Short Story (1/2)

Written by: Zi Xinyu

Translated by: timebun

Raws:

”Have you ever seen heaven?”

”Not at all My sins are too heavy, I' to hell”

Part 1

I killed countless people over the course ofwith thousands of arrows pierced through my heart

My soul landed in hell; the eighteen levels of the underworld seemed to have been made for me

I so to hell, then so be it As a feeneral of the nation, it was my duty to defend my country I died for my country, and it was a worthy death I'hteen levels of hell”

Only to see the King of hell sigh and say: ”Han Lingling, you have accurave sins and killed hteen levels of hell, never to reincarnate as a huain However, you now have the chance to choose an alternative punishment: 'three lifetimes of trials'”

”What kind of trials?” I was in doubt, how could there be another chance left for me?

The King of hell sighed yet again with a grave expression

”The punishment of 'three lifetimes of trials' is to be thrown back into the ht be utterly deserted by your faht be utterly ruined and killed After passing through these three lives and understanding the suffering of the world, you'll get the chance to reincarnate into a new life Are you willing to take on this punishment?”

Hearing so, I hurriedly knelt down and koed three ti in my heart

”Thank you, Your Honour!”

Part 2

Thus I reincarnated into a normal family: an honest couple with a small child

The first few years were ordinary, but full of the pains of poverty There was barely enough plain porridge to fill our stomachs each day, yet I had a little brother to feed as well The four of us sold vegetables to

I called the kind and gentle woman my mother, while the cute child was my little brother

However, the years passed quickly and bandits invaded the village one day In the blink of an eye, I was the only one left of my family

Thinking that this was meant to be my punishment, that I was ht I could simply not care about it

However, when the head of the bandits picked up h with a sword, I couldn't resist struggling and fighting against them

I was only ten or so then, andwith a kick

I saw that the head bandit's face was extre However, his handsorimace

He took hold to be his maid He killed my whole faht

After he dodged ry and killed his wife instead

In that life

My body was badlybreath He took off s

I couldn't die, yet I wasn't living My rage carried on for a lifetime, and I couldn't reconcile myself to my fate

I couldn't take revenge, I couldn't release my hatred, I couldn't handle the pain

I knew that this was the suffering that I had to bear, but the pain I felt was real My fa life

Part 3

I was deathly afraid of having to face that sort of suffering again, so at the age of two, I ran away from home

I was scared that et involved in my punishment, since this was a real life It was close to a hundred years of time, it all felt too real

Afraid of crowds, I stuck to my lonesome self

I was still young when I left ho by the roadside

At that tiether with me I was a reclusive loner, while she was lively and cheerful She kept sticking tothat it was better to have a companion around

I knew thatto distance et hurt because of me

However, she kept saying, ”Even if we're beggars, we can't do without a companion”

I told her that I was destined to bring misfortune to anyone around me

She then said, ”If I was luckyout here I'm actually unlucky too”

With a big sht passing through the clouds above lit up her face, ain

Thus the two of us ended up as companions after all We passed our days quite happily

What I hadn't expected was that my escape hadn't drawn disaster away frole one of them ended up dead

I watched the great fire burn down everything in that mansion in a daze, hidden in a corner far away, tears strea down my cheeks

That day, I hurriedly left her, afraid that she would get caught up in my trials

However, I ain That cruel man from my previous life, who had dismembered all of my limbs

As if he had soe with me, as if he hated me to the extre in both my lives

When I saw him, he told me that I was the escaped little e with my family

I was very afraid, and filled with loathing

But I couldn't end ainst the rules

Thinking that he would sied for him to kill me to end this trial early

However, he said, ”I've struggled at death's door for so long, how could I let you die just like that? Since you're the last lucky survivor, then you should have a taste ofback then”

”What, what do you want to do?” I trehtly as I spoke

He s in that pile of beggars, and that there's a girl in there whom you're close to Why don't you take a look at how she suffers?”

I was stunned and horrified I pled continuously for ht her over

I sa she had been tortured to the point that her flesh was mutilated, and how her pretty face was covered in tears When she saw ed to pull off a smile and ask, ”Why are you here?”

I wanted to tell her that I was sorry, that I had pulled her down into this , ”I went to steal two buns just now and I got caught I otten you into trouble too, I'm sorry…”

After she said so, she pulled out two buns; she bit into one and threw the other to my side

I saw that she hadn't even finished sing that bite before she stopped

In an instant, ed at that evil man, emotions astir

Perhaps seeing that I would be difficult to deal with as long as le thrust of his sword pierced through my head

Part 4

I finally made it to the third life, but I wasn't allowed to continue on into the next life yet

Full of suspicion, I paced back and forth near the Wheel of Reincarnation, and questioned theave me any hints, and only said to wait for someone

I glanced back unintentionally and spotted a familiar face As I watched him walk towards me slowly, hatred bubbled from the depths of my heart It was him!

That stranger who had tortured me for two lifetimes!

I charged forth and tried to beat hied er here to help you with your trials”

”What do you mean by help? In both my lives, you killed my whole family In one life, you took my limbs and killed my three year old brother In the other, you burned down my entire family and tortured rily at hi as I spoke

However, he said, ”Han Lingling, I'…”

”Screw your help! What do you want to say here? I have another lifetime of trials to experience, don't block my way!”

He showed a hurt expression and said, ”Your first two lives were si In your last life, you'll finally experience real pain”

I abruptly retreated a step backwards, i to torture me next?”

He then sive you a chance You can try taking this challenge If you do try it, you can skip this last trial, drink a bowl of Granny Meng's soup and enter the Wheel of Reincarnation again If you're not willing to try it, then you'll have to continue with your last trial However, I have to tell you that in your last trial, you'll be sold to a brothel and you'll have to experience thousands of men…”

I was in full panic in a split second I laughed bitterly, ”Do I even have a choice? How do I try this challenge?”

”Kill e to kill me, then you'll have to continue with this last trial”

He spoke slowly, and as he spoke, he tossed a dagger at my feet That faint smile of his was like a taunt to me

I hated him to the core! I wanted to hack him to pieces and tear off all his limbs!

However, when I picked up the dagger, a burst of familiarity bubbled up froer to me?