I become a god in another world

Chapter 644 Reencounter with the Village Chief
Chapter 644

The vibration was so slight that it was hidden in the sound of the door opening and could be almost ignored.

However, Zhao Fusheng, with his keen senses and pre-existing vigilance, caught this information.

"Be careful, something's not right inside the village house."

After reminding him, Zhao Fusheng immediately shouted:
“I’ll go first, Wang Zhiyi and Jiang Jinshan will bring up the rear, You Hong will go to my left, Miao Yougong and Wang Ling will go to my right, Man Zhou and A Yu will bring up the rear, Meng Po, Yi Zhen and Shao Chun, you keep an eye on the three of them.”

As soon as she gave the order, everyone responded in unison.

As everyone entered the house, a chilly and damp atmosphere instantly enveloped them.

The shouts and firelight outside were blocked out, creating two completely different worlds inside and outside the house.

As soon as Zhao Fusheng landed, it felt like she stepped into a puddle of mud. The cold, soft mud enveloped her, quickly enveloping her shoes and feet.

She sank in, steadied herself in time, and then gave a reminder:
"Be careful, the ground is soft."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Wujiu recklessly followed him in, suddenly falling to the ground. The mud reached his ankles, and Fan Wujiu screamed in pain, then began cursing:

"That's disgusting."

One by one, everyone went inside.

Unlike the center of a house, this place resembled a field ridge that had just been flooded, with mud clinging tightly to everyone's ankles, making it difficult for them to move.

“You Hong, was this how you were when you came in?” Zhao Fusheng asked.

You Hong quickly shook his head:

"No."

Miao Yougong and Wang Ling also hurriedly spoke up:

"Sir, there wasn't this mud when we entered the house earlier."

This proves that the mud appeared later.

Zhao Fusheng suddenly recalled the scene of seeing You Hong's body after opening the coffin: his feet were particularly conspicuous, and his shoes were covered in mud.

When everyone saw that his feet were covered in mud, they assumed it was from the mud and water he had walked through before entering the village, and they didn't think of anything else.

But now that I've entered this village, I can't help but think about things a bit more.

"Fusheng, inside the coffin, feet."

Zhao Fusheng wasn't the only one who thought of this; Liu Yizhen and the others also realized it, and he subtly reminded them.

Almost instantly, apart from Wang Zhiyi, Jiang Jinshan, and You Hong who were unaware of what had happened, even Miao and Wang, who later returned from searching for the village, recalled the scene they had seen inside the coffin and were terrified.

But they still had their senses. Although they were afraid, they didn't dare to make a sound. They just moved their feet away from You Hong without leaving a trace.

"Sir, this is not where we came from before."

You Hong said with trepidation, he wanted to withdraw, but he was just an ordinary messenger - surrounded by this group of ghost tamers, he had neither strength nor power, and was not qualified to make decisions.

"You want to quit?"

Zhao Fusheng asked.

Apart from the people from Wan'an County and Wang and Jiang, Miao Yougong and the other two wanted to withdraw at this time, but dared not utter a word.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:
"I know you don't want to enter the ghost village, but now that you're here, how can you turn back? Look back, is there still a way out?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the others couldn't help but turn to look.

People from Wan'an County stood around.

As Zhao Fusheng had said before, she had Kuai Manzhou and Xu Yu cover the rear. After the two children entered the house, they did not close the door. Logically speaking, with the door wide open and many bonfires lit outside, and with so many people around, one could always see some activity through the open door.

But when they looked back, all they saw was pitch blackness, like an endless abyss, as if they were walking on a path from which there was no turning back.

You Hong was so frightened that his eyes widened.

"We can only move forward."

Zhao Fusheng said.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted:
"who?!"

This sudden shout was like a thunderclap, so loud that You Hong and the others were so frightened they almost wet their pants.

You Hong and his companions had all visited this house before. It consisted of only three or four rooms, each quite small. Many parts of the house had bamboo frames covered with mud. After being exposed to wind and rain, the mud walls cracked, and one could see right through the inside from the outside.

In normal times, one could walk around the entire house in just a few breaths.

In such a small place, no one had noticed that there were people on the other side.

But that's not all.

After the shout rang out, footsteps and voices could be heard outside.

Someone shouted:

"Village chief, village chief, it seems like someone from Zhao Gui's family is here—"

"Everyone, come quick! Don't rush to worship the gods, there are people at Zhao Gui's house—"

As soon as the shout fell, heavy, chaotic footsteps began to sound.

It seemed as if a group of people were approaching from afar, their shouts echoing in the air, accompanied by the sounds of firelight, as they drew near the house.

Miao Yougong was in great need of help.

His feet got stuck in the mud and he was unlikely to get out, but in his desperation, he managed to pull himself out with great effort.

After escaping, he was about to run away when a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Fan Bisi's sinister voice rang in his ears:

"Where are you going?"

"I want to go—"

Before he could finish speaking, Fan Wujiu also held him down:
“You can’t go anywhere. You can’t leave unless the adults say so.”

"Ghosts are coming! These people aren't human—"

Miao Yougong was extremely anxious:
"If we stay here, we're just waiting to die."

"Zhao Fusheng," Wang Zhiyi also said.

"Let's lay low for now and observe how things develop—"

"Do not."

Zhao Fusheng rejected her suggestion:

"We're trapped in a ghost realm, nowhere is safe. In this situation, not understanding the laws of the vengeful ghosts means that the ghosts are in the dark, while we are in the light."

Conversely, if everyone waits passively for the ghost to appear, although it means that everyone has been marked and is in danger, it also brings the ghost into the open, making it safer.

Her move was extremely risky, and Miao Yougong and Wang Ling were unwilling to take the risk.

But the two of them, being thin, couldn't fight against the powerful.

As they spoke, they could see the firelight through the cracks in the mud walls of the room.

It's getting late.

A large group of people came quickly, several of them carrying torches.

"Who?"

Someone shouted sharply:
"Where did this thief come from, daring to break into a private residence? Doesn't he know where we are?"

Zhao Fusheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked:

Where is this place?

After she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence outside.

But the sound of the roaring fire continued.

After an unknown amount of time, another set of footsteps approached from outside, followed by a male voice:
Where are the visitors from out of town?

"We just heard a woman's voice at Zhao Gui's house," someone whispered in response.

'Bang!' The door was suddenly kicked open, and several people rushed into the house.

The firelight illuminated the room, and the sudden brightness caused everyone to squint.

Zhao Fusheng shielded her eyes with her hand, and when she lowered her hand a moment later, she saw that there were already quite a few more people in the main room.

She roughly counted that there were about ten people in the group, six of whom were carrying torches. The leader looked quite familiar; he was Wu Jiabing, whom she had met once before.

However, Wu Jiabing was completely different from when they met before. His clothes were dry and there was no burlap wrapped around his arms, so he did not look like someone who had been soaked by a heavy rain.

In Zhao Fusheng and the others' view, the two sides had been separated for less than an hour; but in Wu Jiabing's view, it was as if he was a complete stranger to Zhao Fusheng and his group, as if the two sides had never met before.

Was he pretending, or was it due to the turbulence of time that he didn't recognize everyone?
Zhao Fusheng's mind raced, and he suddenly asked:
"Who are you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Jiabing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing:

"I haven't even asked you that question yet, but you've already asked it."

After saying that, his voice turned serious:
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"you--"

Just as Wang Zhiyi was about to speak, Zhao Fusheng gave her a look that said, "Take it easy," and then said to Wu Jiabing:
"We are merchants from out of town, on our way to Wuqing County. We passed through this place and accidentally wandered into this house."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Wu Jiabing again and noticed something amiss.

Wu Jiabing was dressed neatly, and since he hadn't been soaked by the downpour, he looked as if he had specially tidied himself up for the day.

His hair was combed, and he wore a dark blue short jacket with a hem that reached his thighs, covered by a maroon vest.

Although the vest was a bit old, Zhao Fusheng had seen many Han Dynasty people dressed in rags, so Wu Jiabing's clothes were considered quite decent.

This elaborate attire doesn't look like something you'd wear for a funeral.

……

"I still have companions left behind—"

Zhao Fusheng wanted to point behind her, but then she remembered that Wu Jiabing and the others came from the back of the house—the door they came in through was blocked. A strange guess came to her mind: Could it be that time has reversed and everything in the village has changed as well?

Assuming the village entrance is taken as the central axis, one side is real (as Zhao Fusheng and others believe it to be real), and the other side is illusory (like a mirror world).

The moment they stepped through the village house gate, their direction reversed; the entrance became the back door, while the direction directly in front of them, which should have been the back door—the direction Wu Jiabing and the others had entered—might actually be the village entrance—the main gate through which Zhao Fusheng and the others had entered.

As she was thinking about these things, Wu Jiabing looked at everyone:

"Do you have any companions?"

As he spoke, he looked to both sides of Zhao Fusheng's body.

In the firelight, Liu Yizhen and the others came into Wu Jiabing's view, and he smiled:

"There are quite a few people."

After saying that, a satisfied look appeared on his face.

This time, he was different from when Zhao Fusheng first met him. His expression lacked timidity and feigned flattery, and instead showed more contempt and certainty.

Zhao Fusheng noticed his expression and couldn't help but ponder: In the dead of night, a group of strangers had broken into the village. Under normal circumstances, the villagers would be somewhat frightened when faced with strangers, especially since the Fan brothers, Liu Yizhen, Wu Shaochun, and Miao, Wang, and You were all young and strong.

If this group of people harbored malicious intentions, the villagers around Wu Jiabing, who were as thin as bean sprouts, might not be their match.

However, the Wu family soldiers were not alarmed but rather delighted, which was unusual.

"There are quite a few people, and there's a lot to talk about—" Before Zhao Fusheng could finish speaking, Wu Jiabing said happily:

"Enough of your nagging, you've come at the perfect time."

His words left everyone completely baffled, while Wu Jiabing rubbed his hands together gleefully:

"We received a message from Wuqing County that we are holding a funeral for one person tonight."

"???"

Liu Yizhen was full of questions.

Wu Jiabing ignored him.
"The coffin is ready, all that's missing is a body."

He sighed and walked enthusiastically toward Zhao Fusheng and the others:
"Please come to the village, guests. If there's anything you don't understand, I'll explain it to you."

Wu Jiabing's move to turn the tables immediately left Wang Zhiyi and the others bewildered. However, he didn't seem to care and, in a semi-coercive manner, ordered the villagers to clear a path and lead everyone into the village.

The firelight illuminated the house as if it were daytime. Sometime later, the mud that had trapped everyone's ankles had disappeared, and they were now standing on dry ground, not mud.

Zhao Fusheng inexplicably looked at You Hong, only to find that his feet were dry and free of mud—which overturned her previous guess about the source of the mud on the feet of 'You Hong's' body in the coffin.

"please."

Wu Jiabing pointed outside and said something with a half-smile.

Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred, and she took the first step. As she did so, she couldn't help but feel a little strange.

The ground inside the village house was dry, and she didn't step on any mud. However, when she took a step, she felt a pulling sensation in her ankle, as if something was tethering her ankle, preventing her from moving nimbly.

At first, everyone felt a little uncomfortable, but when they looked down and saw that their feet were clean, it seemed that the discomfort was just an illusion.

The village was eerie, and Zhao Fusheng's guesses about many things in the village were repeatedly overturned, but her guess about the entrance door of this village house was true.

The direction of the door had changed; the direction everyone entered was now the back door, while the main entrance of the village house was in front of them—the direction from which Wu Jiabing and his group entered.

They passed through two houses and soon arrived at the gate, which was open and filled with people sitting outside.

These people were not the Demon Suppression Division personnel that Zhao Fusheng and others were familiar with; they were unfamiliar faces.

Among them were men, women, and children, but without exception, they were all shockingly thin.

The villagers were packed shoulder to shoulder, crowding the entrance to the village three or four layers deep.

Looking out, Zhao Fusheng and the others saw villagers standing in rows, stretching from the firelight's reach into the darkness, as if there was no end in sight.

Their postures were strange; their upper bodies resembled half-cooked shrimp, and they were thin and long. Their trouser legs could barely cover their bodies, revealing their stick-like feet. Most of them did not have money to buy shoes and walked barefoot on the ground.

Hearing the noise coming from Zhao Gui's house, everyone turned their heads at the same time.

A pair of numb, emotionless eyes stared at the group of people, sending chills down their spines.

"grown ups--"

Miao Yougong chickened out.

After he began to control ghosts, he always looked down on ordinary people, and regarded these villagers as worthless.

But now that you're in a ghost village, the villagers in front of you might not be human. In addition, their expressions are stiff and cold, their eyes are grayish-blue, and their movements are uniform, giving you a very ominous and oppressive feeling.

He wanted to make a move without saying a word, but the moment he raised his hand, Fan Bisi pinned his arm down.

Miao Yougong tried to resist, but found that his ghostly power was suppressed in front of Fan Bisi.

"Outsiders have arrived!"

As soon as Wu Jiabing stepped out of Zhao Gui's room, he shouted with joy.

His shout was like a spark falling into hot oil, immediately provoking a strong reaction from the crowd.

"Outsider! Outsider! Outsider!"

"Farewell service! Funeral service! Funeral service!"

The villagers shouted in unison.

The shouts were deafening, soaring into the sky and echoing back and forth in the valley.

The villagers looked at everyone with the eyes of the dead.

Wu Jiabing walked towards the center of the village, and wherever he went, the villagers scattered like a tide, revealing the coffin surrounded by the crowd inside.

This was a makeshift funeral hall, which was both formal and somewhat incongruous because the coffin was not yet closed.

Wu Jiabing walked to the coffin and smiled at Zhao Fusheng, saying:
"Outsiders, you've come at the perfect time, not just early. You've just arrived at the grand event of our village, which has solved our urgent problem."

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Fusheng asked calmly:
"We're new here and don't know the rules yet. Even if you want us to die, at least tell us why, so we can die knowing the truth?"

(End of this chapter)