Judge of Souls-Chapter 14 - List

Jiang Feng scanned the list from top to bottom. Sixteen names were written on it, differentiated by black and red ink.

The first name, Lu Quan, written in red, was his vice dean. He recognized him. Three other names were also marked in red. One sounded vaguely familiar, likely a professor from one of his elective courses. The other two he didn’t recognize at all.

The list also included the names of several university administrators.

Jiang Feng wondered if the girl who had the incident today was on the list.

University student relationships were generally quite distant, and since he lived off-campus and didn’t participate in any clubs, he had almost no friends at school. He couldn’t even remember his classmates’ faces, let alone their names.

Jiang Feng rubbed the paper between his fingers, puzzled. What did it mean?

His boss called, asking him to deliver a few more takeout orders, saying they could handle deliveries themselves later.

Jiang Feng tucked the list into his pocket and returned to the restaurant to pick up the food.

At this hour, there weren’t many takeout orders. Coincidentally, the orders were all from A University students.

He arrived at the dormitory with the food, pulled out his phone, and dialed the number on the order slip.

“Your takeout is here. Come down and get it.”

The person on the other end hesitated. “Jiang Feng?”

“Who is this?”

“…You didn’t save my number? You seriously didn’t save it? This brother is a university junior!” The voice was incredulous. “It’s Zhang Yangyang, your class monitor!”

Jiang Feng mumbled an acknowledgment. “Takeout.”

Zhang Yangyang: “Bring it up, I’m swamped right now. 301, waiting for you! Thanks, brother, I’ll get you a drink!” He hung up without waiting for a response.

Jiang Feng stared at his disconnected phone for a moment, silent.

Fortunately, their dorm building wasn’t tall, just three floors. Arriving at room 301, he found the door unlocked and walked straight in.

The class monitor, shirtless, was hunched over his desk writing furiously. He looked up at the sound. “Hey, you’re here? Thanks, buddy!”

Jiang Feng glanced around. “Homework?”

“Nah, what homework? Didn’t something happen to Tian Doudou in class today? I’m writing a report for our counselor.” The class monitor fanned himself with his hand. “Totally unlucky today. The dorm forgot to pay the electricity bill, and the charging lady isn’t working. I have to handwrite this. This is torture!”

Tian Doudou?

Jiang Feng’s ears perked up. “What about Liu Jing?”

“You know about that too? Well-informed, aren’t you? She took leave today as well. Looked pale. A long leave, too.” The class monitor nodded, muttering, “I wonder what’s up with Liu Jing, Tian Doudou, and Lu Meng this year. Bad luck right from the start of the semester. One after another, something’s happening. Is there something wrong with our department’s feng shui?”

Hearing those names, Jiang Feng understood. He asked about the next name on the list. “Do you know He Sheng?”

“No.” The class monitor looked up. “Is he from our school? Are you looking for him? I can ask around.”

“Yeah, I don’t know him either.” Jiang Feng thought for a moment. “If you find him, tell him to be careful. Don’t fall while walking.”

The class monitor stared, wide-eyed.

Damn, is there something wrong with this guy?

Under the monitor’s scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Feng calmly excused himself. “I’m leaving.”

After delivering the takeout, he had no afternoon classes, so he returned to his rented apartment. Living on campus would have been much cheaper, but Jiang Feng intensely disliked sharing a room.

Sitting in front of his electric fan, he called Chu Xuanliang, asking him to take the female ghost away. Then he carefully recounted the day’s events.

Chu Xuanliang sounded surprised. “What were you doing at A University?”

Jiang Feng: “…Attending classes.”

Chu Xuanliang’s voice was laced with disbelief. “You’re a student?!”

“…” Jiang Feng asked, “Who was that Chinese person who made the prediction?”

“Chan Zhongshuo Chan. I’ve heard of him. Unfortunately, he died young, a long time ago. It has nothing to do with him.” Chu Xuanliang said, “Then what?”

Jiang Feng: “Nothing else.”

“Alright, I’m looking into this. It’s definitely strange.” Chu Xuanliang said, “Did you give that girl my business card?”

Jiang Feng: “Yes.”

Chu Xuanliang: “I went to see her, but she wouldn’t say anything. I’m planning to visit your school today. I’ve already contacted your principal. Give me that piece of paper.”

Jiang Feng gave him his address. “Come by and pick it up.”

Chu Xuanliang agreed. Before hanging up, he muttered, “Why are ghosts so attracted to you?”

Chu Xuanliang placed his phone on the desk, moved his mouse across the computer screen, and sighed. Although the six divine statues had been restored, quite a few fierce ghosts had escaped from the abandoned building. Who knew if this was one of them?

Low pay, high pressure in the Taoist profession.

He hadn’t found any clues on Tian Doudou. The fact that the ghost had written sixteen names on a revenge list suggested this was no small matter.

Chu Xuanliang searched online for recent news about A University. Nothing. Peaceful and harmonious, as if nothing had happened.

He entered all the names from the list into the information system to search and check.

Of the sixteen people, three were current juniors, one a senior, six recent graduate students, and six A University faculty members.

They came from all over, with no criminal records. The students were from the Computer Science, Management, Accounting, and Finance departments. At first glance, there seemed to be no connection between them.

Chu Xuanliang pinched the bridge of his nose. Seeing that it was almost time, he grabbed his tools and went to Jiang Feng’s place to pick up the suspicious paper.

“I brought you two talismans.” Chu Xuanliang handed Jiang Feng a small red pouch. “Your constitution is a bit unusual. Be careful. Don’t just casually talk to anything you see. It’s dangerous, you know?”

Jiang Feng: “…”

He took the pouch and put it in his pocket, offering a perfunctory thanks.

Chu Xuanliang arrived at A University while the principal was in a meeting. The dean of the Management department received him, along with Tian Doudou’s class counselor.

The vice dean and a student being hospitalized with strange illnesses had unnerved her. She treated Chu Xuanliang, who had connections to the principal, with respect.

Chu Xuanliang didn’t mention Tian Doudou. He went straight to the point. “Among last year’s graduates, were there any students whose research topics were related to Gann theory or Chan theory?”

The dean was taken aback but quickly recovered. “Yes. There was one. But she wasn’t a senior, she was a graduate student. And not from our Management department, but from the Finance department next door.”

Chu Xuanliang was suspicious. “The dean remembers that?”

There were countless graduate theses. And this wasn’t even from her own department. How could she know just from a vague description? Impossible!

“I remember.” The dean said with a grim expression. “Just a few days before the end of last semester, she jumped to her death. All the teachers and administrators know about this student. Her research was very promising. She even took my class. Such a pity.”

“Suicide?” Chu Xuanliang’s eyelids twitched. “Did you call the police? Are you sure it was suicide? What was the reason?”

“Every university has suicides. Especially prestigious ones. Some can’t handle the pressure of graduation, others are from other schools who come here to end their lives. It’s not uncommon. The university needs to maintain its image, so we don’t publicize these things.” The dean sighed. “She didn’t pass her thesis defense last year. Probably academic pressure.” She asked, “Taoist Master, how did you know about this?”

Chu Xuanliang didn’t answer, continuing to ask, “Was she connected to this student named Tian Doudou?”

The dean said, “No connection. She wasn’t even in our department.”

Chu Xuanliang: “What about her thesis?”

“Then there’s definitely no connection. Tian Doudou was a sophomore last year. What could she possibly have to do with her thesis?” The dean said, “They probably never even met.”

Chu Xuanliang nodded, indicating he understood. He pulled a piece of white paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and pointed to the names. “Could you help me check the relationships between these students? Do you recognize any of them?”

He had copied the list himself, omitting the names of the university administrators. Ten student names remained.

The dean scrutinized the names, trying to recall.

“I know a few. They’re our students.” The dean said, “Students of the vice dean.”

Chu Xuanliang: “Lu Quan’s students?”

Dean: “Yes. And Lu Meng. His daughter.”

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Chu Xuanliang: “Where is she now?”

The dean wasn’t sure. “Not in A City, I think?”

The counselor added, “She took a half-month leave, plus the National Day holiday. She shouldn’t be back until mid-October.”

Dean: “The vice dean is ill, so he hasn’t called her back.”

The dean looked at the names on the paper again, a sense of foreboding washing over her when she saw “Tian Doudou.” She asked, “Taoist Master, where did you get this list?”

Chu Xuanliang gave a cryptic smile. “What do you think?”

The dean became uneasy. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Chu Xuanliang put the paper away. “If I’m not mistaken, this was given to me by the student who committed suicide.”

Both the dean and the counselor were shocked. The dean wiped her hands nervously on her pants.

Chu Xuanliang started walking. “I’ve called the police. We need to re-investigate her death.”

The dean hurried after him. “There… there must be a misunderstanding.”

Chu Xuanliang said, “I don’t know about any misunderstandings. Just take me to the place where she jumped, and her dorm room. If it was suicide, her soul should still be there.”

TN:

“缠中说禅” (Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán)=online pseudonym of a Chinese stock market analyst and blogger, known for his unique technical analysis method called “Chan Theory” (缠论, Chán Lùn) used in stock trading.

“缠中说禅” literally means “Talking Zen in the midst of entanglement”, which reflects a mix of Buddhist philosophy and financial analysis.