Chapter 244: The Ghost Official Appears
Chapter 244: The Ghost Official Appears
The Ghost Official, who had wreaked havoc along the Qingjiang River for years, causing much bloodshed, stood plainly before Fang Cun.
It all seemed somewhat ridiculous.
Before this, many people suspected a connection between the Ghost Official and the Second Young Master Fang. Previously, even Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao had deduced, based on the dossier related to the Ghost Official, that it pointed towards the Shoushan Sect. Yet, no one could have imagined that the Ghost Official truly was linked to the Shoushan Sect.
“How did you know?”
Young Sect Master Xu was silent for quite a while before asking in a hoarse voice.
“When Xue Wu died, I knew it was you!”
Fang Cun gestured for Young Sect Master Xu to sit down, speaking softly. “Once I understood why you killed, figuring out who you were wasn’t hard.”
Young Sect Master Xu remained silent, hesitating for a long moment before finally moving to sit on the cushion. He laid the Decapitating Broadsword across his knees.
Fang Cun glanced at him, then instructed Little Fox to pour a cup of tea for him. He looked at Young Sect Master Xu calmly and said, “People thought this appearance and killing spree by the Ghost Official was just because someone had impersonated him, so he came for revenge. At first, I thought so too. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling a bit puzzled. Why revenge only now, when so many had impersonated the Ghost Official before?”
Young Sect Master Xu remained silent, offering no answer.
“So I tried pondering it from another angle!”
Fang Cun smiled faintly. “When people mention the Ghost Official, they always call him utterly wicked. Even though he always left messages like ‘acting as Heaven’s executioner’ or ‘eliminating demons and sinners’ at the scene, others dismissed it as covering up evil with fancy words – feigned benevolence and righteousness. But I wondered, what if the Ghost Official was genuine? What if he killed, not for gold, silver, jewels, or personal grudges?”
“So from that moment on, I started waiting… waiting to see who would die next…”
“And that’s when I saw Xue Wu died!”
Little Fox slowly brought the tea to Young Sect Master Xu. He reached to take it, and Little Fox jumped back in fright.
“Xue Wu died, and the Ghost Official’s reason for killing became clear!”
Fang Cun raised his own cup, gesturing for Young Sect Master Xu to drink his tea. He continued, “Elder Xue Wu, who died outside the Lingwu Sect, alongside Second Master Hu, the old manager of Wan Tong Trading House… on the surface, they seemed barely related. Different statuses, different cultivation levels, different generations. Even this time, their arrivals at Lingwu Sect differed. Yet, they all shared one common identity…”
“Those three, plus Young Master Bai Huaiyu of the Bai family, Mister Shang (that son-in-law of the Shen family), and others… these seven were precisely the core personnel within the Seven Clans responsible for dealings with the South. The Seven Clans colluded with the Demon Lord, smuggled forbidden goods, and amassed ill-gotten riches, revolving around these seven people!”
“So, I deduced the Ghost Official killed not for revenge, but to eliminate evils plaguing the people…”
“Once I figured out this possibility, I just had to wait for the rest!”
“That Divine Eye Young Master figured this out too. But being from the Seven Clans himself, and the matter’s implications being too vast, he couldn’t speak out. Instead, he used Mister Shang as bait to lure the Ghost Official. As for me, I seized this chance. I wanted to see if that Shang fellow would die. I even secretly made some arrangements to help you infiltrate the side hall more easily and kill Shang Yue…”
He looked at Young Sect Master Xu with a knowing smile: “Or did you truly think killing him was that easy?”
…
…
The atmosphere within the main hall grew heavy and tense.
Fang Cun recounted everything calmly, making it all seem very simple. He left no room for argument. Even Little Fox, listening nearby, looked at Young Sect Master Xu with growing understanding. This matter seemed so straightforward now…
Perhaps Sect Master Xu was just too slow?
“No wonder, when I went to kill that old man, I found their defenses numerous, yet one weak spot!”
After a long silence, Young Sect Master Xu finally rasped, “What you say makes sense, enough to convince even me. However, this only explains why the Ghost Official killed. How could you be sure I was the killing Ghost Official?”
“It was simple!”
Fang Cun replied. “Who was it that pushed relentlessly to investigate the Seven Clans’ secret southern trade from the very beginning? Who, for pursuing this, met dead ends everywhere and nearly broke their Dao Heart? Most importantly, who had seen the dossier, uncovered these clues, and known exactly who within the Seven Clans handled the southern trade? With all these clues laid out, only a fool wouldn’t guess it was you!”
He paused slightly, then sighed softly. “Of course, these were just guesses. But after making these guesses, confirming became simple. I just needed to ask the two Elders… whether you were with them when the killings happened around Lingwu Sect… and that settled it!”
The hall fell utterly silent.
After a moment, Young Sect Master Xu murmured, “So I left behind so many traces…”
“It worked out…”
Fang Cun sipped his tea, sighing leisurely. “Others would still struggle to guess it was you. Take that Lu friend, for instance. Even if doubts arise in his mind, it would be hard to connect them to you. After all, he can’t comprehend… how your strength could have grown so formidable…”
Young Sect Master Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly asking:
If he can’t fathom it, how could you?
“The Ghost Seal of Divine Nether, acting as Heaven’s executioner…”
Meeting his gaze, Fang Cun smiled serenely. “Did you truly believe I couldn’t see through the secrets within the Divine Nether Scriptures?”
“The Divine Nether Scriptures…”
Young Sect Master Xu visibly tensed. He slowly turned his head, staring at Fang Cun. “You… you perceived it too?”
“I sensed it!”
Fang Cun looked directly at Young Sect Master Xu, his voice low and serious. “Although I still don’t understand how you formed the Treasure Body without cultivating the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art… and how you pushed the Divine Nether Sect’s divine arts to such a high realm…
“But I could feel that the Ghost Official’s techniques and Shoushan Sect’s divine arts… are fundamentally one and the same!
“The world fails to discern this connection simply because… the Ghost Official’s methods are a notch higher than the Shoushan Sect’s!”
…
…
When people spoke of the Ghost Official, they hailed his elusive nature, his terrifying might.
Before this, people believed his cultivation must be at least mid-stage Golden Core Realm.
It wasn’t until this very instance, when he silently killed fifteen Golden Core cultivators of the Seven Clans outside Lingwu Sect, that they realized everyone had sorely underestimated the Ghost Official’s power. To achieve such a feat, eliminating fifteen Golden Cores without any message leaking out, without alarming a single soul… required cultivation at least at late-stage Golden Core Realm, even peak Realm, bordering on Half-Step Nascent Soul!
Fang Cun had long realized the Divine Nether Scriptures contained vast, enigmatic power. The profundity of this power clearly surpassed that of the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art, one of the thirty-six veins. Yet, its essence eluded even him.
Young Sect Master Xu met Fang Cun’s gaze silently for a long while before answering:
“What I cultivate… is indeed not the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art.”
He paused for a beat.
“It is the Second-grade Demonic Body Method!”
“The Second-grade Demonic Body?”
Hearing these words, even Fang Cun’s gaze sharpened.
First-grade Immortal Sage, Second-grade Divine Demon…
Young Sect Master Xu, a descendant of a declining County Sect… how did he manage to cultivate the Demonic Body Method?
“The original name of my Shoushan Sect was the Divine Nether Sect. And the Divine Nether Sect… was itself a branch of the Demonic Path. In a sense, the Divine Nether Scriptures of our Sect, even the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art… are fragments broken off from the original Demonic Path scriptures and body tempering arts. The rumors circulating are true: the Shoushan Sect’s Body Tempering Art is lost. I exhausted all means but failed to recover the original method. Yet… perchance, I attained a unique opportunity. Instead, I glimpsed… and succeeded in cultivating… the complete Demonic Body Method…”
He turned his gaze back to Fang Cun. “Do you know where I glimpsed it?”
Fang Cun pondered briefly. “The Rear Mountain?”
Since Young Sect Master Xu cultivated the Demonic Body Method, there must be a source. Where else but the Rear Mountain?
Young Sect Master Xu nodded slowly.
“When I entered the Rear Mountain seeking guidance from Mad Elder, he did beat me severely. But… before I was severely injured… I already saw that painting. And within it… I perceived the Demonic Body Method. That is also why, back when you disseminated the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art…”
He glanced at Fang Cun meaningfully.
Fang Cun smiled. “So, even then, you knew I had deduced it myself?”
Young Sect Master Xu nodded. “It wasn’t hard to see. Your Treasure Body Method… is more profound than mine!”
“A formidable Qi Refiner of the Demonic Body… calling me more profound…”
Fang Cun sighed softly. Suddenly, he asked: “So, was it to cultivate the Demonic Body… that you became the Ghost Official?”
A look of pain flashed across Young Sect Master Xu’s face. He slowly shook his head.
Fang Cun understood. He inclined his head in a silent bow of respect.
Young Sect Master Xu was silent for a long while before finally murmuring, “I cultivated the Demonic Body… yet I cannot transmit it to my disciples. The method… is too terrifying. The current Divine Kings, even the Immortal Palace… would fear it. Bestowing it upon them would invite calamity. Moreover… I lack the capability to distill the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art from the core principles of my Demonic Body Method. Therefore… the true inheritance of our Shoushan Sect has indeed been severed. And the Shoushan Sect declined. After the decline… one naturally witnesses much coldness and warmth.”
“I took up the sword to cut injustice… because I saw too much that was unfair.”
“The common folk and the wronged… had no official to uphold justice for them. So I became the Ghost Official. I became their judge!”
“However, in this pursuit… even I did not foresee it: Acting thus… brought profound satisfaction to my Dao Heart. My entire cultivation surged forward rapidly. Not only did my Demonic Body near completion… but I also, unintentionally… crafted a Ghost Seal. When I first witnessed the Ghost Seal taking form… I hadn’t even realized… this was the very essence, the most formidable Divine Nether Seal within Divine Nether Sect’s divine arts !”
“If so…”
Fang Cun looked at Young Sect Master Xu, puzzled. “Why did you choose not to continue?”
He could sense that Ghost Seal… was not yet complete.
Yet, according to Young Sect Master Xu’s words, it had taken shape years ago, unintentionally.
After all these years… why wasn’t it whole?
“Ha! Had I continued being the Ghost Official… that Seal would have attained perfection long ago!”
A cold, indignant smirk suddenly twisted Young Sect Master Xu’s face. “Contrary to my hopes: Walking the world, slaying evildoers, removing villains… began as a righteous intent. I wished to mend deficiencies with the hearts of the people. But I never anticipated… Damn it all, there is only one of me! Yet in the martial world… one fine day… three Ghost Officials sprang forth! For every genuine evildoer I slew… at least ten innocents perished under the Ghost Official’s name. My hope was to bring clarity, yet I brought… unprecedented chaos to the Qingjiang region! Ghostly turbulence raged!”
“This…”
Fang Cun himself was struck by a peculiar thought:
The noble Batman fought crime to save Gotham. Just one year later, Gotham’s crime rate had tripled.
“So I had to stop.”
Fatigue washed over Young Sect Master Xu’s face. “Even though continuing as the Ghost Official would have swiftly perfected the Seal… I had to desist. I could not bear causing more innocent deaths. I was certain… this path was blocked. So the Ghost Official had to vanish… Until this incident.” His voice turned venomous. “This incident! Where we had traced the evidence step by step! The ironclad proof lay bare! And still… still the Seven Clans dared pull such a despicable act?!”
Listening to his fury, Fang Cun understood the cause.
Young Sect Master Xu, investigating the Seven Clans’ southern dealings alone, had faced constant frustration. With Fang Cun’s help, physical evidence and witnesses were finally secured. By all logic, it was an unequivocal victory. How could the Seven Clans possibly overturn it?
Yet, they did overturn the heavens!
Daringly, they stormed Qingjiang Prison! Slaughtered witnesses! Burned dossiers!
And they used the Ghost Official’s name!
Therefore… Young Sect Master Xu despaired utterly of the County Mansion. He could only reclaim the Decapitating Broadsword… and don the mantle of the Ghost Official once more.
Evil ghost descended. To cut demons and purge evil!