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"I heard Big Brother Fan mention that the conditions for a malevolent ghost to revive are harsh. For an ordinary person after death, the probability of becoming a malevolent ghost is not high," Zhao Fusheng raised a question.
Paper Figurine Zhang, having been interrupted, did not show any displeasure. Instead, he nodded:
"Indeed. The formation of a malevolent ghost is not so easy—" As he said this, he couldn't help but sigh, his brows furrowed tightly, a hint of sorrow and unwillingness in his eyes.
His exposed hand trembled for a moment but quickly retreated back into his wide black sleeve.
Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng knew his words came from the heart, carrying a touch of regret and loss.
Her heart stirred.
This old man was sinister and cunning, and adept at pretense.
From the moment they met, whether he was laughing, scolding, or revealing murderous intent, he always gave Zhao Fusheng a sense of unreality, as if it were all a facade. Yet, when he mentioned the 'formation of a malevolent ghost' just now, there was a momentary exposure of emotion.
But Paper Figurine Zhang quickly adjusted his facial expression. His eyes became wooden again, and he gave Zhao Fusheng a deep look:
"Unfortunately, it was just such a coincidence. This person became a malevolent ghost after death, and reached Sha-level or above!"
After saying this, he decided to explain further:
"You probably didn't know much about ghost calamities before. Has Fan Bisi explained to you that ghosts also have ranks?"
Zhao Fusheng didn't speak. He himself frowned again:
"My saying this isn't entirely accurate either. Ghosts have no likes, dislikes, thoughts, emotions, or consciousness, so how would they know of ranks? These ranks are judged by people who deal with ghosts based on experience."
From his words, Zhao Fusheng once again captured a piece of information about ghosts: they have no likes, dislikes, or emotions; perhaps their actions are entirely driven by the impulse to kill and a thirst for blood.
"Generally speaking, although the conditions for a malevolent ghost to revive are harsh, the world is vast and full of wonders. Malevolent ghosts will always form. Whether it's an unnatural death, wrongful death, or even a peaceful death, even those who die of old age can revive as malevolent ghosts. This matter is unclear, and the imperial court has not found the rules for malevolent ghost revival."
Paper Figurine Zhang gazed at Zhao Fusheng.
His eyelids drooped, pulling down the corners of his eyes, giving them a triangular shape. His gaze was somewhat dull, yet the person he was looking at could strangely feel his omnipresent stare, which was extremely unsettling.
"But the revival of a malevolent ghost is one thing. For a newly deceased person to revive as a malevolent ghost and reach Sha-level or above, that is absolutely unprecedented."
Zhao Fusheng firmly committed his words to memory.
"At that time, once the Sha-level ghost calamity formed, it enveloped the imperial capital, and many people died." Paper Figurine Zhang smiled, his skin creasing into wrinkles:
"But it was also fortunate that this happened in the imperial capital, at the foot of the Son of Heaven, and also the main headquarters of the Demon Suppression Division. There were many capable and extraordinary individuals, including many who controlled Sha-level or higher malevolent ghosts."
"Ultimately, everyone worked together to suppress this ghost, and the revived malevolent ghost's corpse was dismembered."
"Ghosts can be dismembered?" Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but ask upon hearing this.
Fan Bisi had previously mentioned that the Demon Suppression Division had two methods for dealing with malevolent ghosts: one was to drive them away, and the other was to suppress them.
But now, Paper Figurine Zhang mentioned another way to deal with malevolent ghosts: dismemberment.
"If you have the ability, malevolent ghosts can also be dismembered." Paper Figurine Zhang nodded:
"Based on our current understanding of ghosts, malevolent ghosts are divided into five ranks."
With a rustling sound, he slowly extended his hand from his sleeve again.
Although Zhao Fusheng had already noticed the peculiarity of his palm's skin texture, looking at Paper Figurine Zhang's snow-white and delicate hand now, she still felt a bit unaccustomed—she always felt this hand was 'brand new' and out of place with his old face.
This time, Paper Figurine Zhang didn't mind Zhao Fusheng looking at his hand again. He even deliberately spread his five fingers:
"Sui, Xiong, Sha, Huo, Zai."
With each word, he bent a finger, until all five fingers were clenched into a fist.
Paper Figurine Zhang's words resolved the doubts in Zhao Fusheng's heart. She finally had a general understanding of the ranking of ghosts.
That is to say, the malevolent ghost clinging to her, ready to take her life at any moment, was already a Xiong-level entity among ghosts.
But then, doubt arose in her heart again.
Is the Great Han Dynasty's understanding of ghosts truly deep enough? Are malevolent ghosts really, as Paper Figurine Zhang said, only of five ranks?
"How are these five ranks of ghosts judged?" she couldn't help but ask.
Paper Figurine Zhang just humph sneered twice:
"In this aspect, the people of the Demon Suppression Division are the experts. If I say too much, it's better for you to figure it out yourself." He said indifferently, as if it had nothing to do with him:
"If you're lucky enough, and you encounter different ghosts in the future, you will naturally know which rank they belong to."
This old man seemed to still resent Zhao Fusheng for threatening him earlier, deliberately being coy now.
Zhao Fusheng said nothing upon hearing this.
She possessed the Investiture of the Gods, and in fact, the Investiture of the Gods had its own judgment of ghost ranks. But it seemed the Investiture of the Gods' judgment required her to have dealt with the ghost first. This way, it was naturally not conducive to her collecting information in advance.
Unfortunately, Paper Figurine Zhang was unwilling to say more. She secretly made a mental note of this.
After Paper Figurine Zhang finished speaking, that strange feeling of being spied upon returned. Zhao Fusheng frowned and looked around.
The room was filled with countless 'human-skin papers'. Other than that, there was no one else hidden in the room besides the two of them. Those prying gazes seemed to be everywhere, their origin unknown.
Seeing her looking around, Paper Figurine Zhang couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He didn't dwell on her question any longer but steered the conversation back to the main topic:
"The higher the rank of a ghost, the more difficult it is to deal with. Conversely, the more powerful the ghost a ghost tamer controls, the easier it is to lose control and die prematurely."
Zhao Fusheng suppressed the uncomfortable feeling of being spied upon and continued:
"And ghosts don't die. This way, the balance will be lost."
Paper Figurine Zhang nodded:
"But people are people, after all. What makes them different from ghosts is that people can think, cooperate, and have reason. Therefore, even before the Former Han Dynasty, people had already discovered that although ghosts cannot be completely killed, they can be dismembered to lower their rank and suppress their abilities."
A complete malevolent ghost is incredibly powerful and can cause widespread slaughter. But once this ghost is dismembered, its lethality is greatly reduced, and its abilities are also significantly diminished.
"This ghost in the imperial capital was like that."
After talking for a long time, he finally brought the topic back to the ghost calamity Liu Huacheng encountered:
"After this ghost was dismembered, part of its corpse was suppressed in the imperial capital, while another part of its corpse went elsewhere."
"It was brought back to Wan'an County by the Liu family?" Zhao Fusheng asked.
"Yes." Paper Figurine Zhang hadn't interacted with her for long, but he had somewhat figured out Zhao Fusheng's temperament.
She was completely different from what Paper Figurine Zhang had originally imagined: intelligent, meticulous, pragmatic, yet possessing decisive ruthlessness at critical moments.
The Fan brothers had misjudged, failing to divert the disaster eastward, and perhaps even brought back a source of trouble.
He sneered inwardly, then continued:
"This matter itself was caused by Liu Huacheng. It eventually formed a ghost calamity, killing many people. The Demon Suppression Division also suffered because of it. At that time, a major figure at the Golden General level who possessed a Huo-level malevolent ghost died."
Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng could almost imagine the disaster in the capital at that time.
Fan Bisi had said that if a ghost tamer from the Demon Suppression Division died an unnatural death, the malevolent ghost they controlled would inevitably lose control, forming a new ghost calamity, which would then become a new ghost catastrophe.
"..."
This was truly one wave not yet settled, and another rising.
When she thought about her unfortunate rebirth into such a world, and now being tied to the Demon Suppression Division, possibly encountering such messes in the future, her vision darkened, and she couldn't help but let out a long sigh:
"Sigh—this is truly damnable."
A heads-up for everyone, it's going up for sale tomorrow~~~
For the first month after it's up for sale, it should be updated daily at 10:00 AM, a double update combined into one, 4K words~~