I become a god in another world

Chapter 753 The Struggle for Mineral Resources
Chapter 753

Zhao Fusheng is known for his outrageous statements.

Magistrate Pang already felt that this place was eerie, and when he heard that there was a ghost in the hall, he felt as if a nail had been driven into his buttocks, and he almost jumped up.

His expression changed, and he looked to his left and right.

Xu Yu and Kuai Manzhou remained calm—these two children were highly skilled and daring, and ordinary ghosts were beneath their notice.

Needless to say, Zhao Fusheng is the greatest ghost controller herself, and she came here to catch and suppress ghosts.

Once Magistrate Pang understood one point, he immediately felt relieved.

"..." Cao Gu's cheeks twitched.

But he knew that ghost tamers were highly perceptive and that Zhao Fusheng was powerful enough to detect the anomaly in the Sage's Hall, so it wasn't surprising.

He dared not conceal it and immediately said:
"Yes."

After saying that, he hurriedly explained:
"But don't worry, sir. These ghosts have been sealed with gold paint and there will be no problem. They will not harm the people of the Demon Suppression Division. They only need to go out for a walk every night at midnight and they will come back."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Pang realized that the midnight curfew in Tongshan County was actually due to the presence of ghosts within the Demon Suppression Bureau.

After Cao Gu finished speaking, he saw Zhao Fusheng's gaze fall on the golden statues. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Zhao Fusheng ask:
"Where did these ghosts come from? Why are they willingly trapped here?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Pang also came to his senses: the evil spirit was uncontrollable.

The people of Tongshan County are able to capture evil spirits and even create images of them to display in their halls, keeping them motionless. This is considered a unique skill of Tongshan County.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of person the magistrate of Tongshan County was, that he could still live well in such an environment.

……

Cao Gu replied:

"My lord, these people were all extraordinary individuals who were skilled at making magic lamps in their lifetime."

"Is it also related to lamps?" Zhao Fusheng asked in surprise.

Cao Gu nodded:

“The Lantern Festival is held every year, and every year a large number of lantern-making masters are needed.”

This kind of work is not easy.

It requires ruthlessness and skill in skinning, leatherworking, bone forging, and lamp making.

The ghost lanterns made by the Demon Suppression Division are different from those made by local powerful clans; they are more cruel and meticulous.

These lamp makers were all ruthless executioners.

The Demon Suppression Bureau of Tongshan County holds a lantern festival every year. The Demon Suppression Bureau's ghost tamers simply issue a task: to make ghost lanterns.

But the lamp maker who has taken on the mission is the real monster to ordinary people.

They shouldered the important responsibility of selecting and choosing people.

Zhao Fusheng was not a ghost-controlling man who was unaware of human suffering; he could probably imagine how many loopholes there were to exploit.

In short, these lamp makers held the power of life and death over many ordinary people during their lifetimes and enjoyed great wealth, but most of them did not live long and there was a risk of their evil spirits rising after death.

After these people died, they were eventually captured by the Demon Suppression Division of Tongshan County, made into ghost statues using special methods, and placed in the Demon Suppression Division.

According to Cao Gu, these gold-lacquered, sealed ghost statues would revive at midnight and then roam around Tongshan County. Ultimately, it was unknown how these 'revive' ghost statues managed to restore order to the laws of the land and return to the Demon Suppression Division of Tongshan County.

At this point, Zhao Fusheng had the idea of ​​going out to the Demon Suppression Division at night to find out what was going on.

She made up her mind and looked at Cao Gu:

"If these gilded ghost statues originated from the lamp maker, why were they covered in gold paint?"

Upon hearing her question, Cao Gu looked blank for a moment. After a long while, he shook his head and murmured:
"This...this little man doesn't know where they came from either, anyway...anyway, they've always been here—"

Seeing that his expression didn't seem feigned, Zhao Fusheng asked again:

"Do these ghosts seem to revive every night around midnight?"

"No no no."

Upon hearing this, Cao Gu shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly.

“If they revive every night, no matter how many slaves we have in Tongshan County, it won’t be enough for them to kill.”

The implication in his words caused Zhao Fusheng's expression to change slightly. Cao Gu then said:
"These golden ghost statues will only come back to life around the fifteenth of July each year, and will parade through the streets every night at midnight."

Zhao Fusheng forcibly suppressed his inner disgust and calmly said:
"You just said it's already early July, right?"

Cao Gu secretly glanced at her face out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was calm and showed no emotion—but he vaguely felt that Zhao Fusheng's words contained an ominous meaning, and he felt inexplicably uneasy.

But he was used to the distinction between upper and lower classes, which meant he dared not ignore Zhao Fusheng's words.

In that brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through Cao Gu's mind, but he ultimately answered respectfully:
"In reply to you, sir, it is now the fifth day of the seventh month, and the Lantern Festival will be held in ten days."

"Have the lantern makers finished making all the lanterns needed for this year's lantern festival?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Cao Gu, unaware of her inner thoughts, forced himself to speak:
"It should be almost finished, just waiting for the two Lord Jiangs in the manor to inspect it." After saying that, he added:
"With Lord Zhao here, we can naturally inspect the goods. If they don't meet the standards, we have alternatives."

Zhao Fusheng sighed:
"Tongshan County treats human life as worthless."

Although the world is not good, killing for pleasure is still against humanity. "No wonder Tongshan County was destroyed 48 years ago. It's just a pity that the people of the city had no choice but to do so."

Her words reached Cao Gu's ears, causing his expression to change slightly. He couldn't help but turn to look at Zhang Wanquan. The two exchanged a glance, both looking completely bewildered.

Cao Gu understood every word Zhao Fusheng meant; she was referring to the fact that Tongshan County had faced annihilation 48 years ago.

However, Tongshan County is an ancient county, and in Cao Gu's memory, it has existed for at least a hundred years.

Before Liang Yu, although there were constant ghostly calamities in this place, they were all minor incidents. There hadn't been any major ghostly calamities of a higher level in the past hundred years—this could almost be considered a peaceful and prosperous era.

Forty-eight years ago, there was no indication that they would be destroyed.

But Cao Gu, who was used to obeying, did not dare to question it. He thought that there was something wrong with his ears and that he had misheard. He did not dare to suspect that Zhao Fusheng had gone mad.

After Zhao Fusheng finished sighing, he made the final decision:
"We'll rest here at the Demon Suppression Bureau in Tongshan County tonight. Let's get ready to sleep early and go out in the middle of the night to see what's going on. I want to see where these golden-bodied evil spirits in Tongshan County come from."

Her words startled Cao Gu, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Zhao Fusheng say:
"After reading this, I will meet with Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu tomorrow morning, and then go to the Hao Clan Ancestral Hall to inquire about the ghost case. Finally, if there is still time, I will go to the place where the lanterns are made to see who the lantern maker is this year."

Her words startled Cao Gu, even shattering his earlier thoughts.

"Sir, you've arranged so much?"

Cao Gu exclaimed in surprise:
"This...this means we're working non-stop!"

Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow:
"Is there a problem?"

Cao Gu dared not object and immediately shook his head:

“Sir, it’s just traveling at night—” He paused, then advised, “Please reconsider, sir.”

Finally, he added:
"As for visiting Hao Dingzhu at the Hao Clan Ancestral Hall and then going to the Lantern Nest, I can make arrangements in advance."

"Tonight, all you need to do is arrange the lodging at the post station and tell Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu in advance to see me tomorrow morning. As for the subsequent meeting with Hao Dingzhu and the lamp maker, just arrange the carriage and have them accompany me to guide you. Don't worry about anything else."

Having said all that Zhao Fusheng had to say, Cao Gu had no room for further persuasion. He moved his lips, but ultimately gave a helpless reply:
"Then I will obey your orders, sir."

……

Afterwards, Zhao Fusheng inquired about the general situation in Tongshan County and gained a basic understanding of the situation. This was a ghost realm, and Magistrate Pang was under a 'curse,' so Zhao Fusheng dared not let him out of his sight. Therefore, he asked Cao Gu to arrange a room for everyone to sit for a while and wait for midnight to fall.

Having finished discussing the important matters, Cao Gu said:
"My lord, why don't you have some food? Everything is prepared perfectly."

"no need."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head:
"We just ate some dry rations on the way, so we're not very hungry."

Cao Gu and Zhang Wanquan exchanged a glance, and then had no choice but to respond.

He was somewhat worried.

After the Hao family's affair became a big deal, it attracted "guests from the capital," and it's unclear whether this is a blessing or a curse for Tongshan County.

Tonight, this Lord Zhao asked a lot of questions about the 'Lantern Festival,' and in his conversation, he seemed to care more about the Lantern Festival than about Hao Dingzhu's family affairs—but she was going to the Hao Family Ancestral Hall tomorrow.

Moreover, she knew that the Demon Suppression Bureau was haunted and that ghosts would come out on nights in July, yet she still insisted on going out to patrol the streets.

In Cao Gu's view, this was simply making trouble out of nothing.

However, he was too weak to dissuade them.

Lords Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu again—

As he was lost in thought, Zhao Fusheng asked him:
"Where have the two lords of the Demon Suppression Division of Tongshan County gone?"

Cao Gu was thinking about this matter when he heard Zhao Fusheng's words and was shocked.

"How did you know, sir, that the two Lord Jiangs were not in the Demon Suppression Division?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled:

"If you were in the Demon Suppression Division, you would have already summoned the general from this place if you had seen me, Man Zhou, using the art of controlling ghosts."

Cao Gu then said:
"You're right, sir. I just didn't think of it for a moment."

After he finished speaking, he said:

"The two Lord Jiangs have gone to Yijiang Town and are expected to return in four days."

"Yijiang Town?" Zhao Fusheng tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Cao Gu:
"Within Tongshan County?"

Seeing Cao Gu nod, she smiled and said:

"Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu are both ghost controllers. Why would they personally go on a mission, and why would they need several days to return? Could it be that a case has occurred?"

Cao Gu shook his head:

"It's not a case, it's gold."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.

"If a ghost tamer wants gold and silver, does that mean he has to carry it himself?"

After saying this, she immediately remembered that she had brought back a lot of gold and silver items to Wan'an County when she went to Baozhi and entered the capital, and she pursed her lips again.

Fortunately, Cao Gu was also preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't notice her brief pause. Upon hearing this, he replied:

"My lord, you may not know this, but Lords Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu went to Yijiang Town at the invitation of Hao Dingzhu."

There's actually a connection between these two things!
Zhao Fusheng's pupils contracted slightly.
"Tell me about it."

"Yes."

Cao Gu replied:

“Yijiang Town is Hao Dingzhu’s hometown,” he said, his brow furrowing slightly. “This matter was not complicated to begin with, but it involved a lawsuit.”

"Tongshan County is governed by separate administrative divisions."

The large landowners divided up all the resources of Tongshan County and then used them to support the ghost tamers, forming a fixed pattern.

However, the power dynamics among large landowners are not eternally stable.

About fifty years ago, Yijiang Town originally belonged to the Qin family. It is said that the Qin family produced a ghost tamer, and thus quickly rose to prominence in a very short time, eventually occupying a lot of territory in Tongshan County.

However, this ghost-tamer surnamed Qin was unlucky; he died after the vengeful ghost revived in less than two years.

With the death of the ghost tamer, the Qin family, which had been powerful just two years prior, immediately collapsed like a tree falling and monkeys scattering.

"The current Hao family were originally descendants of the Qin family," Cao Gu said.

"Their original ancestral home was in Lianghu Village, Yijiang Town. Hao Dingzhu's grandfather was desperate and took his family to the Qin family, where they became servants and were under their protection."

This was originally an attempt to avoid taxes and survive.

But after the Qin family's ghost-controller died, Liang Yu came to Tongshan County.

Liang Yu was fond of ingenious gadgets, ancient paintings, and poems. Hao Dingzhu's grandfather, being quite clever, catered to his interests and presented him with a piece of green jade.

The jade was brightly colored. When it was broken and ground for painting, the resulting blue color was very vivid. It was praised by Liang Yu, who then granted him an official position, and the Hao family prospered as a result.

Later, the Hao family turned the tables, squeezing the Qin family into a corner and taking over the industries and households of Yijiang Town.

“The two families have been in litigation for years,” Cao Gu said.

At first glance, what he said seemed completely unrelated to the Jiang brothers' trip to Yijiang Town. He was worried that his rambling would displease Zhao Fusheng, but to his surprise, Zhao Fusheng did not scold him after he finished his long-winded talk.

Cao Gu breathed a sigh of relief, vaguely discerning Zhao Fusheng's temperament: this official from the capital seemed to be very patient as long as it was related to the ghost case, and was willing to listen to the cause and effect, without rushing to tell the rest.

Having figured this out, he tried to explain it in as much detail as possible:
"Both sides are passing the buck, claiming that Yijiang Town is their territory, and they are trying to find ways to file a lawsuit."

"Six months ago, the Qin family said that there was a divine vein hidden in Yijiang Town. This vein was spiritual. Back then, their own ghost tamer encountered a god here and had great luck in controlling ghosts. Now, Hao Dingzhu has people mining in this mountain, which is blasphemous to the gods and is a great disrespect. They will suffer misfortune."

Cao Gu said:
"I suspect that someone leaked the case to the capital about the ghost incident at the Hao family's house, and the Qin family may have been behind it."

After saying that, he immediately added:
"But this is just my personal guess. Adults should just listen for fun and not take it seriously."

Zhao Fusheng said:

"There's no smoke without fire." She looked at Cao Gu:

"If that's what you think, then Hao Dingzhu probably thinks the same way too, right?"

Cao Gu nodded.

"Now that the Hao family is in power, they probably won't tolerate the Qin family causing trouble behind their backs. Is Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu's trip to Yijiang Town related to the conflict between these two families?"

As soon as Zhao Fusheng asked this question, Cao Gu knew she was shrewd: because she had hit the nail on the head.

"Sir." Cao Gu said:

"Half a month ago, Hao Dingzhu requested an audience with the two Jiangs, saying that a gold mine had been discovered in the mines of Yijiang Town."

After he finished speaking, he added:
“Our two Jiang brothers from Tongshan County are not old, but they are very capable. However, both of them love gold.”

It's not unusual for those who control ghosts to love money.

Cao Gu noticed the subtle change in Zhao Fusheng's expression and, eager to please him, quickly said:
"My lord, I feel that the two Lord Jiangs' fondness for gold is probably not simply due to greed; it may be related to ghosts."

Zhao Fusheng was stunned when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)