Fan Bisi entered the room with Magistrate Pang and a few others just as Zhao Fusheng was finishing the case file he was reading.
Although the side room had been tidied up and the bloodstains removed, Magistrate Pang and the others knew that a tragic incident had occurred earlier at the Demon Suppression Division, making them somewhat uncomfortable upon entering.
"Sit."
Zhao Fusheng heard the movement but didn't lift her head, her gaze fixed on the case file. She tilted her head and spoke. Two servants stepped forward and pulled out chairs beside the long table. Magistrate Pang and the others sat down, feeling apprehensive.
The tabletop hadn't been repaired yet and still bore claw marks. Their scalps prickled, and they dared not breathe loudly.
Zhao Fusheng finished reading the case, then closed the file, her gaze falling on Magistrate Pang and the others. Most of those accompanying Magistrate Pang were familiar faces; only one person seemed new. This person was about sixty years old, wearing a loose, dark blue robe cinched with a bright blue sash. The fabric of his robe was half-worn and somewhat wrinkled, as if it had been made long ago but rarely worn, kept at the bottom of a chest.
His cheeks were gaunt, and he had a goatee. Facing Zhao Fusheng's scrutinizing gaze, he seemed uneasy and kept glancing towards Magistrate Pang, even appearing restless, supporting himself on his legs as if to stand up.
"Adult Zhao—"
Magistrate Pang quickly rose and spoke, a look of difficulty on his face. It had been about ten days since the ghost calamity in Beggars' Alley. On that day, in front of the gentry of Wan'an County, Zhao Fusheng had personally promised to handle ghost cases. Afterward, the Fan brothers had privately warned everyone not to leave the county easily.
If Zhao Fusheng was truly willing to handle ghost cases and could protect Wan'an County, the gentry and wealthy households in the city would naturally not leave. However, these people were different from ordinary commoners; they had long dealt with the Demon Suppression Division and were well aware of the disposition of the Commanders and Envoys.
Commanders who controlled ghosts lived alongside them, their temperaments brutal, violent, and unpredictable. They often walked the line between life and death, and their fear of ghosts was even deeper than that of ordinary people. Therefore, when it truly came to handling ghost cases, one should not look at what they said, but what they did.
Most Commanders were also human, equally afraid of death. If they encountered a ghost case, they would push it off if they could. Although Zhao Fusheng had publicly stated her willingness to take on ghost cases that day, in the ears of Magistrate Pang and the gentry, it was merely seen as polite talk.
After all, the more a ghost controller used the power of vengeful spirits, the closer they drew to their own demise. Although Zhao Fusheng appeared amicable on the surface, the Fan brothers' private threats from behind had made the gentry of Wan'an County uneasy and indecisive.
Everyone wanted to leave the area but feared offending a ghost controller. If they didn't leave and a ghost calamity occurred, and Zhao Fusheng ignored it, the common people without protection would still suffer casualties.
In the past few days, Magistrate Pang's yamen had been visited daily by people discussing the new Commander of the Demon Suppression Division and urging Magistrate Pang to make a decision. Magistrate Pang was also feeling the pressure. After much thought, he decided to test the temper of this new Commander, as Zhao Fusheng had suggested that day, by presenting a ghost case.
After all, Zhao Fusheng had personally said in front of everyone that day: she was willing to take cases.
After some discussion, everyone made up their minds. If the new Commander was agreeable and truly willing to take on cases, it would prove that the Wan'an County Demon Suppression Division was still useful. Not only that, if this Commander could truly pacify another ghost case, it would prove that her strength was even far superior to Zhao Qiming's that day. With her stationed in Wan'an County, everyone would naturally sleep soundly, and from then on, wherever she was, they would take root there and not go anywhere else.
However, if she refused to take the case, or if she unfortunately died after taking it, everyone would naturally have to find other ways and not be tied down to Wan'an County.
It wasn't difficult to test her with a ghost case. After the ghost mist appeared in Wan'an County, ghost cases occurred frequently. Previously, the Demon Suppression Division was unwilling to deal with them, so they accumulated in various places. When villages and towns under the county's jurisdiction encountered ghost cases, they could only pray for good fortune.
Now that Magistrate Pang and the others were intentionally paying attention to ghost cases, within ten days, they indeed heard of a strange incident occurring in an area under Wan'an County's jurisdiction.
...
"It hasn't been long since you finished the Beggars' Alley case. You should have been allowed to rest for some time—"
Magistrate Pang carefully chose his words, fearing that he might say something wrong and displease Zhao Fusheng. He had served in Wan'an County for two years and had dealt with Zhao Qiming, the previous Commander of the Demon Suppression Division.
Zhao Qiming, before controlling ghosts, was a scholar, seemingly refined. But after controlling ghosts, his temper became erratic, he would kill at will, and his gaze when looking at people was chilling, like an emotionless beast. When speaking with him, others felt as though they were conversing with a vengeful spirit, causing their scalps to tingle and fearing that a single misstep might anger him.
Zhao Fusheng's gaze fell on him, and Magistrate Pang shivered, subconsciously turning to look at the others, his heart starting to retreat. He felt he shouldn't have made this trip today.
"I—"
"Speak your mind." Zhao Fusheng picked up the case file in her hand and tapped the table twice, making a 'thump-thump' sound: "Is there a ghost case?"
She brought it up herself, and Magistrate Pang first breathed a sigh of relief, then hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and nodded: "You mentioned last time that ghost cases should be reported promptly. This humble official also feared delaying matters—"
After speaking, he looked around: "Elders, what do you say?"
The others stiffly nodded, all agreeing in unison. If it were in the past, everyone knew that dealing with ghosts was deadly and naturally wouldn't dare to urge easily.
But now, the situation in Wan'an County was different from its prosperous past. The Demon Suppression Division had previously suffered a major incident and was almost destroyed, and the imperial court showed no intention of sending anyone else to take over the area, seemingly letting it fend for itself.
Although Zhao Fusheng later took over the Demon Suppression Division and handled a ghost case, everyone didn't know much about this newly appointed Commander and naturally lacked confidence in her.
Upon hearing about a ghost case, Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned, unsure whether to be nervous or relieved. The others dared not breathe. Fan Bisi's gaze secretly fell on Zhao Fusheng's face. Seeing no nervousness or apprehension in her expression, he was puzzled, but then heard Zhao Fusheng speak quickly:
"Then tell me about this ghost case."
Her demeanor was calm, not showing fear at the mention of a ghost. This made Magistrate Pang's tense body relax. He lost his balance and sat back down on the chair with a "thud," pushing the chair back with an ear-splitting screech.
No one present mocked his loss of composure; in fact, everyone showed sympathetic expressions of shared feeling. Magistrate Pang wiped his face with his sleeve, then called to the unfamiliar old man in the blue robe:
"Wu Dajing, you tell us."
The old man quickly stood up and replied: "Yes." He nervously tugged at his clothes and began to speak under everyone's gaze: "This old man is from Dog Head Village, Wu'an Town, under the jurisdiction of Wan'an County..."
As Wu Dajing spoke haltingly, Zhao Fusheng gradually understood the cause of the matter. Dog Head Village was named after a large mountain shaped like a dog's head behind it. The village had a small population, with twenty-one households totaling one hundred and sixty-five people. Most of the villagers were surnamed Wu, and most were related by blood.
The village was not far from the town, about three or four li away.
The strange incident occurred more than ten days ago. Because the village population was small and interpersonal relationships were simple, any daily trivial disputes among villagers were usually mediated by the village head or village elders.
"Half a month ago, Wu Lifu from our village said that Wu Jiu from the village head had drained the water from his family's fields, so he went to Wu Jiu's house and chopped down the trees in front of his door..." Wu Dajing, perhaps out of nervousness, spoke ramblingly, mentioning the villagers' conflicts and immediately forgetting about the ghost case: "These two families, you see, had long-standing grievances—"
Zhao Fusheng frowned. Fan Bisi was skilled at observing expressions. Seeing this, he sharply barked: "Who wants to hear about that? Quickly, continue with the ghost case!"
His loud shout made Wu Dajing jump, and he quickly replied: "Yes, yes, yes."
With Fan Bisi's warning, Wu Dajing dared not ramble further and quickly pulled the topic back: "At that time, the two families fought fiercely, dragging each other to find the village head for mediation. Our village head is named Wu Liren. His father was very capable back then, having done business in Wan'an County—"
Wu Dajing paused here and secretly glanced at Zhao Fusheng. Seeing that she remained silent, he couldn't help but say: "He made a fortune back then, returned home in glory, and was elected as village head. It was quite a sight."
"What was his father's name? What business did he do in Wan'an County?" Zhao Fusheng asked casually.
Wu Dajing's spirits lifted when Zhao Fusheng spoke to him, and he quickly replied: "To answer Your Excellency, his father was named Wu Datong. He and I grew up together back then, we used to climb mountains and swim in rivers, our relationship was great, but unfortunately, Datong's family was poor, and he was quite old but hadn't married yet—"
Zhao Fusheng tapped the table with the file. With a 'thump,' Wu Dajing shivered and quickly said: "...I'm not sure what business he did, but he said he relied on a very capable major backer. When he came home, that person gave him a large sum of silver."
"Are these two matters related?" Zhao Fusheng found Wu Dajing's way of speaking to be disorganized and lacking focus, so she decided to ask directly.
"After his father became rich, he immediately took several concubines for Wu Liren when he returned home—"
Wu Dajing's face showed some fear when she questioned him. Magistrate Pang, hearing him babble on without getting to the point, feared Zhao Fusheng's impatience and, in a moment of urgency, slapped the table: "Audacious scoundrel, what nonsense are you spouting—"
At his slap, Wu Dajing instinctively knelt down, trembling uncontrollably.
"..."
The room fell silent. Magistrate Pang's heart turned cold, his face pale, deeply afraid that Zhao Fusheng would hold him accountable. But fortunately, Zhao Fusheng did not scold him. Instead, she asked Wu Dajing:
"How old is this Wu Liren?"
She deeply understood the importance of gradual progress. This old man, though born in the countryside, was a village elder and somewhat knowledgeable, which was why he dared to speak to the 'big shots' of the county. But once reprimanded, the cowardice and fear in his personality took over, and he simply couldn't be rushed.
At this point, scolding or beating him would only make him more terrified, leading him to speak incoherently and potentially missing important information. When dealing with vengeful spirits, every clue was exceptionally important and could not be ignored.
She did not gently comfort Wu Dajing, but instead re-engaged him in conversation in the familiar, gossipy manner he was comfortable with. After a while, the 'clacking' of his teeth gradually subsided, and Wu Dajing slowly lifted his head. His old face looked as if it had been pulled from water, his eyes unfocused.
Zhao Fusheng was very patient and asked again: "How old is Wu Liren? His father grew up with you, so Wu Liren should be around thirty or forty years old, right?"
"Wu, Wu Liren..." Wu Dajing's violently constricted pupils gradually stabilized. After a long moment, his eyes refocused, as if he had just heard what Zhao Fusheng said, and he quickly replied: "Yes, yes, yes. I am sixty-seven this year, and Wu Liren is forty-one."
After speaking, he looked fearfully at Magistrate Pang. Magistrate Pang, deeply afraid that speaking again would interfere with Zhao Fusheng's questioning and lead to blame, dared not meet his gaze at this moment.
Seeing that the Magistrate did not blame him, Wu Dajing's courage grew a little, and he added: "His father was a few years older than me. Back then, the family was poor, so he married late. He was already in his early thirties when Liren was born."
Zhao Fusheng nodded and asked again: "You said Wu Datong returned home in glory after becoming rich and immediately took several concubines for his son. Could it be that the Wu family line was not prosperous before this?"
"Yes—no, no, Wu Liren had three at that time—" He paused here, a confused look in his eyes, then said with great certainty: "It was two children, and another child was Wu Datong's eldest..." He paused again here, as if unsure, thought for a long time, and then stammered: "...his youngest son."
His expression was extremely peculiar. Wu Dajing claimed to have grown up with Wu Datong, they had called each other brothers, and they lived in the same village, which wasn't large, so they knew each other inside out. Yet, when speaking of Wu Datong's descendants, he seemed unable to remember clearly.
"Was it the eldest son or the youngest son?" Zhao Fusheng asked, frowning.
Wu Dajing thought about it again, looking a little uneasy, then said tremblingly: "The youngest... the youngest son, it must be the youngest son..." After saying that, he seemed very uncomfortable and reached down to scratch his backside.
This action was extremely unseemly, especially in front of a group of officials and gentry from Wan'an County. Magistrate Pang felt disgusted and fearful, already regretting bringing such an unpresentable old man to meet Zhao Fusheng.
Zhao Fusheng paid no attention to the others' thoughts. She rubbed the case file with her fingertip, noting Wu Dajing's strange reaction, then continued:
"Since Wu Liren already had children, why did Wu Datong still take concubines for his son?"
"..."
Fan Bisi, Magistrate Pang, and the others all found it very strange. Wu Dajing's arrival was supposed to report a ghost case, but this old man was unreliable in his speech, rambling about trivial family matters and completely losing track of the main topic. Zhao Fusheng also found it odd, chatting idly with him as if they were having a back-and-forth conversation.
Several elderly gentry couldn't help but wonder strangely: Could it be that this Adult Zhao was using this casual chat as an opportunity to shirk the ghost case?
Everyone had their own thoughts, but Wu Dajing was unaware of them. Hearing Zhao Fusheng's question, he replied: "Naturally, it was to expand his branch of the family."
As he spoke of these private trivialities of others, his fear gradually subsided: "I heard that he injured his body while working in Wan'an County and could no longer have descendants, so he placed the hope of continuing the family line on his son."
Wu Liren took many concubines. Many families in the area with beautiful daughters were willing to send them to the Wu family as concubines, from then on, they would have no worries about food and clothing, and the entire family could live a good life.
"After that, for more than ten years, Wu Liren was quite prominent. He married seven or eight concubines, and some without formal titles, and had many children—but it was very strange." At this point, Wu Dajing paused, then a peculiar look appeared in his eyes: "Not a single daughter, all sons, more than twenty of them, all sons—"
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