I become a god in another world

Chapter 501 Conversation between the two parties
Chapter 501

Zhao Fusheng looked Zhu Guangling up and down, and Zhu Guangling stood there without moving.

He has a handsome appearance.

He had a short, neatly trimmed moustache on his lips, like a sophisticated scholar.

Although he tried his best to conceal it, upon closer inspection one could still sense the faint aura of an evil spirit from him.

It was early spring, and the mornings in Shangyang County were very stiff, but beads of sweat had already seeped out of his forehead and nose tip, and water stains were faintly visible on his collar.

Facing Zhao Fusheng's gaze, he was neither humble nor arrogant.

He stood there, his eyes calm, his facial features like stone sculptures, with a sense of stiffness, allowing everyone to stare at him.

Correspondingly, he didn't seem to be curious about Zhao Fusheng and had no intention of looking back at her.

"Do you know who I am?" Zhao Fusheng became interested and asked him.

"Mr. Zhao from Xuzhou." Zhu Guangling said calmly:

"Shopkeeper Liu said that there are ghost riders in Changping County and Wan'an County under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou."

"Yes, Manager Liu explained my identity in great detail." Liu Yequan heard what Zhao Fusheng said with a profound tone, which made him shudder uneasily, but he did not dare to speak out at this time.

"Since you know everything, you still come to Ding'an Tower to see me, which shows that you have something to ask of me." Zhao Fusheng said.

"Correct."

Zhu Guangling nodded:
"I don't care if they are from the Xie family of Dijing or the Zhao family of Xuzhou. As long as they can solve my problem, they are my benefactors."

"benefactor?"

When Zhao Fusheng heard this, he was stunned.

Zhu Guangling said:

"Master Zhao, do you have time to chat with me?"

He stood quietly in a corner of the stairs. The translucent glazed tiles on the roof let the sunlight shine down. The light shone directly on him from above his head, making his face sharp and angular.

The water stains and paleness on his face were clearly visible, his eyes were brown with a hint of gray, and he looked stiff and lifeless, not like a living person.

In the sunlight, countless specks of dust floated and turned in this column of light, and a feeling of despair and fear spread silently in Ding'an Building.

There wasn't even a trace of the butcher's murderous aura on Zhu Guangling.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Does Shopkeeper Liu have any spare rooms? I do want to talk to Master Zhu."

Liu Yequan was also afraid that the two sides would fight.

One is that they are afraid that the evil spirits on both sides will get out of control, and the other is that they are afraid that the Ding'an Building will be demolished during the fight - that would be a great misfortune.

Seeing that there was no smoke of war between the two sides, he was overjoyed and said quickly:

"Yes, yes, yes. We have prepared a quiet tea room. Please go upstairs."

The tea room of Ding'an Tower is located on the top floor.

Sitting in the tea room, you can almost see Shangyang County.

The tea room had hollow folding doors on all four sides. At this time, the doors were closed and straw curtains were hung. In order to keep out the cold, charcoal basins were placed inside and the room was kept very clean.

The waiters at Ding'an Tower were also well-trained. Although everyone had not come up before, the fire had already been lit, and a kettle was placed on it. The hot water was already boiling, making a 'gurgling' sound.

Everyone sat down one by one.

Zhu Guangling and Zhao Fusheng sat across the long table from each other. He pondered for a moment:
"Where should I start? What does Lord Zhao want to hear?" He sat upright. "I heard from Shopkeeper Liu that you are from Wenxing County. Perhaps you want to ask about Wenxing County?"

When he mentioned Wenxing County, his tone was relaxed and there was no guilt on his face, as if it was just an insignificant matter.

Seeing this attitude, Zhao Fusheng frowned and felt unhappy.

"The villages and towns under the jurisdiction of Wenxing County have been plagued by ghosts, and the disaster has affected tens of thousands of people."

Zhao Fusheng said coldly.

Zhu Guangling looked at her quietly.

"Why don't you start with me? Does Lord Zhao have time to listen?" He was not moved by Zhao Fusheng's words. He looked like a clay or stone statue, without any human emotion.

This is a living ghost!
Zhao Fusheng thought to himself: There is no point in arguing with him.

The evil ghost has no emotions. To him, whether he kills or not, or how many people he kills, may just be a difference of numbers. What's the point of getting angry with him?
The anger in her heart gradually subsided.

"I have a lot of time today. I came to Shangyang County to resolve some doubts. I will listen to you." After saying that, Zhao Fusheng drank the cooled tea in the cup.

Zhu Guangling nodded with a blank expression:

"Then I'll start with myself."

Zhu Guangling said calmly:
"After I finish telling you my story, Lord Zhao will naturally understand a lot of things."

After he said this, he paused for a moment, staring straight at Zhao Fusheng, but his eyes were not focused on her, as if he was looking through her at another "person".

Zhao Fusheng pondered the meaning of his words and did not urge him.

This place was full of ghost riders from the Demon Suppression Division. People like Liu Yequan were not suitable to be here, so they tactfully retreated.

Ding Datong, Tao Lifang and others were sitting at both ends of the table, helping to serve tea and water.

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng's teacup was empty, Fan Bisi picked up the teapot that was gurgling on the stove nearby and poured the tea into her cup.

The aroma of tea rose slowly into the air along with the hot steam. This group of ghost riders, who could cause great turmoil in Shangyang County with just a stomp of their feet, now seemed unusually harmonious and calm.

Zhu Guangling didn't stay in a trance for too long. After a while, his eyes slowly focused and he finally whispered:

"My ancestral home is in Yuzhou. When my father was alive, he served as the governor of Yuzhou."

Mr. Xie sat at one side of the table with a smile on his face. He grabbed a handful of peanuts fried with sand and rubbed them with his nimble fingertips a few times, crushing the crispy peanuts into powder. He blew gently and the peanut skins flew all over the floor, leaving only the crispy peanut kernels.

Zhao Fusheng was well versed in answering questions, so he immediately responded:
"It seems that you come from a family of scholars, not a family of ghost riders."

When Zhu Guangling heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to laugh, but as soon as his facial muscles moved, a stream of water flowed down the corners of his mouth.

The scene was somewhat funny.

He calmly pulled out a neatly folded but somewhat worn handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the water from the corner of his mouth.

For some reason, Zhao Fusheng suddenly wanted to sigh.

She also really let out a long sigh:
"Ugh--"

She sighed and suddenly said something meaningful:
"Everyone has his own ambition."

Fan Wujiu looked puzzled, and Mr. Xie paused in feeding him peanuts.

Zhu Guangling lowered his head and carefully folded the handkerchief, then stuffed it back into his sleeve:

"Everyone has his own ambition."

"Since you mentioned 'late father', your father has passed away?"

Zhao Fusheng did not dwell on this issue and then asked about Zhu Guangling's family.

Zhu Guangling nodded slightly:
"The year I was born, I died in a ghost disaster."

His words left everyone silent for a long time.

In such a world, many people died from ghost disasters every day in the Han Dynasty, and countless children became orphans because of ghost disasters.

Meng Po originally hated Zhu Guangling, but when she heard this, she couldn't help but look at Zhao Fusheng and Kuai Manzhou, held the child's hand, and a look of pity appeared on her face.

Zhu Guangling said:

"My family is considered a big family in Yuzhou. We have some property. After my father passed away, everything fell apart."

While he was speaking, tears kept flowing from his eyes and mouth. He carefully wiped the water away with a handkerchief from time to time.

A bowl of steaming tea was placed in front of Zhu Guangling.

He stretched out his pale, almost blue hand to grasp the teacup. The moment his fingers touched the tea bowl, the steaming tea bowl quickly cooled down. The slightly green tea in the bowl suddenly became turbid and even smelled foul.

He moved his hand away expressionlessly.

"After my father passed away, my mother contracted a disease while fleeing. I was still an infant at the time, and it was my eldest sister-in-law who adopted me."

"Ugh."

Meng Po also began to sigh.

In such an era, human life is worthless.

For a newborn baby to survive and grow up successfully shows how much effort his family has put in.

"My brother also died in the ghost disaster, leaving my eldest sister-in-law alone. She was very young at the time, and the clan members advised her to remarry, but she refused, saying that I was the only one left in the Zhu family's direct line."

Zhu Guangling's expression was stiff and his tone was cold, but the words he spoke were filled with strong emotions, which infected Zhang Chuanshi and made him sigh.

"She was the one who decided to sell the ancestral property at a low price at that time—" Zhu Guangling said here and looked at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"If you don't sell her at a low price, she won't be able to keep it."

When Zhu Guangling heard this, he was stunned for a while, and suddenly he pulled the corners of his mouth hard, revealing a stiff smile:

"Yes." He nodded with difficulty:
"I was sold to Lingsi of the local Demon Suppression Division. My sister-in-law took the money from the sale, the tribe members, and moved me to the Imperial Capital."

He grew up in poverty during his childhood.

But financial poverty does not mean spiritual poverty.

"My sister-in-law also comes from a scholarly family. She taught me to read and write, and helped me understand things," said Zhu Guangling.

Hearing this, Liu Yizhen finally couldn't help it:

"You are a scholar, and your sister-in-law is a man of integrity, so why did you commit such a massacre in Wenxing County?"

Liu Yizhen's question was also the question that Ding Datong, Fan Bisi and others wanted to ask.

The corners of Zhu Guangling's mouth twitched. He seemed to want to laugh, but because of the ghost, he couldn't laugh in the end.

"I said before, my sister-in-law sold her ancestral property and brought her family to Beijing." He paused:
"Before the ghost disaster, my people were recorded as 369 people. After the ghost disaster, only 78 people were left." He said:

"The money from selling the ancestral property was spent on the way to Beijing. After arriving in Beijing, we could not afford to buy a house and had to rent a house to live."

The Zhu family didn't have much money left, and after all this trouble, there was almost nothing left.

"My sister-in-law was born in a wealthy family. Later, in order to support me, she did laundry, embroidered and wove for others. She could do anything. Her family members also became peddlers and hawkers to save money for my education."

After the ghost disaster, the Zhu family members did not disperse, but their cohesion became stronger than before.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Guangling grew up eating food for hundreds of people.

When he mentioned his family and the past, a hint of tenderness appeared in his already blue eyes.

Zhu Guangling fell into his memories and did not speak.

Mr. Xie, who was holding peanuts, suddenly threw the peanuts in his hand back into the plate, patted the peanut skins on his hands, and continued:
"The Zhu family hopes that he will pursue a career in government and continue the glory of his father's life." Mr. Xie smiled.
"But in such an era, how can scholars achieve glory?"

Evil spirits were everywhere, etiquette collapsed, the integrity of the royal family, the nobles, and the scholars was broken, and their backbones were shattered.

"By the time he reached adulthood, his tribe had grown from 78 to 261."

Zhu Guangling didn't mind Mr. Xie's reply. He glanced at Mr. Xie and nodded.
"Correct."

"I lived up to the trust of my sister-in-law and family, passed the imperial examination, and became an official."

But being an official is too difficult.

He must pay attention to people's livelihood and be humble before the Ghost Rider in exchange for a meager reward. He must take care of and give back to the hundreds of tribesmen standing behind him.

Perhaps it was fate that the fates of Zhu's father and son were surprisingly similar.

He also served as the governor of Yiyang County in Yuzhou. However, during his tenure, a ghost disaster occurred in the county and he was involved in the disaster, but he escaped death. Instead, by mistake, he became possessed by a water ghost who was the commander of the Demon Suppression Department at that time.

Zhu Guangling thus became a ghost rider.

He didn't want to talk much about the situation of controlling ghosts, and just mentioned it briefly.

But during the conversation, he mentioned that since he started to control ghosts, his income has been much higher than before, and his family and relatives are living a good life in the capital.

The tribesmen no longer had to work hard, and he used the money to buy land.

"Sister-in-law only needs to collect rent, and no longer needs to wash clothes for others. There is someone to serve her--"

At this point, he changed the subject:
"But nothing lasts forever, Lord Zhao. A ghost rider will eventually be attacked by the ghost. In my case, I will die sooner or later."

His words immediately silenced everyone.

There is no good ending for ghost riders, the only difference is dying early or dying late.

Zhu Guangling seemed to have figured it out long ago:

"Master Zhao, I have come to this point. I just want money and to settle my family."

This has become his obsession.

He knew that he would die sooner or later, so he began to think of ways to settle his family in order to prevent his family from being displaced like his father and brother after their deaths.

"Before I came to Shangyang County, people from the Imperial Capital reminded me that the situation here is complicated."

He said calmly, as if he was talking about someone else:

"But Lord Feng told me that as long as I come, I can keep Shangyang County from being in chaos for two years, and my family will be properly settled."

After Zhu Guangling said this, Zhao Fusheng and others seemed to vaguely understand the meaning of his words.

The "no chaos" that people in the imperial capital want is different from the "stability" that the common people want.

The bigwigs in the Imperial Capital were worried that the ghost disaster in Shangyang County would get out of control, and then spread to the Imperial Capital and bring disaster to the Emperor.

Whether the people of Shangyang County live or die is not something the adults consider.

"..."

Meng Po gently stroked Kuai Manzhou's long hair, with an ambiguous look in her eyes.

"I want my family to be properly accommodated."

Zhu Guangling said:

"I don't want my sister-in-law to go down to the river to wash clothes for others in the cold winter."

"Don't let your uncle go out to collect manure before dawn, work all day long, push the manure cart out of the city to sell to farmers, and be taxed by the soldiers guarding the city."

He looked at Zhao Fusheng:
"Master Zhao, the manure tax they paid in advance has been paid to the 287th year of the Han Dynasty."

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless for a moment.

It is now the 247th year of the Han Dynasty. In those days, the Zhu family was at least high-ranking officials in the imperial court and descendants of a famous family.

If one person dies, the entire family will be displaced and oppressed.

They do a lowly job, but are exploited by all kinds of people in various ways.

Just for a job of piling up manure, he was charged forty years' tax in advance.

Zhao Fusheng originally had murderous intentions towards Zhu Guangling, but when he heard his words, he felt as if a huge stone was pressing down on his chest.

The situation in Shangyang County is complicated, and most people know how serious it is and dare not come here.

However, Zhu Guangling's weakness was discovered and he was willing to take up the post.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know what to say for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice:

"There are 38 counties in Shangyang County, hundreds of thousands of lives lost." She didn't know about other counties, "Wenxing County alone is littered with bones and corpses."