Chapter 11: Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11: The Dead Man's Testimony

The black light from Jiang Chen's staff didn't just push her back. It tore something.

Mrs. Zhao's soul ripped away from him like a bandage pulled from wet skin, and in that instant of separation, he saw them. Not her memories. His. Bleeding out of her and back into him. The execution room. The needle. The cold table. The witnesses. But now there were more details he'd never noticed before. A man in the observation window. Suit. No tie. Holding a phone. Recording.

"Interesting choice," Mrs. Zhao said, rubbing her chest where the staff had struck her. Her voice was steady again. The panic was gone. "You could've dragged me straight to Diyu. But you didn't. You want to know who killed you more than you want to complete your mission."

"Shut up."

"Or what? You'll hit me again with your little flashlight?" She gestured at his staff. "We both know that was a love tap. If you wanted to send me back, I'd already be there."

She was right. He'd held back. Not consciously. But his hand had pulled the strike. Somewhere in that split second between seeing the suit man and swinging the staff, his body had made a choice his mind hadn't approved.

"You saw him too," Jiang Chen said.

"I saw everything. The room. The needle. The witnesses." She smiled. "And the man in the window. You don't remember him, do you? He wasn't part of your memory. You didn't notice him during the execution. But your subconscious did. Your brain recorded him even when you weren't looking."

"That's not how memories work."

"I've been possessing people for seventeen years. That's exactly how memories work." She stepped closer. "Every face you've ever seen, every voice you've ever heard, every detail you've ever ignored — it's all in there. You just need someone to pull it out."

"Stay back."

"I'm not going to possess you again. That was a mistake. You have too much death in you. It's like trying to swim through tar." She sat down on the curb, crossing her legs like she was having a casual conversation. "But I can help you see. Properly. Safely."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because I need you to trust me." She said it plainly. No games. "I need you to believe that I can give you what you want. Because if you believe that, you'll take me to Diyu. And if you take me to Diyu, I get to make my case to the judges."

"Your case being that I was framed."

"My case being that the mortal justice system is corrupt and the underworld should care. Which they won't, by the way. They never do. But if I can prove that a soul was sent to them illegally, they might be lenient with my sentencing."

"You'd sell me out for a lighter sentence."

"I'm a con woman. I sell everyone out for a lighter sentence." She shrugged. "But in this case, what's good for me is also good for you. I get leniency. You get the truth. Everyone wins."

Jiang Chen gripped his staff. The street was empty. The sun was starting to rise, painting the buildings in shades of orange and pink. He needed to be back in his body soon. A dead spirit caught in the mortal realm during daylight was a dead spirit that got cooked.

"One look," he said. "One. And if I see you trying to slip into my head again, I'm sending you straight to Judge Zhang with a recommendation for maximum suffering."

"Fair enough."

She stood up and walked toward him. Slow. Hands visible. No sudden movements. When she was close enough to touch, she stopped.

"Close your eyes," she said.

"No."

"Then don't. But it's easier with them closed."

He kept his eyes open. She reached out and placed her palm on his forehead. Her skin was warm. Alive. He'd forgotten what that felt like.

"Relax your mind. Don't fight me. Just let me in."

"I don't—"

"*Shh.*"

Her voice softened. Lost its edge. For a moment, she sounded almost kind.

"Let me in, Jiang Chen. I'm not going to hurt you."

He felt her presence at the edge of his consciousness. A gentle pressure. Like someone testing a door to see if it was locked. He'd barricaded himself so thoroughly against her earlier attack that letting her in felt wrong. Every instinct screamed at him to push her out.

But he wanted to know.

He unlocked the door.

Her presence flowed in like water. Not invasive. Not searching. Just... there. Waiting.

"Good," she whispered. "Now think about the execution. Don't force it. Just let it come."

He didn't want to. But he did.

The room. The table. The straps. The doctor with the needle. The witnesses behind the glass. Judge Lin in the corner, watching with empty eyes. The suit man in the window—

*Wait.*

He was looking at the suit man now. Really looking. The man's face was half-turned, talking to someone next to him. A woman. Long black hair. Familiar.

*Focus on the man,* Mrs. Zhao's voice echoed in his mind. *Don't get distracted.*

But Jiang Chen couldn't look away from the woman. She was young. Maybe thirty. Sharp features. Expensive clothes. She was nodding at whatever the suit man was saying, but her eyes were fixed on him. On Jiang Chen. On the table.

She was smiling.

Not a cruel smile. Not a triumphant smile. A sad smile. Like she was watching something tragic and couldn't look away.

*Who is she?*

He didn't know. But his heart was pounding. His hands were shaking. The straps bit into his wrists.

*She knows me.*

Mrs. Zhao pulled back. The memory dissolved. Jiang Chen opened his eyes and found himself on his knees, gasping for air. He hadn't realized he'd fallen.

"Who was that?" he managed.

"I was hoping you'd know."

"I've never seen her before."

"Your body knows her." Mrs. Zhao crouched in front of him. "Your heart rate spiked. Your blood pressure went through the roof. Your pupils dilated. That's not fear, Jiang Chen. That's recognition."

"I don't—"

"Think. Before the execution. Before the trial. Before everything. Was there a woman in your life? Someone important?"

His mind went blank. He'd had a girlfriend once. Years ago. She'd left him. Said he was too boring. Too predictable. Too safe.

That wasn't her.

"Maybe she was at the trial," he said. "I don't remember anyone in the courtroom. I was too focused on the verdict."

"Look deeper."

"I can't. I don't have time. The sun's coming up."

Mrs. Zhao glanced at the horizon. The first rays of sunlight were creeping over the rooftops. In fifteen minutes, he'd be ash.

"Take me back to Diyu," she said. "I'll help you find her."

"You'll help me?"

"Like I said. What's good for me is good for you." She held out her hand. "Deal?"

He took it. This time, when she touched him, there was no attack. No invasion. Just a simple agreement between two people who needed each other.

"Close your eyes," he said.

She did.

He focused on the darkness. The cold. The pull of Diyu. The world twisted around them, reality folding like paper, and then they were falling.

They landed hard on stone floor. The Hall of Judgment was empty. No judges. No clerks. No guards. Just rows of empty benches and the massive bronze doors at the far end.

"Where is everyone?" Mrs. Zhao asked.

"Don't know. Don't care." Jiang Chen pulled out his ledger. "I need to process you before I—"

The bronze doors exploded inward.

A figure stood in the doorway. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Wearing a black uniform with gold trim. His face was scarred, one eye milky white, the other burning with cold fire.

"Reaper Jiang Chen," the figure said. "You've been summoned."

"Summoned by who?"

The figure didn't answer. He stepped aside, revealing the person behind him.

A woman. Sharp features. Expensive clothes. Long black hair.

The woman from the window.

She was standing in the Hall of Judgment, looking at him with that same sad smile.

"Hello, Jiang Chen," she said. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find you."

Jiang Chen's staff clattered to the ground.

"Who are you?"

She walked toward him, her footsteps echoing in the empty hall. When she reached him, she stopped. Close enough to touch. Close enough to kill.

"My name is Lin Yuxi," she said. "And I'm the one who had you executed."

The world went silent.

"You—"

"I didn't have a choice." Her voice cracked. "I've been trying to find you for weeks. I bribed the guards at the morgue. I bribed the crematorium workers. I had your body preserved, waiting for a chance to bring you back. But I couldn't get to the underworld. I couldn't—"

"Why?"

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a folder. Thick. Stuffed with papers.

"Because I need your help."

"My help." He laughed. It was an ugly sound. "You killed me. You framed me. You watched me die. And now you need my help?"

"Your father is alive."

The laughter died.

"What?"

"Your father. He's been in hiding for fifteen years. He faked his death to protect you. But someone found him. Someone's been hunting him. And they're going to kill him." She held out the folder. "Unless you stop them."

Jiang Chen took the folder. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely open it.

Inside was a photo.

His father. Older. Grayer. But alive. Standing in front of a building with Chinese characters he didn't recognize.

Below the photo was a name.

*Project Soul Harvest.*

And a single line of text:

*Estimated completion: 30 days.*

"You have one month," Lin Yuxi said. "One month to find your father and stop them. Or everyone you've ever loved will die."

Jiang Chen looked up from the folder.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm the only one who can prove you're innocent." She pulled out a second folder. "And because if you don't help me, I'll have no choice but to destroy the evidence."

She opened the second folder.

Inside was a signed confession. Dated three days ago.

Signed by Judge Lin of the Supreme People's Court.

Admitting that Jiang Chen's execution was a cover-up.

"Forced testimony," she said. "I'm sorry."

Judge Lin's body was found in his office this morning.

"Someone killed him before I could get him to Diyu."

She closed the folder.

"Which means someone in the mortal world knows about the underworld. And they're cleaning up loose ends."

Mrs. Zhao started laughing.

"Oh, this is beautiful," she said. "This is absolutely beautiful. You dragged me back to Diyu for a deal, and now you're getting dragged into something way bigger than a few dead soul reapers."

"Shut up," Jiang Chen said.

"No, no, let me finish." She stood up, brushing off her dress. "I was going to help you find your killer, but now it turns out your killer is standing right in front of you, asking for your help.