"W-Who are you…?" the child asked, his voice trembling with fear as he regained consciousness. His eyes widened at the sight of an old man quietly placing feathers and various materials beside a large cauldron.
Fang Yuan glanced at the boy, paused his work, and slowly walked over to the light cage that imprisoned him.
"Who are you?" the boy repeated, now more desperate. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Tears welled up in his eyes, fear overtaking him.
Fang Yuan looked down at the child and asked in a calm, deliberate voice, "Do you want revenge?"
The boy froze. His crying ceased. Shock filled his eyes as he stared at the old man before him.
After a long silence, he finally whispered, "Yes… I want revenge."
"But... I'm weak…" he added, lowering his head, unable to meet Fang Yuan's gaze. Quiet sobs began to escape him.
Fang Yuan's tone remained steady, almost indifferent. "You are already dead. Your soul now resides in hell."
"I have been assigned as your judge, here to pass judgment for your sins," he continued, as though stating a simple truth.
The Treasure Spirit, busy arranging materials in the background, abruptly froze. Its eyes widened in disbelief as it turned to stare at Fang Yuan, mouth agape.
But Fang Yuan remained unfazed. He looked back at the child and asked slowly, "Do you even know what sins you've committed?"
The child sat in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what he'd just heard. His lips trembled as he muttered, "Dead… Hell… I'm… dead?"
Fang Yuan stood before the cage, his voice steady and emotionless. "You have committed five grave sins."
"First—you spied on your neighbor's daughter while she bathed."
"Second—you rendered a child your age impotent."
"Third—you abandoned your tribe in their time of desperate need."
"Fourth—you left your father to die."
"Fifth—you killed your mother at birth."
Each word struck the child like thunder. His mind reeled.
The first two—he could admit to them, however shameful. But the last three? His face went pale. He began to protest, panicked.
"N-No! I didn't abandon my father! He—he told me to go! He made me—!"
Fang Yuan raised his hand, cutting the boy off.
"I know everything that happens in the mortal realm," he said coldly. "Lies are wasted on me."
The child fell silent, trembling.
"But," Fang Yuan continued, his voice shifting from harsh judgment to eerie calm, "you are still a child. And for that, I am willing to offer you a path of reincarnation."
He stepped closer, eyes like ancient wells of knowledge. "Do you accept?"
The child stuttered, confused and overwhelmed. "W-What's… re-in… car-nation?"
Fang Yuan looked at him and replied plainly, "It means you will be given a new life—a new body, new parents, a new family."
"But," his voice turned cold, "if you fail to protect them in your next life... I will annihilate your soul. I have no use for souls that cannot even remain loyal to their own parents."
The child burst into tears again, crying out, "I want to see my dad…"
Fang Yuan snorted, voice laced with disdain. "So, you refuse reincarnation? Very well, I'll just destroy you here and now."
"N-No!" the boy shouted, panic gripping him. "I'll go! I'll do the… the re-ins… insertion!"
"Reincarnation," Fang Yuan corrected, nodding. "Good."
He stepped back, his voice steady but filled with gravity. "When I send your soul to the other world, devils will try to deceive you. They'll use illusions to make you believe you're still alive—that your father, your family, your tribe are all still alive."
"They'll try to confuse you, to bind you, to stop your reincarnation."
"But remember—you are dead. You're a soul now. You have no body. If you sense any Gu worms or anything attempting to attach, connect, or fuse with you—reject them immediately."
"They are tricks. All of them. Devilry meant to trap you."
The child was visibly shaken by Fang Yuan's warning, but he nodded firmly and said, "If I get to live again, I'll definitely protect my parents."
"I won't forget what the lord told me."
Fang Yuan gave a small nod. "Good."
He then turned to the Treasure Spirit, who had been watching the exchange wide-eyed, frozen in place. Fang Yuan gestured toward it and said to the child, "This person is a Grim Reaper of Heaven. You should be grateful—it is thanks to him that you're being given the chance to reincarnate."