Finally, he added:
"It is also possible that there are other reasons."

If the evil ghost marked with footprints, then everyone present would be marked. However, no one was afraid. Even Qian Zhongying, who was not a ghost rider, remained calm.

"Forget it, everything will be clear after we enter the city."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, Qian Zhongying remembered something:

"Oh, sir, there is one more thing I forgot to remind you of."

"What's the matter?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Qian Zhongying said:

"Sir, when you arrive in Shangyang County, should you report to the Demon Suppression Division first?" After he finished speaking, he carefully explained:
"In Shangyang County, besides the circulation of silver between the lower three districts, silver may not be a hard currency in the upper three districts."

"What does this mean?" Tao Lifang asked curiously.

Qian Zhongying said:
"Most of the people living in the lower three wards are poor people in the county, while the upper three wards include Qingzheng ward, which are all not far from the Demon Suppression Division. I heard that the people there are either rich or noble, and some places don't accept money."

But he didn't know the specific situation.

He had only arrived in Shangyang County not long ago, and it was already remarkable that he had managed to get to this point and was able to find out this information.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"We'll know when we enter the county."

……

I got to know some of the situation in the county, especially that Zhu Guangling allowed ghosts to commit crimes and used human lives to feed the ghosts he controlled. He had killed countless people in the past year and a half. I wonder how the ghosts he controlled had grown.

Ding Datong and others were worried.

After that, no one was in the mood to joke along the way. While they were on the road, everyone tacitly chose to close their eyes and rest.

The journey to Shangyang County was not short. When Zhao Fusheng looked out along the way, he saw few villages, let alone living people.

When it was almost dark, the driver, who had been to the county before and was familiar with the road, found a temporary earthen temple to rest.

In the Han Dynasty, traveling at night was a very dangerous thing.

After getting off the car, everyone looked quite cautious. Zhang Chuanshi was very wary of wild temples because of the Shilipo ghost case, and he was no longer in the mood to joke.

Fortunately, nothing strange happened that night. Everyone slept soundly in the haystacks with their clothes on.

The same thing happened the next day.

Seeing the depressing atmosphere, after having some dry food at noon and getting back on the road, the coachman finally couldn't help it and coughed tentatively.

Zhang Chuanshi had been holding it in for a day and a half. When he heard someone speak, he took a breath, poked his head out and asked:

"We've been sitting here for so long, how long will it take to get to Shangyang County?"

As soon as he spoke, the coachman breathed a sigh of relief.

This man's name was Zhang Xun. He was originally an official in Jin County. He was tall and strong, and looked like a calm and quiet person.

But even though he was taciturn, he was bored after enduring so long without saying anything. When he heard Zhang Chuanshi talking to him, he spoke out in gratitude:
"Master Zhang, at this rate, we may be able to reach Shangyang County by the evening."

He opened his mouth and couldn't stop:
"In recent years, the city gates have not been strictly guarded. If you give the officials some benefits when entering the city, you can enter at any time, but you need to do some favors after entering the city." He said, and then laughed:

"But you are all special people. Even if you don't give me money, the people in the city won't dare to say anything."

"Then we will go directly into the city."

Zhao Fusheng decided, "Let's go directly to Shangsanfang when the time comes."

Qian Zhongying was shocked by this sentence.

Then he thought of the identities of Zhao Fusheng and others, and it was natural for them to enter the upper three blocks, so he didn't say anything.

After a brief conversation, Zhang Xun was obviously more energetic and drove the vehicle forward.

I don’t know how long I walked, but the sky gradually became overcast.

The sky was covered with a layer of faint haze. With the naked eye, one could even vaguely see tiny beads of water vapor floating in the air.

When the fog got thicker, the trees and bushes on both sides of the road were also hidden in it.

If they smelled it carefully, they could even smell a faint fishy smell in the mist.

After smelling it for a long time, several people felt stuffy and uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the carriage wheels made a clanging sound, as if they had run over something. The carriage bounced a bit, and then went steadily along the way.

Zhang Xun said happily:
"Sir, we have entered the official road. We can reach Shangyang County in half a mile at most."

After he finished speaking, everyone became more excited. Zhao Fusheng was about to speak when her scalp suddenly tightened and an inexplicable chill surged into her heart. Then she heard the sound of a bell in her ears.