I become a god in another world

Chapter 639 The Villagers Disappear
Chapter 639

As Zhao Fusheng asked the question, everyone belatedly looked around.

The village gates were tightly shut, and several bonfires were lit around the village, with wooden stakes on top of the fires and large pots hanging from them.

The water in the pot had long been boiling, bubbling and steaming.

The torrential rain that had previously forced everyone to stop has stopped.

In the dead of night, there was an unbearable heat in the village.

But this heat didn't penetrate people's hearts; instead, it made them feel afraid and uneasy.

"grown ups--"

The moment they realized the strange occurrence, Miao Yougong and the others were horrified. Many ordinary messengers immediately got up from the campfire and moved towards Zhao Fusheng.

Yu Lingzhu felt a chill run down her spine, while Jiang and Wang straightened their backs and raised their heads.

The people of Baili Temple have disappeared.

After the Wu family soldiers left, all the villagers disappeared without a trace, but the mourning hall and the somber coffin that had been erected there remained in their original places.

"What should we do now?"

Fan Wujiu, whose courage had gradually grown after controlling the ghosts, now felt somewhat terrified in this strange atmosphere.

He moved closer to Zhao Fusheng before asking a question.

Yu Lingzhu suddenly stood up, clenching her fist:
"Let's just turn this village upside down. If any villagers are hiding, they're up to no good. If we find them, we'll kill them all."

Wang Zhiyi hummed softly:
"All you ever think about is fighting and killing. What if something goes wrong?"

“If things go wrong—” Yu Lingzhu hadn’t paid attention to the consequences of the situation getting out of control.

The laws governing the vengeful spirits she wields are unique; if things get out of control, time can be reset to go back to before the events occurred.

However, this was her secret, and she naturally wouldn't tell Wang Zhiyi.

As the two were talking, Zhao Fusheng said:

"We will search the village, but I don't think we'll find anything of interest."

Even so, she still looked at the crowd:

"Shaochun, Yizhen, Da and Xiao Fan, Miao Yougong, Wang Ling—"

She called out several names in a row:
"You two will go in pairs and search these three village houses."

Upon hearing this, the people of Wan'an County rose without a word, while Miao Yougong, Wang Ling, and other ghost-controlling figures from the capital showed fear on their faces.

"grown ups--"

There's something wrong with Baili Temple.

Wu Jiabing and his group had previously disappeared without a trace after entering the village. Now, knowing that the mountain village might be haunted, they entered the village in pairs. If they encountered a ghost, how would they survive?

Yu Lingzhu's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

Compared to the people of Wan'an County, Miao Yougong and his ilk appeared exceptionally cowardly and afraid of death, even though they were all messengers and ghost controllers.

She said fiercely:

“Look at you, what are you afraid of? She said she's just going into three nearby village houses. We're all here. If anything happens, just call for help and we'll come.”

Yu Lingzhu warned:
"You are from the capital, and you once held local military positions. Don't act so cowardly and timid in handling ghost cases. It's shameful!"

Startled by her scolding, Miao Yougong felt afraid and had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:
"Two people are too few, so why don't we each bring three more messengers?"

Upon hearing this, the ordinary envoy who had not been named instantly lost all color in his face.

Before a master of ghosts, an ordinary messenger who has not yet mastered a ghost is merely a consumable for testing the laws of ghosts, and usually never returns.

Just as despair was about to set in, Zhao Fusheng frowned:
"No need to bring anyone. If I'm not mistaken, the real crisis isn't in the village. If you go there, you might just find nothing. Go and come back quickly."

Her tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Miao Yougong dared not linger any longer, so he and Wang Ling exchanged a glance, their faces pale, and casually chose a house to go into.

At the same time, Liu Yizhen and Wu Shaochun were in the same group and pushed open the door to enter a village house.

After everyone entered the house to search, Zhao Fusheng then looked at them:
"Judging that their search will be fruitless, we will also split into two groups—"

She looked at Wang Zhiyi:

"You should also select a few people, and have the messenger who went to the ancestral hall earlier lead the way. Go to the ancestral hall first, and then check the villages along the way to see if there are any people there. Go and return quickly."

Wang Zhiyi's lips moved.

She knew there were priorities, so instead of arguing with Zhao Fusheng, she nodded and casually pointed to a few people:
"You guys come with me."

She and Jiang Jinshan are of one soul, and as a king general, she has her own means of survival. Even when acting alone in this eerie village, she is not afraid.

Once everyone had left, Zhao Fusheng's gaze fell upon the coffin placed in the center of the mourning hall.

"We'll also open the coffin and see if Dou Sanniang is inside."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Lingzhu hesitated and said:
“Fusheng, I suspect, I suspect I may have been here before.”

Yu Lingzhu's words caused Meng Po and Chen Duozi to turn and look at her. She said:
“When I was in the ancestral hall, I saw the clay sculptures of Wang Zhiyi and Jiang Jinshan, and it seemed to remind me of something.”

"What did you remember?"

As Zhao Fusheng walked toward the coffin, he asked her a question.

Yu Lingzhu strode alongside her and, upon hearing this, said:

I can't explain it—

Her expression was both bewildered and troubled:
“I’m reminded of something, decaying cities, towering giants—” As she said this, her nostrils tingled and a warm flow came out.

Chen Duozi exclaimed:
"Lord Yu, you are bleeding."

For some reason, a red mist appeared before Yu Lingzhu's eyes, and tears seemed to well up in her eyes.

With his vision obstructed and a cacophony of noise filling his ears, Chen Duozi's startled cry was immediately cut off.

A warm flow also gushed down from inside the nostrils.

Yu Lingzhu's mind went blank for a moment, and a sharp ringing sound rang in her ears.

After an unknown amount of time, her rationality gradually returned.

The noise gradually subsided, and she blinked her sore eyes, squeezing out hot, blood-red tears. Her vision immediately cleared again.

"Lord Yu, you are bleeding from all seven orifices."

Chen Duozi had somehow managed to support her. As he spoke, this gentle and considerate woman took out a handkerchief and wiped Yu Lingzhu's eyes.

Yu Lingzhu wiped her nose; her palm was covered in blood.

"I--"

As soon as she uttered a sound, she vomited a mouthful of blood.

Zhao Fusheng gave her a deep look:
"Did you overuse the power of the vengeful spirit and suffer a backlash?"

Yu Lingzhu instinctively wanted to shake her head.

But in the instant she shook her head, a blurry image suddenly came to mind: the dilapidated city had reappeared.

The city is much clearer this time.

The city is a collapsed, dead city, covered with withered grass and moss, and many houses have been destroyed.

Terrifying black streaks crisscrossed the ground, piercing through the city.

These colossal objects, like intertwined tendons or an enormous, sprawling root system, enveloped the entire town. Within the city, large and small black particles floated, like ghostly mist or swirling dust, shrouding the city in an aura.

Deathly silence and despair permeated every corner of this place.

Yu Lingzhu's consciousness appeared in this world, like a drop in the ocean. Surrounded by loneliness and immense fear, she trembled all over as she stood in this wilderness.

It seemed as if a strange gaze was fixed on her from above.

The presence of this vision filled her with extreme fear and unease. She didn't know what it was, but just sensing its presence made her feel like she was being pricked by thorns and panicked.

She shuddered, and the illusion in her mind instantly crumbled.

'Ugh.'

Yu Lingzhu vomited a mouthful of blood and swayed unsteadily, almost entirely supported by Chen Duozi.

"Lord Yu, are you alright?"

Chen Duozi was also surprised.

She grasped Yu Lingzhu's hand, a hand that was dry and thin, as if it had a layer of old, rotten skin on the outside and a layer of withered bones inside.

With a gentle squeeze, Chen Duozi could feel that the skin beneath her palm was like a lump of mud. She dared not use her fingers too hard, for even a slight pressure would leave a fingerprint and crush Yu Lingzhu.

This arrogant and domineering king, who was just yesterday, suddenly seems to be old and frail.

"I-I'm fine."

Yu Lingzhu didn't know what was happening, but she could sense that her life was rapidly slipping away.

Some strange force was devouring her flesh and blood, consuming her life force, making her feel that her death was imminent.

The scariest thing is that she had no idea what was going on beforehand.

She has been controlling ghosts for decades, and this is the first time she has ever felt this way.

A look of fear flashed in Yu Lingzhu's eyes.

Unfortunately, her eyes were dark red, as if they had been struck by some unknown, powerful, and cruel force, leaving bruises and discoloration that made them unbearable to look at.

"You have been devoured by the power of the vengeful ghost."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly.

She frowned and looked at Yu Lingzhu:

"Did you use the power of a vengeful spirit?"

Yu Lingzhu instinctively shook her head:
"No, since yesterday—"

She paused, stunned.

Because of the unique laws governing her ghostly nature, her perception of time was confused. When she spoke these words, her mind was in disarray, and her memory seemed to have a momentary gap. For a moment, she couldn't even be sure if she had really not used the law of time reset.

After a while, she finally sorted out her memories, and the events of yesterday and the day before gradually resurfaced in her mind: Zhao Fusheng and others entering the capital, entering Zhongdu City, meeting Zhao Fusheng and others, meeting Xu Yu—until finally leaving the city and heading to Wuqing County.

"I used it, back when I met you in Zhongdu City."

As her memory returned, her confused eyes gradually cleared, and Yu Lingzhu lowered her head and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

The nosebleed stopped. She took the handkerchief from Chen Duozi, hesitated for a moment, thanked Chen Duozi, and steadied herself.

"But since then, I have never used the power of the vengeful spirit again, so it shouldn't be a backlash."

She took the handkerchief and wiped her face clean. Looking down, she saw the handkerchief was covered in blood and flesh. She lowered her eyes, hesitated for a long time, and then stuffed the handkerchief into her sleeve.
“It’s dirty. When we get to Wuqing County, I’ll buy you a new one.”

After saying this, she thought for a moment:

"However, I suspect that my current situation is related to ghosts."

Zhao Fusheng asked her:
Has a similar situation occurred before?

Yu Lingzhu looked up at her:
“I understand what you mean, but this has never happened to me before. My vengeful spirit has always been stable and has never shown any signs of instability.”

Zhao Fusheng said calmly:
"There's no such thing as stability when it comes to ghosts. You might not even know whether they're stable or not."

"I—" Yu Lingzhu's lips moved, but she couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.

Just then, Zhao Fusheng took her hand:
“Your condition is unstable. I don’t know what kind of ghost law you are using, but before entering Wuqing County, I will put a ghost seal on you. Hold on for now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she took out the Door God Token and, at the cost of 1000 merit points, placed it into Yu Lingzhu's palm.

A thousand merit points are now almost negligible to Zhao Fusheng.

Yu Lingzhu, a general of extraordinary strength, was not subdued by the presence of the door gods and thus became a follower of the ghosts and gods.

But as long as she is alive, she is a powerful fighting force for Zhao Fusheng, so the 1000 merit points are worth it.

As soon as the Ghost God Decree was struck, Yu Lingzhu's dizziness vanished instantly.

The eerie power that had been devouring her essence and life force ceased. A chill permeated her entire body, and within her consciousness, a pair of ghosts carrying door panels flashed with red light before vanishing without a trace.

Her hunched back straightened, and the blood she coughed up stopped.

His withered complexion quickly recovered somewhat.

The change was so obvious that Yu Lingzhu's expression turned even more unpleasant:
"The power of a vengeful spirit."

"Yes, you will either be marked by the laws of the Fiends of Baili Temple, or you will be devoured by the Fiends you control."

Zhao Fusheng glanced at her:
"You'll have to find out for yourself which one it is."

Yu Lingzhu rubbed her hands together in silence.

Before they knew it, the group had reached the coffin.

In Baili Temple, the villagers, led by Wu Jiabing, disappeared, but the only thing left behind was the coffin.

Is the coffin real or fake? Is the body of "Sister-in-law Dou" inside?

A host of doubts arose in everyone's minds.

Zhao Fusheng looked at the coffin, but his thoughts were more profound than anyone else's.

Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the nightmare before the Qiao Yuesheng ghost case, the nightmare she was dragged into after being marked by the law, in which someone kept calling her in a hurry, and she chased after them desperately, but could never catch up in time—that was also a nightmare from her childhood.

Zhao Fusheng's arms and body started to itch again.

Beneath her clothes, countless reddish-brown spots emerged, like eyeballs, harboring malice, devouring her memories, and stealing something from her.

Zhao Fusheng unconsciously scratched his body, unaware of the change, wondering: Is this a lingering effect of the Qiao Yuesheng case? Or is it the pattern of the Wuqing County ghost case?
A moment later, Zhao Fusheng's thoughts returned, and the excruciating itching disappeared.

She clutched her clothes, paused for a moment, then, a thought struck her, suppressing the instinctive fear welling up inside her, and said in a deep voice:

"Let's pry open the coffin first and see if it's a corpse or a ghost inside."

After saying that, she grabbed one side of the coffin lid with her palm and lifted it up with force.

As soon as Zhao Fusheng moved, Kuai Manzhou moved as well.

The child pulled out a coffin nail from somewhere, inserted one end of the nail into the gap in the coffin lid, and pried it open. The coffin lid immediately loosened.

With everyone working together, they quickly loosened the nails on the coffin.

Zhao Fusheng reached out and pushed the lid open.

'哐哐——'

The wooden coffin made a grating sound as it rubbed and slid.

A shadow lay inside the coffin; it wasn't empty.

(End of this chapter)