Note: Don't Forget to join my Patreon.com/flokixy to get access to +10 Advance Chapters or unlock the full story from the shop support so I can bring more Chapters for you
"In the southern part of Wan'an County, there's an ancestral hall, which was later converted by someone into a Confucian Temple."
Fan Bisi introduced:
"This ancestral hall originally belonged to the Liu family of the county. At that time, the Liu family was considered a prominent clan in the county, with a flourishing and large population. But for some unknown reason, one day they suddenly encountered a ghostly calamity, and overnight, most of the Liu family members were dead or injured."
When he mentioned the first two cases, he had skimmed over them, but when he brought up this third case, perhaps because it occurred right here in Wan'an County, he, on the contrary, described the background in great detail, causing Zhao Fusheng to glance at him a couple more times.
"The Liu family was in a state of panic—afterwards, the Liu family head at the time sought help from the Demon Suppression Division, offering half of the Liu family's assets as a reward, hoping to enlist the then-Commanding Officer of the Demon Suppression Division to resolve the Liu family's predicament."
So, this incident actually involved the Demon Suppression Division's past. No wonder Fan Bisi knew so much about this case.
"At that time, the Liu family was willing to pay any price, just to save their lives. However, such ghostly calamities are not to be trifled with. Therefore, although the Liu family was willing to spend lavishly, the Commanding Officer at the time did not rashly agree. It wasn't until later, when the Liu family, through some unknown means, managed to persuade Zhang Xiongwu—"
At this point, seeing Zhao Fusheng's blank expression, he knew she didn't recognize who 'Zhang Xiongwu' was, so he explained:
"This Zhang Xiongwu is the grandfather of the one we call Paper Figure Zhang."
"Paper Figure Zhang's grandfather then, through some unknown method, persuaded the Commanding Officer of that time. The two cooperated, and finally discovered that the Liu family's ancestral hall was the source of the trouble. They then converted the ancestral hall into a Confucian Temple. After that, the Liu family's ghostly calamity disappeared, and the Liu family's descendants never died prematurely again."
"So, the place where the trouble is now is this Confucian Temple?" Zhao Fusheng asked.
But Fan Bisi shook his head:
"No."
Fan Wujiu interjected:
"After this incident, the Liu family's finances and fortunes were both damaged. They eventually moved out of Wan'an County, leaving only a temple keeper there to manage miscellaneous affairs."
His words made Zhao Fusheng somewhat surprised. Fan Bisi then added:
"The place where the incident occurred is Beggars' Alley, the street connected to the Confucian Temple."
"Beggars' Alley?"
Logically speaking, the Liu family's ancestral shrine had experienced trouble before. Although the disaster was later resolved, Fan Bisi himself had mentioned that ghosts cannot be completely killed, only driven away or dealt with through other methods.
Zhang Xiongwu and the then-Commanding Officer of the Demon Suppression Division had joined forces to resolve this matter. Zhao Fusheng wasn't clear on their strength, but forty years had passed, and the Confucian Temple had remained peaceful without any ghostly incidents during that time, indicating that the handling back then was exceptionally successful.
However, the predecessor of the Confucian Temple had been haunted. Now that a ghostly calamity had reappeared, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but speculate: Could it be that the malevolent ghost dealt with by Zhang Xiongwu and the Demon Suppression Division's Commanding Officer had resurfaced?
But Fan Bisi also said that the ghostly calamity was not in the Confucian Temple, but in Beggars' Alley next to it, which made Zhao Fusheng hesitant to jump to conclusions.
"What's the origin of this Beggars' Alley?" she asked.
"There's not much to say about that." Fan Bisi's mouth was dry from talking, so he immediately turned to his younger brother:
"Wujiu, you tell her."
Fan Wujiu then said:
"Back when the Liu family was around, they were quite wealthy. They were charitable and would set up congee stalls every year, distributing congee to the poor people nearby."
"Many homeless people and beggars gathered in that place, often receiving alms from the Liu family. Over time, as more beggars congregated there, it acquired an easy-to-remember common name, Beggars' Alley."
These seemingly minor clues could be closely related to Zhao Fusheng's future survival. She firmly committed every word spoken by the two brothers to memory.
"It is said that before the Liu family moved away, they left a large sum of silver, entrusting it to the temple keeper, instructing him to continue distributing congee and not to stop."
This piece of information revealed by Fan Wujiu surprised Zhao Fusheng again. She asked:
"You also said that it has been forty years since the Liu family's incident. Could it be that for forty years, this temple keeper has still been distributing congee?"
"Correct." Fan Bisi paused for a moment, then spoke again:
"Until a month ago, this Confucian Temple was still distributing congee. Therefore, the area around the Confucian Temple in the southern part of the city was always very lively, and Beggars' Alley was even more crowded."
"The incident happened a month ago?" Hearing him say this, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but speculate.
"Yes." Fan Bisi nodded:
"A month ago, a young man came to deliver a message, saying he was entrusted by the temple keeper of the Confucian Temple to invite someone from the Demon Suppression Division to make a trip, in order to fulfill an agreement from back then—"
"What agreement?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.
"I don't know." Fan Bisi shook his head:
"This incident happened before we brothers were born. But according to the young man who delivered the message, the Commanding Officer of the Demon Suppression Division back then had an agreement with his Liu family. However, you are aware of the Demon Suppression Division's current situation. At that time, we could barely protect ourselves, how could we meddle in such affairs?"
"After we refused him, he was very anxious." Fan Bisi sighed:
"Later, we heard that trouble had occurred in Beggars' Alley."
"As you said, the Demon Suppression Division could barely protect itself at the time. For you to still notice the events in Beggars' Alley, it shows that the problem there was not minor," Zhao Fusheng said.
"Yes." Fan Bisi took a deep breath, then hesitated for a long while before saying in a low voice:
"A Ghost Domain appeared there."
This was not the first time Fan Bisi had mentioned the words 'Ghost Domain', but this time, his expression was exceptionally grave.
"What's different about the Ghost Domain here?" Zhao Fusheng sensed the gravity of the situation. Out of three cases, two had clues that were practically non-existent. Although the situation in Beggars' Alley next to the Confucian Temple sounded complicated, involving an old ghost case from forty years ago, its clues were relatively more complete—most importantly, this ghost case also involved Paper Figure Zhang's grandfather.
As a former participant in the events, Zhao Fusheng pondered whether she might later be able to glean some useful clues from Zhang Xiongwu's descendant—Paper Figure Zhang.
"Fusheng, I advise you not to think about the case anymore." Hearing her question, Fan Bisi couldn't help but shake his head:
"You are young and ignorant, you haven't dealt with ghosts before, and you don't know how terrifying they are."
"Finish what you were saying first. I will make my own judgment," Zhao Fusheng ignored his persuasion.
Fan Bisi sneered and shook his head:
"You truly don't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
After saying this, however, he didn't try to persuade her further but instead brought up the Ghost Domain:
"All ghostly beings possess the power to create illusions. Some ghosts are strong, some are weak."
The illusions created by weaker ghosts are also terrifying for ordinary people, but for prepared individuals from the Demon Suppression Division, it's not entirely a dead end.
"But once a ghost breaks through the 'Sui' rank, it can create a Ghost Domain of a certain range."
Usually, the larger the Ghost Domain, the wider the malevolent ghost's killing range, and it also means the ghost is harder to deal with, and the number of victims will naturally increase.
"A Ghost Domain can not only trap ordinary people, but even members of the Demon Suppression Division find it difficult to escape. Once trapped inside a Ghost Domain, if one doesn't find a way to escape the malevolent ghost's 'line of sight,' once discovered, death is certain."
"There are two ways to break a Ghost Domain..." Fan Bisi said, then shook his head: "Either way is too difficult for you."
He then shifted the topic back to Beggars' Alley:
"When we heard the news at that time, we rushed to the Confucian Temple. But I found that the entire Beggars' Alley was already enveloped by a Ghost Domain, so I didn't dare to enter rashly."
"Fusheng, that place is already ghost territory. Don't enter it lightly. Once you go in, you're delivering yourself into the hands of a malevolent ghost. It's easy to get in, but difficult to get out!" he reiterated:
"The Ghost Domain there is extraordinary. Beggars' Alley is not small. To be able to envelop most of the street in a Ghost Domain shows that the malevolent ghost in Beggars' Alley possesses extraordinary power."
"Let alone a newcomer like you who has just started controlling ghosts, even if Zhao Qiming hadn't died, he would have had to back down and retreat upon seeing this Ghost Domain!"
Fan Wujiu added gloomily:
"He might even have had to kowtow before leaving, deeply fearing he might startle the malevolent ghost."