I become a god in another world

Chapter 765 Every Step a Mistake
Chapter 765

The ghostly calamity that befell the Hao family officially began after Hao Laoyao's death.

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng finally understood the cause and effect.

This seemingly ghostly calamity actually stemmed from human error, with malicious interference from others causing the situation to spiral out of control.

"I understand."

Zhao Fusheng said:
"The source of the ghostly calamity in the Hao family is that you handed over Wang Wenqing after being reported by someone, which led to the tragic death of this woman. Later, Hao Jinyi used a special method to 'invite' the ghost back."

It's easy to invite a ghost, but difficult to send it away.

His act of sending away the ghost caused the disaster to spiral out of control and spread throughout the Hao family.

"What you say is absolutely right, sir," Hao Dingzhu hurriedly replied.
"That's how things went, it all stemmed from this wicked person's ignorance and arrogance."

He helplessly complained:
"But sir, this matter originated with the Hao family, and the Hao family is guilty. But to be honest, we are trying our best to make amends—"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:
"This disaster is not something that a mere lantern bearer like you from the Hao family could have accomplished."

The Hao family has become a ghost town.

Moreover, judging from what Xu Yu said, Tongshan County was being destroyed back then—there must have been a reason why Paper Man Zhang led everyone into this ghostly realm.

Zhao Fusheng was 90% certain that the demise of Tongshan County was related to the Hao family's misfortune.

As the saying goes, a single spark can start a prairie fire.

Tongshan County had many problems and was on the verge of collapse. The Hao family's misfortune was the spark that ignited the whole incident.

She looked at Cao Gu:
"Don't you realize how serious this problem is?"

Cao Gu's eyes flickered twice, but his face showed a blank expression:

"Sir, regarding this matter—" He hesitated slightly, but still honestly voiced his thoughts:

"My lord, although there has indeed been a ghostly calamity, it is not a serious problem. The dead are only servants, not a major disaster."

Hao Dingzhu nodded in agreement.

However, as he nodded, he also took out a neatly folded handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but laugh, looking at Hao Dingzhu:
"Mr. Hao, didn't you notice something amiss in what you said?"

Hao Dingzhu honestly replied:

"My lord, I think Lord Cao is right."

Zhao Fusheng sighed, swallowing back the reprimand that was about to come out.

She hesitated for a moment, then changed her tone and asked:

"Master Hao, let me ask you this: since the ghostly calamity at the beginning of the year, how many members of the Hao family have died?"

Her tone was calm and unhurried, yet there was a chilling power in her words. Hao Dingzhu became even more nervous and hurriedly said:
"I dare not accept the title of 'Master' from you—"

Zhao Fusheng's face darkened:
"The calamity is more important; why bother with these empty titles?"

Hao Dingzhu said in a panic:

"Yes Yes Yes."

After he finished speaking, fearing that Zhao Fusheng would get angry, he continued:
"The disaster started in January. After that, the time of death was unpredictable. Sometimes two or three people would die in one night, and sometimes it would be three or five days before someone died. Half a year has passed so far, and a total of about 76 people have died."

Cao Gu had informed him earlier and sent someone to inform him again last night, so he was well-prepared and answered very fluently:

"Among these dead people, 61 were lowly slaves, 8 were hired by middle-class households, 6 were stewards of upper-class households, and one was a member of the Hao clan, but not from the main line."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:
"So you think this ghost case is unimportant?"

Hao Dingzhu said:

"I wouldn't dare say it's insignificant, but only servants have died so far—"

His thoughts were the same as Cao Gu's.

Besides the terrifying ghosts, the lives of servants were also worthless; if one died, two more would be added.

In addition, although the Hao family was not the largest aristocratic family in Tongshan County, they had many servants.

The family had a total of over 600 members, but the actual number of members of the Hao family was less than 100; the rest were all servants.

Hao Dingzhu felt that the deaths of 60 or 70 people in six months were not a big problem.

Zhao Fusheng nodded upon hearing this:

"I understand what you're thinking now."

Her tone was calm, and she didn't sound angry. Hao Dingzhu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak with a smile when she heard Zhao Fusheng say:
"Mr. Hao, I have a question for you."

Hao Dingzhu quickly suppressed her smile and said respectfully:

"Sir, please speak."

Zhao Fusheng said:

"Suppose the demonic calamity spirals out of control and begins a massacre, starting with two or three people killed per night, and later increasing to twenty or thirty people per night—"

Her words caused the Hao family to change color drastically.

Cao Gu's body also began to tremble slightly.

Zhao Fusheng then said:
"Assuming that within a few days, all of Hao's lowest-ranking servants were killed, then the lowest-ranking servants would be what you call ordinary servants."

At this moment, Hao Dingzhu's eyes darted around, and he vaguely guessed Zhao Fusheng's unfinished intention. His expression changed slightly as he listened to her continue:

"After that, all the ordinary servants were killed, and only the foremen and managers remained."

At this point, the foreman and manager became the lowest-ranking people, replacing the 'lowly slaves' they used to talk about.

Once the foremen and managers have all been killed by the vengeful ghosts, sooner or later it will be the Hao family's turn, and then the Tongshan County government will suffer the same fate.

"Of course, I'm saying this on the premise that the ghost suddenly gains sentience and understands the rule that killing should be categorized according to social status," Zhao Fusheng sneered, speaking sarcastically.
"Otherwise, if there is a chaotic massacre, the Hao family branches may not be able to survive to the end."

Hao Dingzhu's expression changed.

Now he understood the seriousness of the problem and could only look to Cao Gu for help.

"If this is a major incident, the two Jiangs will surely handle it—"

Zhao Fusheng said with a smile:
"You're getting senile," she retorted.

"What would be considered a big deal? You think the death of a lowly servant is a small matter, so in the minds of the two Lord Jiangs, what would be considered a big deal? Would it be the complete extinction of the entire Hao family and the spread of ghostly calamity?"

Her words made Hao Dingzhu and the others unable to stand, and they immediately knelt down in a rush:
"My lord, save me! My lord, save me!"

Cao Gu also knelt down on the ground.

"The matter itself originated from the Demon Suppression Division of Tongshan County."

In a county, the concentration of power in the hands of one person, without any checks and balances, is itself a great hidden danger.

The case of the ghost lantern in Tongshan County originated from Liang Yu; and the crisis of destruction originated from Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu.

The brothers' backgrounds revealed their attitudes, and those below them used the attitudes of those above them to attack each other, which led to Wang Wenqing's downfall.

She was destitute and alone in Tongshan County. After her death, no one spoke up for her or sought justice for her, and soon a vengeful ghost was resurrected.

After the ghostly calamity occurred, it was not taken seriously because most of the dead were low-status servants.

……

Zhao Fusheng was at a loss for words.

"Hao Jinyi, things have come to this point. You didn't report the case to seek justice for Wang Wenqing, did you?" Zhao Fusheng asked bluntly.

Upon hearing this, Hao Jinyi's pale face instantly turned bright red for some reason.

Upon seeing his originally handsome face, Zhao Fusheng felt a sense of disgust:

"Logically speaking, since you received help from others and drove away the ghosts, you should have kept quiet and not interfered."

She said:
"Human nature is selfish. Since you caused trouble again and dared to appeal to the capital, it must be because the method given to you by the person you sought help from that day no longer worked. So you must have encountered evil spirits and been possessed by vengeful ghosts to dare to make a big fuss, right?"

Hao Jinyi looked ashamed and stammered, not daring to utter a sound. Hao Laoqi said readily:
"The master is absolutely right. This boy is selfish and doesn't care about his family's lives at all." Old Hao Ba's face showed disdain.

"My second brother was so generous and selfless when he was alive. Who would have thought that his son, a hero, would be such a useless coward?"

Despite the elders' angry scolding, Hao Jinyi only cried:
"Uncles, help me! Adults, save me!"

Zhao Fusheng coldly observed his expression and calmly said:
"If you want me to save you, you have to explain exactly what happened in your family."

Hao Jin wept as he said:
"I dare not hide anything from you, sir. Here's what happened—"

The story begins with Wang Wenqing's funeral.

After the strange events of that day, the lantern bearer lured away the evil spirits, and the funeral was successfully held. The lantern bearer did not die, and everyone thought the matter was over.

But a strange thing happened that very night.

Zhao Fusheng asked:

"What's weird?"

Hao Jin's Legacy:

"Wenqing is back." After saying that, he spat twice, as if even mentioning the name was unlucky, and said:
"The ghost is back."

His words startled Zhao Fusheng. Hao Dingzhu explained:
"My lord, the ghost has gone to find him."

As she said this, Hao Dingzhu put her hands in her sleeves, a half-smile on her face, and a look of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

Hao Jinyi, however, had no time to ponder the meaning behind his uncle's words. Upon hearing them, he nodded in agreement.

"My lord, after the incident, the ghost came back to haunt me."

He said:
"The ghosts have come back twice." He made a 'two' gesture.

"It came back once, then that feeling suddenly disappeared, and soon after, it came back in the middle of the night."

The time of their return was exactly after Hao's servant, Hao Laoyao, had died and been led away by the lantern-bearer astray.

Zhao Fusheng frowned:

"You mean, Wang Wenqing is hiding in your house?"

"No no no."

Upon hearing this, Hao Jinyi went mad with fear, waving his hands frantically:
"How could she be in my house? After the incident, I searched everywhere but couldn't find her."

He was rambling incoherently:
"What I mean is, what I mean is that whenever someone in the Hao family dies, after the lamplighter leads the evil away, ghosts always come to my door."

Hao Jinyi was initially afraid to open the door, but somehow, in the blink of an eye, ghosts would always enter his room.

Strangely, he felt there was a ghost in the house, but no matter how he searched, he couldn't see any ghost.

"But, but I still have a feeling that the ghost is still there."

He still had the feeling that Wang Wenqing had stood behind him and stared at him after his return that day.

“But I really didn’t see any ghosts. I’ve searched every corner.”

Hao Jinyi said fearfully:

"But every single time, someone would come home late at night, wouldn't say a word when asked, and soon after, the room would feel chilly—"

He felt there was something ghost in his house.

Hao Jin was so terrified that he dared not close his eyes, and he begged Hao Dingzhu for help every day.

However, after the Wang Wenqing incident, he was already hated by the Hao family, and no one in the family was willing to lend a helping hand.

"Having nowhere else to turn, I had no choice but to beg that senior in the Lantern Making Department for help—"

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was stunned by these words:

"You really don't believe in superstitions. The more this person helps you, the worse the situation gets, and you still dare to ask him for help."

Hao Jin asked in fear:

"I have no way."

Zhao Fusheng asked:

"If that's the case, how did the other party help you?"

Hao Jin's last words:

"He didn't find me annoying. After I finished speaking, he asked me if I was terrified of seeing ghosts?"

He looked annoyed as he mentioned this, realizing that the other party had set a trap for him.

"Because I only felt that there was a ghost, but I didn't actually see one, I did nod when he asked me that."

He could only sense the presence of ghosts, but couldn't see them. This gave rise to suspicions and made him restless and anxious for days, like a frightened bird.

At this point, the other party asked again:

"But if you see the other party's true form and hear their voice, wouldn't you be afraid?"

Hao Jinyi did not realize the seriousness of the problem at the time. When he heard this, he just thought that he meant to help him.

"I recall this senior colleague always obliging my requests—"

Regardless of whether what he did was more of a hindrance than a help, he was indeed very easy to talk to. When Hao Jinyi asked him for a favor, he readily agreed and always put in real effort and resources. He was even more tolerant of Hao Jinyi than his cousin Hao Dingzhu.

"I nodded without really understanding what was going on," Hao Jinyi thought to himself. The scary thing about this suspicion is that everything is unknown, and all the darkness comes from one's own imagination.

If we could see and hear the shadows and sounds firsthand, things would probably be much better.

"But what happened after I said that was even more frightening."

Hao Jinyi wept bitterly:
"From this point on, I can say I've seen a ghost."

After the incident at home, he only felt that a ghost had entered his house.

But after asking this person for help, every time someone died in his family, he would hear a knock on the door.

At first, he didn't think much of it, but when he heard the knocking, he exclaimed in surprise who it was, until a familiar female voice came from outside:

"Young Master Hao, it's me."

Hao Jin said in a trembling voice, "Wenqing is back! The ghost is back!"

This is getting more and more complicated.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng was left speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry:

"So you mean the ghost manifested?"

"Yes." Hao Jinyi nodded.

Zhao Fusheng turned to Magistrate Pang and sighed:
"Who doesn't say he's a miracle doctor reborn? He can cure any illness that threatens to kill you, and once you're gone, the illness will naturally disappear without medicine."

Magistrate Pang: "..."

Hao Jinyi, still trembling, was completely unaware of what was happening.

“From then on, ghosts would come to me all the time, knocking on my door every now and then. I couldn’t turn on the lights, couldn’t see any light, and couldn’t see any shadows.”

Ghosts hide in dark, shadowy places.

He feared the night, and even more so, he feared hearing strange things happening in his home—especially since Hao Dingzhu was powerless to deal with these strange things, which meant that Hao Jinyi's suffering could not be relieved.

"Now that things have come to this, what are you going to do?" Zhao Fusheng asked sarcastically, "Are you going to ask him for help again?"

Hao Jin's expression revealed a mixture of guilt, unease, and anger, as well as a hint of embarrassment at being exposed by Zhao Fusheng.

Upon seeing his appearance, Zhao Fusheng exclaimed in surprise:
"You actually went to see him?"

The ignorant are fearless.

Hao Jinyi was so desperate that he tried anything, and he suffered a great loss.

(End of this chapter)