The smell of cheap alcohol permeated the cramped, windowless room. The darkness hid away the state of poverty and decay, a bare bed with dozens of bottles scattered around in a dirty infested apartment. A gaunt figure slumps into the creaking bed.
The seventy-something old man in the bed looked less a man and more a husk, tightly holding onto a bottle of rum. It was hard to distinguish whether the man was drowning in alcohol or tears.
Forty years ago he stood at the cusp of society, a titan of industry, a man of family and riches. He had it all. But he had given it all to a woman who cursed him. She had systematically dismantled his whole being, stripping him of his fortune, his only son, his very life. She left him in tatters during his most vulnerable time, fighting an illness that consumed him to the bone while he rotted in poverty, alone.
This man was Wei Zhi. On this night he had drunk himself into numbness like many other times, ready to let go of the pain and misery. He couldn't let go of the grudge against the person who broke him down. "If there is a next life," he wheezed as he swallowed his tears, "I will never be a pathetic fool again..."
Wei Zhi's eyes grew heavy. His fingers became cold like water running away, his arms, legs, melted like wax on a candle. The sensation of melting away would be terrifying for anybody, but for Wei Zhi it felt like a cathartic release of all those years of pain, his body finally giving way. As darkness covered his vision he gave a final sigh of relief.
Time seemed to lose meaning in the darkness.
An unknown amount of time seemed to have passed when light pierced Wei Zhi's closed lids. Expecting to see the familiar water stains of his apartment ceiling, he snapped his eyes open.
His vision was blurry at first, but as it adjusted he saw an unfamiliar pristine white ceiling. As Wei Zhi tried to sit upright, a familiar sensation, like electric shock, shot through his spine, his lungs burning as he tried to breathe.
As he struggled, Wei Zhi gripped his hand still holding a bottle of liquor. He started to laugh while tears ran down his face. "Still suffering after death!"
Wei Zhi looked around as he gritted his teeth in pain. "What is this place? How can the dead feel this much pain?"
White jade stretched beneath him endlessly. The jade floor seemed to be perfectly crafted from a single gigantic piece, seamless. However, this masterpiece felt austere and cold.
As Wei Zhi looked around he noticed a structure not far from where he was.
It looked like a simple altar of the same jade as the floor, raised slightly. Paper walls depicting strange creatures in blue ink surrounded the back of the altar.
A couple of black cauldrons filled with white sand held a sputtering piece of incense each. Thin blue smoke billowed from the cauldrons, seemingly distorting the light around them.
Wei Zhi's eyes narrowed as he noticed a figure at the altar, a man sitting cross-legged. The man was wearing a simple white robe with some blue and golden embroidery. However, looking at the wrinkled and dried-up feet and hands, it was obvious that this was a corpse.
The corpse's face was covered in long white hair that draped in front of it, its facial features undiscernible.
As he looked at the corpse, a chill ran through his spine. He felt as every part of his body froze for a moment. A heavy pressure in his chest made him gasp for air.
Then he realized something. The corpse's face was visible now. The wrinkled face gave an air of ancientness. However, the eyes were missing. Where the eyeballs should be, only empty holes could be seen. If one looked at the empty sockets, they would feel like they were being sucked into them as the darkness seemed to be endless. Even light seemed to be sucked in.
A bead of sweat ran down Wei Zhi's forehead. He could feel a suffocating pressure from the corpse's gaze.
"Who are you?" Wei Zhi's head buzzed as the words rang through his head. Intense pain washed over him. This was no ordinary pain. Wei Zhi was already used to the physical pain of his illness. However, this pain came from the sudden eruption of his memories in his head. It felt like he was seeing his whole life pass in front of him, suffering every single day again.
A deep sigh could be heard coming from the corpse. "You are just a mortal..." Cracking sounds could be heard as the corpse stood up.
"Who are you? Are you god? Am I dead already?" Wei Zhi said agitatedly as he pushed himself back in panic.
He was confused. He felt like being liberated from his suffering, only to realize it was not over yet and being stuck in a situation that made no sense.
"You are dying..." said the corpse slowly. "I can change that." The corpse waved his hand at Wei Zhi. A gentle warm breeze caressed Wei Zhi's fatigued body, making him feel refreshed, taking away the pain.
The corpse turned around. "However, there is a price to pay." The corpse waved his hand and a piece of white jade appeared, floating and giving a soft glow.
"Be my envoy. Take this jade to the Azure Dragon sect. Once that is done, I'll personally see that you are cured. I will give you another chance..." The voice resonated in Wei Zhi's head as the jade flew from the corpse into his hands, turning into a jade pendant.
Wei Zhi looked at the jade pendant floating in front of him with wide eyes. He gritted his teeth as he reached for the pendant. However, his hand stopped for a moment. "How do I know you will keep your end of the bargain?"
The corpse turned slowly, looking at Wei Zhi. "Bargain? This is not a bargain but an order!" He raised his hand.
"But if you are unwilling, then that is fine too..." Creaking sounds could be heard as blue lightning streaks started to spark from its finger.
"I'm willing!" shouted Wei Zhi, grabbing the pendant quickly as sweat beaded on his forehead.
The corpse lowered his hand, stopping the lightning.
"Good. You have one year. If by then you have not delivered the pendant, then you will die for sure." The corpse finished, waving his hand. White wind surged and surrounded Wei Zhi.
Wei Zhi's vision started to blur. His body started to feel like it was being torn apart. However, a warm sensation washed over him, eliminating the discomfort before his vision finally turned dark.
The white wind disappeared along with Wei Zhi. A long sigh could be heard in the lonely place.
"Why did that mortal get summoned instead? What happened in the outside world?"
"It will take a year to summon again, and there is barely a year of it left..."
The corpse looked at the cauldrons. His hands fisted as they made cracking sounds like thunder. "He will have to do!"
The corpse sat back at the altar, seemingly falling asleep again.