Looking at the blood and the twisted limbs on the bus, Du Yu realized he might actually be dead.
Now he stood lightly outside the bus, his illusory figure swaying in the wind, his helpless eyes constantly scanning his surroundings.
All around were medical personnel and onlookers passing by.
"I... I'm dead?"
One minute ago, a truck driving along suddenly lost control, skidding sideways at a 45-degree angle. Its front left corner struck precisely the middle of the bus, killing Du Yu with pinpoint accuracy.
Aside from Du Yu, the sole casualty, not a single other person on the bus was even injured.
"Hah...!"
Du Yu didn't know what to say. Was there a more unlucky way to die in this world?
But thinking about it carefully, maybe it wasn't so bad. Staying in this world with nothing and no one to hold onto, perhaps it was better to find a chance to start over cleanly.
But what was he now? A ghost?
Du Yu's body was wedged in the deformed bus. After confirming the victim was dead, the medical staff were trying to pry him loose.
He couldn't bear to watch anymore. The scene was like squashing a mosquito on a curtain – hard to clean off completely, and you'd curse at it while trying.
Before Du Yu could fully accept the fact of his death, an unreal-sounding female voice drifted down from the sky.
"Hey? Hey? That soul over there, can you hear me?"
Du Yu froze. Was someone talking to him?
After all, it was his first time dying; he had no experience. Not knowing what was happening, Du Yu stood dumbfounded, not daring to answer.
"Seems like this 'Voice Transmission' still has bad signal. Sis Bai, is yours working?"
"I'll try, hold on."
The voices in the sky had multiplied to two, and they were chatting casually amongst themselves.
A few seconds later, the one called "Sis Bai" also spoke, this time deliberately louder:
"That soul over there! The one outside the bus! Can you hear me? Don't move! It'll be troublesome if you leave."
Du Yu was now 100% sure someone was talking to him. But where were they?
"Dammit, seems it's still not working. He can't hear us."
"Then let's drive faster."
Who were these two? What were they doing?
Based on his extensive movie-watching experience, people who mysteriously tell you to stand still are never good news. Better slip away while he could.
He was already dead anyway. Could things get any worse?
Just then, a gust of wind blew. Du Yu adjusted his form and drifted upwards with it.
He hadn't floated three seconds when a beat-up mini-van suddenly descended from the sky, landing right in front of him.
"Holy shit?!"
Du Yu nearly got sent off for a second time by this sudden development. Did minivans have a flight mode?
"Whew, made it."
Two girls sat inside, both wearing work uniforms, one black, one white. The van stopped in front of Du Yu, and the door automatically slid open.
"Hello, sorry to keep you waiting. Please get in."
The black-clad girl driving spoke.
Du Yu was utterly bewildered. What was going on? These girls in black and white... Black and White Impermanence?
So what happened after death really matched the legends?
But this rundown minivan, these seemingly goofy Black and White Impermanence... were they really the legendary underworld emissaries?
Du Yu was beyond sarcastic. If this minivan could fly, running was pointless. Thinking this, he silently got into the van.
Looking around, the van was even shabbier inside than out. The most absurd thing was a sticker above the radio that read: "Please take care of your personal belongings."
His butt barely settled into the seat when the black-clad driver asked:
"Hello, what are the last four digits of your ID card?"
Hearing this, Du Yu vaguely felt something was off.
"What the hell? Is this a ride-hailing service?? Since when do ghosts have to report their ID tail numbers to get on a ghost car?"
The white-clad girl in the passenger seat hurriedly smoothed things over. "Ah, we're just following procedure. The Bureau of Spectral Management recently implemented new regulations. Since there have been more cases of souls scattering after taking *unofficial* ferry cars lately, the higher-ups are taking this very seriously."
Du Yu was speechless. Pointing at the white-clad girl, he said, "But *you* are the ferry car service! Isn't soul scattering *your* fault?!"
The black-clad girl didn't like that. She pursed her lips. "That's different. We are a regular service using official vehicles! All permits in order. There are a lot of unlicensed cars poaching souls these days."
There were unlicensed cars poaching *souls*?
Du Yu held his forehead. He never imagined death could be this exhausting.
"Fine, fine. Tail number 2213," Du Yu muttered.
"Okay, Mr. Du, right? Shall we follow the GPS, or will you give directions?"
"How could I possibly know the way?!"
"Haha, just joking, Mr. Du. You're quite the impatient one."
"..."
Du Yu stopped talking. There was no making sense of these two girls anytime soon. The minivan made a U-turn and then slowly lifted off the ground. Du Yu glanced back one last time at his own corpse, still not pried loose.
"By the way, are you two the Black and White Impermanence?" Du Yu asked as the van ascended.
"Yes, and no," the white-clad woman said. "Black and White Impermanence aren't two individuals, but two families. Everyone in our families works as Yin Messengers, but we don't represent the entire Black and White Impermanence."
"I see…"
Who knew you could learn such new things after death? Du Yu shook his head inwardly. But what was the use?
"Let's confirm your file details," the white-clad girl said, pulling out a folder and flipping to an A4 sheet. "Du Yu, male, 26 years old, Chinese Han ethnicity, employee at a state-owned enterprise workshop. Cause of death—"
The white-clad girl fell silent at this point.
"What? What's the cause?" Du Yu asked.
"Whoa," the white-clad girl looked at the file. "This cause of death might qualify you for a 'Wrongful Death' slot."
"Huh? I don't get it. I died in a traffic accident. How could that be 'Wrongful Death'?"
"Because the one meant to die today wasn't you," the black-clad woman driving spoke up.
"Exactly," the white-clad girl continued. "According to the 'Book of Life and Death,' the person destined to die today was named 'Zhou Zhuangshi'—that old man you tried to give your seat to just before you died."
If the white-clad girl hadn't mentioned it, Du Yu might have forgotten. One minute before his death, he had indeed tried to give his seat to an old man, but the old man hadn't accepted and walked straight towards the back of the bus.
The white-clad girl went on: "Zhou Zhuangshi, at ages thirty-six, thirty-nine, forty-two, and fifty-five, committed rape and murder of women and escaped legal punishment each time. His current 'Soul Summoning Value' has reached 97%. So, even if he hadn't been killed by that truck, he wouldn't have lived past today."
"Good riddance," the black-clad girl said. "That kind of person should have died long ago. I know people in the Mirror of Sin Hell; they'll give him a proper 'welcome' later."
"That... that's the point?" Du Yu couldn't stay seated. "The point isn't that the old man was destined to die today, it's why *I* died today! According to what you're saying... this has nothing to do with me!"
"Eh, these things happen," the white-clad girl flipped through the papers. "According to the records, Zhou Zhuangshi *should* have accepted your seat offer and died on that bus. The reason he didn't was because he spotted a pretty girl towards the back of the bus. But theoretically, that girl shouldn't have been in that position in this timeline. We'll investigate that."
"I don't understand," Du Yu shook his head.
"I know, and I wasn't expecting you to," the white-clad girl said. "Let me tell you something you *can* understand. If you're judged to be a wrongful death, you're in luck. There are two benefit policies for wrongful deaths..."
"Benefit policies...?"
"Yep. First, if the wrongfully deceased has lingering attachments to the human world, they can choose their own reincarnation family – rich second generation, celebrity second generation, take your pick. Though you'll have to queue and draw lots, as the desirable families are limited..."
"Second, if the wrongfully deceased has no attachments to the human world, they can apply to become a Yin Messenger or a Yang Messenger. But getting into the system is tough these days; most permanent positions are filled by connections. You could start as a contract worker and wait for an opportunity; the benefits are similar."
Du Yu was silent for a moment after hearing this. "This familiar feeling... am I really dead?"
The van sped through the air. Throughout the journey, the two ladies in black and white were remarkably composed.
The girl in black yawned repeatedly while driving. The girl in white pulled out her phone and took selfies constantly.
If it weren't for looking down and seeing his own translucent body, Du Yu would have thought he was just carpooling with strangers.
"Almost at Fengdu City, Sis Bai, have him fill out the form."
"Got it."
The girl in white pulled a stack of papers from her folder and handed them to Du Yu.
"Although the higher-ups haven't officially ruled yet if you qualify as wrongful death, based on our experience, it's about eighty to ninety percent certain. Just sign the 'Wrongful Death Benefits Program Application Form' for now."
Du Yu took the document. At the top, it clearly stated:
"Notice Regarding the Implementation of the Latest Benefit Policies for Wrongful Deaths (Interim Measure No. 78): Aimed at Alleviating Resentment of the Wrongfully Deceased, Resolving Disputes Involving Transcendent Souls, and Jointly Creating a Harmonious Underworld..."
Du Yu silently read the opening lines. "I never dreamed it could be this... official."
Flipping through a few pages, he indeed saw the two options the ladies had mentioned. He now had to choose one.
"Rich second generation, obviously."
Du Yu didn't hesitate. He grabbed a pen and scrawled his signature. It wasn't just that he had attachments to the mortal world; Du Yu had never even held a girl's