Chapter 6 The So-called Win-Win Approach

  Xiao Chen's breathing became more and more rapid as he thought about all this. While Judge Cui's deep eyes, which seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, scanned Xiao Chen's body back and forth, making him even more at a loss. Finally, Judge Cui smiled, his smile as bright and inviting as a pomegranate split open. "Xiao Chen, the behavior of the ox-headed and horse-faced men was a bit too rough earlier, I apologize to you for that here. Okay, no more nonsense, let's get down to business now. Xiao Chen, this time I invited you here mainly because there is something important to discuss with you. As for what I'm holding in my hand... Sorry! You didn't guess any of it correctly."

  "The Book of Life and Death, the Soul-Calling Brush are the treasures of the underworld, only owned by Yanluo Wang, the highest ruler of the underworld. And I, a humble small judge in the underworld, do not have this qualification at all. This thing is too common in your human world. The trivial matters of the underworld are really too many, and it's necessary to keep up with the times and implement office automation!" Cui Judge sighed deeply, then opened the package and took out a small notebook with a metallic varnish cover.

  "A handwritten copy, one for each person!" Judge Cui smiled. What the heck is this? Xiao Chen was stunned, if this is a handwritten copy, then that pen-like thing must be a handwriting brush Dongdong.

  "Correct answer!" Judge Choi nodded his head.

  "Can you tell what I'm thinking?" Although he had already felt this way, it was still a shock to Xiao Chen after being truly confirmed.

  "Indeed! As the judge of the underworld's grand hall, you have no secrets from me. This time, Ox-Head and Horse-Face mistakenly brought your soul here..."

  "Since you adults know everything, why did you bring me here?" Xiao Chen suddenly stood up, "I, Xiao Chen, have always been humble and kind to others, never doing anything bad. As for the good things I've done, they are countless. How can someone as good as me die so young? If you know I was wrong, then hurry up and send me back, there are still many people waiting for me in the world!"

  "As long as you let me go back, I won't pursue the matter of you wrongly pulling me into the underworld!"

  "You dare to be so presumptuous in front of Lord Cui in the Grand Hall of Judgment?" This time, not only Ox-Head and Horse-Face, but also Hei Bai Wu Chang couldn't help themselves. The four of them rushed forward together, each grabbing one of Xiao Chen's limbs, lifting him high into the air.

  "Let me go! I, Xiao Chen, have always been a straightforward and honest person, never doing anything wrong. You can't treat me like this!" Xiao Chen struggled desperately. But his attempt to break free from the control of the four hellish soul catchers with his insignificant strength seemed laughably childish.

  "Hey, what are you doing? Let him go! We must enforce the law in a civilized and fair manner. We absolutely cannot rely on brutal force!" Magistrate Cui scolded lightly.

  "Yes! Sir!"

  "Xiao Chen, do you dare say that you've never done anything bad in your life?" Magistrate Cui sneered, "Who was it that committed a heinous massacre of a large group of ants with boiling water during kindergarten? Who was the one who stole watermelons from the fields with a group of people during summer vacation in elementary school? Who was the one who peeked at girls during middle school? Who was the one who flirted with female classmates during high school? And what about during university..."

  "Wait, don't say that, those were all things I did when I was young and ignorant. Besides, they're just trivial matters. Xiao Chenjun's face turned slightly red, "Why don't you mention the good things I've done?"

  "Is this a good thing? On Lei Feng Day, helping an old lady cross the road without asking if she wants to? For the sake of winning 50 million, buying lottery tickets every day and calling it supporting disaster relief efforts? Normally being extravagant and wasteful. What's this about appropriate consumption being the driving force behind economic development?"

  "Always, Xiao Chen, you are not a great evil person, but also not a great benevolent person." Cui Panguan let out a long sigh, "Your life has not yet expired, and this time mistakenly bringing you to the underworld is indeed our mistake." Finally, it's time for honesty.

  "It doesn't matter, as long as you send me back to the Yang world, I'll pretend this never happened." Xiao Chen also let out a sigh of relief, it seemed that things were finally going to be resolved perfectly.

  "But you arbitrarily killed the Nineteenth Layer Hell's Prison Guard Yaksha, which is a serious offense against the Heavenly Code." Cui Panguan's face sank, "Do you know how important Yaksha is to our Underworld? You killed him, and you should be punished with Soul Flight and Corporeal Scatter!"

  "Soul scattered? Xiao Chen was anxious, "Sir, that demon Yecha clearly knew I was innocent and still wanted to devour me. I had no choice, it was self-defense, yes, justifiable defense!"

  "Self-defense?" Judge Choi sneered, "What evidence?"

  "Uh..." Xiao Chen muttered.

  "How can I believe you based on just your one-sided words?"

  "I can swear on my conscience."

  "It doesn't count for shit!"

  "Ah...!" Xiao Chen was stunned, but suddenly his eyes lit up, "Wait a minute, I'm here because of these two bastards' mistake. If we really want to investigate, the source of the problem is these two bastards. Even if I'm going to be finished, they can't escape responsibility. If I'm going down, everyone's going down together!" Xiao Chen's angry gaze pierced through Niu Tou and Ma Mian, even if he himself was finished, he would still drag these two bastards down with him.

  "Lord Choi, this..." Niu Tou Ma Mian was stunned. It seemed that this person named Xiao Chen wanted to drag the two brothers down together!

  "Quiet, everyone calm down." Judge Cui waved his hand, "Xiao Chen, I have a perfect solution that not only ensures you're safe but also prevents Ox-Head and Horse-Face from being implicated. Are you interested in hearing it?"

  "Let's see!" Xiao Chen sneered. His intuition told him that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and what the other party said was not as simple as it sounded.

  "It's like this..." Judge Choi forced a smile. He understood that the young man in front of him wasn't as easy to deceive as he looked.

  To put it simply, the world is divided into three parts in terms of life and death. The mortal realm where the living reside, the underworld where the dead temporarily dwell, and the heavenly realm that transcends the cycle of life and death, overlooking all things. In the mortal realm, the living die due to various unpredictable reasons such as natural disasters or human calamities, either by unnatural causes or natural death. However, their final destination is the same, with their souls arriving at the underworld.

  The souls of the dead, after being judged in the underworld, can be reincarnated and re-enter the world of humans. In short, this is just a cycle of life and death. Of course, where the soul will be reincarnated depends on the final judgment of the underworld. In general, if one was good in their past life, they will receive good fortune in their next life. If one was evil in their past life, they will receive bad fortune in their next life. The heavenly principle is clear. Every drink and every bite has its predetermined fate. And this Judge Cui's duty is to judge the good or evil fortune of a person's next life based on what they did in their previous life.

  It's worth mentioning that no matter who, before reincarnation, must drink Meng Po soup, cross Naihe Bridge, and thoroughly abandon everything from the previous life, starting from scratch. Of course, all of this is under the gaze of the Heavenly Realm, and if everything operates normally, the Heavenly Realm will not interfere. However, if any abnormalities occur or things reach an uncontrollable point, both the Human Realm and the Underworld will receive punishment from the Heavenly Realm. For example, regarding Xiao Chen's matter, if it is not handled properly, punishment from the Heavenly Realm will be unavoidable. And the punishment from the Heavenly Realm is even more severe and terrifying than one can imagine.

  "When the heavenly realm intervenes, things will become uncontrollable. Who can predict the outcome?" Judge Choi sighed, with the proud and unyielding nature of a heavenly being, once they intervene, things will become so severe that even he himself doesn't dare to imagine it, let alone this young man in front of him.

  "Xiao Chen, do you know? Not all souls from the mortal world are willing to be reincarnated. After all, everyone has something that they cannot abandon or forget from their past life. For the sake of these unforgettable memories in their hearts, some souls in the underworld would rather stay and endure endless suffering than give up on those lingering feelings. Even if this painful suffering lasts for a hundred years, or a thousand years."

  "Is that so? These people are really too obsessed!" Xiao Chen nodded. He didn't know if the other party would let him reincarnate, whether he would be willing to give up his attachment to that world, his thoughts of friends, and his love for that half.

  "Xiao Chen, do you know why people have to go through birth, aging, illness and death, then abandon the memories of their past lives and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation?" Cui Panguan suddenly asked.

  "This..." Xiao Chen was stunned. Since the birth of humanity, birth, aging, illness and death are stages that everyone must go through, no one can escape. Everyone is afraid of death and wants to avoid it, but no one has ever thought about why people die, and everyone regards death as an inevitable fact for humans.

  "That's humanity, although seemingly weak and small, yet possessing infinite imagination and creativity. They can infinitely improve themselves, surpassing themselves. If human life is too long, with human imagination and creativity, it will eventually become abnormally strong and terrifying. And when this strength reaches an uncontrollable level..."

  "As I was saying, once power reaches its ultimate form, it often means destruction, complete and utter destruction. Do you understand, Xiao Chen?"

  "Humans living in the mortal world are like this, and so are the souls who linger in the underworld, unwilling to accept reincarnation. As time passes, they become stronger and their abilities more terrifying. Finally, one day, their powers grow strong enough for them to escape from the underworld by their own strength, and unfortunately, that day has finally come!"

  At this point, Judge Cui's face was filled with a solemn expression.

  "Go on!" Xiao Chen became slightly interested.

  "Have you ever heard of parallel universes?" Cui Panguan looked at Xiao Chen, sighed softly and shook his head. Xiao Chen was taken aback. The so-called parallel universe, also known as the multiverse theory, refers to a theoretical framework in physics that has not yet been proven. According to this theory, outside of the human universe, there may exist other universes that are a manifestation of possible states of the universe. These universes may have the same fundamental physical constants as the human-known universe, or they may be different.

  "Xiao Chen, do you know? One day, we suddenly found that some of the lingering souls in the underworld had vanished into thin air. Judge Cui stared at Xiao Chen's eyes, "And after our strict investigation, it was discovered that they did not reincarnate at all."

  "What does that mean?" Xiao Chen shrugged his shoulders.

  "That means those souls that have been stuck in the underworld for thousands of years have escaped from the underworld, and they have brought extremely terrifying powers with them."

  "After inquiring extensively, we discovered that those several souls with terrifying powers have actually fled to a parallel universe." Cui Panguan gritted his teeth, "Xiao Chen, you must understand that if great power cannot be controlled, the peaceful world will definitely fall into chaos. We need someone to go to that world and bring back those thousand-year-old souls."

  "Stop it, are you saying that defending world peace and upholding cosmic justice is all on me?" Xiao Chen pointed to his own nose.

  "That's absolutely right!" Judge Choi smiled.

  "No way!" Xiao Chen flatly refused. Do you think I'm stupid? Defending world peace, upholding cosmic justice? Is it possible for someone like me who can't even truss a chicken? Although in the online novels, those awesome protagonists easily and brutally slaughter brain-damaged super bosses... But that's just fantasy. If I really ended up in some unknown world, my small arms and legs would definitely be no match for such powerful existences, and I'd be the one getting slaughtered.

  "Sorry, Lord Choi! You've got the wrong person. I have no interest in what you're talking about, nor do I have the ability to handle it. Leave the mess of the underworld to yourselves! I just want to live a good life with the one I love. By the way, since we've said all there is to say, shouldn't you be sending me back to the mortal world now?" Xiao Chen shrugged his shoulders.

  "This little brat, he's really too arrogant! No way, we have to let him taste the severity of the Ten Great Tortures of Hell!" Niu Tou Ma Mian and Hei Bai Wu Chang, the four of them had already reached their limits. The brothers had been working in the underworld for at least a few thousand years, but they had never seen such an arrogant ghost soul before. Little brat, if we don't give you some punishment, you won't know what it means to be in awe of the underworld's majesty!

  "This is what you call civilized law enforcement, fair law enforcement?" Xiao Chen asked coldly again as he was suspended in mid-air. For some reason, the fear that had lingered in his mind had completely dissipated at this moment.

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