IBGSW Chapter 110
Baiting the Malignant Ghost
All eyes were on Zhao Fusheng, and when they saw her brow ease, everyone instinctively relaxed a little too, though tension still showed on their faces.
"I'll go take a look."
She went quickly down the steps, and when her gaze fell on the crowd, she saw an old man leaning on a cane.
"Xu Yachen?"
At first she thought she'd seen wrong, and called out.
The old man heard her and quickly came forward:
"I'm here."
"Why are you here?" Zhao Fusheng asked, puzzled.
As she spoke, her eyes fell on Zheng He.
Last night Zheng He had asked the Fan brothers to plead for him, wanting to spare these gentry and wealthy merchants, and it had been agreed that tonight's baiting would only need other family members to stand in.
Xu Yachen was a man of standing. Why would he appear here in person?
She didn't say so outright, but Xu Yachen, an old fox, saw her expression and guessed what she was thinking. He came forward quickly and said with a smile:
"I received a letter from Brother Yu saying you are a mighty figure, my lord, the kind of commanding officer Wan'an sees once in a decade, with a real knack for handling ghost cases."
He flattered her:
"I've always regretted not having a chance to see it with my own eyes. Now the chance is right here. To see you handle a ghost case in person, my lord, is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. How could I miss such a grand occasion?"
"..." Zheng He gave the old man a strange look and said nothing.
In fact the old man was so aged that even if he survived this ghost calamity by luck, he probably wouldn't live much longer.
Zhao Fusheng had earlier said that she would have Wan'an's gentry write Xu Yachen a letter telling him to move to Wan'an, and that if he refused he would not be allowed into Wan'an in the future.
At the time Xu Yachen probably hadn't taken the words in that letter seriously. But once Zhao Fusheng had shown she could slip her restraints and come to Baozhi to handle a case, the shrewd old man realized how extraordinary she was, and so had risked coming tonight.
First, he saw through how strange this ghost case was. He was already marked by the ghost. If the Zhao couple's malignant ghosts couldn't be dismembered or sealed and then controlled by someone, the Xu family would sooner or later die at the hands of the two ghosts.
Second, he wanted to see Zhao Fusheng's abilities for himself.
If she could drive off the ghosts, that would prove she was truly capable.
Then the Xu family could temporarily move into Wan'an. If she could drive the ghosts off once, she should be able to do it a second time.
At least until Zhao Fusheng's own malignant ghost revived, the Xu family could be under her protection while waiting for the court to send a general.
Xu Yachen was old but his mind was not muddled.
Zhao Fusheng wasn't necessarily unaware of his calculations, but his coming in person was sure to earn her goodwill.
Sure enough, hearing him out, Zhao Fusheng smiled and told Zheng He:
"Later, find a room upstairs with a good view for Elder Xu to watch from, as high up as possible, so he won't be disturbed by the ghost."
"..."
Everyone else, hearing this, showed regret.
"My lord, me too..."
Xu Yachen couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, and quickly expressed his thanks:
"Once this case is over, the Xu family is willing to donate ten thousand in gold to you, my lord."
"Good!" Zhao Fusheng said.
"My lord, I'll donate too. Can I get a room?" someone shouted.
"Me too."
"I'll give a thousand—"
"I'll give two thousand—"
"Five thousand taels of gold—"
In front of Zhao Fusheng and Zheng He, the crowd actually began bidding.
And under the shadow of the malignant ghost, the prices grew more and more absurd.
There were at least two or three hundred people there. With those inside and outside all shouting at once, they made the ancient mansion, where a ghost was about to appear, unusually lively, sweeping away the earlier gloom.
"..."
Zheng He's mouth twitched. He quickly grabbed one of them:
"What money do you have to donate? You dare shout nonsense, you rabble. Tonight you stand in the front row—"
"Lord Zheng, spare me!"
Zhao Fusheng ignored the farce and ordered them to back off.
The Baozhi Bureau's order envoys seized the moment, stepped up and pushed the crowd back, forcibly clearing a path.
Surrounded by the crowd, Zhao Fusheng left the Ding'an Tower, and the moment she stepped out she saw that the grounds outside had been cleared.
With his own life at stake, the tower's steward Liu Rong had done reliable work. In a single day the ornamental walls had been knocked down, and the carefully planted bamboo grove and flowers had all been cut away.
The whole garden, from the tower to the gate, had no obstructions left. Apart from bits of weeds and debris still on the ground, from where Zhao Fusheng stood she could see straight to the gate hundreds of zhang away.
Just then, outside the gate, the Fan brothers appeared carrying a strange black coffin.
Zheng He had been curious what errand Zhao Fusheng had sent the Fans on. At the sight of the black coffin he shuddered and fear showed on his face:
"My lord—"
"Don't worry. There's no malignant ghost in it."
Zhao Fusheng didn't need to turn around to know what he was thinking from his voice alone.
She answered offhandedly and ordered:
"Go help carry the coffin over, quick."
Zheng He was badly frightened by the coffin, but on hearing her, he felt somewhat reassured.
The Fan brothers weren't ghost-controllers. If they could touch the thing, it should truly have nothing to do with ghosts. Even if there was a corpse inside showing signs of reviving, it was at least still asleep.
But by now Zheng He felt Zhao Fusheng was riding a tiger she couldn't get off, and he'd started thinking about retreating. He signaled a nearby order envoy with his eyes, intending to find an excuse to slip away and leave this place of trouble.
The envoys, hearing the order, hesitated for a long moment.
No one wanted to touch that strange black coffin at this point. But Zheng He was standing right there, coldly watching them. His clothes were still not closed, and the dreadful dead head on his chest showed half its face, covered in strange brown blotches.
Zheng He's gaze was icy, and everyone he looked at was afraid. They hurried forward and helped the Fans carry the coffin into the garden.
Liu Rong stood beside Zhao Fusheng, rubbing his hands constantly.
"Some people go hide in the Ding'an Tower, and some stand behind me."
Zhao Fusheng said again.
Zheng He wanted to run, but was afraid Zhao Fusheng wouldn't allow it, so he deliberately tried to please her:
"You handle the case for Baozhi, my lord. How could we let you stand in front of this rabble? Better to have them stand in front—"
Before he finished, all the people left behind showed fear and shrank back.
"No need."
Zhao Fusheng shook her head.
The Zhao couple's malignant ghosts, since reviving, had killed many and were already formidable.
Never mind ordinary people. Even Zheng He, who controlled a Baleful-tier ghost, might not hold up against the two ghosts. Putting ordinary people in front would only add to the casualties.
"Close the gate."
As soon as Zhao Fusheng spoke, Zheng He shouted:
"Close the gate!"
At his shout, the yamen runners guarding the gate joined forces to close it and quickly dropped the bar.
"Everyone move back, away from the gate," Zhao Fusheng said, and by then the order envoys carrying the black coffin had reached her.
The coffin was light. It didn't seem to hold a corpse, more like an empty coffin.
The order envoys and the garden's menial workers withdrew into the tower.
The Ding'an Tower was packed. All its doors and windows upstairs were locked tight, and countless eyes watched the garden below through the cracks in doors and windows.
It wasn't dark yet and the ghost hadn't come, but everyone knew what might happen next and began to tremble silently.
"Gu Jiansheng, come here!"
Zheng He called, and Gu Jiansheng, his face bandaged, dragged his heavy feet over to stand beside him.
"My lord, you know Gu Jiansheng too, and he's handy. I'll leave him here, and whatever you need done later, just order him."
With everything ready, Zheng He had made up his mind to leave.
He had pulled Gu Jiansheng over as a shield, saying:
"The ghost in me is about to revive. I can't help you much if I stay—"
"Want to go?"
Zhao Fusheng turned to ask him.
Zheng He nodded.
"Go ahead."
In this ghost case, Zhao Fusheng had never intended to rely on anyone else from start to finish.
Zheng He's use had been in the early preparations. Now that everything was in place, all that remained was waiting for the ghost to take the bait.
She agreed readily to let Zheng He go, which stunned him. He stood where he was, not knowing how to react.
Zhao Fusheng ignored him and turned to order the Fan brothers and Gu Jiansheng:
"Open the coffin and take out what's inside!"
At her words, Gu Jiansheng stood frozen for a moment, but Fan Bisi didn't hesitate. He took the iron hammer from his waist and struck the coffin with two resounding clangs.
"Gu Jiansheng, come help!" Fan Wujiu called, seeing his brother move.
Seeing no escape, Gu Jiansheng steeled himself and went forward. The three worked together and soon pried off the coffin lid.
The instant the lid opened, a thick baleful aura poured from the coffin.
A moment before, the setting sun hadn't yet fallen. The next instant, the moment the aura escaped, dark clouds piled up and blocked the last glow of sunset.
The sky went black at once!
"Damn!"
Zheng He had not expected that in the moment he hesitated, something would go wrong.
He had handled three ghost cases and had some experience. Seeing clouds pile up in layers, he knew something terrible was coming.
Black air kept pouring from the coffin, and those standing behind gasped together and stumbled back several steps.
"Is there a ghost in the coffin?"
Someone cried out in terror.
The moment that word "ghost" left someone's mouth, others stumbled back in fright.
"Ghost!"
With everyone's nerves taut, hearing the word "ghost" they shoved and pushed to flee backward.
In the crush and trampling, the old and frail were knocked down. A riot was about to break out—
Zhao Fusheng had been looking at the coffin. Hearing the commotion behind her, she was furious:
"Zheng He!"
She knew that sometimes man-made disasters could be as terrible as a malignant ghost's slaughter. Zheng He hadn't left yet, but seeing he couldn't get away, she barked:
"Stop the chaos in the crowd and prevent casualties from a stampede."
Zheng He regretted it bitterly.
He didn't move. Instead he looked around.
At some point, rolling gray fog had appeared over the distant Shangjia River and around the garden.
The fog thickened gradually, and shadows of death closed in, leaving many on-duty yamen runners and bureau order envoys at a loss.
"Is this—is this a ghost domain?"
Zheng He asked with his fists clenched, his expression grim.
"Mm."
Zhao Fusheng nodded.
He deflated like a punctured ball, shoulders sagging in an instant.
Zheng He's cheeks twitched, and the brown blotches on his face visibly darkened.
Despair crossed the face of Baozhi's ghost-controlling commanding officer:
"I can't leave?"
Zhao Fusheng sneered:
"A ghost domain forming this fast, you should know better than I do what that means, don't you?"
Ghosts of Evil Spirit-tier1 and above could condense ghost domains.
How quickly a ghost domain formed, how large it was, how many people it trapped, all depended on the ghost's tier. The Ding'an Tower was no small place, but the instant Fan Bisi and the other two opened the coffin lid and the great malevolent objects' aura leaked out, black air flooded the sky and the earth in a flash, blocking the last glow of dusk.
The ghosts hadn't appeared, but from the pressure they gave off before showing themselves, the Zhao couple's ghosts had already grown very fierce since reviving.
That both were Baleful-tier was only Zhao Fusheng's initial judgment. With the two ghosts combined, the destructive power had reached at least Calamity-tier.
"After a ghost domain forms, if you're not afraid of death, you can run around all you want."
"..."
Zheng He's face was gloomy.
Zhao Fusheng rebuked him:
"Why aren't you steadying the crowd? What are you standing there for!"
"Yes—"
Zheng He answered instinctively.
Then he vented his nameless anger on the panicking order envoys and runners.
He clenched a fist, strode up, and punched an order envoy who'd been caught up in the crowd's terror and was running with them, landing two solid blows in the back.
Ghost-controllers had monstrous strength.
With two punches, that tall, burly order envoy flew like a snapped kite several meters through the air and crashed to the ground, vomiting blood.
"..."
This sudden change quelled the chaotic crowd.
"What are you running for?"
Zheng He bared his chest and charged toward the crowd.
He swallowed his pride before Zhao Fusheng, but before these ordinary people and order envoys he was a tiger charging into a flock of sheep.
It was like a boiling pot of oil being cooled in an instant.
Wherever Zheng He went, the crowd parted, and even those who'd fallen and were being trampled stopped their screams.
"Yamen runners, haul the people up, line them up, and have them stand behind Lord Zhao."
He quelled the scene with thunderous methods.
Seeing Zheng He's fury and the fearsome dead head on his chest, the crowd realized that though Zhao Fusheng would very likely summon the ghosts, the Zheng He before them was himself a ghost entity.
What could quickly suppress fear was a greater fear.
Those who'd been in a panic now forced down their terror and did as Zheng He ordered.
No one paid attention to the order envoy who lay vomiting blood. Under the runners' arrangement the people lined up and stood behind Zhao Fusheng.
The situation was under control again.
Zhao Fusheng let out an almost imperceptible breath and gained fresh respect for Zheng He's skill.
With those chores done and no worries left, she put her whole mind on the coffin that kept pouring out black air.
By now Fan Bisi's face also showed fear.
With the coffin lid pried off, black air surged up like a lifted steamer lid, and for the moment no one dared approach the coffin.
Zhao Fusheng calculated that she had 433 points of merit, enough to deal with whatever chaos followed.
She strode forward, grabbed Gu Jiansheng by the clothes, and shoved him aside:
"Get away!"
The Fan brothers, without needing a rebuke, had already stepped aside and made room for her to stand before the coffin.
Zhao Fusheng took a deep breath, stretched out both hands, and reached into the rolling black fog.
Hiss—
The distant order envoys, yamen runners, and the people who'd come as hostages all gasped at the sight.
Zheng He, hearing the sound, looked back and saw Zhao Fusheng bending over with her hands in the coffin, and his mouth twitched.
In fact, ghost-controllers looked fierce, but precisely because they dealt with ghosts and knew how terrifying they were, they were actually much more timid than ordinary people.
Zhao Fusheng was the boldest person he'd ever seen.
Though she believed there was no ghost in the coffin, the baleful aura churning inside meant it couldn't be anything good. How dared she touch it directly?
Everyone was trapped in this ghost domain now. They couldn't leave, and there was no road but to cooperate with each other. Zheng He didn't dare slack off or play tricks any more. Seeing this, he hurried back and asked Zhao Fusheng:
"What is that?"
Zhao Fusheng ignored him.
The moment her hand entered the ghost fog, it felt as if wrapped in ice.
The coffin was clearly not deep, yet when her palm reached down it was like a bottomless abyss, with no end to be felt.
As she bent over, black air rose and touched her cheek, stirring the ghost in her shadow.
But the instant the ghost's aura appeared, the black air grew fiercer and crushed it, sending the ghost back into sleep.
Zhao Fusheng's heart sank. She already knew things were bad.
The Zhao couple's growth had exceeded her estimate.
A month ago, the ghost of "give first, take later" she controlled could still suppress the two reviving ghosts, but after just a month, the great malevolent objects bound to the two ghosts could, on their own, suppress her half-asleep ghost.
She hoped tonight went as she'd estimated. Otherwise, once the advanced ghosts recovered the malevolent objects and were pieced back together, everyone in the Ding'an Tower would die at the ghosts' hands.
She steadied herself and forcibly suppressed the fear trying to poke its head out.
Once her fear was under control, she quickly realized that the "bottomless abyss" feeling had been a mistaken perception. The hand she'd lowered soon touched two stacked door planks2.
The planks were extremely cold, like two blocks of ice.
She hugged the planks with both hands and hauled them out of the coffin with effort.
"This is..."
Zheng He, who had drawn near, saw her lift something from the coffin and leaned in to look.
But the planks were billowing black air then, and he, disturbed by the baleful aura, couldn't see clearly. By feel, though, he had "recognized" the thing:
"...A great malevolent object?"
Zheng He's first thought was:
You want to use a great malevolent object to restrain the ghosts?
The malevolent object's aura was very fierce. It might have been left behind by some great ghost.
He hadn't expected that Zhao Fusheng, new to her post, would already have such a malevolent object in hand. No wonder she was so confident about this ghost case.
At the thought, he felt a surge of joy.
But as Zhao Fusheng stood the two planks upright, and the baleful aura, no longer sealed by the coffin, gradually dispersed to reveal the planks' true shape, Zheng He slowly began to make out their outline. His smile froze on the spot, and his hands began to tremble.
