“On what grounds?!”
A wave of overwhelming grievance and indignation washed over her whole body. Unable to suppress the emotions surging within her, Shen Qiao raised her eyes and stared directly at the female ghost, her tone resolute and stubborn. “Your Underworld made a mistake that killed me and ruined my entire life! My life, my apartment, and all the effort I put in have gone down the drain, and none of it was my fault. Since I can’t go back, I demand compensation! In my next life, I must be reborn into top-tier circumstances—living in luxury, with a loving family, a smooth and prosperous life, and free from any disasters or hardships. This is what you owe me!”
Looking at the red-eyed yet calm and unyielding young woman before her, a trace of guilt rose in the female ghost’s heart. When all was said and done, it truly was the fault of the Underworld’s reapers, causing an innocent mortal to die prematurely. By all rights and reason, compensation was due.
However, she was merely a low-ranking clerk with limited authority. She had no power to alter a mortal’s destiny for rebirth, let alone customize their reincarnated status.
She quickly said, “I cannot decide on your request; I don’t have the authority to approve it. Please wait a moment, I will report this to Lord Yama immediately.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the female ghost reached out and picked up an ancient, jet-black ghostly telephone beside the counter. She dialed the ancient rune dial with her fingertips, connecting directly to Lord Yama’s private line. In a concise manner, she reported the entire situation step-by-step: how the reapers had harvested the wrong soul, how the mortal Shen Qiao had died innocently, and her demand for compensation from the Underworld.
Only a moment after she hung up, a wave of chilly, ghostly wind swept through the entire Reincarnation Hall.
The fog churned and parted, revealing a tall figure dressed in a dark, gold-trimmed official robe, with a handsome, steady countenance and a naturally regal, solemn aura, walking slowly into the hall. His eyes were deep and profound, and his body was enveloped in a faint pressure unique to the supreme ruler of the Underworld. He was none other than Lord Yama, who governed all matters of rebirth.
Lord Yama spotted the frail-looking Shen Qiao standing before the counter at a glance, her eyes filled with unyielding grievance. A quick glance at the reincarnation records on the table was all it took for him to understand the entire story.
Knowing that his reapers had committed a severe mistake that caused an innocent mortal to die prematurely and rendered half a lifetime of hard work useless, Lord Yama showed a gentle demeanor without a hint of arrogance. He took the initiative to apologize: “This matter is indeed a failure of duty on the Underworld’s part, causing you to die in vain and letting half a lifetime’s hard work go up in smoke. We are truly sorry. As for your request for compensation, I grant it.”
Seeing Lord Yama’s sincere attitude, Shen Qiao calmed down slightly and said seriously, “I don’t want an ordinary life destiny. My current life has been too bitter, working hard for half a lifetime only to end up with nothing. Since this was your mistake, please grant me a life that is smooth, peaceful, and entirely free of hardships.”
Lord Yama nodded slightly and motioned for the Judge beside him to check the Register of Reincarnation.
The Judge immediately flipped open the colossal register. His fingers swept rapidly across the dense entries of mortal destinies. After a moment, he bowed and reported, “Your Lordship, the check is complete. Among all the available destinies in the mortal realm for the next decade or so, every single one has flaws—either coming from a poor family, lacking familial bonds, living a life of endless toil, or being plagued by misfortunes. There are no flawless, top-tier destinies available that can fulfill her request for a smooth and worry-free life.”
Hearing this, Shen Qiao panicked instantly.
She was the innocent victim here who had lost her life for nothing, and now even her sole request for compensation couldn’t be fulfilled! The accumulated feelings of unfairness completely boiled over. She looked up at Lord Yama, her tone carrying an unyielding determination: “That is not my problem; it was your Underworld that messed up first. I worked hard my entire life only to end up with nothing, and now you can’t even provide this tiny bit of compensation? I refuse to accept this!”
Looking at the stubborn yet perfectly justified young woman, Lord Yama felt no anger; instead, he sank into thought for a moment. Recently, the Underworld had rolled out a new special compensation initiative, which happened to be perfect for making up for this error.
He mused aloud, “Since all available destinies in this realm are flawed and cannot meet your demands, I shall offer you another form of compensation. The Underworld has recently launched a new time-space transmigrational rebirth program. I can send you to a parallel otherworldly realm to be reborn, locking in an absolute ‘win-by-doing-nothing’ life for you. You will come with inherent good luck, a complete and prosperous family background, and freedom from financial worries. You won’t need to struggle or toil—your whole life will be wealthy, stable, and completely free of angst or hardships, fully matching a top-tier flawless destiny. What do you think?”
A win-by-doing-nothing life? A flawless destiny?
Shen Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she was instantly swayed.
Compared to a standard reincarnation, transmigrating to a brand-new world where she could coast through life without having to repeat the exhausting struggle of her past life was undoubtedly the best possible compensation.
However, she possessed a very sharp mind. She knew when to take a good deal, and even more so how to seize the chance to negotiate for extra perks. Strike while the iron is hot! She looked at Lord Yama with bright, shining eyes: “Deal! But I want one additional compensation: give me a cheat ability—a ‘golden finger’—to ensure my effortless, winning life is 100% foolproof. As long as you agree to this condition, I’ll accept the arrangement immediately and won’t hold the Underworld accountable for the mistake!”
Lord Yama couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. The young woman before him seemed gentle on the outside, but she was actually sharp, nimble, and knew exactly how to fight for her own interests. Knowing the Underworld was in the wrong, he simply nodded in agreement: “Granted. I shall immediately bestow good fortune upon you to accompany your transmigrational rebirth into the other world.”
Having settled all the compensation terms, Lord Yama did not wish to delay any further, fearing Shen Qiao might throw in even more requests. He immediately raised his hand to gather the power of reincarnation transport, intending to send her to the parallel world right away.
Just as the transport energy enveloped her body, a spatial vortex slowly took shape, and the powerful suction pulled at her soul, a critically important matter suddenly flashed through Shen Qiao’s mind.
Her one-bedroom apartment!
That was her sole asset, something she had poured everything into!
Once a person died, their property in the living world would be reclaimed by the state. Everything she had worked her butt off to save in this lifetime would truly be gone without a trace!
She hastily opened her mouth and spoke at top speed: “Wait! Lord Yama! I have one last request! Can my apartment in the living world be converted into wealth in the other world, or…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the surrounding transport force intensified abruptly.
A surging current of spatial energy swept over her, causing her form to sway rapidly. In her panic and hurry, Shen Qiao waved her hand wildly. Her fingertips brushed against Lord Yama’s waist, and she grabbed hold of the dark, translucent jade pendant hanging from his black belt—a piece carved with intricate flowing cloud runes.
Exerting force with her fingers, she ripped the extraordinary, energy-rich jade pendant straight off Lord Yama’s waist!
The cool, smooth jade fell into her palm in an instant, tightly gripped in her fist.
In the next second, a blinding white light exploded as the spatial vortex fully formed.
Shen Qiao, along with the mysterious jade pendant in her hand, was instantly sucked into the distorted time-space tunnel, her figure vanishing completely from the Reincarnation Processing Office of the Hall of the King of Hell.
Lord Yama looked down at his now-empty waist, then stared at the suddenly vacant transport spot. A rare look of astonishment flickered across his handsome, solemn face. He then held his forehead in helpless amusement and chuckled softly under his breath: “What a bold little girl… she refuses to take even the slightest loss.”
The jade pendant at his waist had actually been snatched away by this newly deceased young woman on her way out.
Meanwhile, hurtling through the endless time-space tunnel, Shen Qiao tightly clutched the cool, smooth jade pendant in her palm, a bright spark of excitement gradually lighting up her eyes.
In this life, she would finally never have to suffer or toil again.
Her low-effort, effortless life of winning had officially begun.