I become a god in another world

Chapter 605: Formulating the Rules
Chapter 605
As soon as the envoy finished speaking, Ma Chaoyuan's eyes lit up and he stared at Zhao Fusheng with joy.

But this time Zhao Fusheng didn't nod again.

She looked at the people in Shangyang County meaningfully. Ma Chaoyuan and others, who had looked happy before, turned pale in an instant.

Ma Chaoyuan stammered:
"My lord, could it be that there is something unexpected going on?"

The existence of the human-skin ghost mother is like a knife hanging over everyone's head, which may devour everyone at any time, and no one in Shangyang County, from top to bottom, has the power to fight back at all.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:

"Nothing has happened. The case has been solved. But whether it will devour the ghost rider in the future depends on whether the ghost rider is honest or not."

She half-closed her eyelids as she spoke, her eyes fixed on the teacup on the table. After she finished speaking, she looked up at everyone with cold eyes.

Ma Chaoyuan met her gaze and felt the murderous intent in her eyes. He shuddered and came to his senses: no matter how friendly and gentle Zhao Fusheng behaved, she was still a ghost rider, and a very powerful one at that.

Her words also made everyone vaguely understand her hidden meaning: it seemed that the human-skin ghost mother was already under her control, and if everyone did not obey her orders, they would most likely be punished by her.

Thinking of this, Ma Chaoyuan's heart tightened and his calf muscles instantly cramped twice, causing him to feel excruciating pain.

Zhao Fusheng's smile did not reach her eyes. She looked at the people in front of her:

"The case of the human-skinned ghost mother is extremely dangerous and complicated. General Zhu Guangling of Shangyang County has already died in this ghost case."

Although Zhu Guangling did not come back with them, everyone had already guessed what was going on.

But when Liu Yequan, Ma Chaoyuan and others heard about Zhu Guangling's death, they still felt a pang in their hearts.

"The county city cannot be without a master. I haven't entered the capital yet, so I don't know the situation of the court." Zhao Fusheng said:

"But since I solved the Shangyang County ghost case, I will assume that I will be responsible for cleaning up the aftermath of this matter for the time being."

"The existence of the plaque can suppress some of the ghost disasters, but the effect is limited."

She thought of the scene in the seventeen levels of hell, then looked at the sleepy Fengdu, and a trace of gloom passed through her heart.

The situation in Fengdu is not very stable either.

He is too 'old'.

Ghost riders naturally don't really age, and Fengdu's 'old' means that he is most likely nearing the end of his life, which means the time for the evil ghosts to revive is approaching.

He is the temporary guard of the Seventeenth Level of Hell. Even if the ghost realm can be inherited, the next inheritor may not be Fengdu.

Who will take over the responsibility of such an important task as guarding Zang Junji at that time?
If the person who takes over fails to suppress the ghost realm, once the evil ghosts revive, who will deal with the disaster afterwards?
The 'transaction' Fengdu mentioned earlier is probably also related to this matter.

Zhao Fusheng suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and said:
"This thing is a calamity, not a blessing, for your Shangyang County today, but if I take it away, I will also give you something to ward off ghosts."

Ma Chaoyuan felt uneasy after hearing this.

He didn't care at all who got the plaque of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

For him, as long as he could save his life and survive, that was all that mattered - as for whether the mission could be completed or not, and whether the court would pursue the matter later, those were all matters for the future.

But no one knew what the ghost-suppressing object Zhao Fusheng mentioned. For Ma Chaoyuan, it was like taking away the rope hanging around his neck, but leaving a huge knife hanging over his head that could fall at any time.

Ma Chaoyuan was very scared of the "ghost-suppressing" thing that Zhao Fusheng mentioned. He had a bad feeling for a moment, but he didn't have the courage to ask.

"The human-skinned ghost mother is involved with countless ghost minions."

And trapped inside these human-skin ghost minions are the ghost controllers who have been stationed in Shangyang County for more than forty years.

They were a scourge to the people during their lifetime. They not only protected the common people, but also devoured and oppressed them. In the end, they died at the hands of the human-skin ghost mother and became ghost minions.

"I plan to place one of the ghost minions in Shangyang County."

Zhao Fusheng's words startled Ma Chaoyuan and others so much that they subconsciously wanted to retreat.

Ma Chaoyuan kicked the bench with his back knee and almost tripped to the ground.

He stood firm with an embarrassed look on his face, but he didn't care about the embarrassment and knelt down immediately after standing still:
"Sir, have mercy——"

The case of the human-skin ghost mother was finally solved. If another human-skin ghost appears, wouldn’t it be the same old story?

Zhao Fusheng looked at him coldly:
"I have made my decision and I will not change it."

She first stated her decision, and then said:

"This human-skinned ghost accomplice is not the human-skinned ghost mother. It is under my control and will not revive again. However, it is of a very high rank. With it guarding, even if a robbery-level ghost case occurs in Shangyang County, you can hide in the place where it guards and your lives will be safe."

Zhao Fusheng's words made everyone half-believe and half-doubtful, and she continued:
"There has been no new appointment in the Imperial Capital yet. If no general takes over in the future, then Ma Chaoyuan will take over this place."

Ma Chaoyuan also expected such an arrangement.

However, he had already told Zhao Fusheng all about his situation. Now that he was about to revive as a ghost, he was not suitable to take over Shangyang County. When he was having mixed thoughts in his mind, he heard Zhao Fusheng say:
"Ma Chaoyuan is in an unstable state. I always like to distinguish rewards and punishments clearly when doing things."

She said:

"I plan to give you a ghost seal to stabilize your condition."

Zhao Fusheng's words made Ma Chaoyuan's anxious heart suddenly fall back to its original place. He felt as if he had taken a reassurance pill, and a look of joy immediately appeared on his face.

"But after the ghost seal, I want you to do a few things first."

Ma Chaoyuan immediately expressed his position:
"Just give your orders, my Lord."

"First, when you take over Shangyang County, you will immediately abolish the 'right of first night' established by Zang Xiongshan more than 40 years ago."

Zang Xiongshan established this rule in order to capture young girls, peel their skins, and kill them in order to suppress the Human Skin Ghost Mother and alleviate its revival.

But under every rule, there are not a few victims.

Not to mention the disaster caused by Zang Xiongshan himself, in fact, as far as Zhao Fusheng knows, after this rule was born, there were many victims, but not many girls actually died at the hands of Zang Xiongshan's ghost mother.

Many more people die indirectly because of the rules.

A large number of officials and runners from the Demon Suppression Department and the imperial court in Shangyang County used this law as a whip to harm countless people.

These people formed a terrifying group, hiding under the law of "right of first night" in Shangyang County. Over the past forty years, they have harmed far more people than Zang Xiongshan himself killed back then - these were all serious consequences of Zang Xiongshan being the only one in power back then and creating the law of "right of first night" in a moment's thought.

Ma Chaoyuan was stunned for a moment, then his mind changed and he responded:
"Yes."

The rule of "right of first night" has a long history in Shangyang County, and many people have already formed a certain tacit understanding.

The Demon Suppression Division oppresses everyone in the county city, and under the Demon Suppression Division is the government.

The government bullies the people from top to bottom, and this oppression spreads down layer by layer, and in the end it is the ordinary people who are picked on.

In fact, ordinary people have long used this rule to form a business chain - the trend of selling daughters is very popular.

Deleting this rule at this time may cause some turmoil.

However, in this world, the strong are respected.

Zhao Fusheng is a ghost lord, so if she wants to cancel this rule by force, I don't think others would dare to disobey.

For Ma Chaoyuan, he didn’t care whether other people had resentment in their hearts or not. All he wanted was to save his own life.

"Second, Shangyang County suffered a ghost disaster this year, and countless people were killed and injured. Now is the spring planting season. You will issue a notice to register the families that have suffered ghost disasters in the past few days."

Zhao Fusheng said, "In any household in Shangyang County where someone died as a result of the burial of the Human-Skinned Ghost Mother a few days ago, taxes to the Demon Suppression Department will be reduced for the entire year."

This is also a command of great turmoil.

The taxes levied by the Demon Suppression Bureau are a heavy yoke imposed on the people - not only ordinary people, but even wealthy families would be troubled and afraid of it after paying taxes every year.

When Liu Yequan heard this, his heart started pounding.

The two changes mentioned by Zhao Fusheng were enough to cause a sensation in Shangyang County.

But who could have thought that these two terrible orders would come from Ding'an Tower and be spoken by Lord Zhao in such a nonchalant manner.

His hands and feet were numb, and he felt excited but also scared. He saw out of the corner of his eye that the waiter was coming to deliver the dishes, so he gestured to the waiter not to come over and disturb Zhao Fusheng while he was speaking.

"In addition, for other families that have not been affected by ghost disasters, two seasons of tax will be exempted."

After Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, he looked at Ma Chaoyuan gently:

"Did you hear what I said?"

Ma Chaoyuan's mind was in a state of confusion, but when he heard her ask this, he nodded quickly:
"I heard it clearly and took note of it."

People in Wan'an County and others already knew Zhao Fusheng's character and were not surprised by this.

But Xie Jingsheng, who was originally immersed in sorrow, couldn't help but look up at Zhao Fusheng: Shangyang County was not her territory, so why was she meddling in these trivial matters?
The two edicts she mentioned did her no good.

Shangyang County is not under her jurisdiction, and the lives of the people have nothing to do with her. However, if she makes such changes by force, it will inevitably harm the interests of many officials and ghost riders, and people may not like her.

Such an outcome might bring her notoriety.

The common people have poor information and are not aware of the inside story. They may not even know what Lord Zhao has done for them.

What is she doing this for?
Xie Jingsheng was thinking about this and went to see Fengdu again.

But Feng Du just smiled and held his tea with his eyes closed, as if he didn't care about her issuing orders and arbitrarily changing the laws of Shangyang County.

Zhao Fusheng didn't care what everyone was thinking, and continued to explain:
"But don't disrupt the order. Remember my words, register the victim list first and don't let the tax cut news leak out."

She spoke softly, and Ma Chaoyuan understood her hidden meaning and nodded:

"Don't worry, my lord."

He originally thought that Zhao Fusheng's two rules were just a spur of the moment idea, an attempt to temporarily improve people's livelihood and do a good deed, without considering the consequences.

But the fact that Zhao Fusheng specifically reminded him of this at this time proved that Lord Zhao was well aware of the malice of human nature.

Ma Chaoyuan was just hesitating whether to ask a few more questions in order to grasp the right measure of the matter, when he heard Zhao Fusheng say:

“This matter must be done carefully and meticulously.”

The existence of the human-skin ghost mother in Shangyang County has become a shadow hanging over the heads of everyone in the county. With the removal of Zhu Guangling and Zang Xiongshan, the two human and ghost disasters, and with the ghost minions guarding the county, Shangyang County may be safe for a short period of time.

This will also free up Ma Chaoyuan and others to do their work.

However, no one can clearly explain the reason for the revival of the evil ghost. Perhaps without the human-skinned ghost mother to suppress it, as long as people die in Shangyang County in the future, there will still be the chance of a ghost disaster breaking out.

……

Zhao Fusheng said:

"Register first, then announce the rules, and don't trust those who register."

Human nature has both good and bad sides - in a world like this, we must be more careful when it comes to money and other things to avoid those who take advantage of loopholes and risks for money, which can turn good things into bad things and harm innocent lives.

"If anyone takes advantage of this, we will torture and kill them if we catch them."

After she said this, Ma Chaoyuan knew what was going on.

"Don't worry, sir. I will definitely get it done!" he said confidently.

Ma Chaoyuan was afraid that Zhao Fusheng would be too kind and lose control, but they were under her control and would be restricted in what they could do.

Now it seems that she really knows how to reward and punish appropriately.

Be kind while being ruthless. Killing and fighting have their own rules. Now that everyone has a trump card, they can control the situation in their hearts.

"Yeah." Zhao Fusheng also nodded with a smile:

"The third thing is that the Demon Suppression Division has its own rules and must handle cases every year."

She pondered for a moment:

"The minimum requirement is to follow the Demon Suppression Division's own rules, and the number of cases each person handles each year remains the same."

Ma Chaoyuan and others were feeling uneasy when they heard her mention the ghost case, but they felt slightly relieved when they heard her say that the number of cases handled remained the same.

"but--"

Zhao Fusheng changed the subject and whetted everyone's appetite again:

"If the number of cases that the Shangyang County Demon Suppression Division, whether ghost handlers or envoys, participates in each year can be recorded, and if it is true that the number of cases that are completed in excess of the quota is exceeded, or even the ghost handlers who actively participate in handling ghost cases and do a good job, I will help you complete the ghost seal every year."

She promised:
"As long as you don't die in the ghost disaster, and as long as I don't die, I promise that this rule will continue as long as I live."

Zhao Fusheng's words made everyone overjoyed.

The Demon Suppression Division has always had a tradition of making ghost seals.

However, this kind of ghost seal mostly works on generals who are in charge of a region: for example, Ding Datong of Changping County, Zhu Guangling of Shangyang County and so on.

The ghost-controlling officers in ordinary counties and the county magistrates under the jurisdiction of the county do not have such an honor.

Ma Chaoyuan and the others couldn't help but look at each other, and quickly figured in their hearts: If the evil spirit controlled by Zhao Fusheng is above the disaster level, then her ghost seal will be very important.

While thinking, Zhao Fusheng said:
"I have many evil spirits under my control, and I have many people around me. I can choose from disaster-level, calamity-level, or even higher-level human-skinned ghost mothers."

She looked at everyone with a smile:

"Based on merit, understand?"

Her words made Ma Chaoyuan's heart beat fast. Just as he was about to express his opinion, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:
"But don't be deceitful. If you dare to lie to me, I don't need to tell you the consequences, right?"

When Ma Chaoyuan heard this, it was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on his head, which dissipated the fiery desire in his heart and made him calmer.

But no matter what, Zhao Fusheng's words still brought a glimmer of hope to everyone.

"We all understand what the adults said."

"As long as you know."

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Now that we have made it clear, I will first give you the ghost seal later to ensure that you can sleep peacefully and do your work well for at least this year."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Ma Chaoyuan and other envoys from Shangyang County nodded in unison, with joy in their eyes.

(End of this chapter)