Chapter 115: The Nine-Headed Bird Reappears

Zhao Fusheng had once attempted to deify the malevolent spirits she harnessed, but spirits of the "Shattered" rank lacked the qualifications for deification. Therefore, upon learning that Baozhi County was plagued by ghosts—and that these ghosts were likely the Zhao couple—the idea of deifying them took root in her mind.

From Gu Jiansheng, she learned that the spirits had been ravaging Baozhi County for half a month, claiming countless lives, including over eighty members of the Sun family, a wealthy household in the county. Upon hearing of such a high death toll, Zhao Fusheng’s immediate thought was that the spirits grew stronger by killing. While this scenario would be a massive headache for any other spirit controller, for Zhao Fusheng, it was actually a stroke of luck. Spirits of too low a rank could not be successfully deified. Thus, she ordered the two Fans to excavate the door panels and assemble the Zhao couple into a complete malevolent spirit, all in preparation for the deification.

As she expected, the deification progressed smoothly, ending the haunting case. However, because the two spirits grew too rapidly, they had already reached the "Calamity" rank by the time the deification succeeded. Both the Deification List and the Hell dimension had opened their first levels. Hell was currently weak, barely able to control a single space-time ghost bell, and required merit points to suppress it. The Deification List, having welcomed two Calamity-rank spirits on its first attempt, immediately threw the balance off, resulting in the deduction of 200 merit points.

She had a premonition that this was only the first cost. As she continued to use the power of the ghost gods, the balance would be disrupted further; thus, her top priority was to upgrade Hell as quickly as possible. The more she used the Deification List, the deeper her understanding of it became.

Realizing this, she prepared to unlock the second level of Hell. The Deification List prompted: "Consume 1,000 merit points to unlock the second level of Hell?"

This was part of her plan. Without a moment’s hesitation, she agreed: "Yes!"

With a thought, 1,000 merit points were deducted. The second level of Hell opened in silence!

The opening remained quiet. The others in Ding'an Tower were unaffected. The survivors of the double-ghost case, having witnessed such a legendary conclusion, were unwilling to leave. Led by Xu Yachen, the local gentry remained, surrounding Zheng He and the two Fans from Wan'an County, whispering about the impact of the ghosts and Zhao Fusheng's methods.

Everything seemed peaceful, with joy and excitement filling the air. But suddenly, Zheng He, the only spirit controller present, sensed something amiss. He felt a tremendous deterrent force—not the rank-based pressure of a spirit, but a primal dread, like a mouse facing a cat or a sheep facing a tiger. It was as if a natural predator of ghosts had descended, causing him to tremble with fear. Most noticeably, the ghost head already coiled within his chest began to burrow deeper into his abdominal cavity. Without a heart or lungs, his remaining organs were pushed aside by the spirit, emitting a squelching sound.

Zheng He shuddered and looked up toward the ceiling. At the same time, the two Fans, surrounded by the crowd, seemed to sense something as well and looked up in unison. They could not sense it as clearly as Zheng He, but they felt an inexplicable tremor coming from above. Aside from the first-floor hall, the entire building had been cleared, with only one guest remaining upstairs: Zhao Fusheng.

The three men’s eyes met in the air. Zheng He looked at the brothers, then at the ghost in his abdomen, thinking with terror: What has Zhao Fusheng done? She has made even ghosts feel fear.

Having controlled spirits for a long time, he felt almost entirely assimilated; he was only human in appearance, memory, and thought. If he felt fear, it meant the ghost within him was terrified. Zhao Fusheng’s mere presence was enough to frighten a ghost, which spoke volumes of her uncanny nature. Yet, he wondered, why had the two Fans looked up as well? He shook off the thought, deciding that Wan'an County was simply bizarre. Once this was over, he would write to the imperial court and let them deal with the headache.

The strange, fearful sensation lasted only a moment. In the first-floor hall, no one else noticed the brief silence. In her room upstairs, the moment Zhao Fusheng opened the second level of Hell, darkness descended without a sound.

*Sshh!*

The candles were extinguished as shadows flooded every corner of the room. Had Zhao Fusheng not reacted in time to contain the Hell dimension, the shadows would have burst through the door and engulfed the entire floor.

*Cling-ling—*

The ghost bell suppressed within Hell chimed, but the sound was sealed inside. As Zhao Fusheng stood in the room, she heard the chime, followed by a cold, prying sensation. She turned abruptly; amidst the ringing, she heard the *clack-clack* of horse hooves.

Zhao Fusheng’s pupils constricted. In the next instant, ghost mist appeared out of thin air at the large window. Amidst the sound of hooves, a black carriage smashed through the window and charged into the room.

Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng didn't hesitate; she stepped and was instantly swallowed by the shadows of Hell. As the List had indicated, the interior of Hell was empty, save for the ghost bell. It was no place for a living person, and she felt a sense of suffocation the moment she entered.

She had been inexperienced tonight. The moment Hell was upgraded, the aura of the ghost bell had leaked, attracting the ghost carriage that had been lingering at the entrance of the Liu family mansion forty years ago. The carriage appeared in the room, the temperature plummeting. The malevolent spirit holding the roster raised its head blankly. Its cheeks were sunken, and its eyes were a cyan-blue, devoid of pupils or whites. It did not realize it had brushed past Zhao Fusheng, as Hell had completely isolated her from it.

Zhao Fusheng’s heart hammered like a drum. She had not expected such a blunder after finishing the case. Fortunately, she had reacted in time to hide, or she would have been struck by the carriage. The second level of Hell was still too new to contain the incomplete ghost carriage.

She carefully retracted the reach of Hell, trying to avoid being detected. She hadn't realized the carriage was so sensitive, sniffing out the bell’s aura the moment it leaked. Fortunately, she had concealed her presence, and the carriage, having lost its target, stalled once more. The spirit sat on the carriage, clutching the roster, locked in dead silence.

Seeing the ghost remain still, Zhao Fusheng’s terror subsided, and her impulse to take risks resurfaced. Solving ghost cases was never safe, and she would have to deal with the carriage eventually, as her name was on its list. Since she was currently in Hell, the spirit couldn't perceive her, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe the carriage.

With newfound courage, she stepped forward. The horse was exceptionally tall, pitch-black, and radiated an evil aura. Up close, she saw its body was withered, yet it constantly exuded black mist. This mist danced like mane hair, giving the horse a magnificent, supernatural appearance. Its eyes appeared black, but upon closer inspection, they were a deep, solidified red—a color so dark it looked black, a sign of extreme evil. Standing near it, she felt the crushing pressure of death.

The spirit driving the carriage was equally imposing, with a bronze-colored complexion. Zhao Fusheng stood beside it; it held an open booklet about a finger’s width thick. She reached out to take it. The moment she touched the cold book, an icy chill surged through the Hell dimension into her body, sticking to her fingers. She tried to pull away, but the book began to shake violently. One end was stuck to the spirit’s palm, the other to hers.

Deification List prompt: "Stuck to ghost book. Consume 10 merit points to break free?"

"Yes!"

As the points were deducted, their connection was severed. Zhao Fusheng grimaced as she saw her merit points drop to 2,373. She shook her hand; her fingers were withered, the flesh gone, leaving only white, dead skin loosely wrapping the bone. This was the consequence of touching an object of great evil.

Deification List prompt: "Consume 30 merit points to heal wounds."

Zhao Fusheng watched as her fingertips filled with flesh again, the aftermath of the contact vanishing instantly.

This had all happened in a heartbeat, but the brief proximity was enough for the spirit to sense the bell within Hell. Instinctively, the spirit jerked the reins, turning the horse. The ghost horse turned its head and "stared" at her.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then immediately calmed herself. She had escaped the carriage's rules through the existence of a substitute ghost, and being inside Hell meant she didn't trigger the carriage's laws. As long as she didn't foolishly let the driver sense the bell again, she would be fine.

Testing her luck, she shook out the ghost arm hidden in her sleeve. She tapped the coffin board of the carriage twice. *Clang, clang!* There was no reaction. The ghost arm instinctively tried to unfurl, but sensing the greater power of the carriage spirit, it curled back up without needing any merit points to suppress it.

"Useless thing!" Zhao Fusheng muttered.

Since the arm failed to reveal anything, she cautiously extended her foot. "I hope the Deification List can fix my foot," she whispered to herself. She extended the tip of her left foot. If the spirit attacked, she would sacrifice her foot to survive and then use the List to heal. If all else failed, she had a trump card—she could summon the Zhao couple. Both were now Calamity-rank spirits with equipment; she didn't believe she would lose.

With that thought, she stepped out. The room remained calm. The spirit did not lash out. Because of the substitute ghost, the carriage had excluded her from its rules. The driver sat motionless like a dead object.

Zhao Fusheng paused, then stepped out further, then half her body—heart pounding, she walked boldly out of Hell. The carriage remained still. To the carriage, she had become a unique exception: she was on the list, allowing her to see and touch it, yet she had bypassed its judgment through the substitute paper doll. Once she realized this, she was overjoyed. She withdrew Hell and stood right beside the spirit.

She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the ghost and looked at the roster. "Since I can't take the book, I can at least look at it, right?"

She tried to blow on the book, but it didn't budge. The name "Zheng He" was clearly visible.

"It seems only a ghost can flip these pages," she thought. "I wonder if the carriage targets whoever’s name appears on the page. If all those killed by the carriage are recorded here, what would happen if I turned to a different name? Would the carriage get 'confused' like a person carrying a child looking for a child?"

If the carriage lost control, Zheng He might be freed from its mark. The thought took hold. She reached for her ghost arm. It was severely injured from holding the bell, its palm burned, and Zhao Fusheng estimated it had dropped in rank. But in this special situation...

She stroked the ghost hand affectionately, coaxing it, "Hold on a little longer. After this, I'll reattach you to the main body, and you'll heal."

She used the ghost arm to tap the book. *Thump, thump.* The arm's laws activated, but the limb was too weak; it was immediately suppressed and fell into a slumber. Instead, the point of impact sizzled, leaving a coin-sized wound on the ghost hand. Realizing the arm wouldn't wake up, she simply used it to pry the book open. Just as she expected, only the ghost arm could move the pages.