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"Looks like she's realized her situation is precarious and has started to guard against us," Fan Bisi said with a frown.
"How could that be?"
Fan Wujiu was surprised upon hearing his brother's words. "This country girl doesn't know much, you know that too. She's timid and weak, always doing exactly as we tell her, meekly staying within the bounds of the Demon Subduing Bureau. How would she dare lie to our faces?"
"People can become smarter after experiencing life-and-death situations—why wouldn't that be possible?"
After listening to his younger brother, Fan Bisi hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, unsure whether he was trying to convince him or himself: "She died from a malevolent ghost attack, so it's natural for her to have noticed something was off before her death."
"So what?" Fan Wujiu didn't understand why his brother was so concerned about Zhao Fusheng's change. Indifferently, he replied, "Even if she gets smarter, it won't matter. She's just a country girl, frail and powerless. Now that her parents are dead and she's in our hands, how can she possibly cause any trouble?"
"Foolish!"
Fan Bisi reprimanded him softly.
Startled by his brother's rebuke, Fan Wujiu hesitated for a moment before unhappily retorting, "Brother, you're just being too cautious."
"What was our original plan?" Despite sensing his younger brother's dissatisfaction, Fan Bisi took a deep breath, calmed himself, and asked.
Fan Wujiu responded, "We originally planned to leave Wan'an County and seek refuge with Magistrate Bao's deputy magistrate Zheng in the neighboring county."
"Correct." Suppressing his anxiety, Fan Bisi nodded, "But when we entered office as envoys, we already activated the Hunming Register of the Wan'an County Demon Subduing Bureau."
When the imperial court established the Demon Subduing Bureau, they usually provided generous rewards to their envoys. However, to prevent these envoys from growing too powerful and becoming uncontrollable later on, they also imposed constraints through the so-called Hunming Register.
Once someone joined the Demon Subduing Bureau, their name would first appear in the Hunming Register. Afterward, they would be permanently bound to that bureau unless they died. They could only move freely within their assigned territory and couldn't leave their post for extended periods. Typically, they had a three-day limit. Violating this rule would trigger the Hunming Register, causing either severe injuries or even soul destruction, turning them into mindless zombies.
However, the court wasn't entirely rigid. Though the Hunming Register couldn't be undone, there were ways to transfer or borrow it.
According to court regulations, if an envoy performed well in subduing ghosts or demonstrated exceptional abilities, they might receive a promotion or imperial summons.
Higher-ranking officials could impose restrictions on lower-ranking ones and use methods like transfers or delegations to pass on the Hunming Register.
The Demon Subduing Bureau of Wan'an County was already defunct.
Fan Bisi and his brother had initially planned to find another puppet official to help them transfer their Hunming Registers out of Wan'an County.
But now that Zhao Fusheng had returned from the dead, the situation had turned unfavorable.
"This girl died at the hands of a malevolent ghost. Our previous actions were riddled with flaws, and since she's already died once, it's only natural for her to suspect our motives for bringing her into the Demon Subduing Bureau."
Fan Bisi's gaze darkened, "If she heard what we said earlier—"
At this, Fan Wujiu immediately grasped the gravity of the situation: "As the chief envoy of the Demon Subduing Bureau, your meaning is that she might deliberately make things difficult for us regarding the transfer of the Hunming Register and refuse to let us leave?"
"Not 'might,' but definitely!" Fan Bisi stated firmly. If he were in her shoes, he'd certainly seek revenge.
Fan Wujiu turned around and peered toward Zhao Fusheng. He saw her standing in front of the main hall, her back to them. His eyes gleamed dangerously as he clenched his fingers tightly, "Then we should take decisive action and—"
Before he finished, Fan Bisi remained silent, but his expression clearly showed disapproval.
Being twin brothers who had grown up together, they shared a deep understanding. Sensing his brother's hesitation, Fan Wujiu became anxious: "Brother, you're not going soft, are you—"
"Nonsense!" Fan Bisi snapped, then hesitated for a moment before saying slowly, "I suspect something strange is going on with this girl's resurrection—"
"What kind of strange?" Impatient and impulsive, Fan Wujiu had been urging his brother to stop beating around the bush: "Just spit it out already."
"Do you remember why the Demon Subduing Bureau of Wan'an County fell?" Fan Bisi glanced at his brother, and Fan Wujiu nodded without hesitation: "Because the malevolent ghost went out of control."
"Exactly." Fan Bisi nodded again, "Where did that malevolent ghost come from?"
"It must've been because Brother Qiming couldn't control the ghost he was commanding—" Realizing his brother's intent midway through his explanation, Fan Wujiu widened his eyes: "Brother, are you saying that Fusheng's return from the dead means she's now controlling that ghost and has become a ghost-wrangler?"
After explaining for so long, Fan Bisi finally saw his brother grasp his meaning. With a long sigh, he nodded.
"This—this can't be possible!" Fan Wujiu's complexion changed drastically.
Controlling a ghost meant harnessing its power, transforming an ordinary person into someone capable of wielding the terrifying abilities of a malevolent ghost. Using such power, one could resist ghost attacks and protect the populace.
This was an open secret in the Demon Subduing Bureau.
Most chief envoys of various bureaus specialized in ghost-wrangling, but dealing with ghosts was perilous and hard to control. The longer one interacted with ghosts, the weaker their humanity became. Many who practiced ghost-wrangling for prolonged periods lost their sanity and restraint, often becoming cruel and violent, impossible to manage.
In the beginning, the imperial court suffered many losses due to these individuals, who couldn't be easily killed because, while controlling ghosts, their human essence and rationality were gradually replaced by ghostly traits. If killed, they could evolve into even more terrifying ghostly entities, wreaking havoc and causing chaos.
Later, the court introduced the Hunming Register to somewhat restrain these extraordinary ghost-wranglers. Once their sanity and human essence were completely consumed by the ghost, higher-ranking officials could use the Hunming Register to preemptively kill them, nipping the danger in the bud.
Of course, this method wasn't without risks. Even if the ghost-wrangler died, the ghost attached to them wouldn't perish and would still cause some harm. Such consequences would be dealt with by higher-ranking envoys afterward. Ultimately, it would remain a headache for the court.
And in cases where the situation spiraled out of control, the court might abandon the area altogether, leaving the local populace to fend for themselves.
"..."
Fan Wujiu was momentarily speechless, finding it hard to believe: "How could this be? How could this happen!"
Fan Bisi, however, remained calm: "Anything is possible. Otherwise, I can't think of any other reason for her resurrection. Aside from ghostly power, nothing else could bring someone back from the dead."
"What do we do now?" Fan Wujiu shuddered at the thought of Zhao Fusheng potentially harboring a malevolent ghost within her. "If she really can command a malevolent ghost, we can't possibly fight her."
His face falling, he continued, "Force won't work. If she overheard our conversation and knows what we've done, she might turn against us—"
It was only now that Fan Wujiu understood what Fan Bisi had been worried about. Anxiously pacing back and forth, he asked, "Brother, do you think she heard what we said at the start?"
Initially troubled by this, Fan Bisi seemed more composed now seeing his brother panic. Smiling faintly, he said, "There's no need to worry excessively."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Though those who command ghosts may experience a sudden surge in power, none of them end well. If she thinks having a ghost by her side gives her free rein, she's mistaken."
"The more ghostly power she uses, the faster she'll die."
He added with a smirk, "The ghost she commands is monstrous—it takes before it gives. Once she's drained herself completely, she'll become nothing more than nourishment for the ghost."
Pausing, Fan Bisi concluded, "I hope she's smart enough to set aside past grievances and focus on finding a way out of this predicament together."
Confused by his brother's thoughts, Fan Wujiu glanced toward Zhao Fusheng again. She was still staring intently into the hall, where her parents' bodies lay.
His scalp tingled as he murmured, "Brother, she's staring at the government hall… and inside are her parents' corpses…"
"Don't worry about it." Fan Bisi's expression shifted between light and shadow. After hesitating for a while, he hardened his resolve: "Let's go talk to her properly and see what she intends to do."
"If she's reasonable, fine. But if not…" Fan Bisi paused, his tone turning colder, "we're not pushovers either."
The brothers had stayed in the Demon Subduing Bureau for a long time and had some self-preservation techniques. Though Zhao Fusheng might have temporarily subdued the ghost, she lacked experience, and ghostly powers weren't something to be wielded lightly.
"If it comes to a fight..." Fan Bisi's cheeks twitched slightly, "we can always run if we can't win—as long as we don't leave the boundaries of Wan'an County."
Upon hearing this, Fan Wujiu's restless heart settled somewhat, and he nodded: "I'll follow your lead."
[--------------------------------------------]
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