New Times, New Hell

Chapter 71 - Reincarnation

To anyone, having to live with the memories of a past lifetime but not being allowed to contact anyone from that lifetime – not being able to see your past relatives and friends, not being able to speak of the stories of the past – while having to live on with a completely new identity for the entirety of this life, was extremely cruel.

The situation of “being unable to” that Yu Zhengdu had brought up had never been rare. Especially for those who were parents. After remembering the memories from their past life, it was very hard for them to completely let go of their children from their previous lifetimes. There were many who would secretly return to visit or even try to hold conversations. If they noticed that their children weren’t living well, several also used their finances from this lifetime to try and aid their children.

No matter how renowned Hell was, they couldn’t completely eradicate such a phenomenon. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many related stories in the folklore.

There was something else Shang Que hadn’t told Yu Zhengdu. Actually, in previous dynasties, if they encountered people who weren’t cooperating, Hell’s solutions were very rough and gruesome. To the Underworld, regardless of if they were living or dead, a person was only a soul. It was only in recent times that everyone started placing more of an emphasis on human rights. Thus, Hell’s plan of action started slowly becoming gentler.

This really made people compliment: Socialism is the best!

According to procedure, the appearance of living people with memories of their past life was to be taken care of by each local reincarnation point. Bai Zhinan also came up with a plan based on previous examples and rules. He was in the middle of heading to discuss with Wang Chunping’s reincarnation.

However, before he could even do anything, another employee hurriedly rushed into his office, bringing with him a new nightmare.

Employee: “Bai ge, something’s happened again.”

Bai Zhinan’s forehead was covered in sweat. Upon hearing this, his temples started throbbing. “What now?”

The employee handed him a phone. It was opened to a livestream page. He said, “That Master Song who practices hypnosis invited the reincarnated Wang Chunping and her family to participate in a livestream.”

Bai Zhinan almost jumped in fright. “Why would Master Song do that?”

Employee: “You know how recently, Dr. Guo from the province hospital’s psychiatry department has been constantly saying that Master Song is a scammer on Weibo and in interviews? I guess that Master Song can’t take it anymore. This time, he not only invited Wang Chunping’s family, but also Dr. Guo. He said he wants to prove to Dr. Guo and the audience that he isn’t a scammer.”

Bai Zhinan: “What about Wang Chunping’s parents from this lifetime? They didn’t try to stop anything?”

Employee: “Wang Chunping’s parents now can’t control her anymore. I heard that she keeps throwing tantrums at home, determined to see her son. That Master Song told them that he could solve Wang Chunping’s problem. Her parents had no other option, so agreed.”

Bai Zhinan slammed on his table. “It’s over now.”

Master Song was originally a hooligan from Minan. He learned how to scam from some unknown source during a trip out of town for work. When he got back, he claimed to have learned hypnosis from the Hong Kong Island area. Then, he opened a hypnosis studio; however, not many people cared about it at first. His business wasn’t great either. Later on, he became inspired by someone and suddenly changed his strategy. He insisted that he could use hypnosis to learn about someone’s past lifetime and thus help people erase karmic debt.

As it turned out, this was a correct decision. Minan had a lot of left behind elders and children. Many of these people weren’t very educated. As such, most were more interested in their past lives than in pure hypnosis. Master Song’s business slowly became better. He even became slightly famous.

However, following Master Song’s increased fame, the controversies surrounding him increased too. Several locals cussed him out on the local forum. Yet, Master Song didn’t care at all. Either way, he was mainly looking to earn money from those who believed him.

But, recently, Dr. Guo from the province hospital’s psychiatry department had publicly criticized him many times in public. This prevented him from continuing to be so calm.

Dr. Guo was somewhat popular in the Minan area. Aside from being exceptionally skilled professionally, he had also received national recognition before. Quite a few times, he had appeared on the local news channel for interviews. His announcements were very influential among residents. After enough time, he caused quite a big impact on Master Song’s business.

Master Song was a tough bone to pick too. Thus, he bottled up his anger and waited for an opportune time to retaliate.

This time, he coincidentally encountered Wang Chunping’s situation. Because of the media’s reports, locals were pretty invested in Wang Chunping’s case. Master Song naturally couldn’t miss out on such a perfect opportunity.

This livestream had obviously been carefully schemed ahead of time. Not only did Master Song invite the current Wang Chunping and her family, he also invited his sworn enemy, Dr. Guo, over too.

To outsiders, the livestream was promoted along the lines of “Approaching Science: Revealing the Secret Behind Wang Chunping’s Memories of a Previous Lifetime”.

But in actuality, everybody knew very clearly that this was the ultimate battle between Master Song and Dr. Guo. It was also the head-to-head battle between superstitious hypnosis and modern medicine.

In order to seem more professional, this livestream was set to proceed in the same manner as an interview. Master Song had even specially invited a local announcer to be the MC.

When Bai Zhinan started watching the livestream, the MC had just finished giving a rundown of the entire situation. It was time for both experts to relay their opinions.

Master Song said with a profound and unfathomable expression, “There’s no other answer. This Ding child is a ‘reincarnation’. In other words, someone who still remembers the memories from their previous lifetime even after their spirit has reincarnated!”

MC: “Since Master Song has said this, does that mean that you believe reincarnation exists?”

Master Song: “Of course. As many people know, my hypnosis can awaken a person’s previous memories. I’ve witnessed many situations like Xiao Ding’s. It’s not strange at all.”

The MC had received his instructions. After Master Song finished speaking, he cued Dr. Guo. “Dr. Guo, do you agree with what Master Song has to say?”

Dr. Guo was a true expert. He had originally been disdainful of arguing with someone like Master Song, but Master Song was an excellent scammer. His business became bigger and bigger, causing many of Dr. Guo’s patients to fall for his ploys and leave. Only scamming for money wasn’t a big deal. However, he was worried that if this continued, it would delay treatment for those who were really mentally ill. This was why he had publicly criticized Master Song multiple times.

This livestream was the same. Master Song was invested in the influence of Wang Chunping’s story; Dr. Guo was too. When he had first received Master Song’s livestream invitation, he hadn’t been willing to attend. But after thinking about it, he realized that if he didn’t appear, Master Song would be able to do as he wished more freely. That wouldn’t do. By then, it would be quite difficult to change people’s minds.

As such, Dr. Guo could only accept. However, he maintained a noncommittal attitude throughout the entire livestream. Upon hearing Master Song’s opinion, he almost rolled his eyes up to the skies. He dryly said, “Regarding Master Song’s thoughts, I previously expressed my attitude multiple times. I don’t agree with them, nor do I accept them. He’s lying.”

Because of the popularity the topic of ‘memories of a previous lifetime’ had, in addition to Master Song’s careful planning, this livestream was pretty popular. The livestream platform had placed it on the suggested page, so many netizens from out-of-town were watching too.

As soon as Dr. Guo said this, the comments instantly started laughing:

【Dr. Guo is so uncompromising, 666】

【Wow, going straight-on. I like】

【Fight more loudly.jpg. Master Song charge forward!】

Master Song had been part of the society before. After, he had also been dedicated to scamming and promotions. He had lots of cunning ploys on his mind. To be confident enough to invite Dr. Guo, he had naturally made complete preparations ahead of time. Upon hearing this, he didn’t even become angry. With a smile, he said, “Then may I ask how Dr. Guo plans on explaining this child’s situation?”

As he spoke, he gestured for his assistant to turn the livestreaming camera onto the couch. Everyone saw Wang Chunping’s reincarnation &#k2013; the little girl with the surname Ding &#k2013; sitting with her parents.

When the netizens saw that child, they instantly felt that there was something different about her from other children. Her eyes were very big, but her gaze was extremely desolate. Her gaze even seemed heavier than those of her parents.

【The little kid’s gaze……Is a little bit scary】

【Can I say that her gaze reminds me of my grandma?】

【These really are an old lady’s eyes. Could it be?】

Xiao Ding’s parents sat next to her. Each one held onto one of her hands tightly. Both of their expressions were incredibly anxious. One reason they had agreed to attend the livestream was because their daughter’s condition was getting worse and worse. They had asked all doctors possible, but still couldn’t solve this issue. Asking Master Song for help was a last resort. Another reason was that Master Song had said that he would invite Dr. Guo too. Either way, regardless of superstitions or science, someone would give them an explanation.

Because of this, as soon as the MC cued Dr. Guo, the Ding parents couldn’t hold themselves back anymore. “Dr. Guo, can you explain our daughter’s situation?”

Dr. Guo pushed his glasses up and said into the camera, “Regarding the supposed ‘memories of a past life’ phenomena, scientists performed a related experiment a long time ago. It was called the ‘fake name test’. Those friends who don’t know anything about it can look it up online to find out what it was about.”

The ‘fake name test’ had been an experiment designed by past researchers to unravel the mysteries regarding the supposed ‘memories of a past life’. It was an experiment to test memory.

The experiment found a group of people who claimed to have memories of a past life and another group of people who didn’t have memories of a past life. They gave both groups of people forty names and told them to read these names out loud. Two hours later, they gave them 160 other names. These 160 names included the previous forty names. Researchers tasked the participants to analyze these names.

The final results discovered that those individuals who claimed to be able to remember past memories were more likely to believe that the forty names they had seen beforehand were the names of celebrities. Additionally, they were extremely confident in their perceptions. According to analyses, this was because these people were more likely to produce memories that previously didn’t exist. And, they would believe that these made-up memories were their real memories.

So, the “past lives” they mentioned were most likely also created in this manner.

Dr. Guo gave a brief explanation of the contents of the experiment, then also gave a few other scientific explanations. As he spoke, he maintained a logical and reasonable attitude. In an instant, he gained the approval of many netizens.

But Dr. Guo’s professionalism didn’t scare Master Song. On the contrary, he even seemed to be a bit cocky.

This wasn’t actually the first time that Dr. Guo was making his views known. Earlier, he had mentioned a lot of these points when he had criticized Master Song. And, the reason Master Song had invited him over this time was to be able to refute his perspective in-person.

Master Song was petty. Because of Dr. Guo, he had been very embarrassed previously. He had long since developed an extreme hate for Dr. Guo. Not only was this careful ploy designed to restore his reputation, but it was also a chance to defeat Dr. Guo.

To do this, before he had decided to conduct a livestream, Master Song had already visited the Ding family. He first tested the scientific hypotheses Dr. Guo mentioned; he only started the livestream after confirming that nothing could go wrong.

Though Master Song didn’t personally believe in past lives either – he also didn’t know why Xiao Ding could have Wang Chunping’s memories – he could confirm that Xiao Ding’s condition was completely different from the hypotheses that Dr. Guo had mentioned.

So all he needed to do was disprove Dr. Guo’s theories. Then, he could entirely rely on his promotional techniques to change the concept and confirm that his reasoning was the accurate one.

This was also why he was determined to get Dr. Guo to come.

Because of this, Master Song had purposefully left more than enough time for Dr. Guo to finish sharing his perspective. After, he finally drawled out, “Dr. Guo’s concepts sound very logical. Humans truly do remember things wrong at times. They might also produce certain memories that don’t actually belong to them. However, Xiao Ding’s memories are Wang Chunping’s memories. I trust that these can’t have appeared out of nowhere, right? So how will Dr. Guo explain this?”

Dr. Guo scanned him, then said, “There are many possibilities. For example, Xiao Ding could’ve seen or heard about Wang Chunping’s life before. That way, after she suffered a brain injury, there was a certain probability that she would develop an irregularity.”

But before Master Song could speak this time, the Ding parents had already said, “But Dr. Guo, our daughter has never been to Wang Chunping’s village before. We also don’t know Wang Chunping at all.”

Dr. Guo waved his hands. “I’m only mentioning one possibility among many. To get a more specific understanding, further analyses would need to be completed.”

The Ding parents wanted to ask more questions, but Master Song interrupted them. “Since that’s the case, how about we invite a friend out.”

Dr. Guo furrowed his brows. “Who else did you invite?”

Master Song smiled slightly. He finally revealed his trump card, “Next, let us invite Wang Chunping’s son out.”

Upon hearing this, the Ding parents almost jumped up. “Master Song, you didn’t tell us about this ahead of time!”

Master Song: “Don’t be agitated. I’m doing this to verify Xiao Ding’s condition. I trust that you two want to know too if what Xiao Ding says about her past life is real or not……”

Master Song had prepared a speech in advance to smoothly comfort the Ding parents.

At the same time, the Minan reincarnation point was close to combusting. Bai Zhinan was beside himself with worry. He hurriedly went to find Shang Que, phone in hand.

Shang Que and Yu Zhengdu were in the middle of discussing the following plans for app promotion. They witnessed Bai Zhinan charging over to explain the situation.

Bai Zhinan said, “Boss, what should we do? If Wang Chunping and her son recognize each other later, we likely won’t be able to control the situation anymore!”

Yu Zhengdu asked, “What situation?”

Bai Zhinan: “The order of society. If the secret of reincarnation becomes exposed, the effect on both the Underworld and mortal realm would be too great.”

The reconciliation of Xiao Ding and Wang Chunping’s son wouldn’t only cause problems within normal human familial relationships. As soon as she revealed too many memories in the livestream and became confirmed to be Wang Chunping’s reincarnation, she would definitely cause an uproar among society.

Bai Zhinan was beside himself with worry. Yu Zhengdu, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned. He even slightly wanted to laugh. He said in disdain, “What misunderstandings do you have regarding the current netizens?”

Bai Zhinan: “……Ah?”

Shang Que was extremely calm too. “Look at what netizens are saying first.”

Bai Zhinan reflexively looked at the comments.

【Fuck, Master is making an ultimate move!】

【What the heck? Master even called someone out. Does that mean this was planned ahead of time? Why am I in so much disbelief?】

【Is this scripted?】

Bai Zhinan: “……”

Yu Zhengdu drawled out, “Socialist netizens don’t believe in this stuff.”

Bai Zhinan was in a daze. “If netizens won’t believe this, why would Master Song direct such a play?”

Yu Zhengdu: “As long as his target customers believe him, netizens aren’t important.”

Master Song obviously wasn’t hoping for netizens to believe him. His true goal was to publicly challenge Dr. Guo’s authority. As long as Dr. Guo was unable to explain anything later on, those customers that had left because of their trust in him would naturally come back.

In the livestream, Wang Chunping’s son, Fang Quan, walked in.

Fang Quan was already sixty something. Because he had often worked out of town in his youth, his entire person seemed extremely worn down and old. When he walked in, he appeared a bit embarrassed. With the natural shyness and introversion of a villager, his gaze landed on Xiao Ding.

At the same time, Xiao Ding, who had been silent and in a daze since the beginning of the livestream, abruptly stood up. She shouted, “Little Dog!”

As soon as she did so, everyone present jumped in shock. Especially Fang Quan, who suddenly widened his eyes. He stuttered out, “H-h-how, how do you know my nickname?”

Xiao Ding seemed to want to charge forward, but she was trapped by the Ding parents, who each had a tight grasp on her hands. She could only struggle and say, “Little Dog! I’m Mom! I can finally see you! Come to Mom——”

Xiao Ding’s desperate shrieking seemed to be genuine. What originally should’ve been a very touching scene actually appeared a bit comical in Fang Quan’s and the netizens’ eyes.

【Sorry, I know I shouldn’t, but seeing an elementary schooler shout “I’m Mom” at an old grandpa really makes me want to laugh】

【Right now, I really want to know if I normally also look this comical when I yell “Mom loves you” at my idol?】

Master Song hadn’t expected for things to become so passionate. He couldn’t help feeling extremely pleased in his heart. However, he still needed to maintain order for appearance’s sake. Thus, he placated Xiao Ding and told her to sit down and slowly speak with Fang Quan.

Fang Quan hurriedly said, “Please, please sit and speak.”

Upon seeing Fang Quan speak, Xiao Ding finally slightly calmed down. She sat down again, but still kept staring at Fang Quan. Her tears fell incessantly. “Little Dog, you spent so many years working out of town. Mom waited day and night, hoping that you would come back. All the villagers told me to kill the pig we kept at home, Spot, to sell. But I could never bear to. I was just hoping that when you came back, I could make your favorite Chinese sausages for you……”

Xiao Ding clearly had the face of a little girl, but when she spoke, she dragged her words out very long and spoke very slowly. It was similar to the way an old person spoke. And, as she spoke, Fang Quan’s expression slowly became astounded.

“How did you know my nickname is Little Dog? After I left for work in my teens, nobody has called me by that name……”

“We did used to raise pigs at home. Among them, the one with spots looked the best. We named it Spot……”

“Since young, my favorite food has been the Chinese sausages my mom made by hand……”

Xiao Ding’s stories were confirmed by Fang Quan, one by one. Not only was Fang Quan astonished, but Xiao Ding’s parents and Dr. Guo’s expressions became more and more concerned too.

Especially Dr. Guo. He had been a psychiatrist for several decades, so had his own judgements and analyses of all mental illnesses. However, the current condition Xiao Ding was in had clearly exceeded the limits of what he could explain.

If he hadn’t already had an understanding of Xiao Ding’s situation, he would suspect that she was actually an actor Master Song had found in advance.

But the truth was, he knew that Xiao Ding’s family hadn’t known Master Song at all before this incident. Xiao Ding’s case file also truly existed.

Yet, the stories Xiao Ding was currently sharing could no longer be explained by the previous theory that she had come into contact with Wang Chunping’s information before. What she was saying was too intimate and too detailed, especially regarding things related to Fang Quan’s personal situation. Some of these, even Fang Quan himself couldn’t remember clearly, but Xiao Ding could relay them perfectly.

A portion of netizens became slightly suspicious too:

【Really? It’s really not pre-planned?】

【The old grandpa might have been, but probably not the little kid? How could a little kid be so good at acting?】

【I have goosebumps already. Look at how the little kid talks and acts. She really is an old grandma!】

【You’ve all gone crazy?????】

【_(:3∠)_ I have a theory. Maybe the past life stuff is fake, but the kid’s been hypnotized?】

【If so, I really do want to find Master to hypnotize me too】

Bai Zhinan clutched his head. “It’s over, it’s over. Wang Chunping and her son are going to recognize each other. How are we going to explain this later on?!”

In the livestream, Fang Quan’s face was covered with tears. It seemed that he already believed the little girl before him was his mother’s reincarnation. In a hoarse voice, he asked, “May, may I ask if I can hug you?”

Bai Zhinan stood up after slapping the table. “See!”

“There’s no need to be excited.” Shang Que suddenly side-eyed him. “There’s still leeway.”

Bai Zhinan inhaled sharply. He stared straight at Shang Que. “Boss, have you finally decided to act?”

Shang Que was bewildered. “Act in what way?”

Bai Zhinan: “You’re going to kill Wang Chunping’s reincarnation, right?”

Shang Que: “……”

Upon noticing his silence, Bai Zhinan changed his mind. “Or did you want to simply eat her?”

Shang Que only pretended that he hadn’t heard anything. He calmly said, “All we need to do is make up a memoir of Wang Chunping’s life and post it online.”

Bai Zhinan: “……Ah?”

Yu Zhengdu instantly understood. “The crux for this situation is that Xiao Ding’s family has confirmed multiple times – they don’t know Wang Chunping. They also haven’t heard anything about Wang Chunping before. Thus, nobody can explain where Xiao Ding’s memories came from. So, all we need to do is prove that Xiao Ding has read about Wang Chunping’s story before……”

And, the Internet was so advanced these days. The answer to all these problems could theoretically be found online.

Everything, including the fact that Xiao Ding’s parents had sworn that Xiao Ding had never come into contact with anything regarding Wang Chunping, could be completely guided onto the excuse that……Xiao Ding had read about it online in the past.

After, they could then use Dr. Guo’s reasoning to explain things. The mystery could then be entirely explained.

Bai Zhinan hadn’t thought that such a move could be possible. He only felt amazed that they had found a solution. Overjoyed, he said, “I’ll go make a memoir right now. However, it might take some time. According to my predictions, the earliest it can be completed is this afternoon.……”

“That’s too slow. I’ll do it.” Yu Zhengdu turned on his own computer. “I’ll simply export Wang Chunping’s life events from the Life and Death Accounts’ backend server…… Oh, it might be better to export the life events from their whole village and make a ‘deceased elders’ memoir’. That’s more believable.”

Bai Zhinan: “……”

He barely managed to turn his head back before he silently continued watching the livestream.

In the livestream, Master Song stared at Dr. Guo. Extremely satisfied, he asked, “Dr. Guo, can you explain Xiao Ding’s current situation?”

In actuality, he had asked about Xiao Ding’s situation long before. He had also purposefully invited Fang Quan on set, all to give Dr. Guo this fatal blow.

Dr. Guo rested his gaze on Xiao Ding. His brows were tightly furrowed together, but he couldn’t say a single word.

Master Song was on the brink of throwing his head back and laughing. He couldn’t help continuing to provoke, “Dr. Guo, not everything can be explained using science. It seems to me that you should stop using your knowledge to scare people. Occasionally, you can come attend my lessons too. Let’s communicate a bit. What do you think?”

Dr. Guo hrmph’d. He wanted to refute the other, but didn’t know where to start. He was a cautious person. Before he could produce reliable evidence, it was impossible for him to start spouting nonsense like Master Song often did.

On the other side, the MC felt very conflicted too. However, he still followed the script and, after gaining Xiao Ding’s parents’ approval, said, “It seems that Old Mr. Fang is very confident that Xiao Ding is his mother who passed away a decade ago. So, how about having Old Mr. Fang and Xiao Ding embrace now.”

Xiao Ding’s parents looked concerned. They really weren’t willing to believe that their daughter was actually the mother of an old man. Yet, this situation had already surpassed their control. They had no other choice but to let go of Xiao Ding’s hands.

Xiao Ding took two steps forward and gestured for Fang Quan to come closer. “Little Dog, come here. Come into Mom’s arms.”

Her pronunciation and tone were so familiar. Though she looked like an elementary school student, Fang Quan could no longer hold himself back. His voice cracked as he shouted, “Mom——”

Master Song excitedly pulled out his phone and prepared to personally take a picture of this scene. He would use it in the future as his studio’s promotional picture.

Only to see Fang Quan open his arms and step forward, then tightly embrace Xiao Ding. He whimpered and cried, “Mom——”

At this time, the desolate years in Xiao Ding’s eyes suddenly disappeared. They returned to the brightness that young children should have. After, she turned around to look at Fang Quan. She immediately started shrieking in fear, “Mom, Mom, where are you? There are bad people here, I’m scared——”

The Ding parents: “……??”

The live audience and netizens: “……??”

Master Song: “……??”

At the Minan reincarnation point, Bai Zhinan, who had been so nervous about this scene that he had almost come back to life, was even more confused: “……???”

Only Shang Que instinctively looked at Yu Zhengdu.

Yu Zhengdu happened to look up too. He met Shang Que’s gaze and asked, perplexed, “What?”

Shang Que: “What did you do just now?”

“Nothing.” Yu Zhengdu was extremely lost. He thought about it, then made a noise of realization. He added, “I just opened the backend system for Xiao Ding and discovered that a copy of her records from her time as Wang Chunping had been added to her current folder. I offhandedly deleted it.”

Shang Que: “……”

Yu Zhengdu: “What’s wrong?”

Shang Que turned the livestream over for him to see. “Just now, Xiao Ding seemed to have forgotten the memories of her previous life again.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Nobody had expected that after the Life and Death Accounts system got updated, it could also be used for this.