Judge of Souls-Chapter 26 - Decoding

The argument between Chu Maoxian and Officer Ye earned another warning from the coffee shop.

The two fell silent awkwardly, using their cups as cover.

Chu Xuanliang asked, “Let me ask this – do you know about her experiences before age twelve?”

“That long ago? What could that have to do with this?” Chu Maoxian looked up and said, “I heard her talk about it. Family planning policies were very strict back then. If anyone reported you, they’d take you to the health station for an abortion no matter how many months along. Her father, Uncle Zhou, temporarily entrusted her to someone else to care for. Later when policies loosened up a bit and their family’s situation improved and they made some money, they took her back.”

Officer Ye typed on his computer for a while, then pulled up a newspaper clipping to show Chu Maoxian.

It was a report from sixteen years ago. The report exposed a primary school teacher who had kidnapped and abused a young girl.

The report stated the teacher had a gambling problem when he was young and had a finger cut off due to gambling debts. He had violent tendencies and after kidnapping a girl, he brainwashed and oppressed her. When her birth father came hoping for a family reunion, he tried to extort a huge ransom.

From the description, he was a hypocritical villain capable of any evil.

The report caused quite a stir locally at the time, especially among parents of students, who all ran to the school to protest. Some people gathered outside the teacher’s door to assault and curse at him. The incident ended with the girl being returned to her birth parents, the young teacher being fired from the school, and him committing suicide by drowning himself due to the unbearable pressure.

It seemed like a happy ending for everyone.

Chu Maoxian read it with some displeasure, then nodded. “Mm.”

Officer Ye: “What do you mean ‘mm’?”

“Well what else should I say…” Chu Maoxian finally realized, “Ah! You’re saying this woman is my wife?!”

Officer Ye nodded. “Very likely. We’re still verifying, but it’s probably about 90% certain. Several details match up.”

Chu Maoxian fell into silence with a dark expression.

Officer Ye: “The one who wrote this report was Ye Feng. I just went back to check the files from back then – this whole incident was completely orchestrated by Ye Feng. There was no evidence that the teacher kidnapped or abused any children. Even the child’s own testimony at the time denied allegations of abuse by her foster father. The foster father later went back to find the girl but was beaten up by her birth father. He received many threatening letters. The police sent people to protect him, but in the end both he and the police were attacked. In short, this was a case of collective violence masked by morality. You could say the impact was quite negative – older police officers still remember it.”

Chu Maoxian shook his head. “No… it wasn’t like that. My wife said her foster father treated her very well…”

“The media and this birth father whose name was redacted only stirred up public opinion but never filed any lawsuits in court, probably because they knew there wasn’t enough evidence,” Officer Ye pinched the bridge of his nose. “Taoist Chu suspects that the ghost following Zhou Yi’an is this teacher – that is, Zhou Yi’an’s former foster father – Tao Yuan.”

Chu Maoxian’s lips parted slightly, unable to speak for a long while.

****

Chu Xuanliang had already told all the information he had to Yama and Jiang Feng.

Actually, the fastest method would be to ask the ghosts directly. Chu Xuanliang asked Yama to help him find where Tao Yuan’s soul was, and whether the recently deceased Ye Lin and Ye Feng had already been taken to the netherworld.

Yama nodded in agreement. Consider it thanks for Zhou Yi’an providing dinner.

After returning home, Jiang Feng sat motionless on the sofa reading a book.

Yama asked, “Why aren’t you taking out your little notebook to look through?”

Jiang Feng: “…”

He got up and went to the bedroom, pulled out a workbook from his bag, walked back and placed it on the coffee table.

Yama: “…”

Yama felt angry for a moment, then became numb, looking at Jiang Feng with disdain.

Can’t count on this guy. He’s hopelessly slacking off.

He pressed his palms together and summoned the brothers Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu himself.

Yama asked, “Have Tao Yuan and the Ye father and son been guided to the netherworld?”

Xie Bi’an said, “Not yet. A ghost officer was carelessly injured by Ye Lin, we are still searching.”

Yama: “You two go personally and bring those three before me.”

Black and White Impermanence nodded. “Yes.”

****

Zhou Yi’an woke up, hazily recalled what happened in her dream, then sat up in bed.

Looking around, she noticed a blurry black figure silently standing at her bedside.

She was dazed for a moment, thinking it must be her imagination. She took a cigarette from the bedside table and lit it.

She learned to smoke at age twelve, and learned to drink too. Because TV always said these two things could numb your nerves.

The dramatic changes in her life were simply too much for her young self to accept at the time.

It was all lies. But after a long time, she couldn’t quit.

Before meeting Chu Maoxian, she could barely tell if she was alive or dead.

Before age twelve, her life had been brilliant and beautiful.

She had a father who adored her – he was cultured, gentle, strong, upright, and very knowledgeable.

To be precise, Tao Yuan’s life was actually filled with more misfortune. Life with Tao Yuan wasn’t wealthy either.

Tao Yuan came from an extremely poor family. Due to gambling debts left by his father, he had a finger cut off by creditors at a young age. When he adopted Zhou Yi’an, he had nothing, barely able to feed himself.

But in that bitterly cold winter, he still took in Zhou Yi’an who had been left on the street corner. He used the last bowl of rice in the house to make her porridge, feeding it to her bit by bit.

He carried her around begging neighbors, asking nursing mothers in the area to spare some milk for Zhou Yi’an.

Because he had a child to care for, Tao Yuan remained unmarried even at age thirty-five.

Zhou Yi’an slowly exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

Her vision became somewhat blurry.

They lived together in a dim old building.

She still remembers that old wooden table, with drawings she had carved into it with a ballpoint pen.

She did her homework there, ate her meals there.

In the stuffy summer heat, Tao Yuan would hold an umbrella and fan her to drive away mosquitoes.

Every day after school, he would carry her out to play on the streets, watching her with a helpless smile before buying her a stick of grilled rice cake from the street vendor.

Holding her hand, teaching her to write, to draw. Telling her to be kind.

There was an old violin left by his grandmother hanging on the wall that Tao Yuan used to love. But he was missing a finger now.

Life was poor, but all the memories were crystal clear.

Holding her hand, carrying her on his back, holding her in his arms. These scenes were vivid in her mind.

From then on, whenever she saw a middle-aged man in a dress shirt, Tao Yuan’s face would flash through her mind.

But he was gone.

“Dad…” Zhou Yi’an uttered a single syllable, and tears immediately sprang from her eyes.

“I miss you so much. I’m sorry…”

Everything was ruined by her. It was all because of her.

Father Zhou had four daughters, and lost them all. Later he made some money but offended someone, who found Zhou Yi’an and wanted to use her to charge him with child abandonment.

He was scared – he hadn’t had much education and panicked easily when threatened. He immediately went to find Ye Feng, used money to bribe him to write that article. Then naturally took Zhou Yi’an back.

To him, Zhou Yi’an was a dispensable trouble. More precisely, she was trouble that would have been better off never being born.

When Tao Yuan died, she deeply hated that so-called “birth father.”

She had fantasized many times about scenarios of avenging Tao Yuan, but Ye Feng had gone abroad, and murder was too frightening, so she suppressed it.

After meeting Chu Maoxian, she thought she could probably just stay away from the Zhou family and start anew.

But then, she met Ye Lin.

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A frivolous, vain person who liked to brag.

How wonderful is this world?

She actually didn’t want to be kind. Kind people learn self-blame, while shameless people achieve peace of mind.

But kindness was what Tao Yuan taught her, and she wanted to be a good person too.

Ye Lin would boast in front of her, talk about his own greatness and talent, mock the masses he manipulated, discriminate against the people he hurt, and display his achievements through extravagance.

Others’ misfortunes were his trophies.

Looking at his face, a thought flashed through Zhou Yi’an’s mind.

Kill Ye Lin, and Ye Feng would surely come back. Then kill Ye Feng, and she could avenge Tao Yuan.

Once this crazy idea emerged, she buried it again.

She wanted to spend her life with Chu Maoxian. Could she have a lifetime?

She didn’t know how long she could hold back, but at least not so soon. If Ye Lin hadn’t come to find her that night, perhaps they could have continued living peacefully.

That night Ye Lin climbed over the wall, Zhou Yi’an stabbed him once with a fruit knife, not sure where she hit. Then she was drugged unconscious by him. When she woke up, only a pool of blood remained on the ground.

She didn’t know what happened later that night, but firmly believed this supernatural incident was related to Tao Yuan.

Later Ye Lin’s ghost came to seek revenge.

She knew she had killed him. She had killed someone.

Zhou Yi’an felt herself suddenly pushed onto the torrent of fate.

If she had to go to prison anyway, why should she let scum like Ye Feng and Father Zhou continue existing in society?

See, sure enough Ye Feng came back.

She was the source of this tragedy, yes, so how could she continue living peacefully?

“Dad,” Zhou Yi’an wiped her face, drying her tears. Looking at the black shadow by the bed, she asked, “Is that you? Are you still here?”

Zhou Yi’an smiled slightly. “This time I’ll avenge you, then come down to find you. Will you still want to see me?”

Zhou Yi’an had looked it up – online sources all said that ghosts of those who died unjustly or by suicide couldn’t reincarnate. So Tao Yuan staying here must still hate Ye Feng.

How could he not?

Zhou Yi’an got up and methodically got dressed. Stood in front of the mirror to neatly comb her hair.

After getting ready, she took out her phone.

First she called Ye Feng, twice, but he didn’t answer. Then she called her father.

The other end picked up quickly.

Zhou Yi’an said coldly, “I want to come back.”

Her father asked: “How are things going with Mr. Chu? What I told you last time, about having Chu Maoxian give your brother…”

Zhou Yi’an interrupted. “I’m coming back now. I’ll be home in about an hour.”

Tao Yuan followed behind her, somewhat anxiously using his body to block the doorway, then watched as she walked right through his soul, and could only follow behind her as she left.

The daytime sun was still too harsh for him, making it very difficult for Tao Yuan to follow. When they reached the main road, two shadowy figures appeared in front of him, one black and one white.

Tao Yuan took a step back, but still lowered his head.

“Finally found you.” Xie Bi’an held up a soul-summoning banner and said, “Tao Yuan, Lord Yama summons you to see him.”

Tao Yuan clasped his hands and pleaded. “Give me a little more time.”

Xie Bi’an smiled. “Don’t be afraid. Our Lord Yama got himself demoted from the First Hall to the Fifth Hall by his own abilities – he’s very reasonable. If you have any grievances, you can appeal to him directly.”

Fan Wujiu beside him said, “Listen to my brother. Even if you follow Zhou Yi’an now you can’t stop her.”

Tao Yuan pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Black and White Impermanence first brought Tao Yuan to Jiang Feng’s residence.

Seeing them arrive, Yama pulled at Jiang Feng urging, “Hurry up and get to work!”

Jiang Feng turned his head, looking at him in confusion.

White Impermanence introduced. “This is the Judge, and this is Lord Yama.”

“??” Tao Yuan glanced past the extremely unreliable youth, looked at Jiang Feng and hesitantly said, “Judge?”

Just as he finished speaking, a shadowy figure rose from within Jiang Feng. The room instantly filled with an imposing pressure.

Tao Yuan was startled and knelt down.

“Judge!” Yama jumped up and hit the Judge’s thigh, angrily saying, “This lord finally caught you!!”

The Judge looked down at him. “……”