Judge of Souls - Chapter 85

Ji Ruxi cleaned her room until she was dirty and exhausted. She wanted to borrow some clean water from the villagers.

When she arrived, the villager poured a bowl of water from the kettle and asked, “Are you journalists?”

Ji Ruxi said, “Haha, we’re performers here to do a livestream show.”

The villager coldly replied, “We didn’t agree to you filming anything here.”

Ji Ruxi was startled and said, “We’ll try not to disturb you. We’ll only stay for two days.”

The person remained displeased. “Don’t go out randomly at night. Don’t do anything disrespectful to the deities here. Otherwise, you won’t be able to leave, and don’t blame us.”

“Why? What do you mean we won’t be able to leave?” Ji Ruxi was actually quite timid despite pretending to be relaxed. She lowered her voice mysteriously and asked, “Are there really supernatural legends around here?”

The villager forcefully took back the bowl from her hand and returned inside, slamming the door shut.

Ji Ruxi stood innocently in place, not knowing what she had done wrong.

Several lines of comments floated through her phone screen.

“These villagers are so rude!”

“They must be unhappy about being disturbed.”

“I think they’re overreacting. What’s the big deal? It’s just a livestream from Xixi’s own perspective.”

“Am I the only one who finds these villagers creepy? Their eyes are terrifying.”

“Ji Ruxi,” Kong Su called from the other side, “We’re assigning rooms!”

The earthen house was divided into two floors, with additional space on the roof that had been converted into two small compartments. The walls were covered with yellowed posters that looked like female celebrities from the 1980s. Inside were two wooden beds that were nearly collapsing, with bedposts almost completely hollowed out by termites, and sawdust all over the floor.

But no one planned to stay on the roof. They simply divided the lower two floors.

Jiang Feng, Kong Su, the investor, and a bodyguard along with a retired armed police officer stayed on the first floor, while everyone else stayed on the second floor.

The beds in the rooms were barely usable, but fortunately, everyone had brought their own sleeping bags. Kong Su laid out a piece of paper, reclined on it, and casually chatted with her fans.

“Yeah, why go outside? I think this room is fine.”

“Not scary enough? Look closely at my face—I’m not wearing makeup right now.”

“Where’s the Taoist master… Oh, you’re Jiang’s friend, right?”

“Every breath I take is dust. Don’t push me, or I’ll pick my nose and show you, and scare you to death.”

Jiang Feng was almost frightened just listening to her.

What kind of person was this? And she called herself a celebrity?

The investor sat calmly to the side, working on his laptop. Jiang Feng, who hadn’t slept in the car the night before, lay down for a brief rest.

The outdoor survival enthusiast in their team showed little interest, saying that survival here posed no challenge since there were local residents, modern equipment had been installed, and they had water and electricity. Apart from the inconvenient roads, it had nothing to do with survival.

Tian Guang and Ji Ruxi also thought that just chatting would be boring and wanted to find something more exciting. They wondered what the wealthy investor was thinking, not arranging any activities for them. The group unanimously decided to go out for a walk.

Kong Su glanced at Jiang Feng and asked, “Want to go with Taoist Master Jiang?”

“No need. We’re just taking a casual stroll. It’s still daylight—what could happen?” The man didn’t think much of Jiang Feng and found the idea of going out with a Taoist priest quite amusing. “Besides, there’s signal here. We can call you if there’s any problem.”

Kong Su thought this made sense. Seeing that both the investor and Jiang Feng seemed unconcerned, she didn’t try to stop them.

After everyone left, Kong Su crawled over to where Jiang Feng was and, holding her phone at a distance, asked, “What’s actually wrong with this village?”

“There are some issues,” Jiang Feng said, turning over. “This village hasn’t attracted dead souls for several years.”

“Huh?” Kong Su filled in the blanks herself. “Are you saying those villagers are all…”

“No, they’re alive,” Jiang Feng said. “They’re wearing talismans. I haven’t seen any ghosts since we arrived, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Jiang Feng pointed at the investor and mouthed, “Stay with him.”

The reputation of the ghost village hadn’t spread externally—it was the investor who had chosen this place and named it, which meant he clearly knew what ghosts existed in this village. When those people went out for a walk, he didn’t stop them, suggesting that the surrounding area was probably safe.

Staying with the investor would yield more crucial information. Besides, if Jiang Feng left, only Kong Su would remain in the room. If these people harbored ill intentions, she might die without knowing how. Their motives remained unclear, so he chose to observe.

Kong Su didn’t think as deeply as he did, but his words frightened her. She pulled the blanket over herself, lost in thought as she prepared to sleep, completely forgetting about her phone that was still livestreaming.

The viewers, forced to stare at the ceiling, were deeply frustrated.

“I want to report this streamer… She! Hung! Up!”

“Kong Su, you’ve changed. You’ve become forgetful.”

“Am I no longer your baby so quickly?”

“Come back—I can’t bear this alone!”

At noon, one of the bodyguards went out to collect firewood. Jiang Feng found an iron basin in a corner of the room. The group lit a fire in the center, heated up the boxed meals they had brought, and boiled a pot of water to make do for lunch.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Even without a horror vibe, the bored individuals still found it interesting.

After eating, Jiang Feng woke Kong Su up, and they went out for a walk.

When nearby villagers saw them, they immediately stopped their conversations, kept their distance, and maintained cold, aloof attitudes, showing extreme rejection.

Kong Su sensitively perceived their hostility.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, Tian Guang and the others returned. They put down their luggage and carried armfuls of wild fruits.

Kong Su asked, “Did you discover anything?”

Tian Guang: “Not much, just found an ancestral hall.”

The previously quiet investor looked up and said, “Then you went quite far.”

Tian Guang: “We were bored.”

Ji Ruxi sat by the charcoal fire and said, “I was so scared. The dead here are buried directly on the mountain. We came across several tombstones along the way. And then there were rows of spirit tablets in the ancestral hall.”

The university professor said, “On both sides of the ancestral hall, there were two rows of white burial clothes, with a black-faced, fierce clay statue at the head. What kind of custom is this?”

Jiang Feng: “What clay statue?”

“Oh, we took photos,” Ji Ruxi handed Jiang Feng her assistant’s phone. “Here, this one.”

A row of redwood trays was placed on the ground, with white burial clothes on top, some new and some old. At the front was a clay statue whose outer layer had peeled off due to age, making the face and clothes indistinguishable.

Tian Guang knelt behind Jiang Feng, pressing on his knees, and asked, “Which deity is this?”

Jiang Feng looked and said, “It’s Judge Bao.”

Everyone: “Judge Bao? Is Judge Bao also a deity?”

Jiang Feng calmly said, “If you’re interested, you’ve probably heard many supernatural stories related to theaters. Theaters are indeed prone to evil spirits, so in the past, opera troupes would always end their performances with Judge Bao. I heard that once, someone didn’t know the rules and went out without wiping his face clean. He continued washing his face by the river, but when he looked at his reflection in the water, he was possessed by a ghost.”

Kong Su anxiously asked, “Then what happened?”

“Nothing much. Later, they hurriedly painted Judge Bao’s image and performed three consecutive shows, finally exorcising the ghost.” Jiang Feng handed the phone back. “Every profession has its rules. Whether you find them bizarre or consider them feudal superstition, respecting these rules won’t cause you any harm.”

Everyone laughed dryly.

Tian Guang: “So what kind of deity is Judge Bao?”

Jiang Feng gave him a sidelong glance. “I believe there’s a folk legend that says the King of Hell is Judge Bao. So asking Judge Bao to suppress wronged souls makes perfect sense.”

Kong Su was startled. “Is he really?”

“In life, Judge Bao eliminated evil, embodied righteousness, and was full of vital energy. Plus, as an imperial official, he shared in the nation’s fortune, so ordinary ghosts and deities dared not approach him. Even after death, he remains a powerful ghost.” Jiang Feng said, “Whether he’s the King of Hell or not, he can certainly suppress minor ghosts.”

Kong Su thoughtfully said, “Oh…”

Ji Ruxi: “What about these white clothes?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Feng said. “It must be related to local customs. I’ve never heard of it.”

The university professor smiled.

He had thought these charlatans would try to deceive them regardless of whether they knew something or not, but this person was surprisingly honest.

Everyone gathered their belongings, preparing to go upstairs.

Jiang Feng felt uneasy and asked one more question. “You didn’t touch anything in the ancestral hall or say anything disrespectful nearby, did you? You also didn’t make any wishes like ‘if only such and such would happen,’ that kind of request?”

“No. We just touched it briefly and came back.” Ji Ruxi took out the talisman Jiang Feng had given her. “Look, it’s still good.”

Jiang Feng nodded. “Everyone should rest early.”

Ji Ruxi: “This early?”

Tian Guang: “My phone’s almost out of battery, that’s bad.”

Ji Ruxi: “Haha, I brought six power banks!”

Tian Guang: “No worries, right? People live here, we can just borrow a charger from them.”

They went upstairs, teasing each other. The university professor stayed behind and went over to the investor, attempting to strike up a conversation.

Kong Su sat with Jiang Feng and asked, “You seem very nervous. Is there something wrong with that ancestral hall?”

Jiang Feng raised his hand to stop Kong Su from speaking, tilting his ear toward the window to indicate, “Isn’t it too quiet outside?”

Kong Su fell silent as well, listening intently.

Indeed, it was eerily quiet, with no sounds of conversation.

After dark, Kong Su became afraid of everything and joked, “So what? Isn’t quiet normal? It’s almost dark, everyone’s gone home.”

“In rural areas, it should be lively after dinner,” Jiang Feng said. “But the sky has just begun to darken, and there’s not a single person outside.”

Kong Su suddenly remembered something, “There are no children or young people around here, right? I think I only saw middle-aged and elderly people today.”

“So where does their productive power come from? How were the houses built? How do they earn money?” Jiang Feng, with only his eyes visible, furrowed his brows deeply. “Are there fields nearby? Do they farm? Where are their children?”

Kong Su was bewildered by his string of questions.

The online viewers were also impressed.

“I’m getting goosebumps…”

“First time I’ve seen someone create a scary atmosphere through analysis.”

“Is this decoding? This is clearly stirring up trouble!”

“What’s with this Taoist priest, haha! Actually a horror novelist, right?”

“No, what’s with this livestream? You said you were exploring a ghost village! Where’s the real ghost exploration? It’s not even dark yet and you’re already going to sleep. I’ve been waiting all day and this is what you show me? Are you kidding?!”

The professor heard their conversation and clapped his hands, saying, “Alright, don’t scare yourselves. If you’re afraid, just rest early.”