Judge of Souls - Chapter 36

Yama was a bit anxious. What should be done if something was wrong with this child? He needed treatment.

“He needs to be sent back. Spirit creatures successfully taking human form is extremely rare, a precious opportunity for him. But he’s still too young. The place that allowed him to transform must be rich in spiritual energy and natural blessings. Leaving that place too early might have caused his brain to become a bit confused.”

“Send him back to eat garbage?” Jiang Feng said, “Today he was digging through a trash can for food.”

Yama was about to lose his mind. “Ahhh! What garbage is he eating?! He’s not a human!!”

Jiang Feng replied dryly, “…Humans generally don’t eat garbage either.”

Yama exclaimed in frustration. “I mean he doesn’t need to eat like humans at all!!”

“Could it be that he’s not adapting well to the new environment? Something must have gone wrong,” Yama said, rubbing his chin. “What kind of transformed spirit is he? Normally, spirit creatures in human form don’t eat anything at all.”

Jiang Feng: “He also ate wonton today.”

Yama: “Don’t feed him random things. He’ll get indigestion.”

Jiang Feng asked, “Then let’s send him to Chu Xuanliang’s place. They have the proper conditions to raise him.”

Yama showed a hesitant expression. “If we send him back and he runs away again, that would be terrible. He could be captured and refined into medicine.”

The little fellow had good hearing. Upon hearing this, he whispered, “They want to send me away. What should I do? They say I’ll be captured and made into medicine!”

Immediately, a chorus of voices buzzed in his ears, offering advice.

“Just call him ‘dad’ no matter what! He won’t be able to send you away!”

“If he tries to call the police, tell him you’re an undocumented child. He’s your father!”

“Bribe him!”

The little fellow said, “I already gave him flowers, but he didn’t like them.”

“Give him ginseng! Give him cordyceps!”

“Give them yew trees!”

“Give them a gold mine!”

The little fellow: “I don’t have a gold mine!”

“Calling him dad is the most effective.”

“Let’s not talk about this now. While it’s still early, let’s buy him some clothes,” Jiang Feng said, looking down at his phone. “I’ll call Chu Xuanliang to go shopping.”

Yama: “That works too.”

Jiang Feng set out food on the table, turned on the TV, reminded the child not to wander off, and then left with Yama.

After the sound of the door closing, the little fellow stood up from the sofa.

Little fellow: “They’ve left!”

“Don’t worry, little Mountain God. They left you at home, that’s a good sign!”

“China has laws protecting minors. They’re very good to children.”

He shuffled back onto the sofa, making himself comfortable.

A female voice said fearfully, “The instructor is banging on the door outside. I’m so scared now.”

The little fellow said, “Don’t be afraid. Come hide in my room.”

A male youth cried, “Little Mountain God, I regret it. I want to go home… I miss my parents. Please send me back.”

“Why go back? Your parents don’t want to see you at all.”

“Didn’t we agree to stay together? The instructor remembers you. If you go back, they’ll kill you!”

The boy said, “My parents actually just don’t want me to turn bad.”

“They simply don’t want you! At most, they’d be notified to collect your corpse if you died.”

Unable to bear their quarreling, the little Mountain God could only say, “If you want to go back, then go back… I’ll take you to your home to see now?”

Jiang Feng hadn’t locked the door when he left, which was convenient. The little Mountain God tried the doorknob, and it opened.

Someone advised, “Take some money from his home. You need money for transportation.”

So the little Mountain God began searching the apartment for money.

Unfortunately, Jiang Feng didn’t keep much cash at home. Finally, under everyone’s guidance, he found a ten-yuan note and a few coins in Jiang Feng’s wallet on the windowsill.

Everyone shouted, “That’s enough, that’s enough!”

The boy excitedly said: “Take bus route 18, or route 169, either can go to my home!”

The little Mountain God ran all the way to the bus stop. Just as a bus pulled up, the voices in his ear shouted, “This one, get on quickly!”

The bus driver, seeing him struggling to climb the steps, was stunned and gave him a deep look.

He looked behind the child, then asked suspiciously, “Are you alone?”

The little Mountain God was about to say he had many, many people with him, but the voices in his ear reminded him, “Say you’re alone!”

The little Mountain God nodded. “I’m going home.”

The driver, still concerned, asked, “Which stop are you getting off at?”

“Garden Community,” the little Mountain God said. “Fifteen stops from here.”

Hearing that he knew his way, the driver was relieved and said, “Uncle will call you when we get there. Find a seat and sit down properly, don’t fall. Don’t go with strangers, understand?”

The little Mountain God nodded.

A nearby passenger smiled. “Such a good child. Come sit next to auntie.”

It was rush hour, and this bus route went through the main city area to the other side of town. Along the way, a school had just finished exams and let out, causing severe traffic. Private cars occupied the bus lane, and they only moved one stop forward in over half an hour.

Someone inside the little Mountain God’s body worried. “It’s getting dark… I’m scared. The instructor is coming again.”

Winter days grew dark especially quickly. By 6:30 PM, it was already completely dark outside.

The little Mountain God finally reached the stop for Garden Community.

The driver was still worried. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? Stay here and I’ll call the police to take you home! Do you really know the way?”

The little Mountain God said, “I know it!”

He started running again.

The driver, still concerned, called the police to report the situation and asked them to check on the child.

At the community entrance, the little Mountain God gave the guard a house number. Because he was small, the guard didn’t stop him and even gave him directions, allowing him to walk in smoothly.

The path was deserted, with shadows from the landscaping trees dappling the ground.

His feet stepped on unswept dried branches, making crackling sounds.

Voices in his ear nervously shouted. “They’re coming! Run quickly!”

The little Mountain God looked back.

The community street lights had already been turned on. The shadow of the nearest light pole distorted, as if something burst out from it, transforming into the shape of a muscular young man.

With a broad back and sturdy build, holding a short club, he approached the child quickly.

The little Mountain God ran for his life.

That shadow followed him continuously, and the tree shadows nearby also began to change. They flowed like water, stretching into tentacle-like forms, blocking his way.

The tentacles caught the ankle of the little Mountain God’s shadow. He immediately felt a pulling force on his ankle, causing him to stumble and fall. Just as his face was about to hit the ground, a pale, bluish face appeared on the pavement. The ghost face opened its mouth, about to bite his nose.

Both his hands were pinned down by shadows, immediately leaving purple bruises on his wrists.

“Ahhhh!” The little Mountain God used all his strength to stop himself, gathered his energy, and spat a stone into the ghost face’s mouth.

The ghost face closed its teeth, crushing the stone to pieces.

Then the little Mountain God spat out another stone, piercing toward the ghost face’s eye. The ghost face finally felt pain and temporarily released him.

The little Mountain God seized the opportunity to get up and continue running.

Ahead, the mass of dark shadows was like a huge net enclosing him, impossible to escape no matter which way he ran. Among the shadows floated a face, looking at him eerily, following him closely.

They were getting closer to the boy’s home.

The little Mountain God reached out his hand and called, “Mountain Xiao, come back!”

****

“Jiang Xiayuan” was sitting at home eating dinner.

Mother Jiang picked up some food for him with her chopsticks, smiling, “Xiao Yuan is so obedient, knowing to care for mom. Your teacher praised you today, saying your grades are improving quickly.”

“Jiang Xiayuan” abruptly stood up and ran toward the door.

Father Jiang looked at him in confusion, “Son, what’s wrong?”

“Jiang Xiayuan” started running faster, sprinting downstairs.

Mother Jiang shouted from behind. “Son, where are you going? You haven’t finished dinner!”

Mountain Xiao rushed downstairs. The motion sensor lights in the first-floor lobby started flickering, blinking on and off repeatedly before finally stabilizing.

The tree shadows that had been tangled together returned to normal, retreating to both sides of the road.

Mountain Xiao ran toward the little Mountain God, held his hand as they crossed the intersection, and changed back to his original monkey form.

Mountain Xiao had a human face, black fur all over his body, and arms that reached past his knees.

He bent his knees and leaped like lightning toward the ghost face, striking down with one paw. The ghost face couldn’t dodge in time and let out a painful howl. Mountain Xiao extended his sharp claws, wanting to tear it apart, but the ghost face quickly hid within the shadows again.

Just then, Mother Jiang came out. Mountain Xiao stopped pursuing and returned to the little Mountain God’s body.

Mother Jiang had followed “Jiang Xiayuan” out, but when she reached downstairs, she only saw the little Mountain God with no one else.

She looked around and asked, “Where’s my son? Where did my son go?”

There wasn’t even a shadow nearby; it was impossible for someone to disappear so quickly.

The little Mountain God was breathing heavily and didn’t answer.

Mother Jiang grabbed him and continued asking, “Where is my son! Where did he go?”

“What are you doing?” A police officer ran over from the end of the path, saying, “Are you his guardian?”

Mother Jiang urgently said, “I’m not! But my son is missing!”

Police officer: “When did he go missing?”

Mother Jiang: “Just now! He ran downstairs and disappeared!”

The police officer was a bit speechless. He crouched down to ask the little Mountain God, “Why are you here alone? Do you really live here?”

The little Mountain God didn’t speak but raised his hand to point. Both of them looked in that direction.

A disheveled boy walked out from the lobby’s glass door.

Jiang Xiayuan stood there, his face pale as he cried, “Mom! I missed you so much!”

Mother Jiang was stunned. “Huh? How did you get like this? You… you weren’t wearing these clothes earlier.”

****

When Jiang Feng and Yama returned with shopping bags, they found the child was no longer at home. As night fell, the Judge appeared, took out the Register of Merits and Demerits, and began to search for the child’s origins.

Without his name or any clues, the search was difficult. The Judge could only roughly search based on appearance. After several attempts, there were still no results.

Yama watched from the side, anxiously saying, “That’s not right. His eyes should be a bit bigger, and his face rounder. Didn’t you notice any moles on his body?”

Judge: “……”

“Still can’t find him,” Yama said. “Don’t you even know how to draw?”

Judge: “……”

Here’s the brush, you try.

Yama wanted to do it himself and was about to speak when Jiang Feng’s phone rang in his pocket. He went over to help answer it. It was Chu Xuanliang.

“What’s up?”

“You asked, right? I thought about it, and while it might not be a big deal, if we’re talking about strange occurrences, there might actually be something. Last month, there was a landslide on the mountain outside the city. When the rescue team went, they found the bodies of more than a dozen instructors. After verifying their identities, they discovered they were all instructors from the same walking school. Normally, when instructors wear uniforms and carry equipment up a mountain, they’re obviously leading students, right? But no, there wasn’t a single student’s body. It was an unlicensed, irregular walking school, and the staff they hired didn’t have teaching credentials. Two of them were military veterans with records of violent crimes. The police went to the principal for a list of names, then investigated according to the list and found that all the students had returned home. Most students were in terrible mental states. They couldn’t explain how they returned at all. They just said the instructors took them up the mountain, then suddenly there was a landslide, and in the blink of an eye, they were at the foot of the mountain. Since they could finally go home, they did.”

He paused and asked, “Oh, do you know what a walking school is?”

Yama: “What is that?”

“It’s where some parents dump children they can’t handle—rebellious, internet-addicted, unsocial, and so on—letting the school implement military-style management to correct their ‘mistakes,'” Chu Xuanliang said. “Actually, it’s just taking students to endure hardships, climb mountains, and walk to consume their energy. Irregular walking schools can be considered private juvenile prisons, with electric fences, high walls, and violent teaching methods.”

Yama frowned slightly. “And then?”

Chu Xuanliang: “A Taoist friend of mine felt something was wrong at the time and followed up with the police. Several students had been sent to other walking schools, several had run away from home, several had chosen suicide, and several had become very obedient. Most students had obviously become more aggressive. They met with a few people and didn’t find major issues. But the obedient children—honestly, I think that’s impossible—according to the parents’ descriptions, they were completely different people. My Taoist friend really wanted to meet them, but those children firmly refused, so he gave up. Since it wasn’t a big issue, he didn’t pursue it further.”

“The biggest problem is this: With the landslide, the mountaintop was completely gone. The top was flattened, vanished. There used to be a small mountain god temple near the peak, but it wasn’t found afterward. At the time, we thought some fellow Taoist had blasted it, but now it seems that wasn’t the case.” Chu Xuanliang asked, as if seeking confirmation, “Look, is it possible for a mountain to cultivate into a human?”

The Judge flipped through the Register of Merits and Demerits, beginning a new search.

Among the few spiritual mountains that could transform, they actually found one.

“Shaoling Mountain Range?”

Chu Xuanliang: “I think that area is called something like that.”