Nan Mo was killed by Yan Wang’s Spirit Pet.
That stupid dog would sneak off to the mortal realm with Black and White Impermanence whenever it had nothing better to do, always hoping to find a female dog to take back as its wife.
It never considered who would want it with its pig-like figure. Who knows what Yan Wang even fed it.
In her past life, Nan Mo grew up in an orphanage. She was sharp-witted, silver-tongued, and exquisitely beautiful, like a finely carved piece of jade.
Just imagine, who wouldn’t like a sweet-talking, clever child? That was why Director Mama showed Nan Mo special care, always giving her priority when good things came along.
Director Mama was the one who gave Nan Mo her name.
When she was found at the orphanage’s entrance, she was wrapped in a small blanket embroidered with jasmine flowers, which also had a small character for “Nan” on it. Thus, she was named Nan Mo.
Although she grew up in an orphanage, she never suffered much hardship. With the help of kind-hearted sponsors, her education went smoothly all the way through to her graduation from a 985 university.
Despite her sweet-talking and warm-hearted appearance, Nan Mo actually dreaded trouble the most. It couldn’t be helped; she was used to being independent. Her life’s motto was: I won’t trouble you, so don’t you come troubling me.
That was why after graduation, she turned down the olive branches extended by Fortune 100 companies and instead took the civil service exam.
She was afraid of the palace-intrigue dramas that played out daily in large corporations, and she feared the hassle of having to please superiors and clients.
Now, she worked a nine-to-five job that was uninteresting but free of any surprises. After two or three years, she used her salary and the extra money she earned from writing novels to buy a small, old, and shabby apartment near her workplace.
She could support herself without hardship and even had some spare cash to donate to the orphanage that raised her.
Every Saturday was Nan Mo’s time to volunteer as a teacher at the orphanage.
On this day, as she was riding her electric scooter back, a behemoth that looked like a cross between a pig and a dog suddenly darted out. Nan Mo didn’t have time to brake and crashed right into it.
Everyone assumed the pig-dog would be sent flying, but it didn’t move an inch. Instead, Nan Mo, along with her scooter, was flung seven or eight meters away.
Hearing the commotion nearby, Black and White Impermanence thought they had a job to do. With a flick of their chains, Nan Mo was taken away just like that…
The pig-dog didn’t have time to stop them and was afraid of being discovered, so it could only trail them secretly back to the underworld.
A bewildered Nan Mo followed the black and white figures for a few steps, in utter disbelief.
She didn’t know whether to be more shocked that she was dead, or that she was seeing the actual Black and White Impermanence.
Once she came to her senses, Nan Mo grabbed the chain and refused to walk any further.
“Where are you taking me? Isn’t there a chance I can still be saved? You’re reaping my soul just like that?”
Black Impermanence glanced at her. “Cooperate a little. We can get off work sooner too. I see your forehead is full and bright; you must have accumulated a lot of merit in your life. How about I put in a good word with Yan Wang and get you a good reincarnation?”
The moment Nan Mo heard that her next life could be negotiated, her interest was immediately piqued.
Even though she hadn’t suffered much, what orphan didn’t wish to live in a complete family?
Besides, Director Mama, the only person in the world she was close to, had passed away from illness last year.
How about… a reincarnation do-over?
And just like that, Nan Mo was coaxed into walking for a while.
This place was nothing like the Yellow Springs Road described in novels.
It was pitch-black all around, without a single sound, save for the quiet murmurs of Black and White Impermanence up ahead. It was, well, quite peaceful…
“Um…” Nan Mo broke the silence and spoke up.
“Ah!” Black Impermanence jumped in fright. “What are you doing, speaking up so suddenly!”
“Sorry about that… I was just wondering, since I’m dead, is that… uh, that animal that hit me okay?”
Nan Mo didn’t know what else to say; the silent journey felt rather boring. She hadn’t gotten a clear look at what hit her. It was an animal, right?
Black Impermanence, who had just been startled by her sudden words, now felt even more guilty.
Just a moment ago, White Impermanence had said this person wasn’t on today’s task list at all, and now he heard the girl asking about the one who killed her…
He nudged White Impermanence with his elbow, signaling for him to speak.
“What animal? Didn’t see one.” White Impermanence decided to play dumb. It wasn’t his chain that caught this soul anyway. Not his problem.
“Didn’t see one? That can’t be right. It was huge. It looked like a dog, but it probably wasn’t. No dog is that round. It was all black with a tuft of white fur right here on its head.”
As Nan Mo described it, she used her hands to gesture at the pig-dog’s size. Toward the end, she even tousled her own bangs to show where the white fur was.
Hearing this, Black Impermanence’s eyes lit up. “You ran into Xiao Dezi?”
“Who?”
“It must be, it must be! I knew my senses couldn’t be wrong. There had to be an earth-bound soul in that area. So it was Xiao Dezi.”
Before Nan Mo could figure out what Black Impermanence meant, a force pushed her directly into Yan Wang’s Hall.
Nan Mo looked around and immediately spotted a giant ball of flesh huddled in a corner.
“That’s it! It’s dead too?” Nan Mo pointed at Xiao Dezi on the floor and looked at Black Impermanence, her face a mask of shock.
Black Impermanence was now even more smug. There was no mistake this time.
He immediately seized the opportunity to wail at the person seated on the throne.
“Boss, what are we going to do? Xiao Dezi has really caused a disaster this time. Not only did it sneak out, but it also made me reap the wrong soul… This, this, this…sigh, you’ve raised it for so long, how could it be so troublesome…”
As he spoke, he stole a glance at the stern-faced man.
Yan Wang knew Xiao Dezi had caused trouble even before they arrived at the hall.
Hearing the full story now, he had half a mind to slaughter Xiao Dezi.
The year-end performance review was almost over, and now this stupid incident of reaping the wrong soul had occurred. Was this year’s bonus going to be flushed down the drain again?
No, he had to placate this girl no matter what.
At this thought, Yan Wang put on an air of “this is a trivial matter, I’ll handle it.”
He swept a light glance at Nan Mo. “What do you have to say?”
Nan Mo had also figured it out by now.
So, she had died by mistake. This counted as a major work accident, right? Right?
Nan Mo, who had originally been thinking of flattering Yan Wang to secure a good reincarnation, was now thinking: I can extort them, right?
She straightened her back, placed her hands on her hips like a teapot, and pointed at Xiao Dezi.
“Is this your dog? In this vast universe, where is the justice of heaven? I was a straight-A student and an outstanding class monitor every year. I don’t cut corners or break the law. I’m only twenty-five! My prime years are gone, just like that? I’ve never had parents or a family, and I’ve never even been in love. Now, just because your pet wanted to have some fun, I have to lose my life? Then what did I study so hard for? What did I save money so painstakingly for? What does all my hard work over the years amount to? I just want to live a good life. Send me back.”
She hadn’t felt wronged at first, but as she spoke, she talked herself into tears.
Before she died, she never dared to cry, afraid that crying too much would make her unlikable. Now that she was dead anyway, she didn’t hold back and began to wail loudly in Yan Wang’s Hall.
“Hey, hey, don’t cry, don’t cry! You can’t be so loud.”
The sound of her crying made Yan Wang’s head throb. He didn’t dare put on airs anymore. If she kept wailing like this, she might attract the inspection team.
“Girl, well, the situation is what it is. We didn’t want this to happen either. Look at this Xiao Dezi, he’s just a fool. I only took him in because he was pitiful and nobody wanted him. How about this? You tell us how we can make arrangements for you to your utmost satisfaction. How does that sound?” Yan Wang said, rubbing his hands together while observing Nan Mo’s expression.
His mind was set on sending this girl off as soon as possible. If she continued to cause a scene, the bonus would be a small matter; a public reprimand was also possible.
While sobbing quietly, Nan Mo’s mind wasn’t idle. Listening to Yan Wang’s words, she rapidly considered the most advantageous terms for herself.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to extort someone. She had to be cautious and maximize her benefits.
No one in the hall spoke, all waiting for Nan Mo to state her terms. She cried softly for over ten minutes, but in that time, she had already rehearsed her next words in her head several times.
Wiping away non-existent tears, she looked up at Yan Wang, cleared her throat, and was about to speak when Yan Wang immediately interrupted.
“Girl, spare the emotional speech. Hehe, well, it’s getting late. As long as the conditions you propose aren’t too outrageous, we’ll do our best to satisfy them. How about it?” Yan Wang was truly afraid she would talk herself into crying again.
“…” She glanced again at Yan Wang, who was waiting for her to continue, and began to count on her fingers.
“I wish for my next life to have both parents, a harmonious family, a wealthy background, stunning looks, a life free of illness and disaster, a loving marriage, outstanding abilities, worry-free children, and a house full of children and grandchildren…”
“Stop, stop, stop! Girl, you’re reincarnating, not making a wish!” Yan Wang had to cut her off when he heard her talking about grandchildren.
In truth, Nan Mo was just testing his limits. Seeing his constipated expression, she knew she had pushed far enough and decided to quit while she was ahead.
“So, is it a deal or not?”
“Everything you just said, I promise you.” Yan Wang stared at her, waiting to see if she would make any more demands.
“Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Send me to reincarnate.” Nan Mo said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You can’t possibly be unable to deliver what I just said, can you?”
“Hah? Don’t worry, you won’t get a single thing less than what I promised.” After speaking, he immediately summoned White Impermanence and told him to send Nan Mo on her way…