Judge of Souls-Chapter 2 - Dangerous Building

Fu Yuan knew she had made a grave mistake this time. But she truly didn’t think she’d done anything wrong.

It was a fierce ghost, after all. She couldn’t reason with a fierce ghost, especially one that had taken a human life. As a Taoist priest, what else should she do besides saving people and exorcising evil?

But as luck would have it, this time things had blown up. How could she have known Liu Junlu had committed such a grave sin? Regardless of what others do, regardless of whether you think it’s right or wrong, if the Judge deems it wrong, you have to keep your mouth shut.

Fu Yuan was terrified. Kneeling down, she cried, “Master! Master, what should I do? Please save me!”

The old man pondered for a moment, then placed a hand on her shoulder. “Fortunately, he only warned you, he didn’t punish you. Apologize sincerely to the Ancestral Master. From today onwards, be more cautious. Don’t take on any jobs for money for now. Do some good deeds. This time, make sure you see things clearly. Don’t accept ambiguous requests, and don’t scatter souls casually. Those that can be guided to the afterlife, guide them. Those that can’t, bring them back and find a solution. This matter might just blow over eventually.”

Fu Yuan nodded. “Okay.”

Liu Junlu stood at the doorway, his expression dazed, still reeling from the nightmare he’d just experienced. In just a few minutes, his face had aged rapidly, becoming thinner, the corners of his eyes drooping listlessly, dark circles beneath them. Gripping the doorframe, he asked, “Great master, great master, I just had a dream.”

The Taoist priest nearby turned, asking calmly, “What did you see?”

Liu Junlu said, “I saw that young man from the antique shop. He said... he said he would deduct 20 years from my lifespan? And something about punishment... what did he mean?”

Fu Yuan and the others’ expressions shifted slightly.

Seeing their reactions, Liu Junlu jumped up. “Could what he said be true?! Who is he?”

Fu Yuan said, “Please leave. We won’t be taking your business.”

Liu Junlu refused to let them off the hook. His life was at stake; any respect was a sham. He shrieked, “I won’t leave! If it weren’t for you, how would I have ended up like this? Is this how you do things? You’re swindling people and costing them their lives! You think you can just get rid of me? You’re dreaming!”

When a person knows they’re about to die, all their ugliness is exposed.

He ran into the living room, looked around wildly, and finally grabbed an antique from their cabinet, threatening to smash it. “Won’t do anything?”

Fu Yuan’s lips moved, but she still said, “We’re not taking your case.”

Liu Junlu furiously smashed the antique on the floor and reached for another. The young Taoist priest stepped forward and knocked him unconscious with a blow from the side.

The three looked at the shattered pieces on the floor, bitterness etched on their faces. This trouble, it seemed, would be hard to shake off.

****

Near the outskirts of A City, there stood a notorious unfinished building.

This building had been fully planned, and construction was almost complete. It just needed some exterior finishing touches, a few bricks, and it would be done. It was being built by a well-known real estate company in A City, whose boss was famously wealthy. There were no issues with quality, and sales were projected to be strong. Yet, inexplicably, construction had been abandoned.

Not only was it quietly abandoned, but even after two or three years, the government hadn’t ordered its demolition or reconstruction. They just let it sit there, a blight on the cityscape. The surrounding commercial buildings were also affected, remaining closed and unrented.

In a place like A City, where land was incredibly valuable, this was extremely strange.

Some said it was because the feng shui hadn’t been properly considered during construction. Others said it was because they accidentally disturbed a ley line while laying the foundation. Whatever the reason, it had become one of A City’s urban legends.

And because of its legendary status, it had slowly become a “suicide hotspot.” Every year, the number of people jumping from this building was in the double digits. As its notoriety grew, it also gradually became a place of exploration for paranormal enthusiasts.

It was already 9 pm. There were no night markets in this area, and it was usually deserted. However, at this moment, a small group of about ten people had gathered at the intersection in front of the unfinished building. Holding flashlights and mobile phones, they were live streaming.

A young man with dyed yellow hair, a nose stud, and heavy makeup greeted the viewers. “Hello everyone, I’m Spicy Crayfish, and we’re back! It’s 9 pm now, about time. We wanted to wait until midnight, but we’re afraid they’ll refuse to answer then.”

He was a popular blogger on a certain live streaming platform. In just a few minutes, the number of online viewers had exceeded 100,000.

He then introduced the people around him, a group of young people in their early twenties, including two minors who were only fifteen or sixteen years old. They were all fellow enthusiasts who were doing the live stream together.

Eight men and four women in total.

After introducing everyone, Spicy Crayfish smoothed his hair and said with a smile, “This time... this time we called a delivery guy. Hahaha, hopefully, he’s got some guts and won’t run away too quickly.”

This was Spicy Crayfish’s fourth live stream in front of the unfinished building. He had gained his popularity through these live streams.

His streaming style wasn’t about leading viewers on an exploration of the building himself, but rather about pranks.

The first time, he made a fake emergency call, but when the police arrived, he chickened out and didn’t dare jump out to scare them. Instead, the police officer caught him and gave him a good lecture.

The second time, he learned his lesson and brought a person dressed as a Taoist priest. Although the Taoist priest trembled throughout, his facial muscles almost twitching, he still stubbornly walked through the building.

Nothing happened during the first two attempts. Some people said it was because the police and the Taoist priest had strong yang energy, which repelled spirits. They suggested he find ordinary people.

So, the third time, Spicy Crayfish followed the netizens’ advice and tricked a delivery guy into coming. Not only that, but he also found a few like-minded individuals from the Qi Tan Forum to play ghosts and ghouls behind the scenes, pranking the delivery guy in the middle of the night.

(TL: 奇譚論壇 (Qí Tán Lùn Tán) can be translated as “Strange Tales Forum”)

The result was that the delivery guy was genuinely terrified, almost had a mental breakdown, and fled from the building. It was said that he hadn’t recovered and had quit his job. Of course, these people didn’t know about the subsequent developments, nor were they interested. In any case, Spicy Crayfish had attracted a large wave of fans because of it. So he struck while the iron was hot and came back for a fourth time.

Seeing that the number of viewers had exceeded 200,000, Spicy Crayfish picked a few of their questions to answer.

“I’m not brave, I just don’t believe there are ghosts here.” He gave a strange smile, looked down, and shone his flashlight upwards from below his chin, asking, “Do I look like a ghost?”

It had to be said that Spicy Crayfish had quite delicate features, the kind of androgynous look that was currently trending. With a bit of makeup, he had a somewhat ambiguous appearance. However, due to the lighting and makeup, his face was extremely pale.

Nevertheless, his fans were very supportive.

[Handsome ghost!]

[Little angel!]

[Let this master capture you!]

[You fox spirit.]

Spicy Crayfish and his friends started walking towards the unfinished building, the camera panning and then settling back on his face. “Follow me. I’ve done a lot of research this time, I’ve done my homework. We’re going to do something big!”

He walked forward, finally reaching the patch of dirt and weeds in front of the building. Then he handed his phone to someone beside him.

After a brief whispered discussion, the focus returned to Spicy Crayfish.

Spicy Crayfish stepped back, revealing the empty space behind him. A hole had been dug there, a shovel lying nearby. Inside the hole was a green stone statue. “Wait a minute~ See that? There’s a stone statue here.”

Comments flew across the screen.

[Holy crap, what is that? Looks like a ghost.]

[Grim face!]

[Many Chinese gods have grim faces. Like the Door Gods, they’re drawn very ugly.]

[Hahaha, the Door Gods will jump out and beat you, believe it or not.]

[Isn’t Yama also very fierce?]

[Who the hell have you seen enshrining Yama in their home?]

[That thing is a ghost, right?]

[That thing is called a Teng Snake, thank you very much. Human face with a snake body, an incarnation of Nuwa. One of the Six Gods. Ghost my ass!]

[Did you put it there?]

“Let me make it clear, this thing wasn’t placed here by us, it was already here. Haha, a helpful netizen told me about it, I came over and tried digging, and unexpectedly, it was actually real!” Spicy Crayfish crouched down, bringing the camera’s view with him, and patted the head of the stone statue. “I don’t know why it’s buried here. Wow, could it be that even our scientifically-minded government believes in superstitions? Or was it buried by the real estate developers? Hehehe.”

He chuckled twice and continued, “We’re going to dig this statue out now, and then go into the building for our adventure. Oh no, I mean accompany the delivery guy on his adventure.”

The comments exploded again.

[Awesome! I support you!]

[It’s better to believe in these things than not. Just wondering if there are any buried elsewhere.]

[Already called the police.]

[The one upstairs who called the police must be joking, right? Little kid, go pee, and if you can’t pee, should we call the police for that too?]

[Is the quality of live streaming platforms this low these days? Promoting feudal superstition, sensationalizing everything.]

[Spicy Crayfish is clearly helping us debunk feudal superstition, okay? Unless we actually run into a ghost!]

[This is damaging city property.]

[Damn, where did this holy-than-thou b*tch come from? If you don’t like it, get out!]

Spicy Crayfish’s friends stepped forward, trying to pull the statue out together. However, the statue, which didn’t look that big, was heavier than expected. Even with all four of them straining, they couldn’t budge it an inch.

They shook their sore hands, frowning. Damn, this thing is serious.

People in the comments started laughing.

[It doesn’t look heavy.]

[Good acting, hahaha!]

[It’s not that big.]

[Your friends have weak kidneys, Spicy Crayfish.]

A flicker of impatience crossed Spicy Crayfish’s face. “If we can’t move it, let’s just smash it. There might be something connected underneath it.”

A young man with a baby face hesitated. “Isn’t that bad? Wouldn’t that be damaging public property?”

“This is debunking feudal superstition. What public property? What kind of public property is an ugly, crappy stone statue?” Spicy Crayfish said, “The guy’s almost here, we’re running out of time.”

“You can smash a stone? Are you kidding me? You think it’s an eggshell? Why don’t you try it yourself!”

A man in a black jacket, who had been standing silently to the side, picked up the shovel without a word and smashed it down hard on the statue.

The stone statue, which should have been as hard as iron, actually began to crack from the top, splitting into a dozen large and small pieces.

The man who had just mentioned eggshells immediately shut up, dumbfounded, staring blankly at the statue in the pit.

“That’s not right!” the man said. “This thing was really heavy just now! Something’s wrong with it!”

He looked at the person who had smashed the statue. That person looked up, equally bewildered and helpless.

Several of the girls got goosebumps, feeling a sudden chill as if the wind had picked up.

A trace of unease appeared on Spicy Crayfish’s face.

[Whoa!!]

[Awesome!]

[Great acting, great acting! Sending gifts!]

[With acting skills like that, why be a streamer? Become an actor!]

[I think something’s wrong, really wrong.]

[Already called the police.]

[Can we kick out the one who keeps saying they called the police? So annoying!]

The group silently recited the core socialist values a few times in their minds, feeling braver and calmer.

Spicy Crayfish continued, “So, up ahead is a crossroads. At the vent over there, we’ll light a white candle and burn some joss paper, and then we can wait for the delivery guy to arrive.”

They pulled out various items from their black bags.

“We’ve also brought a lot of other treasures. Things like locust wood branches, peach branches, dead people’s hair, and of course, glutinous rice and chicken blood,” Spicy Crayfish said. “Hahaha, it’s not anyone’s, it’s stuff left over from when older generations used to cut their hair. And ashes from their clothes.”

An excited friend next to him said, “Set them up, set them up.”

Spicy Crayfish raised his hand and shouted, “Tonight, let’s have an all-night rave!”

****

Jiang Feng hung the bag on his electric scooter, preparing to start his deliveries.

This restaurant was open 24 hours. He had switched shifts with a colleague today, so he still had to deliver takeout at night.

He’d really had a bad day. The wealthy businessman he’d encountered at the antique shop had actually come looking for him. Strangely, in just two days, the man’s overly plump figure had thinned considerably. If the man hadn’t spoken first, Jiang Feng wouldn’t have recognized him.

But he really didn’t want to see this guy. The fat man, upon seeing him, immediately knelt down, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face. “Great Master... no, Great Immortal! Great Immortal, I beg you, I know I was wrong. I was blind and didn’t recognize your greatness. Please spare my life! I beg you to spare my life!”

Behind him were his driver and bodyguards, heads bowed respectfully.

Jiang Feng thought to himself, is this guy crazy?

The driver behind him handed over a document folder, which Liu Junlu hurriedly passed to Jiang Feng, his arm trembling.

Twenty years of his lifespan had been deducted. His previously healthy body now struggled to climb a few flights of stairs. Yesterday, he went to the hospital for a checkup and discovered that his internal organs had deteriorated to varying degrees overnight, shocking even the doctor.

The attending physician, holding the report and pushing up his glasses, had been speechless for a long time.

His life was coming to an end. He was absolutely certain. And things wouldn’t be any better after death. He had heard it before, he was going to hell.

He was going to hell!

The person in front of him must be a god. Although he didn’t know why a god would be interested in being a delivery rider, he couldn’t guess the mind of a deity.

“This is my inheritance. I’ve already had my lawyer sign and notarize it. Please take a look!” Liu Junlu handed over the documents, his voice filled with fear and respect. “Great Immortal, if you need it, it’s all yours. I also have a company, and future income, all of it is yours as well.”

Jiang Feng: “What would I do with your money?”

Liu Junlu nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken. “Yes, yes, yes! I will do good deeds, Great Immortal! I will definitely do good deeds from now on! Repent properly, work hard, and reflect on myself three times a day! Please forgive me this once! I beg you!”

Jiang Feng: “…”

This caused the restaurant owner to look at him strangely, his hand gripping the mouse almost deforming. Jiang Feng had no doubt that his next move would be to call the police.

Jiang Feng knew that this job was probably going to disappear soon. He took the food containers, ignoring the group of lunatics, and walked straight out the door.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

He was still fuming as he set off, when that Boss Liu Junlu actually started slowly following him in his car.

What a pain.