Judge of Souls - Chapter 35

This time, possibly due to the influence of the Judge’s Brush, the Judge took a long time to return to Jiang Feng’s body. The underworld officials sent those troublemaking little ghosts back to the Underworld, and Yama quickly began the interrogation. The Judge simply brought his divine consciousness to the Underworld to observe.

The fake Judge knew almost nothing.

When asked where he came from, he said he was from an abandoned building in A City.

When asked where he got the Judge’s Brush, he said a big ghost had given it to him earlier. Who was that ghost? He didn’t know.

When asked what the Judge’s Brush was made of, he didn’t even know his pen was fake.

It seemed this person was just a petty villain doing bad deeds.

Ghost: “He gave me the Judge’s Brush and asked me to help him take revenge. He said that after using the Judge’s Brush, I would go to hell when I went to the Underworld.”

Judge asked: “Aren’t you afraid?”

The ghost replied: “Heh, I’m not afraid.”

White Impermanence: “It’s okay, you’ll be afraid soon.”

The Judge brought the broken brush fragment to King Yama’s hall in the Underworld. The Kings of each hall came to look at it, but none could recognize it. They didn’t know why it would be connected to the missing Judge’s Brush.

The only thing they could confirm was that it was also a piece of bone, just polished very smooth with a jade-like feel. The bone was shimmering with light and full of spiritual energy, making its original form unrecognizable. The surface was covered with dense talisman inscriptions.

The Judge copied down the outer talisman symbols, intending to take them up to find someone who could examine them.

****

Early the next morning, Chu Xuanliang called. Jiang Feng wasn’t awake yet. So Chu Xuanliang made over thirty calls within two hours, and finally just squatted outside his door to wait.

Near noon, Jiang Feng came out and said faintly, “It’s resolved.”

Chu Xuanliang gratefully held his hand. “Thank you, thank you. If anyone asks, remember to add my name to the merit list. My contribution was hosting the Underworld  personnel, otherwise I can’t get reimbursed for all those takeout orders.”

Jiang Feng: “……”

Chu Xuanliang said, “Just joking. I didn’t come to ask about that. I just wanted to know what was going on with that Yellow Springs road?”

How would Jiang Feng know? He had slept and everything was resolved, but now his whole body felt extremely tired, with fragments of memory flashing intermittently in his mind.

Then Yama came out and roughly explained the situation.

Chu Xuanliang frowned. “Another abandoned building?”

Yama asked, “Are the ghosts trapped down there very powerful? Why haven’t you collected them?”

“They are quite powerful…” Chu Xuanliang waved his hand and said, “Well, not exactly very powerful. That area is completely a historical legacy issue. You know how many generations have died throughout China’s thousands of years of culture. Modern construction work always uncovers a few graves. In the past, people were careless and didn’t pay attention. Plus, because of A City’s geographical location with many mountains and graves, when they blasted mountains and cleared land, rows of ancestral graves were dug up, which damaged spiritual virtue. But it takes money to deal with this issue. At that time, everyone was eager for development. With insufficient manpower and magic power, they couldn’t handle it. The higher-ups demanded speed, so there was no choice but to suppress them temporarily. But suppressing them only made the ghosts stronger, and once they grew stronger, they started attracting new ghosts…”

Chu Xuanliang sighed. “Actually, in the past, there were only insignificant little ghosts under the Six Direction Divine Statues, but in recent years, that abandoned building area has become famous. Just like the place specifically chosen for the livestream last time, it has already entered public awareness. You see, if humans know about it, ghosts will certainly know too. Word spreads, and it truly became a ghost gathering place. After so many years with the Six Direction Divine Statues, some ghosts with superior magic powers can already come and go as they please. We’ve sent people to monitor constantly, but we can’t stop people from going there to court death.”

Jiang Feng: “……”

Chu Xuanliang lamented. “I hate the internet.”

Jiang Feng: “……”

“Let’s leave it at that for now. Find a way to strengthen the restrictions in that area so problems don’t arise from the same cause again,” Yama said. “Ordinary underworld officials can no longer approach that place. I’ll inform White Impermanence to conduct a search there and take away the dangerous ghosts.”

Not all human ghosts can enter the Underworld; entering means having a chance for reincarnation. Some ghosts willingly stay in the human world, some to escape punishment in the Underworld, some because their wishes remain unfulfilled or they lack the desire to live. And some ghosts have mental abnormalities. They wander in the human world, and after a long time, they forget their past lives and gradually dissipate.

These ghosts generally aren’t very dangerous, so they’re allowed to wander freely. But unexpected situations still occur, which is when cultivators in the mortal realm accumulate merit. Whenever wronged ghosts cause trouble and underworld officials can’t arrive in time, Taoist priests can fill in.

Is it good to have a ghost gathering place in the mortal realm? Not exactly… but humans are social creatures, and ghosts are the same. Living together can help them monitor each other and reduce the crime rate. The Underworld  doesn’t need to eliminate them completely and create unnecessary trouble. Besides, they’re already short-handed, so there’s no need to take away the Taoist priests’ livelihood.

Chu Xuanliang quickly said, “Many thanks, Lord.”

****

After this incident, Zhang Yangyang transformed from a veteran gamer into a passionate Taoist follower. He spent a week memorizing the four great Taoist incantations with Chu Xuanliang, as well as several simple but useful Taoist texts.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t distinguish between Taoism and Buddhism. His catchphrase became “Amitabha Buddha,” and he kept asking whether Nezha and Sun Wukong belonged to Buddhism or Taoism. Was the Jade Emperor’s rank higher or was the Buddha’s? Wasn’t the Supreme Lord of the Dao just that guy who refined pills in the Heavenly Court? Between the legendary Laozi and Zhang Daoling, who was more powerful? How many years had they lived?

…Such questions made Chu Xuanliang quite uncomfortable.

But student Zhang Yangyang had the ability to revive with full health. After this hair-raising ghost encounter, in less than a week, he was able to continue living alone.

He couldn’t afford talismans and relied on Chu Xuanliang’s charity. In return, he could only treat him to meals as thanks.

Jiang Feng was still delivering food, but Yama strongly objected.

“The Underworld  is so busy, yet you’re delivering food? Is the money this lord gives you not enough, or has your brain gone bad again?” Yama said. “Go home early and handle official business!”

Jiang Feng decided he would finish this semester’s deliveries and then quit. Of course, not because of Yama’s urging, but because he felt that delivering food made it easier to encounter ghosts.

People with bad luck should be self-aware and avoid walking at night.

After resting for two days, Jiang Feng resumed his normal deliveries.

Recently, the weather had turned cold quickly, with temperatures plummeting. After a rainfall, getting up in the morning meant shivering, especially since southern regions don’t have heating.

At noon, after picking up meal boxes from the restaurant, Jiang Feng walked toward the southeast gate of A University, an area he rarely visited. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a strange scene—what looked like a pair of short legs sticking out of a nearby blue garbage bin.

Jiang Feng thought it was his imagination, but after driving about a hundred meters away, he felt something was wrong and turned back.

Sure enough, the legs were still there. They had sunken even deeper inside.

Anyone seeing this would get goosebumps. Jiang Feng quickly stopped, walked over, and pulled the person out by their legs.

Alive. Warm. Human.

Jiang Feng couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

This was a child about three or four years old. The little fellow still had an empty food container in his mouth. He was covered in foul water from the garbage bin.

His eyes were bright and alert, with a head of smooth, thick hair. His face was chubby, and he wasn’t wearing clothes, just a red plastic bag.

He appeared to be a boy.

When lifted upside down, he knew to cover his privates.

In January in southern China, any gust of wind could give you a cold. Here in the economic development zone, the environment was poor, and strong winds blew constantly.

Jiang Feng immediately took off his jacket, wrapped the child in it, and carried him on his electric scooter to Zhang Yangyang’s dormitory.

“Where are you taking me?” The boy looked up, speaking clearly and cleverly. “Umm…I didn’t steal anything. Wasn’t this stuff they didn’t want?”

Jiang Feng didn’t respond, just pushed the boy’s head down, gesturing for him not to move around.

The child immediately became anxious. “Don’t eat me, don’t eat me! I’m still small! I… I’ll give you the garbage bin.”

Jiang Feng had already stopped the scooter. With a food container in one hand and the child in the other, he carried him up to the third floor.

The child’s legs dangled in the air, making him feel insecure. He cried out. “You’re going to drop me!”

Jiang Feng knocked on the wooden door. “Can I borrow your bathroom?”

Zhang Yangyang, who came to open the door, blanked out. “Oh.”

Jiang Feng brought the child into the bathroom, adjusted the hot water, tore off the plastic bag from his body, and poured water directly over him.

“Oh.” The child sneezed, narrowed his eyes happily and said, “I don’t want water, I’m not thirsty, I want to eat.”

Zhang Yangyang stood at the bathroom door and exclaimed, “My goodness, mercy, where did you steal this little baby from?”

Jiang Feng said, “I don’t know which family’s child got lost again.”

Zhang Yangyang, seeing the fair and tender face clearly, continued to exclaim. “My goodness, Amitabha Buddha, who could have lost him? Doesn’t he look like a fun kid?”

His roommate, having suffered enough, couldn’t hold back and shouted, “Zhang Yangyang, that’s enough! I’m telling you, disrespecting the gods like this will get you in trouble sooner or later!”

Zhang Yangyang immediately shut up. After a moment, he touched his head and said sincerely, “I’m serious. Look, I even shaved my head.”

Zhang Yangyang found a clean cotton undershirt and cotton coat for the little fellow to wear after his bath. Jiang Feng called his boss, asking him to charge the cost of those orders to his account and to find someone else to deliver them. He gave the takeout food he had brought directly to the child to eat.

“Wow—-” He slurped up some noodles, “You love me.”

While the little one sat eating, Jiang Feng took out his phone and dialed 110.

“Yes. A lost child, no external injuries.” Jiang Feng looked down and asked, “What’s your name?”

The child said, “Gundam!”

Zhang Yangyang puzzled, “Why does that name sound familiar?”

The child continued. “EVA!”

Jiang Feng: “??”

“Naruto Uzumaki,” the child continued, “Straw Hat Pirate King!”

Roommate: “Amitabha Buddha, I understood the last two.”

“I understood the first two as well,” Zhang Yangyang said, “Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion, right? Do kids this age still watch these two animes? Surprising!”

Jiang Feng paused, then directly said, “He doesn’t know his own name.”

The child said softly, “Actually, I do know. Just feeling wronged.”

Jiang Feng: “Where do you live?”

“Next to a river. The water in that river stinks.”

“What buildings are nearby?”

“There are many small mounds, each with a stone tablet. But I can’t read.”

Zhang Yangyang shivered. “…Graves?”

Jiang Feng spoke into the phone again. “Yes, he doesn’t know where he lives either.”

The child wiped his mouth and called out. “Dad.”

Zhang Yangyang: “Aww~!”

Jiang Feng’s mouth twitched slightly. “Right, he doesn’t know anything. Don’t know if he has mental deficiencies, he looks normal but doesn’t communicate normally.”

The child stretched out his hand, holding it eagerly before him. “Dad, this is for you.”

In his palm, a delicate little white chrysanthemum appeared out of nowhere, swaying with his movement.

Jiang Feng: “……”

Zhang Yangyang fell silent. Jiang Feng immediately hung up the phone.

The roommate, who had been lying on the bed not watching, heard the two suddenly go quiet and turned to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Yangyang cupped the child’s hands in his own and said, “Friend, promise me, never give anyone a white chrysanthemum, okay? Otherwise, you might get beaten to death.”

Child: “Huh?”

“Ah!” Zhang Yangyang’s hand was pricked by something, and when he let go, he discovered it was a rose thorn.

He held up the rose and moved a step closer, asking, “What about this one?”

Jiang Feng slung the child over his shoulder and walked out of the dormitory door. The boy sucked in a breath of cold air, kicked his legs, and tucked his bare feet into the coat.

The roommate, who had just gotten hungry, came down to find something to eat.

“Hey, I remember Jiang Feng brought a lot of food, didn’t the child just eat one box?” The roommate scratched his head, “He didn’t take it with him just now, did he?”

The large bag Jiang Feng had brought should have contained more than a dozen meal boxes, but now both the bag and its contents were gone.

Zhang Yangyang, who had been chatting with Jiang Feng earlier, hadn’t noticed this. Now breaking into a cold sweat, he laughed nervously, “No, no, you must have seen wrong?”

****

Jiang Feng brought the child before Yama to have him properly examined.

Without suitable clothes, the little thing was placed on the sofa, sitting still like a wooden doll, staring at them pitifully.

The two entered the adjacent bedroom to talk.

“He should be some kind of shapeshifting spirit creature. But not an obvious form like a flower spirit or fox demon; perhaps he’s transformed from a spiritual object,” Yama pondered. “Like a spiritual spring, spiritual stone, or some kind of cultural relic.”

After speaking, he nodded and marveled. “Truly rare. Look at his clear eyes, the spiritual energy flowing smoothly through his body, showing signs of absorption. He has great Taoist affinity.”

Jiang Feng thought for a moment and said, “He lives by a sewage ditch, with many graves nearby.”

Yama: “Then it might really be some cultural artifact hidden in a tomb. Try using the Judge’s Brush to search him.”

Jiang Feng’s brow twitched, and he made a silencing gesture. The two carefully walked to the door and listened to the sounds outside.

Yama hesitated. “This lord hears someone talking outside, is that right?”

Jiang Feng nodded.

Jiang Feng pushed the door open with his finger to look for the child.

The little one was crouching at the end of the sofa, in the farthest corner of the room, whispering to himself.

With his body’s keen hearing and vision, Jiang Feng caught most of it.

“You eat quickly, eat quickly.”

“I don’t like sour things. Do you have anything alkaline?”

“Why is the opposite of sour sweet? Shouldn’t sweet be opposed to bitter?”

“Why isn’t there an alkaline flavor? Alkaline doesn’t taste good either, but eating sour things is uncomfortable.”

“I’ll take you there tomorrow. Garden Community, I remember.”

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll watch TV with you. I have a signal here, I can steal a little bit for you.”

“How do I steal it? Can I eat it?”

Yama, not believing it, checked again and confirmed there were indeed no ghosts in the room.

“Ah……” Yama was greatly disappointed.

He hadn’t encountered a spirit creature that had transformed from a spiritual object in hundreds of years, and now that one finally appeared, it turned out to be this silly.

****

Jiang Feng: Taoist Master, have you ever seen a mentally split spirit creature?

Chu Xuanliang: ??

Chu Xuanliang: Zhang Yangyang?

Jiang Feng: ……