I become a god in another world

Chapter 772 Livestock Farming
Chapter 772

"..." Paper Man Zhang did not reply for a long time, and the silence lasted for a long time.

Magistrate Pang found this quiet time particularly oppressive and unbearable.

Fortunately, after a short while, the paper figure Zhang sighed:
"Where was I?"

He thought for a moment, then chuckled softly:
"I originally wanted to talk about the past of Tongshan County, but you unexpectedly steered the conversation away from it."

Zhao Fusheng laughed along:
"Let's just talk about whatever comes to mind, what's the harm in saying anything?"

Even so, she paused for a moment:
"When you mentioned that year, you probably meant that you were utterly despondent and went to Tongshan County in Jinzhou?"

The two were mortal enemies and should have been irreconcilable, but instead of attacking each other, they chatted idly.

"Yes," said the paper figure Zhang.
"I despise vengeful ghosts and vow to wipe out all ghosts from the world—"

Recalling the grand vows of yesteryear, Paper Man Zhang couldn't help but let out a cold laugh:
"I was too young then, and I thought ghosts were the worst evil in the world. Little did I know that sometimes people are even worse than ghosts."

He recalled the past:

"I plan to learn how to subdue vengeful ghosts and bring my legacy with me to Jinzhou. By chance, I heard that Tongshan County is a good place to go."

People say that Tongshan County is a paradise on earth, free from ghostly calamities year-round, where people live in peace and prosperity, the county as a whole is wealthy, and a large amount of mineral resources flow out of the county each year and are sent to the capital.

“In those years, I experienced family turmoil, the capital was struck by a ghostly calamity, and people suffered terribly. When I heard about such a wonderful place, I became curious and took Chuanshi there.”

Zhao Fusheng later learned what happened.

Tongshan County is not a safe haven.

The so-called "peaceful and prosperous times, and no evil spirits in the county" is built on the blood and bones of the people.

People were divided into different classes. The Demon Suppression Bureau oppressed the big landowners, the big landowner clans oppressed the small noble families, the gentry and merchants bullied the upper-class households, the upper-class households managed the middle-class households, the middle-class households exploited the lower-class households, and the lower-class households regarded the villagers as pigs and dogs.

The people here are like livestock kept by nobles, used for sacrifices and for making lanterns.

The lives of ordinary people are in the hands of the powerful and wealthy.

"Lawlessness reigns, and the people have nowhere to turn."

Paper Doll Zhang couldn't help but chuckle as he recounted those days:
"I learned the art of skinning here. I learned my amazing skinning skills here."

He said:
"I've calculated it. After the Rakshasa died, it revived in the capital, causing a bloodbath and disrupting the peace of the capital. Tens of thousands of people died from the ghostly calamity."

This is even considering the dense population of the capital city.

However, if we break down these rough estimates further, we find that not many people actually died at the hands of the Rakshasa; the majority of them died due to human error.

The man-made disasters referred to here include: unscrupulous individuals taking advantage of the chaos to rob and kill, and people trampling each other during their escape.

"Isn't it ridiculous?" Paper Man Zhang asked, "The situation in Tongshan County is similar."

He said:

"As soon as I arrived here, I felt a ghostly aura. After Liang Yu died, his evil spirit revived and turned into a ghost lamp. There is also a ghost cave here, which is used to suppress the ghost lamp, forming a natural blessed land."

Ghosts suppress each other, and should have fallen into a deep sleep, so that no more ghostly calamities would occur in this place.

"But even if there are no ghosts, people will still create one to forcibly break the balance."

Paper Doll Zhang sighed:
"At first, I couldn't understand it at all." His words revealed his bewilderment.

"Zhao Fusheng, can you understand how I feel? A place without ghosts, such a blessed place, is probably something everyone would want but can't have."

He said:

"I didn't understand why people would not cherish the things they dreamed of when they were presented to them. After thinking about it, I finally understood."

Zhao Fusheng asked in surprise:
"What did you understand?"

"If the world is at peace, under what pretext will the people of the Demon Suppression Bureau humiliate the gentry? If there are no ghosts to deter others, how can landlords and gentry place themselves above the common people and divide them into different classes?"

Therefore, even if there are no ghosts, ghosts must be created.

"The balance of the ghosts has been restored, and there is no crisis. But we must create a crisis to make people afraid and submit! Using unnecessary lamp sacrifices to create a bloody deterrent is like breaking the spine of the people of Tongshan County, turning them into spineless and shameless scoundrels."

They feared the evil spirits, so they willingly submitted to the Demon Suppression Bureau and allowed themselves to be manipulated by them.

“They are like animals raised by the demon tamers. The laws set by the demon tamers and the landowners are like fodder prepared for these beasts. They eat these laws and obey their commands.”

Paper Doll Zhang's calm words carried a chilling coldness:

"The rules of Tongshan County are like a huge net, woven by everyone. Liang Yu only started it, and the big landlords began to lay it out and weave the net for their own benefit."

The remaining people were also eager to seize their own interests, thus forming a strict hierarchy.

The upper-class households rule the middle-class households, the middle-class households rule the lower-class households, and the lower-class households oppress the village slaves.

"The most honest people lose the right to resist; they are like sheep or pigs, raised until the New Year and then meekly allowing themselves to be slaughtered." Paper Man Zhang chuckled twice as he finished speaking.
“After my wife and daughter died, my own hands were no longer clean. In those years, I traveled all over the country and also took lives.”

Killing was not a big deal to him. Every person he killed was either afraid or angry before they died. Some cried out for mercy, while others wept incessantly.

"But I've never seen anything like this in Tongshan County. The people who were chosen knew they were going to die, and they just waited for death in despair, not even daring to struggle. They're really useless."

"I honed my skinning skills here. The people I skinned trembled with fear, as docile as pigs and dogs, howling and screaming, but they dared not hide or resist."

After saying that, he gave a cold laugh twice:
Do you find this situation ridiculous?

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless.

She hadn't experienced the calamity that struck Tongshan County back then, but from Zhang the Paper Doll's words, she could imagine what kind of scene he had witnessed.

The people were tamed and made to participate in this massive massacre.

"When I worshipped my ancestors years ago, I was fortunate enough to receive an eyeball from them. This eyeball helps me see the true world clearly," said Zhang the paper figure.
"The people are ignorant and foolish, worshipping a powerful ghost without realizing it; they are digging their own graves."

他 说:

“I watched them walk their own path to death and found it unbelievable. You know what happened next.”

Because of their background, the brothers Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu harbored a deep hatred for outsiders.

The flaws in the temperament of the ghost tamer become a handle for his subordinates to attack each other and eliminate dissidents.

The Hao family case originated with Wang Wenqing, who was the most innocent person in this ghost case.

But when she arrived at the Hao family, she got caught up in these troubles.

Competition among the large landowners in Tongshan County was fierce.

The legal disputes between the Qin and Hao families were merely the tip of the iceberg. Within the interior, they fought amongst themselves for land, minerals, power, and resources such as the people's livelihood.

Wang Wenqing's arrival became the Hao family's "Achilles' heel." Due to a report, the Hao family ultimately had to abandon Hao Jinyi's feelings and hand over Wang Wenqing in order to protect themselves.

Wang Wenqing died tragically as a result.

"Just then, Hao Jinyi came to me for help," said the paper figure Zhang.
"This kid embodies the epitome of human weakness. He lacks responsibility, acts without considering the consequences, gets bogged down in difficulties, and exaggerates simple problems because he lacks the ability to solve them."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng frowned.

"You're completely distorting the truth!" she snapped, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Hao Jinyi does have many problems, but he is just an ordinary person."

He does not possess the ability to control ghosts, and such a person has no ability to protect himself in the face of ghostly calamities.

“Unlike you, he has great strength and the chance of making mistakes. In the ghost case, if he makes a mistake, he will lose his own life.”

He had no right to make mistakes, so he made the same mistake that many people make: blindly worshipping the authority of the strong.

"He sees you as his savior, he begs you for help. If you hadn't helped him, you could have simply stood by and done nothing, but instead you chose to toy with him—"

"and many more."

Paper Man Zhang was unhappy:
"What do you mean I played him for a fool? What did I do that didn't solve his current problem? You yourself 'saw' it in the ghost's journey, and his fear was gradually eliminated as a result."

"You don't need to argue with me. You know perfectly well whether you've been playing him or not."

Zhao Fusheng was too lazy to argue with someone who was pretending to be deaf and dumb about obvious facts. She simply said coldly:
"You are stubborn and self-willed. Perhaps it is because Wang Wenqing's name is the same as your wife's name. You look down on Hao Jinyi for his lack of responsibility. So you judge him by your own standards and condemn him to a serious crime, preventing him from dying a quick death. Instead, you are dragging yourself and the Hao family into death step by step."

After Hao Jin's death, his vengeful spirit revived, and the ghost's obsession with 'crying out injustice' continued.

Paper Doll Zhang thought she was seeing Hao Jinyi suffer the consequences of his own actions, but she actually saw Hao Jinyi's injustice.

"You judge people according to your own laws. When Old Zhang was young, he couldn't save his mother and sister during the ghostly calamity. You considered him guilty and refused to forgive him, ultimately inflicting a powerful mental punishment on him, causing him to suffer a lifetime of unrest; you believe the world is guilty, so you create wrongful convictions and tragedies everywhere, causing several waves of great ghosts to resurrect, slaughtering people and committing countless sins."

"You thought Hao Jinyi was weak, so you deliberately led him to his death. Even his death alone could not quell your evil thoughts. So the entire Hao family was wiped out, including hundreds of people, along with unrelated servants and laborers, totaling hundreds or thousands of people, all of whom died in the calamity of Wang Wenqing's ghost."

Zhao Fusheng frowned and scolded:
"Your actions are far more terrifying than Hao Jinyi's cowardice. Yet you still consider yourself righteous and awe-inspiring. After the Hao family tragedy, you still take pride in what you did, treating it as your great achievement."

Zhao Fusheng asked him:
"You are unable to recognize your own problems, you only see the faults of others, you cannot tolerate the flaws in other people's character, yet you think you are the master of the world. What is the difference between you and the likes of Liang Yu, Jiang Wen, and Jiang Wu?"

After she finished speaking, there was a long silence.

"What a sharp tongue!" Paper Man Zhang sighed.

"I thought about it, and I couldn't refute it," he said.

"But you've made a mistake in one thing."

"Oh?" Zhao Fusheng became wary, but feigned ignorance on his face.

Where did I say something wrong?

"You're making it sound as if Hao Jinyi is a complete victim, as if he did nothing wrong," the paper figure said unhappily.

“The laws of the world clearly stipulate that serious mistakes are punished severely, and minor mistakes are punished lightly. You cannot use a butcher’s knife to kill someone who has made a minor mistake; that would be an abuse of your power,” Zhao Fusheng said.

As Zhang the Paper Doll listened to what she had said, he gradually became impatient:

"You're so annoying, your long-winded explanation is making me unhappy."

"No matter what, Tongshan County is evil, the Demon Suppression Division is guilty, the big landowners are guilty, the ordinary people are guilty, and even the lowly village slaves are guilty."

Zhao Fusheng was also unhappy.

Talking to such a person is like talking to a brick wall. This person is extremely twisted in character, not only unaware of his own problems, but also resorting to sophistry. It is a complete waste of breath to talk to him.

"What wrong have the common people and rural slaves done?" she asked unhappily.

"Being weak is wrong," Zhang the Paper Doll said coldly.
"This world is a dog-eat-dog world. They don't know how to fight back when things go wrong, and that's their crime."

"You mean I'm stronger than you, so it's only natural for me to beat you up? You son of a bitch!"

Zhao Fusheng broke down and started cursing.

"..."

The paper figure Zhang roared, "How dare you insult me?"

"What's wrong with scolding you?"

Zhao Fusheng said in surprise, "I've disliked you for a long time, and even wanted to kill you. Unfortunately, I was not strong enough the first time. I only burned down your lair and failed to kill you, this scourge, in Wan'an County that day. So now, talking to you feels like I'm asking for trouble."

"You little brat, your mouth is full of filth, you're simply—" Paper Man Zhang was about to start cursing again when Zhao Fusheng raised his voice and interrupted him:

"According to your logic, I'm better at arguing than you, so you're the weaker one and deserve to be insulted."

"You—" Paper Man Zhang wanted to speak, but Zhao Fusheng didn't give him a chance:
"Shut up! I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"If you don't say it, don't say it."

Paper Man Zhang took a deep breath, then his tone softened, and he chuckled twice to himself:
"You almost angered me. I won't argue with you. The ghostly calamity in Tongshan County is not so easy to resolve."

Despite saying that, his tone was inconsistent, clearly indicating that he was still seething with anger.

Just then, Zhao Fusheng suddenly changed the subject:
“Zang Xiongwu, you hate the resurgence of the Rakshasa ghosts, you hate that Old Zhang couldn’t save his mother, you hate that Hao Jinyi is cowardly and incompetent, do you hate yourself?”

"Shut up."

Paper Doll Zhang's voice turned somber.

His words were no longer feigned anger; instead, his tone was chilling, clearly indicating that this was when he was truly enraged.

"What exactly was your purpose in instructing Hao Jinyi to go to the capital to 'file a complaint'?"

Was he trying to escalate the situation and destroy Tongshan County in one fell swoop, or did he unconsciously harbor a sliver of delusion, hoping that someone would turn the tide and save this corrupt world?
Paper Man Zhang did not answer this question, so Zhao Fusheng naturally did not get an answer either.

“My ancestor lent me a ghost eye, allowing me to see through the darkness of this world. Now that you have stepped into this place, I want to see how you will solve the problems of Tongshan County.”

Paper Man Zhang chuckled:
"Zhao Fusheng, another gate to hell is about to open."

As soon as he finished speaking, a chilling sensation immediately swept over him.

The paper figure Zhang Yin said in a low voice:

"The calamity in Tongshan County is a world-destroying, sinister fire—" He paused here, then suddenly let out a long sigh:
"In your heart, I am utterly depraved and have done all sorts of evil things, but whether you believe it or not, in the beginning, I wanted to save the world."

(End of this chapter)