I become a god in another world

Chapter 655 The Vengeful Ghost Calls for Souls
Chapter 655

Then the man's gaze fell on the coffin in the center of the village entrance, and his eyes finally showed a hint of wariness.

He didn't answer Wu Ciping's question, but instead asked himself:
Who is the leader of this village?

Wu Ciping's smile froze.

He subconsciously wanted to look at Zhao Fusheng.

During this ghost festival, Zhao Fusheng displayed formidable strength, and if anyone's words carried weight at this moment, it was undoubtedly hers.

However, Zhao Fusheng gave him a barely perceptible shake of the head, and Wu Ciping immediately understood:
"I am the village chief of this village."

Upon hearing this, the man breathed a slight sigh of relief:
"Are you the village chief?"

Only then did his gaze truly fall upon Wu Ciping, and he began to look Wu Ciping up and down:
"What is the name of this place? Why are the villagers gathered here at midnight instead of sleeping?"

Wu Ciping quickly said:

"Sir, our place is called Baili Temple. Tonight, because—" He was also observant; as he spoke, he noticed the man's gaze frequently drifting towards the coffin, and knew he had a taboo against coffins. He continued:
"Someone in our village died tonight, and the villagers are keeping vigil."

"Who died?" the man asked rapidly.

Wu Ciping then said:
"The one who died was... Sister-in-law Dou."

The man seemed afraid that Wu Ciping might be lying, and didn't want to give him time to think. As soon as Wu finished speaking, he asked again:

Who is Sister-in-law Dou San?

"She was a widow who had remarried—"

Wu Ciping blurted out the words.

He regretted it as soon as he finished speaking.

At this moment, he didn't even dare to look Zhao Fusheng in the eye.

"Sister-in-law Dou had been married before and had a daughter, but unfortunately she was destined to bring misfortune to her husband. After her husband died, she remarried and had a son."

The man continued to ask:

How did she die?

Wu Ciping forced himself to say:
"A sudden downpour happened today, and she...she fell into a ravine and died."

The man was skeptical:

"She has relatives, so why should you villagers help her with her funeral arrangements?"

Wu Ciping said:
"Her daughter was in Wuqing County, not in the village. After Sister-in-law Dou died, there was no time to inform her daughter."

Upon hearing the words "Wuqing County," the man's expression brightened.
"In Wuqing County?"

As Wu Ciping spoke, he gradually calmed down.

He was clearly a master liar, and he could tell lies without batting an eye right now:

"Dou Sansao's daughter works for the Chang family in Wuqing County. After discussing it, our village decided to send someone to the city to report the news tomorrow at dawn after the rain stops."

"The Chang family?" Upon hearing "Chang family," the man's expression changed slightly, as if he wanted to ask further, but ultimately held back.
How many households are there in Bailici Village?

Wu Ciping could fabricate lies with ease:

"126 households."

"Is there anything special about the village?" the man asked again.

Wu Ciping shook his head:
"It's a rural family, nothing special, except for an ancestral hall."

The two exchanged questions and answers, and the visitor felt even more reassured seeing that he answered fluently.

He glanced back, and his teammates breathed a sigh of relief.

The group exchanged glances, then continued:
"Take me to see the ancestral hall."

Wu Ciping didn't answer this time. He asked:
"Gentlemen, you've asked me quite a few questions, and I've told you everything I needed to say, but I don't know your names. It's the middle of the night, and I'm a complete stranger to you all—"

The man immediately frowned and rebuked:

"Enough with the nonsense. We are envoys from Lizhou. My name is Lu Baping. You are not qualified to ask who I am."

"Lu Baping?!"

"Lu Baping?!"

Zhao Fusheng, Meng Po, and the others couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

As they spoke, the two involuntarily recalled the record they had seen in the archives of the Demon Suppression Division of the Imperial Capital before leaving the capital, concerning the year 201 of the Han Dynasty: General Cheng Mengyin of Lizhou personally led a team of 47 envoys into Wuqing County, but they never returned.

Among these 47 envoys, one of them was named Lu Baping.

"how?"

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's exclamation, Lu Baping turned his head involuntarily:
"Have you heard of this old man's name?"

Fan Wujiu frowned, about to step forward to speak, when Zhao Fusheng calmly asked Lu Baping:
"I'm asking you, what's the date today? Do you remember?"

Lu Baping turned to look at her when she suddenly interrupted.

Wu Ciping felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the look in his eyes.

He himself came from the Demon Suppression Division and knew all too well the arrogant and haughty nature of these gentlemen.

If Lu Baping had encountered an ordinary person, his arrogant attitude would have been one thing, but Zhao Fusheng and his group were also ghost tamers, and not just any ghost tamers.

The situation is already chaotic enough; it can't get any more chaotic.

Thinking of this, Wu Ciping decisively spoke up to smooth things over:
"Sir, few people come to our village on ordinary days, and we don't know the exact time. Could you please tell me what year, month, and day it is?"

He smiled apologetically, clasped his hands together, and kept bowing.

Lu Baping snorted coldly:
"So much to do."

But Wu Ciping adopted a humble attitude, so he did not resist. After pondering for a moment, he raised his hand to calculate:
“We set off on the seventh day of the first lunar month, and by the time we arrived here, it should be the evening of the eighth day. After midnight, it will be the ninth day.”

Zhao Fusheng asked again:
Is it the 208th year of the Han Dynasty now?

Lu Baping pointed at her, then turned and smiled at the envoys who had accompanied him:

"A village girl like her, not even sure about the year, truly a ignorant country bumpkin—"

Before he finished speaking, shadows suddenly stirred up from underground.

A sinister aura approached, then vanished into his shadow.

Zhao Fusheng looked around and, seeing this scene, immediately twisted her wrist, and a pale, human-skinned ghost whip appeared in her hand.

She lashed out at Lu Baping with her whip.

'scold--'

The black mist churned, and the air currents made a sound.

Lu Baping had his back to Zhao Fusheng and didn't notice her sudden attack, but he had already sensed the surge of cold air behind him.

The envoys from Lizhou, who were standing outside the village, saw Zhao Fusheng's actions immediately.

Their smiles froze on their faces. In an instant, the whip flashed in their eyes, and their expressions became distorted with fear due to the sudden change.

Lu Baping realized something from the expressions on everyone's faces in an instant, and he turned his head in a panic.

In the instant he turned his head, the human-skinned ghost whip grazed his cheek, stirring up a surge of ghostly mist.

When they came into close contact with the ghost whip, a shrill howl of a fierce ghost suddenly came from the whip.

The black mist transformed into pale, hideous ghost faces, rushing towards him.

"what--"

Lu Baping let out a miserable scream.

The ghostly face formed from the black mist was initially the size of a palm, but it grew rapidly as it flew out with the wind.

By the time it reached his cheek, it had already grown to the size of a bucket.

Amidst the agonizing screams, the vengeful ghost, its eyes and mouth wide open, toothless and resembling a terrifying black hole, lunged at Lu Baping's face with a force that seemed intent on devouring him alive.

"It's over!" At this moment, Lu Baping forgot to dodge.

The moment the vengeful ghost pounced, he saw out of the corner of his eye that ghosts were attacking from all directions.

These ghostly figures swayed and overlapped, obscuring Zhao Fusheng's face as he held the whip behind them—he could only vaguely see a person standing in place through the thick, impenetrable black mist.

"It's a Ghost Tamer!"

This thought flashed through Lu Baping's mind.

He thought he was doomed because the ghost was so close, but he miraculously survived.

The ghostly head formed from the ghostly mist lunged at the side of his face, bringing with it gusts of eerie wind. Then, the ghostly mist scattered across his face like a rain of pear blossom needles, piercing into his pores and causing excruciating pain.

His skin was torn, but the ghostly energy only penetrated about half an inch into his muscles before stopping. A large amount of heat gushed out from the side of his cheek, and the pain belatedly entered his mind.

Stimulated by the pain, Lu Baping quickly realized that he had escaped death.

"She's not trying to kill me!" The thought immediately excited him.

At the same moment, the ghost whip hit the ground with a 'bang,' splashing water and mud everywhere. Lu Baping felt the ground shake.

The ghostly figure, which had almost merged with his shadow, was cleaved in two.

The moment the vengeful ghost was cleaved in two, Lu Baping felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

He was horrified.

In fact, he had no idea he had been marked before.

At this moment, he naturally realized that the ghost tamer who had asked him the question earlier had saved his life.

He wasn't stupid; once he was free, he took a few steps back, intending to escape the village first.

Lu Baping's steps sank into the mud, which seemed particularly sticky, making his movements sluggish.

He retreated three or five steps in a disheveled state. Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the village entrance, he turned around and prepared to run away. But as soon as he moved, the ghostly figure that Zhao Fusheng had broken off with his ghost whip stood up.

The ghostly figure was covered with tentacles of varying lengths, and from the shadows, it looked like a ginseng root that had just been dug out of the ground.

The vengeful ghost stood in an eerie posture, and before anyone could react, it reached out and patted Lu Baping on the shoulder:

"Lu Baping".

It called out.

Zhao Fusheng retracted the ghost whip and was about to reach out and flick it again when he heard a vengeful ghost calling out to his soul.

She quickly spoke up to remind him:
Don't agree.

But she said it was too late.

Lu Baping was completely unaware of the danger posed by Baili Temple.

Perhaps it was because after talking with Wu Ciping and confirming that the other party was a 'human' and not a ghost, this messenger had already relaxed his vigilance.

Although he discovered the ghost was hiding on him after entering the village, he made the mistake of preconceived notions, thinking that the ghost was just possessing him. When he heard someone calling his name, Zhao Fusheng said something, but he was in a hurry to escape and didn't listen to anything.

A hand landed on the back of his shoulder and called out to him:
"Lu Baping, where are you going?"

His throat itched, and he answered almost unconsciously:
"Ai."

After agreeing, I was still thinking: What did the ghost tamer say?

'Don't agree!'

He realized this and was instantly terrified.

"save--"

He turned his head to look at Zhao Fusheng as if pleading for help, but in the instant he turned his head, a pale, ghostly face appeared on his neck.

The ghost's hands were like ten thin steel knives, piercing into the top of his head.

Blood streamed down his face, and in the blink of an eye, the vengeful ghost peeled off his intact human skin.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that no one even had time to cry out before Lu Baping was killed by the vengeful ghost.

After killing and skinning the victims, the ghosts would drape the human skin over themselves.

The skinned corpse was mangled and collapsed to the ground.

The moment it landed, a large number of strange, intertwined roots suddenly emerged from the ground.

These demons, upon touching the flesh and blood of living people, would seize it as a treasure, binding it tightly and dragging it into the muddy ground.

'Gurgle, gurgle.'

Two bubbles rose from the mud, the blood-red liquid sank to the bottom, and in an instant, Lu Baping's body disappeared.

The vengeful ghost peeled off the human skin and transformed him into another 'Lu Baping'.

He was a little unsteady on his feet at first, but gradually became more steady as he walked.

As he walked up to his companions, 'he' reached out and patted one of them on the shoulder:
"Zhou Jinhu is gone—"

The scene of the vengeful ghost killing people had just been played out in front of everyone, so the messengers knew how dangerous it was.

Zhou Jinhu, whose name was called by the ghost, thought to himself: I must never answer when a ghost calls my name.

But when the ghost called his name, he couldn't help but respond:

"it is good--"

As soon as he said that, trouble ensued.

From the shadows beneath his feet, another ghostly figure suddenly emerged.

The ghostly figure's ten fingers pierced through his back, and blood-stained fingers emerged from his chest.

The vengeful ghost peeled off the human skin and wore it on its own body.

The same fate befell Lu Baping and Zhou Jinhu; the two messengers died in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Fusheng reacted and shouted sternly:

"The ghost comes from beneath your feet, hiding in the shadows!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out and snatched the torch from one of the villagers' hands.

Zhou Jinhu walked over to another colleague and patted him on the shoulder:

"Diao Qun—"

"Don't kill me—"

The messenger, whose face had turned deathly pale and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, begged for mercy in a pitiful voice—but to the ghost, begging was also a response.

The rule has been fulfilled.

The vengeful ghost revived, its shadow emerging from the shadows. Just as it was about to kill Diao Qun, Zhao Fusheng darted forward, raising his torch—BOOM!

The fire blazed fiercely, casting a shadow that shrank as it shone down on Diao Qun's head.

The ghostly figure of the vengeful spirit that stood up was also greatly shrunk, only reaching Diao Qun's calves.

The miniature imp remained true to its rules, raising its sharp ten fingers and forcefully stabbing towards the flesh and blood.

'Pfft! '

The ghost claw pierced through Diao Qun's calf, broke the bone, and emerged from his anterior tibia.

Diao Qun let out a heart-wrenching scream, but thankfully his life was saved.

The ghost can tear off other people's skin, but because it is restrained by the shadow, the resurrected vengeful ghost is smaller in size and weaker in killing power.

Zhao Fusheng made a quick decision, and the torch slid down Diao Qun's back.

As the firelight drew closer, the shadows were dispelled, and the ghostly figures crumbled; the laws of nature were broken.

Countless black wisps emerged from Diao Qun's ankles, wrapping around him like ghostly vines, climbing up his ankles, and seeping into his wounds.

But wherever the firelight reached, the black vines turned into black mist and dissipated one by one.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"This ghost is closely related to a person's shadow. If you destroy the shadow, the ghost will be unable to cause trouble."

Wu Ciping felt very uneasy upon hearing this, and rubbed his hands together twice:

"How can the shadow be extinguished?"

"Whether it's day or night, wherever there is light, there is shadow—" Meng Po said.

Zhao Fusheng frowned:
"Put out the fire."

Once the fire went out, the village was plunged into darkness, and since everyone was no longer visible, the ghost could no longer hide.

Her words terrified everyone.

But when Zhao Fusheng shoved the torch into the mud, the flame went out with a hiss.

Although Wu Ciping and others were skeptical of her words, Wu Shaochun and others trusted Zhao Fusheng implicitly.

Although her request was quite bizarre, and extinguishing the fire in a dark, haunted village was an extremely unsafe act, everyone immediately obeyed her order.

Wu Shaochun and the others snatched the torches and extinguished them one by one, plunging the village entrance into darkness.

The ghost wearing the human skin of Lu Baping and Zhou Jinxu deflated like a punctured balloon the moment the firelight disappeared. Its face caved in, the human skin fell softly to the ground, and the vengeful ghost turned into black mist that flowed down, rolled into the mud, and disappeared without a trace.

(End of this chapter)