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Fan Bisi simply couldn't believe his ears.
Although the Demon Suppression Divisions nominally fell under the imperial court's overall jurisdiction, in reality, the Demon Suppression Divisions in various places were defiant of each other.
Unless there was a significant disparity in strength between the Order Commanders of each division, where the one with the bigger fist was listened to, private expulsion of ghostly entities was one thing. But openly sending already revived Vicious Ghosts to someone else's territory like Zhao Fusheng was doing...
This act was no different from provocation and was very likely to invite trouble.
"This... this might not be possible..."
Fan Bisi's scalp tingled.
Once these two bodies were sent to Baozhi County's territory, his and Fan Wujiu's original plan to seek refuge with Deputy Commander Zheng would have to end here.
"What's impossible about it?" Zhao Fusheng asked in surprise:
"Between neighbors, you help me and I help you. In the future, when we report to the imperial court, won't they credit Deputy Commander Zheng with a great merit?"
"But, but..." No matter how articulate Fan Bisi was, at this moment, he was rendered speechless by her.
"But what?" Zhao Fusheng asked knowingly.
"But this isn't sending blessings, it's sending disaster," Fan Wujiu said frankly:
"Fusheng, your parents' bodies have already revived. Even if they are temporarily suppressed, it's hard to say when they will revive again. Once they cause a ghost disaster, Baozhi County might come looking for trouble with you."
"Yes, yes, yes," Fan Bisi quickly echoed:
"This Deputy Commander Zheng wields a ghostly entity, and a Vicious Ghost of Fierce-tier or above. He has controlled Baozhi County for a year and is experienced, only recently being promoted to Lower General. If he comes for you then—"
"Let him come if he wants," Zhao Fusheng said, hearing this, unconcerned and with a smile:
"Whether I can even live until then is an unknown quantity."
"..." When she first said she wanted to send the Zhao couple's two bodies to Baozhi County, Fan Bisi thought she was joking. But hearing her say this now, he knew she had made up her mind, and his heart was instantly filled with immense fear.
"You are familiar with the road to Baozhi County. Lead everyone and immediately carry my parents' bodies to Baozhi County."
"Be careful on the way, and don't let anyone discover you," she instructed:
"Of course, this is just a temporary measure. In the future, when the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division becomes powerful, I will naturally find a way to resolve this troublesome matter for Baozhi County."
Fan Wujiu trembled all over, his face pale, and he turned to look at his older brother:
"Brother..."
Fan Bisi's heart was initially panicked and helpless. Seeing Zhao Fusheng's calm self-possession, a crazy thought suddenly arose in his heart: Zhao Fusheng truly holds grudges.
His brothers must have offended her, which is why she was tormenting them like this now.
She seemed to be truly intent on taking control of the Demon Suppression Division, not joking with him.
This person was not to be judged by her appearance; she was calm and intelligent, and she wielded a Vicious Ghost. Perhaps with such an Order Commander, the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division would not decline in a short time.
Upon thinking this, he suddenly spoke:
"Fusheng, I know we brothers wronged you before. Your parents died because of us brothers; it's our fault."
Now she was forcing the two of them to send Vicious Ghosts to Baozhi County, partly to test the brothers' abilities, and partly to cut off their escape route, forcing them to stay in Wan'an County wholeheartedly.
"If we are willing to obey your orders this time, we'll let bygones be bygones and coexist peacefully from now on, how about it?"
"Brother, you're crazy..."
Fan Wujiu's eyes widened in disbelief and he exclaimed when he heard this.
Fan Bisi ignored him, instead staring at Zhao Fusheng, waiting for her answer.
"Alright."
Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"If you truly deliver my parents' bodies to Baozhi County for burial, then we will not dwell on past events and will interact anew from now on."
"Is that true?" Fan Bisi asked with an uncertain expression.
Zhao Fusheng said with certainty:
"Naturally, it's true."
"Good!"
Fan Bisi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, gritting his teeth ruthlessly:
"We'll go to Baozhi County."
He was quite decisive. Once he made up his mind, he no longer allowed himself to be distracted by second thoughts:
"Wan'an County and Baozhi County are adjacent. If we hurry, we can leave today and arrive by dawn tomorrow."
"..." Fan Wujiu looked at him speechlessly, thinking he was utterly insane.
Calculating the journey, if they only needed to reach the nearby part of the neighboring county, Fan Bisi's words were indeed accurate. However, the problem was that walking at night easily leads to encountering ghosts. The group was already carrying two temporarily 'dormant' Vicious Ghosts. Once they encountered ghosts, no one could guarantee whether these two bodies would revive again.
If a ghost disaster occurred then, everyone would die.
But Fan Bisi paid no mind to what his younger brother was thinking and continued:
"We cannot enter Baozhi County ourselves. We will stop at the border between the two counties, and the other corpse bearers will bury the bodies within Baozhi County."
"Alright, we'll part ways here. I will wait for your return in Wan'an County," Zhao Fusheng nodded.
Fan Bisi's heart trembled upon hearing this.
He had already guessed that the reason Zhao Fusheng was sending his brothers to Baozhi County might be because she had other plans, but upon hearing that she truly intended to separate and act alone, his heart still couldn't help but sink.
Just as Fan Wujiu worried, this trip was fraught with danger.
If they encountered a ghost disaster, and there was no ghost-wielder in the group, the entire party would be helpless, unable to call for aid from heaven or earth.
But they had offended Zhao Fusheng, and there was no room for negotiation on this matter.
The Zhao father and son were already dead; the people who had sheltered them from wind and rain were gone. The era of the two brothers was over. Now, having caused a great disaster, if they still didn't seek to mend relations, the future consequences would be unpredictable.
He recalled Zhao Fusheng's various behaviors after successfully wielding a ghost, and finally made up his mind, nodding in agreement:
"Alright!"
"Brother—" Fan Wujiu anxiously wanted to speak, but Fan Bisi interrupted him:
"We will handle this matter ourselves."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Fusheng with bloodshot eyes:
"But we need to travel light. All these accompanying paper figures, paper horses and carts, houses, as well as incense, candles, and paper money must all be discarded."
"Okay."
Zhao Fusheng nodded.
She even felt a bit of admiration for Fan Bisi at this moment.
This person had a deep mind, but was also brave and decisive, knowing his limits and adapting to the circumstances. If the Fan brothers could handle the task she assigned this time and return safely, it would show the sincerity of the two brothers. Temporarily setting aside their past grievances would also not be difficult to discuss.
Fan Bisi immediately ordered the others to discard the miscellaneous items, leaving only the mule cart.
The corpse bearers secretly complained in their hearts, wanting to beg for mercy, but Fan Bisi's face was grim, and the Demon Suppression Division's past authority was deeply ingrained. No one dared to speak up.
But everyone believed they were certain to die on this trip, and their faces were ashen.
Zhao Fusheng took a deep look at Fan Bisi and said:
"Remember the burial spot firmly. If there's a chance in the future, I will go to Baozhi County. I always keep my word."
Her words carried a double meaning.
At this point, Fan Bisi had no choice but to believe her. Hearing this, he calmly nodded:
"Alright."
She nodded, stopping her steps:
"Since that's the case, I won't accompany you for the rest of the journey. I have something to do and will go ahead."
After saying this, she immediately turned around and retreated back the way she had come.
She was quite decisive, leaving as soon as she said she would, not even caring about her parents' bodies, just directly abandoning such a mess.
As soon as she left, Fan Wujiu couldn't help but complain:
"Brother, how could you take on a job like this?"
"We had no choice but to accept it."
After Zhao Fusheng left, Fan Bisi let out a long sigh of relief.
Remembering the encounter between the two earlier, he wiped off a sweat and said seriously:
"Zhao Fusheng wields a ghostly entity, and her life is hanging by a thread. She has no choice, and neither do we."
"But..." Fan Wujiu wanted to speak, but Fan Bisi, while dismantling the cart shelter, said:
"I don't know why she's changed so much, but I suspect that what she said about taking over the Demon Suppression Division and revitalizing it wasn't a joke with us."
Fan Wujiu's expression was gloomy, and he remained silent.
"If the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division is truly savable, then according to her method of dumping two revived Vicious Ghosts and letting others have the headache, it would undoubtedly be a wise move."
"But Brother, if that's the case, how can we escape Wan'an County? If this matter is exposed, will Deputy Commander Zheng of Baozhi County still allow us to go and seek refuge with him?"
"Leave? We can't leave."
Fan Bisi let out two laughs:
"Fusheng clearly said she won't help us retrieve our life souls. To retrieve our life souls, unless she dies."
"If we resort to unscrupulous means, if she doesn't die, then we will," he sighed softly:
"I see that she is smart and decisive, not inferior to Brother Qiming, and perhaps even..."
He paused here:
"If she can truly control the Demon Suppression Division, maybe I should even thank her for giving us this opportunity to atone with merit."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Fan Wujiu simply couldn't believe his ears.
Fan Bisi then said:
"Guess what Fusheng is going to do, sending us to deliver the corpses?"
"What is she doing?" Fan Wujiu asked foolishly.
"If I'm not mistaken, I think she's preparing to go to Beggars' Alley."
"What? She's going to Beggars' Alley herself? Is she crazy? Is she tired of living..."
Fan Wujiu cried out in a low voice.
"We misjudged earlier," Fan Bisi said with some annoyance:
"Wujiu, she is far smarter than we imagined."
If everything she had shown before was just a disguise, then this woman was deeply calculating, and the two brothers might have brought a 'calamity' upon themselves.
Fan Bisi's hands paused for a moment, and he said to his brother:
"When I was talking to her, she extracted a lot of information from me. With her intelligence, she might have already guessed that the Demon Suppression Division is controlled by the imperial court and must complete three ghost cases every year, otherwise they will suffer the backlash of the ghost language and be directly claimed by Jia Yi's Vicious Ghost, becoming a ghost puppet."
Thus, Zhao Fusheng's urgency to handle cases would naturally become even greater.