I become a god in another world

Chapter 654 A Visitor at Midnight
Chapter 654

Once the body was stitched up, Wang Zhiyi put away the needle and thread and waved his hand:

"Put him in the coffin."

Miao Yougong and Wang Ling responded and carefully carried the corpse toward the coffin.

This coffin is an old artifact in Bailici Village. It has been used for countless sacrifices and has contained countless 'ghosts'. This is the first time it has been used to house a real corpse.

The coffin was fully furnished, containing items such as a pillow and white linen.

Looking at You Hong's face, a mixture of blue and black, with his eyes wide open in death, Miao Yougong felt a chill in his heart. Before placing the body down, he first took out the white lining that was underneath.

After the body was put back, Tatib covered most of it.

As soon as You Hong's body was covered, Miao Yougong wiped his hands, then glanced into the coffin and immediately froze, his face showing a mixture of fear and dread.

"what happened?"

Seeing that something was wrong, Zhao Fusheng strode over.

Miao Yougong took a few steps back:

"Sir, this...this is the body of You Hong that we put in the coffin."

Fan Wujiu didn't understand his implied meaning and rebuked him upon hearing it:

"Nonsense, we're all watching. You and Wang Ling carry the body into the coffin."

"No." Miao Yougong waved his hands repeatedly.

“When we searched Zhao Gui’s house earlier, Lord Zhao discovered a body inside the coffin. Do you remember?”

Once he said that, everyone understood.

Wang Zhiyi paused in placing the needle, and turned her head:

"You mean the body we saw in the coffin back then is the same body you put in now?"

Miao Yougong nodded:
"Exactly the same, the burlap sack was covered with it the same way—"

He instinctively reached out to cover his face:
"Cover this area, and the mud on your feet, it's still wet—"

Miao Yougong became increasingly horrified as he spoke:

"We initially assumed it was just a heavy rain before entering the village, but... but—"

He stammered, unable to finish his sentence.

But Zhao Fusheng understood the meaning behind his words: the village chief, who was using the alias "Wu Jiabing", led the villagers of Bailici to mysteriously disappear. After these villagers disappeared, the strange rain that suddenly started in the evening mysteriously stopped in the village.

The ground dried out, and the group had already dried off the mud and water on their bodies while waiting for the 'Wu Family Soldiers' and others to return.

When the body was discovered, You Hong's feet were covered in mud, which puzzled everyone who saw the body. It wasn't until Miao Yougong put the body back into the coffin that everyone finally understood why.

"..."

The group remained silent.

Wu Ciping was stunned. He didn't quite understand what Miao Yougong was saying, but he could vaguely make out that Zhao Fusheng and his group had seen You Hong's body being put into the coffin before.

But You Hongcai died right before everyone's eyes. How could these people have seen his death beforehand?

Wu Ciping dared not think about it in detail, and just stared at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng strode to the coffin and peered inside: the scene inside was exactly the same as what she had seen when she first opened the coffin.

She moved her fingers:

"Nail the coffin lid on."

After saying this, she looked at Wu Ciping:
"Lord Wu, does tonight's ghost ritual count as the end?"

Wu Ciping was also stunned.

He looked up at the sky—Zhu Guangling had already been taken back into the Investiture of the Gods by Zhao Fusheng, but the heavy rain had not stopped.

Wu Ciping did not answer Zhao Fusheng's question, but instead, as if possessed, said:
"With such heavy rain tonight, I wonder if something might happen on that cliffside path."

"A cliffside path?"

Zhao Fusheng's heart skipped a beat:
Eagle Beak Cliff?

"Eagle Beak Cliff?" Wu Ciping was taken aback, then seemed thoughtful:
"I don't know what it's called, but there's only a small path outside Baili Temple, which is the main road to Wuqing County. It's backed by a mountain on one side and is a path that the villagers have dug out over generations. It's not very sturdy, but it's fine for people to walk on it or push carts around on weekdays."

He said:
"But this path is narrow, with a cliff on one side. You have to be extra careful when walking on it. Tonight the wind and rain are strong. The top of the cliff is a hillside. I saw a landslide on that hillside a few days ago. With the heavy rain tonight, it may form a mudslide and block the way out of the mountain."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and asked Zhao Fusheng:

"What did Lord Zhao just say? Did he ask about the Ghost Sacrifice?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded slightly, and Wu Ciping then said with a worried expression:
"I do not know."

He shook his head, deep in thought:

"I've been here for over thirty years, and I've never encountered anything like this before. Last night's ritual was abruptly interrupted, and the ghost ritual was forcibly ended as well—"

After saying that, he glanced at the coffin:
"I'm not sure what the outcome of doing this will be."

Liu Yizhen asked curiously:
"What would your usual procedure be?"

Wu Ciping then said:

"According to the rules, the sacrificial ceremony must be held every month, with different months for long and short months."

Wu Shaochun asked:
What are the concepts of "long month" and "short month"?

Wu Ciping glanced at him:
“As I said before, the sacrificial ceremony is held monthly, but not once a month. It is usually held once in a short month, but if it is a long month, then it will be held at least twice a month.”

Wu Ciping held up his hand and counted:
"The more sacrifices are made, the more merit the local people under their jurisdiction will accumulate."

"Isn't this just paying with human lives?" Liu Yizhen exclaimed in shock.

Wu Ciping remained silent and did not utter a sound.

After a long pause, he continued as if nothing had happened:
"The ritual is just like what we just saw. Once it begins, the object is touched, and then the deity is sacrificed. Once the deity is satisfied, the ritual is considered complete. After that, the 'ghost' is placed in the coffin, and then the ghost sacrifice begins."

Just as Wu Ciping had said before, the Ghost Ritual had no time limit and no discernible rules. He said:
"Anyway, it's all about vengeful ghosts killing people, like playing hide-and-seek. Either the ghosts kill enough people and everything is peaceful; or if the people hide well, the ghosts don't kill enough people and will anger the master."

But no matter what the outcome, it will not cause the person or ghost who has accumulated merit to truly 'die'.

This is just a brief cycle of life.

After the sacrificial ceremony ends, the deceased will enter the Lord's Merit Pool, where they will eventually await rebirth according to their merit points.

……

"No one dared to disobey the master before, and no one could interrupt the sacrificial ceremony or the ghost sacrifice, so I really don't know if the ceremony is over or not."

Just as they were talking, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar, followed by someone shouting curses.

Everyone tensed up and involuntarily turned to look towards the village entrance.

The village gates were tightly shut, and no one could see outside through them.

Wang Zhiyi strode forward and walked to Zhao Fusheng's side:
“I heard the sound, it seemed to be coming from that direction—” She raised her hand and pointed in a direction:
"Southeast, the direction we came from."

The group came from the capital.

The direction Wang Zhiyi was pointing was also the only path leading from the canyon into the main road.

At this late hour, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out, meaning that another group of 'guests,' whether from the capital or a prefecture, had entered Baili Temple as night fell. "Tonight is truly lively."

Zhao Fusheng snorted coldly.

This situation is naturally unusual.

She slapped the coffin and instructed Wu Ciping:
"Seal the coffin lid shut, I'll go open the door and take a look."

Wu Ciping quickly said:

"I'd better go and take a look."

After saying that, he jogged to the edge of the village, removed the wooden plug from the top, and creaked open a large door.

'call--'

A strong wind, carrying a chilly drizzle, swept into the village, making the torches held by the villagers appear smaller.

"There's a village over there."

In the darkness, someone shouted.

Then someone asked:
"Hey? Is there anyone alive over there?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Wu Ciping quickly replied:
"Where are you all from? What brings you to this remote corner in the middle of the night?"

The person in the distance seemed very wary, unwilling to approach, and only said:
"We are a caravan from Wuqing County, and we planned to pass through Wuqing County. Unexpectedly, it started raining heavily before we entered the canyon. One of our carriages got stuck in a crevice between the mud and rocks. We saw a fire here and wanted to come and see if anyone could help us lift the carriage out. We also wanted to find a village to rest for the night."

As soon as the man finished speaking, Miao Yougong's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively turned his head to look to his side:

"You Hong—"

As soon as he finished shouting, he suddenly realized that You Hong was dead.

"Pah—" Miao Yougong spat on the ground, disgusted by the bad luck. But a strange thing happened: before his spit even landed in the mud, someone whispered in his ear:
"Ai."

A chill ran up Miao Yougong's spine, causing his legs to almost give way instantly, and he nearly collapsed to his knees in the mud.

At this moment, most people's attention was drawn to the visitor from out of town, but only Wang Ling, who was standing next to Miao Yougong, noticed his unusual behavior.

Out of courtesy as colleagues in the Demon Suppression Division of the Capital, Wang Ling promptly helped Miao Yougong up and asked him:
"Are you OK?"

"Did you hear anything?" Miao Yougong asked in a low voice, barely suppressing his fear.

Seeing that his expression was off, Wang Ling's heart skipped a beat. He then turned his head left and right, looked around, and finally forced himself to say:
"No."

After saying that, he couldn't help but ask:
"Could something strange have happened?"

The two simple sentences of their conversation caught the attention of Zhao Fusheng and the others.

Zhao Fusheng walked closer.

She was soaked through and still carried the chilling aura that summoned vengeful spirits.

Strangely enough, this eerie aura should have been frightening, but as soon as she approached, Miao Yougong's uneasy heart immediately settled down, and he instantly felt exceptionally at ease.

It was as if with Zhao Fusheng around, all the bizarre, strange, and unreasonable things could be resolved peacefully.

"What happened?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Miao Yougong and asked him a question.

Miao Yougong recalled her earlier anger over You Hong's death, and how she then snatched You Hong's body back from the vengeful ghost. Feeling somewhat relieved, he immediately replied:
"Sir, don't you think this visitor from out of town is using the same language we used before?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"They are very similar. Weren't they You Hong and his group who knocked on the door back then?"

Upon hearing the name 'You Hong', Miao Yougong looked as if he had seen a ghost. His face turned deathly pale, his jaw clicked, and his hands nearly spasmed from tension, making it almost impossible for him to speak.

Zhao Fusheng simply said:

"I think I just heard you call out the name You Hong."

When she mentioned 'You Hong', her expression remained normal and her tone was indifferent. This was like a shot in the arm, which immediately calmed Miao Yougong down.

"Yes, I heard Wu Ciping talking to someone, and I was so surprised that I forgot, forgot, forgot that You Hong was dead." He spoke the last sentence in a very low voice, his eyes glancing at the coffin out of the corner of his eye, as if afraid of disturbing the dead.

"But after I called his name, I felt unlucky and was about to spit when I heard You Hong's response."

His words startled everyone.

"Did you hear You Hong's response?" Zhao Fusheng frowned and asked quickly.

Miao Yougong nodded, his face deathly pale.
"Yes."

Wang Ling felt a chill run down his spine.

He even felt his palms sweating as he supported Miao Yougong, and felt that Miao Yougong's body was as cold as a ghost beneath his palms. As if he had encountered a plague, he immediately flung Miao Yougong's arm away and quickly retreated.

Only after he had retreated seven or eight steps away did he frantically rub his palms against the sides of his clothes, as if he wanted to rub off a piece of skin.

"..." Miao Yougong glanced at him speechlessly, but couldn't bring himself to criticize his actions—if their positions were reversed, his choice would be the same as Wang Ling's.

"My lord, I didn't hear You Hong's response," Wang Ling said thankfully.

After saying this, he quickly realized that the response might also be a law of ghosts.

The Ghost Festival was not over. After You Hong was put into the coffin, he replaced the previous chosen villager and became a new vengeful ghost participating in the Ghost Festival.

This situation is truly troublesome.

"If I had known, I would have used the excuse of a 'coffin' to find Fengdu again, and perhaps put this coffin into the ghost coffin to suppress the ghost sacrifice," Fan Bisi said.

It's too late to say all this now.

Wu Ciping had already struck up a conversation with the "outsider".

After a few simple words, both sides had largely dispelled their doubts.

Since they can have a conversation, it at least proves that both sides are human, not ghosts.

While the other party was entering the village, Wu Ciping turned around:
"My lord, this should be someone from the Demon Suppression Division."

He confirmed the other person's identity in a brief conversation—because it was already late at night, and ordinary people would never dare to go out at such a late hour.

Only the people of the Demon Suppression Division are so audacious as to travel at night, which suggests that there are definitely ghost tamers in this group, and that there are quite a few of them, and that they are quite powerful.

As Wu Ciping spoke, he glanced at Zhao Fusheng and the others.

In some respects, Zhao Fusheng and others' situations are similar to those of these uninvited guests in the middle of the night.

From his eyes, Zhao Fusheng could guess what Wu Ciping was thinking.

Before long, the visitors from out of town arrived.

There were about five or six of them, all men between their twenties and forties, tall and strong, two of whom were even slightly overweight with protruding bellies.

When Miao Yougong saw these unfamiliar faces, he breathed a sigh of relief—he was really afraid that the visitors would be You Hong and his men.

"Guests, why are you traveling in the dead of night, passing through our remote and impoverished area?"

Wu Ciping bowed and smiled obsequiously, asking a question ingratiatingly.

One of the tall, strong men stepped forward and, mustering his courage, quickly surveyed the village. What they saw next was a densely packed crowd of villagers at the village entrance, along with Zhao Fusheng and others.

Most of the villagers were thin and weak, but Liu Yizhen and others from Wan'an County were strong and powerful. However, he was not afraid of them. He just glanced at them briefly, and after confirming that the people in front of him had bright eyes and were not evil spirits, he looked away.