Chapter 105: Don’t Touch the Main Gate (Please Support with Votes)

Chapter 105

Zhao Fusheng’s words came at just the right moment, instantly pulling Zheng He back from the brink of losing control.

Her fear quickly tempered Zheng He’s anger. As the murderous intent in his eyes was suppressed, he noticed that Zhao Fusheng had already climbed several steps, standing just two paces from the main gate.

Even Fan Bisi and his brother, as well as Gu Jiansheng, followed closely behind her, leaving him trailing at the bottom of the steps, hesitating for a long moment.

He hurried forward a couple of steps, then suddenly realized Zhao Fusheng had asked a question.

“About the gate?”

Zheng He responded belatedly, thinking for a moment before instinctively shaking his head. But after shaking twice, his expression changed.

“Now that you mention it, there does seem to be something wrong with the gate.”

He explained, “When we came here earlier, some door panels had been removed, and they were covered with bloody handprints.”

At the time, Deputy Commander Zheng hadn’t given it much thought.

After the tragedy at the Sun family, everyone was in chaos. It was only natural that some doors got knocked down in the commotion—after all, the Sun estate was huge, housing over eighty people with countless rooms and doors, so a few fallen doors went unnoticed.

As for the bloody handprints, that was also normal. So many had died in such horrific ways; it was no surprise blood was splattered everywhere.

“There were even a few mutilated corpses placed on the door panels, probably arranged by those who arrived first,” Zheng He admitted. He had come late and now, when Zhao Fusheng asked about details, he felt somewhat uneasy and quickly promised, “I’ll call some officers to inquire about it later.”

“Mm,” Zhao Fusheng replied.

By this point, she had already sensed that this haunting was almost certainly connected to the Zhao couple.

Especially when Zheng He mentioned that several corpses were placed on the doors.

This matched the pattern of the Zhao couple’s vengeful ghosts after their deaths.

After their demise, the door panels on which their bodies rested had become ominous talismans connected to the malevolent spirits. Zhao Fusheng speculated that their murderous method was likely related to the doors.

When she had mentioned the two ghosts’ ranks to Zheng He in the carriage, her belief that they were still at the ‘Sha’ level stemmed from the fact that the two ghosts were incomplete.

Thinking of this, she glanced at Fan Bisi.

On that day, Fan Bisi had been shrewd; when burying the two ghosts, he had split the door panels before interment.

Losing their talismanic objects greatly diminished the ghosts’ power—in other words, the resurrected vengeful spirits of the Zhao couple were incomplete.

There was no precedent in the Han Dynasty for two ghosts committing crimes together, so Zhao Fusheng could only speculate.

From her current experience, after losing part of their bodies or their talismanic objects, vengeful spirits did not simply kill indiscriminately.

Killing was merely a side effect of their actions; their primary goal was to search for their belonging objects, and innocent people dying in the process was collateral damage.

In other words, the bloody chaos the two ghosts caused in Bao County was just an appetizer. When their ranks increased and their talismanic objects were recovered, and the two ghosts were made whole again, that would be when their true massacre began!

“We cannot let them keep killing!”

At this thought, Zhao Fusheng’s heart tightened, and she resolved to resolve this case as soon as possible.

Just then, she heard Fan Bisi call out:

“Sir, sir...”

“Huh? What is it?”

Zhao Fusheng turned to look at him. Fan Bisi pointed to Zheng He.

“Deputy Zheng wants to ask you something.”

She composed herself and looked at Zheng He.

Zheng He tensed at her gaze and hurriedly asked,

“Why do you suddenly ask about the gate? Could it be that you have discovered the ghosts’ method of killing?”

This case in Bao County was tied to his own life and death.

Now was not the time to be afraid and keep silent; Zheng He bravely asked.

Upon hearing this, Fan Bisi immediately understood. He exchanged glances with his brother and recalled Zhao Fusheng’s earlier expression when she looked at them. They all instinctively thought of the two door panels that bore the ghostly imprints.

But Zheng He was not one of their own, so the brothers wisely kept silent.

Zhao Fusheng also could not reveal the truth about the talismanic objects to him.

Although Zheng He now understood the horror of the haunting, the talismanic objects spawned by the vengeful ghosts were too important. Ghost tamers were not known for their integrity.

Zheng He was obedient now because she was stronger than him. If she became careless and told him about the talismanic objects, he might greedily spread the information.

“I do know a bit and just recalled something,” Zhao Fusheng nodded cryptically, then said no more as she moved to stand before the main gate.

She did not rush to push it open but stood still.

Zheng He had mentioned that several door panels inside the Sun estate were covered with bloody handprints. Whether influenced by his words or not, Zhao Fusheng felt that the two vermilion main doors still held a thick stench of blood mixed with paint, a pungent and unpleasant smell.

But on closer inspection, she noticed the doors had been roughly wiped. There were patches of dried blood, but no complete handprints.

She stood at the gate for a long time without moving, then suddenly her eyes flashed. Turning around, she called out:

“Zheng He.”

Gu Jiansheng, whose face was still wrapped, mistook her waiting for someone to open the door for her and immediately volunteered:

“I’ll clear the way for you, sir!”

He was not recklessly brave.

The reason was that two ghost-taming offices from the counties were gathered here, making the Sun estate the safest place in Wan’an and Bao Counties at present.

If a vengeful ghost appeared, even the half-dead Zheng He might not sense it, but surely the powerful Zhao Fusheng would.

He had offended Zhao Fusheng and was eager to prove himself in her presence. As soon as he spoke, he reached out and pushed—

With a creak, the unlocked double doors swung open.

“Don’t touch—”

Zhao Fusheng tried to stop him but was too late. Halfway through her sentence, Gu Jiansheng had rashly pushed the door open.

Realizing Zhao Fusheng’s attempt to stop him, he turned around awkwardly, stammering,

“Sir... this...”

His flattery fell flat. Seeing Zhao Fusheng’s grim face, he panicked and instinctively glanced at Zheng He.

“Sir...”

“A useless dog—”

Zheng He exploded in anger, glaring fiercely at Gu Jiansheng. If Zhao Fusheng hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have held back and would have killed him immediately.

“Enough.”

Zhao Fusheng waved her hand and stared at the door.

“Don’t touch these things recklessly.”

Gu Jiansheng’s heart pounded wildly, trembling all over. Hearing her words, he knew she wouldn’t pursue his rash action further, so he relaxed and almost burst into tears.

“Thank you for not blaming me, sir, thank you—”

“Why would I blame you?”

Zhao Fusheng didn’t even turn her head as she said,

“I’m just afraid you’ll bring great trouble upon yourself.”

“Sir, have you discovered something?”

Zheng He, who had been cold-faced, immediately understood that he had misunderstood her motive. He frowned and stepped forward.

Zhao Fusheng silently stepped aside and said,

“Come take a look.”

His expression stiffened, but he was not stupid. Hearing her say so, and recalling how she had scolded Gu Jiansheng for touching the door, he knew the gate must not be touched.

But since Zhao Fusheng wanted him to look, he dared not refuse. He reluctantly leaned closer to inspect.

At first, Zheng He only intended to pretend, but as a ghost tamer, he quickly sensed something was wrong.

“There’s...”

A residual aura of vengeful ghosts wafted from the door. His face changed slightly.

“There’s the murderous energy of a vengeful ghost.”

“Not just that.”

Zhao Fusheng shook her head.

“There’s also a bloody stench.”

Then she glanced at Zheng He.

“Have you lost your sense of smell?”

Zheng He hadn’t expected her to see through his secret and frankly admitted,

“The ghost I control has consumed my internal organs. The only reason I’m still alive is because the vengeful ghost hasn’t left my body yet.”

“...”

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned. She looked at his chest and then nodded knowingly.

Ghost tamers in this world were indeed peculiar, akin to parasitism as she understood it.

Ghost tamers relied on the power of ghosts to survive in this dangerous world. The longer they were accompanied by ghosts, their bodies gradually became vessels for vengeful spirits, ultimately, like Zheng He, becoming parasites of the ghosts, depending on the spirits inside them to stay alive.

If the ghosts left, they would be drained dry and face certain death.

“I suspect—”

Zhao Fusheng didn’t dwell on Zheng He’s lost sense of smell. Her main goal was to confirm the ghost case.

Seeing Zheng He wary and unwilling to touch the gate, she regretted having been too soft before and scolding Gu Jiansheng.

Zheng He was a ghost tamer, far more important than ordinary officers. Using him as bait to catch ghosts would be perfect.

Unfortunately, she had missed her chance and could no longer trick him.

“Step aside.”

Zhao Fusheng swallowed her regret and signaled Zheng He to move.

Her tone was direct, but Zheng He didn’t mind.

He was still tense, worried she would force him to touch the gate. Hearing her tell him to move aside, he was relieved and quickly stepped aside.

After spending nearly half an hour together, he found Zhao Fusheng was not as terrifying as he had imagined.

She was different from the ghost tamers he knew.

Though their initial meeting was unpleasant, after he backed down, Zhao Fusheng neither acted cruelly nor aimed to suppress him.

Compared to the capricious ghost tamers, she was calm, seemingly unaffected by the vengeful spirits—a strange quality indeed.

Her temperament was surprisingly easy to get along with. Though she spoke bluntly, it was not unpleasant and even made Zheng He feel somewhat at ease.

Now, seeing Zhao Fusheng step forward and stand again before the gate, he hesitated, then asked,

“Sir, do you suspect something strange about this gate?”

“Yes.”

The reason everyone initially suspected the Zhao couple in the Bao County ghost disaster was that Fan Bisi himself had directed the burial of the corpses, which had mysteriously disappeared from their coffins.

On the way to the Sun estate, Zhao Fusheng was not entirely sure if the vengeful ghosts were indeed the Zhao couple.

But upon arriving and discovering the strong residual ghost aura on the main gate, plus learning from Zheng He that several door panels inside the estate had been removed and corpses placed on them, she was nearly certain that the haunting was caused by the resurrected vengeful spirits of the Zhao couple.

Zheng He’s question was answered by her explanation, making her attitude toward the gate even more cautious.

He cautiously leaned in for another careful look.

There were dried bloodstains on the door. He couldn’t smell anything, but the ghostly presence was everywhere.

“I don’t see anything unusual—”

Zheng He shook his head.

“I must have poor eyesight.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Zhao Fusheng glanced at him thoughtfully.

“Let me try.”

She stretched out her hand toward the door.

Before she could touch it, Fan Bisi anxiously grabbed her sleeve.

“Sir—”

She had already said the gate was strange. Touching it could trigger the ghost’s deadly rule.

The two vengeful ghosts of the Zhao couple had been killing in Bao County for half a month and were already formidable.

Both ghosts had at least reached the ‘Sha’ level and were traveling together. Even lacking their talismanic objects and being incomplete, this was already a disaster-level haunting.

Zhao Fusheng looked at Fan Bisi, who shook his head anxiously.

“Don’t worry.”

She shrugged off his hand.

“I know what I’m doing.”

Having spent these days with her, Fan Bisi understood her character well. When she made up her mind, it was nearly impossible to dissuade her. Though worried, he had no choice but to relent.

Zheng He’s eyes flickered twice. When Zhao Fusheng’s palm extended, it stopped just about an inch from the vermilion door.

It seemed she was hiding some clue about the case, but it was clear the door could not be touched. Doing so could mark you as the next victim.

Thinking this, a wicked thought arose in Zheng He’s mind:

The ghost disaster in Bao County had been brought here by Zhao Fusheng. Now his own troubles were because of her. She even made him lose face in public—

At this moment, as she reached toward the door, if he pushed her, she would surely crash it open...

Under Zheng He’s chest, the vengeful ghost whose eyelids had been half-closed opened its gray, dead-fish eyes slightly, emanating malice—

Just then, Zhao Fusheng activated Hell!

‘Ding ling ling!’

A faint, clear bell sound seemed to ring in Zheng He’s ears.

‘Whoosh—’

A chilling wind blew from nowhere, instantly enveloping Zheng He in inexplicable fear.

The invisible pressure subdued him.

The vengeful ghost whose eyes had opened seemed restrained and resentfully closed them again.

The sudden wicked impulse was immediately dispelled by the bell sound and the cold wind.

Zheng He shuddered, coming to his senses and feeling a pang of fear. He glanced at his palm, grateful he hadn’t acted rashly.

For some reason, he instinctively feared Zhao Fusheng, as if something she possessed repressed him.

Influenced by the ghost, he wanted to eliminate anything unfavorable, but if he had acted recklessly earlier, the outcome might have been dire.

As Zheng He was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Fan Wujiu’s startled exclamation:

“Heavens!”

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(The End of this Chapter)