Fan Bisi could tell Zhao Fusheng disagreed with his words. At first he was somewhat surprised, but then seemed to think of something and smiled:
"This is also unavoidable."
He'd been in the Demon-Suppressing Bureau for many years and had followed the chief magistrate in dealing with malevolent ghosts, deeply knowing how terrifying ghosts were.
Zhao Fusheng was, after all, thinking like an ordinary person.
Born among the common folk, perhaps thinking she'd successfully controlled ghosts, she was temporarily spirited—in common terms, she didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. She had no accurate prediction of her own strength, so she still retained useless compassion.
Fan Bisi thought to himself: Once she dealt with ghosts and knew how formidable they were, she'd probably reverse her thinking.
But he didn't voice these thoughts. Instead, he said:
"However, there's another method that can temporarily halt ghost disasters, though the risk is much greater."
Zhao Fusheng always felt Fan Bisi had given her an implicit glance when saying this.
She turned around. Their gazes met. Fan Bisi showed a meaningful smile, making Zhao Fusheng feel even more that his words had hidden meaning.
"What risk?" She asked.
"Since you already know our Demon-Suppressing Bureau suffered a ghost disaster, resulting in everyone dying except us two brothers..." Fan Bisi said this much, paused, then continued:
"But do you know what caused this ghost disaster?"
Zhao Fusheng, having just arrived, didn't know much about this world. Her earlier words frightening the Fan brothers relied on guessing and bluffing with existing information. How could she know the source of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau's ghost disaster now?
But she was cautious by nature. She didn't become discouraged just because someone asked her a question. Instead, she frowned, repeatedly recalling Fan Bisi's words in her mind, then indeed extracted some key useful clues.
'Ghost disaster,' 'ghost control.'
"The Demon-Suppressing Bureau's previous chief magistrate was named Zhao Qiming. He was a ghost controller. Could this ghost disaster be related to the ghost Zhao Qiming controlled?" She asked tentatively.
Fan Bisi had originally thought she definitely couldn't answer such a question, but unexpectedly, as soon as she opened her mouth, she went straight to the core of the problem.
"You..."
His expression changed slightly. Originally wanting to give her a show of force, not only did he fail to frighten her, but she'd guessed the truth instead. He couldn't help asking in a lost voice:
"How do you know?"
This verbal sparring was also a kind of mutual testing. Seeing his expression, Zhao Fusheng knew she'd guessed correctly and immediately smiled:
"I guessed."
Fan Bisi's expression was somewhat ugly. He remained silent for a while, then finally let out a long sigh:
"You guessed correctly."
"As I said, ghosts cannot be completely killed, but they can be controlled. Our previous chief magistrate was someone who could control ghosts. Those who can control malevolent ghosts will possess part of the malevolent ghost's abilities, but may also be devoured by the malevolent ghost."
After Zhao Fusheng's resurrection, she'd been completely reborn—no longer easy to handle.
Fan Bisi was agitated and couldn't keep his composure. Realizing his mindset had problems, he stopped playing riddles with her and spoke directly:
"Nineteen years ago, Wan'an County's Demon-Suppressing Bureau was weak, until a person named Zhao Duan appeared. This person was a malevolent ghost controller. The malevolent ghost he possessed had the ability to 'give first, then take'—once someone accepted the ghost's 'gift,' it was like making a deal with the ghost."
For ordinary people, transactions meant settling accounts. But dealing with ghosts meant losing one's life.
He was talking about Demon-Suppressing Bureau matters, yet inexplicably mentioned nineteen years ago.
However, this person was quite scheming. Suddenly mentioning nineteen years ago must have a reason. Hearing him speak further, Zhao Fusheng indeed realized the source of the problem.
"That is to say, the malevolent ghost that killed 'me' earlier was the ghost Zhao Duan controlled nineteen years ago?"
When she mentioned 'me,' her expression was slightly awkward.
However, Fan Bisi didn't pay attention to such small matters. Anyone who narrowly escaped death from a ghost would naturally have an unusual expression when mentioning 'ghosts.'
He didn't think much about it and simply said:
"Right."
"Zhao Duan... Zhao Qiming, are these two related?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.
"They're father and son." Fan Wujiu was very cooperative now. She asked a question, and he honestly answered.
"Ghosts can be inherited?" Zhao Fusheng was somewhat surprised.
Fan Wujiu rarely showed humor, saying:
"In this world, anything can be property." After speaking, he added:
"As long as you have the ability, ghosts can also be your 'possessions' to control, so naturally they can be inherited."
He continued:
"After Zhao Duan controlled this malevolent ghost, he was very formidable. This ghost's abilities were heaven-defying and could suppress quite a few ghosts. So during Zhao Duan's tenure, Wan'an County's Demon-Suppressing Bureau became famous. Because of good public security, many people heard Wan'an County was protected by Zhao Duan and moved here with their entire families."
At that time, among ghost controllers, Zhao Duan's character was rarely upright. He received commendations from the court and soon rose from his original position as chief magistrate to lower general rank.
Besides managing Wan'an County, the Demon-Suppressing Bureaus of two nearby counties also fell under his control.
"But good times didn't last. When dealing with ghosts, eventually there comes a time of ghost backlash. In just one year, Zhao Duan showed signs of losing control."
Though Zhao Fusheng had already guessed from Fan Bisi's words that ghost controllers didn't have good endings, hearing that loss of control occurred in just one year still shocked her.
"Before he lost control, people sent by the court restrained the ghost he controlled and handed it to someone else to control. This was Wan'an County's next chief magistrate who took over his position."
Fan Bisi said:
"By the time of Zhao Qiming, this ghost had changed hands many times."
Looking at the timeline from Zhao Duan controlling the ghost to losing control, in eighteen years, Wan'an County's Demon-Suppressing Bureau changed hands very frequently.
After Zhao Qiming died, it passed to the original Zhao Fusheng. Not long after, the original Zhao Fusheng also died.
Zhao Fusheng listened with alarm. It seemed this position of Demon-Suppressing Bureau chief magistrate was truly a high-risk occupation.
"I said before, dealing with ghosts is very dangerous. While being controlled, ghosts might also advance and become even more dangerous and difficult to control." Speaking of this, Fan Bisi let out a long sigh:
"Sure enough, not long after Zhao Qiming gained control of this ghost, he was quickly devoured by it. Eventually the ghost lost control and began massacring the Demon-Suppressing Bureau."
"The ghost's killing pattern is to first create a ghost domain. Once someone enters its domain, they become its prey." It so happened that when Zhao Qiming had his incident, the Demon-Suppressing Bureau was within its ghost domain range. In the end, everyone died miserably except the Fan brothers.
When people on nearby streets learned the Demon-Suppressing Bureau had problems, they all fled in terror overnight, deeply afraid of being implicated.
The once famous Wan'an County Demon-Suppressing Bureau fell into decline overnight, and many wealthy families fled Wan'an County.
"We brothers then sought out this generation's Zhang family successor. After his guidance, we thought of the method of redirecting disaster."
Having said this much, the situation was clear.
Fan Wujiu said:
"Don't blame us. In this world, human lives are like grass. Everyone doesn't want to die, and this was also the only solution."
According to this ghost's killing principles, when Zhao Fusheng triggered its killing rules, it implicated Zhao Fusheng's blood relatives. Once her blood relatives all died, as long as others avoided its notice, the ghost would naturally leave.
Then it would wander to other places, and the local Demon-Suppressing Bureau would have to worry about it and find ways to drive it away.
The Fan brothers' plan was thorough, and everything had gone smoothly. Unfortunately, last night there was this error—Zhao Fusheng resurrected from the dead, breaking their plan and throwing even Fan Bisi off balance.
After clarifying the cause and effect, Zhao Fusheng let out a long sigh.
The original Zhao Fusheng was truly unlucky. She'd obviously been used as a scapegoat by the Fan brothers, dying very unjustly. Her parents also died miserably in confusion.
However, it was precisely because of the original's death that she had a chance to be resurrected. If there was an opportunity in the future, she wouldn't mind avenging the original Zhao Fusheng.
But currently, she obviously wasn't a match for the Fan brothers. Revenge and venting anger were distant prospects. She needed to find a way to leave here and escape the Fan brothers' control.
"I know your parents died tragically and you harbor resentment—" After Fan Bisi said this, seeing Zhao Fusheng hadn't spoken for a long time, he couldn't help adding:
"But forgive my bluntness—this is how the world is. Even if your parents didn't die in this ghost disaster, they'd probably find it hard to escape death later—"
Those with wealth and power had long since moved away from Wan'an County to seek refuge in places with powerful ghost controllers stationed. Wan'an County was destined to become a dead land. Those remaining were almost all pitiful people with nowhere else to go.
"After Zhao Qiming lost control, why didn't the court send people to take over?"
Zhao Fusheng suddenly thought of a question and asked.
Fan Bisi didn't know why at this point she'd still be curious about Demon-Suppressing Bureau matters. However, he needed something from her, so he forcibly suppressed his unease and sighed again:
"This is an abandoned land by the court—"
Seeing Zhao Fusheng's surprise, he realized that from when he and his brother brought her from Jiumen Village to now, they'd only treated her as a scapegoat and hadn't bothered to tell her about the Demon-Suppressing Bureau's past. It was normal she didn't know these things.
"I just said, once a place loses control and the court is powerless to handle this crisis, they'll seal off that place and let it fend for itself."
Zhao Fusheng's heart filled with foreboding. She nodded:
"Yes, could it be Wan'an County..."
"Our Wan'an County has already developed ghost fog!" After saying this, he quickly added: "Not just Wan'an County—nearby counties have all developed ghost fog, but Wan'an County is the most severe."
"What is ghost fog?" Zhao Fusheng asked.
He said seriously:
"According to legend, the appearance of ghost fog might breed a blood moon. Once the blood moon appears, there might be a hundred ghosts marching..." When he mentioned the keywords 'blood moon' and 'hundred ghosts marching,' fear showed in his eyes:
"A hundred ghosts marching would be bad enough, but even worse, it might breed great ghosts—Disaster-class..." After speaking, he quickly shook his head:
"No, even Calamity-class ghosts are possible."
"..."
Zhao Fusheng knew nothing about this information he mentioned. She only sensed Fan Bisi's panic.
This kind of panic was extremely contagious, especially since she'd just resurrected and was utterly unfamiliar with the Great Han Dynasty. Hearing about ghost disasters, ghost fog, blood moon for the first time left her completely confused.
Ghosts killing people shattered her previous understanding, but she still forced herself to stay calm, not to be influenced by Fan Bisi's emotions, and asked instead:
"Has the Great Han Dynasty previously experienced blood moon events?"
Fan Bisi looked at her incredulously:
"How could that be possible? Ghost fog alone is troublesome enough. Over thirty years ago, one ghost fog triggered a hundred ghosts marching, slaughtering several counties and towns. The court spent enormous effort to quell that disaster."
"Over a hundred years ago, the Demon-Suppressing Bureau's Yellow-rank Great General Xu Yu controlled a malevolent ghost with special powers. Her ghost possessed prophetic abilities, so she also had a nickname, called 'Universe Brush.'"
"This brush could predict the future and spy on many unknown things. Among them, it mentioned that the Great Han Dynasty's future would be shrouded by a blood moon, and humanity would be destroyed."
"..." Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng was momentarily speechless.
She finally understood the severity of 'ghost fog' and 'blood moon.' She just hadn't expected that having just resurrected, she'd have to face such a crisis.
"The court has been preparing for this all these years, so after ghost fog appeared in Wan'an County, it caught the court's attention. After discovering strange events, they sent people here, but there was no way to resolve the ghost fog crisis. People sent by the court died one after another—in less than a year, they'd gone through six or seven people! I won't hide it from you—Zhao Qiming was the last person the court sent to take over this mess."
Unfortunately, he was very unlucky and quickly died here.
After discovering this place was beyond saving and might cost even more personnel, the court had obviously already decided to abandon it.
After all, compared to poor common people, the scarce and controlled ghost controllers were obviously more precious to the court.
"..." Zhao Fusheng remained silent.
Since Fan Bisi decided to communicate frankly with her, this person had been very cooperative, acting as if he'd hide nothing. But Zhao Fusheng didn't dare fully believe what he said.
When he mentioned 'ghost fog' and 'blood moon,' his tone and demeanor always made Zhao Fusheng feel human life was worthless—not just individuals, but entire counties could be abandoned by the court.
She darkly suspected: Fan Bisi speaking this way naturally didn't rule out the truthfulness of these matters, but it might also be hinting that the original Zhao Fusheng's death couldn't be blamed on these two brothers...
Though it might just be her suspicion.
Zhao Fusheng had just thought this when she heard Fan Bisi say:
"So don't blame us two brothers..."
"..." Zhao Fusheng was speechless.
"What I'm saying is true!" Seeing her expression, Fan Bisi knew she didn't believe him and emphasized:
"Everything is true. We were also helpless, just wanting to survive."
While the two were talking, Fan Wujiu carried out a heavy rosewood box and set it down beside Zhao Fusheng with a 'thud.'
The instant the box hit the ground, quite a bit of dust shook out. Zhao Fusheng pondered for a long while:
"You're telling me all this—what do you want from me?"
The Fan brothers weren't good people, and Fan Bisi was particularly deep in scheming. He couldn't possibly be so kind for no reason, telling her all these things.
"We brothers are magistrate assistants of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau, but as you can see, this isn't a place to stay long. We two brothers want to leave here and seek livelihood elsewhere."
"If you want to leave, then leave—" Zhao Fusheng responded.
Fan Bisi shook his head:
"We can't leave." He looked at Zhao Fusheng's uncomprehending expression and said frankly:
"We're restricted by the Life-Soul Register and can't leave. We'd like to ask you to be merciful and remove our life-souls from the Life-Soul Register."
Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but find it both funny and annoying.
These two brothers had killed the original owner, yet now Fan Bisi dared to make such a request of her.
She grimaced but didn't voice her thoughts.
Fan Bisi wasn't a fool. Since he said this, he must have confidence she'd agree. She waited for his next words.
"As compensation, we'll tell you information about malevolent ghosts we've collected over the years—and we'll leave you some things and are willing to make an introduction, guiding you to know Boss Zhang."