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Fan Bisi and the others couldn't discern anything amiss with their naked eyes, but Zhao Fusheng's experience was exceptionally profound.
Her body rapidly lost its warmth; the flowing blood gradually stiffened, transforming into a vessel suitable for a vicious ghost to inhabit.
A chill permeated her entire being. Her originally rapid heartbeat began to slow, a layer of deathly aura clouded her eyes, and her expression turned cold and numb, as if she had lost all vitality in an instant.
And in her eyes, the surroundings were veiled in a faint, indistinct black miasma, overlaying the world's colors. The newly reawakened fierce ghost exuded intense malice, staring at her grimly from behind the shroud, full of aggression towards her.
An inexplicable force took control of her body. The hand she extended to touch the corpse was so pale it was devoid of any blood, the bluish veins pushing up the thin, pallid skin, resembling the arm of a dead person.
This was a hand imbued with the power of a fierce ghost, now possessing immense strength.
The originally twitching corpse beneath her palm was instantly suppressed by the power of the Sha-rank fierce ghost, losing its 'vitality'.
Almost at the instant their powers collided, Zhao Mu's corpse stopped thrashing and, with a 'thump', fell back onto the door panel, becoming an inert dead body.
Immediately after, the malice emanating from Zhao Mu's body vanished completely.
But in its place, a 'kaka' sound came from the other door panel.
It was as if someone was scraping the door panel with their fingernails, producing a strange, grating, yet hair-raising sound.
Although fierce ghosts did not kill from the same perspective as humans locating a target, the Fan brothers knew from their past experiences in the Zhenmo Si (Demon Suppression Department) that when dealing with fierce ghosts, the greatest taboo was to panic and lose one's sanity.
The moment Zhao Fu's corpse 'reawakened', the two brothers had already retreated in terror, finding a corner to squat in.
The other corpse bearers were also by no means inexperienced; seeing this, they too silently dodged and hid one after another.
In the dim light, Zhao Fusheng's face was deathly pale, her expression stern.
After dealing with Zhao Mu's reawakened corpse, a surge of tyrannical feeling welled up in her heart. The urge to kill and destroy gained the upper hand, making her want to obliterate the corpse before her.
Her eyes gradually became bloodshot and red, and a vicious aura seethed within her.
Zhao Fusheng took several deep breaths in succession, forcibly suppressing the rampant impulse, then turned again and walked towards where Zhao Fu's body lay.
This time, she no longer held back, her hands gripping the thrashing corpse's ankles.
A faint resistance came from the ankles, but under her strength, this resistance was quickly countered.
She grabbed the corpse's feet with both hands and, with a rough, forceful tug:
"Up!"
The strange adhesion between the corpse and the door panel was violently torn apart. The stiff corpse was easily lifted by her, like a dead fish being dragged by its tail.
The corpse sprang high into the air, then slammed heavily back onto the door panel with a 'thump'.
After this fall, the previously stiff corpse became pliant.
Within her sea of consciousness, the Fengshen Bang (Investiture of the Gods) delivered a notification:
Successfully temporarily suppressed two fierce ghosts on the verge of reawakening, preemptively stopping the formation of a ghostly calamity, saving the living beings within the Zhenmo Si. Merit +1.
You have been influenced by the fierce ghost, consuming 1 merit point to clear the ghost's lingering resentment.
As the notification sounded, an unwilling and venomous intent instantly emanated from Zhao Fusheng's body. The fierce ghost was unwilling to return to the shadows, attempting to control her.
However, with the clearing by merit, the fierce ghost's control failed. It could only unwillingly crawl back down from her shoulder and retreat into the shadows.
As the fierce ghost was suppressed, the feelings of tyranny and impulsiveness in her were gradually brought under the control of human reason.
Her heart began to beat again with a 'thump, thump, thump', faster and more urgent.
The congealed blood began to flow anew. Her previously numb and icy back regained sensation, her body warmed, and sharp pains shot through her joints.
The feeling of impending death had vanished. Goosebumps rose on her wrists, making her hairs stand on end.
Finally regaining control of her body, Zhao Fusheng gasped for several large breaths.
She rotated her still-inflexible wrists, not feeling any relief from her temporary escape.
The Fengshen Bang in her sea of consciousness had already reminded her: she had commanded a fierce ghost, and in order to suppress the reawakening specters, she had used the fierce ghost's power, costing her one-third of her life force.
And the two reawakening fierce ghosts were only temporarily suppressed. Her current recovery was merely due to the effect of merit points dispelling the fierce ghost's influence.
The life force she had lost would not return. If she did not completely rid herself of the fierce ghost, she would ultimately still face death.
Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng's expression turned exceptionally grim.
She rotated her stiff, aching neck, her gaze meeting the terrified and astonished Fan brothers.
The way these two looked at her was as if they had seen a malevolent ghost. Zhao Fusheng's mood soured:
"Aren't you going to quickly put the two corpses into the coffins?"
"Just now..."
Fan Bisi swallowed, about to speak, but Zhao Fusheng impatiently cut him off:
"The trouble is only temporarily resolved. If we don't hurry and bury these two corpses, the fierce ghosts could reawaken at any moment."
She had already paid a heavy price just to solve this problem. If they continued to delay, the subsequent matters would be hard to predict. If the fierce ghosts lost control then, everyone might die!
Her face was grim, and her tone had lost its previous composure and calm.
Zhao Fusheng frowned.
Although the effect of the merit points was extraordinary, temporarily eliminating the negative emotions brought by the fierce ghost, she was still somewhat affected, her temper becoming irritable and agitated.
She took a deep breath, feeling the strong beat of her heart in her chest, rubbed her fingertips which had regained their color, yet still felt a lingering unease.
The influence of fierce ghosts on people was profound, and the price of using their power was too great; she simply couldn't afford it.
The only plan now was to quickly complete the Zhenmo Si's ghost-exorcising mission, obtain merit, activate the Fengshen Bang, and send away the vicious ghost. This was her only path to survival.
Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng involuntarily touched her waist.
There, she carried a scroll of mission information about the Liu family ancestral hall from forty years ago, which was highly likely to be related to the current mission in Yaofan Hutong (Beggar's Alley).
She needed to venture into the ghostly domain to obtain merit.
And according to the rules of using a fierce ghost's power, she now had one more chance...
Zhao Fusheng's lips tightened, her gaze cold and stern.
She stepped back, signaling the corpse bearers to hurry forward.
In that short while, the two fierce ghosts on the verge of reawakening within the Zhenmo Si had been suppressed, and a ghostly calamity that should have formed had been dispelled invisibly.
The newly formed ghostly domain began to dissipate, the yin qi scattering, and light returned to the courtyard and the government office.
The corpse bearers, scared out of their wits, had each escaped death and wore expressions of lingering fear and relief.
The bone-chilling, sinister feeling had vanished. The corpse bearers emerged from their various hiding spots and apprehensively approached, tentatively touching the corpses.
The two bodies had lost their strangeness; they were no longer stiff and cold.
This time, when moving the corpses, no strange incidents occurred. Several people worked together and smoothly lifted the bodies, placing them inside the coffins.
Three empty door panels remained in the main hall of the government office. Apart from the middle one where Zhao Fusheng had previously lain, the door panels on the left and right, due to the near reawakening of the fierce ghosts, each bore two eerie imprints.
Waxy yellow corpse fat outlined two human-shaped marks, the centers of which were stained with dark red blood.
Because Zhao Fusheng had forcibly separated the corpses from the door panels using the fierce ghost's power, the semi-dried corpse fat and blood plasma remaining on the panels had been pulled into tiny, dense spikes.
This made the two images imprinted on the door panels appear remarkably realistic and three-dimensional.
And perhaps due to the corpses nearly 'reawakening' earlier, everyone felt that the two imprinted shadows looked increasingly sinister the more they looked at them. A strange and demonic nature aura, tinged with an ominous feeling, emanated from the bloody light.