Judge of Souls-Chapter 19 - Liu Jing

The school leader grew suspicious, looking at him skeptically, and asked, “Where are your credentials?”

Just then, Officer Ye arrived with the dean and Chu Xuanliang.

The school officials looked toward the dean, who awkwardly averted her gaze.

Officer Ye put his hand on Jiang Feng’s shoulder and asked, “Where is she?”

Jiang Feng said, “She just ran away.”

Officer Ye took out his credentials from his pocket to show the school leader while deliberately exaggerating, “We now suspect Ma Shiluo was murdered. Your school is also suspected of concealing information and misleading the police investigation. Where is your principal? I’d like to have a chat with him.”

The school officials angrily accused, “You police are completely lawless! Where is your superior? Do you have evidence to make such claims? Did your superior approve this? Where are the approval documents? The case was already closed!”

Officer Ye said calmly, “Someone filed a police report, I’m just here to follow up.”

School officials: “Who?! Does filing a report make it true? I thought the police were supposed to rely on evidence. What’s wrong with public servants these days!”

“Who?” Officer Ye sneered, “Would you believe me if I said it was the deceased herself?”

The person’s face instantly turned pale.

Officer Ye stood lazily, shaking his leg as he said, “Sir, or should I say Professor, I hope you understand something. Ma Shiluo’s parents are both deceased, and now, investigating the truth about her case is largely to protect you all. Understand? Did you see the morning news? Do you want to be the next one?”

He said, “Even ghosts are coming to the police for justice now, how can we not handle it?”

The others also had expressions of shock and bewilderment on their faces, clearly unaware of the cause of Ma Shiluo’s death.

The old Taoist priest came closer and asked, “What’s going on? What are you all talking about?”

Chu Xuanliang recognized him – A City only had so many people coming and going – and greeted him, “Taoist Feng.”

Officer Ye: “Ask the school about what’s going on, to avoid accusations of slander.”

“Taoist Feng, we really don’t know,” said the leader. “You… you won’t ignore this, right? Who knows how many people Ma Shiluo will kill before she’s satisfied. We… we were unaware of this!”

Taoist Feng thought for a moment and said, “Her wanting to kill people is wrong. I won’t stand idly by.”

Officer Ye corrected him: “Nobody’s dead yet. Just lost some skin for now.”

The old Taoist priest wanted to argue, but Jiang Feng suddenly asked, “Why is it wrong for her to want to kill people?”

The old Taoist looked at him confused, “Killing people is obviously wrong.”

Jiang Feng: “Why?”

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“What do you mean why?” said the old Taoist. “Young man, your questions are very strange! Are you suggesting killing people is right?”

Jiang Feng deliberately said, “She’s already dead, while the people she wants to ‘kill’ are still alive. Who is more in the wrong now? Have you asked about the reasons? You only question her wrongdoing.”

The old Taoist said, “Since she’s already dead, she should go to the netherwold! Staying in the mortal realm to harm people is wrong!”

“Are the living more noble than the dead?” Jiang Feng asked. “Is it because the dead never lived, or because the living think they’ll never die?”

“You—” The old Taoist priest was rendered speechless. “Who are you, young man? Who is your master?”

Chu Xuanliang hadn’t expected Jiang Feng to have such an aggressive side. He was enjoying watching him irritate the Taoist priest. But then Jiang Feng stopped. With an irritating expression that seemed to say “forget it, I won’t bother arguing with you,” he said, “I’m done talking to you.”

The Taoist felt deeply humiliated and demanded, “What do you mean by that?”

Jiang Feng: “A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean, because he is limited by his space. A summer insect cannot conceive of ice, because it knows only its own season. A narrow-minded scholar cannot conceive of the Way, because he is bound by his teachings.”

The old Taoist was so angry that he blew his beard. “Disrespectful youth!”

Disrespectful or not, Jiang Feng didn’t care to engage further. He said, “I’m leaving. Ma Shiluo was scared away by him earlier.”

Chu Xuanliang quickly grabbed him. “Hey, can you find her again?”

“How would I find her?” Jiang Feng said helplessly. “She’s the one who finds me.”

Chu Xuanliang awkwardly let go, realizing he was right. “Alright. Be careful.”

The old Taoist priest blew his beard and glared, “That female ghost called Ma Shiluo must be quite powerful. Now that she’s escaped, other people in the school might be in danger. Young friend Chu, come help me find her! If we need more people, we can call others from the Taoist Association.”

Officer Ye said, “If you still have the mood to chase ghosts, I suggest you look outside.”

The school leader immediately asked nervously, “What’s happening outside?”

“Students,” Officer Ye said. “Just half an hour ago, reporters and police arrived, worried something might happen to them. They’re conducting interviews outside right now. By the way, where’s your principal? Why isn’t he at school at a time like this?”

Several people broke out in cold sweat and, no longer concerned with the situation here, hurriedly ran outside.

Outside, a group of students was sitting at the school gate, growing from around a hundred initially to four or five hundred now. They weren’t causing trouble, just holding white signs in silent protest.

More students were running around the school, spreading the word to their classmates.

You blocked my account? If you block my account, I’ll spread the word mouth to mouth. You think I’m afraid of you?

School security guards, dormitory managers, and counselors had all come out, recording their names, trying to force them back to their dormitories.

“Keep recording!” Zhang Yangyang stood up, took off his shirt, threw it on the ground, and shouted. “If you have the guts, expel us all! Put down the reason as exposing the school leaders’ sexual scandals, unable to remain silent in the face of inhumanity! What’s expulsion compared to being driven to suicide?!”

Cameras were clicking rapidly nearby.

Zhang Yangyang showed off his muscles. “Please make me look handsome in the photos!”

A school leader blocked the cameras nearby, angrily saying, “This student, don’t speak nonsense! Do you know what the truth is? You’re questioning and smearing your alma mater based on some unfounded rumors? Can’t you use your brain to think? Are students so easily misled?”

“What do you mean unfounded? It’s clearly you who refuse to look at the evidence!” Zhang Yangyang took out his phone to show him, displaying a somewhat blurry photo, but the text was still legible.

It was Ma Shiluo’s named report submitted that year.

Zhang Yangyang said, “Then please give us a direct response! This is the report Senior Ma Shiluo submitted to the school last year. Why was a beast like Lu Quan allowed to terrorize the school for so many years without punishment?”

“That was Professor Lu Quan’s personal behavior, the school was unaware! Besides, the school has already conducted an investigation, and student witnesses determined that Ma Shiluo’s report was not credible and inadmissible!”

Zhang Yangyang turned around and shouted, “Where are the graduate students? Those graduate students?!”

A student wearing casual clothes stepped out from the crowd and said, “I am Lu Quan’s student. My testimony at the time was given under his threat of not letting me graduate. Senior’s report was actually true, and similar incidents had happened before. Even more serious violations went unaddressed by the school!”

A female student stood up and said, “I’m also Lu Quan’s student. I can verify this!”

Zhang Yangyang clicked something else on his phone. “Look at this!”

It was a video of the graduate student who had appeared in the morning’s social news. Half of his face and arm were skinless, looking completely inhuman. He was kneeling on the ground, sincerely apologizing to Ma Shiluo, explaining that he had given false testimony under pressure from the school and Lu Quan. He hadn’t expected it would drive her to suicide and was begging for her forgiveness.

The school leaders were about to break down.

How did this become so organized? This clearly wasn’t spontaneous, as it would have been impossible to mobilize so many students and gather so much evidence in such a short time.

Zhang Yangyang: “Leaders, I have another question! Senior had already published multiple core papers, why wasn’t she allowed to graduate?”

School officials: “That was her advisor’s decision!”

Zhang Yangyang: “So no matter what, it’s all Lu Quan and Wu Zhiwei’s fault, and the school has no responsibility at all, right? Right?!”

The crowd chimed in. “Right?!”

Zhang Yangyang: “The A University I want is not like this!”

The crowd stood up, advancing toward them. “Not like this!”

“Don’t you have any negligence or unfairness? Please apologize to the victim student!”

“Apologize!”

Several school leaders were surrounded by students, both anxious and afraid. They worried about how the media would report this and how to handle and explain it afterward. They shouted, “Everyone go back!!”

“No! Give her the truth! We won’t leave until she gets the truth!”

Officer Ye watched the leadership awkwardly squeeze out of the student crowd and remarked admiringly while stroking his chin. “These students’ ability to mobilize is really something!”

“It’s the information age, news spreads quickly,” Chu Xuanliang said. “And at times like this, the more they try to cover up and suppress, the stronger the pushback. It would be better for the school to explain and apologize.”

Officer Ye said, “An apology is unlikely at this point.”

When things get increasingly serious, it becomes even less likely to resolve them directly. They would rather continue blindly forward than turn back. Even if everyone, including themselves, knows it’s wrong.

While alive, saying “sorry” was just that difficult.

But regardless, a school’s quality, good or bad, is determined by its students, with teachers only playing a small part.

Perhaps years later, they would become like these detestable adults, losing their “true nature,” but at least now, their “true nature” was deeply moving and pride-worthy.

These are the country’s next generation.

The middle-aged men finally managed to escape from the crowd. They caught their breath after reaching Officer Ye’s position. One said, “Have the class teachers notify the students’ parents. Handle the media. Deal with this quickly. Contact them to delete everything online, stop it from spreading!”

Another person took out his phone and said, “Found it. All the videos and pictures originally leaked from an account belonging to a student named Liu Jing. Then others started reposting. There are also testimonies from several graduates, they must have coordinated beforehand. The spread was very fast, the data growth is abnormal, there must be someone behind this.”

The man gritted his teeth. “It was clearly premeditated! Where is this Liu Jing? Who is she? What grudge does she have against the school? Which college and class is she from! Find her immediately!”

Chu Xuanliang frowned. “Liu Jing?”

Liu Jing was such a common name, so common that anyone would find it familiar at any time. He didn’t know where to start searching.

Seeing his confusion, Officer Ye reminded him, “Look at your note slip, the second one with a circle.”

She must have been truly frightened to finally choose to stand up.

Chu Xuanliang immediately took out his note slip to look for Liu Jing’s name.

…In such a short time, all sixteen names had been circled.