# The day Lin Wantang died, it didn't rain. There wasn't even any wind.
The city was still ablaze with lights in August. At midnight, traffic flowed along the streets like a tireless river, neon reflecting off the wet asphalt and bathing the entire city in a riot of color.
And when Lin Wantang walked out of the office building with her laptop in her arms, there was only one thought left in her mind.
—She wanted milk tea.
It was the seventh day in a row she'd worked overtime.
She arrived at the office at eight thirty in the morning and didn't leave until ten thirty at night. In between, she'd sat through three meetings, revised four versions of a proposal, and been told at the last minute that she had to submit a new project plan by nine the next morning.
She was so exhausted she couldn't even be bothered to look at the advertisements in the elevator.
But when she passed a convenience store, she still came to a stop.
"Whatever."
Lin Wantang glanced down at her phone.
12:03 a.m.
"One last time."
She told herself, "I'll go home after I finish it. Starting tomorrow, I'm quitting sugar."
Ten minutes later, she walked out of the convenience store carrying a cup of hot milk tea.
The straw was already in place, and tiny beads of condensation clung to the side of the cup.
She lowered her head and took a sip.
It was almost too sweet.
But Lin Wantang narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
"As expected, you need milk tea when you're pulling an all-nighter."
Her phone vibrated just then.
She pulled it out and looked at the screen.
It was a message from her mother.
—Wantang, aren't you home yet?
Another message popped up right after it.
—Have you been working overtime again lately? Your health comes first. Don't spend all your time working.
Lin Wantang stood on the street corner and couldn't help smiling.
She lowered her head and typed:
—Almost. I'll head home after I finish my milk tea.
After thinking about it, she added another line:
—Mom, go to sleep first. Don't wait for me.
She finished typing, but didn't press send right away.
Because a blinding spread of headlights suddenly lit up across the street.
A black sedan shot around the corner.
It was moving far too fast.
The driver seemed to notice someone ahead at the very last second and slammed on the brakes.
The shriek of tires tore through the dead of night.
Lin Wantang looked up.
In that moment, time seemed to stretch endlessly.
She saw the headlights.
She saw the leaves along the roadside stirring in the wind.
She saw her reflection in the convenience store's glass doors.
She even saw the cup of milk tea still in her hand, not yet finished.
Her last thought wasn't fear.
It was—
I'm not done with my milk tea.
The next second, the world plunged into darkness.
She had no idea how much time passed.
Lin Wantang opened her eyes.
The first thing she felt was silence.
It was too quiet.
There were no cars.
No pedestrians.
No hum of air-conditioning.
Not even the slightest sound that belonged in a city at night.
She slowly sat up.
"Where is this?"
Everything around her was gray and white.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands.
Her fingers were slender, her skin fair.
There were no wounds.
No blood, either.
Lin Wantang let out a breath of relief.
"I'm okay?"
She stood up.
After taking only two steps, her foot suddenly kicked something.
She looked down.
It was a phone.
Her phone.
One corner of the screen was shattered.
Her unsent message was still open on it.
Lin Wantang froze for a moment.
"That's weird..."
She picked up the phone.
Just then, a frigid voice came from behind her.
"Lin Wantang."
She spun around.
A man stood behind her.
He wore a long black robe, and his face was so pale it was almost bloodless.
In one hand, he held a yellowed ledger. In the other, he gripped a pitch-black chain.
Lin Wantang blinked.
The man stared back at her.
The two of them stood in silence for several seconds.
Lin Wantang spoke first.
"Excuse me...which production crew are you with?"
The man: "..."
"Or is this some kind of immersive escape room?"
The man's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Lin Wantang."
"Hmm?"
"Born on the third day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Twenty-five years old."
The man lowered his head and flipped through the ledger.
"Died..."
Lin Wantang's smile slowly disappeared.
"Died of what?"
The man raised his head.
"Tonight."
She stared at him.
"Say that again?"
"You're dead."
His tone was as flat as if he were informing her that temperatures would drop tomorrow.
Lin Wantang stared at him.
"Impossible."
The man ignored her and simply opened the ledger in his hand.
"Allotted lifespan: twenty-five years. Died at the end of..."
His voice suddenly stopped.
Lin Wantang keenly noticed the change in his expression.
"What is it?"
The man didn't answer.
He lowered his head and turned another page.
Then another.
His expression grew increasingly grim.
"That's not right."
"What's not right?"
"Your allotted lifespan..."
The man frowned deeply.
"It shouldn't be twenty-five."
Lin Wantang: "?"
"You should have had fifty-seven years left."
The air suddenly went still.
Lin Wantang stood where she was.
After a long moment, she pointed at herself.
"You mean..."
The man nodded.
"You weren't supposed to die."
"But you're already dead."
Lin Wantang suddenly felt like her brain wasn't big enough for all of this.
"So what exactly are you people saying?"
The man was silent for a moment.
Finally, he said, "It might have been a wrongful soul-reaping."
Lin Wantang: "..."
She looked down at herself.
Then at the Soul-Binding Chain in the man's hand.
Finally, she asked with utmost seriousness, "Your Netherworld makes mistakes too?"
For the first time, an embarrassed look appeared on the man's face.
"In theory, no."
"What about now?"
"Now..."
He looked at the Book of Life and Death.
"It did."
Lin Wantang drew a deep breath.
"Then send me back."
The man said nothing.
"You took the wrong soul, so send me back."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
The man looked up.
"Because your physical body has already died."
Lin Wantang froze.
"Didn't I just say it was your wrongful soul-reaping?"
"Once the soul leaves the body, it can't return to its proper place after a certain amount of time has passed."
"That amount of time hasn't passed yet, has it?"
The man fell silent.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Lin Wantang's heart.
"How long has it been?"
"Two double-hours."
"And besides," the man paused, "your physical body has already been sent to the hospital."
Lin Wantang sighed in relief.
"Then let's go to the hospital."
The man didn't move.
She frowned.
"What is it?"
"Your family has already signed the authorization for handling the remains."
Lin Wantang froze.
"What?"
The man didn't answer.
The next moment, a faint water mirror appeared before them.
Inside it was a familiar room.
Lin Wantang recognized it at a glance.
Her home.
The living room lights were on.
Her father sat on the couch, looking as if he'd aged ten years in an instant.
Her mother sat beside him.
In her hands, she held a photograph of Lin Wantang as a child.
The girl in the photo wore a red dress and smiled without a care in the world.
Her mother lowered her head, tears dropping one by one onto the photograph.
"Wantang..."
She called the name in a murmur.
Lin Wantang's breath caught.
"Mom..."
She instinctively stepped forward.
But her hand passed straight through the water mirror.
She couldn't touch anything.
"Mom, I'm right here."
She pounded on the water mirror.
"I'm really right here."
But the people inside the mirror couldn't hear her.
Her mother only hugged the photograph and wept.
Her father sat beside her, unable to say a word.
Lin Wantang stood rooted to the spot.
At last, tears fell from her eyes.
She had always thought the scariest thing about death was disappearing.
It wasn't until this moment that she understood.
What was truly unbearable was standing in this world while no one could ever see you again.
She slowly crouched down.
She covered her face with both hands.
Her shoulders trembled faintly.
The man behind her didn't urge her on.
Only after a long while did she ask in a low voice, "I really can't go back?"
"...No."
"What happened to my body?"
"It was cremated."
Four words.
They cut off the last sliver of hope completely.
Lin Wantang closed her eyes.
She suddenly remembered how her mother used to tell her that a girl living on her own had to take good care of herself.
Then she remembered how her father always complained that she worked too much, yet still left a container of cut fruit for her in the refrigerator every time.
And that cup of unfinished milk tea.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands.
They were so transparent she could almost see the ground behind them.
"I didn't even finish my last cup of milk tea."
The man was silent for a moment.
"If you'd like, I can have it brought here for you."
Lin Wantang stared at him.
She looked up.
The man remained expressionless.
"The Netherworld doesn't have milk tea."
"But the Ghost Market does."
To her surprise, he actually made Lin Wantang laugh.
"What's your name?"
"Xie Qi."
"Black Impermanence?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
Lin Wantang wiped away her tears.
"Since you really did reap the wrong soul..."
She looked at him.
"What happened to the person who was supposed to die?"
Xie Qi's expression suddenly changed.
"He's still alive."
"Where is he?"
"The mortal world."
Lin Wantang frowned.
"If that's the case, why can't you send me back?"
Xie Qi didn't answer.
He merely lowered his head and looked at the Book of Life and Death.
The place where Lin Wantang's name had originally been recorded had somehow turned into a blank space.
"Because now..."
His voice was very low.
"Even the Book of Life and Death doesn't know who you are anymore."
Lin Wantang followed Xie Qi for a long time.
At the end of the road stood a massive black city gate.
Three ancient characters were carved into it.
Ghost Gate Pass.
Countless underworld enforcers stood outside the gate.
Inside was the Yellow Springs Road, stretching farther than the eye could see.
Countless departed souls formed a line and moved slowly forward.
Some wept.
Some looked lost.
Some wore peaceful expressions.
Watching all this, Lin Wantang suddenly felt an indescribable sense of unreality.
She really was dead.
And this really was the Netherworld of legend.
"We're here."
Xie Qi stopped.
Lin Wantang looked up.
"Where am I going?"
"The Judge's Hall first."
"And then?"
"Wait for the Underworld Judge to investigate your Book of Life and Death."
"What if they can't find anything?"
Xie Qi was silent for a moment.
"Then we'll have to wait for the Netherworld King to decide."
"The Netherworld King?"
Lin Wantang blinked.
"The Netherworld really has a Netherworld King?"
"Of course."
Xie Qi glanced at her.
"Did you think we all make our own decisions every day?"
Before Lin Wantang could answer, a peal of bells suddenly rang in the distance.
Low.
Distant.
Every underworld enforcer stopped at the same time.
The Ghost Gate Pass, which had been bustling moments before, fell terrifyingly silent.
Xie Qi's expression shifted.
He immediately lowered his head.
"We welcome the Netherworld King."
Lin Wantang followed everyone's gaze.
At the end of the Yellow Springs Road, a black figure slowly approached.
The man was tall and slender, his black robes nearly blending into the darkness of night.
He didn't deliberately release any pressure.
Yet the moment he appeared, the entire Netherworld seemed to fall silent.
It was the first time Lin Wantang had seen Ye Chenyuan.
It was also the first time she'd ever seen someone who could make her feel inexplicably familiar for no reason at all.
The man drew closer, one step at a time.
Then he stopped in front of her.
Their eyes met.
Lin Wantang's heart suddenly gave a violent leap.
An unfamiliar image flashed through her mind without warning.
Snow blanketed the sky and earth.
Yellow Springs Flowers bloomed.
A woman in white stood beside the river.
She reached out her hand.
And the man before her was gripping her wrist with all his strength.
He said—
"Don't go."
The image vanished in an instant.
Lin Wantang abruptly returned to her senses.
Ye Chenyuan was still standing in front of her.
Only, a ripple too subtle to notice had appeared in those usually tranquil eyes.
His gaze fell to her wrist.
At some point, a faint red floral mark had appeared there.
It looked like a Yellow Springs Flower in bloom.
Ye Chenyuan's eyes darkened.
"Who sent you here?"
Lin Wantang froze.
"What?"
He asked again.
His voice was even lower than before.
"Who sent you back?"
Lin Wantang frowned.
"I'd like to know that myself."
She pointed at Xie Qi.
"He said he reaped my soul by mistake."
Xie Qi immediately lowered his head.
He didn't dare say a word.
Ye Chenyuan's gaze shifted from her face to Xie Qi.
It was only a casual glance.
Yet cold sweat instantly broke out on Xie Qi's forehead.
"L-Lord Ye..."
"The Soul-Reaping Order."
Xie Qi hurriedly presented it with both hands.
Ye Chenyuan took it.
He only glanced at it, but his expression turned completely cold.
"This isn't a Soul-Reaping Order from the Netherworld."
Xie Qi froze.
"What?"
Ye Chenyuan lifted his eyes.
There wasn't a trace of emotion left in those black eyes.
"Someone forged the Soul-Reaping Order."
Lin Wantang's heart sank.
She suddenly understood.
Her death this time had probably never been an accident.
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
After a long while, he said quietly, "Gu Changsheng."
A figure approached from the distance.
"At your service."
"Seal the Book of Life and Death."
"Yes."
"Investigate every Soul-Reaping Order."
"Yes."
Ye Chenyuan looked at Lin Wantang one last time.
Their gazes crossed again.
This time, the emotion in his eyes was too deep for her to understand.
"As for her—"
He paused for a moment.
"Take her back to the Netherworld King's Palace."
Lin Wantang immediately frowned.
"Wait."
Ye Chenyuan stopped.
She looked at him.
"Why do I have to go with you?"
Every underworld enforcer around them drew a sharp breath.
There probably wasn't a second person in the entire Netherworld who dared speak to the Netherworld King that way.
Yet Ye Chenyuan only looked at her quietly.
After a long while, he said, "Because this matter is connected to your previous life."
Lin Wantang froze.
"My previous life?"
"Yes."
"Who was I in my previous life?"
Ye Chenyuan didn't answer.
He simply turned around.
His black robes fluttered lightly in the Yellow Springs wind.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
Without looking back, he said, "Once you remember, you'll know."
Lin Wantang stood where she was.
She watched that retreating figure grow farther away.
For the first time, a strange feeling rose in her heart.
She had only just died.
Yet it was as if, in this place, she'd found someone she'd lost a very, very long time ago.
And that person—
seemed to have been waiting for her for just as long.
A very long time.
Long enough to be a full thousand years.