Judge of Souls - Chapter 58

Kong Su experienced returning to her own body for the first time. Seeing that Jiang Feng didn’t give her operational instructions, she tentatively moved closer.

Looking at her familiar face up close, she thought it looked even uglier.

She touched her own hand. At the moment of contact, a powerful suction force pulled her in. Her entire soul plunged into the body, her vision shifted, and only darkness remained.

Kong Su was accustomed to floating weightlessly in midair. Suddenly having physical form, her entire body felt immobilized as if pressed down by a massive boulder.

With her last bit of strength, she blinked once. Her vision was blurry and white. Before she could clearly see her surroundings, her eyes were forced shut again.

Then endless darkness swept over her, dragging her into unconsciousness.

Her soul had been separated from her physical body for too long, making it difficult to adjust. Combined with her weak physical condition and the continued influence of the malevolent spirit, she would likely need a long time to recover.

The little ghost that Jiang Feng held in his hand was very restless. While he was checking on Kong Su’s condition, it tried to concentrate its malevolent energy to cut his palm and escape.

However, this little ghost’s attacks were insignificant to Jiang Feng, merely causing a cool sensation in his palm that was slightly uncomfortable.

He called Chu Xuanliang and asked him to come help.

Chu Xuanliang drove to the sanatorium an hour later and was surprised to see a celebrity who had been reported “dead” in the news lying there. After entering, he closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it.

The most pressing issue now was Kong Su’s terrible condition. Her spirit was unstable, putting her life in danger. It seemed likely that even a small scare would cause her soul to leave her body again. Chu Xuanliang gave her a large dose and made her drink two bowls of talisman water. Only then did Kong Su slowly regain consciousness. He instructed her to drink three packets daily until she completed the full course of treatment.

He handed Kong Su a safety talisman he had brought with him, telling her to keep it on her person at all times. But these were merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. In her current condition, wherever she went, she would be an attractive target for malevolent spirits, easily devoured by ghosts.

Kong Su wasn’t afraid of this at all. The first thing she did upon waking was to lift the blanket and say, “Never mind all that, just get me out of this place quickly. I want to be transferred to a luxury private room!”

Chu Xuanliang hurriedly stopped her: “Don’t stay in a hospital at all costs. Hospitals have heavy yin energy. I suggest you stay with Jiang Feng for now. His home is the safest place; at least you won’t need to worry about being harmed there. After staying for about ten days, along with the talisman water treatment, you should be able to live independently.”

Kong Su thought about how small Jiang Feng’s home was and how cramped it would be with another person, especially a woman. After all, she was a celebrity, and if paparazzi caught sight of her, it would cause Jiang Feng considerable trouble.

Kong Su asked, “Can’t I stay at the Taoist temple?”

“No. The yin energy in your body is too heavy; your soul is almost the same as a ghost’s. If you stay in a Taoist temple and aren’t careful while sleeping, you might be sent off to the afterlife,” said Chu Xuanliang. “Those who practice Taoism have strong yang energy and killing energy. In your current condition, being close to us would make you uncomfortable. I recommend you stay at Jiang Feng’s place for a while.”

Kong Su: “……”

Jiang Feng raised his eyebrows at Chu Xuanliang: Aren’t you going to ask for my opinion?

Chu Xuanliang raised his eyebrows back: Have you ever asked for my opinion before setting me up?

As the two communicated with their eyes, the ignored Kong Su tried to stand up on her own. After exerting herself, she found her legs wouldn’t cooperate and had to resign herself to lying back down.

“Taoist Master, can you find out who’s trying to harm me?” Kong Su broke the silence between the two men. “I can’t afford to die a second time; the feeling is truly unbearable.”

Reminded by her question, Jiang Feng finally thought of it. He extended his hand, which was clenched tightly, and said, “Kumanthong.”

“Kumanthong?” Chu Xuanliang supported Jiang Feng’s hand to feel it and said gravely, “This yin energy is too heavy. Normally, a Kumanthong is just kept and worshipped, it wouldn’t have such heavy yin energy.”

Jiang Feng: “Because it killed someone?”

Kong Su glared angrily. “Who was it?! Someone raised a ghost child to mess with me. Can I raise one back to mess with them?!”

Kong Su felt creeped out. She didn’t know how long this little ghost had been following her or where it had been hiding before. It was better when she couldn’t see it, but now… just thinking about it gave her the creeps.

“A Kumanthong is different from raising a ghost child. A true Kumanthong refers to wandering children’s souls who willingly accept worship, following those who feed them, doing good deeds and accumulating merit for a better rebirth in the next life. Raising a ghost child involves incantations and burning talismans, forcing children’s souls to follow you. Some even actively kill unborn children still in their mothers’ wombs to enhance their magic powers, then collect vengeful spirits for their own use,” Chu Xuanliang explained. “Raising ghost children is unconscionable evil that will eventually turn against the perpetrator.”

“A Kumanthong itself is just a child, with no inherent good or evil. Whatever it does is influenced by its keeper,” Chu Xuanliang speculated. “With this kind of magic power, it’s likely a Kumanthong summoned by an Ajarn. But Ajarns’ consecration methods differ from ordinary monks. Ajarns are actually Jiangtoushis. They might directly find vengeful spirits or use aborted fetuses. When kept close, these Kumanthongs can be much more powerful.”

Chu Xuanliang said, “Finding its keeper is unlikely. In this state, it was probably abandoned, which is why it can only follow you.”

“Heavens, they even abandon ghost children after raising them?” Kong Su coughed, her entire chest aching as she protested, “I don’t want it either.”

Jiang Feng felt moisture in his palm, not knowing what the Kumanthong was doing, and urged, “Take it away quickly.”

Surprisingly, Chu Xuanliang stepped back defensively. “I can’t touch it casually; it will bite me. Can’t you find a ghost official to take it back? Where’s your family’s younger brother?”

Jiang Feng said, “The underworld won’t accept it. It was summoned from outside.”

With dark skin, it was unclear which country the person was from.

Chu Xuanliang felt a headache coming on. “This was summoned from a foreign country?”

Jiang Feng asked, “So?”

“Let’s take it to the Taoist temple first and gradually perform rituals to send it off,” Chu Xuanliang sighed. “But from what I can see, this little ghost’s malevolent energy is too strong. Its sins will be difficult to cleanse, and it has lost its rationality. It’s hard to say if there will be any results. What a sin.”

****

The agent glanced at the missed calls on his phone, his face showing irritation.

The sanatorium had called him several times for the same reason—they were out of money.

He was only Kong Su’s agent, so logically, Kong Su’s coma should have little to do with him. He couldn’t get a single penny from her estate, so why was he still being burdened with her problems?

He had already been considerate enough to make arrangements for her and advance her medical expenses. But he had really—had enough!

He scrolled through his contacts list, found a name toward the bottom, and dialed.

“Hello,” the agent said coldly. “Have you paid Kong Su’s medical expenses?”

The man on the other end replied gruffly, “That’s none of your business. Why aren’t you taking care of Kong Su? I told you finding a sanatorium was unnecessary—”

The agent interrupted. “The relationship between an agent and artist is not that of servant and master. I hope you understand that. I don’t care how you fight over her inheritance, but she’s not dead yet. If you want the official stamp for notarization, behave yourselves. Otherwise, I’ll report you!”

The agent hung up and cursed. His phone rang again.

It was the sanatorium.

He rubbed his forehead and answered with an unpleasant tone. “Hello?”

The other party didn’t seem to mind and quickly said, “Miss Kong has woken up.”

“What?” The agent jumped to his feet, knocking over a cup of water on the table. He hurriedly steadied the cup, his hands in disarray. Unable to find anything to wipe up the water, he moved his computer aside first.

“What did you just say?”

“Miss Kong Su has woken up. She was just taken away by someone.”

“Taken away? Isn’t she…huu—” the agent lowered his voice and asked, “Okay, who took her away?”

“Her friends, I suppose. Two men came today. They left a phone number.”

The agent: “Give it to me.”

Agent Gao Yuqing called the number, and the man on the other end answered calmly, gave an address, and then hung up. Gao Yuqing hurriedly drove there.

Halfway there, Gao Yuqing became afraid.

Think about all the things that had happened to Kong Su recently. How could someone in a deep coma suddenly wake up? Were those two guys human or ghosts? Was Kong Su still Kong Su?

He had visited her once before and had to burn more than a dozen safety talismans, which nearly scared him to death. He never dared to go again after that.

Gao Yuqing was terrified. He valued his life dearly and immediately slowed down.

Although he was extremely hesitant, he never turned back.

Without any traffic, Gao Yuqing arrived at the designated place half an hour later.

It was just an ordinary residential area, bustling with people. A University was not far away; anyone shouting loudly would be heard by many people on the street.

Gao Yuqing looked up at the midday sun, walked around the area, and felt a bit more at ease. He clutched his treasured safety talisman and headed up.

Jiang Feng came out to open the door for him.

He was a young man with proper features and refined looks.

Not a monster or demon. Gao Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief.

“Kong Su!” Gao Yuqing’s eyes immediately spotted Kong Su, and he excitedly walked toward her. “You’re really awake? How are you now?”

Kong Su lay limp on Jiang Feng’s only sofa. Hearing his words, she lifted her eyelids and responded listlessly, “Are you blind? Can’t you see how I am?”

Gao Yuqing then asked, “Who are you people?”

Chu Xuanliang took out his ID. “Taoist priest.”

“Taoist priest…” Gao Yuqing mused thoughtfully, “Taoist priests have IDs now?”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see the ID?” Kong Su said angrily. “Is that the point right now?!”

Seeing that Kong Su was also back to normal, Gao Yuqing felt both relieved and angry. “Why are you talking to me like that? I don’t owe you anything. You still haven’t fixed that attitude of yours?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! You secretly transferred my roles to other artists. Where’s your conscience? I took so much criticism playing supporting roles to those little flowers and fresh meat just to get a second lead role, and you just gave it away! You could have given it to anyone else, but you gave it to Yang Huan. I haven’t even avenged her deliberately slapping me during filming yet!”

“She brought investment to the production and got the role through her own abilities. What did I give away?” Gao Yuqing pointed at her accusingly. “During your final period alive, you were acting like you were possessed. Who would dare hire you? People in the industry are very superstitious. They perform rituals before and after filming. Others might fabricate personas, but you were truly possessed! You even dared to splash sour soup on the producer’s face. Did you still expect to get that role? Was I the one begging and apologizing for you? Kong Su, have some conscience!”

“Huh?” Kong Su blinked and asked, “Did I splash him?”

The agent adjusted his glasses, exasperated, “Go ahead, keep pretending!”

Hearing this, Chu Xuanliang calculated with his fingers.

It might really have been due to a curse.

“I…” Kong Su, faced with his accusations, suddenly recalled her past glorious deeds. She scratched her neck and said, “But you shouldn’t have said I died!”

Gao Yuqing said, “Was it me who said that? It was those excellent relatives of yours! When the doctor said you might not wake up, they rushed to tell the media you were already dead. They even made a memorial tablet for you and cried their hearts out in front of the TV cameras. I asked the company if we should clarify, but you were already in that state, so they couldn’t continue spending money on you, could they? So we just issued a statement. Look for yourself!”

Gao Yuqing extended his hand, palm covered in cold sweat from his earlier fear. “Speaking of which, I just remembered. Salary, money. I’ve been advancing your treatment fees. Those stingy relatives of yours wouldn’t part with a single penny. Pay me back.”

“Help me up!” Kong Su raised her hand authoritatively. “I’ll give you ten times the amount!”

Gao Yuqing’s mood instantly improved, and he went over to support her.

Kong Su said, “Let’s go. I almost forgot the important matter. Let’s go to the bank and see how much money I have left to calm down.”

Gao Yuqing thought to himself that she probably wouldn’t be calm after seeing it.

“Oh, Taoist Jiang,” Kong Su turned her head and looked at Jiang Feng with teary eyes. “Big boss Jiang, I can give you all the money I can get for one month of your time. Please come with me to go out for a while.”

Gao Yuqing: What the hell?!

“Little brother…” Gao Yuqing asked anxiously, “Little brother, are you of legal age?”

TN:

降頭師 (Jiàngtóushī) refers to a sorcerer or shaman who practices 降頭術 (Jiàngtóu shù), a type of Southeast Asian black magic, particularly found in Thailand, Malaysia, and other regions influenced by Thai or Khmer occult traditions.

“阿贊” (Āzàn) is a transliteration of the Thai word “Ajarn” (อาจารย์), which means “teacher” or “master”. It is often used as a title of respect for Buddhist monks, scholars, or spiritual practitioners, including those involved in Thai occult practices.