Prologue
In the pitch-black darkness, a desolate road was enveloped by a chilling wind, with not a soul in sight, not even the sound of insects. The silence was as if the place were a city of the dead. On this foggy path where one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face, anyone who passed by would shiver uncontrollably, either rubbing their arms up and down or blowing into their hands to warm them up, as if doing so could bring a bit more warmth.
“Shuffle, huh—shuffle, huh—” Suddenly, a small sound broke the silence, growing louder as it approached. As the sound drew near, two figures could be seen—one tall, one short—walking effortlessly on this dark path. The tall figure emitted a ghostly green light, while the short one was enveloped in red light. Within a hundred miles around them, everything was as clear as day, and even sounds seemed unusually loud.
“Brother Niu Qi, are you sure this is the right way?” the short figure asked, puzzled.
Niu Qi, the tall figure, looked down at the short one with a cold, emotionless gaze and said icily, “I’ve walked this path for centuries; do you think I could be wrong?”
Hearing Niu Qi’s response, the short figure stuck out her tongue apologetically and smiled at Niu Qi. “Oh, Brother Niu Qi, don’t be like that. I didn’t mean it. You know I’ve never been this way before, so of course, I’m scared!”
“Scared? What’s there to be scared of? There’s no one else around, not even a single bug. What are you afraid of?” Niu Qi glanced around.
“It’s because there’s no one else that I’m scared!” The short figure’s eyes widened. “Granny and the little soldiers all say this is the road to reincarnation. We’ve walked for half a day without seeing any other ghosts. Could it be that I’m the only one going to be reincarnated?”
Niu Qi rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. He said nothing and continued forward briskly, knowing that missing the right time would be bad news for both of them.
“Brother Niu Qi, please, tell me why there are no other ghosts on this road?”
“Brother Niu Qi, tell me, I promise…”
“Brother Niu Qi, I know you’re the best among the ghost messengers…”
Throughout the journey, the short figure either asked Niu Qi questions or tried to flatter him, causing their progress to be slow and halting until they reached a pool of water. Behind the pool, six paths diverged, each glowing with bright white, red, yellow, green, blue, and a faint black light.
The short figure, Wu Xiaopei, squatted by the pool, watching the fish. Niu Qi pulled out a time mirror, checked the time, and approached Wu Xiaopei, handing her a piece of cake from his pocket. “Xiaopei, in a quarter of an hour, you need to walk into the red light by yourself. Remember to finish the cake Granny Meng gave you before you go, or she’ll scold me for not doing my job properly. That stuff isn’t available in the human world, and you can’t take it with you to reincarnate.”
“Oh, I’ll eat it. Granny’s so good to me, of course, I’ll eat it!” Wu Xiaopei reached out to take the cake from Niu Qi, but accidentally kicked a small stone, stumbling forward into Niu Qi. The cake slipped from his grasp and fell into the pool.
Seeing the cake fall, Niu Qi pushed Wu Xiaopei aside and frantically stirred the water with both hands, trying to retrieve the cake. The more he stirred, the murkier the water became, and soon the cake was lost from sight.
“It’s over! It’s over! It fell into the pool. Now Granny Meng will skin me alive! Oh no, you fish better not eat it! If you do, you’ll have to reincarnate, ah—” Niu Qi wailed.
“Splash!” Huh? What was that sound? Niu Qi heard another object fall into the pool and peered in, puzzled. “Ah! The time mirror, the time mirror! How did the time mirror fall in too?!”
Now, almost bending into the pool, Niu Qi’s hands moved even more frantically. As he searched, he suddenly realized something was amiss and quickly stood up, looking around.
“Ah! She’s gone, she’s gone! Xiaopei is gone!” Niu Qi hurried to check the six paths, his large bull eyes fixed on the red path. There, at the end of the red light, Wu Xiaopei’s silhouette was rolling away like a ball, getting smaller until it disappeared.
“Ah! How did she go in already? It’s not the right time!” Niu Qi was truly panicked now. He clutched his large bull horns, pacing in circles, muttering, “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over! She didn’t eat the soul-forgetting cake, she didn’t follow the correct time, the cake was eaten by those damned fish, and now my time mirror is gone. I’m really finished, ah—what to do, what to do? If the Judge finds out…”
Chapter One
Wu Xiaopei felt dizzy and heavy, her head pounding. She tried to shake it to clear her mind but found even the slightest movement excruciating. Unable to lift her hand to massage her head, she slowly turned her head, using her one agile eye to survey her surroundings.
A carved vanity came into view, its mirror covered with an intricately embroidered silk depicting birds and flowers. Closer inspection revealed a small round table with several chairs, the smooth, dark wood polished to a shine, indicating its high quality and well-maintained condition.
To the right, a half-open carved lattice door allowed a glimpse outside to a half-tilted roof of what appeared to be a gazebo for relaxation.
Just as she wanted to look further, a green shadow blocked her view, and she heard a voice from above—
“Xiaoxuan, the lady is awake. Please bring the washbasin; I’ll help her freshen up.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The voices were pleasant, soft, and soothing. Wu Xiaopei thought how lucky this lady was to have someone to help with her morning routine, unlike her, who had to do everything herself. As she mused, a sudden sharp pain, like thousands of needles piercing her body, overwhelmed her.
“Ah, it hurts so much!” she cried out, grimacing in pain. “Don’t pull me up so hard!”
