I become a god in another world

Chapter 631 Too Many Coincidences
Chapter 631

"After entering the village, everyone gathered in the courtyard."

The messenger said:
"White cloths were hung all around, and a shed was set up in the courtyard. People dressed in mourning clothes sat inside the shed. When they saw us enter the village, someone came up to ask us who we were."

He cupped his hands in a bow shape, cupping his face from his forehead to his eyes, and wiped away the raindrops.
"So we lied and said that we were a caravan from out of town entering Wuqing County, and that we were the caravan's hired bodyguards who wanted to pass through the gorge."

These few words showed that he was not a mindless person, and that he spoke clearly, not like someone who had been deceived by ghosts.

Miao Yougong's tense lips relaxed slightly, but his eyes remained wary.

"Holding a funeral?"

Zhao Fusheng's eyes flickered, and he asked softly.

The messenger said:
"Yes, they say someone in the village has died."

Zhao Fusheng asked:
"Who died? Why are they holding a funeral in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing this, the envoy was somewhat alarmed:
"We didn't have time to ask in detail. We were afraid of wasting time, so we only asked about the village population and had them find the village chief. We only said a few words and then returned."

After saying that, he hurriedly added:
“However, we told them our location and went ahead. When they learned that our carriage was stuck in the mud and rocks, they said they would find some strong men to help us lift it. They just said they needed to change their clothes so that it would be easier for them to carry out their mission.”

The village chief of Baili Temple said he would arrive shortly.

No sooner had the envoy finished speaking than a coincidence occurred.

A commotion arose ahead, accompanied by the sound of heavy rain. It sounded like a large group of people wading through the water, while others shouted and yelled, interrupting the messenger's words.

That made him instinctively turn his head to look, but tonight the rain was heavy, and the spray made the already dark mountain countryside even darker, and the lights could not penetrate the rain and mist.

"My lord, the voice sounds familiar... it sounds like the clan chief of Baili Temple," the envoy said hastily, whether from excitement or relief.

Zhao Fusheng spoke:
“Go and take a look. If it’s the clan chief of Baili Temple, call him over so I can ask him some questions.”

"Yes!" The messenger happily pattered on the rain and hurried away.

As soon as he left, Miao Yougong was terrified. Before he could speak, Yu Lingzhu asked:

"You think there's something wrong with this deserted village?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but there are just too many coincidences," Zhao Fusheng said.

"This—" Yu Lingzhu hesitated, unsure how to begin, when she heard Wu Shaochun ask:
"Does Your Excellency find the surname of the clan head of Baili Temple to be unusual?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu wore a look that was both amusing and exasperating:

"What's this clan chief's surname again?"

Wang Zhiyi continued:
"Wu, Wu family soldiers."

“Oh right, right, surnamed Wu. It seems there’s a magistrate surnamed Wu in Wan’an County as well—” Yu Lingzhu’s gaze swept over the crowd.

Wu Shaochun said helplessly:

"It's me, my surname is Guo—" he answered casually, then, seeing Yu Lingzhu's strange expression, he was immediately startled and quickly corrected himself:
"My surname is Wu, my surname is Wu, I—"

The kitchen spirit he commanded was surnamed Guo.

After Wu Shaochun finished speaking, his face suddenly darkened.

The power of the ghost was of great help to him, but its influence was also strong, affecting his cognition and life, to the point that he even remembered his own surname wrong.

Just as Wu Shaochun was starting to panic, he looked up and saw Zhao Fusheng's eyes. Under the dim light, her eyes were clear and bright, cold and deep, like a still well. Her expression was firm, as if she had an unyielding will and would not be swayed by the outside world.

Upon seeing this, Wu Shaochun immediately thought: "The Master commands more ghosts, yet she is not affected by them. Moreover, she commands Erlang Shen, and is also assisted by door gods, day and night wandering gods, the Yellow Springs opera troupe, and the horse-faced underworld messenger. These ghosts are all of higher rank than the Kitchen God. If he is truly attacked by the Kitchen God, the Master will surely have a way to suppress him."

The moment this thought entered Wu Shaochun's mind, he immediately felt reassured and suppressed the fear and anxiety that had just arisen.

"My last name is Wu."

Perhaps his will was encouraged, but his mind became much clearer:

"My name is Wu Shaochun."

“Although Wu is not a common surname, it’s not uncommon to encounter it. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that they are from the same clan, but what’s so strange about it?” Yu Lingzhu asked, puzzled.

Zhao Fusheng remained silent, but Liu Yizhen spoke up:
"Another strange thing is the way they hold funerals."

Fan Bisi nodded:
"We traveled from Wenxing County to Jin County, and when we passed Wuxian Temple, we happened to encounter a funeral procession."

Chen Duozi chimed in:

"It happened to rain that day, but the rain wasn't this heavy."

With that in mind, there are many more coincidences.

Yu Lingzhu, Wang Zhiyi, and the others initially didn't take it seriously, but as everyone started talking at once, the two women's expressions turned serious.

Ding Datong said:

"My lord, there are some coincidences, but based on just these two points, is it possible that—"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Not just two points, there's another strange thing."

"What's strange?"

Everyone was slightly surprised to hear this.

Zhao Fusheng looked at Wu Shaochun:

Miao Yougong said that there are a total of 126 households in Baili Temple.

"Yes Yes."

Miao Yougong, who was outside the carriage, heard his name called and quickly responded.

After answering, he hesitated for a moment:
"My lord, forgive my ignorance, but could there be a problem with this number as well?"

Zhao Fusheng said:

"Old Zhang, we went to Dog Head Village together that day—"

She subconsciously called out Zhang Chuanshi's name.

Zhang Chuanshi is an extremely sycophantic person, always adept at changing his stance depending on the wind and currying favor with his superiors.

In the past, when handling ghost cases, he liked to hide at the back if there was danger; but later, when handling ghost cases, he preferred to squeeze next to Zhao Fusheng whenever there was danger.

After saying this, Zhao Fusheng involuntarily turned his head to look to his side.

But while everyone from Wan'an County was present, the familiar, sleazy Zhang Chuanshi was nowhere to be seen responding.

Everyone was stunned.

Yu Lingzhu, Wang Zhiyi, Miao Yougong, and others were unaware of the situation, while the people of Wan'an County who knew the inside story fell silent.

"..."

A tremendous shock instantly transformed into a strange thrill, creeping into everyone's hearts.

It felt as if something brushed against everyone's backs, raising goosebumps and making their hair stand on end.

Soon after, a belated sense of grief spread from everyone's hearts to their very bones.

A sense of sadness arose in everyone's hearts.

"Old Zhang?" Yu Lingzhu asked in confusion.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhao Fusheng quickly calmed down.

She shook her head:
“I misspoke. Not long after I took over Wan’an County, I handled a case involving Guitou Village. Shao Chun also came from this village, which has a total of 126 people.”

Wu Shaochun's expression shifted between sadness, horror, and shock; his eyes widened.
"My lord, it is indeed so—"

That makes it seem like there are far too many coincidences.

Although Yu Lingzhu couldn't remember the exact name of the place or whether there was a village, and her memory was confused and ambiguous, she became wary after hearing a few coincidences.

"Just like I said, we will slaughter the entire village, sparing neither humans nor ghosts."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Yu looked up at Zhao Fusheng:
"Fusheng, how about I make a budget?"

"There's no rush yet."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, but seeing the child's eager expression, he knew she was eager to impress him, so he reached out and patted her head.
"While the power of ghosts is good, it is only an aid. Whether Baili Temple is real or fake, and whether we are facing humans or ghosts, we will eventually encounter clues. Unless absolutely necessary, there is no need to ask ghosts and gods."

Moreover, Zhao Fusheng saw the Qiankun Brush as more like a strange curse—at a time when the situation was still unclear, adding another curse would only cause trouble for everyone.

However, the child was eager to make a contribution, so she changed to a gentler approach, which reassured the child, who then showed an innocent look on his face.
"Alright, if you want to know the future outcome, I'll write it down with the Qiankun Brush right away."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled:
"it is good."

Yu Lingzhu looked at her strange expression as she watched her interaction with Xu Yu: What time is it? How can she still be laughing?

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the messenger who had left earlier by walking on water soon returned with someone at a brisk pace.

The man following behind him was a burly fellow.

As soon as the burly man appeared, the group exchanged glances, their eyes filled with wariness.

At that time, people were struggling to make ends meet. Many were emaciated and often subsisted on tree bark, grass roots, and vegetable soup. They were so thin that they were just skin and bones. This man, however, was robust and strong, and clearly had good living conditions.

The man held a tattered mat over his head with both hands and jogged alongside the messenger until they were almost at the carriage, at which point they slowly stopped.

Both of them restrained themselves, approached stealthily, and showed a timid expression on their faces.

"My lord, this is the clan head of Baili Temple, Wu, Wu Jiabing," the messenger replied.

Everyone's eyes immediately fell on Wu Jiabing.

Zhao Fusheng waved to him:
"Come forward, let us take a closer look."

Wu Jiabing's face was filled with undisguised fear. Upon hearing this, he moved forward with stiff steps, and when he reached the carriage, his knees buckled and he knelt down with a 'thud'.
"Whose esteemed person is this?"

He trembled:
"They only said it was a merchant caravan, not that it was an official business—"

Zhao Fusheng didn't reply to him, but simply said:

"Lift your head up and let me see you."

Upon hearing this, Wu Jiabing raised his head.

He was about thirty years old, still quite young, with a square face, but his eyes revealed a cunning that made people uncomfortable. Upon closer inspection, Zhao Fusheng felt that it was because his eyes were too close to Zhao Fusheng's, and the way his eyes rolled around gave people a feeling of insincerity.

However, his body language was rather unassuming, which created a contrast that made people feel uncomfortable.

Although one should not judge a book by its cover, Zhao Fusheng remained wary.

"I've heard this place is called Eagle's Beak Cliff?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a long-forgotten memory suddenly surfaced in a corner of her mind: the name Eagle Beak Cliff seemed familiar.

This was yet another coincidence, and Zhao Fusheng kept this in mind.

“Yes, sir.” Wu Jiabing nodded.

His expression was also quite strange when he called out "Sir".

When ordinary people are afraid, their hands and feet tremble, and their tongues become uncontrollable. But although he appeared to be afraid, his tone was smooth, and his voice carried a forced tremor.

"Is your village called Bailici?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Wu Jiabing nodded again:
"Yes."

He seemed to have already guessed the question Zhao Fusheng was about to ask, and proactively said:
“Our village has 126 households, and including babies born last year, there are now 719 people in the village.”

Zhao Fusheng paused for a moment, then smiled and asked again:

"I heard that your village is holding a funeral? We were trying to pass through the night to enter Wuqing County, but Miao Yougong said that there is a mudslide at Eagle Beak Cliff ahead, which has blocked our way into Wuqing County and we can't go any further?"

"Yes," Wu Jiabing said, troubled.
"The sudden downpour is really troublesome, it's blocking the adults' way."

He explained:
“Sir, that Eagle Beak Cliff is shaped like an eagle's beak, and below it is only a narrow path a few feet wide,” he said, spreading his arms and gesturing.

"In the narrowest places, a horse-drawn carriage can barely pass."

"Behind Eagle's Beak Cliff lies a deep mountain, where many old graves are buried. Perhaps due to a lack of reinforcement in normal times, tonight's torrential rain is a once-in-a-decade event. With one gust, the rocks were washed away."

At this point, a troubled expression appeared on his face:
“Our village has a custom of cave burial. This mudslide caused by the heavy rain will probably wash out countless corpses. Tomorrow morning, in addition to clearing the road, we will probably have to examine the bodies of our ancestors. We don’t even know if we can tell which family they belong to. Alas, it’s a terrible tragedy.”

His sigh made Yu Lingzhu and the others realize something was wrong, even without Zhao Fusheng's reminder.

The Wu family soldier's manner of speaking didn't seem like that of a villager from a remote mountain village; he seemed to be quite knowledgeable.

Yu Lingzhu tentatively asked:
"You're not a local?"

"Yes." Wu Jiabing immediately put away his forced frown and replied.

"So you don't usually live in the village?" Liu Yizhen asked as well.

Wu Jiabing laughed and said:

"Where did you adults come up with that idea? 'Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, those who live near water live off the water.' Where else can we farmers go if we don't rely on this small plot of land?"

He said:
"Moreover, my eldest son, the eldest son of the Wu family, has always served as the village chief of Baili Temple. He cannot go anywhere else except here."

After saying that, he added with certainty:
"In my entire life, from birth to now, I have never left Baili Temple."

That's strange!

Wu Jiabing didn't look like a village chief from a secluded mountain village with little knowledge. He even spoke eloquently when facing Zhao Fusheng and others, seemingly more composed than Miao Yougong and the other two envoys from the Demon Suppression Division.

A person's eyes don't lie.

"grown ups--"

Wu Shaochun sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Fusheng gave him a look that said, "Take it easy."

“What happened at Baili Temple tonight? Our scouts said it seems like a funeral is taking place? Who died? Why is there such a commotion?” Zhao Fusheng asked several questions.

Wu Jiabing then said:
"Sir, Sister-in-law Dou from our village has passed away."

Before Zhao Fusheng could ask a question, he continued:
“Her situation was special. The villagers felt sorry for her and helped her with her funeral arrangements. Unfortunately, this offended the adults.”

"Who is this Sister-in-law Dou?" Zhao Fusheng asked, feigning interest.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Lingzhu looked at her with a strange expression, but ultimately remained silent.

Wu Jiabing looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

(End of this chapter)