IBGSW Chapter 99
A Business Trip to Handle a Case
"Brother—"
Fan Wujiu had hoped his brother would come back and plead for him, but Fan Bisi had agreed outright.
Fan Bisi didn't look at him. Seeing that Zhao Fusheng had turned her head away, he used his eyes to hush his brother and signaled him to drag the Baozhi County order envoy out.
Once they were out the door, Fan Wujiu, who'd held it in a long while, couldn't hold it any longer:
"Brother, have you gone mad? How could you agree to go to Baozhi County with Fusheng?"
Those were two ghosts!
Even Deputy Commander Zheng, who'd always seemed all-powerful in the brothers' eyes, hadn't dared make a move. How did Zhao Fusheng dare take on this mess?
"Fusheng's really crazy—ugh!"
Before he'd finished, Fan Bisi clamped an arm around his neck.
"B-Brother, let g-g-go!"
"I think you're the one going crazy."
Fan Bisi shook his head and slowly released his brother, exasperated that his brother still didn’t get it:
"We have no choices left now, except to trust Fusheng."
He looked at his brother and reminded him:
"To divert the disaster eastward."
When all was said and done, the ones who'd sinned in the first place were the two of them, who'd listened to Paperman Zhang's "divert the disaster eastward" scheme and brought about the present situation.
Though at bottom they'd done it to survive, the Zhao family of three had been harmed by them. That they were still alive now was already a very lucky outcome.
"My lord may speak bluntly, but the way she acts reminds me a lot of the old days—"
Here Fan Bisi's eyes held a trace of nostalgia:
"I don't know why she's willing to clean up Baozhi County's ghost calamity. Maybe it's—" He hesitated: "conscience? Responsibility?"
The moment the words were out, he laughed at himself:
"Whatever the reason, she isn't standing by. And a sly little man like Old Zhang kept his life by traveling with her, which shows she's not someone who'd leave you to die."
He urged his brother:
"Get some rest. Don't think too much. That's how this world is; we have no say."
When they'd been strong, the Zhao family of three had no choice. Now the two brothers had none either.
"……" Fan Wujiu, clutching his neck, said nothing, a tearful look on his face.
After a while, the Baozhi County man, who'd heard it all clearly from beside them, spoke timidly:
"Big Brothers, where's the doctor?"
He'd watched the Fans start talking once they left the side chamber; after being frightened out of his wits by Zhao Fusheng, he hadn't dared make a sound, and had waited quietly for a long time.
But the brothers got more and more wrapped up in their talk, his wound hurt unbearably and wouldn't stop bleeding, and only when both fell silent did he muster the nerve to break in.
Only then did Fan Bisi remember there was someone beside him.
He sighed and glanced impatiently at the man; with him he had none of the kindness he'd shown his brother, and said harshly:
"Let’s go!"
……
After the Fan brothers took the Baozhi County order envoy away, Zhao Fusheng was left alone in the side chamber. Only then did she relax and slump back against the chair.
She gazed toward the door, thinking.
The Fan brothers surely held some hidden secret. When recording the Ghost Carriage case she'd concealed one clue: the register on the carriage couldn't record the Fan brothers' names.
Why?
Why had Zhao Duan, chief commanding officer of the Wan'an County Demon-Suppression Bureau more than ten years ago, adopted a pair of twins like these?
One reason she'd decided to take the Fan brothers to Baozhi County was that the ghost calamity had roots in all three of them. The other was to find out what secret the two carried, that mere mortals could counter-suppress a great malevolent object.
Having made up her mind, Zhao Fusheng turned her attention to the Investiture of the Gods.
From the moment she'd left the Ghost Carriage until now, she'd had no spare time to check what she'd gained and lost from the calamity.
After the Goutou Village case she'd had 986 points of merit left, but after the Ghost Carriage case a great deal had been deducted, and 460 points remained.
Besides the 100 points spent to quell the Shikong Ghost Bell, most of the merit had been used up at the moment she was contending with the Ghost Carriage.
Another 6 points had gone to repairing the damage to both hands from grabbing the bell and to suppressing the revived ghost hand.
Though the Ghost Carriage case had cost Zhao Fusheng most of her merit, overall she was still satisfied.
She'd lost a freshly obtained substitute paper figurine, but she'd stalled the Ghost Carriage, temporarily eased the crises of her soul-life register and One-Name Register, and gotten a Shikong bell—though it was of no use to her yet, she hadn't lost out.
After tallying the gains, Zhao Fusheng got up and went back to her room.
She'd decided to go to Baozhi County. Though she had the Investiture of the Gods and some confidence in handling cases now, every moment of dealing with ghosts was a fight for her life, and she couldn't afford the slightest carelessness.
Before taking on a ghost case, she needed to build up her strength and meet the malignant ghost in the best possible state.
She slept very comfortably, and when Fan Bisi's knocking woke her, she felt all of the previous night's fatigue sweep away.
"Gu Jiansheng's face has stopped bleeding. The doctor says half a month of rest will heal it, but it will leave scars."
Fan Bisi reported to Zhao Fusheng:
"Wujiu and I don't have much to pack. Whatever we lack we can ask for once we get to Baozhi County."
Zhao Fusheng was going to help clean up, and with her success rate in ghost cases, Deputy Commander Zheng of Baozhi County would be justified in receiving her on his knees.
"I've prepared a carriage. By the official road it takes three double-hours (about six hours) at most; we should reach the bureau’s yamen before dark."
"Let's go." Zhao Fusheng nodded.
Fan Bisi hesitated:
"Is there anything my lord wants to bring?"
She shook her head:
"As you said, Baozhi County will provide everything. Nothing to bring."
Fan Bisi didn't say more.
When the two came out to the main hall, they found Magistrate Pang and the others all there, waiting in the hall. When they saw Zhao Fusheng, they all seemed to want to speak but held back, looking pitiable and lost.
"Why are you all here?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.
The gentry, including Yu Weide, were no longer young, and after sitting up all of last night over Zhao Fusheng's disappearance, here these old men were again, anxiously rushing over.
She knew perfectly well why they'd come, but deliberately pretended not to understand.
"My lord, are you really going to Baozhi County?" Magistrate Pang was the most panicked of them.
Anxiety and fear last night had already given him several blisters on his lip; after some rest the blisters hadn't gone down, and halfway through his sleep the secretary had anxiously woken him, saying a menial worker from the bureau had brought word that Zhao Fusheng was going to Baozhi County to handle a ghost case, leaving that afternoon.
To Magistrate Pang, the news was like a bolt from a clear sky.
The court had means of restraining bureaus everywhere, and laws binding local officials too.
Serving officials weren't allowed to leave their posts without a court transfer; violators faced confiscation of property, imprisonment, and horrifyingly cruel torture.
The law existed to cow officials so they wouldn't flee because of local ghost calamities, and it was also why Magistrate Pang, knowing Wan'an County had been abandoned by the court, still dared not flee on his own.
Since Zhao Qiming's death, Magistrate Pang had spent several months in dread, thinking his death certain, until Zhao Fusheng's unexpected arrival showed everyone in the county a ray of hope.
For that very reason Magistrate Pang held her in special respect and esteem, fearing he'd fail to serve her well.
Now Zhao Fusheng was going to Baozhi County. In the menial workers' eyes it was just her going to handle a case, but Magistrate Pang, who knew the bureau's Soul-Life Register system well, saw another worry: Zhao Fusheng was breaking the court's law that commanding officers must not easily leave their posts.
Once that law was broken, the ghost servant’s backlash would strike.
With that rule in place, a local commanding officer who hadn't gone mad wouldn't break it lightly and would observe it strictly.
Yet now Zhao Fusheng meant to leave Wan'an County!
She obviously hadn't gone mad; Magistrate Pang had just spoken with her. For her to dare step beyond Wan'an County's borders, the only possibility was that she'd broken free of the Soul-Life Register's hold.
That consequence was even harder for Magistrate Pang to bear.
Once Zhao Fusheng was unbound, she could leave at any time, and Wan'an County, having briefly enjoyed peace and a sense of safety, would very probably lose it again.
The moment he thought of it, Magistrate Pang nearly fainted with his eyes open.
"My lord—my lord—oh, my lord—" the old magistrate wailed, snot and tears streaming, as if mourning a parent.1
"Is that necessary…" Zhang Chuanshi, hugging the Soul-Life Register, asked in confusion.
"Shut up!"
For the first time Magistrate Pang lost his scholar's decorum, glaring and snapping at the old man:
"You don't understand. If you did, you'd cry harder than I am."
"I—" Zhang Chuanshi, unconvinced, was about to retort when Zhao Fusheng cut off both:
"Enough."
At her voice the others dared say no more. As Magistrate Pang sat heartbroken, Zhao Fusheng recalled that since her rebirth she'd gotten along reasonably well with the old magistrate, with no open friction between them.
Besides, she'd have to deal with him in the future, and having his help with business was convenient. So rather than let him panic, she said:
"I'm just going to Baozhi County on a business trip. Two or three days at the least, three to five at the most, then I'll be back. What's there to cry about?"
Her words made Magistrate Pang freeze. When it sank in, his eyes lit up and, not bothering to wipe his tears, he asked:
"My lord means you'll come back?"
Beside him, Zhang Chuanshi, hearing this, froze too, and his face changed. He leapt up from his chair.
Only now did he belatedly realize that if Zhao Fusheng could leave Wan'an County, she'd shaken off the Soul-Life Register's restraints.
And if she left Wan'an County, the whole world was open to her, anywhere she liked.
The Wan'an County Demon-Suppression Bureau could not lose Zhao Fusheng's protection.
He’d been press-ganged into the bureau. With Zhao Fusheng gone and no commanding officer to shield them, once a ghost calamity appeared the remaining order envoys could do nothing but wait to die.
That wouldn't do!
Now it was Zhang Chuanshi's turn to panic. He opened his mouth, his lidless eyes bulging, about to wail—
Zhao Fusheng gave him a warning look:
"Of course I'm coming back."
Her words let Magistrate Pang and the others all breathe out a long sigh of relief.
Even the Fan brothers, who hadn't spoken at all, loosened their tightly clenched fists, and smiles appeared on their faces.
"This is my home. I won't leave."
Besides, with the Investiture of the Gods she needed merit to unlock more divine positions and open Hell.
With ghost fog over Wan'an County, which would raise the odds of ghost calamities enormously, the county was a natural haven for Zhao Fusheng. How could she bear to leave?
What's more, it was where she'd been reborn.
Though she'd been forced at first to take over this mess, she'd watched everything around her gradually get on track thanks to her efforts.
The ruined Demon-Suppression Bureau was beginning to flourish again, the county's population would grow in time, and Zhao Fusheng naturally felt a protectiveness toward Wan'an County. For now she couldn't think of a reason to leave.
Plus, all of Wan'an County's resources were hers to use and she no longer answered to the court. She was effectively a local emperor ruling one place with great power; naturally she wouldn't give that up easily.
"Don't worry, I won't leave here."
She promised.
Magistrate Pang and the others finally truly relaxed.
Yu Weide's tight nerves loosened; he grinned, then asked worriedly:
"But my lord, is this trip dangerous?"
With one sentence the old gentryman lifted the hearts everyone had just put down.
"How could handling a ghost case not be dangerous?" Zhao Fusheng replied calmly.
She couldn't promise that handling a ghost case was one hundred percent safe. "But I have my own ways of saving my life. If it comes to it, we'll retreat to save ourselves."
"We?" Hearing this, Fan Bisi turned to look at his brother, and saw that his normally empty-headed brother seemed to have caught the drift too.
Delighted in secret, the brothers' uneasy hearts relaxed a little.
"All right, no more delay. Prepare some food for the road. We leave right away." Zhao Fusheng stopped everyone who still wanted to talk. Once she'd made up her mind, nobody could dissuade her, and they could only see her off with worry.
At departure, Zhang Chuanshi looked at the two Fans with an extremely complicated expression.
He feared Zhao Fusheng's party wouldn't return, leaving him alone in Wan'an County, yet was glad that this time he wouldn't have to risk facing two terrifying malignant ghosts.
In that tangle of feelings, he watched the carriage pull away.
In the carriage the Fans' expressions were also complicated.
By the rules, the Fan brothers also couldn't leave Wan'an County's borders, but just before departure Zhao Fusheng had temporarily taken their names out of the Soul-Life Register and put them in their hands so they could leave for a short while.
Over half a month ago the two had tried every way to get Zhao Fusheng to take their names out of the register and never succeeded; now their names had been removed without any effort, yet the brothers couldn't be happy at all.
"It's a quick trip to Baozhi County, and the official road is far better than country paths. You were up all last night, my lord, so you should rest a while."
Suppressing his mixed feelings, Fan Bisi looked at Zhao Fusheng and said so.
She nodded, then looked at the Baozhi County order envoy huddled in the corner.
His head was wrapped in bandages so that only his eyes, nose and lips showed, making him look comical.
His name was Gu Jiansheng, a minor order envoy in Baozhi County who, like the Fans before, had gone to throw in with Deputy Commander Zheng after hearing his famed name.
Seeing Zhao Fusheng looking at him, he was both flustered and afraid; his eyes darted about, and from time to time he cast imploring looks at the Fan brothers.
Only after Zhao Fusheng closed her eyes to rest did he let out a long breath of relief.
Whoosh— The breath was only halfway out when he saw that Zhao Fusheng, who'd had her eyes shut, had somehow opened them and was staring at him.
The breath caught, and he choked, holding it in desperately, snot spraying from his nose.
Zhao Fusheng couldn't help laughing.
At her laugh the Fan brothers saw through the prank.
About to face a ghost calamity formed by two ghosts, and Zhao Fusheng still had the mood to tease people; clearly she had at least some confidence in saving her life, if not total certainty.
Both relaxed, and the oppressive air in the carriage eased a little.
