After my ex-girlfriend’s family died, I went to the underworld to collect the debt.
She owed me 200 dollars after we broke up and never paid it back.
I had reminded her several times, but she ignored me and even blocked me.
I went to her house in person, only to learn that her family had perished in a car crash while they were on their way to burn offerings for her twin sister, Nina Shaw.
The Judge of Souls opened the Book of Deeds and found that my ex had performed good works in both her previous life and this one. He promptly declared that she would be reborn into a wealthy family in her next life.
Her parents would share that fortune and enjoy continuous blessings.
Just as the family was happily preparing to be reborn, I tracked her down in the underworld. “Emily Shaw, you still owe me 200 dollars from when we broke up, and you have the nerve to reincarnate? Pay me back!”
Emily’s family was stunned. They all pointed at me with outraged faces and spat:
“Victor Young, you’ve lost your mind from poverty!”
“You’re chasing someone into the underworld for over a measly 200 dollars. Have you gone mad?”
I snorted.
“That’s right — a measly 200 dollars!”
——
“Victor Young, you were so poor when you were alive, and even after you’ve died, you haunt us! Are you coming to the underworld for 200 dollars?”
Her father, Charles Shaw, was so furious his teeth chattered. “Will 200 dollars buy you an apartment in the city, or will it make you rich beyond measure?”
Emily shrugged, disdain lighting her eyes.
“You’re unbelievable. You’re even willing to accept 200 dollars!”
“Why don’t you just reincarnate with us into a wealthy household and avoid a lifetime of shame!”
From the central hall, the assembled spirits sneered.
“You’re a strange man. Chasing a person into the underworld for over 200 dollars — what a disgrace!”
“You’re still harassing her for 200 dollars! Listening to you is humiliating!”
I kept my composure and let their taunts flow past me.
Of course, I didn’t plan to follow someone to the underworld just for money.
I had other objectives there.
I wanted Emily Shaw and her family to suffer!
“Silence!”
The Judge of Souls brought down his gavel, and the hall shuddered.
The Dark Envoys called out, and the spirits fell silent at once.
I bowed to the Judge and spoke in a low, steady voice:
“Judge, as the proverb says, debts must be repaid. I must ask: if Emily refuses to settle what she owes, will you enforce it?”
The Judge regarded me with a solemn expression and bowed his head to ponder.
“Debts incurred during life are also addressed here.”
No sooner had he spoken than the underworld clerk flipped open the accounts. Sure enough, beside Emily Shaw’s name, a small line was recorded:
“Debt: 200 dollars — unpaid.”
The Judge narrowed his eyes at me.
“But when a person dies, their earthly debts are usually annulled. Isn’t it excessive for you to descend here to collect two hundred dollars?”
A smile of contempt tugged at my lips.
“I believe debts should be rebalanced in this life.”
“Emily owed me while she was alive. Shouldn’t she settle it after death? If you say she has accrued merit yet refuses to repay what she owes, how then can she be called virtuous?”
Emily’s face flushed with anxiety.
“I could have sent a message to my relatives in a dream to pay you back. Why did you come and make a scene?”
No sooner had she spoken than Emily’s mother, Julia Shaw, rushed forward and slammed a handful of spirit money into my face.
“You little wretch! Use this spirit money from the Eternal Bank!”
I glanced at the offering with contempt and said coldly, “I will not accept ritual paper from the Eternal Bank.”
Emily trembled with rage, tears streaking down her cheeks.
Her sobs echoed in the vast hall behind us.
“Victor Young, how can you be so shameless! How could I not have realized you were this kind of person before? You’re obsessed with money!”
“I’ve been with you for five years, and you’ve slept with me for five years! A night of love is a hundred nights of love, and this is how you treat your former lover?”
“Just because I dumped you, you’re deliberately seeking revenge on me by preventing me from having a good rebirth?”
Listening to Emily Shaw’s accusations, I sneered.
“Yes, I’m seeking revenge by preventing you from having a good rebirth!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Victor Young, you heartless bastard!”
Emily Shaw’s parents pounced on me, grabbed me, and beat me up.
“Emily and you’ve been together for five years. How much has she sacrificed for you?”
“When you were broke, she ate instant noodles with you and lived in your basement. When you were sick, she rushed to get medicine overnight, nearly fainting from running in the cold! She worked part-time to save money, even helping with your tuition, buying you a cell phone, and buying you clothes…”
“You stingy, rag-picking, poor wretch, and you still have the nerve to ask us to pay you back?”
The Judge of Souls immediately unleashed a mirror of the past, clearly showing all that Emily Shaw had given me during our relationship.
As Emily Shaw’s parents had said, Emily Shaw had given so much to me during our time together.
On a snowy night, the wind bites bitterly. She carried her medicine bag, falling through the cold wind, her face bruised and swollen, just to sell me a box of fever-reducing medicine.
Under the scorching sun, she handed out flyers on the street, her clothes soaked with sweat, but she stuffed all the money she had saved into my hands and said with a smile, “Victor, go pay the rent!” On my 25th birthday, she stood under a dim streetlight, holding the sneakers she’d bought for me, and carefully handed them to me…
I stared silently at the beautifully smiling Emily Shaw in the mirror, lips pursed tightly, not saying a word.
I grew up without parents, and for a time, I made a living by scavenging scraps.
Emily Shaw gave me all her warmth and love.
The five years I spent with her were my happiest days.
But…
Emily Shaw stood by, weeping bitterly.
“Victor, five years! I gave you the best years of my youth. Why would you do this to me? I’ve endured five years of hardship with you, and now that I’m dead, why won’t you let me go?”
Listening to her tearful accusations, the ghosts gnashed their teeth, cursing in indignation:
“Fuck! How shameless! What a heartless bastard!”
“He’s willing to betray such a good girl! And he’s still holding on to 200 dollars. He’s a complete jerk!”
“Such a heartless person is a disgrace to be alive in this world! Judge of Souls, send him to the animal realm now and never let him disgust us again!”
Judge of Souls slammed the gavel, glaring at me with a sullen expression:
“Victor Young, Emily Shaw has done so much for you. In terms of gains and losses, you owe her even more. Yet you’ve pursued her in the underworld. Isn’t that a bit unreasonable?”
I knew he wanted to call me heartless and shameless.
I glanced at Emily Shaw’s pitiful face, a hint of disgust on my face:
“Love is about mutual consent. She willingly sacrificed for me, so why should I feel indebted?”
“But she owes me real money. That’s a fact! She must pay it back!”
“Besides, why did it come to this? Emily Shaw, don’t you have any idea?”
Emily Shaw’s face froze, and her tears fell even harder.
“Victor, do you still want to throw mud at me? I said some harsh words when we broke up, but you weren’t up to the task and couldn’t give me what I wanted. Why do you only blame me?”
Every spirit in the hall ground their teeth, and the Judge of Souls was furious:
“Victor Young, you are so shameless, rare in this world!”
“Today you’ve trespassed into the underworld, disrupting the order of things! Such a heartless and ungrateful man — if I don’t teach you a lesson, do you really think the underworld has no laws?”
As soon as the words fell, the ghosts on both sides immediately stepped forward, their chains clanging across my back.
Before I could react, thousands of blades shot up from the ground, piercing me. I fell, spitting blood. Pain lanced through me, but I still raised my head slowly with effort.
Emily Shaw covered her face, feigning reluctance, a slight sneer at her mouth.
“Victor, please go back! Can’t we part ways amicably?” Emily’s parents pulled her back. “The Judge of Souls is truly wise and fair! He won’t let a good person suffer!” I endured the pain of my skin being torn and sneered softly.
“A good person?”
I raised my head with difficulty and stared at the Judge of Souls, my gaze as sharp as a knife.
“Judge of Souls, are you sure Emily Shaw is a good person?”
As soon as I finished speaking, my chest felt tight, and a heavy blow struck me, and I immediately spat out another mouthful of blood.
“How dare you! How dare you question the Judge of Souls?”
“It’s recorded in the Book of Deeds — how could it be wrong?”
With a loud thud, the Bull-headed Warden and the Horse-faced Warden swung their iron fork and struck me hard. Instantly, the iron hook tore through my flesh. I screamed and struggled.
Just then, Emily knelt before the Judge of Souls, tears in her eyes.
“Judge, please release Victor! He was only confused for a moment!” Her hypocritical plea moved the surrounding spirits.
“Such a kind girl!”
“He hurt her so badly, yet she still speaks for him!”
I gritted my teeth, trembling all over, and roared coldly with every word:
“Emily Shaw! Do you need to fake kindness now?”
“Do you dare to show everyone your true colors?”
Emily hurried over to me, her eyes a little flustered.
“Victor, please stop making such a fuss! I know you resent me breaking up with you, but I really don’t want to see you beaten to death…”
Insults rang out through the hall, everyone calling me ungrateful.
I smiled coldly, hatred burning behind my eyes, my voice flat and cold:
“Emily…”
“Do you dare to bet with me?”
My eyes were bloodshot as I gripped her hand tightly, staring at her intently. Emily started, a flicker of panic and something harder in her expression. She quickly raised her chin and choked out, “What are you betting on?”
The corners of my lips curled into a thin, cold smile.
“I’m betting my life that you’re not a good person.”
Emily scoffed, “I’ve accumulated virtue and good deeds for nine lifetimes, and I’ve been blessed so much. I wouldn’t even crush an ant. If I’m not a good person, are you?”
The Shaws also scoffed, “Victor Young, you’re holding a grudge just because our daughter broke up with you. You’re despicable! How dare you slander her!”
“Do you think the Judge of Souls is a fool?”
They hurried to the Judge, angrily saying, “Judge of Souls, this man is so ungrateful! Our daughter pleaded for him, and he’s not even thankful!” “Such a scoundrel harms the balance of the realm by his mere existence! Cross his soul from the register and be done with him!”
The Judge of Souls shook his head, his voice deep and steady:
“No. Although his trespass into the underworld has shortened his life, his time remains recorded in the Book of Life and Death. The laws cannot be violated; we cannot forcibly take him away…”
The Shaws panicked:
“What should we do? The time for reincarnation is approaching. If he keeps pestering us, will our family never be reincarnated?”
Emily Shaw’s lips trembled, her eyes glistening as she stamped her foot in frustration. “Victor Young, what do you want from me? I’ve given you enough! You’ve haunted me long enough. I only broke up with you—I didn’t destroy your family. Do you really hate me this much?”
I stared at her coldly, murderous intent radiating from my gaze. “Let me ask you, Emily… do you dare to gamble?”
The entire hall fell silent. No one expected me to be so ruthless.
Whispers broke out among the assembled spirits:
“Why is he so persistent about Emily Shaw?”
“To risk his life and descend into the underworld… could it really just be for a mere debt?”
“There must be more to this than he’s letting on.”
Even the Judge of Souls, seated on his obsidian throne, stroked his beard and lowered his gaze in thought.
Emily raised her chin, her voice trembling but defiant. “Fine. Let’s bet.”
I turned toward the Past Mirror that loomed in the hall and spoke word by word, my voice cold as steel:
“The truth lies in the mirror. Emily Shaw, you claim to be righteous—then let the mirror show who you really are. If I lose, I will willingly remain in the underworld, condemned to eternal torment. But if you lose, then you and your family will be cast into the eighteenth level of Hell. Do you dare?”
Emily sneered, lifting her head proudly. “A person of integrity fears no shadow. Do you think your baseless accusations will convince anyone?”
I smirked. “Good. Then let’s see your true face.”
She glared at me venomously before stepping toward the Past Mirror. At once, ripples of light spread across its surface, revealing her reflection. The image that appeared was flawless: Emily giving alms, Emily donating her allowance, Emily smiling kindly at her classmates.
Gasps rose from the crowd.
“What a virtuous soul!”
“She’s so kind-hearted… how could she be guilty?”
Emily turned back to me triumphantly. “Do you see? What else do you have to say now?”
Her voice cracked as she burst into tears, looking every bit at the picture of innocence. At once, angry cries filled the hall.
“Victor Young is slandering her!”
“Someone like him deserves punishment!”
“Beat him until his soul shatters!”
At the Judge’s command, the Bull-headed Warden and Horse-faced Warden yanked the chains that bound me. The barbed links tore into my flesh, blood spilling down my arms. Flames erupted from the floor, scorching my bones, and I let out a guttural scream.
But through the searing agony, I roared back: “One vision cannot erase the truth! Have you seen all the past, or only what she wishes you to see?”
The Underworld Clerk adjusted the Book of Deeds, and the Past Mirror rippled again. Another memory appeared—
The day Emily broke up with me. Her twin sister, Nina Shaw, lay sick with leukemia. Emily had insisted on donating bone marrow to save her. I had disagreed, fearing her health, and Emily had stormed away, declaring our relationship over.
The crowd erupted again, moved to tears.
“What a noble sister!”
“She gave up love for family!”
“Victor Young is truly heartless.”
Charles and Julia Shaw stepped forward, glaring at me with venom. Charles spat at the ground. “Victor, you selfish wretch! You never deserved our daughter!”
Julia clasped Emily’s hand protectively, the family united in false harmony.
The sight sickened me.
Through the blood and fire, I laughed hoarsely, my voice laced with scorn: “Judge of Souls… tell me, is this how the underworld works? A place that calls itself just, yet is so easily blinded by false appearances?”
“Even now, you don’t even know who the ghost standing before you is. There must be a lot of wrongful convictions in the underworld!”
“Nonsense!” Judge of Souls’s patience had completely run out.
“You’ve trespassed into the underworld and are acting recklessly. Now that you’ve lost the bet, I will fulfill it, take away your soul, and charge you with the crime of openly defying and disregarding the laws and order of the underworld!” The Bull-headed and Horse-faced Wardens were already rubbing their fists, eager to send me to hell.
But I wasn’t afraid at all. I struggled to stand up and pointed a hateful finger at Emily Shaw before me:
“What about the Judge of Souls? They’re all blind!”
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