Chapter 130: Taking the Ghost Away

The scene before them left Zhang Chuanshi and his two companions so terrified they dared not make a sound.

There were simply too many ghosts! At a rough count, there were at least several dozen. It seemed that because the West City was close to the Ghost Mausoleum, it had been the first to suffer; those who died had become the thralls of the malevolent spirits and were summoned here.

Although Zhao Fusheng had handled several ghost cases, this was her first time seeing a swarm of resurrected thralls. She couldn't help but feel a chill run down her back. Zhang Chuanshi’s body was rigid, and he signaled frantically to Zhao Fusheng with his eyes, urging the four of them to leave immediately.

She ignored his signals and cleared her throat. "Fan, Fan—"

Fan Bisi stood stiffly in place, motionless. He had previously thought that stumbling through the dark and holding hands with a malevolent spirit was the most terrifying experience imaginable. But seeing the ghosts clustered together, the accumulated chill began to crawl up his legs, spreading from his spine to every limb. His spirit seemed disconnected from his body; he didn't hear Zhao Fusheng’s call at first. It was only after she called his name several times that he asked, his voice trembling:

"Yes, yes, my lady... what is it?"

"Where is the seal of the Ghost Mausoleum?"

After the initial shock, Zhao Fusheng quickly regained her composure. She realized that although there were many ghosts here, there was truly only one malevolent spirit; the rest were merely thralls summoned after the spirit had killed them. The entity’s primary goal was to destroy the seal, and the group’s intrusion had not triggered an attack, as all the ghosts were focused on hammering the stone pillar.

Having determined this, Zhao Fusheng grew bolder. She observed the ghosts closely. Some held horse whips, some held broken bowls, and others clutched farm tools. The items they held were likely related to their state before death. Although the items were miscellaneous, the sheer number of ghosts made their presence quite intimidating.

The stone pillar was thick, but it could not withstand such relentless hammering. Furthermore, the seal had been reinforced in the middle of last August, and a year had passed since then. The power of the seal was naturally waning, which was why the ghosts of the mausoleum had resurrected and caused this calamity. If this situation were allowed to worsen, it wouldn't be long before these summoned thralls completely destroyed the seal. Once the seal was broken, the consequences would be dire.

"..."

Zhao Fusheng’s words left the terrified men stunned. After a long while, Fan Bisi managed to roll his eyes with great effort. "Does my lady mean—"

"I asked you, where is the seal?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

*Clang, clang, clang—*
*Ding, ding, ding—*

The hammering was incessant. Fan Bisi remained silent, and growing impatient, Zhao Fusheng raised her voice: "Is the seal on the stone pillar surrounded by the ghosts?"

As she shouted, all the hammering stopped for a brief moment.

"..."
"..."
"..."

The hearts of Zhang Chuanshi and the others nearly stopped beating. But a moment later, the familiar *ding-clang* of the hammering resumed. At such a moment, the sound that had previously made Magistrate Pang and Zhang Chuanshi’s hair stand on end now brought a strange, indescribable sense of relief.

"My lady..." Zhang Chuanshi tugged at Zhao Fusheng’s sleeve and whispered, "Let’s go."

The matter here could not be solved by them. The outbreak of the Ghost Mausoleum case was clearly beyond the capacity of the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division.

"Go where?" Zhao Fusheng asked, her expression cold.

"Back to the Demon Suppression Division first, then we can think of a way—" Zhang Chuanshi whispered. As he spoke, his peripheral vision remained fixed on the malevolent spirits. Although he knew they had lost their living senses, he still feared that a loud noise would trigger their killing rules.

"I think Master Zhang is right," Magistrate Pang agreed. He was merely a frail, scholarly old magistrate; the fact that he hadn't been scared to death already showed immense courage. "We cannot solve the problem here. It is clear that the Ghost Mausoleum’s seal has lost its effect. The only path left is to find a way to notify the imperial court and request that they send people to reinforce the seal."

There was a hierarchy among malevolent spirits. Once a high-ranking official branded the primary spirit with a restraining technique, the Ghost Mausoleum could be subdued once more, and the calamity would naturally be averted. Fan Bisi nodded as well. Compared to Zhang Chuanshi’s blind fear, Magistrate Pang’s words were logical, and both Fan and Zhang were convinced.

"We cannot leave," Zhao Fusheng shook her head.

Zhang Chuanshi was becoming anxious and was about to speak when she continued: "You have seen the situation here clearly. The resurrected spirit has summoned thralls, and with so many ghosts hammering the seal, how long do you think it will last?"

Under the gray, murky sky, Zhao Fusheng looked quietly at Magistrate Pang. Not far behind her, countless dead souls were striking the stone pillar with their tools. This eerie and terrifying scene stood in sharp contrast to Zhao Fusheng’s calm questioning.

"If we retreat from the West City now, even if we send word to the court, it’s unclear whether Wan'an County will even exist by the time help arrives."

The progression of this ghost case was now clear. The primary malevolent spirit was focused on destroying the seal, and the sound of the hammering served as a medium for marking its targets. Anyone who heard the sound had a chance of having their chest pierced through by the ghost's hammering and dying. Once a person died, they immediately resurrected as a thrall, drawn by the hammering to the mausoleum to further damage the seal.

As time passed, the ghost would kill more people. Once enough were killed, two things would happen. First, the malevolent spirit would advance in rank. The seal was left behind by a high-ranking official and could currently suppress the spirit, but this suppression was clearly weakening. If the spirit advanced, it was uncertain if the failing seal could still contain it. Second, the more people who died, the more thralls were summoned. Once there were enough thralls, they would all destroy the pillar together, and it would only be a matter of time before the seal was ruined.

"Once the seal is broken, what good will it be if the court sends someone?" Zhao Fusheng asked. She added with a touch of dark humor, "Perhaps if the people they send still have a conscience, they might bow to the dead."

"..."

The others could not find the humor in such a situation; their expressions were grim.

"And it’s not certain that the court will even send anyone. You know better than anyone what the situation in Wan'an County is like," Zhao Fusheng said, looking at Magistrate Pang. "When the time comes and no one arrives, the ghosts won't wait. Don't forget, your wife has already been marked."

Magistrate Pang dared not speak. He thought of his possessed wife and realized there was no way out.

"Then what should we do?" Fan Bisi asked, looking at Zhao Fusheng. She hadn't panicked yet, and having just solved the case of the Zhao couple’s resurrection in Bao County, perhaps she had a way. "Fusheng, can you solve this?"

"I can reinforce the seal," Zhao Fusheng said flatly.

"What?!" Zhang Chuanshi exclaimed.

Magistrate Pang, who had been dejected, lifted his head with a glimmer of hope upon hearing these words, as if he had found a lifeline in a desperate situation. "My lady, is that true?"

"True. I can reinforce this seal myself," Zhao Fusheng nodded.

Her words left everyone shocked and delighted. Fan Bisi had always had a certain level of faith in her, and hearing this, he felt as if he had swallowed a calming pill. "What do you need us to do?"

Zhao Fusheng settled the panicked minds of the three men in a few words. "Is the seal on the stone pillar?" She asked again. She needed to confirm the location of the seal to see if her hypothesis about the ghosts destroying it was correct.

Fan Bisi nodded quickly. "Yes. Last year, I accompanied General Zhu Minghui from the court along with Brother Qiming to place the ghost seal there." He pointed toward the stone pillar surrounded by ghosts. Magistrate Pang also nodded. "The seal should be in that position."

Having confirmed this, Zhao Fusheng felt a weight lift. "Good. All we need to do is lure the ghosts away so I can squeeze inside and patch the seal."

She made it sound easy, but the moment the others heard the words "lure the ghosts away," their legs began to cramp involuntarily. They looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

"H-how do we lure them away?" After a long while, Fan Bisi swallowed hard and asked.

Although Zhao Fusheng had proposed a plan, implementing it was incredibly difficult. Yet she seemed to have a plan already. As soon as Fan Bisi finished speaking, she raised her head and swept her gaze over him and the utterly despondent Zhang Chuanshi. Zhang Chuanshi immediately became alert.

"My—"

Before he could speak, Zhao Fusheng interrupted him: "Old Zhang, when you and Brother Fan were coming here earlier, whose hands did you touch?"

The question made both of them break out in goosebumps; they instinctively began rubbing their palms against their bodies. "Did you touch the dead?"

"..."
"..."

Their faces turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down. "My lady, please don't say it—" Zhang Chuanshi said, his voice weak and despairing. "Don't ask."

"If you both touched the dead, it proves that it was only a simple physical contact. These ghosts will not attack you." Zhao Fusheng curled her lips, trying to make her expression look as kind as possible. But Zhang Chuanshi’s eyes widened, as if he were looking at a demon.

"You don't mean to—"

Before he could finish, Zhao Fusheng added, "I think we should just work together and carry these ghosts away."

"!!!"

In truth, the moment she mentioned that Zhang and Fan had touched the ghosts, Zhang Chuanshi had sensed something ominous. But he never imagined that Zhao Fusheng would actually dare to make such an outrageous request.

"I-I can't—" Zhang Chuanshi shook his head frantically. He deeply regretted not moving away the day Zhao Qiming’s spirit resurrected; he shouldn't have stayed across the street from the Demon Suppression Division. He shouldn't have been blinded by greed and gone to the Division to demand payment after Zhao Fusheng took control of the spirits. If he hadn't done those things, he wouldn't know Zhao Fusheng, nor would he have been forced to join the Division. Now, he couldn't leave, and staying was a fate worse than death.

"My lady, just kill me," he pleaded. In the previous Dog-Head Village case, he had been inexplicably skinned, and his wounds had yet to heal; he was relying on the Soul Life Registry to survive. And now, Zhao Fusheng wanted him to carry corpses that had already resurrected as ghosts...

Zhang Chuanshi steeled himself. "I won't do it, no matter what." With that, he sat down on the ground, adopting a stubborn posture of someone who wouldn't move even if dragged.

"Look at your resolve," Zhao Fusheng sneered, not believing she couldn't handle him. "Brother Fan, Magistrate Pang, let's go—"

She turned to leave. Hearing this, Zhang Chuanshi, who had been sitting on the ground, panicked and scrambled to his feet. "My lady, wait for me—"

He hadn't finished his sentence when he saw Zhao Fusheng turn back to look at him, and he knew he had fallen into a trap. But Zhang Chuanshi was determined not to move the ghosts, so he planted his feet again. "I’m not doing anything except running for my life. Either kill me, or I’m not moving." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"..." Fan Bisi gave him a speechless look, then steeled himself and said, "I’ll go. I have strength."

Zhao Fusheng didn't have time to argue with Zhang Chuanshi. While they had been debating, the ghosts were rapidly destroying the seal, and more thralls were arriving in the distance. Time was of the essence.

"Good," she said, having made up her mind. She nodded. "I’ll help you move the ghosts."

Fan Bisi had actually prepared himself to act alone. Among the four of them, Zhang Chuanshi was determined to slack off, and Magistrate Pang was too old and frail to be of any use. Zhao Fusheng was the leader; she usually didn't need to do the manual labor, and since she was the one who would be reinforcing the seal later, no one would dare say anything if she didn't move the corpses. He hadn't expected her to volunteer to help. Fan Bisi felt a surge of gratitude. "My lady..."

"Enough, time is short," Zhao Fusheng interrupted.

The two of them tentatively moved forward, slowly approaching the ghost swarm. Although Zhao Fusheng had reasoned that the ghosts' primary target was the seal and that killing was merely an incidental side effect, dealing with ghosts meant anything could happen. A single mistake could cost a life.

They walked with extreme caution. Zhang Chuanshi couldn't help but turn his head to watch them.

Zhao Fusheng remained vigilant but did not slow her pace. Having made up her mind, she did not hesitate. After a few steps, they were closer to the swarm.

Five steps.
Three steps.
Two steps.

As she approached, the chaotic hammering sound stopped. The ghosts stood coldly, staring at the stone pillar in their midst. These people wore different clothes and held different items, but their faces were all a pale, bruised blue, and their eyes were like bottomless black holes. A terrifying, bloody hole in each of their chests surrounded the pillar that held the seal.

This sudden stillness made the hearts of Fan, Zhang, and Pang leap into their throats. Fan Bisi stopped involuntarily. But Zhao Fusheng, relying on the Seal of the Gods, didn't stop completely; she only slowed her pace, testing the waters as she leaned toward the ghosts.

One step!

As she moved behind one of the ghosts, all the ghosts moved at once, raising their hands in unison. The arms that had been hammering were raised high, scaring Zhang Chuanshi so much that he squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to let out a scream.

But in the next instant, the ghosts slammed their hands against the stone pillar with all their might: *CLANG!*

The combined force of the strike created a deafening, thunderous sound.