Judge of Souls - Chapter 1

June 5th – The weather is very hot.

Jiang Feng doesn’t really want to say this useless sentence, it’s just that in this hot weather, he can’t string together a few useful words. It’s not that he’s deliberately keeping track of the lunar calendar date, but because he’s been delivering takeout to the antique street all day, he’s overheard them mention it a few times.

Today should be July 20th on the Gregorian calendar, the start of the minor heat season. A City is hot enough to make people lose their minds.

Jiang Feng rode his small electric scooter, slowing down his speed as he entered the street.

Perhaps due to the damned weather, there were few people on the streets. Either they were all hiding in the shops, or waiting until the evening to come out.

Jiang Feng wore a sun hat, and the sweat was currently trapped inside. His exposed arms were sunburned, and the heat blisters had already started to peel.

He was terribly afraid of the heat.

The sweat dripped down as he stopped the electric bike.

Heaving a sigh, Jiang Feng’s limbs felt weak as he picked up the meal box and walked into the shop next door.

After his initial head injury, when he woke up, he couldn’t remember anything. He vaguely felt that he must have been an important person, at least someone who could look down on others.

Later, when he searched online, he found that every middle-schooler has that kind of delusion. And he was clearly past that age.

So for the sake of making a living and paying tuition, he had to go out and work.

He pushed open the door, and a wave of cool air hit his face.

Jiang Feng shuddered, like a dried-up fish entering water, shaking his head and shivering.

He put the meal box on the counter, telling the boss, then turned to leave.

“Would you like to rest for a while? It’s so hot today.”

Jiang Feng took off his hat, leaned against the wall, and thanked him.

“What are you thanking me for?” The man in his fifties, dressed in an old-fashioned blue robe, had a kind face with a white beard. His eyes held a merchant’s shrewdness, and his attire had a scholarly elegance.

Nobody wants to go out to eat in this heat, it’s all takeout orders.

Jiang Feng felt that all the money he made was earned through blood and sweat.

The clock on the wall ticked away. This antique shop was quite small, with only about a meter and a half of walkway next to the counter, not even enough room to put a table. The shop was already quite dilapidated, with a thick curtain covering the entrance to the inner room.

Jiang Feng glanced at the time, deciding to enjoy the cool air for five minutes before leaving. When he reached three and a half minutes, a car stopped outside.

Jiang Feng looked out through the glass door. He didn’t recognize it, but it must be quite expensive. The fat man in the backseat had someone open the door for him, and there were two suit-wearing bodyguards accompanying him.

Right after, another car pulled up, and a beautiful woman stepped out, her long wavy hair draped over her shoulders, with a sour expression on her face. Following her was a middle-aged man in a Taoist robe.

The boss greeted the fat man enthusiastically, and the fat man in turn enthusiastically greeted the beautiful woman.

Although any combination is not surprising, and it’s not Jiang Feng’s place as a delivery boy to judge, the fat man’s thick dark aura was already impossible to conceal, coalescing into the shape of a vicious ghost around him. Even in the scorching summer sun, it did not dissipate. Just a glance made Jiang Feng feel quite uncomfortable.

This person must have committed serious transgressions, Jiang Feng thought.

And the woman was holding a ceramic-like bone bowl, and Jiang Feng’s gaze lowered to see something inside constantly colliding and wailing, causing an indignant emotion to surge up in his heart.

That emotion came in a violent and unreasonable wave. He put his hat back on and decided to leave.

“Boss Zhang, take out the antique jade I consigned with you to sell last time.” The woman avoided the fat man, her voice cold. “You put it on first, it can protect you from any fierce ghosts that come to cause trouble. If any still come, tell me.”

Jiang Feng frowned, his gaze lingering on her for a moment.

The fat man asked cautiously, “Miss Fu, what about this ghost? It won’t come back to haunt me anymore, will it?”

Miss Fu’s expression turned unpleasant, “The resentment on it is too deep, and it has also committed murder. It is difficult to rescue. If it remains obsessed, I will shatter it, so you can rest assured.”

Jiang Feng’s fingers twitched, a thought flashing through his mind.

What deep grudge would require shattering the soul? The cultivators in this human world have no rules? No distinction between good and evil, no respect for ghosts and gods, they cultivate the Dao in vain.

Jiang Feng’s gaze darkened. He was confused again.

Human world?

Jiang Feng stood in place, his inquisitive gaze making the others uncomfortable.

Miss Fu’s mouth tightened, and she raised her chin, a hint of disdain in her eyes as she snapped at him, “What are you looking at? Get out of here!”

“Great master, great master, don’t be angry!” The rich man apologized with a smile, then turned to Jiang Feng and yelled, “Scram! Scram! What kind of person is in this shop!”

Jiang Feng didn’t argue with him, just feeling a slight disdain. He gestured towards the bone bowl in the woman’s hand, then turned and left.

After delivering takeout all day, when Jiang Feng returned to his own cheap rental, he felt utterly exhausted. He took a shower, ate a simple meal, and just collapsed on the bed.

The window was still open, and Jiang Feng wanted to go close it, afraid of mosquitoes at night, but his limbs felt like they were being held down, and he couldn’t move at all.

He used a lot of effort to finally open his eyes.

It would have been better if he hadn’t opened them. As soon as he did, he got a shock. Where the white lamp shade should have been, there hung a human face. Half of it was already rotten, with the bare white bone showing through the decaying flesh.

Jiang Feng’s pupils contracted, golden light flashing in his eyes, and he immediately lost consciousness.

As soon as he closed his eyes, the fierce ghost felt a powerful pressure, suddenly bursting out of this human’s body. It no longer dared to have any disrespectful or mischievous thoughts, hastily jumping down from the roof to kneel in front of the bed.

After a moment, a deep voice resounded in his mind, like the tolling of a great bell, shaking the soul.

“What grievance do you have?”

The fierce ghost froze in place, not daring to look up, timidly calling out, “J-Judge?”

The voice sank lower and asked again, “What grievance do you have?”

The ghost trembled, kowtowing to the ground, and recounted the whole story in detail. He was stunned, because the words just spilled out of his mouth without him having time to organize them, and he was using an ancient literary style he had never spoken in before.

If he had a heart, he felt like it would have jumped out of his throat. The fierce ghost, at this moment, was trembling like a sieve out of fear.

“My original name is Liu Feng. I had a virtuous wife, Lady Li. We had been married for a year and were deeply in love. Lady Li was nine months pregnant. On our way to the hospital, we were hit by the wealthy businessman Liu Junlu. My whole family of three was killed!”

Liu Feng wailed bitterly.

“I wanted to let this life be, as people and ghosts have different paths, the Heavenly Dao is unpredictable, all are governed by fate. It’s just that my parents are old, have lost their beloved son, and have no one to rely on. Yet Liu also didn’t give us even a single penny in compensation. The Liu family has committed all kinds of evil, and fearing retaliation, they had a Taoist priest seal my wife and child’s souls, preventing their reincarnation. I could only become a vengeful ghost to seek revenge. But I failed to kill Liu Junlu, and instead killed one of his mistresses. In the end, I could not overcome them, and nearly ended up with my soul shattered.”

“I could not seek justice in life, and cannot avenge this in death! That Liu family has done so much evil, yet they enjoy familial bliss, protected by Taoists. Where is the justice in this world? Daren! Daren, please help me seek justice!”

The Judge waved his hand, and a dark yellow book appeared before him, with the words “Register of Merits and Demerits” written on the cover. It glowed with a faint light, and a few lines of black text appeared.

Under Liu Junlu’s name, the original text had been modified with red ink, now illegible.

The Judge frowned in displeasure.

“Summon the criminal Liu Junlu.”

At this time, in a secluded villa in the mountains, the Miss Fu Jiang Feng had encountered earlier, along with the Taoist priest she came with, had brought the wealthy businessman to visit their master, asking him to remove the yin energy marked on him by the fierce ghost.

They had been waiting in the living room for three hours. Fu Yuan was watching TV, occasionally laughing out loud.

The Taoist priest suddenly spoke, “Yuan’er, haven’t you felt that the fierce ghost has been very quiet since just now?”

Fu Yuan put down her legs and looked over, realizing it was indeed so. Her expression turned cold as she opened the bone bowl. Aside from a thick yin energy, there was no fierce ghost to be seen.

Fu Yuan slammed her hand on the table, “What’s going on? Who touched this thing?”

The wealthy businessman hurriedly shook his head, “No one! It’s just the three of us here, how could I have touched it?”

Fu Yuan frowned, “Then who could it be?”

“Calm down, junior sister. The master’s residence has a formation outside, ordinary ghosts and monsters cannot enter. This fierce ghost may have disappeared before we arrived.” The Taoist priest lamented, “I was also careless, not noticing it earlier.”

The wealthy businessman began to kowtow and plead, “Great, great, great master, master please save me!”

Fu Yuan impatiently snapped, “Shut up!”

The wealthy Liu Junlu suddenly felt dizzy, fainting away.

Liu Junlu only felt his body become light and strange. He heard a slow voice say, “Liu Junlu, fifty-three years old, a wealthy businessman. Three sons, two daughters.”

Liu Feng eagerly nodded, “Yes, yes, that’s him!”

The businessman was still in a daze, looking up at the front. There he saw a man floating in midair, his form somewhat transparent. He wore a purple robe, with a hat and sash. His face was pure white, his eyes burning with an imposing aura.

And lying on the bed was the delivery boy he had encountered earlier.

What, what is going on?

As soon as the businessman looked at him, he felt his heart sinking, unable to control his knees, kneeling before him as if a thousand pounds weighed on his back, forcing him to prostrate.

“Liu Feng. Although you have suffered injustice, you have committed murder. You will be exiled to the river bank for ten years, then go to the Second Hall to receive your punishment.”

“Liu Junlu. Lifespan reduced by twenty years. After death, you will be taken to the towering platform on the right side of the hall, to have your transgressions reflected in the mirror of sins, and suffer in prison.”

With each sentence, the words were recorded accurately in the Register of Merits and Demerits. Finally, he pressed a hand on it, sealing the pages, not to be altered again.

Liu Feng cried, “Yes! Thank you, Daren! Thank you for your judgment!”

The businessman kept muttering, “I’m dreaming, I must be dreaming!”

The Judge closed the register, and faintly spoke, “Go.”

In the distance.

Fu Yuan called out to the businessman, finding his soul had left his body, and flew into a rage.

“Who dares to cause trouble in my presence, and snatch my target?”

She slapped a talisman on the businessman’s forehead, took an incense burner from the cabinet and lit the incense. She also set up an altar, beginning to chant spells.

But before her battle formation was fully deployed, a golden light shot out from her divine consciousness, and Fu Yuan was hit by the backlash of spiritual power, much stronger than ever before. She was thrown back, crashing into the wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood, feeling her internal organs in agonizing pain, almost fainting from it.

The Taoist priest cried out in shock, “Junior Sister!”

The old man from upstairs quickly came down, asking, “What happened? Yuan’er, what’s wrong with you?”

The two supported Fu Yuan up, but from the smoky incense, faint golden characters were emerging.

The old man’s breath caught, reading them aloud, “Judgment by the Judge, this case is closed.”

“What grievance have you provoked to draw the Judge’s personal attention? What did you do?” The old man looked at Fu Yuan urgently, “I’ve told you before, don’t be too excessive in your actions, all have their merits and demerits recorded. Even if it’s a fierce ghost, it was once a living person. The Underworld doesn’t care about your life, only right and wrong. Do you think you won’t die yourself one day?”

Fu Yuan’s face turned pale, her chest heaving violently as she said plaintively, “I was just… helping an acquaintance resolve a problem, that’s all.”

“Resolve a problem, you say these words? You must be out of your mind!” The old man stomped his foot, “You’ve directly angered the Judge!”

He pulled Fu Yuan up, “Quick, go burn incense!”

Fu Yuan endured the agony and went to the back room, lighting the incense. But before she could insert it into the altar, it snapped in half.

Fu Yuan’s expression changed drastically.

In the living room, the employer also seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness.