The door closed behind him with a loud noise. Luckily, there weren't any stairs.
He was in a hall, and in front of him, there was a round platform made of jade.
Engraved on it there were many mysterious inscriptions in an unknown language from which emanated a white glow. Shi Chen carefully stepped forward onto the platform, then suddenly he felt something pulling him by his feet, and he disappeared. For an instant, all he could sense around him was nothingness, just the strong pull that was dragging him through the void, like a bag of potatoes. After a few seconds, he appeared in a waiting room, standing on another jade platform.
He swiftly got off the platform, barely resisting against the impulse to throw up.
He sat on a chair trying to calm himself and stop his nausea while looking around him, and immediately saw the wooden door on which a Libra and a crown were carved.
Shi Chen staggered towards it and knocked.
"Come in!" said a cold voice coming from the inside.
The room wasn't big, but it was illuminated by a hundred blue fires, hanging high in the air, and in the middle, there was a table and two old men sitting cross-legged drinking what smelled like pumpkin juice. They were wearing emerald robes decorated with silver dragons. Both of them wore copper crowns, leaving Shi Chen stunned. He was even more stunned when he counted the silver dragons on their robes. 13th told him that the silver dragons weren't only decorations but real dragons killed and trapped by the Kings of Hell and the number of dragons determined their rank and their power. King Yama had most of all, twelve, and rumours said that he killed another one lately. King Qinguang was the fourth, with seven dragons. The scary thing was that he just counted twenty-one dragons.
"Greetings King Yama, greetings King Qinguang! This lowly me is Shi Chen. I've come to hear Your fair judgement."
He didn't know why King Yama was here, but it was best to be polite since they weren't like the two guards. The Kings could read the Book of Life and Death, where was written everything about everyone in the Three Realms.
King Qinguang sighed, opening a little book "I know who you are: Shi Chen...born on Earth, one of the Middle Worlds of the Mortal Realm, in 1963 and died at the age of 45. A short life but not a boring one. You lived your first twenty-six years of your life like an academic, always studying. You weren't a kind and honest person but you, at least, behaved like one."
Shi Chen was nervously looking at the two. This was the boring part of his life. But in those twenty-six years, he never committed crimes or sins. Maybe adultery, but who hasn't, right?
When the King stopped talking he put on a stern face, and Shi Chen started sweating. He knew what was next and he knew that it was going to affect his uncertain reincarnation significantly.
"Then you joined the secret services and, after a few years, started your career at Peking University. But you betrayed them and became undercover of the CIA and defected in 1998, only to betray them too, selling intelligence to anyone was willing to pay. You then became a thief, a conman, a racketeer and a smuggler. You lived a despicable life, you killed, robbed, lied, betrayed...Was it worth it? What do you think of your life?"
Shi Che smiled sharply after hearing this question "It was a fun life. Every single second of it, every choice I made...I regret all of them, because I know I could have done better, I always knew that there was a better possibility, but I didn't choose it, and I would never change anything. I lived a full, exciting life, and I don't care about anything else."
The Kings didn't seem impressed, they kept staring at him coldly.
"Well, anyway, before we judge you we have to measure your Karmic Merit. It's easy, give me your hand."
Shi Chen extended his hand, and King Qinguang grabbed it and put it on the book.
For a while, nothing happened. The cold cover sent shivers through his body like it was drinking every last drop of warmth left in him.
Slowly, a faint golden light began to form around his hand, so weak it seemed like a mirage.
The two old men were surprised by the halo; King Yama was so shocked he almost dropped his cup.
"How is it possible...it's weak, but it's definitely golden! Only those with great Karmic Merit, like saints and heroes, have a golden aura!" stuttered His Majesty.
King Yama at the other side of the table had a solemn expression.
"With this kind of Karmic Merit, you could reincarnate in the Lower Heavens."
When he heard that, Shi Chen gasped. This was a meat pie falling from the Heavens. He was sure that he wasn't a saint or a hero, but somehow Fate and Karma deemed him worthy anyway.
He thought about his life, searching for anything good that he ever did, that made him deserve a place in Heaven. He paused when he remembered his years as a teacher. He was a good teacher and he loved his job. The attitude of a professor was something that stuck with him until his death.
He always explained things, gave advice, regardless of who he was talking to. He probably helped a lot of people, without counting all the students he taught. A teacher for a day, a father for life. But that wasn't enough, after all, it was impossible for all teachers to go to Heaven, especially when he didn't teach for a long time.
King Qinguang was even more curious than him about the reason behind his high Merit: he was reading his life again, carefully this time, without even blinking, as if he was afraid he would die if he missed only one word. When he didn't find anything strange, still not satisfied, he started to read the lives of everyone that interacted, even briefly, with Shi Chen to see how he influenced their decisions.
King Yama was about to say something, but when he saw the spirited look on his face, he gave up and just waited in silence for him to finish.
Suddenly King Qinguang stopped and, with trembling hands, he picked up the Book of Life and Death, incredulous.
"I found it...this...I understand now...!".
As fast as the wind King Yama took the book from his hands, then looked at Shi Chen, and started to read aloud.
"At his father's death, Shi Chen's heir used his inheritance for charity and became an influent Chinese politician...uh then that's why...your inheritance helped you! But you didn't have a son...I'm confused. Brother Qinguang, can you explain?"
"It was in his will, he chose an orphan kid that he took care of while he was a professor and adopted him. He didn't want to be remembered as a criminal so he planned everything before his demise. It would be a really noble gesture if it wasn't because of pride. He wasn't moved by compassion or guilt. He just wanted to be known as a philanthropist thief!"
Shi Chen couldn't believe his ears. He had such a plan, but he had never thought that it could work, he assumed that China and USA would have confiscated everything. In a few years, he had already multiplied all the money he stole in his criminal career, so it was a rather juicy booty.
The three men in the room took a long time to calm down.
After he cooled his mind, Shi Chen, decided that it was time to finally discuss his reincarnations.
"I'm really excited about my Karmic Merit, but I would like to know if I will be able to make use of it."
"I guess your comrades already told you. It's true your cycle of reincarnations ends here, We cannot do anything about it." said King Yama.
"My comrades...How can I talk to my previous lives? Is it normal?"
"Hahahahaha! Didn't they tell you? They are dead souls, memories held together by the power of your True Soul. That's why you can't reincarnate! If you try, the True Soul will dissipate, and you will be devoured, by the River of Time. Your friends are just that, memories and power, projections of the True Soul. But you are different. You are the current holder of the flame. Like a token, the flame is passed from reincarnation to reincarnation, at the moment of its death, and it represents all your lives. To put it simply, they are already within you, but they are too powerful for you to control them. Actually, nobody can control the other, that's what created this curious situation. Usually, there is a dominant soul, but not in your case."
Shi Chen wasn't very surprised by the explanation, but he still listened and memorized every word.
He had all the pieces of information he needed to execute his plan now. The only thing he missed was King Yama's consent.
"Your Majesty, I was wondering, Is a contract for the transfer of one's True Soul possible?"
Both Kings seemed struck by lightning. Those were indeed blasphemous words, but they provided a sophism that could solve their conundrum. They pondered the implications of such a contract, but after a few minutes, they didn't find any problem. It was the perfect loophole.
King Yama lightly tapped his fingers on the table and stared at Qinguang as if they were having a silent conversation. Shi Chen calmly served himself some pumpkin juice. Even if they rejected his proposal, he had enough time to contrive another plan.
King Yama cleared his throat.
"Teacher Shi Chen, a contract between souls is possible. But, you'll find that convincing someone to give up their True Soul is almost impossible. Protecting the True Soul is the most primal instinct a soul has. We can guarantee that, if you manage to get a signature on that contract, no one will interfere with your reincarnation. Here is a scroll with my Seal. Good luck, you'll need it."