I become a god in another world

Chapter 290 Village Hatred
Chapter 290
"Ah——" Zhang Chuanshi consciously sat in the driving seat.

He was dishevelled and the wrinkles on his face were deeper. No one knew if it was because of the lingering fear from the ghost dream or because he was panicked after learning that he was marked by a ghost.

After everyone got on the car one by one, he sighed, then shook the reins and shouted:
"drive!"

The horse started to run away, and then he sighed again:
"Ugh."

He sighed several times in succession. Liu Yizhen turned his head and glanced at Zhao Fusheng. She seemed not to hear Zhang Chuanshi's sigh. Meng Po was still fiddling with her own things - taking advantage of the time before leaving, she went into the kitchen and fiddled with it for a long time. She didn't know what she made, but she put it in a small jar and took it with her.

Kuai Manzhou ignored other people.

Zhang Chuanshi's sigh was automatically blocked by the child, and her eyes were always on Meng Po.

Liu Yizhen admitted that he was not a good man, but seeing Zhang Chuanshi sighing several times without anyone paying attention, he felt awkward for some reason and had to break the silence:

"Lao Zhang, what's wrong with you?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. After he asked, Zhang Chuanshi simply sighed even louder:
"Ugh--"

Liu Yizhen propped up the coffin and looked around. Seeing that no one answered, he had to continue:

"Still worried about the ghost case?"

Zhang Chuanshi sighed again: "Alas."

Now Liu Yizhen felt even more embarrassed.

He coughed twice and cleared his throat:

"There's nothing to worry about. We're all here. Once we find out the truth about the ghost case, we can solve it as soon as possible."

Zhang Chuanshi did not sigh this time, but said:
"Of course you are not worried. After all, you are not marked by a ghost." He was a little confused:
"I didn't go to Liutu Village, nor did I meet the Yang family. I didn't even meet Li Er."

"Alas." Zhang Chuanshi sighed again:
"It's okay for adults to be marked, but how come you are so lucky? God is so unfair - ah -"

He sighed endlessly.

"Ugh--"

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to pay attention to him, but he couldn't let him continue to sigh like this, so he simply interrupted his sigh and asked him:

"Lao Zhang, what did you dream about?"

Ghost dreams attack the heart. Taking Zhao Fusheng’s own dream as an example, the scene in the dream was not scary. At least compared with the many bloody ghost crime scenes she had experienced, her dream was unremarkable.

It was just a faceless girl pestering her. There was no killing or chasing.

But it is real and gives people a very depressing feeling.

Ghost dreams start from people's inner shadows and trigger their inner fears. The evil ghosts then kill the victims when the people marked by the law lose control.

Since Zhang Chuanshi was marked by an evil spirit and fell into a dream, his dream must be related to his past.

When Zhao Fusheng asked the question, Zhang Chuanshi's sigh stopped abruptly.

His eyes flickered, his head shrank, and his neck almost shrank into his collar.

"No, no, I'm not dreaming..." He said, then thought of the evil spirit's law this time, and carefully put his hand on his head before shaking his head slightly:

"I can't remember."

After saying that, he turned around and pretended to look around, pretending to be concentrating on the road and driving, and deliberately changed the subject:
"Sir, which direction should we go?"

Zhao Fusheng was well aware of his evasive attitude, and did not point it out. Instead, he followed his words and said:

"Go toward the west gate, exit from the west city gate, and head toward Sifang Town."

Although Zhao Fusheng deduced the law of how evil spirits marked people, he knew nothing about the evil spirits' life.

This time, the ghost case first broke out from the Yang family in Liutu Village. Zhao Fusheng planned to start from the Yang family and go to Yang Guiying to inquire first.

Yang Guiying married to Lijiaao.

Lijiaao is located near Huangquan Road, which in turn belongs to Shilipo.

Fan Bisi acted carefully. After knowing that he could not be involved in this ghost case and did not have to travel with Zhao Fusheng, he took the opportunity to prepare the car and wake up Zhang Chuanshi to find out as much information as possible about Shilipo and Sifang Town.

There was originally a town in Shilipo, but an incident happened there and many people died. Later, people in nearby villages were afraid and moved away one after another. It became a semi-abandoned town with only a few homeless people living in it - perhaps some people of shameful identities, making the abandoned town so chaotic that even government officials dared not enter. The situation was very complicated.

Shilipo is as its name suggests. After entering Shilipo, there are many slopes, deep old forests and uneven terrain.

It is very easy for outsiders to get lost after entering, so it is best to find a local to lead the way.

After Fan Bisi found out the details, he thought that Zhao Fusheng and his party could enter from Sifang Town first.

After Shilipu was abandoned, most of the villages originally under the jurisdiction of Shilipu moved to Sifang Town. In the past, markets and goods were held in the town, which made Sifang Town more lively than before.

If Zhao Fusheng wanted to investigate a case, he should first go to Sifang Town to find the local mayor and ask him to send someone to lead the way. This would be convenient.

Before leaving, Fan Bisi even found a way to find someone to draw a simple map to Sifang Town.

Zhao Fusheng leaned over to take a look. The painting was like a ghost drawing. She didn’t know whether Zhang Chuanshi could understand it, but she couldn’t understand it anyway.

She only knew that to go to Sifang Town she had to start from the west gate, but as for how to get there, she had no idea at all.

"Does Lao Zhang know the way to Sifang Town?"

When Liu Yizhen heard this, he asked with some concern.

He had also looked at the map prepared by Fan Bisi. It was incomprehensible and only barely marked the directions of east, south, west and north.

"I recognize it."

To Liu Yizhen's surprise, Zhang Chuanshi actually nodded and said that he knew the way to Sifang Town.

"Have you been to Sifang Town?" Zhao Fusheng was also a little surprised and asked.

"Hey." Zhang Chuanshi became excited when he heard this, and even the depression of being marked by the ghost was relieved a little.

He straightened his back:

"In fact, it's not just Sifang Town. I've also been to Shilipo."

Zhang Chuanshi's answer surprised Liu Yizhen.

Zhao Fusheng's mind suddenly turned and he remembered Zhang Chuanshi's job: selling coffins.

The information about Shilipu mentioned that it was originally a town, but was later abandoned after something happened.

After cross-comparing the two pieces of information, Zhao Fusheng suddenly understood:
"Have you ever sold coffins?"

"Your Excellency is truly wise."

Zhang Chuanshi flattered him:

"Nothing can be hidden from the adults. They are right when they guess."

"Don't be so nagging." Zhao Fusheng said:
"what happened?"

'hey-hey. '

Zhang Chuanshi laughed twice, then said:

"Shilipo was originally considered a big town, at least much better than Changtiao Town. There were old forests all over there, very dense. Deep in the forest there grew a kind of old tree that exuded a blood-red sap when its trunk was cut. After the sap solidified, it turned into an ointment that emitted a strange fragrance."

Zhao Fusheng became interested when he heard this.

The law of nature is balance. The forests in Shilipo are dense and deep, and there is little fertile land, which is not suitable for farming. However, God will not abandon people. While food is scarce, the forest is rich in another precious thing to make up for the local population.

Zhang Chuanshi added:

"This kind of perfume is beautiful and has a long lasting fragrance. It is a rare item that is loved by nobles when given as a gift. It is said that after a woman uses it, her body will retain a long-lasting fragrance and her skin will become fair and smooth. It is very expensive."

Liu Yizhen was born in Beggar Alley and had seen a lot of the dark side of human nature. He frowned when he heard this:

"That's troublesome."

"Who said it wasn't?" Zhang Chuanshi shook his head:

"Everyone wants to possess such treasures. At that time, several villages near Shilipo often fought over these old trees that produced a lot of balm, and people died all year round."

Sometimes it is normal to fight several times a year.

"This thing has only been discovered for a few years. At first, it was a fight between villagers to occupy old trees. Later, it spread to the whole village and formed a clan."

Clan fights are different from personal conflicts.

This is not a small matter, it is a life-threatening matter.

The two sides of the village competed for territory, marked old trees, and fought for the ointment.

"Life is hard these days, and this ointment is money and life."

At first, both sides of the village sent people to guard the trees. Once they saw the other side's people appear, they would beat gongs and drums to notify the villagers.

"When the villagers received the news, they learned that people from other villages were coming to seize the ointment and old trees, so they picked up knives and hoes to drive them away."

This led to a greater conflict, and the conflict between the two sides escalated from pushing and snatching of items at the beginning to killing each other later.

Once the first person died in the fight, the robbery of property turned into a blood feud.

"After a few fights, when so many people died, it became a feud."

Zhang Chuanshi said calmly:
“Every year after that, a dispute would break out.”

The war first broke out during the harvesting of the balsam.

"The scent of the ointment is strongest in August and September every year, so in July, the villagers will call on friends or recruit people from outside for a high price to bring them into the village as soldiers."

People who enter the village will undergo certain drills, and when it comes to group fights, both sides will be extremely ferocious and fight to the death.

After a battle, many people will die in each village.

Fortunately, they won. By seizing the ownership of the old tree, the people in the village can live a good life for a year.

After the ointment is collected, it can be sold for a lot of money. This money is distributed to every villager in the village. It can offset all taxes and even have a surplus, allowing the villagers to live a more comfortable life.

The losing village will have a hard time.

There are few good farmlands or fertile lands in Shilipu, and the crops grown there are average in yield. The losing village also lost ownership of the old trees. In addition to facing high taxes in the coming year, it also faces the death of family members. At the same time, because it had been recruiting people everywhere before the war, it also had to find a way to pay the outsiders who were lucky enough to survive.

Zhang Chuanshi said:

"In some defeated villages, the villagers who died couldn't even afford coffins, so they just dug a hole and hurriedly buried them."

He bared his teeth:
"Years ago, this village in Shilipo was my big customer, supporting my coffin shop."

Whenever June and July came, Shilipo would order a large number of coffins from him in preparation. Zhang Chuanshi looked nostalgic:
"This is a fatter sheep than the Demon Suppression Division—"

He sighed:
"It's a pity that the place was evil. Later, I heard that the old trees there were burned clean, and there was no more ointment. Finally, it gradually became deserted."

Zhang Chuanshi muttered to this point:
"If Shilipo hadn't disappeared, I would have kept my shop going. If I didn't open it for a year, I would have to make a living once I opened it."

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was too lazy to respond to his words.

Zhang Chuanshi still feels regretful:
"When I was doing the first two orders, I was afraid that these unruly people would cheat me, so I personally escorted some coffins and delivered them through the forest of Shilipo, so I was quite familiar with the road."

After saying this, he said proudly:
"To be honest, I am not bragging about this business of driving a carriage. No one else can take this job except me. Most people can't find the direction of Shilipo after entering, and they may not be able to get out smoothly."

He had previously been sighing and groaning over being marked by an evil spirit, but now he began to feel complacent.

“This world is really hard.”

When Meng Po heard this, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Yeah." Liu Yizhen also said.

There was silence in the car for a moment.

Zhao Fusheng didn't say anything, her eyes fell on Meng Po.

Meng Po was wearing old clothes and an apron full of patches. On her legs was a small jar, about the size of two palms.

The jar was mud-brown in color and it was obvious that it was quite old. Some porcelain pieces had fallen off the mouth of the jar, but the body of the jar had been wiped clean.

The jar was sealed with a wooden stopper wrapped in cloth. Zhao Fusheng took a look and asked her, "Meng Po, is this the candy you made?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Po suddenly realized what was going on, loosened her hands, and said:
"Yes, yes, thank goodness you reminded me, otherwise I would have forgotten it."

She picked up the jar:

"I made this in the gap before I set off. Didn't the adults say several times that we should buy candy for Manzhou? I saw that this child likes sweets, so I just made more."

After saying this, Meng Po pulled out the stopper from the jar.

With a "pop" sound, a strong bitter medicinal smell wafted out from the mouth of the jar.

When Zhang Chuanshi heard the word "sugar", a greedy look appeared on his face. He turned around and was about to ask for some to taste.

When he smelled the scent, his smile froze. After hesitating for a while, he turned around firmly and prepared to drive the carriage.

Liu Yizhen carefully held his breath and said nothing.

Zhao Fusheng leaned over and took a look into the jar.

The black soup inside swayed as the carriage swayed, emitting a nauseating bitter medicinal smell.

"this--"

She hesitated, not knowing how to comment.

Meng Po smiled and said:
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

she says:

"This recipe for making sugar was taught to me by my mother when she was alive. It uses several Chinese medicinal herbs such as Schisandra chinensis, mixed with maltose, and then solidified into sugar cakes before being cut into pieces. It is sweet, fragrant, and nourishing."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng cautiously leaned forward to take a look.

The water in the jar was rippling, and it looked like it was still a long way from solidifying into a clot.

"I don't think it will solidify." Zhao Fusheng said.

Meng Po was not angry and nodded:

"Yes." She had a good temper and said with a smile:

"Time is tight and the ingredients are not complete, so I have to boil some first."

After that, he handed it to Zhao Fusheng:
"Would you like to try it, sir?"