I become a god in another world

Chapter 630 Ancestral Hall in the Desolate Suburbs
Chapter 630
The passengers, who had been jostled around in the car with bated breaths, all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that they had gotten off the road.

Faced with the ghostly calamity, there were many ghost tamers in this group, and at least three of them were at the level of a king general, so they were able to put up a fight.
However, if a natural disaster strikes, even the Ghost Master is powerless to help.

This mountain valley is rugged and narrow, and slippery when it rains. If one falls down the mountain, it is unlikely to survive. The ghost tamer will also be immediately resurrected as a vengeful spirit, becoming a wandering demon in the mountains.

Upon hearing the word "down the road," everyone couldn't help but smile.

The carriage carrying Zhao Fusheng and the others was in the middle. About a quarter of an hour later, the carriage suddenly jumped up and landed with a 'clatter' after running over a large stone. It then drove much more smoothly.

The next three carriages also safely exited the road. The journey was thrilling but without any real danger, and everyone was very fortunate.

After walking a few more feet, they suddenly heard someone shouting from ahead.

The heavy rain was so intense that it drowned out the voices, making them indistinct.

Zhao Fusheng looked at Kuai Manzhou:

"Manzhou, can you hear someone talking?"

Kuai Manzhou did not reply, but his figure quickly disappeared from the spot.

A mist of blood, like flowing water, appeared on the roof of the car, slowly rising upwards and then leaving the car in an instant.

Yu Lingzhu and Wang Zhiyi looked up, their expressions strange.

When Feng Du mentioned that Wan'an County was full of talented people and that Meng Po and Kuai Manzhou had the strength of Jin generals, the two remained noncommittal.

However, Kuai Manzhou's casual display of ghostly power surprised the two of them.

Zhao Fusheng's casual attitude towards Kuai Manzhou, and the lack of harshness in his tone when giving her instructions, surprised both of them. This meant that Zhao Fusheng had great prestige among the people of Wan'an County, and that they did not question her orders but obeyed them with exceptional obedience, becoming her absolute asset.

The two women were pondering this matter in their hearts when, shortly afterward, crimson mist mixed with rain poured down from the top of the carriage, eventually transforming into the figure of Kuai Manzhou. The little girl, her face deathly pale, said:
"A fire was spotted ahead, and a horse-drawn carriage got stuck in the mud behind."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone rushing over through the mud.

A short while later, amidst the thunder and rain, a man shouted loudly:
"My lords, please allow me to speak."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng gave a signal, Liu Yizhen reached out and pushed open the car door.

As soon as the door opened, a whooshing sound filled the air as rain, mixed with the gale, rushed into the car, stinging the face like steel needles and sending a shiver down one's spine.

A man wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat was standing under the car, looking at the people inside.

"explain."

Yu Lingzhu shouted coldly.

The man pushed his straw hat up, revealing a face soaked by rain, and said to the people in the carriage:
"Sirs, a village has been discovered about half a mile ahead. I have dispatched Chen Chong and Li Yuan—" He hurriedly named several messengers in succession:

"Ten people went to investigate together. The messengers just returned and said that this place is called Baili Temple. It is a small village with 126 households."

Because it was dark and raining heavily, and he was afraid that Zhao Fusheng and the others would become impatient, he tried to be as concise as possible in explaining what he knew:
"I didn't find out the exact number of people, but it's a small village. It's governed by clans and people believe in ghosts and gods."

After he finished speaking, he said:

"The accompanying commander had dealt with them and confirmed that they were alive."

His words startled Yu Lingzhu, who was about to speak, and she moved her lips but did not utter a sound.

"The village chief's name is Wu Jiabing. After learning that we were planning to enter Wuqing County at night, he said we could not proceed further tonight," he explained.

"Wu Jiabing said that there is a cliff at the corner in front of the village, which is the only way out of the village and into the city. The locals call it Eagle Beak Cliff. Tonight, a sudden rainstorm caused the Eagle Beak part of the mountain to break, and a rockfall mixed with mud and sand rushed down, blocking the road out of the village and into the city."

The demon tamer spoke quickly and urgently. Rainwater rushed into his mouth, and he tilted his head to spit out a large mouthful of saliva, wiped his mouth, and continued:

"It was dark and the road was slippery at this time. If we rashly opened the road, firstly, there was a risk that there might be mudslides, making it dangerous to do so, and secondly, we were afraid that we would not be able to walk smoothly and fall into the valley."

He said:

"Wu Jiabing's idea is that there are young men in the village who would like to ask us to rest for the night. They will help us get the cart that got stuck in the mud out of the back. We will rest in their village and pay them some food and lodging fees before we leave tomorrow morning. They will wait until dawn, and if the rain stops, they will immediately call the young men to help us dig out the road out of the village."

As soon as he finished speaking, he fell silent and waited for instructions from Zhao Fusheng, Yu, Wang, Jiang, and the others.

Several oil lamps hung in front of the car, emitting a dim light that barely illuminated the interior, but the light conveyed a sense of oppression.

The foul wind, mixed with a faint stench of corpses and the heavy scent of perfume emanating from Wang Zhiyi, put some pressure on the ghost tamer.

After he began to control the ghost, his physical condition was far superior to that of an ordinary person. However, the continuous rapid movement and the late night made it difficult for him to hide his mental fatigue. The shadows of bags appeared under his eyes, and rainwater gathered on the ropes that tied his straw hat, but he did not dare to reach out and wipe it away.

A brief silence fell over the car.

Wang Zhiyi sneered and launched the first attack:

“Yu Lingzhu, Wuqing County is your old territory. You claim to be familiar with this place, yet you haven’t even found out the situation.”

Yu Lingzhu's face darkened:
"Hey Wang, what do you mean by this—"

Wang Zhiyi said:

"What you think in your heart is what I mean."

"You—" Yu Lingzhu was about to retort when Zhao Fusheng's forehead veins throbbed, and he then shouted sharply:

"No one is allowed to make a sound!"

"Why should I listen to you?" Wang Zhiyi turned her head and said coldly.

Zhao Fusheng looked at her:
"Do you think I can beat both you and Jiang Jinshan? My fists are harder than both of yours, so shut up!"

"..."

Wang Zhiyi remained silent, and finally turned her face away:

"Humph!"

She reached for the package, but Zhao Fusheng warned her:

"Try pricking the voodoo doll with needles again and make me feel pain."

Wang Zhiyi's hand froze in mid-air. Finally, her hand trembled twice, and amidst Yu Lingzhu's mocking laughter, she crossed her arms over her chest with a gloomy face and remained silent.

"Yu Lingzhu".

After Zhao Fusheng finished speaking with Wang Zhiyi, he turned to look at Yu Lingzhu.

Yu Lingzhu's smile froze:
"I'm older than you, after all—"

Zhao Fusheng said:

“Wuqing County is your territory, you should be most familiar with it. You said you had previously passed through this canyon, and there was no one around. But now a mountain village has appeared in the middle of the wilderness.”

She looked calmly at Yu Lingzhu:
"Are you mistaken, or is the village's origin mysterious?"

Zhao Fusheng's words startled the listeners.

Yu Lingzhu no longer cared about arguing with Zhao Fusheng about how to address him, and her expression became serious:

"You suspect there's something wrong with Baili Temple?"

As she spoke, she turned and coldly looked at the ghost tamer who was reporting outside. The ghost tamer's face turned pale, his lips parted slightly, and he tried to explain, but under Yu Lingzhu's sharp gaze, he ultimately dared not utter a sound.

"Hard to say."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head.

"Why are you being so hesitant to say it—" Yu Lingzhu was impatient and couldn't stand his evasive and cryptic manner. Just as she was getting impatient, Zhao Fusheng simply spoke directly:
"In the desolate mountains and in the pouring rain, a village suddenly appearing in the wilderness seems rather strange."

After saying that, he added:
"It's too much of a coincidence."

She said:
“Perhaps I’m being overly suspicious, but investigating ghost cases requires constant caution to avoid carelessness, lest we die without even knowing how we died.” Zhao Fusheng looked at Yu Lingzhu:
“Our group is quite large; even if some of us are lost, it will be a major problem.”

Yu Lingzhu disagreed:
“You’re right, but if there’s any doubt, just raze the village to the ground.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng frowned:
"It's just suspicion, not a conviction." She suppressed her displeasure.

"As the envoy mentioned, Baili Temple has more than 120 households, which is quite a large number of people. Killing someone is not like killing a chicken; if we kill the wrong person, how will we clean up the mess?"

Yu Lingzhu asked in bewilderment:
"The Demon Suppression Division exists to suppress and exorcise ghosts, protecting the common people. They risk their lives for the Demon Suppression Division, so it is only right and proper for them to serve. These people dare to extort money from you, so they are clearly not good citizens."

"..."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head:
“I’m not going to talk to you about that. You should tell me if you remember this canyon as being called Eagle Beak Cliff, and if there is a village called Baili Temple between the cliff and this road.”

Yu Lingzhu didn't understand why she acted so contradictoryly, suspecting that there was something wrong with Baili Temple, yet refusing to take action to nip the crisis in the bud.

However, Zhao Fusheng was right about one thing: the Demon Suppression Division respects the strong, and since her strength is extraordinary, it's naturally a good thing that no conflict occurs.

Thinking of this, Yu Lingzhu pondered for a moment:
"I am bound by the Book of Fate, so I haven't returned to Wuqing County much in the past few decades. I've only returned three times, and I only borrowed a route once more than 30 years ago, when Cheng Mengyin disappeared."

She looked up and met Zhao Fusheng's gaze:
"At that time, I was extremely anxious, so one of my messengers found me a local guide. This person did mention that the narrow path resembled something, but I don't know if its name was Eagle's Beak Cliff—"

Yu Lingzhu said helplessly:

“My memory isn’t very good, sometimes—” She paused for a moment, unwilling to reveal her shortcomings in front of everyone, and changed the subject:

"As for whether there were villages, I don't remember very clearly, but I vaguely recall that there seemed to be some—some grave mounds—"

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment:
“I initially thought there was no village, but now that I've heard people talking about it, it seems like there is—I remember there were graves, but if there are graves, then there must be people—and I think, I think I've been into this village before—”

After speaking, she remained silent for a moment, then finally shook her head with a hint of disappointment:
"I...I really can't remember."

This woman, who was both ruthless and loyal, had lost the assertiveness she displayed when confronting Wang Zhiyi earlier, and now showed a hint of vulnerability.

Zhao Fusheng guessed that her confused memories might be related to the laws governing the vengeful spirits she controlled.

Yu Lingzhu's words made the matter even more confusing.

She looked at the messenger:

"What's your name?"

The envoy, filled with fear, replied upon hearing this:

“Replying to your question, my name is Miao Yougong.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Miao Yougong, I ask you, did any of the messengers you sent out have ghost-controlling abilities?"

Miao Yougong shook his head:
“They are all driven by ‘white-collar’ people.”

"White-collar" is the jargon used by ordinary envoys of the Demon Suppression Division.

Zhao Fusheng asked again:
"How long were those ten people gone? Did they all return safely?"

Miao Yougong replied:
“The ten people went for about two and a half hours,” he explained. “Because the rain was too heavy and the mountain road was difficult to walk on, they had to support each other to go and support each other to come back, but they all came back.”

Zhao Fusheng then asked:
"Has the identity of the people inside Baili Temple been confirmed?"

“It’s confirmed,” Miao Yougong replied. “To be honest, Lord Zhao, I was also worried that something was amiss, but the messengers said it didn’t seem like it.”

Ghosts have no emotions or desires.

If it were a vengeful ghost, it would be impossible for it to chat and laugh with a living person.

However, there is another possibility: assuming that Baili Temple is a ghost realm, these ten messengers broke into the domain of fierce ghosts, and due to the laws of ghosts, their cognition was interfered with, thus 'blinding' the memories of several people.

However, if the ten messengers were to return, it would mean that Zhao Fusheng and the others had also entered the Ghost Realm.

……

In any case, I definitely have to visit Baili Temple.

"I was also worried that the messengers might be misled by the laws of vengeful spirits, but I questioned them, and their minds were clear, their eyes were bright, and they didn't seem to be bewitched by ghosts—"

At this point, Miao Yougong became uncertain and said uneasily:
“Lord Zhao, I also brought two men with me. Why don’t you question them a bit to confirm things? If there are any problems, I will—” He didn’t finish his sentence, but he had already instinctively raised his hand, making a chopping motion with his five fingers together, clearly indicating that he was about to kill someone if things went wrong.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Have someone come forward and give a reply."

As soon as he finished speaking, a clerk with a deathly pale face stepped forward, trembling.

He was soaked to the bone by the heavy rain. Hearing what Miao Yougong had said earlier, he didn't know whether it was from the cold or fear. His lips turned blue, and his teeth chattered, making a 'crackling' sound.

"What did you see when you went to Baili Temple?"

The messenger, fearing both that he had encountered a ghost and that Miao Yougong would punish him for a poor answer, immediately replied tremblingly:
"Sir, a funeral is being held at Baili Temple. When we arrived—"

He stammered as he recounted what had happened.

The group of ten people were walking along the road when they discovered a light ahead. They were terrified.

In the middle of nowhere, amidst a torrential downpour, why is there light at night?

At that time, the people were poor and reluctant to light lamps at night, so they usually went to bed early before dark.

Upon seeing the lights, the group initially thought they had encountered a ghost.

However, none of them dared to retreat.

Miao Yougong is no pushover.

The ghost tamer has a violent temper, and it was a rainy night. If the group retreated out of fear, they would either die from the ghostly calamity or from Miao Yougong's hands.

With that in mind, the group gritted their teeth and moved forward.

After walking a few steps, I heard sounds: people talking and playing musical instruments.

Upon hearing the noise, the group immediately felt reassured.

In their minds, any ghostly calamity would inevitably be accompanied by screams, slaughter, and bloodshed.

But since there are people talking and playing instruments, they must be living people.

After walking forward, the group indeed saw a village in the distance. A fire was lit in one corner of the village, and by the light of the fire, they could roughly make out the appearance of the village.

(End of this chapter)