I become a god in another world

Chapter 636 Two Ghosts in the Shrine
Chapter 636

Zhao Fusheng's face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "Raise the torch higher and lead the way."

The villager was about to retort, but when he turned to look at her, he saw her stern gaze and the cold glint in her eyes. He was startled and fear arose spontaneously. His displeasure quickly dissipated, and the cowardice in his bones surged back into his heart.

“Yes, yes—”

He responded timidly and then lit the torch higher.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Yu Lingzhu:
Why are you arguing with them?

"..."

Yu Lingzhu remained silent.

She didn't really want to argue with these villagers, but she was deeply shocked to suddenly hear the truth about the "good people of the Chang family" from the villagers.

Yu Lingzhu couldn't help but recall her conversation with Zhao Fusheng when she first boarded the carriage.

At the time, she tried her best to emphasize that the Chang family were good people, but Zhao Fusheng showed a dismissive expression, which made Yu Lingzhu extremely uncomfortable.

But when Yu Lingzhu heard what the villagers of Baili Temple were saying, she became flustered.

'Tatttatt.'

The group trudged through the mud, one step at a time, and no one uttered a sound; the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Yu Lingzhu's personality couldn't stand the silence, and after a long while, she spoke up:
"Zhao, Zhao Fusheng, do you think what the villagers of Baili Temple are saying is true?"

Zhao Fusheng grabbed her trouser legs with both hands and pulled them up, but the cold mud still seeped into her feet through her shoes and socks. While thinking about the situation of Baili Temple and the clues related to Wuqing County and the Chang family, she was also distracted by how to clean and dry her shoes later.

Hearing Yu Lingzhu's words, she was slightly distracted, and her turn of the head was a fraction of a second slower, which displeased Yu Lingzhu:

Did you hear me when I spoke to you?

"I heard you." Zhao Fusheng nodded.

"Nine times out of ten."

“Sigh, you’re such a blunt person. You never speak the truth. We people from Wuqing County are not like that. We say what we mean and mean what we say, without any hesitation or beating around the bush,” Yu Lingzhu said.

Liu Yizhen originally disliked her flamboyant and domineering personality, but after hearing her say this, he felt a sense of resonance and nodded in agreement:
"Yes."

Chen Duozi, however, defended Zhao Fusheng and didn't like hearing anyone say anything bad about her, so she quickly said:
"My lord is merely being cautious; how can you speak so definitively about something that isn't certain?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded in agreement:

“Exactly. Do you want me to just say that the Chang family is a scourge of Wuqing County, a parasite that sucks the marrow from the bones of the people?”

'hiss! '

'hiss! '

The footsteps stopped abruptly, and everyone stared wide-eyed at Zhao Fusheng in disbelief.

Yu Lingzhu trembled all over as she stared at Zhao Fusheng:
“You, you, you—”

Zhao Fusheng also stopped, and said helplessly:

"See? I'm giving you face by saying it tactfully, but you're still unhappy. I'm telling you directly, but you're still unhappy. You're so hard to please."

Yu Lingzhu's face was gloomy.

After a long while, Yu Lingzhu finally moved her feet:

"Grandma Chang is a good person, and her two sons are also good people, how could this be—"

"Yes."

The three villagers nodded in agreement:
"When Grandma Chang was alive, she often gave porridge to the poor. She was a very kind and compassionate old lady."

Liu Yizhen sneered:
"The wool comes from the sheep."

The villagers didn't react, and Wu Jiabing remained silent.

Yu Lingzhu was upset, while Zhao Fusheng said:
"I don't know if the Chang family is good or bad, but their existence makes them a local tyrant in Wuqing County."

“I don’t believe it. They went through hardship back then, how could they—” Yu Lingzhu shook her head.

When Zhao Fusheng heard her say this, he began to look at her in a different light.

At first, she thought Yu Lingzhu was unreasonable, extremely protective of her own, and treated the lives of ordinary people like dirt, so she had a bad impression of her.

But seeing that she is still bothered by what the villagers of Baili Temple said, it is clear that Yu Lingzhu is not as cold-hearted as she appears.

Thinking about it this way, Zhao Fusheng became more inclined to talk:

“Some things have nothing to do with whether they are suffering or not, or whether they are good people,” she said.

"When it comes to taxes, the Chang family doesn't take the lion's share, so the Demon Suppression Bureau and the government don't dare to take the smaller share. Even if the Chang family doesn't want it at first, these people will beg them to take it."

At this point, Zhao Fusheng paused, then continued:

"Later on, there was no need to beg anymore," she said, looking at Yu Lingzhu.
"Didn't you say the Chang family now has several hundred members?"

Yu Lingzhu had already realized something. Her lips moved, but she hesitated and ultimately just nodded.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"In just a few decades, the population has grown so fast. The two surviving sons of the Chang family must have taken quite a few wives and concubines, right?"

"..."

Yu Lingzhu was speechless.

She wanted to explain, but the moment she opened her mouth, she was speechless.

"Over the past thirty years, Old Mrs. Chang's sons have had sons, and her sons have had grandsons. Now, her grandsons should be old enough to get married and have children, right?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Yu Lingzhu suddenly regretted asking those questions.

There are some truths she pretends to be unaware of, choosing to let them slide.

She's a ghost tamer, she'll die sooner or later, so why bring things up now and make herself uncomfortable?
“The Chang family is doing well now, and it’s common for them to take wives and concubines. Many poor families have nowhere for their children to go. If they can marry into a wealthy family and earn a living, wouldn’t that be a good thing? It doesn’t matter who these people marry or who they have children with.” Yu Lingzhu forced herself to compose herself and asked Zhao Fusheng.

"Yes."

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"But isn't your question about why the Chang family collects taxes? That's the reason."

She said:
"With more and more children and grandchildren in the family, so many people are living and need to eat. Wuqing County has a limited population and a limited amount of land. Even if the people work their hardest to cultivate the land, the amount of rice and grain is still limited."

"The Chang family cannot farm their own land, so when they don't have enough food, they have no choice but to scavenge for it from other people's bowls."

Yu Lingzhu disagreed:
"It's not like they're taking it for free; I believe the Chang family will pay for it—"

Zhao Fusheng smiled:
"Where did the Chang family get their money?"

Liu Yizhen spoke softly:
"Grown from the ground."

The two of them sang in unison, making Yu Lingzhu extremely embarrassed and annoyed.

Seeing that she was pretending not to understand, Zhao Fusheng lost interest in continuing the discussion.
"If there's only one bowl of rice and it's to be shared between two people, and each person takes a portion, everyone will be half full. But if one person wants to eat their fill, the other person won't get anything. If you can figure this out, great; if not, then forget about it."

She turned to look at Wu Jiabing:

"I don't care whether the Chang family collects taxes or not, but I am very interested in what you mentioned about accumulating merit points to exchange for a next life."

After she finished speaking, she asked Wu Jiabing:

"Village Chief Wu, could you tell me about it?"

When Wu Jiabing heard her mention this, he was initially frightened, but after a short while, he calmed down.

"My lord, since you're already here, why the rush to ask this question? You're here to enter Wuqing County—"

After saying this, Wu Jiabing paused for a moment, then continued:

"If you're willing to give me some benefits, I'll also give you some advice in return, how about that?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled:
Are you making a deal with me?

"That's it."

Wu Jiabing nodded. "Do you know my identity? How dare you make this request to me?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

At this, Wu Jiabing also laughed:

"I don't know your exact identity or background, but I can guess a little."

He paused for a moment, then continued:
"I see that you are shrewd, sir. You must have made thorough preparations before entering Wuqing County, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred.

Just as they were about to speak, the group had already entered the ancestral hall.

The villagers who were the first to enter the ancestral hall came forward to greet them:
"Uncle Jiabing, the lights are on."

Wu Jiabing immediately changed the subject:

"Gentlemen, let's go inside the ancestral hall and take a look first."

The group entered the ancestral hall one after another, first looking around.

The ancestral hall occupies a considerable area, with a spacious central courtyard paved with bluestone and kept very clean.

The shrine is shaped like the Chinese character "品" (pin), with eaves on three sides. There is no shrine door, and the central hall enshrines a pair of ghosts and gods.

The villagers inside the ancestral hall not only lit lamps, but also held incense sticks and inserted them into the incense burner.

Rainwater slid down the eaves like a curtain of water.

"This ancestral hall is quite large," Zhao Fusheng remarked after glancing at it.

Wu Jiabing said:

“It won’t do if it’s too small. During festivals, the villagers all come here to worship the gods and offer sacrifices.” After saying this, he glanced at the other villagers and said with a smile, trying to ingratiate himself:
"There are quite a few people at Baili Temple. The ancestral hall is just like this, it's not enough. Even excluding women and children, there isn't enough space for sacrificial ceremonies."

This was a veiled explanation for the villagers' earlier mention of the rule that "women do not enter the ancestral hall."

Zhao Fusheng understood his implied meaning, glanced at him, and then nodded.

"Sir, no one lives here normally. The gods and spirits that protect this place are enshrined in the middle."

As soon as Wu Jiabing finished speaking, he stepped into the corridor first.

As soon as you step under the eaves, the rain stops.

He reached out and took off his straw hat, then casually hung it on the wall, and also untied the straps of his raincoat.

The quietest villager quickly stepped forward to take it. Seeing his meticulous manner, Zhao Fusheng also took off his rain gear one by one before entering the ancestral hall.

Upon entering the ancestral hall, a chill instantly enveloped everyone.

It was late spring, and the weather was still cool. The village was deserted and sparsely populated. It had rained heavily that night, and although everyone had rain gear, their clothes were still soaked through. The cold wind made their lips turn slightly purple.

However, the cold air in the Baili Temple ancestral hall is different from ordinary cold.

This chill carried with it subtle malice and a faint, elusive resentment.

Hiss.

Zhao Fusheng sniffed and asked Wu Shaochun:
"Shaochun, can you smell it?"

Wu Shaochun, with his keen sense of smell, nodded upon hearing this:

"Like the stench of a corpse."

Wu Jiabing couldn't help but laugh:
"You jest, sir. Our ancestral hall has never been without dead bodies, so how could there be any stench of corpses?"

The four villagers looked unfriendly, as if they too had been greatly humiliated.

Yu Lingzhu initially didn't think much of it, but after hearing Zhao Fusheng and Wu Shaochun's conversation, she also took two deep breaths, then hesitated:

"It does smell a bit bad, this stench—"

She couldn't put it into words, but her instincts told her something was wrong.

Wu Shaochun took two deep breaths.

A foul odor mixed with the smell of incense, along with a faint, indescribable fragrance, seeped into his lungs.

The vengeful spirits he commanded seemed to be under some kind of restraint.

"My lord, this is ghostly energy—"

Wu Shaochun's kitchen ghost was suppressed in Shangyang County and in a series of ghost cases afterward, and did not exert much power. However, his ghost had an advantage: it gave him a keen and rich sense of smell.

Furthermore, the Kitchen God is exceptionally timid and easily suppressed by high-ranking ghosts—this is also Wu Shaochun's special talent for easily discerning whether a place has ghosts, and he rarely makes mistakes.

As soon as he finished speaking, he added:
"I feel like this smell is somewhat familiar, like I've smelled it somewhere before."

"familiar?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred, and she stepped forward, walking towards the two ghosts.

Wu Jiabing's relaxed expression changed instantly.

A bad feeling welled up in his heart:
"grown ups--"

Zhao Fusheng ignored him, stood beside the ghost statue without saying a word, and reached out to remove the red cloth covering the ghost statue's face:

"Just look at it and you'll find out."

Amidst the words, Wu Jiabing cried out in horror:

"—Don't do anything reckless."

But it was too late to say that.

Zhao Fusheng's hand had already touched the red cloth when he grabbed it and pulled it down forcefully.

Dust accumulated on the cloth swirled in the air, revealing the true form of the ghost statue.

It was a round, disc-shaped face.

Whether it was because the craftsman who 'made' this ghost statue back then wasn't very skilled, or because of its age and the loss of some clay layers, the face is irregular and looks pitted in some places.

But the eyebrows and eyes are very vivid; the slender eyebrows are like distant mountains, and the eyes are also lively and vivid, like phoenix eyes.

The female statue's lips were tightly pressed together, her indifference revealing a hint of mockery.

The male portrait, on the other hand, is quite distinctive.

The face of the clay male statue is exceptionally ugly.

Sparse, messy eyebrows, light in color, covered with a layer of gray, and protruding eyes.

In addition, the bridge of this clay sculpture is very flat and the nostrils flare out, making it unforgettable at first glance.

Upon seeing the two statues, everyone was taken aback. After a long while, Chen Duozi exclaimed softly:
"My lord, aren't these Lords Wang and Jiang?"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone's hair stood on end.

Inside the ancestral hall, Wu Jiabing's face was grim. He almost gritted his teeth as he stepped forward, reaching out to snatch the red cloth from Zhao Fusheng's hand.

"You're incredibly audacious!"

Before Zhao Fusheng could make a move, Kuai Manzhou acted first.

Countless mottled bloodstains appeared on the floor of the ancestral hall at some unknown time. These bloodstains looked like footprints, or like scattered drops of blood from someone who was injured there.

Each drop of blood contained a 'seed', and seedlings sprouted from the blood, instantly transforming into swaying plants, which then blossomed into beautiful yet eerie dark red flowers.

These flowers surrounded the Wu family soldiers with lightning speed.

Wu Jiabing's expression changed drastically.

He was initially very wary of these suddenly appearing flower bushes, but when he tried to jump out of them, he found that there seemed to be a strange force within them that bound his legs, preventing him from escaping no matter how hard he tried.

Once his body was restrained, he could no longer get close to Zhao Fusheng, and naturally he could not take the red cloth from her hand. He could only watch helplessly as Zhao Fusheng circled around the two clay sculptures.

　Sorry for the lateness, I haven't been feeling well lately, and my typing speed is slower than expected.

　　(End of this chapter)