Speaking of Science in a Supernatural Livestream 4

Chapter 4: A Person Who Died Unjustly

The moonlight was bright and clear. A black cat with eerie green eyes leaped continuously across the rooftops, finally squatting on a second-floor platform. It began to lick its glossy black fur with methodical slowness. A sudden roar echoed through the quiet alleyways below, followed by a blinding beam of light that illuminated the pitch-black Liuli Alley.

The black cat let out a low meow and leaped nimbly from the second-floor platform, landing steadily on the ground.

Sang Jing brought her motorcycle to a stop, took off her helmet, and ran a hand through her messy bangs to smooth them down.

The door to the incense shop was ajar, casting a dim yellow light.

Sang Jing pushed the door open, bending down to stroke the little cat’s head before stepping inside.

Accustomed to the daily pat, the black cat meowed in satisfaction, then turned and leaped back into the darkness.

As soon as she entered, a gust of yin wind rushed to meet her, thick with ghostly energy.

After wiping her helmet, Sang Jing placed it on a rack by the door. She walked around the counter to the shrine at the back, took out three sticks of incense, lit them, and formed a hand seal with one hand, closing her eyes and nodding her head.

“Ah, Xiao Jing is back.”

Sang Jing turned around and gave the female ghost who had come from the backyard a polite smile. “Sister Shu.”

This was the third employee of the incense shop, besides her and Hei Wuchang. Sang Jing didn’t know her name, only that she was a colleague of Hei Wuchang and also a ghost emissary. Her teacher’s wife had once said her surname was Shu, so Sang Jing called her “Sister Shu.”

Sometimes, Sang Jing would hear Sister Shu and Hei Wuchang bickering playfully. Sister Shu would call Hei Wuchang “Xiao Hei.” Sang Jing had a suspicion that Sister Shu was more than just a ghost emissary; she was probably a ghost official in the underworld.

“On my way up, I ran into Sister Bai and Xiao Hei on a date. Xiao Jing, you’re back so late. Did you help Xiao Hei reap a soul?” Sister Shu huffed twice. “Slacking off on the job. Just wait till I report you to the boss.”

Sang Jing listened without saying much. She had heard such things many times. Sister Shu and Hei Wuchang were always reporting each other, trying to get leverage, but in the end, it always concluded with an exchange of some merit points.

Mortals in the living world needed money to survive, while ghosts in the underworld needed merit points to get by. Ghost emissaries were no exception. To get a promotion, one’s soul power and personal merit points were both considered.

The old saying “do good deeds to accumulate merit” referred to one way of accumulating merit points.

Sang Jing had also been accumulating merit over the years. After she died, she could even take the civil service exam in the underworld and maybe even land a job as a Wuchang.

Taking out her little gourd, Sang Jing released the female ghost she had captured.

Sister Shu leaned against a nearby counter, a handful of melon seeds in her hand. Seeing the female ghost’s appearance, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Oh my, such a pretty little girl. What a pity, to die so young.”

Xie Yu’s head was spinning. As soon as she steadied herself, she heard someone speak and subconsciously looked over. By the counter stood a woman in a silk long dress, looking lazy and casual.

Before she could get a clear look at the woman’s face, a small yellow paper talisman was slapped onto her forehead. A strong sense of restraint washed over her again. The anger in Xie Yu’s heart instantly flared. Enduring her physical discomfort, she violently raised her hand, tore off the yellow paper, and threw it back at the person in front of her.

Sang Jing slowly lowered her head. “…?”

Looking at the crumpled talisman on her chest, Sang Jing felt her composure crack.

She took a sharp step back, putting distance between herself and the ghost in front of her.

Thinking that this ghost’s soul was too weak, Sang Jing hadn’t used a particularly powerful restraining talisman. She hadn’t expected this ghost to be so fierce as to snatch the talisman and throw it at her.

Sister Shu’s melon-seed-cracking also paused. She looked at Xie Yu with considerable surprise.

It was rare to see a ghost whose soul could directly touch a talisman. Although this talisman wasn’t harmful, it should still have some effect on a ghost.

Taking advantage of the two’s stunned moment, Xie Yu spotted the main door and tried to run for it. Before she could take a single step, a cold wind blew past, and the door, which had been within arm’s reach, slammed shut right in front of her nose, making a dull thud in the quiet night.

Turning around, Xie Yu feigned composure and reverted to her appearance at the time of her death, trying to scare the two people in the room. “I’m telling you, I’m a ghost.”

Xie Yu had sharp features and a tall stature. When she stared at people with a cold face, she was very intimidating, not to mention she was now covered in blood with a wound on her neck so deep the bone was visible. She was indeed the standard image of a vicious ghost from the movies.

She stared at Sang Jing but saw no fear in her eyes. Then she turned to look at the woman in the nightgown, and likewise, saw none of the panic and fear she had expected.

With her back against the door, Xie Yu finally noticed that she was now in an incense shop, surrounded by paper money, incense sticks, and paper effigies—all things used only by the dead.

Remembering that Sang Jing could draw talismans and had a small gourd that could capture ghosts, Xie Yu guessed that she was probably like the two people who had been chasing and trying to kill her before—someone who knew this line of work.

Out of the wolf’s den and into the tiger’s mouth. Xie Yu never thought she would experience a time more unlucky than falling to her death while hiking.

Sang Jing unfolded the crumpled talisman, smoothed it out, and set it aside.

Sister Shu slowly walked up to Xie Yu. There was not a hint of fear in her eyes, only curious investigation. “Xiao Jing, there’s something wrong with this ghost.”

Sang Jing also moved closer.

The two of them were right up in Xie Yu’s bloody, ghostly face.

Xie Yu: “…”

This is bullying a ghost!

After a moment of observation—

Sang Jing suddenly asked, “What is your Bazi?(Eight Characters)”

Xie Yu looked down at the person who was slightly shorter than her. This was the person who had trapped her in the gourd. When she was human, she got carsick. As a ghost, she got gourd-sick.

Glaring coldly at Sang Jing, Xie Yu knew she wasn’t afraid, but she didn’t want to answer her question either.

Faced with the ghost’s obvious glare, Sang Jing let out a soft chuckle and turned to go upstairs.

“Where are you going?” Sister Shu asked her.

Sang Jing’s voice drifted down from the second floor, accompanied by the soft click of a door opening. “I was touched by something dirty. Taking a shower. When Sister Hei arrives later, please trouble Sister Shu to hand that dirty thing over to her.”

Xie Yu heard that and stared in disbelief at the top of the stairs. “She! She called me a dirty thing!?”

That person looks so well-behaved, but why is she so annoying when she speaks!

Sister Shu returned to the counter and basked in the incense smoke from the shrine. This was an offering from Sang Jing to her teacher. The incense was very pure, and a few whiffs were good for the health of one’s soul.

“Want a couple of bites? Your soul is unstable. Don’t dissipate before you even reach the Ghost Gate,” Sister Shu invited Xie Yu.

At first, Xie Yu didn’t understand what she meant. A couple of bites? Of what? she wondered.

Looking closer, she saw wisps of white smoke swirling around the woman, slowly merging with her body.

The source of the white smoke was the shrine behind the counter. In the shrine was a portrait, and in front of the portrait were three sticks of unburnt incense.

Having been a ghost for a month or so, Xie Yu knew some basic facts. For instance, the drifting white smoke was incense, and incense was food for ghosts.

“You’re a ghost too!?” Xie Yu exclaimed in surprise.

Sister Shu squinted, feeling warm all over. The incense here was truly the purest. Although working at the incense shop didn’t pay much, the food was great!

Sister Shu half-opened her eyes to look at her. “Why so surprised? Never seen a ghost before?”

Xie Yu shifted to the side. She had only been dead for a few months and had been constantly chased by those two people. She really hadn’t seen many ghosts.

With one person showering upstairs, the two ghosts downstairs began to chat. It was mostly Sister Shu asking and Xie Yu answering.

Perhaps because the other party was also a ghost, Xie Yu’s attitude toward her was slightly better.

“How did you die?” Sister Shu asked curiously, cracking melon seeds.

Xie Yu recalled, “I went hiking with a friend. We suddenly ran into a thunderstorm, got separated, and I accidentally fell off the mountain.”

Sister Shu said “Oh,” followed by, “No wonder you look so wretched in death.”

Xie Yu: “…”

Can’t you hold a conversation?

After a moment of silence, Xie Yu felt a bit tired and slowly squatted down, leaning against the door.

Seeing her huddled up in a pitiful state, Sister Shu glanced at the nearly burnt-out incense, reached out, and grabbed the ghost from across the room.

Xie Yu felt her body move uncontrollably. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sister Shu’s face getting closer and closer.

Lifting Xie Yu before her, Sister Shu stuffed the last mouthful of incense into her.

The first taste of incense in her ghostly life made Xie Yu dizzy with fragrance. She licked her lips and looked at Sister Shu with anticipation.

Is there more?

Sister Shu pointed upstairs. “Wait for Xiao Jing to come down and ask her to burn some for you.”

Xie Yu’s expression froze for a moment. That person had just called her a dirty thing.

Not long after, two more people—no, two more ghosts—arrived at the shop, dressed in matching black and white couple’s outfits.

From Sister Shu, Xie Yu learned that they were the legendary soul-reaping emissaries, Hei and Bai Wuchang.

So Hei and Bai Wuchang really exist. Xie Yu stared with wide eyes from the side.

Hei Wuchang scanned the shop, her gaze lingering on Xie Yu for a moment before moving on. “Xiao Jing isn’t back yet?”

Sister Shu tilted her chin toward the second floor. “She’s back. Taking a shower.”

Hei Wuchang glanced at Xie Yu again and then asked, “What about the soul I reaped?”

The meaning in her eyes was very clear. It can’t be this one, can it?

“Isn’t she right here?” Sister Shu cracked melon seeds, enjoying the show.

Hei Wuchang immediately looked as if the sky was falling. She turned to look at Xie Yu, clutching her head in disbelief. “How could it be her? Did Xiao Jing make a mistake?”

Hearing this, Sister Shu was not pleased. “Hey, hey, hey, you were the one who gave her the Wuchang warrant. Don’t blame your work mistake on Xiao Jing.”

Hei Wuchang also knew in her heart that the Wuchang warrant couldn’t be wrong.

That meant the very young ghost in front of her was the soul she was supposed to take away.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Wuchang asked in a low voice, seeing Hei Wuchang’s devastated expression.

Hei Wuchang was on the verge of tears as she pulled up the warrant for her to see.

Bai Wuchang quickly scanned it and also looked at Xie Yu with a hint of surprise.

Being stared at by three ghosts at once, Xie Yu felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on her.

In the silent air, footsteps were heard from the top of the stairs.

Sang Jing came down in her slippers and saw the four ghosts downstairs.

No wonder it’s so cool. Don’t even need to turn on the air conditioner in the middle of summer.

Hei Wuchang rushed up in a flash. “Her, her, her, her—”

Sang Jing understood why she was reacting this way. When she first saw this ghost, she had also been puzzled. If the Wuchang warrant hadn’t clearly pointed to her, Sang Jing wouldn’t have brought the ghost back so decisively.

A person’s Bazi is closely related to their destiny. There wouldn’t be a situation where a weak Bazi corresponds to a strong destiny, or a strong Bazi to a weak destiny. And this ghost’s Bazi on the Wuchang warrant was very strong; she should have had a long and prosperous life.

That’s why, at first, Sang Jing thought the soul she was supposed to reap would be an elderly person.

She never expected it to be a young and beautiful woman, even younger than herself.

The Wuchang warrant couldn’t be wrong. The only thing that could be wrong was the person who died.

Sang Jing raised her eyes to look at Xie Yu, and the human and the ghost’s gazes met.

“A person who died unjustly.”