I become a god in another world

Chapter 87

Several people with malicious intentions broke out in a cold sweat. They each lost their money and left, not even daring to drink the remaining soup.

As soon as they left, Po Meng breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Zhao Fusheng and said seriously:
"Thank you for your noble hand, sir."

It is not easy for her to set up a stall here. Once something happens, others will not dare to trouble Zhao Fusheng. It is terrible that no one dares to come to her place to drink soup since then.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and looked at the soup bowl in front of him:

"It was your soup that reminded me."

She thought she was awake and not under the control of ghosts, but she was arrogant and didn't realize it. Fortunately, the moment she felt angry, she was washed away by the heat and aroma of the soup, and she immediately came to her senses.

Po Meng was stunned for a moment, but Zhao Fusheng turned to ask:
"Do you usually make a living from this stall?"

The woman nodded.

The men who had walked away in a hurry knocked the stools over in their haste. She helped them up one by one and collected the money on the table.

Seeing the unfinished soup in the bowl, she looked regretful, poured the soup into a bowl, put the other things away and put them in the basin to soak.

Anyway, there were no guests coming at this time. Zhao Fusheng was here, and for a while, she was afraid that no one else would dare to come. She simply moved a stool and sat in front of Zhao Fusheng, chatting with her:

"I make a living from this stall. I sell some food every day, which is enough for my own food and accommodation."

“Have you ever considered setting up a stall somewhere else?”

Zhao Fusheng picked up the soup, and heat suddenly enveloped her face. Her eyes were dark and incomprehensible:
"The shops on the street of Zhenmo Si are now under my name. I will have them renovated and the shops will be vacant."

"..."

Po Meng was stunned for a moment, looking at a loss.

Zhao Fusheng took a sip of soup and said pleasantly:
"We are destined. When I was at my lowest, you promised to treat me to soup, and I am willing to repay you. If you are willing, you can choose the shop on that street first, how about it?"

"No, no need." When Po Meng heard this, she waved her hands quickly.

At first, she was afraid that her refusal was unreasonable, but as soon as she finished speaking, she saw Zhao Fusheng looking at her with a smile, and she immediately sighed:
"Sir, please don't ridicule me."

She wiped her hands uneasily and said:
"If you have anything to ask, just ask."

Zhao Fusheng's eyes fell on her hands. Her palms were quite thick, and clearly cracked calluses could be seen on the knuckles. There was dirt that could not be washed away in the cracked cocoons - the traces left by years of hard work.

She was wearing coarse cloth clothes that had been washed white, and an apron was patched, but it was washed very clean, and there was no trace of dirt.

Setting up a stall and selling food every day is not an easy job.

I heard Liu Yizhen say that she came here to find relatives ten years ago, but she probably had nothing to do with her, so she stayed here for ten years.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng said:

"Two days ago, I took on a case from Kotou Village."

"..."

Granny Meng originally thought she had something to ask her, and she was even mentally prepared to be questioned by Zhao Fusheng. However, she did not expect that Zhao Fusheng changed the topic and suddenly brought up the case of the Demon Suppression Division.

The Demon Suppression Department is an unusual place, and ordinary cases are not handled by the commander. Naturally, the one she can bring up is a ghost case.

But Po Meng was just an ordinary woman, and her relationship with Zhao Fusheng was not good enough to discuss the ghost case.

The old woman felt uneasy, but she did not interrupt Zhao Fusheng's words. Instead, she clutched her apron with both hands and listened carefully to what she continued.

"The ghost in this case is a bit special," Zhao Fusheng paused, took another sip of soup, and then said:

"But the most special thing is the origin of this evil ghost."

Mrs. Meng became more and more nervous, clutching the apron with both hands. She didn't understand why Zhao Fusheng said these words to her.

Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "This ghost was born in a shady way. Its father was an idle man in the village. He didn't have a wife when he was old. Because of his poverty, he abducted a young lady and brought him home."

When she said this, Po Meng's expression suddenly changed.

Zhao Fusheng kept looking at her while he was talking. When he saw her expression was different, he knew that what he said touched the pain in her heart.

The old woman was almost fidgeting. She wanted to get up in a hurry, but she had to endure it and didn't turn around and leave.

A layer of moisture appeared in her bloodshot, yellow eyes, and she tried her best not to cry.

"After inquiring, I found out that the girl kidnapped by idle men in the village was taken away from the begging alley."

Zhao Fusheng put down the bowl and stared at Po Meng:

"I heard Liu Yizhen from the Confucius Temple say that you came here ten years ago originally to find your relatives."

Po Meng was about to cry when Zhao Fusheng said again:

"Last time you said that you were originally from Changzhou, married to Wuli County in Tongzhou, and had a child at home."

Her memory is amazing, and she remembers the words she casually said while chatting with Po Meng.

"Afterwards, I went back to check and found that Tongzhou is not very close to here. Our Wan'an County belongs to Xuzhou. To get here from Wuli County is to transfer by boat and car. I'm afraid it will take seven or eight days, right?"

Po Meng sobbed softly, lowered her head and took up a corner of her apron to gently wipe the corners of her eyes, and then whispered:

"Been gone for more than two months."

After Zhao Fusheng heard what she said, he was stunned for a moment, then his face softened slightly and he said:
"In the past, Begging Alley was a mixed bag of good and bad, gathering together three religions and nine streams. According to people from Kotou Village, almost all the women and children trafficked in Wan'an County were hiding in Begging Alley, waiting to be resold."

When Po Meng heard this, she lowered her head and cried softly.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. Seeing her like this, she didn't need to ask about many things anymore. She knew them all in her heart.

"You traveled for more than two months to Wan'an County and finally stayed here. Did you find out that your daughter had appeared here?"

Her words touched the sadness that had been hidden in Po Meng's heart for many years. She could hardly maintain her composure and cried out:

"Yes."

Zhao Fusheng gently placed the soup bowl on the table.

The heat rose with the fragrance of rice and millet. Po Meng tried her best to hold back, but she still sobbed.

After a long while, she barely controlled her emotions and forced out a smile:
"It makes you laugh, when it comes to my daughter, I always-"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and sighed:

"It is natural for parents to love their children. It is human nature for parents to cry bitterly when their children are missing. What is so funny?"

Her tone was calm, and these words made Po Meng burst into tears again, and she was stunned for a moment:
"Yes."

After this brief conversation, the two seemed to have narrowed the distance between each other. Po Meng wiped her eyes and calmed down:
"I am originally from Su County, Changzhou. My father is a scholar who has failed many times. When he was young, he had a good relationship with a classmate in the academy, and he arranged a baby wedding for me early."

Po Meng didn't know why Zhao Fusheng was interested in her origins, but she had dealt with Zhao Fusheng twice, and for some reason she had a good impression of the Lord Commander of the Demon Suppression Division.

She has been in Wan'an County for ten years and is alone.

Over the years, she has been setting up a stall here and has seen many customers coming and going. She has also asked people about her missing daughter, but others are not interested in her.

During this period, she also met some people who tried to use her daughter to defraud money, and also saw many ruffians and street bastards who made fun of her daughter. As time went by, she stopped talking, and her heart became full of words.

"I lost my mother when I was young. After my mother died, I left a pair of younger siblings. I almost raised them."

She talked about the past in a calm tone:
"Married into the Shen family when I was 19——"

"The Shen family?"

When Zhao Fusheng heard this, he interrupted Po Meng's words.

She recalled that in Goutou Village, when someone mentioned the girl abducted by Wu Datong, some said her surname was Zhang, and some said her surname was Shen - "My father's classmate's surname is Shen, and she is considered a scholarly family in the local area."

Po Meng explained and finally asked:

"Sir, do you have any clues?"

When she said this, her eyes lit up and a look of eagerness appeared on her face.

"uncertain."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and did not hide it from her:

"When I was in Goutou Village, I heard people in the village mention the girl Wu Datong abducted. Some said her surname was Zhang, and some said her surname was Shen."

After all, 41 years have passed since the incident, and almost all the insiders at that time were wiped out by the evil spirits. She sighed:

"unconfirmed."

"Goudou Village?" She was a little restless, holding on to her apron with both hands, her fingers loosening and tightening, and biting her lip:

"Why didn't I know earlier——Zhang, Zhang——Shen——"

"Sir, that little girl from Kotou Village..."

She eagerly wanted to ask something, but when the words came to her mouth, she felt a little timid. As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks:
"grown ups……"

Although Zhao Fusheng was not sure whether it was a coincidence that the ghost land of beggar ghosts stopped here that day or if there was something else going on, there was no doubt that Mrs. Meng was a human being.

She lives in Wan'an County and is a citizen of Zhao Fusheng's jurisdiction. She stayed here to find her missing daughter. If there are clues that don't involve secrets, Zhao Fusheng is willing to tell her.

"I don't know the details, but I recruited a person from the village to serve as the commander of the Demon Division, but he is injured now and will stay in Wu'an Town temporarily until he reports to the county. Then I will ask him to come to your stall. Sit down and ask again."

As soon as she said these words, Po Meng's eyes showed gratitude.

"I……"

She flipped up her gray hair excitedly, and finally seemed to think of something, and quickly went to take out the money in her pocket:
"I'll treat you to some soup."

"No need." Zhao Fusheng shook his head and mentioned another clue:
"According to people in Kotou Village, in the second year after the woman was abducted, her family came to the village to look for her."

"..."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, Po Meng's expression froze and her movement of taking out money froze. After a while, she smiled bitterly:
"That, that might not be-"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's expression of confusion, she reluctantly said:
"You don't know, but my husband's family is quite well-known in Wuli County."

She sighed and whispered:
"Every family has its cupboard."

She did not explain the details, but from her sad eyes, Zhao Fusheng also guessed that after Mrs. Meng's daughter disappeared, she must have had great conflicts with her family, otherwise she would not have been able to stay here alone for ten years.

"Anyway, thank you sir."

She was a little disappointed, but maybe she had been used to disappointment after years of searching for a girl, so when faced with another interruption in clues, she could calmly say thank you.

"I haven't been able to help you much yet, so you don't need to thank me right now." Zhao Fusheng said:
"But I will also ask Magistrate Pang to pay more attention in the future. You will tell me about your daughter's situation -"

When Po Meng heard this, her face showed joy:
"Thank you sir!"

After she said this, she continued:
"My daughter's name is Shen Yishu. 43 years ago, she——"

Judging from Meng Po's age, she must be quite old even if she has a daughter. However, she only came to Wan'an County ten years ago. Zhao Fusheng initially thought that her daughter disappeared more than ten years ago, but he did not expect She will start talking about it from 43 years ago!

More than 40 years ago was a special year, because 42 years ago, Wu Datong from Goutou Village abducted a woman. A year later, the woman died and gave birth to a ghost child——

And 41 years ago, Wu Datong used this ghost to steal the coffin lid.

Invisibly, many things were connected one after another, as if there were a pair of hands operating behind the scenes.

Regarding the whereabouts of her daughter, Po Meng put together all the clues she knew over the years:

"That year, my husband was transferred to work in Wuli County. In early September of the same year, a good friend of his from school went to Wuli County to visit him."

This person came with his family, so Meng Po and his wife naturally had to entertain and entertain the guests.

"They also have a daughter who is about the same age as our Yi Shu. The two children hit it off immediately."

"That day we were having a banquet at Tongzhilou. Halfway through the meal, I discovered that my daughter was missing."

At the same time, the other party's daughter also disappeared. Both parties initially ignored it, thinking that the two children had a good relationship and would hide and whisper.

After rummaging through the restaurant, no child was found, and both families became anxious.

The two parties hurriedly ran out of the street and asked people nearby. The shopkeeper and the waiter didn't pay attention. However, Meng Po became anxious and asked people around the restaurant. She learned from an old woman selling handkerchiefs at a stall, It seems that he saw a short and thin old man wearing a black robe talking to two girls.

After that, both sides tried to find a short, thin, black-robed old man who fit the description of the old woman selling handkerchiefs. But in such a big Wuli County, how many such old men were there?

Afterwards, no one from the Shen family was found, and their two children were nowhere to be seen.

"Over the years, I have been looking for children and wandering around. Now more than 40 years have passed, and I am gradually unable to find them -"

Po Meng sighed:
"I don't know where the child is now. Is there any-" She said this, her tone choked, and finally she took a deep breath, her eyebrows raised upwards, and her eyelids drooped to block the tears in her eyes:

"Do you blame me?"

……

Zhao Fusheng sat at Po Meng's stall for more than an hour. When he got up after chatting with her, the sky was already dark.

She turned around and looked around. In the distance, the lights of the Confucius Temple in the Begging Alley were faintly visible, coming from a distance across the long street.

Behind her, Mrs. Meng was busy putting away the dishes - Wan'an County is now deserted and sparsely populated, and it was not safe to walk on the streets too late. She was anxious to pack up her things and return to her temporary shelter.

Zhao Fusheng was a little confused. She had made an appointment with the coachman of the Demon Suppression Division to take her to Confucius Temple in the morning and pick her up in the evening. It was getting dark now, but she still hadn't seen the Demon Suppression Division's carriage. Could there be something on the road? Things were delayed?
She came to the begging alley twice, and she had a rough idea of ​​the direction of the Demon Suppression Division in her mind, so she simply walked back in the direction of the return journey. Maybe she would meet a carriage coming to pick her up on the way.

After making up his mind, Zhao Fusheng walked forward.

Po Meng, who was cleaning up the stall behind her, saw that she was alone. For some reason, her eyebrows jumped and she shouted:
"Sir, why don't you sit down for a while and wait for the people from the Demon Suppression Division to pick you up before leaving."

"Need not."

Zhao Fusheng did not turn around, but raised his hand:

"You should pack up your stall and go home early. Wan'an County is not very safe now."

After nightfall, a vague mist covered the streets, and dim lights came from the Confucius Temple in the distance. Zhao Fusheng's figure blended into the mist under the guidance of light and shadow.

Po Meng felt uneasy for no reason, and she shouted again:
"grown ups--"

This time Zhao Fusheng did not answer her.

She didn't seem to hear the mother-in-law's voice.

In fact, after Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, everything around him fell silent.

Ever since Beggar Alley became haunted, the area was not very popular. It was even more eerily quiet after nightfall, but the silence at this time was really strange.

Zhao Fusheng had solved two ghost cases in a row, and his alertness was surprisingly high. After she finished shouting, she immediately realized that something was wrong.

'Boom, boom, boom. '

Her heart beat rapidly twice in her chest. Just when she was feeling uneasy, she suddenly heard a faint sound of 'ding bell' in her ears.

It was like the sound of bells clanging, followed immediately by the sound of horse hooves and the sound of wheels turning and rolling over the ground.

Zhao Fusheng had a serious look on his face, he was just about to give him a pillow when he felt sleepy.

When she was going home without a means of transportation - it seemed that a carriage was coming in her direction.