1: Mistaken Identity

"Raise your head."

At the lord's order, I looked up and almost did a double-take.

I may not be a religious person, but I knew a fair bit of Chinese mythologies from my grandmother and other sources.

To sum it up, the Underworld was divided into ten or eighteen levels, depending on the legends. These levels were referred as Courts or Hells. Each of them was ruled by a king, called King Yan. In all lore, the rulers were portrayed to have a large figure with a fearsome face and a long beard.

The lord sitting before me, on the other hand...

Except for his clothing, nothing about him screams Ruler of the Underworld. But more importantly...

'Why is the King Yan a child?! Where is his scowling face? What happened to the long beard?'

His small frame, big round eyes and bob cut hair made him look cute rather than intimidating. To be honest, instead of the King of Hell, he seemed more like a petulant child.

'Could he be...'

Back when I was alive, I would occasionally come across fantasy stories where overpowered characters would take on the form of a child or small creature to conserve their energy or magic. If this was the case, keeping my mouth shut would be the best course of action.

Mr Glasses handed the stack of paper that was given to him by the demon to the king. With a yawn, King Yan scanned the first page and looked at me.

"He YuLan," he called in a bored tone.

I straightened myself, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

He glanced at me and turned his attention back to the paper. "Born on 30 October 1949 to He GuoTing and Feng ShiNiang. You lived an honest life as a daughter of a farmer and made name for yourself as an entrepreneur. Married Lu DingQing and gave birth to two sons and a daughter. Despite climbing your way to the top, you maintained a humble personality. You have helped many of those in need by giving large donations, setting up schools and providing employment opportunities. You treated your family with loving care without asking for anything in return."

'What?'

"As for the sins you have committed during your mortal life, with the exception of a few white lies, there was nothing grave. You bore no ill will towards those around you and treated them with dignity and respect. Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes," I raised my hand. "The life you mentioned does not relate to me at all."

...

....

...

"What did you say?" King Yan asked.

"As lovely as it sounds, that is not my life. I'm just a university graduate, after all. It's impossible for me to achieve all of those things at my age."

"Hmm... Your name is He YuLan, is it not?" King Yan asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Glasses guy coughed, "If I may look at the report, my lord."

He scanned the papers, flipping through several pages and giving me occasional glances. Something about this felt off. Once he was finished with the last page of the document, he released an exasperated sigh.

"It appears we harvested the wrong soul, my lord."

'Hah?!'

"It is clear that the He YuLan in this report is an elder. Looking at this soul here, she appears to be at most in her late twenties. I believe there is a mix-up."

I am a bit confused, but in short, I was not supposed to die, right?

"Chief Deputy YiZhen, look into this immediately. I want the person responsible and a full explanation."

"Yes, my lord." he bowed and left the room, leaving me with King Yan.

'So, what now?'

"It appears there was some mistake regarding your death," King Yan said. "While Deputy YiZhen gets this sorted, please wait outside the hall."

I bowed and turn around. Before I could take a step towards the exit behind me, I was struck with a sudden realization.

"Umm... Your Majesty, may I ask one question?"

He nodded, "You may."

"If this is a mix-up, what will happen to me?"

"We will act according to the protocol. You will have your memory wiped, and we will return your soul to the mortal realm."

I couldn't contain my smile as relief washes over me. Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going home!

The wait turned out to be longer than expected. Not that I mind, since I was occupied with the thought of being able to return to my normal life. When I was summoned back to the court, both King Yan and Chief Deputy YiZhen were already present.

Perhaps due to my mind being elsewhere, I did not detect the hint of discomfort coming from them. Like how King Yan avoided my gaze and the Chief Deputy's dark look.

"He YuLan," King Yan coughed, "Our investigation has found that your soul is indeed harvested too early. It appears one of our reapers mistook you for another person with the same name. For that, I apologise."

"Then..." my heart soared at the statement. It was a miracle I had not floated. But I should have known, life was never this easy. After all, the light at the end of the tunnel was often an oncoming train.

King Yan and the Chief Deputy looked at each other before the later spoke up, "Normal protocol would see that you have your memory wiped and return to the living."

I nodded. I already heard that from King Yan. Just get on with it.

"However, in this case, even if we erase your memory, we will not be able to send you to the mortal realm."

'Eh?'

"Why not?!" I shouted, my mannerisms had gone out the window.

"Because your body was cremated."

'... What?'

"That's impossible!" Even the hastiest funeral takes a day or two to be conducted, and I had only been here for a couple of hours at most. "There's no way my family would cremate my body just hours after my death."

"You have passed away for over a month," the Chief Deputy answered nonchalantly. "Time in the Underworld passes differently than the mortal realm. Additionally, due to a shortage of reapers, your soul arrived here a week late."

By this time, I was on my knee from the fact that I can no longer return. "No way, I can't go back. I have no choice but to be reincarnated..."

"About that..." King Yan said.

I raised my head. Things were already this bad, it couldn't get any worse, could it?

"We've looked into your actual record. You were supposed to live until a ripe old age of 120. Combining that with your next reincarnation, you still have a long waiting period. I'm sorry but you'll have to remain here for quite some time."

'Ah, apparently rock bottom has a basement.'

"Since this error is the result of our incompetency, we will compensate you for the life we took from you and all the grievance we caused. Please rest assured that you will be living comfortably here until your next reincarnation," the Chief Deputy said.

Well, since he puts it that way, I guess there's no helping it. It's not as if crying or getting angry would bring back my body. In a way, this was like starting over a new life.

"Then how much do I have to start with?" I asked.

The Chief Deputy adjusted his glasses and answered, "This is a rough estimation but based on the days we took from you and the basic damage we give out for situations like this, it comes up to approximately..."

To say that I was shocked by the amount mentioned was an understatement. Suffice to say, if I had that much money when I was alive, I would never need to work and still have leftover for the next generation. Who would have thought I could become rich beyond my imagination. I just have to die.

"I see."

"However," the Chief Deputy continued, his tone turned sharp. "Your early death does not exempt you from judgement. Before we can let you go, you will need to atone for any sins you had committed during your time in the living. So are you prepared?"

"Yes," I sounded more nervous than I intended.

Cold sweat began to form on the back of my head. Throughout the twenty-six years of my life, there were things that I had done, which I was not proud of. But it's not as if I have committed grave crimes like murder or arson. It's just that I would prefer if some of them were not announced out loud.

"He YuLan." King Yan began. "Born on 17 February 1996 to He RuoFeng and Tang ShuYi. You were raised as a daughter of an entrepreneur in a middle-income family and sought a better life by furthering your education. Never married and no children. Though you had been rebellious during your childhood, you grew up to respect and love your parents, doing everything you can to ensure their comfort. An exemplary filial daughter, I see. Throughout your life, you showed kindness towards the elderly, children and animals as well as those in need of assistance."

King Yan stopped to get a clear look at my report. When he turned his attention to me, an amused smile crept onto his face. "My, my, you're quite a possessive child, aren't you?"

'Ugh, there it is... The embarrassing parts of my life that I wish to forget were now coming back to haunt me.'

"As for your sins, you displayed strong malice towards those who sought your parents' attention, especially your mother. Even when the person in question was your siblings, you did everything possible to lower your parents' preference towards them, which included but not limited to telling lies and half-truth. In addition, you showed a lack of empathy to people around you. Willingly used them under the pretence of being a friend and left them when they were no longer beneficial–"

For the next ten minutes, King Yan went on about all the misdeeds that I had committed all my life. Some of them were so pathetic to the point that I wanted to dig a hole in the tiled floor and hide my face in shame. Halfway through his speech, I had enough.

"Please stop, Your Majesty." I begged, "I know what I did. Let's just skip ahead and move on."

"Oh, are you sure? There might be some information here that you want to refute or defend."

"I willingly accept the punishments for my past misdeeds. What I have done was unacceptable. There is no excuse for my action." Just let this be over already.

"Hmph, I applaud you for acknowledging your wrong-doings. To take your punishments with such dignity shows that you have regretted your actions. Very well, if you insist on proceeding, I will accept your request. Then, I will let YiZhen take care of the rest."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Chief Deputy bowed before approaching me. His calm facade did nothing to hide the ominous aura emanating from him. "Under the order of King Yan, I will guide you to the level of hell for your punishment."

My mind must have played a trick on me because I swore Chief Deputy YiZhen's eyes just glowed red, and is it me or is his polite smile looks increasingly sadistic the closer he gets?

"Now, Miss He YuLan, are you ready to get your tongue plucked? Please use the time during the punishment to reflect on your past actions. I sincerely hope that you will repent for your sins when we meet again."

With fear bubbling in my stomach, I followed Chief Deputy YiZhen deeper into hell. Though, I can't help but wonder what happened to the actual He YuLan whose place I have taken.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the mortal realm, an old lady opened her eyes to find herself lived for another day. Last night, her butler had tucked her in with tears flowing down his face. Everyone, herself included, was sure she would not survive through the night.

As she laid on her bed, struggling to breathe, she thought of all the things she had achieved throughout her life. She had done everything she wanted and was satisfied with how she lived. Her only regret, however, was allowing herself to be mistreated by her ungrateful family and not appreciating those who truly cared for her.

Now that she was given a second chance, she decided to use her newfound strength to make things right. This way, she can leave this world without regret.

With that in mind, she headed to the table and took out a notepad and a pen. Before she could jot down her first agenda, a loud crash was heard behind her. Turning around, she saw her butler looking at her with wide eyes. On his feet was the breakfast he brought her.

"Mistress He, you're well again," the butler said, astonished by the sudden change in his lady's health.

"Yes, I'm feeling particularly well today," she replied with a kind smile. "I guess it was just a terrible flu. I'm all better now."

"I'm glad," he wiped the tears forming in the corner of his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm so, so glad."

She approached him and gave him a small pat on the shoulder. "I'm sorry for worrying you and all the staff," she cooed. "Let's get this mess cleaned up so I can have my breakfast. I have a big plan for today. Call my lawyer and children. We will have a meeting this afternoon."

"Yes, my lady," he answered excitedly. His mistress was getting better, that's all that matters.

While the butler was busy cleaning, the old lady returned to the table and proceeded to write the first thing she needed to do that day.

'Adjustment to will. Half of total assets to be shared among staff. Remaining to be donated to charity.'