I become a god in another world

Chapter 744 Everyone Returns
Chapter 744

As soon as the carriage stopped, Magistrate Pang gave the driver a few instructions:

"It's getting late tonight. Take advantage of the curfew and the fact that no one is around to go home early. Don't linger on the way, and don't get drunk and cause trouble."

Seeing his serious expression, the driver responded repeatedly.

Because of the urgency of the situation, Magistrate Pang said no more and only urged him to leave quickly.

As the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, Magistrate Pang took a deep breath and bowed to Zhao Fusheng.

Tonight, Zhao Fusheng sent most of the people in the Demon Suppression Division back to their rooms.

While Magistrate Pang was away talking to his family, she didn't rest. She re-stamped the gates of the Demon Suppression Bureau with the gate gods and ghost seals, and invited Erlang Shen to guard the Demon Suppression Bureau.

……

With everything prepared, Xie Jingsheng and Kuai Manzhou stood on either side of Zhao Fusheng, while Magistrate Pang stood in front of the gate with his hands clasped tightly.

The group held their breath and focused intently.

It has become so quiet near Baoding Lane in Wan'an County that you could hear a pin drop.

The night wind stopped, and the chirping of insects and birds disappeared completely.

Two lanterns hung under the eaves outside the gate of the Demon Suppression Bureau. The flames inside the lanterns seemed to be suppressed by some force, shrinking a little and making the light weaker.

This change seemed to happen in an instant, yet it also seemed to have been formed unconsciously over a long period of time.

By the time the group realized what was happening, the surrounding light had dimmed.

There was no moon tonight; thick, dark clouds blocked the moonlight. Zhao Fusheng could only see his surroundings by the faint light from the two lanterns.

Under the lamplight, the surroundings were shrouded in a bluish haze. In the dim light and shadow, countless fine water droplets formed granular mist, floating on the left and right sides of the lantern.

'Jingle bells.'

After an unknown amount of time, in the quiet night, everyone suddenly heard the sound of bells ringing.

The sound startled everyone.

Magistrate Pang felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively looked at Zhao Fusheng. Seeing that Zhao Fusheng was standing not far from him, he felt a great weight lifted from his heart and calmed down considerably.

Then a horse neighed.

'De'er, de'er.'

Along with the sound of horses' hooves came the rolling of wheels.

The noise was particularly jarring in the quiet night, and the occasional ringing of the bell was unusually crisp, giving people an extremely ominous and eerie feeling.

"coming."

Just as Magistrate Pang turned to look at Zhao Fusheng again, Zhao Fusheng spoke up.

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw that the shop across from the Demon Suppression Division was covered by a thick fog. Two years ago, it was an incense and paper money shop, but after the Demon Suppression Division of Wan'an County fell into ruin, the shop owner fled Wan'an County, and the shop became ownerless.

After Zhao Fusheng took control of the Demon Suppression Division, he renovated and redistributed these shops. At this time, this shop became the property of a local gentry in Wan'an County, where it usually sold wine and other items.

The shop door disappeared, replaced by a large cloud of black mist.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, a bell suddenly rang out from within the black mist, followed by the emergence of a jet-black horse head.

The black ghost horse took a powerful step forward, pulling the ghost chariot it was dragging behind it out.

The vengeful ghost in green robes, sitting in front of the ghost carriage, locked onto Magistrate Pang.

Just then, the vehicle stopped abruptly, and the coffin-like carriage door opened at some point, revealing a burly man in a blue robe leaning out.
"Pang—"

He called out Magistrate Pang's name, and Magistrate Pang responded softly. After exchanging a few words with him, he took a light step and started to walk towards the carriage.

At the critical moment, Zhao Fusheng grabbed Magistrate Pang's shoulder and pulled him back.

Magistrate Pang was instantly brought to his senses by her pull and tug.

When he looked at the ghost carriage again, he realized there was no carriage at all. It was clearly a coffin being pulled by a ghost horse.

The burly man who had spoken to him earlier was gone; instead, a fierce ghost dressed in a green robe sat in front of the coffin.

Magistrate Pang's heart was pounding wildly.

He had lived in Wan'an County for several years and had experienced two calamities: the Beggar's Alley and the Ghost Tomb Uprising.

However, he did not witness any of them firsthand. At this moment, he was almost 'taken away' by the ghost carriage, and only then did he realize that after entering the ghost realm, a person's eyes are not necessarily reliable.

Just as he was feeling a sense of lingering fear, he heard someone shouting in his ear:

"Pang Maoshan."

The voice was thin and shrill, and Magistrate Pang instinctively responded:
"Ai."

He was originally quite cautious and knew that if he were in the ghost realm, he could not easily talk to people, lest he get 'karma' with the laws of vengeful ghosts.

But tonight, the Night Wanderer's Mark was broken by Zhao Fusheng. He had just gone through a life-or-death ordeal, and his emotions were fluctuating wildly. He was tense at first and then relaxed. When he heard someone calling his name, he instinctively responded.

But as soon as he agreed, Magistrate Pang realized something was wrong.

Officials in the Han Dynasty now hold a lowly position, but even if they are insignificant, they are still officials. Their names are generally unknown to the public, and those who do know them rarely call them by their full names.

There aren't many people qualified to call him by his name.

The only people present tonight are him, Zhao Fusheng, Kuai Manzhou, and Xie Jingsheng.

Zhao Fusheng always respected him and treated him with great courtesy during the two years they had known each other, addressing him by his official title.

Who was it that called his name?
Magistrate Pang shuddered.

He paused for a moment, then turned his head, and Zhao Fusheng immediately became alert:

"what happened?"

She turned and looked around:
"Did something happen?"

Magistrate Pang's heart pounded. He hesitated for a moment, torn between his conscience and his fear.

Zhao Fusheng had previously said that Paper Man Zhang was very likely to appear tonight along with the Ghost Cart. She had already made preparations to deal with Paper Man Zhang and was on high alert. Magistrate Pang was afraid that telling her about this now would make her worry.

But at the same time, he was thinking: precisely because bad things could happen to the paper figure Zhang at any time, perhaps it is some minor details that are more important.

If Zhao Fusheng is informed in advance so that she can prepare, everything will be fine if nothing happens; but if there are any unexpected changes, it would be good for her to be alert and take precautions in advance.

Thinking of this, Magistrate Pang said:
"Sir, I think I just heard someone call my name."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Fusheng's eyes sharpened immediately.

"Did I call you by your name? Did I call you by your real name?"

"Correct."

Magistrate Pang nodded:
"At that time, the night owl stopped, and an adult pulled me up. I had just regained my balance when I heard someone call my name. I thought it was—"

At this point, a look of guilt appeared on his face:

"My lord, am I—"

“It has nothing to do with you.” Zhao Fusheng shook his head: “Don’t feel guilty. The person who wields the power of evil spirits and intends to harm others is the real culprit.”

That being said, Zhao Fusheng realized that his guess was true.

She and Xie Jingsheng exchanged a quick glance, and their expressions both turned serious.

The summoning of souls by vengeful ghosts is a unique rule of ghostly calamities in Wuqing County.

After the Chang family of Wuqing County was purged, although some lingering troubles spread to other prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty, Wan'an County remained relatively stable. Firstly, its location was remote, and secondly, the ghostly calamity in Wan'an County had spiraled out of control, and the imperial court had long since abandoned the area. Most of the Chang family's henchmen were concentrated in Lizhou, spreading outwards from Wuqing County as the center.

Wan'an County had just opened up trade, and most of the merchants coming and going were from Xuzhou. The markings of Wuqing Prefecture did not involve this area.

But when Magistrate Pang heard someone call out a name, he knew that the fame must have come from the Ghost Cart marker or something else entirely.

"Paper Figure Zhang".

The name simultaneously came to mind for both Zhao Fusheng and Xie Jingsheng.

Zhao Fusheng had fought against Paper Man Zhang many times, and his feelings about it became even more profound.

This person has a unique set of laws; he is neither human nor ghost, and when he interacts with ghosts, he has the ability to steal their laws.

On that day in Wuqing County, he stole the power of Zhao Fusheng's Six Paths of Reincarnation Law, and was subsequently able to indirectly mobilize the power of Meng Po and others to obstruct Zhao Fusheng.

He had been involved in the ghost case in Wuqing County and had stolen the power of the evil ghost law from the Chang family in Wuqing County for his own use. It was only natural that he would use it to mark Magistrate Pang.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng felt much more at ease.

Although it was unfortunate that Magistrate Pang was marked, his being marked actually helped Zhao Fusheng confirm one thing in a roundabout way: on the 5th of March, the paper figure Zhang would appear in Wan'an County along with the ghost carriage.

Moreover, this person harbors ulterior motives and will bring harm to Wan'an County—which indirectly confirms the earlier curse of the Qiankun Brush: Wan'an County is shrouded in red moonlight, and a hundred ghosts roam at night.

"What's meant to happen will happen; there's no escaping it." Zhao Fusheng took a deep breath to calm himself.
"That's fine too. My feud with him started because of Wan'an County, and now Wan'an County will put an end to everything."

As they were talking, the carriage door opened, and familiar faces jumped off one by one.

When the Fan brothers got out of the car, their expressions were gloomy, and Fan Wujiu's eyes were red and swollen, as if he had shed tears earlier.

Liu Yizhen was carrying a coffin on his back, his cheeks clenched tightly.

Chen Duozi took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

……

After everyone got off the carriage, they were momentarily stunned when they saw Magistrate Pang.

Fan Wujiu's gaze fell on Zhao Fusheng, and he instinctively said:
"My lord, my lord, she—"

As he spoke, he vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but his mouth reacted quickly:
"To buy us time to escape, she stayed behind in Wuqing County—"

"you--"

The moment Liu Yizhen saw Zhao Fusheng, he paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed with delight:
"Fusheng, it seems the matter in Wuqing County has been resolved!"

His words were like thunder, waking up the crowd who were still somewhat incredulous.

One moment Chen Duozi and Xu Yu were still crying, the next moment everyone swarmed up and surrounded Zhao Fusheng.

"..."

Xie Jingsheng had thought that since everyone hadn't seen him for a long time, they would have something to say to him. But now he was pushed aside by a group of people, so he could only rub his nose and pull Magistrate Pang aside again:
"Come closer and stand in front of me. Don't let the ghost carry you away while they're reuniting."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Pang chuckled twice.
"It seems that the envoys in the Demon Suppression Division, like us, cannot do without you, sir."

The crowd surrounded Zhao Fusheng, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Ding Datong said:

"My lord, before we parted, you clearly saw—"

"Wuqing Prefecture".

Zhao Fusheng said, "This is a long story. After you left that day, I also settled the matter of Wuqing County."

She looked at the remaining troops in the capital and took a breath:

“Yu Lingzhu has been resurrected as a vengeful spirit. Wan’an County will not be peaceful tonight either. Those who cannot control ghosts should immediately return to the Demon Suppression Division to avoid danger.”

Paper Man Zhang is planning something big, and ordinary messengers won't be of much use in such a battle—besides, these people have already been through the ghost calamity in Wuqing County and are exhausted both physically and mentally, so it's better to let them rest.

Upon hearing this, the people of the capital felt a great weight lifted from their hearts.

Hearing her tone, Ding Datong felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Zhao Fusheng suddenly called out to him:
"Datong, lead these messengers to the back." After calling out, she looked at Liu Yizhen and the others:
“You lot can’t rest for now. You’ll have to wait with me for Paper Man Zhang.”

"it is good!"

Fan Wujiu was overjoyed:
"I didn't want to leave when we were in Wuqing County, because I was worried that something might happen to you. Now that you have returned from Wuqing County unharmed, we can finally be reunited."

Fan Bisi also nodded:

"Wan'an County is our territory. We outnumber them, so we're not afraid of him making a paper effigy."

Liu Yizhen didn't speak, but turned his head to look in the direction of the south of the city.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at him and saw Ding Datong beckoning the imperial envoys to enter the Demon Suppression Division. As soon as they entered, she waved her hand, and the door slammed shut.

She said:
"Yizhen, I need to trouble you with something. Please inscribe a word on the plaque. Tonight, I will seal these two doors shut so that ghosts and gods cannot enter."

Liu Yizhen then turned around and replied, "Okay."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Kuai Manzhou. The child had a thought and disappeared from the spot. When she reappeared, she was already sitting on the plaque of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Several thin, black, hair-like ghostly threads wrapped around the plaque. With a gentle lift from the little maid, it suddenly dangled down and landed in front of Liu Yizhen.

Golden light appeared in his eyes, and then his fingers turned into pure gold.

"Ah Yu, may I borrow your pen?"

Xu Yu nodded in agreement.

The moment she nodded, her figure rapidly shrank, transforming into a blood-red ghost pen, which was then shoved into Liu Yizhen's hand.

Liu Yizhen stiffly grasped the pen and quickly wrote: Demon Suppression Division.

The golden light pierced through the tip of the Qiankun Brush and landed on the plaque, causing the remains of Zang Junji, who was suppressed in the seventeenth level of the Ghost Prison, to resonate.

After doing all this, Zhao Fusheng signaled to Kuai Manzhou to hang the plaque back up.

She then put away the ghost car and looked around; the street was as calm as ever.

After the ghost carriage was returned to its shrine, the evil aura of the Night Wanderer disappeared, the thin mist covering the street began to fade, and the flames of the two lanterns hanging above the Demon Suppression Bureau slowly returned to normal.

The liquor store across the street was closed, and the street was very quiet.

"grown ups--"

Seeing her entourage, Chen Duozi knew something big had happened and was about to ask when Zhao Fusheng said:

"It seems this person is hiding."

After she finished speaking, she added:
"I know you have many questions in your hearts." He then continued:
"But since Paper Man Zhang hasn't shown up yet, let's go inside first."

The group retreated to the inner courtyard, and Zhao Fusheng closed the gate. He then recounted the events that had transpired since they parted ways in Wuqing County.

Including the deaths of Yu Lingzhu and Feng Du, he eventually won over Zang Junji.

"After Zang Junji went into hiding for the time being, I thought that the ghost train you were on would not be able to return to Wan'an County until the 5th of March, so I simply went to the capital to clean up the mess and finally returned to Wan'an County."

At this point, Zhao Fusheng looked at Chen Duozi:
"The Lu family has already settled temporarily in Wan'an County, and they will decide their fate after you return."

Chen Duozi breathed a sigh of relief.

Before she could speak, Zhao Fusheng said to Liu Yizhen:
"During my time back in Wan'an County, I bestowed the titles of ghost and god upon Qiao Yueshan and your grandfather."

She said:
"Qiao Yueshan and Luosha are similar in their circumstances." In life, one was a scholar and the other a warrior, but both were quite righteous. In the end, however, they met the same fate, their bodies separated from their heads, becoming headless ghosts.

“I borrowed Wu Ciping’s head and pieced it together with Qiao Yueshan’s, then appointed it as a Yin Messenger, on the same level as Horse-Face, while your grandfather appointed it as the City God Ghost Judge, in charge of the Book of Life and Death.”

(End of this chapter)