As the name suggests, the "Soul-Catching Book" is a manual used by the underworld's ghosts to capture souls and spirits.
For example, Xi Haihong, the 'Zou Wuchang', had signed an extra-staff agreement with the underworld and also had a booklet in his hand, but it was only at the most basic level.
The cover is light grey, and usually only the newly dead souls in the area that Zou Wuchang is in charge of are updated on it, so that they can exercise their rights as the executor and send these ghosts to the underworld one by one.
The authority of the book held by Gu Zhisang is much greater, and it is at the same level as the "Soul-Catching Book" used by the Black and White Impermanence. It basically covers the records of life and death in the entire Xia Kingdom.
In addition, it also records those fugitive ghosts who have turned into evil spirits and resentful ghosts and are unwilling to return to the underworld. This makes it convenient for the ghost messengers to match the fugitive ghosts' identity information when they find traces of certain ghosts wreaking havoc in the world, thus helping them capture these ghosts.
The principle of 'The Book of Haunted Souls' is very simple.
It is assigned by the Hades, but it comes from the laws of the world.
When each soul is born between heaven and earth, a wisp of soul power will be extracted by the power of law and then sealed into the "Soul Book", which is equivalent to what is called archiving in the world of the living.
From then on, no matter whether this soul is reborn, dies, or reincarnates, every change in the soul will leave a mark on the 'Soul Book'.
The 'Book of Souls', a book of supreme authority in the hands of the Ten Kings of Hell in the underworld, can show a soul's experiences, past, blessings and sins in all its reincarnations.
At the same time, when the ghost officials were collecting souls, they relied on the sealed soul power in the "Book of Collecting Souls".
Once someone dies in the world of the living, the soul is completely severed from the body, and the record of this soul in the "Soul Book" will change, showing its specific date, place, and cause of death.
Then, Yinchai and Zou Wuchang will be able to sense the specific location of the corresponding soul through the soul power sealed in the "Soul-Catching Book", and then appear beside the ghost and take it to the underworld.
However, there are always some ghosts who are too attached to the human world or have great resentment and hatred, and they will gain extraordinary power because of their strong emotions.
They can use these powers to conceal their own breath.
Once the aura is hidden, the 'Soul-Catching Book' will naturally be unable to connect with the soul itself, and the record of the ghost's whereabouts will be lost, making it impossible for the evil spirits to sense it.
Such ghosts will be marked as wanted.
Obviously, the Xu Youhan mentioned by "Moli Xiang" is such a fugitive evil spirit.
Gu Zhisang glanced at the record on the 'Soul-Catching Book', which read in a short line:
'Beating to death.'
She thought about it, stretched out her fingertips to touch Xu Youhan's name on the book, that is, to touch the soul power that was blocked in the "Soul-Catching Book" by the laws of heaven and earth, and tried to "empathize".
The "empathy" technique in the Xia Kingdom's Taoism is similar to the "dream entering technique", "soul searching technique", and the "telepathy" in foreign countries.
They all sense the soul power of the other person and temporarily put themselves into this power.
In a very short moment, the master seemed to become the person involved, and the deep memories, emotions, and even thoughts hidden in the depths of the soul of the same origin would be sensed by the master.
The more powerful the master is, the more information he can see and grasp in an instant.
Gu Zhisang only said, "Let me calculate it," and then closed his eyes.
When his fingertips touched the soul power in the 'Soul-Catching Book', Gu Zhisang's consciousness entered a misty space, as if it was wrapped in a layer of drum skin;
She knew that she had temporarily sensed the origin of Xu Youhan's soul and successfully established a weak connection with it.
Xu Youhan hid his aura very well and there were no flaws.
What she is more concerned about now is not the other party's hiding place.
When she tentatively tried to touch the memories deep in her soul, some extremely profound and indelible traces of memory came crashing into her mind.
At this moment, a ghost hiding somewhere sensed the connection established in the soul.
Its expression suddenly changed, and the Yin energy around it suddenly became manic, directly severing the subtle and imperceptible contract in the soul. Its pale and transparent face was gloomy and ugly, and its eyes were gloomy and filled with resentment.
Gu Zhisang, whose 'empathy' technique was cut off, opened his eyes, and only a few seconds had passed.
She raised her eyebrows slightly. She didn't expect that Xu Youhan was much more cautious and smarter than she thought. He could discover and cut off the magic so quickly.
But it was too late, as some of the leaked memories were 'seen' by her for a moment.
After sorting out these messy fragments, as well as the various situations that happened to 'Molixiang's' husband and his facial features, Gu Zhisang deduced the cause of the whole incident.
She looked at the camera with a complicated tone and said:
"In the middle of the previous month, you received a taxi request in the middle of the night and went to a vocational and technical school to pick up three students from the school and go to the new suburbs in the north of the city.
Among the three students was Xu Youhan. ”
Recalling his appearance in the clip, Gu Zhisang described him as follows: "He should be thin, medium height, fair skinned, wearing glasses, handsome and clean, in short, he doesn't fit in with the other two.
There was some conflict between the three of them when they got on the bus, and you noticed it, and you should also be aware that the relationship between them is not good. "
Listening to Gu Zhisang's description, Molixiang's husband's already slightly blue face became even uglier, and his pupils trembled.
How could this woman describe what happened that day in such detail? !
It was as if there was a fourth person sitting in his car at that time!
He began to panic.
The double torture of physical and mental suffering these days had already made him miserable. As he listened to those descriptions, the scene of that afternoon involuntarily emerged in his mind.
Everything was just as Gu Zhisang said.
It was almost five o'clock in the afternoon. This was his first order of the day. He noticed something was wrong when three students got on the bus.
The boy in the middle was fair and clean, but his hair was a little messy and his face didn't look very good. The young men on both sides were much stronger than him, and they almost carried him and dragged him into the car.
As soon as he was pushed into the car door, he glared at me and tried to climb down by the door, "Are you guys mentally ill? I said I'm not going..."
But then one of them raised his hand and hit him on the side of the face and ears. The crisp sound of the blow directly knocked the glasses off his face.
"Don't be so shameless, you are nothing. Inviting you to my birthday party will open your eyes to a country bumpkin, but you are putting on airs?"
After the young man finished cursing, he told me the address of a villa in the new suburbs in the north of the city, "Driver, drive faster."
At this time, Molixiang's husband, who was sitting in the driver's seat, had already frowned.
He knew very well that the boy in the middle was probably being bullied.
He could clearly see from the rearview mirror that the boy's face turned red after being punched, and the attacker had his arm around his neck in a threatening manner.
'Have you ever drunk wine? Have you ever eaten white truffles and Kobe beef? My friend, you are as pitiful as a frog in a well. Please show your mercy. Don't be ungrateful.'
Another young man was grinning and holding up his mobile phone, watching this bullying farce.
The more Jasmine's husband looked at the scene, the angrier he became, because the young man being bullied looked only about 20 years old, the same age as his son.
At this moment, the boy silently broke free from the grip of the abuser, holding his glasses tightly in his hand, and said to Jasmine's husband with suppressed anger:
"Master, please pull over for a moment. I don't know these two people at all, and they are not going the same way. They forced me to get on the bus."
"What the hell are you doing?"
The hot-tempered young man jumped up and pinned the boy down, punching and kicking him. He looked so ruthless that he didn't hold back any strength at all, and he wanted to beat the boy to death.
Jasmine's husband was startled by the noise behind him, and he could no longer sit still. He stepped on the brakes, turned his head and said:
"Hey, young man, what are you doing? You can't bully people like this. How can you invite someone like this?"
"Whose business are you minding? A poor old driver is here to teach me a lesson?" The hooligan turned around, leaned on the back of the passenger seat and glared at Jasmine's husband, spitting all over his mouth, as if he was going to beat him up.
'Who told you to stop the car? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up too!'
Jasmine's husband was so angry that he asked, "How can you talk like that? Do you have any manners?"
At this time, another young man who was watching the show jumped out to play the villain, patted his friend on the shoulder and said: "Uncle, don't mind it, he is just a person with a loose mouth. We are really classmates in the same class. We agreed to celebrate a friend's birthday today. They had some conflicts and started arguing. "
"Don't worry about them, just drive quickly. We have to arrive before the scheduled time. If we are delayed, we will complain."
The husband of 'Jasmine Fragrance' accepted the reservation order, and he had no right to cancel it after accepting it. Once he was late and was complained by the passengers, he had to pay ten times the unit price as compensation.
This order is not cheap either. If he is really complained about, he will be deducted hundreds of dollars and his credit points will also be reduced.
犹豫再三，又担心自己不开车会被后头另一个混混青年打骂，‘茉莉香’的丈夫最后还是踩了油门发动了车子：
'你们别再欺负人了啊。’
'放心吧叔，说了是闹着玩儿的。’
碍着有他这么个不识趣的家伙在，另一边拽得跟二百五似得混混青年也很狠狠瞪了他一眼，倒是没再动手动脚了。
车子启动的瞬间，‘茉莉香’的丈夫从后视镜看到了正中狼狈的青年。
他眼中带着失望，抿着唇也不再说话。
看到那道眼神，‘茉莉香’的丈夫又有点心虚又有些羞愧，他当时就在脑海中想着怎么补偿这个男生。
想着等到了地方、下单的人点了确认送达后，如果这个男生还是想要离开，他就免费把对方送回来。
顾之桑的声音把他从回忆中拉了出来：
“然后你把他们三个人送到了地方就离开了，你当时应该看到了徐有涵的窘境，而且你也挺清楚地知道，他其实在遭受欺凌。
但你没当回事。”
“第二天的时候，警察通知你徐有涵死了，让你去警署录口供、咨询当晚你有没有看到什么，但是你没说实话对吗？”
顾之桑声音有些冷：“你明明看到他在被欺负，但是你没有实话实说，导致他含冤而死之后连带着你一起恨上了。”
'茉莉香’听到这儿，心态有些崩，直接推了一把丈夫：
“为啥你说啊！你不是给警员说你啥也没看到么？你不是说车上他们没发生冲突么？你当时咋个不帮一帮那个孩子啊？！”
顾之桑没有说话，因为‘茉莉香’的问题也是她的好奇。
她只是看到了徐有涵被迫坐上车的那一个画面。
再然后晃动的、充满了愤怒和无力的情景便是他被一群青年人按在地上痛揍，被折辱。
不等她看完全部，对方便发现了她的窥视，断开了魂魄‘共感’术的连接。
'茉莉香’的丈夫没说真话隐瞒真相、帮几个凶手打掩护这件事，是她从前因后果中猜出来的。
否则根本解释不通，徐有涵为什么会恨一个和他死亡毫无关系的司机。
除非这个司机曾经也是致他于死地的一环。
听到她笃定的语气，原本心理防线就不高的中年男人彻底破防了。
他眼珠浑浊、泛着红血丝，显然这些天他都没有睡过一个好觉，都在被这件事折磨。
他猛地把柜台上的货品都扫掉，低吼道：“你让我管，我怎么管？！”
“我他妈、我他妈上有老，我下有小，俩孩子上学要不要钱房贷我爸和你妈的病要不要钱？我怎么敢管我问你？把咱家管出事儿了你就乐意了？我没那个胆子我不是什么舍己救人的大英雄！”
男人歇斯底里的样子，把‘茉莉香’给震住了。
她看着捂着脸放声大哭的丈夫，鼻子也有些酸涩，这也是她第一次看到丈夫这么狼狈的样子。
“那你说呗，你有隐情现在有两千万人民老百姓看着呢。”‘茉莉香’说着也忍不住哭了，“你都不知道咱儿子都被这件事连累了，大师说那个冤死的年轻人身上有怨气，会影响咱家所有人！”
过了几分钟，男人才勉强稳住情绪。
他抹了一把眼泪，神情有些麻木，哑着声终于说出了那天的真相。
原来他开始的时候，是有想过要帮一帮那个年轻人的。
然后车子到了地方，他等着那人点了送达，正想要开口喊徐有涵。
结果他就看到好几个年轻小伙子吊儿郎当地从那边的别墅区走了出来，走到了车跟前，‘干啥了来这么晚？’
'人家不给脸呗。’
一个混混瞥了眼‘茉莉香’的丈夫，‘这谁啊？’
看着七八个五大三粗、身强体壮的年轻男生虎视眈眈地盯着自己，‘茉莉香’丈夫心中原本有的一些正义、想要出头的勇气，都在这一刻熄灭了。
他听到那个打人的混混恶声恶气：‘以后别他玛多管闲事，不该你吱声的时候就闭嘴，我可是有你手机号的，想查你轻而易举！赶紧滚蛋！’
打车平台上的确都标注司机电话，而刚刚下过单的他们确实能看到。
待‘茉莉香’的丈夫一踩油门开出去的时候，他心跳还有些快。
从后视镜里，他能看到几个青年推搡着中间的人，还有用脚去踢那男生的腿的。
开出两条路段后，他才把车子停在路边。
一边是对方刚刚凶神恶煞的威胁，另一边是心中的正义感天平，他迟疑着拿起手机想要拨通报警电话，又怕惹祸上身。
就在他刚刚解锁屏幕，平台又跳出了一条派单信息，自动给他分派了附近的单子。
乘客给他打了个电话，接通后就说自己赶时间，希望他能快点到。
挂断电话后，‘茉莉香’的丈夫最终压下了心中的不安，驱车去接新的乘客了。
他年轻的时候也横过混过一段日子，被别人揍过，也仗着中二揍过别人。
如果是那个时候，他肯定会站出来。
被揍的鼻青脸肿也要跟人家‘拼命’，大不了就为了义气献身大义，但现在他早已被生活磨平了棱角，做不到见义勇为了。
没事的。
'茉莉香’的丈夫在心中安慰自己。
这些年轻小伙子也就是以前的他，因为一点小摩擦大动干戈，再加上都是男娃应该不会出什么大事……
他这么想着，也就暂时把这件事压在了心底。
直到第二天被叫到警厅后得知，昨天那个文文静静的男生已经死了，是被人活活打到内脏破裂大出血而死时，‘茉莉香’的丈夫都是茫然而不敢相信的。
随之而来的是巨大的愧疚、后悔，种种情绪包裹着他，不禁让他去想如果昨天他出手阻拦了；
如果他当时没有因为害怕惹上事儿、挨打，把车停在路边没有把男生送过去，今天的一切是不是就不会发生？
警员询问他，在车上的时候有没有看到那个叫徐有涵的男生——也就是死者，和其他人起冲突。
当时‘茉莉香’的丈夫心想，自己已经胆小了一回，他一定要帮这个男孩子讨个公道！
正要回答时，有警员敲门进来，说他妻子找来了非常担心，让他先出去和妻子见个面让对方放心。
他浑浑噩噩走到大厅的时候，被妻子迎了上来：‘你差点吓死我了……’
另一边的喧哗声引起了他的注意，他抬头看去，看到几个中年男女也在大厅中。
这些人是涉嫌行凶的那些孩子的家长。
他们围着两个警员七嘴八舌地喊着无辜，说自己的孩子才二十岁，平时有多乖多听话，不可能殴打同学致死，一定是被冤枉的。
看到大厅中的‘茉莉香’夫妻，其中一个妇女忽然走了过来：
‘你就是警员说的昨天的司机大哥吧？你得给我家孩子作证啊，他才没杀人，咋去参加个同学聚会我家孩子就成凶手了？这屎盆子可不能扣我们家头上！’
其他人也嚷起来：‘你这话说的，我儿子也不会干这种事的，早知道就不该让他去，真是晦气！’
'……’
最开始叫嚷的中年妇女，就是车上打人最凶的青年混混的妈妈。
叽叽喳喳的人群中，‘茉莉香’的丈夫看到其中一个中年男人的脸时，便瞳孔一缩，下意识把妻子往自己身后挡了一下。
他低下头回避了目光，手掌都在轻颤。
这个男人他认识。
二十年前他还有古惑仔梦的时候，跟着一个‘大哥’和一群兄弟天天压马路、喝酒唱歌吹牛皮，还打过好几次群架。
就是那个时期，他见过这个男人。
当时他跟着的‘大哥’见到这个人都得狗腿喊‘哥’，某次在KTV唱歌时，他们和其他人起了冲突，这男人抄起酒瓶子直接往对方的头上砸、还用碎玻璃扎人家的胳膊，非常狠辣。
虽然这人现在老了不少，看穿着西装革履似乎也回归正常生活了，但‘茉莉香’的丈夫对他脖子侧面的纹身记忆深刻。
他看到那个男人走近，扶了一下情绪激动的中年妇女，‘姐你别激动，我知道侄儿不会干这么冲动的事，警官们会查明真相的。’
男人说完，还一派和气地要和自己握手。
'茉莉香’的丈夫还僵着没伸出手，里头的警员便出来呵斥道：‘闹什么？这里是警厅，不要大声喧哗。’
他心神恍惚地跟着警员重新走了进去，满脑子都是以前和刚刚的画面，心理乱得很。
现在社会安定又打击力道大，那个男的肯定不能像以前那么嚣张了，不用怕他……
况且自己当年只是个小喽啰、小跟班，他肯定不记得自己了。
'茉莉香’的丈夫越想越害怕。
万一呢？
看这人穿得人模狗样，现在应该很有钱吧？
What if he still has that kind of power? What if he is the kind of scoundrel who collects protection fees and hates me because I reported his nephew? Then my family's store, which has been open for more than ten years, is here. My daughter has just been admitted to a very good key high school, and my wife is just an ordinary housewife...
He himself is not a gangster, but an ordinary middle-aged man who is burdened with many debts and is timid.
If the other party really retaliates against him, how should he protect his family?
The police officer's voice was still ringing in my ears: 'You really didn't notice anything? Did they have any friction while they were in the car?'
After a moment of silence, Jasmine's husband said in a muffled voice: "There was no... conflict."
'I didn't see or hear anything ahead.'
"It looks like they are just ordinary classmates. I guess they are not forced..."
When he walked out of the police station, Jasmine's husband felt extremely bitter. He heard his wife mumbling beside him:
"Didn't you see the mother of the young man who died just now? She came and sat on the floor of the police station crying. She was dressed quite simply and half of her hair was gray. So pitiful..."
He flew into a rage: 'Stop talking!'
He didn't want to hear any more news about this matter. He just wanted it to be over as soon as possible and return to normal life.
Otherwise he would feel that he was also an accomplice.
——
When recalling this, Jasmine's husband could no longer speak. He sat down in a chair with lifeless eyes and muttered to himself:
"I'm not the murderer, I didn't hurt anyone, why are you pestering me? Why don't you go after those who killed him? I'm afraid, I'm timid, I have children and I have concerns, is this my fault?!"
He hasn't had a good night's sleep since this happened.
Later, I gradually woke up in the middle of the night, feeling weak, sore, and unable to breathe.
Later, he often dreamed of the dead young man, staring at him with a pale face and gloomy eyes.
Clearly, he only glanced at her twice in the rearview mirror, but in his dream, every facial feature of the other person was crystal clear.
Jasmine's husband finally determined that he was possessed by something.
The dead young man hated him and came to take revenge on him.
He felt aggrieved and puzzled, and thought that although he had told a lie out of cowardice, he did not deserve to die. During those days, he frantically searched the Internet for methods to exorcise evil spirits.
Reciting the Great Compassion Mantra and the Diamond Sutra over and over again is of no use.
By chance, he clicked on a forum, where the poster said that he used to have a special physique and was always very scared of seeing ghosts. But after getting a tattoo of Zhong Kui, his health has improved a lot.
Many people echoed this, saying that Zhong Kui is originally a god who catches ghosts and is the god that ghosts fear the most, but he can only be tattooed on the back.
After searching for a long time, Jasmine's husband finally took a gamble and changed his tattoo despite the unbearable pain and inflammation in his back, just to drive away the young ghost who was haunting him.
Gu Zhisang sighed and said, "It's not just you that's being harassed. Others have also been retaliated against, and their situations are much more serious than yours."
According to the "Book of Souls", two people have died.
Others also suffered injuries of varying severity and are still suffering from the evil spirit's invasion.
These people should be the ones who participated in the beating.
As Jasmine's husband himself said, he had his own concerns and was afraid that his family would be retaliated against.
From the perspective of worldly laws, he did not participate in the crime, and the facts he concealed could hardly be judged as perjury.
But from a moral perspective, he did conceal the suffering suffered by the deceased Xu Youhan and helped cover up the murderer.
The man continued to shake his head. "I have committed no crime. Why are you pestering me... why..."
Gu Zhisang frowned and didn't speak for a long time.
Human affairs are always complicated, and everyone has different criteria for judgment. This incident has caused more discussion than previous incidents, and there are many different opinions in the comment section of the live broadcast room.
She glanced at the lens and said, "I can't judge guilt, reward or punishment."
After all, she is just a spectator of these events, not a judge in the world of the living or the King of Hell in the underworld.
"But I should know why it's haunting you."
Jasmine's husband looked up in shock and looked at his wife's hand - the source of the sound.
He heard the woman in the live broadcast say:
"You had a tattoo of 'Guan Gong holding a sword' on your body before, right? Guan Gong himself is the embodiment of justice, bravery and perseverance. 'Guan Gong holding a sword' adds a layer of loyalty and bravery, and is known as a symbol of 'eliminating all injustices in the world and eliminating all evil people in the world'.
He is a righteous god. Whether you get him tattooed on your body depends on whether your fate can bear it. If you are not such a person, you will conflict with the energy he manifests. "
Gu Zhisang's tone was complicated as he continued, "When you had the tattoo of Him, you must have heard of these symbols and allusions. At that time, you must have said something like a promise, which allowed the words to add to your body and intensify the manifestation of 'Guan Gong holding a sword' on your body."
Listening to Gu Zhisang's voice, Molixiang's husband couldn't help but think of twenty years ago.
When he and a group of brothers went to get tattoos, he did hear the owner of the tattoo shop say that Guan Erye was unparalleled in loyalty and bravery, and that the symbolic meaning was excellent.
At that time, he did not have so many concerns. He was full of passion and righteousness, and yearned for the loyalty and courage of the knights in the movies.
When he sees some movie plots or gets drunk at a table, he will say to his friends in indignation: "If I encounter such a thing, I will definitely be the first to help!"
What he didn't know was that it was his repeated emphasis on his loyalty and bravery, and his willingness to help others when he saw injustice, that made the "Guan Gong with a Sword" in him extremely prominent.
When he really encountered what happened to Xu Youhan and retreated, it was contrary to the power of manifestation he had once built up with words.
After Xu Youhan died and turned into a ghost, one could see Guan Gong faintly engraved on his back through his clothes, and see the mark manifested in his soul.
Listening to the lies that Jasmine's husband told at the police station and looking at the manifestation of Guan Gong on him, Xu Youhan thought of her own experience and felt that this man was really hypocritical and ridiculous.
How can he be worthy of the Guan Gong tattoo?
How dare you say you are loyal and brave? !
The ghost, whose reason was swept away by resentment, just wanted to tear the shameful face of this man to pieces. Seeing him being scared to death, he felt happy in his heart.
Perhaps at the beginning, it really didn't want to take Molixiang's husband's life, but just wanted to vent its resentment and anger, and wanted him to apologize to it and regret perjury.
Who would have thought that the other party got a tattoo of "Zhong Kui to protect his body" overnight.
When it approached Jasmine's husband again, its soul was injured by Zhong Kui's seal, which aroused its rage and resentment for the wrongful death, so it attacked indiscriminately to kill him.
After Gu Zhisang finished his speculation, Molixiang's husband remained silent for a long time.
The discussion in the comment section of the live broadcast room was even more intense.
Some people think that Jasmine's husband did nothing wrong, and it is inevitable that he has relatives and concerns;
On the contrary, the ghost was too cruel and went too far.
Some people also think that he committed a crime by giving false testimony to the murderer, and this is a fact that cannot be covered up;
Besides, they have died in vain and turned into evil ghosts, so how can they remain rational...
After a while, Jasmine's husband covered his face dejectedly.
It turns out that a life of wasting time can really make a person lose his edge.
In the end, he became the kind of mediocre and cowardly person that he hated the most when he was young.
The author has something to say:
Sangsang is just a spectator who reveals the truth of the incident. She will not easily judge anyone unless they are truly evil.
Everyone has their own opinions, and readers are also viewers. They can freely express any views and opinions on the events in the article.