Judge of Souls - Chapter 49

February 19th, Lunar New Year’s Eve.

There were still three hours until midnight.

The streets were nearly empty, with most people eating New Year’s Eve dinner at home or in restaurants. Those who were out celebrating gathered in the central plaza, waiting for the New Year’s fireworks display.

A woman with permed wavy hair staggered along the street, looking panicked. She shouted at everyone who passed by. “Help! Help me!”

However, no one responded to her.

Under the streetlights, everything was empty, with no shadows left behind.

The nearby grocery store was broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala program at high volume, featuring the familiar hosts.

The woman floated in and called out a couple of times, but the shopkeeper still had no reaction. She could only turn away and move toward more distant places.

“Help…” She continued to wander the streets, flying into windows that were lit up to shout a few times.

As time passed, she grew more anxious. But there was nothing she could do; no one could notice her.

The female ghost sniffled, letting out a few sobs.

Jiang Feng was also watching television, but this year’s Spring Festival Gala wasn’t good.

He couldn’t understand why they invited actors to sing and singers to perform comedy skits, with each skit condensing all the hot political topics from the civil service exam.

So he was watching a drama series instead.

The female lead in this drama series had apparently died in an accident about a month ago. If she hadn’t died….her acting was so bad it made people want to kill her.

Jiang Feng rubbed the back of his head, about to change the channel, when suddenly the face on the screen changed from flat to three-dimensional. Then, with a puzzled look, she emerged from the TV, calling out softly, “Help…”

Jiang Feng held the remote, staring at her.

“An adult watching my stupid idol drama during the New Year holiday…” the female ghost murmured. “Must be an idiot…”

“…” Jiang Feng said, “This is my new TV.”

When the ghost heard him speak, her eyes suddenly brightened. She floated completely out of the TV and said, “You can see me? Help, Taoist master!”

Jiang Feng avoided her, quickly changing the channel, and said, “You’re already dead.”

“It’s not me, it’s a young girl!” the female ghost immediately explained. “She was cooking noodles alone at home, forgot to turn off the gas, and then fell asleep. It’s winter, and the windows are all closed. She’ll die from gas poisoning this way!”

Jiang Feng was stunned. He put down the remote and stood up with her. “Where is she?”

The female ghost immediately led the way, “This way, this way!”

Jiang Feng put on his coat, grabbed his phone and wallet, and followed her out.

The female ghost kept looking back to make sure he wasn’t sneaking away. Touched, she said, “There really is true kindness in this world, love everywhere. Even as a ghost, I can meet good people.”

Jiang Feng’s expression twitched.

The female ghost was named Kong Su, an actress who had died accidentally during filming a month ago. Since her death, she had been wandering the streets every day.

A few days ago, she saw a high school senior, seventeen years old, squatting on the stairs and crying bitterly while tearing up her books. After venting, the girl had then burned paper money in an iron basin in her room, commemorating her mother.

Kong Su felt something was wrong with the girl’s state of mind and stayed to watch for a while.

As a result, on this New Year’s Eve night, she discovered the girl was alone in her room, trying to kill herself with gas poisoning.

Fortunately, the girl lived not too far from Jiang Feng’s home and not in a gated community. He ran all the way, with Kong Su guiding him, and successfully arrived at the location ten minutes later.

Unfortunately, her home had a security door, making it impossible to break in.

“What do we do? Call the police quickly!” Kong Su said in a panic. “Will we make it in time?”

Jiang Feng: “No need.”

Kong Su: “Can you pick the lock?”

Jiang Feng urged. “You go in first. Stick your hand out.”

Kong Su floated through the door and extended a pair of pale hands from inside. Jiang Feng grabbed her wrist without warning, causing Kong Su to let out a surprised cry.

Then she made a few more exclamations when she realized she could touch the door lock and open the door from the inside.

A strong smell of gas immediately wafted out. Jiang Feng held his breath and rushed into the room. He picked up the girl lying on the sofa.

A neighbor came out after hearing the commotion and asked warily, “What’s going on? Who are you?”

This question didn’t need an answer because the air was filled with the strong smell of gas.

Jiang Feng placed the girl at the ventilated stairwell entrance, and several people came over to help.

She was still breathing, still alive.

Jiang Feng rushed back in to open the doors and windows, turned off the gas stove, then came out and closed the door.

The middle-aged man nearby said, “I have a car.”

Jiang Feng carried the girl on his back. “Let’s go!”

Thanks to the neighbor’s help, they took the girl to the hospital and registered her.

Jiang Feng said he was a friend of the girl’s mother who had come to visit her for the New Year, only to find her in trouble. Kong Su stole a key and a picture frame from the room and quietly slipped them to Jiang Feng. He showed them as proof.

The neighbor didn’t suspect anything and left the rest to him.

Even on New Year’s Eve, the Spring Festival Gala was playing in the hospital room. Jiang Feng sat in a chair next to the bed, watching TV.

The girl hadn’t been poisoned for long. It was only moderate gas poisoning. The doctor said she would recover on her own in a few days without any lasting effects. She could be taken home after she woke up.

Not long after she was placed in the hospital bed, she indeed woke up. She stared blankly at the ceiling, somewhat confused. Her emotions were low, lacking vitality.

“I saw my mom…” she said softly. “Who are you?”

Jiang Feng answered casually, “Your mom’s friend.”

The girl turned her head. “I’ve never seen you before.”

Jiang Feng stood up, checked her temperature, and said, “Rest a bit more, then you can be discharged.”

The girl’s name was Hu Xi, a seventeen-year-old high school senior.

More precisely, she was a student repeating her senior year.

She was an excellent student, scoring more than 80 points above the first-tier university cutoff line in mock exams, ranking among the top in the city.

Such a talented student, after being brought to Jiang Feng’s home, sat numbly holding a cup of water. She obediently answered whatever Jiang Feng asked.

The talented student Hu said, “I came home late the day before the college entrance exam and ate leftovers my stepmother had left. That night I got food poisoning, missed one day of the exam, and had to repeat the entire year.”

Kong Su couldn’t see herself in mirrors, but she noticed her reflection in Jiang Feng’s pupils. So she stuck close to him, checking her makeup.

She looked pale and terribly ugly.

“Hey, master, please help me buy some foundation, then touch me so I can fix my makeup. This is unbearable.”

Student Hu said, “My high school has a high college admission rate. When I was repeating the year, my stepmother said this school was hard to get into and didn’t accept repeating students. She wanted to transfer me to a rural school. It was my homeroom teacher who heard about it and thought it was a shame. He actively helped me with the paperwork, submitted applications, and provided guarantees so I could stay at my original school for another year.”

Kong Su’s ears perked up, finally shifting her attention from her face. She urged, “Ask quickly, at this point you should ask ‘What about your father?’ Don’t stay silent, you’re killing me!”

Before Jiang Feng could speak, Hu Xi continued on her own. “I told my father, but he accused me of slandering my stepmother. Hah, the whole family stood together and called me ungrateful. They said they didn’t dare cook for me anymore, and after I started repeating the year, they kicked me out. They rented me a haunted room. My monthly living allowance is six hundred yuan, including all textbook expenses. Raising a child is so convenient, isn’t it?”

Kong Su felt compelled to defend the room. “That room isn’t haunted, it’s just old. Something is always breaking, either the lights or the door, and during rain, it drips and makes noise non-stop. The toilet pipes upstairs all leak.”

Jiang Feng said helplessly, “Stop talking, that’s not the point.”

“I know what the point is. I’m just trying to lighten the mood, aren’t I?” Kong Su waved her hand. “Ask her if she’s his biological daughter? I can’t hold back anymore. Master, take the initiative, get this clear so I can start cursing.”

“My father is a ‘phoenix man’ who married into my mother’s family. My mother’s family was very wealthy. But my mother died a few years ago, and by then my grandparents were also gone, so he took control of the property. How pitiful that I truly considered him my father, my family. Not long after my mother was buried, a sister about my age and a three-year-old brother appeared in our home. Damn him!” Hu Xi laughed sarcastically. “Men’s pride is so ridiculous. On one hand, they’re insecure about their inadequacy, on the other hand, they’re fascinated by luxurious living, shamefully waiting for the day they can be ungrateful, thinking they can leave the past behind and become successful. Have they no shame?”

Jiang Feng corrected. “Some men.”

“I don’t share his surname, we don’t get along, and I’m a daughter. He treats me like a complete outsider. My mother’s property is in my name, and he’s afraid that when I become an adult, I’ll take everything back, leaving him with nothing again. He looks at me like I’m his enemy.” Hu Xi gritted her teeth, “That’s right, when I get the chance, I won’t leave him a single penny!”

Kong Su: “You seem to understand the situation quite clearly. So why try to kill yourself?”

Hu Xi bit her lip, lowered her eyes, and sniffled. The next moment, she burst into tears.

The two adults were at a loss, sitting nearby, keeping silent with their heads lowered.

Her mother hadn’t died recently, and she hadn’t just failed the college entrance exam, which meant her loss of will to live wasn’t due to these two events. Perhaps it was the accumulation of many upsetting things, or maybe something devastating had happened recently.

After Hu Xi finished crying, she wiped her face and said, “I know you don’t know my mom. My mom wouldn’t have such a poor friend.”

Jiang Feng: “…”

Kong Su burst into laughter.

Hu Xi looked at her too.

Ms. Kong’s expression froze, her eyes widened in shock. “You can see me?”

Hu Xi: “…I thought you were mentally ill.”

“…” Kong Su stopped floating around and sat obediently on the sofa nearby. “I’m sorry, I’m just a drama queen.”