Speaking of Science in a Supernatural Livestream 5

Chapter 5: A Suspicious Cause of Death

“Died unjustly?”

Hei Wuchang got right in Xie Yu’s face. In her eyes, Xie Yu looked just as she did at the moment of her death. Even she couldn’t help but remark, “And you died looking so wretched?”

Xie Yu: “…”

Before she died, all she heard were compliments. Why was everything she heard after death so unpleasant? Although her dead appearance was indeed not very pretty, they didn’t have to keep calling her wretched, one after another.

Sang Jing sat off to the side, preparing to begin her nightly duties.

There were quite a few people who died unjustly. As for how to handle them, that was the ghost emissaries’ business.

“I… didn’t die by accident?” Xie Yu asked hesitantly.

Sister Shu nodded. “Your destiny was one of longevity and prosperity. You shouldn’t have died so early, nor would you have died by accident. Little girl, do you have any enemies?”

Listening to this, Sang Jing’s hands, which were folding paper ingots, paused. She thought of the two Celestial Masters who had been trying to catch the ghost.

Sometimes, people with good destinies do attract trouble.

“When I found her, two Celestial Masters had set up a Heavenly Net formation to try and catch her. If it weren’t for the Wuchang warrant, they would have even tried to snatch her by force.” Sang Jing thought a little deeper. “Could a Celestial Master have been involved in her death?”

If a Celestial Master was involved, then it was no longer just a matter for the ghost emissaries to handle. The entire incident would have to be thoroughly investigated, and the Xuanmen would also assist.

The mere mention of those two people infuriated Xie Yu. She slammed her hand on the counter. Her soul-body passed through it, but the ghostly energy from her anger stirred up a yin wind. Sang Jing frowned as she watched the paper money flutter chaotically in the air, her fingers unconsciously clenching.

“They chased me for over three months!” Xie Yu gritted out, rolling up both sleeves to reveal her arms. On her slightly transparent arms were clear burn marks. Sang Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, recognizing them as traces left by metaphysical arts.

Celestial Masters who could set up a Heavenly Net were quite powerful. For a newly deceased ghost to survive under the pursuit of two such Celestial Masters for over three months, luck alone probably wouldn’t have been enough.

“Chased you?” Hei Wuchang was puzzled. “Were they trying to capture you or kill you?”

Xie Yu didn’t hesitate. “Kill me.”

For a moment, the expressions of the several ghosts in the incense shop varied. Even Sang Jing stopped what she was doing and sat up a little straighter.

Capturing a ghost was one thing, but if it was killing a ghost, and they had been chasing her for three months, then those two Celestial Masters were highly suspected of killing a ghost to silence it. Xie Yu’s death was definitely not simple.

Her destiny was extremely good. This could very well involve a Celestial Master helping someone to swap fates.

Hei Wuchang looked at Xie Yu with a serious expression and asked her, “What’s your name? How old are you? Where is your home? Who is in your family? What do you usually do? Where did you go to school or work? Who are your friends and colleagues? When did you die? How did you die? Who were you with before you died? Where did you go after you died? When did those two Celestial Masters start chasing you? Please tell us everything in detail, without any concealment.”

A barrage of questions was thrown at her. Being stared at by several pairs of eyes, Xie Yu felt a little nervous. She tried hard to remember, but in the end, she could only say one thing: “I don’t remember.”

Hei Wuchang’s expression went blank for a moment. “You don’t remember!?”

Xie Yu was still trying to think, but the more she thought, the more exhausted she became. In the end, she couldn’t even stand steadily and her body uncontrollably fell forward.

She was directly in front of Sang Jing.

As she was about to fall into Sang Jing’s arms, Xie Yu thought, she’ll catch me, right?

In the end, Xie Yu fell to the floor. It didn’t hurt, but it was embarrassing. Not only did Sang Jing not catch her, she even pulled her legs back, afraid she would touch her in the slightest.

Xie Yu remembered Sang Jing calling her a dirty thing earlier and almost laughed out of anger.

She hated this person! Not an ounce of sympathy!

In the end, it was Sister Shu, the one who had given her incense, who helped her up. “I told you to eat a little. See? Your soul is all wobbly now.”

After saying that, Sister Shu glanced at Sang Jing, who was huddled in her chair. “Xiao Jing, why don’t you burn some incense for her? She’s about to starve to death.”

Sang Jing looked at the female ghost glaring at her with fiery eyes and guiltily avoided her gaze. “Fine.”

It wasn’t that she had no compassion for the fairer sex. She had seen this female ghost’s appearance at death and really couldn’t accept her falling into her arms.

When Sang Jing had prepared the incense, paper money, and ingots, she turned around to see four ghosts sitting at the table. “…”

Once the incense was lit, Hei Wuchang didn’t hold back, taking a big, greedy sniff and calling out, “Don’t be polite, everyone. Let’s eat and chat.”

Except for Xie Yu, none of the ghosts at the table were polite; they were all consuming the incense.

Xie Yu copied their actions and took a sniff. Her whole ghostly being was instantly invigorated. It was a sense of satisfaction completely different from eating.

Fragrant, so fragrant.

Knowing that this was prepared for Xie Yu, Sister Shu and Hei Bai Wuchang didn’t compete with a new ghost. They stopped after taking a couple of bites.

“What do you remember? Tell us everything,” Hei Wuchang said.

Xie Yu spoke as she ate. “My name is Xie Yu. Three months ago, I went hiking with a friend and accidentally fell to my death.”

After a moment of silence, when they didn’t hear her continue, Hei Wuchang asked in disbelief, “That’s it?”

Xie Yu nodded. “That’s it.”

“Perhaps her soul is weak from starving for too long, so she can’t remember her past life,” Sister Shu joked. “It can’t be because she drank Meng Po’s soup, can it?”

Hei Bai Wuchang immediately looked at her grimly.

Sister Shu’s smile froze. She slapped her own mouth. “Pah!”

How could I forget? This mouth of mine is always a jinx for bad things and never for good.

“If only the Judge were here, we could check the Book of Life and Death,” Hei Wuchang sighed, taking out the Wuchang warrant and circling Xie Yu’s name.

Pending.

Bai Wuchang said, “The Book of Life and Death can only find her birthplace and blood relatives, nothing more. She still has to remember the rest herself.”

“Then let’s hand her over to the Xuanmen Celestial Masters. Once her soul is stable and she remembers, we can send a ghost emissary to investigate this matter.” Just as Hei Wuchang finished speaking, a jarringly loud ringtone suddenly went off, startling the circle of humans and ghosts.

Sister Shu clutched her chest, unable to bear it any longer. “Change that wretched ringtone of yours!”

How many times has it been? It could scare a ghost to death.

Hei Wuchang glared at her and put a finger to her lips. “Shh—”

The incense shop fell silent. Hei Wuchang answered the phone with a smile. “Big Boss.”

Hearing Hei Wuchang’s address for the person on the other end of the line, Sister Shu’s expression changed. She quickly covered her face with her hand and turned away.

The voice on the other end was faintly audible, sounding cold and indifferent, devoid of emotion.

Hei Wuchang kept nodding and agreeing, her attitude bordering on sycophantic.

Until the very end, when the person on the other side said something, Hei Wuchang’s smile froze on her face and turned into a tearful one.

After hanging up, Hei Wuchang turned and buried her face in Bai Wuchang’s arms, sobbing.

“Wuwuwuwu, red egg, she’s just a red egg,” Hei Wuchang mumbled, mispronouncing “bastard” as “red egg.”

Sister Shu had a gloating look on her face, already knowing what had made Hei Wuchang break down in tears. “Serves you right for skipping work to go on a date. You got caught.”

Sang Jing blinked, a hint of a smile on her face. “Sister Hei got her vacation days docked again?”

Ghost officials like Hei and Bai Wuchang didn’t lack incense merit. Docking those for work mistakes was meaningless. So their top boss, the Big Boss, would always find opportunities to dock their vacation days, and Hei Wuchang was the one who got docked the most.

Hei Wuchang lifted her head from Bai Wuchang’s arms and said resentfully, “It must be because the Judge has too much work. During her vacancy, the Big Boss has been looking for people to fill in. A few days ago, even Meng Po was dragged over to work. Is that even right!”

After saying that, Hei Wuchang wiped the non-existent tears from her face and looked at Sang Jing. “Xiao Jing, you’re still smiling? Xie Yu is to stay at the incense shop, and you’re in charge of investigating her case.”

Sang Jing stopped smiling. “Why?”

Hei Wuchang was about to blurt it out but was secretly pinched by Bai Wuchang. Sister Shu, at the side, also gave her a look. Only then did she stop herself in time and change her tune. “Because… you got involved in this matter.”

Sister Shu took over, huffing at Hei Wuchang. “It’s all your fault. Going on a date and getting our Xiao Jing involved.”

The words stuck in Hei Wuchang’s throat, making her feel even worse.

Bai Wuchang also spoke up. “It’s alright. Xiao Jing, don’t feel too much pressure. Once Xie Yu’s soul is more nourished and she remembers her past life, Xiao Hei will communicate with the Xuanmen and have them assist you in the investigation.”

Sang Jing hesitated.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t handled matters involving ghosts before, but Xie Yu’s situation was special. She would have to raise her for a while. Sang Jing was used to being alone. Suddenly having a ghost around was somewhat awkward.

Suddenly, a glint appeared in Sang Jing’s eyes, and a hint of a smile appeared on her lips.

I can just keep her in the gourd, let her out for some incense in the morning and evening, and raise her like a cat or a dog.

“Alright,” she agreed readily. The way Sang Jing looked at Xie Yu changed.

Xie Yu knew she had no say in her own fate, so she hadn’t interrupted. But when she saw Sang Jing’s smiling face, she inexplicably felt the dizziness she had experienced in the gourd, a feeling of nausea, wanting to vomit.

After that, Hei and Bai Wuchang didn’t stay long at the incense shop; they had to go back down to hand over their work.

Sister Shu was on duty tonight, so she played on her phone by the counter, occasionally chatting with Sang Jing and Xie Yu.

“Oh, Xiao Jing’s livestream is trending,” Sister Shu said, clicking on the trending topic. It was very lively inside, and there was even a video of Sang Jing catching the ghost.

In the video, one second Xie Yu had a clean face, and the next, she transformed into a bloody, ferocious ghost behind Sang Jing. Sang Jing’s actions were decisive; she directly gave Xie Yu a shoulder throw and then captured her in the gourd.

Xie Yu’s ghostly appearance and the gourd capturing the ghost were the main points of discussion among netizens. Most of them thought it was special effects or pre-done makeup, and said the video had signs of editing and photoshop. There were all sorts of debunking comments. There were also netizens who had watched the livestream and were trying to verify it for Sang Jing, but there weren’t many who had watched it, and their words were quickly drowned out by the large number of questioning comments.

Just as Sang Jing opened her phone to take a look, the trending topic could no longer be opened; it had been taken down by the platform.

But her livestream account’s background was constantly being flooded with private message notifications. The gossip-hungry netizens had found her account. Scrolling through them, not a single one was a kind word. They were all accusing her of faking it to farm views.

Suddenly, her fingertip paused. Among the many private messages, Sang Jing saw a familiar account.

A Tree by the River.

The college student who was being pestered by the yin peach blossom.

She clicked into the private message.

“Big sister, I believe you, I believe you now!”

“Big sister, help me! She’s latched onto me! She said she’ll come find me again. What should I do? I lost the lucky bag. I saw the trending topic. Big sister, were you streaming on Fenglin Road? I’m on Fenglin Road! Are you still nearby?”

“Big sister, I can’t get out.”