I become a god in another world

Chapter 767 Returning to the Hao Family
Chapter 767

Cao Gu was unwilling to have made a wasted trip and was about to ask more questions when he saw Zhao Fusheng's indifferent expression, as if he were standing by and watching.

Although he hadn't spent much time with her, Cao Gu had roughly figured out some aspects of her personality:

This envoy from the capital took the ghost case very seriously and was not just going through the motions.

She took the Hozuki Festival very seriously last night, asking about it repeatedly.

Today, I went to the Hao family and learned all the details of the Hao family case. After some questioning, I was able to understand the cause and effect of the ghost's resurrection.

At this time, inside the Lantern Making Bureau, Zhang Xiantong was summoned to inquire about the details of the Hao family case. However, after asking her two simple questions, she remained silent, which proved her attitude: she believed that Zhang Xiantong had nothing to do with the Hao family ghost case, and that the real culprit was someone else.

Thinking of this, Cao Gu felt both disappointed and somewhat unwilling, but faced with the uneasy Zhang Xiantong, he was helpless and could only wave his hand in frustration:

"Never mind, it's alright. Go back and do your thing."

Zhang Xiantong left with trepidation.

After initially feeling relieved, Zhang Xiansheng was soon overcome by new anxieties.

Cao Gu could see it, and so could he: his brother's suspicion had been cleared, but his crisis was not over.

The Zhang family member who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes is nowhere to be found. This Lord Zhao from the capital is going to deal with the Hao family's ghostly calamity tonight. In order to prove his innocence, he may have to take action tonight.

Recalling the tragic fate of the lantern bearer from the Hao family, Cao Gu trembled with fear and felt utterly helpless.

As Zhao Fusheng had initially predicted, the trip ended in failure.

Paper Man Zhang is skilled at hiding. If he doesn't want to show himself, ordinary people can't find his whereabouts.

But Zhao Fusheng had a vague feeling that the time was almost right.

……

Upon returning to the Hao Family Ancestral Hall, Zhao Fusheng was struck by a strong stench the moment he stepped into the Hao family estate.

Cao Gu also instinctively frowned and covered his mouth and nose.

Everyone felt nauseous upon hearing this, recalling the scene when the lantern bearer from the Hao family died.

When the lamp broke, the bloody and foul-smelling water that flowed out smelled just like this. But after all this time, hasn't the Hao family cleaned up these things yet?
Cao Gu was somewhat angry:
"Has Hao Dingzhu not finished tidying up here yet—"

As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fist, stepped into the house, and then something strange happened—the stench disappeared the instant Cao Gu stepped into the gate of the Hao Clan Ancestral Hall.

Cao Gu's anger turned into confusion. He froze on the spot and turned to look at Zhao Fusheng in bewilderment.

When Zhao Fusheng and his group entered Hao's territory, the stench disappeared.

Zhang Xiansheng breathed a sigh of relief:
"call--"

Qin Yongchun said:

"Luckily, I've gotten used to this taste."

As they were talking, hurried footsteps came from inside the ancestral hall. Soon after, a group of people rushed out, led by the elderly Hao Dingzhu.

"Gentlemen, you have arrived! This humble old man is so sorry for not greeting you properly—"

Zhao Fusheng and his group returned in a hurry, and no one had notified them beforehand, so the Hao family was late in welcoming them.

Cao Gu, recalling the previous stench, complained:

"Hao Dingzhu, didn't you bury the dead in your house? Why does it still smell so bad?"

"A dead person?" Hao Dingzhu was initially surprised, then suddenly realized:
"Does Lord Cao mean the lantern bearer?" After saying this, seeing Cao Gu nod, he hurriedly explained:
"It's all taken away, it's all taken away. As soon as the adults moved to the main hall, they immediately had the servants clean up."

After saying that, he said helplessly:
"The smell was indeed pungent, so we used mugwort to fumigate it. The smell has dissipated a lot now, but I'm sorry to have troubled you gentlemen."

Hao Jinyi followed behind him dejectedly, staring longingly at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"It's getting late." As soon as she finished speaking, a large dark cloud drifted in from the sky, and the sky instantly darkened considerably.

"Hao Jinyi, you said before that every time something happens at the Hao family's residence, is there always a ghost knocking on your door?"

When Hao Jinyi saw Zhao Fusheng and the others leave, he thought that Zhao Fusheng was just trying to coax him by saying she would come back. But now that he saw that she had actually returned, his heart was filled with hope, and he almost regarded Zhao Fusheng as his second parent.

Hearing her question now, I was afraid of answering too slowly:

"Yes, sir. Every time, a ghost knocks on the door. At first, we can't hear it, but after we put a paper figure in it, we can hear it."

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"Is this ghost knocking on the door or looking for you?"

She asked detailed questions, and the more detailed her questions were, the more reassured Hao Jinyi became. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied:

"Find me."

Since it concerned his life and fortune, he dared not lie and told the whole story:

"To be honest, sir, the south wing room I lived in before was the same room Wenqing lived in before he died. After the incident, I felt it was unlucky, so I moved away—"

As he said this, he secretly glanced at Hao Dingzhu.

In fact, besides Hao Jinyi causing trouble, the reason for changing rooms was also because someone had died and the south wing was haunted.

Hao Dingzhu hadn't expected things to escalate so much, so he simply moved him to a different room, while he remained in the south wing, which was part of the main house.

But to everyone's surprise, on the night of the incident, Hao Jinyi felt that Wang Wenqing had "returned." In a panic, he shouted that the room was haunted.

In this way, combined with the death of the cleaning worker Hao Laoyao that night, Hao Jinyi shouted again, "Wang Wenqing is back."

Hao Dingzhu said:

"To tell you the truth, sir, this rebellious son's shouts terrified this old man, so I moved him to the north wing."

Stay far away, out of sight, out of mind.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"That means Hao Jinyi has been imprisoned in three different rooms since Wang Wenqing's incident."

“Not bad.” Hao Dingzhu and his brothers and elders nodded.

“Yes.” Hao Jinyi agreed.

Zhao Fusheng confirmed again:

“All three houses have experienced ghostly knocking on their doors.”

Hao Jinyi reiterated:

“There were ghosts in all three houses.” He added, “I didn’t hear any noise or see any shadows in the first two houses, but I’m sure she came back. In the last house, I heard noises and saw ghostly figures.”

He recalled the scene and his lips trembled with fear:
"I'm sure it's her."

“If that’s the case, then you’ll stay in the house where Wang Wenqing died tonight,” Zhao Fusheng said decisively.

Her words startled Hao Jinyi into a daze.

"W-what? Staying in Wenqing's room? No, no, no—"

He hurriedly waved his hand, his face contorted with a mournful expression, and declined.
"Sir, I'm scared—"

Zhao Fusheng didn't care whether he was afraid or not.

This spineless and irresponsible man, in a moment of madness and ignorance, abducted Wang Wenqing from Beijing.

Wang Wenqing was wrong in this matter; she was young and naive and misjudged people, but she paid the price with her life.

But Hao Jinyi is despicable.

Wang Wenqing knew nothing about the affairs of Tongshan County, but he certainly did—especially the fact that the two demon-controlling officers of the county's Demon Suppression Division disliked outsiders, and that the county had a tradition of mutual surveillance and reporting.

But he instinctively ignored it at that moment.

Perhaps the risk wasn't on him; if the sky fell, elders like Hao Dingzhu would stand up for him—and that's exactly how things ended up.

After the Hao family was reported for harboring outsiders, Hao Dingzhu and others stepped in as the villains and sent Wang Wenqing away. Hao Jinyi, that despicable man, didn't consider the consequences and kidnapped Wang Wenqing, ultimately leading to a major disaster.

"What are you afraid of?" Zhao Fusheng looked at him coldly, but seeing his trembling appearance, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

"My lord, I'm afraid of ghosts—" Hao Jinyi said timidly.

Zhao Fusheng's smile vanished, and he said expressionlessly:

"On the day of the incident, didn't the senior Zhang you sought help from ask you? You even said at the time that whether you were alive or a ghost, you would be with Wang Wenqing through life and death—"

Hao Jinyi's eyes immediately flashed:
"That was just a joke made in the heat of passion, how could it be taken seriously? Besides, humans and ghosts are different—"

Cao Gu was a ghost tamer, and was ruthless by nature, but seeing him so cowardly, he felt disgusted.

Hao Dingzhu saw everyone's expressions, feeling both angry and ashamed, and shouted:
"You wretched child, don't embarrass yourself in front of the adults. You're good at causing trouble but not at taking responsibility. Tonight you'll be staying in Wang Wenqing's room."

"But—" Hao Jinyi was also somewhat afraid of this elder, and when he heard him speak, he didn't dare to raise his voice in rebuttal.

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Fusheng said coldly:
"Life and death are determined by fate."

Her words sealed the deal, and Hao Jinyi, his face filled with despair, dared not utter a sound.

Although he said that, after Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, he took a breath and instructed Cao Gu:
"We'll all stay inside tonight, waiting for that ghost to come knocking on the door."

Hao Jinyi was initially afraid that the ghost controllers would use him as bait to lure the evil spirits out of their true forms. But now, hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, it seemed that they wanted to wait with him in the house. With more people around, his courage immediately increased, and his mentality was like that of someone who had been saved from a desperate situation. His eyes shone with a new light.

Hao Dingzhu didn't want to look at him, and only spoke to Zhao Fusheng and Cao Gu:

"Thank you for your help, adults."

Cao Gu was also somewhat apprehensive, but since things had come to this point, there was no room for retreat. He was both afraid and annoyed, so he could only vent his anger on Hao Dingzhu:

"Is Wang Wenqing's room ready?"

Hao Dingzhu had known him for a long time and understood his temperament, so upon hearing this, she swallowed her anger and said with a forced smile:
"Yes, sir. Everything has been cleaned up. I had my servants scrub it with brushes, cleaning every grout line. It's spotless."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand:
"lead the way!"

Hao Dingzhu's initial intention to exchange a few pleasantries was abruptly halted by her decisive attitude. His polite words and the generous gift he had prepared were rendered useless. Feeling uneasy, he could only say:

"Adults follow the children."

The group of people walked through the garden in a grand procession and arrived at the south wing.

Upon entering the South Garden, an inexplicable chill enveloped everyone.

The temperature here has dropped significantly compared to the outside.

The ground was slightly damp, and when you stepped on it, the chill seeped through your feet and into your entire body, making you shiver involuntarily.

The sky over Nanyuan was also darker.

The dark clouds that had previously blocked the sunlight had now disappeared, and a faint, dark blue mist shrouded the garden.

"Light up, light up."

Hao Dingzhu raised his arm and shouted.

But no one answered, as if this were a dead zone.

Hao Laoba had a bad temper and was always cursing.
"These lowly servants are probably off slacking off somewhere again."

Zhao Fusheng ignored the Hao family's angry curses and instead looked around.

She noticed that the plants in the South Garden were withered, the leaves were yellow and withered, and the flowers and grass on the ground were also wilted, as if no one had taken care of them for a long time.

The Hao family ignored all of this, perhaps focusing on the fact that their house was haunted.

Hao Jinyi's face was ashen, and he shrank back like a frightened bird.

"Where is your room?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

When she spoke, Hao Jinyi was startled and trembled. He instinctively turned to look at Zhao Fusheng, and two orange lights seemed to flash in his eyes.

The orange light resembled the glow of the setting sun or the flickering of lamplight. In the next moment, the orange light gradually transformed into golden light, which was eventually suppressed in his dark brown pupils.

After his pupils returned to normal, Hao Jinyi's talent seemed to be revived as if from a dream:
"What did you just ask, sir?"

After he finished speaking, he realized what he had said:

“Oh, my house is here, sir, please follow me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't move his feet, but instead observed Zhao Fusheng's actions out of the corner of his eye.

After confirming that Zhao Fusheng had taken a step forward, Hao Jinyi breathed a sigh of relief and then took small steps forward.

Zhao Fusheng saw what he was doing and his lips twitched.

Hao Jinyi led the way, and the group passed through two gates and entered the inner courtyard.

In addition to the main house in the center, the main residence of Nanyuan is divided into left and right wing rooms.

The group stood in the courtyard, and Hao Jinyi pointed to the left:
“I used to live in the left wing, and Wenqing lived in the right wing.” After he finished speaking, he glanced at the room opposite him.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"It's not far, let's go take a look."

Apart from Magistrate Pang, Xu Yu, and Kuai Manzhou, who had no objection, everyone else showed fear and hesitation upon hearing this.

Hao Dingzhu glanced at Cao Gu, who was also somewhat intimidated, but forced himself to say:
"Sir, this...this is so unlucky! We're going to stay here tonight anyway, so it's better to avoid trouble now—"

Zhao Fusheng frowned.

Cao Gu's idea was the same as that of most of the demon-controlling officers in the Demon Suppression Division at that time.

But something serious has clearly happened to the Hao family, and this is not the time to "save trouble".

However, Tongshan County has already been destroyed, and these 'people' in front of us are just a wisp of consciousness existing in the river of time. Even if they really exist, they cannot predict the future, cannot sense the approaching crisis, and do not understand that their ostrich-like attitude will bring about their annihilation.

Mentioning these situations to them is like talking to a brick wall; why bother trying to persuade them?
Thinking this through, Zhao Fusheng stopped the urge to explain and then said calmly:

“I’ll lead the way, I’ll make the decisions, come with me to take a look.”

After she said that, Cao Gu and the others understood, but had no choice but to agree.

Despite their fear, the group followed her into the right wing.

If you count the time, Wang Wenqing had his accident at the end of last year or the beginning of this year, so it has been half a year now.

The house has been vacant since her accident.

Perhaps because it had been vacant for a long time, the place felt damp. When Zhao Fusheng touched the furniture, the paint on the surface was surprisingly sticky.

Upon seeing her actions, Hao Dingzhu also wanted to scold the servant.

The group had been inside for some time, yet they hadn't seen a single servant in the South Garden.

"These unruly servants, do they think they can be negligent just because the South Garden is closed?" Hao Dingzhu was furious.

Tongshan County values ​​rules and regulations, and Hao's servants' behavior was intolerable to him.

"Eighth Brother, later you should have the steward of the house find out who is in charge of all matters in the South Garden. From the steward and foreman to the handymen and servants, they should all be held accountable."

After Hao Dingzhu finished speaking, the other clan elders nodded indignantly in agreement.

Just then, Zhao Fusheng entered the inner room.

The room was the living area, furnished with a canopy bed. There was a window on one side, and a dressing table was placed under the window. In front of the dressing table was a carved stool painted red, which emitted a faint stench of decay.

Zhao Fusheng walked over and saw a light brown mark on the dressing table. Everyone was both afraid and apprehensive upon seeing the mark.

Zhao Fusheng was incredibly bold. She tried to sit on a stool, then crossed her forearms, rested her head on her arms, and asked Hao Dingzhu:

"Was Wang Wenqing lying face down like this on that day?"

Her movements mirrored the marks on the table, sending chills down the spines of the Hao family members and making their hair stand on end. Upon hearing this, they nodded and said:
"Reporting to you, sir, this is exactly how Wang Wenqing died when his body was discovered."

(End of this chapter)