Judge of Souls - Chapter 59

Kong Su had bank cards all over the world. Having been terrified of poverty before, she particularly yearned for those movie scenes where people pulled out wallets full of money and bank cards. This led her to open too many cards—so many that she couldn’t remember the account numbers, passwords, or how much money was in each card. Gao Yuqing repeatedly mocked her as a “card collecting maniac.”

She just wanted to tell everyone: study hard and watch less TV to avoid developing such habits.

Kong Su only had a high school education, though her past was quite inspiring. Her parents died early, and she used her savings of 50,000 yuan to complete one year of middle school and three years of high school by herself. Her relatives refused to lend her money, so she really couldn’t afford college and began working in the entertainment industry instead.

Because of her limited education, she suffered much criticism in the industry. Her career path remained narrow, and she was constantly attacked by haters.

Actually, Kong Su didn’t resent her relatives for not lending her money, as it wasn’t their obligation. But since they had abandoned family ties first, they should have remained strangers forever.

However, when these relatives learned about her accident, they all appeared suddenly and even spread rumors that she was dead, which was going too far. Several of them quickly obtained medical records from the hospital, then got family relationship certificates from the police station and community office, and then rushed to the bank to change her passwords. Their behavior was truly unsightly.

Several banks had doubts about the news reports and noted they hadn’t received death certificates. Additionally, since Kong Su’s deposits were substantial, they didn’t dare process the relatives’ requests immediately. After contacting Gao Yuqing through various channels and being deliberately misled by him, they became even more hesitant to take action. So they made excuses to delay, planning to confirm Kong Su’s situation before making a decision.

A few small private banks processed the paperwork for the relatives, but fortunately, Kong Su didn’t have much money deposited there. Also, because the relatives thought Kong Su might never wake up, they argued amongst themselves over the uneven distribution, so they only withdrew part of the money, leaving the rest in the accounts.

Kong Su requested password changes, appearing in person to reject all their withdrawal requests. In one day, she visited more than a dozen banks.

One person, dragging her sick body…

Initially, she had to move around in a wheelchair, taking notes on her deposit balances, but as she continued noting them down, she surprisingly found she could stand on her own.

Carrying a small bag, seeing the stunned expressions of the bank staff, she became happier with each visit.

What an incredible power this was!

Kong Su’s previous corpse-like appearance was mainly due to her lack of vitality, her soul leaving her body, and the influence of the malevolent ghost’s energy. After drinking Chu Xuanliang’s three talisman waters, her complexion visibly improved.

Although the conditions at the sanatorium weren’t great and the hygiene was poor, she still received regular massages. Combined with her youth and good physical condition, her muscle atrophy wasn’t severe. After half a day’s effort, she had recovered halfway.

Jiang Feng followed her around various banks and coincidentally saw Zhang Yangyang waiting for his number to be called at one bank.

Zhang Yangyang waved excitedly. “Jiang Feng!!”

He approached Jiang Feng, but when he was about two or three meters away, he suddenly stopped. As if remembering something, his smile vanished, and he asked seriously, “Do you have a ghost with you now?”

Jiang Feng found this question difficult to answer. “There was one not long ago.”

Zhang Yangyang raised his eyebrows meaningfully, thinking “that was close.” He quickly jumped back, cupped his hands and said, “I! Must! Go!”

Then he disappeared into the crowd in a flash, abandoning his banking errand.

Jiang Feng: “……”

“Your friend?” Kong Su adjusted her sunglasses nervously and said, “The manager is calling me. Jiang Feng, don’t leave me! Can you two exchange phone numbers first?”

Jiang Feng: “……”

Seeing Jiang Feng’s dark expression, Gao Yuqing also wanted to find a fragile sapling to crash into and end his misery.

“Is she still not recovered from being possessed?” Gao Yuqing pointed at his own forehead and asked Chu Xuanliang, “Taoist master, she was truly insane before. Can you cure her?”

“That’s not it,” Chu Xuanliang pointed at Jiang Feng with a serious face and said, “There’s something in this world called energy field. Just as feng shui can affect a person’s fortune, some people are naturally born with a destiny that brings prosperity to their husbands, while others bring prosperity to their children. Jiang Feng is extraordinary—he brings prosperity to everything, more effective than a Kumanthong spirit. Spending time with him brings financial success and wards off all evil.”

“My goodness——” Gao Yuqing stood up, tugging at his clothes, and said, “I’ll go see if this fool Kong Su is causing trouble for Master Jiang. Taoist Chu, make yourself at home!”

So when Jiang Feng came out of the bank, he had two weights on either side that he couldn’t shake off.

Chu Xuanliang said, “I feel you’ve changed?”

Jiang Feng: “What’s changed?”

Chu Xuanliang said, “Before, you either looked completely confused or had an expression that showed concern for the mentally challenged. You used to push everything onto me and Old Ye, but now you seem capable of handling big situations.”

Jiang Feng: “Hmm.”

Chu Xuanliang also responded with a “Hmm.”

A person’s circumstances are hard to predict. Perhaps Jiang Feng had experienced something that gave him new perspective. His unique constitution was a good thing. There was no need to ask more.

To be precise, Jiang Feng’s so-called circumstances were thanks to Chu Xuanliang’s group of disciples.

Previously, a group of young Taoist priests had summoned the Judge’s true form at Shaoling Mountain, and afterward, Jiang Feng gained the Judge’s memories of appearing in the human world.

He was a streak of the Judge’s divine consciousness, carrying one-tenth of the Judge’s divine power in his soul. He came to the mortal realm to search for traces of the Judge’s Brush.

There were many injustices in the mortal realm, but there was also order. Ghost officials couldn’t be everywhere or intervene rashly. But if they witnessed something related to ghosts and spirits, they could step in if they wanted to.

He found it hard to describe his feelings; there was a slight discrepancy between his rationality and emotions.

It was like if an Ultraman woke up one day and suddenly realized he was an Ultraman. But he didn’t particularly enjoy fighting monsters.

****

Jiang Feng’s place was too small to accommodate everyone. Gao Yuqing, misled by Chu Xuanliang, believed that Jiang Feng could help him develop into a top agent and couldn’t accept this reality.

“We need an assistant. Please, help her. It’s not appropriate for you to stay here—it’s not good for either of you. I’ll find you a hotel, all expenses paid, with a beautiful environment. What do you think?” Gao Yuqing took off his glasses and sighed, “She’s really pitiful. When she was possessed before……”

“Had a curse placed on her,” Chu Xuanliang corrected him. “Possession is when evil energy invades; a curse is manipulation through witchcraft.”

Gao Yuqing clapped in agreement. “See? The entertainment industry is truly chaotic. Who knows what other tricks they have waiting for her? Since she’s awake, she needs to attend a press conference to make a public explanation, and she needs to act in films to earn money, right? Ah…… her reputation is really difficult to manage now. I say the entertainment industry doesn’t fear having many haters—even negative publicity is a form of traffic, and if you persist, you can eventually emerge. But when a person is down on their luck, everything truly goes wrong.”

Chu Xuanliang watched the situation with amusement.

Gao Yuqing’s phone had been buzzing non-stop in his pocket all day, until the battery was completely drained.

He took it out regularly to check, responding by text message if it wasn’t important, or asking another colleague to help if it couldn’t be delayed.

This time, the persistent callers were Kong Su’s uncles and aunts. They had called more than a dozen times in succession.

Kong Su saw this and urged. “Answer it, answer it!”

Gao Yuqing obediently answered.

“What’s happening with the bank cards? Why did the bank change the passwords? Kong Su is our relative, so her inheritance belongs to us. Are you trying to take it?”

Gao Yuqing looked at Kong Su, who nodded firmly.

Earlier that day, Kong Su had instructed the banks not to reveal that she had changed the passwords herself. Instead, they were to claim that Gao Yuqing had reported issues with the materials and certificates, stating that Kong Su was only ill, not in a vegetative state.

Gao Yuqing hadn’t paid close attention at the time, and a big blame was shifted onto him.

The person on the other end continued to rant. “I’m telling you, what did you tell the banks? If you continue spreading such rumors, I’ll report you to the police immediately!”

Gao Yuqing said, “Everyone is following the rules and procedures. You know what you’ve done. Who paid for Kong Su’s medical expenses? You took her money, and now you want to completely get rid of her? Go ahead and call the police—let’s see who has the public opinion advantage.”

After saying this, he hung up.

True to his role as an experienced agent, immediately after hanging up, Gao Yuqing called the internet trolls he regularly worked with.

Gao Yuqing said: “If Kong Su’s relatives release news today claiming the company is seizing her inheritance, help create a buzz, make the situation bigger, the more exaggerated the better.”

The troll guy was surprised: “Spending money on Kong Su? Isn’t she dead? What is your company doing?”

Kong Su had already taken out her tablet nearby, searching for makeup-free photos of various celebrities, and held it up to Chu Xuanliang asking, “Can you read faces, Taoist master? Who do you think is my attacker?”

“Oh, no, that’s not right.” Kong Su then pulled up photos of her relatives and asked, “What about these people? Who looks more likely?”

Chu Xuanliang: “……”

If he had such abilities, would the world still need police?!

“Dead?” Gao Yuqing smirked at the situation. “Evil lives a thousand years; she hasn’t even completed sixty years yet.”

****

Sure enough, that evening, news appeared of several people accusing the management company of forcibly seizing Kong Su’s inheritance.

Several middle-aged men and women dressed plainly clutched tissues in front of the cameras, crying convincingly with tears streaming down their faces.

“They froze all her bank cards and won’t let us withdraw anything. Now we can’t even pay for Kong Su’s care. Aren’t they cutting off our lifeline?”

“Kong Su was such a good child, just unfortunate. Her parents died when she was young, and we raised her. She was always obedient. But her luck was bad—how did she end up in this situation?”

“We visited her every day, giving her massages and rehabilitation. But when we went yesterday, we found they had taken her away. Now we don’t even know where they’ve taken her.”

“We don’t want money; we want an explanation! A perfectly good person, my own niece, my relative—what kind of situation is it when we can’t even see her?”

At the same time, a large group of internet trolls clumsily smeared the entertainment company online, making baseless accusations about various unethical practices.

Internet users showed no interest in their accusations and slander. What surprised them most was: “Wait, didn’t you say she died before? You even brought out her memorial tablet. In just over a month, a dead person has become a vegetative patient?!”

With a hot topic and explosive points, this was indeed a good opportunity for a comeback.