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"Fusheng, how should this be handled?"
Fan Bisi steeled himself and glanced at the door panel, also shaken by the bloody 'ghostly silhouette' upon it.
Logically speaking, the reawakening of a fierce ghost was not an easy matter.
The formation of any spectral being required strict conditions and environment. Moreover, having grown up in the Zhenmo Si, he had never heard of two ghosts arising simultaneously; this simply overturned all of Fan Bisi's previous understanding.
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Zhao Fusheng.
It seemed the Zhenmo Si of Wan'an County was truly having an unlucky year. The previous ghostly calamity had just been temporarily quelled, and now, another disaster had almost been brewed.
If not for Zhao Fusheng, who commanded ghosts, reacting swiftly and decisively using the fierce ghost's power to suppress the reawakening specters in that instant, the consequences would likely have been unimaginable.
He thought of the past conflict between them, and then of the calmness and decisiveness Zhao Fusheng had just displayed when facing the reawakening fierce ghosts. A sense of unease finally arose in his heart.
Zhao Fusheng's performance had exceeded his expectations. She was just a newcomer who had only recently started commanding ghosts, with no prior guidance, yet she could wield the power of specters, suppressing two newly reawakened vicious ghosts with lightning speed.
Generally, when ghost-commanders dealt with ghosts, they would suffer severe after-effects due to the ghost's influence to varying degrees.
Minor cases resulted in a violent temper; major ones would lead to killing at the slightest disagreement, becoming bloodthirsty and ferocious.
Furthermore, fierce ghosts were not human; they possessed no reason or restraint. Once they manifested, they were generally unwilling to be controlled again.
If a newcomer lacked guidance, they could easily lose control after using a fierce ghost's power for the first time, becoming a puppet or substitute for the spectral being.
Yet, Zhao Fusheng currently appeared calm and composed, not at all like someone who had gone mad.
The more he thought, the more afraid he became, regretting that he had chosen the wrong person. He might not only have failed to divert disaster but could very well have brought a powerful enemy upon himself and his brother.
Fan Bisi's face alternated between pale and ashen.
But the grave mistake had already been made; time could not be reversed. He no longer had any room for correction.
Fortunately, after Zhao Fusheng 'awakened', he had been sensible and had not spoken ill of her during their interactions.
Although there had been unpleasantness between them, overall, it had been passable.
He only hoped that Zhao Fusheng, considering he had collected her parents' bodies and arranged their funeral this time, would not make things difficult for him and his brother.
Otherwise...
Fan Bisi lowered his eyes, concealing the complex emotions within.
Zhao Fusheng paid no mind to Fan Bisi's thoughts. Her gaze fell upon the door panel, her expression hesitant.
After commanding the fierce ghost, her sensitivity to ghostly auras had deepened.
Others saw this door panel as malevolent, but she sensed a dense 'ghostly' qi from within it, no less potent than that of the two corpses that had been on the verge of reawakening earlier.
"Generally speaking, things related to ghosts like this, have they ever transformed into ominous objects?"
"Err—" Fan Bisi hesitated for a long moment, not daring to answer this question rashly.
"As far as I know, generally, fierce ghosts cannot be completely killed. However, if a person possesses extraordinary abilities, there is a chance they can dismantle a fierce ghost—"
He said cautiously:
"Usually, after being dismantled, the fierce ghost's body might become an unparalleled ominous object."
"But whether items related to ghosts, that have been touched by ghosts, or like this door panel, which has been lain upon by ghosts and even nearly reawakened fierce ghosts, will turn into ominous objects, I... I really don't know..."
After speaking, he looked uneasily at his younger brother.
Between the two brothers, he had always been more opinionated, calmer, and more composed. Consequently, he was more knowledgeable and articulate.
At this moment, when he looked at Fan Wujiu, Fan Wujiu also seemed at a loss, scratching his head:
"I don't know either." After saying this, he met his brother's pleading gaze and added:
"But my brother is right. Generally, only the dismantled bodies of fierce ghosts have the potential to become ominous objects. For example, many years ago, I heard that a Great General from the Zhenmo Si headquarters in the capital beheaded a fierce ghost's corpse."
Fan Bisi couldn't help but sigh in relief upon hearing this.
He was also very frustrated.
Zhao Fusheng had previously mentioned her worry about her parents' corpses transforming into ghosts. He hadn't taken it seriously then. Who knew that when luck runs out, even drinking cool water can get stuck in your teeth; the Zhao couple's corpses had actually turned strange.
"Could this be related to the premonition of ghostly fog and a red moon in Wan'an County?" Such a thought arose in Fan Bisi's mind, and his expression changed slightly.
Zhao Fusheng listened to the two brothers without speaking.
She reached out and touched the door panel. It was bone-chillingly cold. Ghostly qi coiled within the bloody light. Staring at it for too long, it seemed as if waves of red mist surged above the blood, a malevolent thought hidden within the red mist, peering at her with ill intent through the fog.
Zhao Fusheng shook her head. When she looked intently again, she saw only the door panel and the corpse imprints on it. Where was the hidden, malevolent ghost?
But regardless, this door panel was definitely extremely malevolent and absolutely could not be easily left in the Zhenmo Si, lest it invite disaster.
She was currently entangled with a spectral being, this fierce ghost had reawakened, and she was preparing to go to Yaofan Hutong. In any case, now was not a good time to deal with this door panel.
She thought for a moment and finally decided:
"For now, let's collect the door panels as well, and bury them with the coffins."
If her trip to Yaofan Hutong went smoothly and she survived, and in the future accumulated enough merit to activate a divine position on the Fengshen Bang and send away the spectral being on her, she would then have time to think of a way to dig up these two door panels and properly investigate what was wrong with them.
"..."
When Fan Bisi saw her mention the door panels, he thought she had another idea in mind, but he hadn't expected her to say such a thing.
However, her decision was correct.
In this world, being too curious was not necessarily a good thing. Dealing with fierce ghosts was a life-risking business.
He nodded and replied:
"Yes."
Everyone worked together to lift the coffins, carrying the two caskets out of the Zhenmo Si.
Although the door panels were strange, fortunately, with Zhao Fusheng present, everyone mustered their courage and lifted them as well.
The Zhao couple's corpses had shown signs of turning strange. Although temporarily suppressed, no one could guarantee when these fierce ghosts might reawaken. Therefore, without Zhao Fusheng's urging, everyone worked exceptionally hard, only wanting to quickly finish this task.
Having learned from the precedent of Old Zhang from the coffin shop, the owner of the incense, candles, and paper money shop was extremely cooperative after learning of Zhao Fusheng's requirements.
By the time the two coffins from the Zhenmo Si were prepared and carried out of the government office, several baskets of funeral supplies had already been prepared outside.
To curry favor with Zhao Fusheng, the new Ling Si (Commanding Officer), the paper money shop owner was exceptionally diligent. Not only had he prepared paper effigies of people, carriages, horses, and even RVs, but he had also arranged for mules to pull the goods.
This matter needed to be handled quickly rather than slowly. To avoid complications arising from delays, the group packed up and set off in a grand procession towards the outskirts of the county town.
Along the way, Zhao Fusheng walked beside the Fan brothers. It was evident that her presence made the Fan brothers extremely uneasy. Fan Bisi's body was stiff, his eyes filled with vigilance.
The moment she suddenly turned her head, Fan Bisi's body trembled, and he even subconsciously wanted to step back.
But his younger brother was right beside him. He controlled himself with immense willpower. Zhao Fusheng looked at him with a smile:
"Where does this road lead?"
Fan Bisi, having a guilty conscience, always felt her smile was ambiguous, making him uneasy.
He composed himself and replied:
"It leads to the West City—"
After speaking, he added an explanation:
"The West City area is special. When the Zhenmo Si of Wan'an County was first established, the imperial court sent specialists to designate that area specifically for burying those from the Zhenmo Si who died in ghostly calamities."
Fan Wujiu, seeing his brother's uneasy expression as he spoke, chimed in to help:
"The imperial court once sent a Jin Jiang (Golden General) level expert who tampered with that place. Corpses buried there would be suppressed by the atmosphere of that location."
Fan Bisi nodded.
"The Zhenmo Si of Wan'an County has been established for many years, right?" Zhao Fusheng asked.
Fan Bisi nodded again and replied:
"Over a hundred years of history."
"Such a long time. Even if that Jin Jiang level expert back then was incredibly powerful and left a special brand, has the brand not faded by now?"
When Zhao Fusheng asked this, Fan Bisi said:
"You may not know, but according to convention, to prevent the brand from failing, the imperial court should send people to reinforce the brand once every year, to consolidate it..."
But ever since the ghostly fog appeared in Wan'an County, and Zhao Qiming came to take over as Ling Si, ultimately dying tragically in the Zhenmo Si, the imperial court had completely abandoned this place.
"Which means, from last year until now, the brand in this cemetery that suppresses ghosts has not been reinforced by anyone—" Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng's heart skipped a beat.
She realized she had passively inherited another mess out of thin air.