IBGSW Chapter 8
Retrieving the Soul-Life Register
"Paperman Zhang?"
Before reviving in a borrowed body, Zhao Fusheng had indeed heard the Fan brothers mention the name 'Paperman Zhang.' She had filed the name away then, and now that they brought it up themselves, she took the chance to ask who he was.
"Right, Paperman Zhang," Fan Bisi said.
"The Zhang family is a prominent clan in the county. For generations, they have practiced hidden arts centered on achieving immortality, mastering extraordinary powers and certain supernatural methods. As long as you can pay the price, the help he gives you will exceed your expectations." Then he thought a moment, and managed another smile on his slightly dark face.
"You'll see later."
"Yes," Fan Wujiu chimed in beside him, nodding.
"Paperman Zhang is formidable. He's the one who thought up the plan to divert the disaster eastward..."
He should never have opened his mouth!
Fan Bisi glared at his impulsive brother in anger, worried that his dim-witted brother would put Zhao Fusheng off and make her unwilling to help them.
Glared at, Fan Wujiu realized he'd said the wrong thing, and a nervous look came over him. He didn't dare speak again.
"In short, once you've met him, his usefulness will be greater than you imagine."
Fan Bisi stiffly added this, then, irritated, shot his brother another look and urged him.
"Hurry up and bring out the Soul-Life Register and let Fusheng look it over..."
This brother of his was good at failing and bad at succeeding.
But though he was cruel and ruthless, he was soft only toward this twin brother. They had grown up depending on each other, and their bond was deep. He might curse him, but he couldn't bear to give up on him.
Scolded, Fan Wujiu hurriedly opened the rosewood chest.
It was full of books. But he rummaged through them carelessly, paying them no mind, and several volumes fell to the ground. It had rained heavily the night before and the ground was muddy, and the books landed in the mud and were soon badly soaked.
Zhao Fusheng bent to pick them up. Fan Wujiu pushed the books aside and, from the very bottom, found a red box.
The box was red all over. It was not clear what wood it was made of, and the red didn't look like paint but like a light seeping out from inside the box, giving its surface a shimmering luster and carrying a faint bloody stench. It felt sinister and very unpleasant.
Zhao Fusheng took one look and frowned, instinctively wary of the box.
Fan Wujiu, having taken the box, seemed to find it scalding as well. He held it with a look of awe, then passed it to his brother.
Fan Bisi held the box and took several deep breaths in a row before opening it to reveal what was inside.
The inside of the box was densely covered with talismans drawn in blood-red cinnabar. The cinnabar looked freshly written and gleamed as though the ink hadn't yet dried.
At the center lay a palm-sized jade book. Fan Bisi glanced at it, gritted his teeth, and held the box out to Zhao Fusheng.
"This register belongs to the chief commanding officer to keep. It only fell temporarily into our brothers' hands after Zhao Qiming died. Now it returns to its rightful owner."
Then he said in a low voice:
"Fusheng, do us a kindness. We wronged you, and we're willing to admit fault and make amends. You don't need us now, and our staying won't help."
Zhao Fusheng said nothing and simply reached out for the jade book.
The instant her fingers touched it, the countless cinnabar talismans seemed to come alive, turning into wriggling worms that swiftly crawled up her fingers.
The uncanny, terrifying sight shocked Zhao Fusheng.
Born in a modern society, she had never met anything that defied ordinary explanation like this, and she nearly reflexively tried to let go and shake the 'worms' off.
In an instant the talismans covered all her fingers and the back of her hand, as if her whole palm had been tattooed with strange script.
As the script spread, her whole hand felt as though immersed in ice, and a stabbing pain made her hair stand on end.
"Is it poisoned?" she cried out.
As she spoke, her fingers went numb. Where the script had spread, her fingertips turned pale and withered, and she quickly lost control of them, as if her hand and forearm had suddenly become something dead that didn't belong to her.
Zhao Fusheng shook her hand wildly, trying to fling off the talismans.
But the strange script clung like maggots to bone, not only branded on her fingers but seemingly carved into her flesh and blood.
Since crossing over into this strange age, she had learned from the nightmare that this era had ghosts. But actually witnessing this kind of strange power still dealt a huge blow to her nerves.
At the height of her terror, a chill suddenly ran down her back.
It was as if another cold presence had pressed close to her, trying to drive away the chill that had invaded her palm.
For a moment she couldn't tell whether the two kinds of cold were real or an illusion. She was trembling and at a loss when, for some reason, the script sensed her aura and meekly retreated into the secret box.
The cold on her palm vanished, and the numb stabbing pain dissolved.
Zhao Fusheng's heart pounded, and she instinctively clenched her hand.
The feeling of losing control was gone. Where her blood flowed, feeling returned to her fingers, and they curled into a fist as she willed.
She looked at her hand with lingering fear.
Her hand was now long, thin, and pale, with traces of blood in the gaps between her fingers.
Beyond that, no script or seal remained, as if the sight of the talismans covering her fingers and the back of her hand had been a hallucination.
Since her rebirth, whenever Fan Bisi dealt with her he'd felt she seemed supremely confident, like a different person. Only now did he see her show unease for the first time.
He guessed she was frightened by the talismans and explained with a smile, "Don't worry. You're the head of the bureau, so these talismans won't hurt you. If anyone else dared touch this register, the talismans would kill them in an instant."
Then he added, "This register was made by the court. The talismans on it were drawn by the current Supreme General, Jia Yi, a man who also commands a ghost. They say his ghost has already reached the Baleful-tier and possesses the power to 'communicate' with people. These 'talismans' are said to be ghost language, with Jia Yi having the ability to kill anyone from even a thousand li1 away..."
Zhao Fusheng's body shuddered.
Fan Bisi's words did not comfort her. She knew nothing of matters related to 'ghosts,' but ghost entities were so fierce, and yet this ghost language curse hadn't harmed her. There must be a reason.
She uneasily reached back and touched her own back. The chill on her back had faded along with the ghost talismans on the back of her hand, vanishing without a trace.
"..." But Zhao Fusheng didn't relax her guard for it. She felt that the sensation from her dream, of a malignant ghost watching her, had come again.
As if, unseen, a pair of cold eyes were watching her, making her whole body uncomfortable.
She turned her head to look around, and this movement drew the Fan brothers' attention. Fan Bisi asked tentatively, "What's wrong?"
She frowned, suppressed her unease, and shook her head slightly.
"Nothing."
Zhao Fusheng's expression was grim, clearly not 'nothing' as she claimed, but however suspicious Fan Bisi was by nature, he only guessed she'd seen the talismans' power, knew what was good for her, and been scared when he said it was so-called 'ghost language.'
She was, after all, only a young country girl...
He needed her help, so he 'kindly' reassured her, "Don't worry. Although 'ghost language' is terrifying, it will never harm our own people."
"Our own people?"
At the words 'our own people,' Zhao Fusheng grew even more uneasy, and Fan Bisi said, "To enter the bureau, one must first enter the soul-life register."
Zhao Fusheng drew a deep breath.
She had a feeling that whatever Fan Bisi said next would be something she didn't want to hear.
The brothers were no saints, but Fan Bisi claimed to be bound by the register and so had had to lower himself to beg her. And if she wasn't mistaken, the original Zhao Fusheng, on entering the bureau, had also signed a blood contract and lit the register.
"Once the Soul-Life Register is lit, you're controlled by it. If it wants you alive, you live. If it wants you dead, you die," Fan Bisi said calmly.
"Then haven't you handed your life to someone else in advance?" For the first time, Zhao Fusheng lost her composure and asked in some shock.
"Yes."
Compared with Zhao Fusheng's shock and anger, Fan Bisi was far calmer.
"Ah, this—" Zhao Fusheng was speechless. After a long while she managed to recover her wits.
"The bureau is so large, and you said yourself that most people who join are extraordinary, and some even command ghost entities. They're willing to do this?"
"There's no choice."
Fan Bisi shook his head.
"The powerful figures in the court are beyond your imagination. How could ordinary ghost-controllers fight the court?"
Ghost entities were far more terrifying than ordinary people imagined, and a lone person's chance of surviving against ghosts was too low. Banding together to suppress ghosts was the only thing that worked.
"The court has many people and abundant resources. As long as you're in the bureau, you can ask the court for help when something happens."
At this he grinned, "Besides, a ghost-controller's lifespan is short to begin with, and under the influence of malignant ghosts, without restraint they could be a disaster for ordinary people."
"But..." Zhao Fusheng was about to speak when Fan Bisi went on:
"And what's wrong with throwing in with the court and enjoying life while you can? At least once you've joined the bureau, you have power and beauties aplenty. As for being bound by the register, so what? As long as you don't betray the court or try to desert your post, the ghost language curse won't trigger, and naturally you'll be safe."
Zhao Fusheng couldn't agree with his view, but she had no intention of convincing Fan Bisi. Besides, the most important thing now was to find a way to break the register's restraint and escape the Fan brothers' control.
She swallowed her doubt and looked at Fan Bisi.
He had said all this at length because he wanted Zhao Fusheng to take both brothers' names out for a while.
"If you take our life souls out for us, then through your hands we'd have about a month or so to find another Soul-Life Register to lodge our life souls in—" he urged.
Zhao Fusheng hesitated, then tried reaching for the jade book again.
This time the ghost language curse seemed to have grown familiar with her aura and did not attack her again, and she took the jade book out without trouble and held it in her hand.
"Fusheng, we brothers will be grateful for your great kindness..."
Seeing her take the book, Fan Bisi thought it was going well, and even with his steady temperament, delight showed in his eyes.
But he rejoiced too soon. Having taken the book, Zhao Fusheng did not do as he said, and her expression was grim.
Fan Bisi's words were true.
The power of those talismans was terrifying, yet she hadn't sensed any aggression from them.
Zhao Fusheng realized she was trapped in Wan'an County, a place where ghosts appeared constantly and that the court had abandoned.
Her face went a little ashen. She held down her unease and shook her head.
"Not so fast. I still have some questions. Keep talking."
"..."
Fan Bisi's smile froze. Beside him Fan Wujiu's expression darkened at once and he was about to speak, but Fan Bisi drew a deep breath, glared hard at his brother, then put on a smile and said, "What else do you want to know? We brothers will hold nothing back."
