Judge of Souls - Chapter 108

Guo Li immediately frantically clawed at those hands with his fingernails, but the hands quickly withdrew. Following that, his cellmate’s slightly hoarse voice roared:

“Are you sick?! Haven’t you made enough trouble?!”

Guo Li couldn’t come to his senses for a long time. The lights in the corridor lit up, and the stimulation of the light instantly caused tears to secrete.

His vision refocused, and he said to his cellmate, “What were you doing to me in the middle of the night!”

His cellmate couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted, “Look clearly with your damn eyes whose bed this is! Who was grabbing whose hand! Who wanted to do what to whom in the middle of the night!”

Guo Li’s gaze became unfocused again, seeming completely lost and bewildered. He stepped back two steps and sat on the edge of his own bed.

Someone nearby started booing and jeering. “Ooh——“

“Can we sleep at night? Whoever makes trouble again, I’ll kill him tomorrow!”

“Screaming like a ghost, if you’re sick go see a doctor!”

The prison guard rushed over and shouted. “Everyone shut up!”

The crowd reluctantly fell silent.

The prison guard opened their cell door and asked, “What’s wrong with you all? Why aren’t you sleeping!”

“Ask him!” His cellmate was first to complain, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

The prison guard carefully examined Guo Li, waiting for his response. But seeing his current pale complexion and head covered in cold sweat, he felt something was wrong.

“Are you alright?” This was visibly uncomfortable, “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

His cellmate said, “I really think he’s not normal! He’s been picking fights with me all day, and you even punished me. It’s clearly because his mind isn’t clear! I can’t live here with him like this! Can’t you let him see a doctor? If you’re sick, see a doctor! This is a prison, not a mental hospital, right?”

The prison guard clicked his tongue. “You shut up.” Then said to Guo Li, “Do you need a psychologist?”

Guo Li was covered in cold sweat and could barely hear what the other person was saying, only unconsciously responding, “Need… need.”

The prison guard, seeing his condition, also had a bit of a headache.

The next morning, the prison guard led him to see the psychologist. He was given two hours. After briefing the doctor, the guard left first.

Guo Li sat restlessly in the chair across from the doctor, speaking nervously, “I’ve been having nightmares recently, I’m just under too much stress. I seem to be starting to hallucinate, as if my wife has come back. Doctor, do I have some kind of schizophrenia?”

The doctor fiddled with the mouse on the desk, his voice eerie, “I heard you beat your wife to death?”

Guo Li suddenly looked up, focusing his gaze on the doctor.

The doctor asked, “Are you still trying to escape punishment by pretending to be mentally ill?”

“Huh?” Guo Li said, “What did you say?”

The doctor opened a cabinet, took out a glass vial of medicine, drew it into a syringe, and lightly pressed his thumb against the air.

Transparent liquid shot out in a parabolic arc through the air.

The doctor turned around, raised the needle high, and grinned maliciously at him. “Come here, get an injection.”

Guo Li breathed heavily, the ferocious face in his eyes continuously enlarging. He stood up, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in.

“No…” he said with trembling pupils, “No. What is that?”

“Just an ordinary injection.” The doctor smiled and said, “Once you get it, you’ll never have any worries again.”

Guo Li suddenly pushed him away and roared, “I don’t want it!!”

Then he turned and ran out.

“What’s happening!” The prison guard chased from behind, “Stop! Stop immediately!”

Guo Li ran far down the corridor, seeing people blocking him ahead as well, finally calmed down somewhat. He stopped, grabbed a prison guard who had come forward and said, “They want to kill me, every one of them wants to kill me… What did I do wrong?”

He gripped the prison guard’s arm forcefully, pointing sideways toward one side of the corridor. “That doctor, he wanted to give me some injection, he wanted to kill me without anyone knowing! The prison is haunted, there really are ghosts here!”

The prison guard took out handcuffs, wanting to put them on him.

Guo Li looked toward the prison guard’s face, but discovered the other person wore a meaningful smile.

“So you think I would help you?” The prison guard showed his white teeth, “Scum like you would be better off dead, right?”

His facial features began to change, vaguely showing some resemblance to Zhang Yao. It was still that pale, dead face.

“Do you know my life and fear now? You slandered me to them, incited everyone to betray me, left me with nowhere to go. You go to hell too, you scum!”

Guo Li completely broke down. “Ah!”

****

“Guo Li is dead.”

Officer Ye called to tell Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng hesitated, “How did he die?”

Officer Ye said, “He suddenly went mad. First he had hallucinations, screaming in the middle of the night. The prison guard sent him to see a psychologist, he suddenly pushed the doctor down, then ran away. The prison guard caught up with him, he tried to strangle the guard, then was tasered unconscious. After waking up he talked to himself, and finally committed suicide.”

Jiang Feng fell silent.

Officer Ye let out a long sigh. “Ah… can’t take it anymore. What should we do about this?”

Jiang Feng glanced at Liu Shan beside him.

“Good thing I didn’t say anything at the time, otherwise it would have been over.” Officer Ye said, “Anyway, I think something’s not right. That whoever, oh, Guo Li had no problems before, but something happened the very night we went to visit the prison. You think it’s such a coincidence? Four people went that day – me, Deng Bian, you, and that Liu Shan. Only that Liu Shan is the most suspicious. Is he even human? Could he be possessed by something?”

Jiang Feng said, “Come to my house, I need to go out for a trip.”

Officer Ye: “Okay.”

Liu Shan said, “Looks like there’s nothing wrong anymore.”

Jiang Feng: “How is there nothing wrong?”

Liu Shan held the remote control, his fingers applying force as he pressed a down button.

When Jiang Feng spoke to him, he seemed to take a long time to react.

Liu Shan said, “If her husband is dead, she should have succeeded in her revenge, right?”

Jiang Feng: “If it really was her seeking revenge, her husband’s death was necessary. But why was her husband the last one to die?”

“Because you save the best for last?” Liu Shan said, “That’s probably the logic.”

Jiang Feng said, “Is that so?”

After three quarters of an hour, Officer Ye arrived downstairs at Jiang Feng’s building with a car full of people.

He now didn’t dare to be alone with Liu Shan. Who knew if that ghost still had any reason left, so he called Chu Xuanliang along.

Deng Bian had been watching him, and seeing this, also wanted to follow.

Jiang Feng said he needed to go out for a trip and asked them to please watch Liu Shan. The group entered with practiced ease, finding their own places to sit.

Chu Xuanliang took a spirit-summoning talisman and waved it randomly around Liu Shan. “Don’t move, let me examine you again.”

Really wouldn’t give up.

Deng Bian, as a people’s police officer, simply couldn’t stand his charlatan behavior, looked elsewhere and asked: “Does he have water here?”

Officer Ye said, “Find it yourself. Either the refrigerator or the pantry.”

Jiang Feng returned after more than half an hour. Chu Xuanliang had exhausted his skills and still found nothing, so he watched TV with Liu Shan.

“You’re back?” Chu Xuanliang guessed he had gone to the underworld, “What did you find out?”

Jiang Feng approached Liu Shan in a few steps.

Liu Shan, seeing his expression was wrong, stood up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Feng punched Liu Shan right in the stomach. Liu Shan’s face instantly changed color, his mouth opened, he dry-heaved outward, and his whole person slid down.

Officer Ye exclaimed. “Holy sh*t! What are you doing?!”

Jiang Feng said nothing and threw another punch.

Officer Ye was about to pull them apart, walking halfway when the second punch landed, a wisp of ghostly energy overflowed from Liu Shan’s mouth.

That ghostly energy was thick, even Officer Ye could see a black fog-like thing.

Officer Ye: “Holy sh*t!”

Chu Xuanliang jumped up and followed. “Holy sh*t!”

Liu Shan wanted to escape, but was still grabbed by the shoulder with one hand by Jiang Feng, discovering he couldn’t break free.

Jiang Feng tightened his grip again, and the third punch followed immediately.

The thing inside came out another section under the heavy blow. Vaguely visible, it was a head. It should be a long-haired woman.

Deng Bian was completely freaked out, covering her arms full of goosebumps and screaming, “Holy——sh*t——!!”

That head wriggled, still wanting to burrow back in, but Jiang Feng seized the opportunity to grab it with one hand, pulled it out, and flung it aside.

Liu Shan’s body also swayed like water, his eyes unfocused, then quickly returned to normal.

Jiang Feng released Liu Shan, went over and pressed down on the female ghost’s neck, pinning her to the ground, and sneered. “Heh. I was wondering why there was no yin energy.”

Liu Shan, freed from restraint, came to his senses, his eyes darting around, seemingly knowing he had been discovered and preparing to flee.

Officer Ye immediately panicked. “What, what do we do now? Should I block him or not?”

He reached out to block Liu Shan’s path, but Liu Shan, who had seemed like a normal person, passed right through his palm.

“Holy sh*t, holy sh*t!” Officer Ye jumped up, shaking his hand. “My hand’s ruined! What the hell is this thing!”

Chu Xuanliang threw a talisman over, but it stuck to Liu Shan’s body with no reaction.

“Damn!” Chu Xuanliang was also shocked. “What is he? Is he human?”

Jiang Feng couldn’t handle both sides and couldn’t let Liu Shan escape like this, so he shouted to leave the female ghost to Chu Xuanliang and personally went to chase Liu Shan.

Chu Xuanliang was still in chaos and didn’t catch Jiang Feng’s hint in time, giving the female ghost a chance to act.

The female ghost charged toward Liu Shan again. Liu Shan’s face flashed with impatience, and he opened his mouth to swallow the ghost.

Jiang Feng was one step ahead, slapping his mouth shut, blocking his opening while pressing him down. The female ghost passed overhead and was finally brought down by Chu Xuanliang, who was a step behind.

Deng Bian took a deep breath, seeming about to faint.

Officer Ye helped her catch her breath. “Steady, steady. You can do this!”

Zhang Yao’s ghost was burned painfully by the talisman, rolling and screaming in pain beside them.

However, no one paid attention to her; everyone’s gaze was focused on Liu Shan. Chu Xuanliang stared and asked, “What exactly is he? Is he a living thing?”

Jiang Feng said, “He’s both chimei and not chimei. Chimei are formed from strange mountain vapors, but he was formed from the turbid qi exhaled by Qiongqi.”

(魑魅 (chīmèi): a type of spirit or demon in Chinese folklore, often representing malevolent mountain or forest spirits.)

(窮奇 (Qióngqí) is one of the Four Fiends (四凶) of ancient Chinese mythology — legendary monstrous beings known for their evil nature. Often described as a winged beast, sometimes with tiger-like features or a lion’s body with wings and a human face (descriptions vary across texts). Nature: Fierce, chaotic, and malevolent. It’s said to devour the good and protect the wicked, symbolizing injustice and corruption.)

Officer Ye: “Qiongqi? Do those kind of… divine beasts really exist?”

“Qiongqi is a divine beast that embodies god, monster, and evil person in one. It’s said his father was the wind god, and others say it was Shaohao, the White Emperor. He can bewitch people into doing evil, but also helps humans drive away demon beasts. He can control the chimei of heaven and earth. Legend says he was later killed by Emperor Shun, but the mountain ranges where he lived gradually formed several chimei due to his breathing.” Jiang Feng said, “Liu Shan inherited part of his characteristics – he’s not human, not ghost, not demon, and not god. He likes to get close to humans and is good at disguising himself. But he has absolutely no concept of right and wrong and is easily influenced by human thoughts.”

Officer Ye: “What does that mean?”

Jiang Feng said, “If he swallowed a good person, he would involuntarily start doing good deeds and would influence others to start doing good deeds too. The reverse is also true. He disguised himself as human and mixed into the city, accidentally swallowing the soul of the dead Zhang Yao. Then his own emotions were affected, and he began continuously influencing and bewitching the people around him.”

“It was her!” Liu Shan felt very wronged, pointing at Zhang Yao. “She was particularly annoying! Crying upstairs every day, and she wanted to come kill me, so I swallowed her!”

“Didn’t your family elders tell you not to eat things randomly?” Jiang Feng pressed his neck threateningly. “Spit out everything you’ve eaten.”

Liu Shan widened his eyes. “Ah… they never said that.”

Jiang Feng urged. “Hurry up!”

Liu Shan opened his mouth and reached his hand down his throat.

His hand was like water waves, swaying back and forth, extending infinitely, flowing into his stomach.

Deng Bian didn’t dare to breathe.

They watched as Liu Shan slowly pulled out a large mass of things from his stomach. When the large mass unfolded, they discovered it was some clean souls.

There were souls of cats and dogs, human souls, and souls of various animals. After gaining freedom, they floated out through the front door.

“Damn…” Officer Ye shivered, “Is he, heavily sinful?”

“No, he doesn’t feed on souls. But because he likes humans, he swallows people’s souls to read their emotions, while slowly eliminating the malevolent energy from vengeful spirits, then sends them to reincarnate.” Jiang Feng said, “Usually he spits them out after eating, but this one only eats without spitting out.”

Liu Shan burped after he finished vomiting.

Everyone: “……”

“I came out to find our mountain god.” Liu Shan asked, “Do you have business with me?”

A vein popped on Jiang Feng’s forehead.