Chapter 141 Someone is Missing

As soon as Zhao Fusheng asked this question, Old Seventh Zhuang, who had been expressionless just a moment ago, trembled violently and collapsed to the ground in terror.

At this sight, everyone from the Demon Suppression Bureau could tell that something truly ominous must have happened in Zhuang Family Village of Wulitun.

"..."

Magistrate Pang's smug expression froze on his face.

"Could another case have occurred?" he asked in alarm.

Zhao Fusheng smiled as she looked down at the kneeling Old Seventh Zhuang.

"It seems there is a case indeed, but whether it is caused by man or by ghost remains to be seen—"

When she mentioned "man-made disaster," Old Seventh Zhuang only looked slightly terrified and managed to maintain some composure. But the moment she uttered the words "ghostly calamity," his body shook incessantly, and his face turned as pale as a sheet.

With this reaction, there was no need for Zhao Fusheng to ask any further; everyone present instantly understood the truth in their hearts.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chuanshi scrambled backward in a flurry, not daring to edge forward ever again.

The two Fans remained silent, and while Wu Shaochun looked somewhat uneasy, he kept his composure.

The calmest among them all was surprisingly Magistrate Pang, who in the past would tremble with fear at the mere mention of a "ghostly calamity."

This was the confidence Zhao Fusheng had instilled in him.

During the several ghostly calamities that had struck Wan'an County, Zhao Fusheng had stepped forward willingly—something unprecedented for any commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau in the Great Han Dynasty.

She neither pushed others to their deaths nor used the situation to extort money or demand tearful pleas. It seemed as long as she sat here, Magistrate Pang felt he could sleep soundly and without worries.

"It appears I don't need to ask any further. A ghostly calamity has indeed struck Zhuang Family Village," Zhao Fusheng stated.

"A ghostly calamity?"

Hearing this, Gou Lao Si was quite surprised. "Is there really a ghost haunting Zhuang Family Village?"

He abruptly turned to look at his distant relative. Expecting Old Seventh Zhuang to refute the claim, he instead saw his kinsman's face drained of color, shaking so violently he looked ready to convulse. Gou Lao Si was seized by a sudden chill and instinctively scrambled away on his knees.

"My Lord is truly wise."

Once Magistrate Pang confirmed that a ghostly calamity had occurred, his expression turned grave.

Ever since the calamity of the Ghostly Mausoleum, Wan'an County had enjoyed a rare month of peace—the most tranquil period since the emergence of the ghost fog.

With the county town finally regaining a shred of vitality and Zhao Fusheng residing within the Demon Suppression Bureau, everyone had lowered their guard.

This rare taste of good days had caused Magistrate Pang to forget that the ghost fog still lingered in the county, and its continued presence greatly increased the probability of malevolent ghosts awakening.

Fortunately, Zhao Fusheng's keen perception had caught the early signs of a malevolent ghost from a mere scuffle between two handymen.

One had to remember that Wulidian was not far from Wan'an County town. If a ghostly calamity had broken out there, any slight negligence or complacency could allow a malevolent ghost to advance in grade, leading to unimaginable and uncontrollable consequences.

Feeling a lingering sense of dread, Magistrate Pang rose, bowed in salute, and then quietly seated himself to the side.

Having confirmed it was a ghost case, Zhao Fusheng turned serious and demanded:

"Old Seventh Zhuang, what on earth happened in Zhuang Village?"

Old Seventh Zhuang's gaze shifted evasively, clearly reluctant to speak.

Caring little to waste her breath on him, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Fan Wujiu. Understanding her intent immediately, Fan Wujiu stepped forward with a fierce and menacing aura, grabbed the man by his collar, and delivered two solid, rhythmic thuds to his stomach.

"..."

Built sturdily and possessing immense strength, Fan Wujiu's two punches left Old Seventh Zhuang sweating profusely, curling up on the ground like an injured shrimp.

"You should consider yourself fortunate that the interrogation room of the Demon Suppression Bureau hasn't been cleaned up yet. I'll give you a chance: tell me the whole story now. If you don't, we will resort to heavy torture first and talk afterward."

Looking down at the man groveling on the ground, Zhao Fusheng spoke in an icy tone.

"I—I'll talk, I'll talk—"

Vomiting a pool of bitter yellow water, Old Seventh Zhuang had lost all courage to resist upon hearing the word "torture."

The commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau seemed amiable and easygoing at first, yet she could flip her face faster than turning the pages of a book. Furthermore, the ruthless and cold-hearted demeanor she displayed after the mention of the ghost case chilled him to the bone.

"Spare my life, My Lord! Actually... actually, I can't say for sure either, it's just that recently, quite a few people in our village have gone missing after heading out—"

He wept and wailed as he spoke.

These words had originally been a hidden terror locked deep within his heart, held back previously due to some unspeakable secrets. Under Zhao Fusheng's coercion, however, once he broke the dam, his face took on an expression that mingled terror with a strange sense of relief.

Gou Si stared at him in disbelief.

Once Old Seventh Zhuang got started, he no longer needed any prodding and blurted out:

"About seven or eight days ago, for some reason, it grew dark extremely early in our village. A heavy fog rose in the morning and refused to lift for a long time. The village elders all said it was an ominous sign."

Unaware of supernatural phenomena, these rustic villagers merely found the heavy fog in the village rather strange. Yet to the ears of those from the Demon Suppression Bureau, these words sent a chill down their spines, signaling the likely formation of a Ghost Domain.

"..."

Fan Bisi and Fan Wujiu exchanged glances, both wearing speechless expressions.

Having personally experienced a Ghost Domain and knowing its terrifying nature, Magistrate Pang also abandoned any lingering hope that this case might be ordinary.

Unaware of the inner thoughts of the Demon Suppression Bureau personnel, Old Seventh Zhuang rambled on:

"After that, villagers began leaving the village one after another, and once they left, none of them ever came back. It threw everyone into a panic."

His account lacked a beginning and an end. Unable to stomach his rambling, the short-tempered Fan Wujiu clenched his fist:

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"Give us the details!"

"Spare my life, My Lord, spare my life—"

Having been beaten into submission, Old Seventh Zhuang cowered at the sight of Fan Wujiu raising his hand, hurriedly covering his head with both hands and begging loudly for mercy.

"..."

Zhao Fusheng raised a hand to signal Fan Wujiu to quiet down.

Seeing that Old Seventh Zhuang was naive, dull-witted, slow in thought, and shifting his gaze evasively, she deduced that there were deeper hidden layers to this ghost case.

When dealing with such a person, blind intimidation and suppression would yield no useful clues.

Once frightened, he would only babble incoherently and speak in a jumbled manner. To avoid further beatings, he might even fabricate lies to appease his captors and escape punishment—much like how he had initially tried to handle Magistrate Pang.

With this thought in mind, Zhao Fusheng asked him:

"How did the villagers leave? Did anything strange happen before they departed?"

"They just... packed their bundles and left—strange things, strange things—"

Old Seventh Zhuang pondered for a moment.

"I don't know clearly either."

"You stubborn scoundrel." Magistrate Pang finally lost his patience as well.

"Since you don't know clearly, how do you know a calamity has struck? You yourself go out for odd jobs, don't other villagers go out for work as well?"

"It's not for odd jobs, it's not for odd jobs, they all went to Kuailiang Village."

Realizing he had let slip something he shouldn't have, he hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was already too late for regrets.

"Kuailiang Village?"

Hearing this name, Zhao Fusheng's heart sank.

From Old Seventh Zhuang's words, it was evident that even while she believed everything was peaceful and secure, a ghostly calamity had quietly taken root under the jurisdiction of Wan'an County.

Yet up to this day, the bailiff of Wulidian had not reported the case to Wan'an County.

Old Seventh Zhuang had mentioned that the Ghost Domain appeared seven or eight days ago, proving that malevolent ghosts were already running rampant in the county. The fact that such a long time had passed without the slightest ripple showed that the populace under Wan'an County was scattered and disorganized.

Suppressing her rising anger, she commanded:

"Tell me more about this Kuailiang Village."

Her tone was calm, and her expression showed not a trace of fury, yet for some reason, Zhang Chuanshi felt her expression was stern, her gaze impossible to meet head-on, radiating a terrifying and oppressive aura that inspired deep dread.

"This, this—" Old Seventh Zhuang muttered, at a loss for words, prompting Magistrate Pang to lower his voice and explain:

"My Lord, this Kuailiang Village is also one of the villages under the jurisdiction of Wulidian. There are no outsiders in the village; almost everyone shares the Kuailiang clan name. Hundreds of years ago, their ancestors produced a scholar who entered the imperial court as an official, making them quite renowned in Wulidian."

"Kuailiang Village has a fairly large population. According records, there are over three hundred residents in the village, all related by blood or marriage, forming very tight-knit bonds."

Magistrate Pang furrowed his brow as he mentioned Kuailiang Village.

"Because they are numerous and powerful, they can be rather difficult to deal with. Even Zhou Zhihai, the local bailiff, has found them quite a headache."

"Fortunately, they have generally been law-abiding and paid their taxes annually, so the authorities usually turned a blind eye to minor matters," Magistrate Pang added.

Having formed a general impression of Kuailiang Village in her mind, Zhao Fusheng nodded.

She turned her gaze back to Old Seventh Zhuang.

"How do you know these people went to Kuailiang Village? Seven or eight days ago, when something happened in Zhuang Family Village, did a major incident occur in the village?"

Zhao Fusheng could tell that Old Seventh Zhuang was hiding something in his heart—a secret that surely involved a major event and could not be touched casually.

Without breaking down his psychological defense, rushing in with blunt questions would only arouse his vigilance.

Instead, she circled around and approached the matter through another topic. Old Seventh Zhuang's tense nerves immediately relaxed slightly; he swallowed hard and replied:

"Because before they left, they all said they were going to Kuailiang Village to pick someone up—"

"S-Seven or eight days ago," mentioning the events of several days prior caused his speech to stutter again, and Zhao Fusheng knew the root of the matter lay precisely on that day.

Concerned with a ghost case, she refused to back down and instead stared fixedly at Old Seventh Zhuang.

Reluctant to speak, he drew an impatient nudge from Gou Lao Si, who shoved him and said:

"Kinsman, what happened seven days ago? Hurry up and tell them."

"If a ghost is truly haunting the place, you may have run off, but your elderly mother is still back home."

His words caused Old Seventh Zhuang to tremble all over, panicking him as well. Lacking any other recourse, he blurted out:

"Seven or eight days ago, full wealth from Kuailiang Village came to report a message, saying he came to ask the village chief to help save lives, claiming a major disaster had struck their village—"

"What major disaster?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Old Seventh Zhuang bit his lip again, his eyes flickering.

"H-He didn't say."

Very well. If he hadn't spoken, it would have been fine, but the moment he said this, Zhao Fusheng became certain that when the people from Kuailiang Village came seeking help, they must have mentioned something specific.

Yet for some reason, that matter had become a secret Old Seventh Zhuang was sworn to protect, causing him to cover up and conceal the truth about this ghost case, refusing to elaborate.

She committed this point to memory without pressing further for the moment, turning instead to ask:

"Very well. People from Kuailiang Village came to Zhuang Family Village for help seven or eight days ago, claiming a calamity had struck their village. After that, Zhuang Family Village began experiencing strange occurrences—daylight refusing to break, night falling early, and a heavy fog rolling in. Is that correct?"

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"Yes, yes, yes."

Seeing that she did not press him on the reason behind Kuailiang Village's plea for help, Old Seventh Zhuang felt a weight lift from his chest and nodded repeatedly.

"Then the root of the problem lies in Kuailiang Village," Zhao Fusheng deduced.

"It must be that the arrival of the people from Kuailiang Village triggered the malevolent ghost's marking rule."

In the judgment and analysis of ghost cases, she had quickly surpassed everyone else, leaving even the two Fans with no room to interject.

"And you mentioned earlier that before the villagers of Zhuang Family Village left, they packed their bundles and went to Kuailiang Village?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Her questions clearly did not touch upon the sensitive boundary Old Seventh Zhuang was guarding. He thought for a moment and nodded once more.

"Yes."

"How do you know it so clearly?" Zhao Fusheng asked him.

Old Seventh Zhuang looked left and right, appearing somewhat uncomfortable, before finally speaking after a long silence:

"Because... because these missing people left one after another over the span of two or three days."

Starting eight days ago, after the people from Kuailiang Village came seeking help, the strange fog had appeared in the village.

Following that, once Kuailiang Mantcai left after seeking help, the villagers of Zhuang Family Village also began packing their bundles and returning home.

At first, nobody thought anything of it, assuming the village chief had instructed them to lend a helping hand.

"Were your two villages on very good terms?" Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng asked another question.

Old Seventh Zhuang nodded.

"Originally, we were okay." He began to stutter again, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid.

Fearing the ghost case and unwilling to see the conversation stall here, Gou Lao Si chimed in:

"They had marital ties with Kuailiang Village. More than twenty years ago, a paternal aunt of my kinsman here married into Kuailiang Village. Later, through her introduction, eight years ago, he married off one of his paternal cousins there as well—"

Before he could finish speaking, Old Seventh Zhuang suddenly raised his elbow and struck Gou Lao Si hard in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Gou Lao Si shrieked.

Old Seventh Zhuang had used considerable force with that strike, hitting Gou Lao Si right in the flank and sending him howling to the ground before everyone's eyes.

Groaning as he lay on the floor, Gou Si glared bitterly at Old Seventh Zhuang, as if anger had finally overtaken his fear.

Zhao Fusheng's face darkened.

"Drag Old Seventh Zhuang outside and give him five strokes of the paddle! Just make sure he doesn't draw his last breath!"

A surge of anger rose within her.

Fan Bisi acknowledged the order and shouted loudly:

"Come here!"

Outside, Demon Suppression Bureau handymen responded to the call, entering the room with fierce and threatening expressions.

The color drained entirely from Old Seventh Zhuang's face.

His original intent had merely been to stop his cousin from talking, never expecting it to bring such a disastrous consequence.

"Spare my life, My Lord—"

"Drag him out!" Zhao Fusheng waved her hand dismissively.

"If we don't teach him a lesson, he'll keep thinking he can fool everyone."

"It should have been done long ago," Magistrate Pang agreed with a nod.

"My Lord ought to set up an interrogation room. When stubborn scoundrels refuse to talk, one must always find a way to pry their mouths open."

"Ghost cases involve the safety of countless commoners in Wan'an County. If a ghost case spirals out of control because of an Old Seventh Zhuang, executing him would not be too harsh."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, the handymen grabbed Old Seventh Zhuang and dragged him out.

A moment later, shrieks of agony rang out, followed by the solid, heavy thuds of paddles landing on flesh.

Before long, Old Seventh Zhuang—having been beaten to the point of losing control of his bodily functions—was dragged back inside.

The ones administering the paddling were newly recruited handymen rather than experienced executioners, and Fan Bisi knew Zhao Fusheng only wanted to teach Old Seventh Zhuang a lesson to cure his evasiveness rather than kill him, so they had held back their strength.

The five strokes were meant merely to make him suffer, not to take his life, and had been applied entirely across his thighs.

Even so, it was more than enough to scare Old Seventh Zhuang half to death.

"From now on, you will answer honestly whenever I question you. If you still beat around the bush, I'll hand you over to Magistrate Pang to be dealt with by heavy torture."

Zhao Fusheng issued a warning.

Frightened out of his wits, Old Seventh Zhuang nodded tearfully and repeatedly upon hearing this:

"I'll confess, I'll confess—I'll confess everything! I'll answer whatever My Lord asks."