Judge of Souls - Chapter 111

Wu Teng let out a piercing scream that woke up half the building.

Chu Xuanliang was also startled awake from his sleep, his whole body springing up from the bed as he instinctively threw off the covers and sat up.

Wu Teng’s screaming continued without stopping. There were people cursing around them, and through the wall, he could hear hurried footsteps.

Wu Teng’s friends were knocking on the door outside. “Hey! Wu Teng, are you okay? Make some noise if you can hear us!”

“Open the door! What’s wrong with you?”

“What are you screaming about? Wu Teng, come out quickly!”

Chu Xuanliang felt a dull pain in his head upon hearing the knocking. He covered the side of his acupoint and pressed hard, then went to pour himself a glass of water.

Inside the room, Wu Teng shook his head and looked again with focused eyes, feeling as if he had just awakened from a daze.

Where was there anyone? And where was there any waiter? The knocking from outside the door was all too clear.

He wiped away cold sweat and discovered that the window had been left slightly open, with wind blowing in from outside – it had been left that way for ventilation, and now the wind was blowing directly at him. It was probably that air current that made it difficult for him to breathe in his sleep.

The knocking outside continued.

“Coming!”

Wu Teng got up to open the door.

A man wearing only underwear asked, “What happened to you?”

Wu Teng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I just saw a person…”

The man peered inside: “Where?”

“Gone…” Wu Teng said, “I was sleeping groggily and saw someone, but in the blink of an eye, they disappeared.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing whether to laugh or be angry.

“You damn well had a nightmare, didn’t you? Are you even a man? Do you need someone to sleep with you?”

“Ah, nightmares – I have them sometimes too. Probably the hotel bed made you sleep uncomfortably. It’s nothing.”

“Everything’s fine now? I’m tired, going back first. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Disperse, disperse. Everyone go back to their own homes and find their own mothers.”

Wu Teng opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t explain clearly. He figured that even if he said something, it would only make people laugh, so he held it back.

He apologetically bowed to everyone, then closed the door and went back inside.

Chu Xuanliang listened with his ear to the wall for a while longer. Later, when the sounds next door quieted down and people began to disperse, he knew everything should be fine. He climbed back into bed to sleep.

Not far away, Jiang Feng and Yama were doing the same. The two had just returned from outside and were still eating packed late-night snacks. They hadn’t even moved from their spot and just listened with their ears to the subsequent developments.

After the crowd dispersed, the night became quiet again.

Wu Teng was still shaken and felt somewhat afraid. He took his blanket and came over to lean against the door, thinking that if something happened, he could respond immediately.

He dozed off on the floor in a daze, and by the next morning when the sun rose, nothing else had occurred.

He stood up, twisted his sore neck, and returned to bed to continue resting.

He decided it was probably just from staying up too late – it really was just his own hallucination.

****

Yama had only slept three hours that night, but when he went out the next day, he was still very energetic. In contrast, Chu Xuanliang, who still hadn’t rested well yesterday, made for quite a stark comparison.

“I…” Chu Xuanliang said helplessly, “I’m getting old.”

Yama said, “Going mountain climbing in your condition definitely won’t work. Why don’t you continue resting at the hotel – I’m not in a hurry.”

“Thank you so much for your consideration,” Chu Xuanliang said. “Then I’ll go out for a walk and adjust my sleep schedule.”

Yama waved his hand. “Mm, no problem. Jiang Feng, you come with me to investigate the local customs and culture of this place.”

Chu Xuanliang kept a wooden expression, feeling that something about his way of speaking was off.

Jiang Feng said, “I’m not familiar with this area either. And there’s nothing fun at tourist attractions.”

“Then why do so many people still come?” Yama said. “Jiang Feng, you’re really lazy. Since you don’t know, you can always ask and investigate. Watch me – I’ll go ask personally.”

Jiang Feng turned his head and followed his movement.

Yama walked over to the small group of people from yesterday, with Wu Teng among them.

These people were gathered around a table eating breakfast – clearly tourists.

Yama asked, “Are you here to sightsee today?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Then what’s fun around here?”

Everyone found his tone of speech quite interesting, and seeing him so serious with a straight face made it even more amusing. They good-naturedly replied, “We’re going to a scenic spot up ahead – a celebrity’s former residence. It hasn’t been developed there, so they’ve preserved the original architectural style, and they’ve brought in some exhibits from other places to set up as quite a beautiful attraction, with various snacks and such. It’s now a must-visit scenic spot. Do you want to go?”

Yama looked back at Jiang Feng and nodded. “We can.”

“Then navigate there – it’s right here.” The girl pointed out the address to him. “And this is a guide, you can take a photo.”

Yama didn’t have a phone, so he gestured to Jiang Feng, who came over to take a photo and thanked the group.

Wu Teng and the others had to catch a bus, so they set off quickly after finishing breakfast. Jiang Feng’s group was about half an hour slower before they were ready and left the hotel.

The buses in this area were very crowded, so they simply called a taxi to drive over.

For Yama, what magnificent landscapes hadn’t he seen? He had witnessed the changes of historical dynasties. A celebrity’s former residence? When he died, the celebrity hadn’t even been born yet.

Looking at this area of nostalgic-style architecture, he initially felt some melancholy and sentiment, but after looking a few more times, only speechlessness could describe his feelings.

A small temple, an opera stage, a Taoist temple, even a small ancient tool – all such things could apparently be used as exhibits. Even the so-called shrine wasn’t properly regulated; what was enshrined inside were just monsters from mythological legends or even fictional creatures from famous story books. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of lewd and evil worship that the imperial court had vigorously suppressed in the past?

What made him even more angry was that people still devoutly worshipped them and threw in incense money.

Yama – in his lifetime he had received many fees for his hard work, but rarely had believers throw him incense money. Because there were very few King Yama temples among the people.

“I truly cannot understand humans in the mortal world,” Yama said with a deeply furrowed brow. “On one hand they say to believe in science and combat feudal superstition, yet most people are quite convinced of matters involving ghosts and gods. On one hand they devoutly believe, yet they don’t bother to verify the authenticity of the so-called deities – they don’t even know who the Buddha in front of them is.”

Jiang Feng: “They’re just seeking peace of mind. What does it matter if it’s real or fake? Peace of mind is the most difficult thing to buy with thoughts – for them, it’s just not worth investigating.”

No one would come smash the statue because their wishes didn’t come true. Their faith was no longer devout enough, or perhaps what they believed in wasn’t even the deity sitting on the altar anymore.

Yama came out of the Buddhist temple with little interest, temporarily losing enthusiasm for continuing to wander around.

He squatted at the entrance in disappointment. “This kind of place doesn’t even have much to eat.”

Jiang Feng: “Isn’t it all along the roadside?”

“I naturally have standards. Some things can’t be compromised on,” Yama said. “Just corn, rice dumplings, and tea eggs – where can’t I eat those? And I eat them often. I want to eat something different.”

“Go that way,” Jiang Feng said unmoved, looking at the guide. “There’s one last spot ahead. We paid for tickets, we can’t not look.”

Yama was going crazy. Why treat him like this? How expensive were the tickets? Didn’t he say it was about buying peace of mind?!

Unexpectedly, the two groups who had separated at the hotel met again at the scenic area.

They entered a display room for old handicrafts, with a huge bed in the center and glass cases containing small items on both sides.

Both sides noticed each other’s presence and nodded with light smiles. They happened to be standing on opposite sides of the room. A tour group had just brought tourists in, filling the entire small room. Everyone’s gazes briefly met and then quickly turned away silently.

The houses here were indeed old, including the supporting wooden pillars, which showed several cracks.

Looking from outside, the wall paint was peeling, making it seem even more unsafe.

Wu Teng was chatting with his buddies. After the room became too crowded, the cramped space made him very uncomfortable. He was also blocked in a corner by the tour group, unable to move – it was both laughable and frustrating.

“Damn…” his buddy said, “We hit a bad time. Let’s wait a bit – we’ll look when there are fewer people.”

Wu Teng: “I think these things are really boring. Someone like me with no artistic sense isn’t suited for this kind of scenic area.”

“I also think it’s boring. I wanted to see the production process, but they just make it and put it here – won’t let you touch it or observe, it’s really both tiring and boring.”

“The main thing is you don’t like taking photos.”

“It’s all shops, all kinds of shops. The real scenic spots are actually so rare.”

“Scenic areas – just think of them as expensive large shopping streets.”

“Anyway, we’re only coming once. What’s wrong with splurging a bit? Isn’t buying still buying no matter where?”

Wu Teng casually patted the pillar next to him and said, “This house is too old. Look at the wood outside – it’s all old wood, and some of it’s even rotting. This place won’t suddenly collapse on us, will it?”

“What are you talking about? They maintain it, okay? How could there be problems – there are so many people here!”

“Can having many people and having problems be mutually exclusive?”

Wu Teng laughed. “If this collapsed, with so many of us here, probably not one could escape. Don’t stand next to fat people – if one falls on you, you’d be done for immediately.”

During the time his mouth was opening and closing, both Yama and Jiang Feng felt a faint yin aura drifting out. The two suddenly looked up and began searching the room for each other’s traces.

However, there were really too many people. Initially, no one seemed to carry yin aura – everyone was quite clean – so they couldn’t immediately confirm what was happening.

“What’s going on?” Yama said. “There are too many people here. Should we wait outside the exit and see?”

Jiang Feng: “We can.”

Before he finished speaking, a pillar made a cracking sound and finally broke, falling down from above.

Tourists in front who couldn’t dodge in time were directly crushed under the wooden pillar. It also shattered several glass panels.

The crowd screamed:

“Ahhhh!”

“Call 120! Call the fire department!”

“Staff! Where are the staff?”

“Holy crap, how can this house collapse? What’s going on!”

It was a support beam. After it fell, the entire room shook unsteadily. People near the entrance immediately panicked and scrambled to squeeze outside, causing the house to shake even more severely.

The staff stood bewildered in place, completely unsure how to handle the situation.

“Don’t move! Everyone come back!” Yama shouted, looking at the shaking ceiling. “Everyone stop moving! Going out one by one would be faster than now!”

However, no one listened to him at all.

Immediately after came another “crack,” and then the ceiling fell straight down from above.

The black shadow in Yama’s vision gradually enlarged, and the scene fell silent for a second.

The ceiling finally came down.