Judge of Souls - Chapter 84

Kong Su originally didn’t want to accept this program. After all, she had previously been under a curse and was extremely wary of anything dangerous. However, when the production team that contacted her spoke very persuasively, plus the show’s short duration and high pay, she agreed.

To be precise, this wasn’t a program but a livestream. A wealthy tycoon wanted to experience the thrill of exploring a ghost village but was afraid to go alone, so he found several people to accompany him.

Kong Su found this ridiculous—poverty had limited her imagination.

After communicating with the production team, she enthusiastically called Jiang Feng and extended an invitation to him.

“Boss Jiang, Boss Jiang, are you coming?” she asked.

Jiang Feng replied, “What?”

“Haven’t you seen my program?” Kong Su twisted her hair ends and said, “Well, it doesn’t matter. Basically, a rich guy is paying us to livestream, and the location is a pretty famous ghost village. Oh… is it a ghost village? I think that’s its nickname. I searched online but couldn’t find much information. Maybe the place is too remote, so related news hasn’t been published.”

“……” Jiang Feng replied helplessly, “Why organize such an activity? Wouldn’t it be better not to go to such places? So many people who provoke ghosts start with curiosity.”

“Well, I originally didn’t want to go either! I’m so timid, with such a delicate soul. But I needed money, and they offered one million yuan per day, for two days and two nights. I mean, wouldn’t you go for one million yuan per day? I’d crawl there even if my legs were broken!”

Jiang Feng: “……”

He actually found her reasoning quite logical and couldn’t refute it.

“Right? And it’s just a livestream, generally nothing to worry about,” Kong Su noticed his silence and smiled. “Actually, the investor himself is a bit nervous, so he decided to join us and wanted to find a professional Taoist priest to accompany the team. I recommended you to the production crew. Fifty thousand yuan per day—are you coming?”

Jiang Feng: “……”

Kong Su continued, “Because they’re worried about a lack of exciting moments, the show also invited two or three celebrities. This is the first season, and if it goes well, there might be a second. Oh, and they’ve also hired professors, doctors, bodyguards, and retired armed police. So basically, there shouldn’t be any problems. Will you come and earn some money?”

“Ghost village?” Jiang Feng asked. “Send me the address so I can take a look.”

Kong Su replied cheerfully, “Sure thing!”

Kong Su sent an address to Jiang Feng’s phone, and he began searching through the Register of Merits and Demerits using the address.

“Ghost village” was probably just a nickname, but there was no record of this nickname in the Register, indicating it wasn’t widely known. Its original name was Shanyuan Village, located in another province.

Jiang Feng searched through everything and found that there had been no recorded soul collections near the ghost village in recent years. Either it was deserted, or there was truly something unusual about it.

But looking further back, there were normal death records and evidence of the village’s existence.

Jiang Feng originally wanted to summon a ghost to inquire about the situation or ask the underworld officials near Shanyuan Village to report back, but he thought Kong Su’s team probably couldn’t wait that long.

Jiang Feng called her back and asked, “Can’t you avoid going?”

“They’ve already paid and invested millions. All livestream notifications have been sent out. I don’t think it can be changed,” Kong Su said. “If there truly wasn’t an issue, I don’t think he would invite so many people. Perhaps there’s some truth mixed with rumors. What’s wrong? Is it dangerous?”

Jiang Feng replied, “I don’t know. But it is a bit strange.”

His words made Kong Su’s flesh crawl. “Boss, if you don’t go, I’m getting nervous about this.”

Jiang Feng said, “I’ll go with you all, but I won’t appear on camera.”

Kong Su immediately became excited. “No problem! I’ll let them know.”

After communicating with the production team, Kong Su informed Jiang Feng of the specific time.

The livestream was scheduled for Friday night at 10 PM three days later. They would drive for nine hours, arriving at the ghost village at 7 AM. The event would last two days, with plans to leave by 6 PM on Sunday.

This arrangement was perfect. Although they’d be setting off late at night, they would have a full day to adjust after reaching their destination, preventing them from being completely disoriented and significantly lowering the difficulty.

When Zhang Yangyang heard about this, he said he would watch the entire stream to support Jiang Feng. He had already downloaded the livestreaming app and enthusiastically recommended it to his friends, even though Jiang Feng might only be heard and not seen during the livestream.

****

At 9:30 PM on Friday, Kong Su came to pick up Jiang Feng to join the gathering.

Although it was a livestream, the investor had assembled quite a sizeable team.

Besides Kong Su being a celebrity, there were two other rising stars from the entertainment industry.

The male star, Tian Guang, had a masculine image with muscular arms and proper features. He currently had a popular drama series and had attracted many shipping fans. He wanted to solidify his fan base. Considering that the livestream would later be edited into a web series, and judging from the investor’s lavish spending, the effect should be quite good, so he accepted this offer.

The female star was around twenty years old with a sweet appearance, named Ji Ruxi. She was marketed as having a contrasting personality—being a tough girl who feared nothing—so she also joined this livestream.

The three celebrities’ livestream channels had the most fans and were responsible for attracting attention.

Their managers and assistants sat in the corner, pretending not to be part of the activity.

In addition, there were two professional bodyguards, two retired armed police officers, one surgeon, one traditional Chinese medicine doctor, one outdoor survival enthusiast, and one university professor.

This configuration showed a very strong will to survive.

The legendary investor was already in his fifties, supposedly past the age of acting on curiosity. From his appearance, he didn’t seem like that type of person either. Instead, he looked more like a calm middle-aged man.

When Jiang Feng arrived, his gaze swept over the investor’s face before he went to find a seat at the back.

Shanyuan Village wasn’t widely known. That this investor specifically found this place and labeled it a “ghost village” made Jiang Feng wonder whether he wanted to create hype or had other motives.

When everyone saw that he was the Taoist priest hired by the production team, they were momentarily stunned.

Although he wore a mask, his youth was evident!

Ji Ruxi stretched out her legs and said, “Isn’t he too young? Did Sister Kong recommend him? He looks about my age.”

Jiang Feng didn’t speak but distributed talismans he had bought from Chu Xuanliang.

Tian Guang unfolded one to look at the writing and asked, “Did you draw these?”

Jiang Feng replied, “Bought them from Qianyuan Temple.”

Everyone: “……”

This Taoist priest was really casual!

The surgeon and professor didn’t take the talismans, so Jiang Feng took them back and sat next to Kong Su.

Kong Su wanted to hang small pouches all over her body, so she shamelessly took all the talismans.

The livestream had already begun. After confirming that all personnel were present, the vehicles set off. Everyone started chatting.

Tian Guang asked, “Hey, do you believe in ghosts?”

The professor replied, “If by ghosts you mean something existing in the form of electromagnetic waves, I think they might exist. If you mean the kind that appears in movies and TV shows, I don’t believe it.”

Tian Guang smiled, “My mom is very superstitious. She keeps talking about these things, so even though I believe in science, subconsciously I still believe in ghosts when I hear about them.”

Jiang Feng said, “The gentleman in front, could you tell us about the ghost village? Why did you choose this place?”

Everyone looked over at the investor, who had been resting with his eyes closed but now opened them.

Just when Jiang Feng thought he wouldn’t answer, he suddenly spoke. “I heard that outsiders who go to the ghost village eventually disappear without a trace.”

“Outsiders?” Kong Su asked. “Are there people living in the ghost village?”

The investor replied, “Yes, locals. But they aren’t friendly to outsiders. Don’t try to establish relationships with them.”

Kong Su asked, “Mr. Yu, have you been there before?”

The investor answered, “I went once, but got scared and left quickly.”

Everyone was excited now and couldn’t sleep. Plus, they needed to keep an eye on the livestream, so they gathered to play cards and chat with viewers. Eventually, they took turns going to rest.

The vehicle moved faster than expected, and by 6 AM the next day, they had reached Shanyuan Village.

The place wasn’t as dramatic as they had imagined. Cement roads extended into the village, and the mountain paths were relatively flat and clear. It wasn’t a place completely isolated from the world.

After going around a mountain, they got out of the car and began climbing up the mountain with their luggage. After walking for about ten minutes, they could see the village nestled among the mountains.

There were rows of dwellings, mostly old mud-brick houses, but also some ordinary cement houses. Apart from being in a remote location, it didn’t seem much different from an ordinary rural village.

There were residents. They looked surprised to see the outsiders, holding their belongings while watching them, but didn’t actively approach.

With clear mountains and waters and fresh air, the place looked quite serene. It didn’t resemble a horror livestream but rather a travel one. In the live comments, many viewers complained about being deceived.

Kong Su walked to Jiang Feng’s side, adjusted the angle to keep the masked Jiang Feng out of frame, and asked, “How is it?”

Jiang Feng replied, “Nothing wrong, it looks normal so far.”

The university professor came over and asked, “Young man, how’s the feng shui here?”

Jiang Feng replied, “I don’t read feng shui.”

The professor smiled and said, “You hired this Taoist just for fun, right?”

Jiang Feng added, “I’m not a Taoist priest.”

Everyone was stunned and looked questioningly at Kong Su.

This seemed like an excessive waste of resources.

Jiang Feng continued, “I’m just here to ensure your safety.”

Everyone smiled dismissively.

The professor said earnestly, “Young man, it’s better to study more. If you stay grounded, you’ll have your day to shine.”

Jiang Feng replied calmly, “I’m a student at A University.”

Everyone was confused again. What was going on?

During the earlier self-introductions, Jiang Feng had skipped his turn. They only knew his surname was Jiang from various terms of address, and they kept feeling that his eyes looked familiar.

The investor said, “Let’s find a place to stay first. We’ll rent a building from them. Xiao Jiang, go help negotiate.”

Jiang Feng took the money and went to find someone.

Some of the mud-brick houses were empty; the locals had moved to new dwellings, so these were available for rent. However, since no one had lived there for some time, there was a lot of dust, and furniture was scarce.

Everyone entered the house and began busily cleaning the rooms.

Inside, there were many cobwebs, and with the dim lighting, it did have a haunted house feel.

There were quite a few viewers watching the livestream in the morning, and some had been watching all night. Seeing several celebrities covered in dust while sprinkling water, they were all confused.

“What kind of livestream is this? I don’t understand.”

“Did I exit the livestream room yesterday?”

“Dad…Dad where are you going?”

“Damn, are you a demon or what?”

“This is the most harmonious horror livestream I’ve ever seen. In the legendary ghost village, why are there so many living people? Don’t think you can fool me just because I’m not well-read.”