Judge of Souls - Chapter 86

Jiang Feng had Kong Su lay out the sleeping bag and sleep in the middle, while he lay down beside her.

Kong Su lay flat on her back chatting with internet users, replying to their comments. Jiang Feng wore a mask to sleep, though he had changed to a new one.

He was almost asleep, his nostrils slightly contracting, when his eyelids suddenly twitched and he exclaimed, “There’s a ghost.”

–There was yin energy.

Kong Su was startled, nearly smashing her phone into her face. “What?”

The investor quickly stood up and looked around. Only the university professor shook his head.

Jiang Feng walked to the staircase and called upstairs, “What are you all doing?”

Tian Guang shouted back, “We’re playing Pen Fairy!”

Kong Su cursed “your grandfather” and followed behind Jiang Feng as they rushed upstairs.

By the time they got upstairs, the ghostly shadow had already disappeared. Only the two celebrities and their assistants remained, sitting in a circle around a low table.

A piece of paper and a pen were placed on the table.

Kong Su was so angry that her lip blistered. “Are you all crazy? Playing Pen Fairy in a place like this? In the middle of nowhere, what if you really summon a ghost?”

Tian Guang spread his hands helplessly and said, “Come on, how boring would it be without games like this? We’re here to make a show, not just to sleep. Besides, how could this stuff possibly be real?”

Ji Ruxi also said, “Sister, you don’t actually believe in ghosts, do you? If you really believed, how would you dare come to explore a haunted village?”

Jiang Feng saw that the pen had made a check mark above the word “Yes” and asked, “What question did you ask?”

Tian Guang: “Huh?”

Ji Ruxi raised her hand. “He asked if there were really ghosts in this village.”

Jiang Feng: “Then who drew this ‘Yes’?”

Tian Guang raised both hands in surrender and said, “Let’s be honest, stop scaring this young brother.”

The others looked at Tian Guang in confusion, momentarily speechless.

Tian Guang couldn’t maintain his smile anymore. “What do you mean?”

Ji Ruxi: “It wasn’t me. I thought it was the force from your side pulling the pen.”

The other two assistants nodded in agreement.

“How is that possible?” Tian Guang said with a stern face, “This isn’t funny at all.”

Jiang Feng: “Where’s your talisman?”

Tian Guang turned to look. He wasn’t carrying it; he had casually stuffed it in his bag before leaving.

Seeing this, Jiang Feng said, “Forget it, just get some rest, everyone stop playing.”

The group was annoyed at being interrupted by Jiang Feng, especially Tian Guang, who pursed his lips after everyone left and muttered “bad luck” under his breath.

The comments in the livestream also joined in cursing Jiang Feng as a lunatic. This was supposed to be a horror-themed livestream, but after a day and night, they’d only been clearing land and sleeping—what was so scary about that? Not even daring to play Pen Fairy was too ridiculous.

What was this multi-million dollar investment livestream trying to accomplish? Did the investor have too much money to spend?

Tian Guang and Ji Ruxi packed up their things and also sat against the wall to rest.

Tian Guang played games with the livestream audience for a while. Around nine o’clock, feeling genuinely tired, he finally lay down to sleep.

The livestream remained on, and the phones could never leave their bodies—this was the investor’s only strict requirement. Everyone followed the rules, tying their phones to their arms while sleeping. At the same time, there was also a computer in the room monitoring their position.

A small lamp with an orange glow provided illumination, a desk lamp they had brought themselves, hanging by the window.

The mountain wind was strong at night, and the old adobe house creaked violently. The window frames and the house itself made loud noises. Against this background noise, the young masters and princesses who thought they would have insomnia actually fell asleep quickly.

The number of people in the livestream decreased, with probably only a few idle fan groups remaining.

At midnight.

The air began to grow damp. The wind grew stronger, faintly blowing through the walls.

Tian Guang, sleeping on the second floor, suddenly began to move, crawling out of his sleeping bag, then standing up like a corpse. With his eyes closed, he walked forward step by step, wooden and expressionless, moving on his tiptoes, silently circling around Ji Ruxi and the others, and silently making his way to the stairs.

The first to notice something wrong were the viewers watching the computer livestream. They had just noticed Tian Guang’s strange behavior and wanted to follow him, but after he went downstairs, they could no longer see anything in that livestream.

Everyone hurriedly switched to Tian Guang’s livestream, while simultaneously spreading the news on various forums and Weibo, calling for visitors to come watch the gathering.

It seemed the true horror livestream had finally begun.

“Exciting, exciting. The actors are in position.”

“Haha, he’s acting so convincingly, I’ll never mock Tian Guang for being just a pretty face again. He could definitely go the method acting route!”

“He really seemed to be walking with his eyes closed just now, right?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect him to be prepared right from the start. Let’s see what he’s up to.”

During the day, Tian Guang and the others had mentioned that the stairs were old wooden boards that creaked loudly with every step. But as Tian Guang made his way from the second floor to the first, the background remained consistently quiet.

The audience had heard the rustling sound when he got out of his sleeping bag, but now they couldn’t hear the sound of the wooden boards creaking?

“I think something’s not right.”

“How can the people on the first floor sleep so soundly?”

“You can never wake someone who’s pretending to sleep.”

“Something’s really wrong with Tian Guang! I heard the bodyguard shouting over there, but I can’t hear Tian Guang’s breathing!”

“Come on, there’s a computer on the first floor, and another livestream room, does anyone have the room number?”

“Damn, following this drama is exhausting.”

Tian Guang’s phone was tied to his arm, so viewers couldn’t see his actual condition, but the phone’s view swept past Kong Su, Jiang Feng, and the others who were sleeping.

Viewers quickly realized the movement perspective was wrong—a normally walking person shouldn’t have such a steady view; there should be some up and down movement.

They switched livestreams again, turning to the monitoring computer view on the first floor.

The first-floor computer camera was somewhat far from Tian Guang, but even from that distance, they could clearly see how strange he looked.

He was barefoot, walking on his tiptoes, apparently with his eyes closed. He walked very quickly, with each step almost the same distance apart. But his legs were stiff, with his knees barely bending.

“Stop it, please stop it! Don’t scare people in the middle of the night!”

“His walking posture is so creepy!”

“What the hell?”

“WHAT THE HELL!”

“…I’ll see myself out.”

“I’m out of here!”

“Goodbye!”

“This production team is poisonous, faking things with such acting skills, I’m reporting them!”

“Report them!”

“@Tian Guang, @XX News. Playing with feudal superstition, aren’t you afraid of being banned? Today’s celebrities are really bold.”

Despite all the cursing and complaints, Tian Guang’s movements were unaffected.

He pushed open the door and walked out alone, and the wind immediately rushed in from outside. Tian Guang didn’t hesitate, heading straight in a certain direction.

Not long after Tian Guang left, Jiang Feng moved. He glanced at the doorway, then at the second floor, frowning. He got up and walked to the computer to check the situation.

Seeing someone awake, the comments scrolled rapidly with messages like “Tian Guang just went outside!” to get his attention.

Jiang Feng clicked his tongue, took out a flashlight, put on his coat, and went out to find him.

Meanwhile, Tian Guang had already left the village.

It was pitch black all around, with only the faint moonlight shining down, objects having only blurry outlines. Tian Guang clearly wasn’t using any light.

Earlier that day, they had all gone out for a walk, so the audience knew that some sections of the mountain path were very steep, especially the uphill stretch. The path might have various unexpected tree pits, with uneven ups and downs, as well as stones and broken branches, so one had to walk carefully to avoid stepping into them.

But Tian Guang was now moving at a rapid pace, with the dense black tree shadows flashing by quickly in the view, and the surrounding scenery constantly changing.

“Stop playing, this is too dangerous! I believe you, okay? Go back to sleep!”

“Tell me, he’s actually just walking in circles, right?”

“Damn, I’m about to have a heart attack! The sound of the wind here is terrifying enough.”

“No breathing sound, no footsteps… but there’s wind and cricket sounds… just saying.”

“Please don’t scare me, I’m begging you.”

“@Tian Guang! Spamming @Tian Guang! Stop walking, be careful of falling! You’re not a stunt performer, you’re just an idol!”

“The Taoist guy from the team also came out looking. He brought a flashlight, but so far there’s no light visible anywhere around. So… Tian Guang is really walking forward, not circling in place.”

“Damn!”

“Calling the police now.”

Tian Guang continued aimlessly forward, and the audience tried to remember his direction of movement, sharing it in the comments to guide Jiang Feng. However, with insufficient light, this was too difficult. Soon, the comments themselves became divided.

“What time is it now?”

“Reporting! 12:21.”

“This is scaring me to death! Will this ever end?”

“Stop playing, it could get dangerous. Where is he now? It’s very easy to misstep in the dark!”

“Holy shit, I see a tombstone.”

“HOLY SHIT!! I see it too!”

“I’m leaving the room now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“Goodbye! I should have left three hours ago!”

Finally, Tian Guang stopped. He stopped on a flat piece of ground and simply lay down without moving.

“???”

“A graveyard. No doubt about it.”

“I can see a rectangular stone stuck in the ground. Definitely a graveyard.”

“Damn! I’m really closing the room now, what is this?!”

“Donate, frantically suggesting.”

“This isn’t just about hype anymore. I think this is serious. I’ve already contacted the police to investigate. This kind of bad production team should be shut down. [Image]”

“What’s wrong with you? Is it necessary? If you don’t like a livestream, just leave!”

“If someone can lie down and sleep in a graveyard for publicity, I respect that. If he doesn’t become famous, who will?”

Jiang Feng could smell the slight yin energy floating in the air, which hadn’t been there during the day, so this must be what Tian Guang had summoned with the Pen Fairy.

His sense wasn’t very sensitive, plus the interference from the night wind, and his unfamiliarity with the terrain, he couldn’t catch up to Tian Guang.

Walking with a flashlight, he nearly fell once. By the time he found Tian Guang, it was already 12:50.

The yellowish-white light passed over Tian Guang’s body, and Jiang Feng walked up and pushed him.

“Tian Guang, wake up.”

Tian Guang opened his eyes drowsily, saw Jiang Feng’s magnified face and the brilliantly clear starry sky, and suddenly became fully alert.

“What the hell!” He let out a scream and distanced himself from Jiang Feng. His back hit a tombstone; looking back, he almost cried. He ran to the other side, pointing at Jiang Feng and cursing, “What are you trying to do? Are you crazy, you pervert! What did I do to offend you? If you want to kill someone, find someone else!”

Jiang Feng: “…”

Jiang Feng crouched down and said, “You walked here yourself. I just came out to find you.”

Tian Guang spat as he yelled, “Bullsh*t!”

Jiang Feng didn’t explain further, just pointed at the phone on his arm, letting him check the comments himself.

Tian Guang took a deep breath to calm himself, then remembered. He pulled the phone in front of him. Due to fear, his fingertips trembled uncontrollably, causing the phone screen to shake.

“Keep acting, that last outburst was good, I almost believed it.”

“Little brother, don’t joke around, you’re overacting. You can say cut now.”

“It’s you, it’s you, it’s definitely you! How long are you going to keep pretending!”

“Someone has already called the police, Guang Guang. This prank stops here. Everyone is scared to death!”

“Please, please get out of the graveyard, is that a place to stay? Are you all crazy for fame?”

“I’ve already recorded the screen, there’s no way to deny it.”

Tian Guang read the text, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, then slowly raised his head to look at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng held the flashlight in one hand, illuminating a small patch of empty ground in front of him and a small area around them. He shrugged innocently.

Tian Guang almost couldn’t catch his breath.

Jiang Feng quickly said, “Don’t faint. If you faint, I can’t carry you back, and you’ll really have to spend the night in the graveyard.”

Tian Guang crawled toward him, choking with sobs, “Taoist Master, Taoist Master, please save me… I was wrong, Taoist Master. You’re a god, I’m the pervert, I’m stupidly perverted!”

Jiang Feng took out a talisman and gave it to him. This time, without needing to say more, Tian Guang grabbed it immediately, clutching it in his palm like a lifeline.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Feng refrained from mocking him further. He stood up, sighed lightly, and said, “Let’s go back. Take off your clothes and tie them around your feet, otherwise, you might get cut by the stones on the way back.”

He also took off his own outer garment and handed it to Tian Guang.

Tian Guang followed each instruction, silently taking it from his hand, folding it several times, and using the sleeves to tie a knot at his ankles.

The two walked back along the path they had come, with Tian Guang sticking close to Jiang Feng.

Clothes were certainly not as good as shoes, and his feet still inevitably got hit, but he was too preoccupied to care. The terror in his heart made him lose his awareness of pain; he only knew to tightly grip Jiang Feng’s clothes, absolutely refusing to fall behind.

Halfway back, he couldn’t hold back and began crying softly.

Jiang Feng turned back to comfort him. “It’s okay. Keep the talisman with you, I’ll be watching over you.”

Tian Guang nodded. “Mm——“

Jiang Feng said emphatically, “So you see…”

As soon as Tian Guang spoke, a snot bubble emerged, his voice trembling like nothing else, “I’ll never do something so stupid again…”

What more could Jiang Feng say? He managed to encourage him, “That’s the lesson learned.”