Three-year-old Qing Bao died just like that.
End of story—
The little cub’s soul arrived in the Netherworld. Yama said she was kind-hearted, having saved many kittens and birds during her short three years of life.
The small animals recommended her for a post in the Netherworld.
Thus, three-year-old Qing Bao became the youngest Judge in the history of the Netherworld.
When lonely souls and wandering ghosts drifted to the Gates of Hell and couldn’t find the Judge, they went to Yama to complain about Qing Bao.
Qing Bao was so angry she jumped up to hit their knees. “Who are you calling a deserter?”
She had always been a good baby who worked diligently, okay?
If you ghosts had just lowered your heads, you would have seen her, wouldn’t you?
Furious, Qing Bao posted a few large characters at the entrance to the Gates of Hell: [LOWER YOUR HEAD TO FIND THE JUDGE]
But because she posted it too low, the ghosts had to first lower their heads to see the fuming Qing Bao before they could see the five large characters posted beside her.
Over time, Qing Bao became the Netherworld’s darling.
All the ghosts who saw her would pretend not to, and just when Qing Bao’s cheeks puffed up with anger, they would look down and tease her cheekily:
“Hey, little baby Judge, come on, jump up and hit my knees! Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh!”
Qing Bao would raise her Cinnabar Brush and poke a hole in their knees, sending the ghosts running and crying for their mothers.
As they ran, they would shout, “It’s all fun and games until you mess with Sister Qing.”
Ten years in the Netherworld passed in a flash. Qing Bao was on the verge of completing her meritorious service, and old Yama had promised to let her be reincarnated.
Until one day, a monkey fought its way into the Netherworld and crossed out Qing Bao’s name in the Book of Life and Death.
Qing Bao’s ten years of hard work turned into shredded paper.
The baby sat on the ground, crying her heart out. Her little hands still clutched the Cinnabar Brush, which was almost as tall as she was. It felt like her world had collapsed!
After the monkey left, Yama squatted on the ground and coaxed Qing Bao for three days and three nights. Finally, to compensate her, he promised to send her back into her previous life’s Reincarnation.
Qing Bao licked her finger and wiped it under her eyes, her small hand covering her mouth to suppress the smile at its corners.
“Then I… I’ll reluctantly agree, ‘kay.”
It was truly a great reluctance.
When the little one entered the cycle of Reincarnation, she went in with a skip in her step.
La la la, the power of tears is great, the power of tears is grand, the power of tears made Yama coax me ’til I couldn’t stand!
This was wonderful! She could finally return to her past life and save her mother.
In the Netherworld, Yama covered his face and shrieked, “Ahhh! I forgot to make her return the Cinnabar Brush!”
The Judge’s Cinnabar Brush could judge good and evil and determine cause and effect. If Qing Bao took it back to the mortal realm, she would turn the world upside down!
The Mortal Realm.
Jingjiao Su Family Village.
“Ever since Qing Bao’s mother married into the General’s manor, she’s been constantly fighting with my mother for Father’s affection. She’s so shameless. Whoever dares to gouge out her eyes, I’ll give you ten bags of Sugar Crisp.”
Inside a desolate and messy thatched hut, the sweet-looking Su Mengmeng stood with several boys from the village, looking smugly at Qing Bao, who had been beaten by them to within an inch of her life.
Qing Bao’s once-bright eyes had lost all their light, and her round cheeks were covered in swollen red palm prints.
Like a lifeless rag doll, the little one’s breathing gradually ceased.
Suddenly, a transparent soul shot into the little one’s body.
Qing Bao’s eyes flew open as she remembered everything.
Finally—
She was back in her past life!
Before her, dressed exquisitely, was none other than her half-sister from a different mother, Su Mengmeng.
Su Mengmeng’s mother was an adopted daughter raised by the Si family for many years. Later, the Si family found their true-born daughter who had been lost—Qing Bao’s mother—and brought her back to the family.
However, the Si family couldn’t bear to see Su Mengmeng’s mother, with whom they had years of affection, suffer. So, they married both the real and fake young ladies of the Si family into the General’s manor.
Qing Bao’s mother was the official wife, while Su Mengmeng’s mother was a co-wife of equal standing.
General Su had taken the co-wife with him to the battlefront. Mother had told Qing Bao that they would return to their ancestral village in the countryside to pray for Father’s well-being and await his safe return.
Today was Qing Bao’s birthday, and it was also the day Father would return triumphantly to bring her and her mother home.
Mother had gone into town to buy Qing Bao new clothes and her favorite Sugar Crisp, telling her to wait obediently for her return. The naive Qing Bao waited and waited, looking forward to their family reunion, only to be met by the little demon, Su Mengmeng.
Su Mengmeng had smashed to death the few kittens Qing Bao was raising. Before they died, the kittens had thrown themselves forward to protect their little master.
“How unlucky. They clawed up the new clothes I was going to wear to see Father,” Su Mengmeng had said, ordering people to beat the kittens to death.
And Qing Bao’s final fate was to have her beautiful eyes gouged out, dying from excessive blood loss just like that.
The village bullies before her were the very boys Su Mengmeng had bribed with Sugar Crisp to do her dirty work.
Su Mengmeng had falsely accused Qing Bao of stealing and eating her Sugar Crisp.
But in reality, Su Mengmeng had pried open Qing Bao’s mouth and forcefully stuffed the pastry inside. Qing Bao’s mouth had been stuffed until it was swollen, her lips cut and bleeding, unable to taste any sweetness at all.
“Ah, gouge out her eyes? I don’t dare. Someone could die.”
“Even the doctor at the edge of the village wouldn’t dare to just dig out someone’s eyes. I don’t want the Sugar Crisp anymore…”
A trace of hesitation appeared on the boys’ faces. They were bullies and enjoyed picking on other children, but something this bloody still frightened them.
They turned to leave but were blocked at the door by several adults holding daggers.
“If you don’t do as I say, I’ll kill you all too,” Su Mengmeng said, her eyes narrowing slightly, a vicious glint flashing from them.
Everyone who saw Qing Bao would praise her for being pretty, especially her eyes, which seemed to hold the vast starry sky. Even when Su Mengmeng was present, people would praise Qing Bao first.
That was why she hated Qing Bao’s eyes. Hated them very much.
The boys’ legs went soft with fear. They kept backing away until they finally burst into loud sobs.
When had they ever seen a scene like this?
The adults handed them the daggers. “Go. Gouge out this little bitch’s eyes. No one will ever know about this, and the Sugar Crisp will be yours.”
One of the bolder boys took a dagger with a trembling hand and approached Qing Bao.
He raised the dagger and lunged toward her.
The next moment, Su Mengmeng grabbed the boy’s hand, and the tip of the blade was suddenly aimed at Qing Bao’s heart.
“Qing Bao, go to hell.”
Qing Bao closed her eyes, trying to use her power as a Judge.
But a three-year-old child’s body had nothing inside it.
How could she get out of this?
Flashes of the lives of those around her, which she had seen in the Book of Life and Death, went through her mind.
Her mother had been abducted by the midwife at birth and sold to the countryside. After being taken back by the Si family, she was treated with cold indifference. Later, after Qing Bao died, her mother was framed and her reputation was ruined, and she eventually followed Qing Bao in death.
At this thought.
Qing Bao’s eyes snapped open. This was the one chance she had begged for; she could not resign herself to fate.
The little one struggled with all her might, climbing up from the ground. She pushed away the boy with the dagger and, enduring the excruciating pain all over her body, ran for the door.
But.
The adults slammed the main door shut with a bang.
Su Mengmeng directed the other boys to grab Qing Bao and hold her down.
The boy with the dagger raised it again, about to plunge it into Qing Bao’s eye.
Just then.
A dark red light burst forth from Qing Bao’s body.
The Judge’s Brush, its tip dipped in red, appeared out of thin air, sending everyone in the room flying.