I desperately looked for a way out. There were more doors in the distance, but a group of women blocked my path. Had their robes not fluttered in the breeze, I would’ve mistaken them for statues.

“They are waiting for their beloved. Husbands, children, lovers, whomever they can’t let go and don’t want to forget,” Bullhead said. “See that lady? She and her lover had planned to suicide together because their families wouldn’t agree to their marriage. She got here first and has been waiting for him ever since. Clearly, he chickened out. Poor soul.”

He nudged Horseface gleefully, “You like her, don’t you?”

“Let’s go,” Horseface said as he grasped my arm, but I could see the tips of his ears turning red.

“Don’t be so easily embarrassed, Horsey. Looking at her won’t get her pregnant,” Bullhead joked.

“Sss… stop it,” Horseface stuttered.

Embarassed… pregnant. Suddenly, I had an idea.

I rammed my finger down my throat and doubled over. My stomach hurled my breakfast to the ground in retaliation.

“Bleagh—BLEAGH—BLEAGHHHHHH!” I retched.

“Are you ok?” I heard Horseface ask.

“No!” I panted, sliding one hand to my abdomen the way pregnant women caressed their bumps. “That night… you and I… You were so strong, but now…”

My soft whimpers echoed in the underground cavern, and all souls within a ten-meter radius turned to check out our nonconsensual situation.

Horseface’s eyes widened. Bullhead’s jaw dropped. Most importantly, the lady on the peak was staring at Horseface. Horseface released my arm as if it burned. But I clenched Horseface with one hand and flailed the other until my shoulder became exposed.

“Are you ashamed? No! How cruel? You can’t, I beg you,” I clutched my belly and moaned.

Those who backed away from my puke earlier now formed a ring around us. Poor ghosts, they were starved for drama.

“I didn’t force her to… to do anything!” Horseface stammered, glancing at the lady on the peak desperately. “Routine escort.”

“Routine?” I shrieked. “Is what happened to me normal? If so, swear on her soul!” I pointed at the lady.

Horseface choked.

The audience collectively “oh”ed.

“Horseface clearly cut the girl’s life short to abduct her for his unspeakable pleasures.”

“Knocked her up too, how shameful! Tsk tsk.”

“The things men do when they think with their other head.”

“Shut up!” Horseface roared, but his anger only seemed to fuel the audience’s imagination.

“What are you doing,” Bullhead hissed as the crowd heckled Horseface.

“Get me into Shenjie,” I hissed back.

Bullhead advanced on me with hands clenched into fists. I stood my ground.

“You know I don’t deserve to go to the 18th level,” I pleaded.

Bullhead stared at me long and hard with his huge bull eyes. Finally, he nodded.

My mouth stretched into a giant grin.

“Thank you, matchmaker,” I murmured. I hoped she didn’t mind that I tweaked her tactic thirty-six in “How to Force a Man to Marry You.”

Then I noticed Horseface, who looked as though he wished to burrow into the ground.

“Wait,” I cried loudly, letting my eyes wander over Horseface, as if recognizing him for the first time. “I thought he was someone else. I was mistaken!”

There was an abrupt silence, then the crowd scattered at my lame ending. I looked at Horseface; he was staring at the lady on the peak, whose back faced him. I felt a twinge of guilt.

“But wait again,” I continued dramatically, “that lady over there, yes you! Come over here.”

The lady looked bewildered, but thankfully, her nosey friends pushed her over. Horseface was now a deep shade of purple. I took their hands and put them on top of each other’s.

“Horseface would rather suffer such embarrassment than to swear on your soul. You ought to forget your past, and cherish the present! Now if you will excuse me, Bullhead, lead the way.”

“Horsey will think I was in on it. He will kill me!” Bullhead exclaimed when we were out of earshot.

“No, he won’t. He is too busy holding hands with his lady love,” I replied.

Bullhead snapped his head back to look.

“You know in 2020, mortals are promoting women’s rights, and using your feminie wiles to your advantage can be considered very anti feminist,” he said.

“Fema what? Is that a disease?” I asked.

Bullhead gulped.

“If I answered yes, I would get in trouble.”

“If you are so scared, then why did you help me?”

“Because… because…” He looked around and lowered his voice. “You weren’t given a trial with King Yan. I mean, even if you committed the worst crime, you should’ve been given a chance to appeal your fate. But you and your people are sent straight to the 18th level. And I don’t blame you for not wanting to go to there. I’ve only escorted one soul there in my career, and nothing was heard about him again. If what you said was true, and it might be true, then Shenjie is definitely the safest place for you. Your mastermind wouldn’t dare to do anything to you up there. Don’t mind Horsey for not helping. He is just a stickler for rules. I could tell Horsey was troubled by the fact too. His ears were fluttering like a pair of butterfly wings. They always do when he is agitated but King Yan had said he was going demote me to a ride animal if I make another mistake, and we are partners, so if I become a ride animal, then he becomes one too. Now, don’t feel sorry for me. I promised to get you to Shenjie, and a promise is a promise.”

Bullhead motioned me to step on a fiery mound that spewed a bubbling, viscous liquid at its tip. Rivulets of the liquid flowed around our feet. I hesitated but stepped forward after taking a deep breath. The mound erupted under our feet, releasing a gust of air that pushed us higher and higher. The hot air stung my eyes and nostrils. Through squinted eyes, I saw different doors flash by—caught glimpses of oil vats and chopping blocks—my stomach lurched uncomfortably, and then—

I staggered onto solid ground. The bustling sounds of the squatter town were replaced by a majestic silence. I was standing in the doorway of a giant courtyard. Dark green jade paved the steps leading up to an impressive red building. Purple lanterns flanked either side of the walkway. The ceiling and walls were gray. Menacing guards with weapons stood by the red posts that lined along the courtyard. I began to sweat, whether from the hot vapors that drifted from oil vats or nervousness I did not know.

Around us were more of these eruption mounds. Every few seconds, a soul would be thrust out of one. There was a humming of footsteps as they walked up the green steps and disappeared into the red building. I looked towards Bullhead for reassurance, but he now carried a stern demeanor. All prior goofiness had been wiped from his face.

“We are going to see King Yan. He is the only one who can decide whether you can go to Shenjie,” Bullhead said.

We joined the souls making their way to the red building.

Compared to the jolly crowd down in squatter town, this crowd was sullen and quiet. I quickly realized why when we were at the doors of the red building.

“The Court of King Yan” read the sign above the doors. Inside was dimly lit. In the shadows were what appeared to be vats of oil, saws, and other instruments I didn’t recognize. A man was kneeling on his knees in the center of the room. Four giant guards surrounded him. In front of him rose a tall podium, from which a shadowy figure presided.

“Qin Hui. You have lied for personal gain, destroyed an empire, and caused thousands of deaths. For these crimes, I sentence you to a hundred lifetimes as a beast.”

“No!” The man shouted. “I am the Prime Minister of the mighty Song Empire. You cannot! How dare—”

Before he could finish, one of the stoic guards seized him from the top and dragged him behind a privacy screen. He might as well not have, because we still saw everything. Shadows clearly showed the man’s arms and feet being chopped off and tossed into an oil vat where they sizzled like doughnuts. A lump formed in my throat. Was this what the villagers were going through in hell? I clenched my fists. Lie, cheat, fight, I was going to do whatever it took to rescue them.

“Next!” The shadowy figure said.

The next man in line practically fell in front of the court.

“Your… your highness… I… I’m a good person… my…” the man stammered, trembling from head to toe.

“Dogegg,” the figure spoke. “Born into a merchant family, you treated customers honestly, sold quality products. During times of famine, even setting up porridge stands. For these deeds, I have specially summoned you here to reward you with a next life of happiness, longevity, and wealth. Keep up the good work and you will eventually ascend into paradise.”

“Thank you, your highness, I will, I will.” He crawled forward and kowtowed a few times before a guard led him away.

The shadowy figure began to address the next figure in line. I stood there, shaken. I had naively figured that I could somehow sneak my way into Shenjie. I thought I had succeeded when I made Bullhead promise me. Now I realized how bureaucratic the entire process was. The shadowy figure knew everything! No wonder Bullhead was so scared when he messed up, I thought. I look up for Bullhead. He was no longer by my side but moved next to the podium.

I suddenly felt nervous. Even if he wanted to help, could he do anything?

“Next,” the shadowy figure called.

Shakily, I walked to the podium and kneeled like the previous souls. The shadowy figure, now that I could see, was dressed in gray. His face was hidden, but his eyes shone like stars. They peered down at me.

I could see myself in his shining eyes. Uncomfortable, I looked away. It was then I saw what was behind the podium. Giant shelves, holding bamboo scrolls, spanned the entire wall. They moved themselves forward and backward, became stacked and un-stacked. As one shelf moved closer, I could read:

“Mortals of Year 691”

A scroll flew out from the row labeled “Commoners”.

I look at the ground, staring at the detailed carvings of the jade green tiles to distract myself. There was the sound of bamboo scroll being unrolled. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest. I knew that I would be in there. Any second now, he would see 18th Level—

“PFFFT!”

There was an explosion of choking. I felt something wet splash all over my head. I looked up in alarm.

Bullhead was holding a teacup the size of a small bucket. There was a sheepish look on his face.

“I. Am. So. Sorry. King Yan,” he sputtered. “I’ve never had tea this bad. I tried to swallow it, I really did, but it just wouldn’t go down—

“BULLHEAD!” The shadowy figure shouted as he attempted to wipe tealeaves off himself. “All you cause—trouble—Who told you to be here—Leave--If you don’t need this job then I—”

“I’ll get out of here this instant!” Bullhead said. He made a beeline for the exit, but as he passed me, he whispered, “best I could do. Once you get up there, find your murderer as soon as you can. This gimmick of mine can only fool him 9 days.”

I stared after him wide-eyed. I realized now that I ought to have asked Bullhead what his plan was.

“Uhem.”

I snapped back to face the shadowy figure.

“Zi… Ziyang? uh, Ziyun,” the shadowy figure began. Perhaps it was the dim light, but his eyes looked uneasy. “I assume you are before me, like most others, to appeal your fate. Then inform me of your accomplishments and explain why you deserve to go where you want to go.”

I blinked several times. None of the previous souls had to introduce themselves… and then my lips parted in amazement. Bullhead was a genius! The tea must have erased my name. I had no identity!

“Before you begin, note that any false words will warrant your tongue being ripped out,” he finished pointedly, gesturing towards a pair of tongs.

“I was an orphan, raised by the kind people of Flower Mount Village,” I applied some spit under my eyes and began cautiously.

“We spent our days tilling wild land, planting seeds, uprooting weeds, watering shoots, and praying for no flood, no drought, no pests, and good luck. We never hurt any living beings. In fact, we were so harmless we were practically vegetarians, but misfortune fell anyway and justice failed us.”

The tongs did not move. But as I thought about villagers, something began to twist on the inside, tighter and tighter, until my eyes squeezed out real tears.

“And then…the yaoguai… killed EVERYONE,” I bawled towards the end of my story. “I need to become a goddess, to protect others from such an unfair fate.”

When I calmed down, someone handed me a handkerchief. I peaked at the shadowy figure as I mopped my face.

“I shall grant you to be born into a family of warriors in your next life for practice…”

I did not hear his remaining words. It was all over. I wasn’t going to Shenjie.

“Miss!” A voice interrupted.

I wheeled around to face a large group of women. They stared at me excitedly, as if they knew me, although I was positive that I had never seen any of them before.

“It’s great to see you again, though I’m sorry to see that you’ve lived not long. As they say, heroes suffer tragic fates. And you certainly were a hero!” An old woman said.

“I’m sorry I don’t—”

“A HERO YOU WERE, and a humble one at that,” the old woman interrupted tearfully. “I will never forget how you saved my entire town from a flood.”

“Or how you risked your life to alert us that bandits were coming,” another woman joined in.

“Thank you for volunteering to kill the beast that ate so many of our children!”

“We will be forever indebted to you.”

I stared at them dumbfounded. But they had turned their attention to the shadowy figure.

“Your highness, she is destined for Shenjie—”

“There is no one more qualified—”

“A good heart, a pure soul, she would make a wondrous goddess!”

The shadowy figure raised a hand to silence the noise.

“It’s up to me to decide where she goes,” he reminded.

“That’s correct, your highness, but your job is also to select the best and the brightest to become gods. We are all witnesses to the fact that she has the necessary qualities,” the leader of the group insisted.

“How convenient now that I have no… never mind, I’ll have the backup in 9 days,” he said wearily, eyeing the group of energetic women that closed in on him. He gave me a piercing look and then said, “take her to the cranes!”

I watched as two giant guards marched towards me.