Chapter Seven: The Land of Abandonment

Chapter Seven

Fan Bisi could see that Zhao Fusheng was unimpressed by his words. At first, he was a little surprised, but then, as if realizing something, he smiled and said, "There's really no helping it." Having served in the Demon Suppression Division for many years, he had dealt with vengeful spirits under the command of the Commandant, deeply understanding the horror of such entities.

Zhao Fusheng still thought like an ordinary person. Born among common folk, perhaps she believed herself skilled at controlling ghosts and had become a little arrogant—put plainly, she didn’t know the dangers of the world, nor did she have an accurate grasp of her own power, and so still harbored some useless compassion.

In his heart, Fan Bisi thought: Once she has faced a ghost herself and understands their terror, she will surely change her way of thinking. But he didn’t voice these thoughts. Instead, he said, "There is another way to temporarily stem the ghost disaster, but it’s much riskier."

Zhao Fusheng felt that Fan Bisi’s words were laced with hidden meaning, especially since he cast her a subtle glance as he spoke. She turned around, meeting his gaze, and Fan Bisi gave her a meaningful smile, making her even more certain there was something behind his words.

"What risk?" she asked.

"You already know that our Demon Suppression Division suffered a ghost disaster, leaving only my brother and me alive…" Fan Bisi paused, then continued, "But do you know the cause of this ghost disaster?"

Zhao Fusheng was new to this world and knew little about it. Her earlier attempt to intimidate the Fan brothers was mostly guesswork based on what she’d pieced together. She certainly had no idea about the origins of the ghost disaster in the Demon Suppression Division. However, cautious by nature, she didn’t lose heart at being questioned. Instead, she furrowed her brow and carefully replayed Fan Bisi’s words in her mind, soon extracting some key clues.

"Ghost disaster… ghost taming."

"The previous Commandant of the Demon Suppression Division was named Zhao Qiming. He could control ghosts. Could this disaster be connected to the ghost he tamed?" she ventured.

Fan Bisi hadn’t expected her to answer, thinking his question would stump her. Instead, she hit the heart of the matter immediately.

"You…" His expression shifted. He’d meant to intimidate her but ended up being caught off guard. Involuntarily, he blurted out, "How did you know?"

Their verbal sparring was a form of mutual probing. Seeing his reaction, Zhao Fusheng knew she’d guessed right and smiled, "I guessed."

Fan Bisi's expression darkened. After a moment’s silence, he sighed deeply, "You guessed correctly."

"As I said, ghosts can’t be truly killed but can be tamed. Our former Commandant could control such entities. Those who can tame vengeful spirits gain some of their abilities but risk being consumed in turn."

After coming back from the dead, Zhao Fusheng was a changed person, impossible to predict. Fan Bisi found his composure shaken, and realizing his own unsettled state, gave up playing word games and spoke plainly: "Nineteen years ago, the Demon Suppression Division in Wan’an County was weak, until a man named Zhao Duan appeared. He could control vengeful spirits. The ghost he commanded possessed the ability to offer first and demand later; once you accepted its 'gift,' it was like making a pact."

A normal deal was settled with payment, but a deal with a ghost was paid in life.

As he spoke of the Demon Suppression Division’s past, he brought up events from nineteen years prior. Clearly, this was no digression.

Zhao Fusheng quickly realized the root of the problem. "So, the vengeful spirit that killed 'me' was the same one Zhao Duan tamed nineteen years ago?"

Her expression was uneasy when she referred to "me," but Fan Wuji didn’t mind; anyone who survived an encounter with a ghost would feel similarly.

"Yes," he replied.

"Zhao Duan… Zhao Qiming. Are they related?" Zhao Fusheng pressed.

"They were father and son." At this, Fan Wuji was uncharacteristically cooperative, answering every question frankly.

"Even ghosts can be inherited?" Zhao Fusheng was surprised.

Fan Wuji, for once, made a joke: "In times like these, anything can be property." Then he added, "If you’re strong enough, even ghosts can be your possessions, so of course they can be inherited."

After Zhao Duan tamed the vengeful spirit, his power grew formidable; the spirit’s abilities were extraordinary, able to subdue many other ghosts. Under Zhao Duan’s leadership, the Demon Suppression Division of Wan’an County became renowned. Its reputation for peace drew many families to settle there, seeking the shelter of his protection.

Zhao Duan was unusually upright among ghost tamers, even earning imperial commendation and quickly rising from Commandant to a lower general’s rank. He oversaw not only Wan’an County but also the divisions of two neighboring counties.

"But good things never last. To deal with ghosts is to court disaster, and within a year, Zhao Duan began to lose control."

Though Zhao Fusheng had already surmised from Fan Bisi’s words that ghost tamers met grim fates, hearing that Zhao Duan lost control in just one year still shocked her.

"Before he lost control, the court sent officials to restrain the ghost he tamed, passing it on to another handler, who became the next Commandant of Wan’an County," Fan Bisi explained. "By Zhao Qiming’s time, the ghost had already changed hands several times."

From Zhao Duan’s initial taming to his loss of control, the leadership of the Demon Suppression Division in Wan’an County changed frequently over those eighteen years. After Zhao Qiming died, the position fell to the original Zhao Fusheng, who also died not long after.

Listening, Zhao Fusheng shivered. Clearly, being Commandant here was a high-risk position.

"I've said, dealing with ghosts is dangerous. As they’re tamed, ghosts can grow stronger and harder to control." Here, Fan Bisi sighed heavily. "As expected, after Zhao Qiming gained control of the spirit, he was quickly consumed by it, and the ghost ran wild, slaughtering the entire Demon Suppression Division."

"A ghost’s method is to create a ghost domain—anyone entering that domain becomes its prey." When Zhao Qiming lost control, the division was within the ghost’s domain. Only the Fan brothers survived; everyone else died horribly.

When word spread, nearby residents fled in terror, fearing they’d be next. The once-glorious Demon Suppression Division of Wan’an County fell into ruin overnight, and many wealthy families escaped the county.

"As for us, we sought out a descendant of the Zhang family, who advised us to divert the disaster elsewhere."

By now, the situation was clear.

Fan Wuji said, "Don’t blame us. In this world, human life is worth less than grass. Everyone wants to survive, and there was no other way."

By a ghost’s murderous rules, once Zhao Fusheng triggered the ghost’s killing law, her blood relatives were doomed. Once they died, and if everyone else managed to escape its notice, the ghost would leave. Then it would wander to another place, and the local division would have to deal with it.

The Fan brothers’ plan was meticulous and almost succeeded—until last night, when Zhao Fusheng returned from the dead and ruined everything, leaving Fan Bisi disoriented.

Having pieced together the truth, Zhao Fusheng sighed deeply.

The original Zhao Fusheng was truly unlucky, used as a scapegoat by the Fan brothers and dying an unjust death, her parents perishing with her in confusion.

But because of the original’s death, she had a chance to return. If the opportunity arose, she wouldn’t mind avenging the original Zhao Fusheng.

But for now, she was no match for the Fan brothers. Revenge was a distant hope; she needed to find a way to escape their control.

"I know your parents died tragically, and you must be angry—" Fan Bisi paused when Zhao Fusheng didn’t respond, adding, "But to be frank, this is just how things are. Even if your parents hadn’t died in this ghost disaster, they wouldn’t have lasted long—"

Those with money and power had long since left Wan’an County for safer places guarded by powerful ghost tamers. Wan’an County was doomed; only those with nowhere else to go remained.

"After Zhao Qiming lost control, why didn’t the court send someone to take over?" Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked.

Fan Bisi wondered why she would be curious about the Demon Suppression Division at a time like this, but he needed something from her, so he suppressed his impatience and sighed, "This place has been abandoned by the court."

Seeing her surprise, he realized that he and his brother had only ever treated her as a scapegoat since bringing her from Nine Gates Village, never bothering to explain the division’s history. It was natural she didn’t know these things.

"As I said, once a place spirals out of control and the court can’t contain the crisis, they seal it off and let it fend for itself."

A sense of foreboding rose in Zhao Fusheng’s heart. "So, Wan’an County…"

"Wan’an County is already shrouded in ghost fog!" he declared, then quickly added, "Not just here; the surrounding counties too, though it’s worst in Wan’an County."

"What is ghost fog?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

He replied gravely, "It’s said that ghost fog may give rise to a blood moon. When the blood moon rises, a hundred ghosts will walk…" As he spoke the words "blood moon" and "hundred ghosts," fear flashed in his eyes. "That’s bad enough, but worse, a great ghost—calamity level—may be born…" He shook his head.

"No, even a disaster-level spirit is possible."

Zhao Fusheng knew nothing of the matters he spoke of, but she could feel Fan Bisi’s terror. Such panic was infectious, especially to someone who’d just died and been reborn, unfamiliar with the Han Dynasty, and lost amid talk of ghost disasters, ghost fog, and blood moons.

The horror of ghosts killing people shattered her previous understanding, but she forced herself to remain calm and not be swayed by Fan Bisi’s fear. She asked, "Has there ever been a blood moon in the Han Dynasty before?"

Fan Bisi looked at her with disbelief. "Of course not. Ghost fog alone is enough of a nightmare. Over thirty years ago, a ghost fog led to a hundred ghosts roaming, wiping out several counties and towns before the court paid a heavy price to end it."

"Over a hundred years ago, a commander named Xu Yu of the Demon Suppression Division tamed a vengeful spirit with the power of foresight. She was nicknamed 'The Cosmic Brush.'"

"With her brush, she could divine the future and saw many hidden things. Among them, she foresaw that one day the Han Dynasty would be shrouded in a blood moon and humanity would be wiped out."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless, finally grasping the gravity of ghost fog and the blood moon. She hadn’t expected, after dying and returning to life, to face such a crisis.

"The court has been preparing for this for years. So when ghost fog appeared in Wan’an County, they took notice and sent people to investigate. But there was no way to dispel the fog—every agent sent died. In less than a year, six or seven were lost! To be honest, Zhao Qiming was the last sent to clean up this mess."

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and died soon after arriving.

When it was clear the situation was hopeless, and risking more people seemed pointless, the court decided to abandon this place. After all, compared to the lives of poor commoners, the rare and controllable ghost tamers were far more valuable to the court.

Zhao Fusheng said nothing.

Since Fan Bisi had chosen to be open with her, he was very forthcoming, sparing no detail. But Zhao Fusheng didn’t trust everything he said. When he spoke of ghost fog and the blood moon, his tone and attitude made her feel that lives—individual or entire towns—were disposable to the court.

She began to suspect that Fan Bisi’s aim was to imply that the original Zhao Fusheng’s death was not the brothers’ fault but merely the times’ cruelty.

But perhaps she was just being paranoid.

Even as she thought this, Fan Bisi said, "So don’t blame the two of us…"

Zhao Fusheng was left speechless.

"It’s true!" Fan Bisi insisted, seeing her disbelief. "Everything I’ve said is true. We were just trying to survive."

As they spoke, Fan Wuji brought out a heavy box of purple sandalwood, setting it down with a thud beside Zhao Fusheng. Dust billowed from its landing. Zhao Fusheng was silent for a long moment before asking, "Why are you telling me all this? What do you want from me?"

The Fan brothers were far from good men, and Fan Bisi was particularly calculating; he wouldn’t reveal all this without reason.

"We are the acting commanders of the Demon Suppression Division, but as you can see, this place is no longer tenable. My brother and I want to leave and start anew elsewhere."

"Then just go," Zhao Fusheng replied.

Fan Bisi shook his head. "We can’t leave." Seeing her confusion, he explained frankly, "We’re bound by the Soul Register. We want you to be merciful and remove our soul imprints from the register."

Zhao Fusheng couldn’t help but laugh at this. These two had killed the original host, and now Fan Bisi dared ask her for this favor.

She only curled her lips, keeping her thoughts to herself.

Fan Bisi wasn’t a fool; if he dared ask, he must have reason to believe she’d agree. She waited for him to continue.

"In exchange, we'll share with you the information we've gathered about vengeful spirits over the years. We’ll also leave you some things, and introduce you to the paper-man Zhang."