Sand and dust flew around, blinding Liu Xuefeng's eyes as he was falling from the cliff. Although he was falling to his death, his face was as serene as a lake. If there was anything else he felt, it would be regret.
It was his sixteenth year living in a small city, around 100 kilometres away from Shanghai. His looks weren't on the bad side, but neither you would drool over him, so one would say he was just an average looking boy. He was smart and a sports addict. At first glance, he wasn't any different from other teenagers.
It was also the age when young people fell in love. For him, there was one particular girl in his class that he had a crush on.
Her name was Xiao Tianshi. She was a very liked class president that everyone respected. One could say, she was the prettiest girl in the class, as well as in school, although there was a competition on this field. If she had troubles with understanding something in her homework, he would often help her.
That was one of the reasons why they became close friends. Even though Xuefeng did only this much with her during their first year of high school, he couldn't be more content.
Liu Xuefeng was smart, funny and kind to others. There was no reason not to befriend him. Because of how close he was with Xiao Tianshi, many female friends of hers were often joking how they should be dating already, but she was too shy to admit it, usually lowering her head or averting her eyes.
She was not an easy nut to crack with her shyness. It wasn't a known fact, but she was the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in China. Her mother didn't want her to live her childhood in the spotlight so she bought a small villa in a remote town and started raising her there from the earliest years. She wanted her daughter to have a normal life.
Her father didn't agree at first but compromised when his wife promised that he would be the one to decide who their daughter would marry when she turned 18.
Even if people in the city thought they were slightly rich, they wouldn't connect them with the Xiao family. This way, Xiao Tianshi could live her childhood quite peacefully, as her mother wished.
When Liu Xuefeng finally got the courage to ask her out, she didn't want to lie to him anymore.
She told him about her situation, but he couldn't care less, she was the only person that mattered to him.
He was from an average family and there was no way her father would allow him to date her. His only option was to study properly and get into the best university with her. With her father's connections, she had a guaranteed place, but he would have to be admitted like any commoner.
Who would have thought that his plans would be ruined about a month later, during their year-end trip?
They were supposed to hike in the local mountains with the whole class. Everything went well from morning till afternoon, until they finally had to descend from the hills. Xiao Tianshi wanted to have one last photo with him, so she dragged him towards the cliff, where the scenery was the most picturesque.
It took her some time to take a perfect photo and when they were finally done, the ground disappeared from under their feet. The part of the cliff they were standing on cracked and split from the rest. He acted subconsciously and pushed Xiao Tianshi with all his strength.
There was no time to run towards safety, as both of them would feasibly fall. This way, at least one person could be saved.
"Feng'er!" he could hear her scream while falling.
'At least she is safe,' he thought.
The cliff was 70 to 100 meters tall, it would take about 4 seconds to fall to the ground from that height.
He closed his eyes getting ready for an impact and making peace with himself. The ground at the valley under the cliff was filled with sharp rocks, and he barely felt any pain before he died.
'I probably died instantly, heh,' he deduced.
He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. He actually didn't feel anything.
'Hmm, so what now…' he thought.
Then exclaimed in his mind: 'Wait… I can think! If I can think, I shouldn't be dead right?'
He was pretty confused.
He was left alone with his own thoughts for a moment before something finally changed. Earlier, he had been in complete darkness, but now he could see a bright light in the distance.
It was getting closer to him at high speed. In a split second all around him became enveloped by that light.
Grey shadows began to appear all around him one after another. They soon took human-like shapes. They were spiralling in one direction which he was drifting towards too. He felt like being pulled by some invisible force.
'Souls... so I'm really dead.' He got quite a fright looking at all those grey faces. Every soul had an expressionless face as they flew together.
He looked around, but he didn't see anyone behaving in any different way. He was the only person who behaved somewhat alive.
Liu Xuefeng tried to stop for a moment, but that power pulling him was too strong to resist.
It did not take long for him to finally see his destination.
He was drifting towards a crossroad. The closer he got the more he could see. There were two roads each ending with a gate. One was white, and the other was black.
Almost all the souls were flying towards the black gate, and only some of them flew towards the white one.
It was almost his turn to step on one of the paths when suddenly a golden light shone in front of him.
All the time he had been pulled by a strange force but thanks to the golden light he stopped in one place.
It hovered in front of his face as if it was looking at his expression.
Liu Xuefeng tried to touch it and the light didn't run away from his hand. It flew right through it but he still could feel the warmth emanating from it.
Suddenly he heard a deep, emotionless voice in his mind. The force reappeared and he passed through the white gate in an instant.
"Come here, boy."
He could see a small queue of souls in front of two white-robed men. One was old and the other middle-aged.
Those souls were much brighter than those grey ones flying towards the black gate but he didn't see any of them having a golden light hovering next to them.
"Interesting, it's been a while since I have seen a fate law choosing someone," the old man said to himself.
"He must have accumulated a lot of karma in his past life," said the middle-aged man and nodded marking his words.
"Boy, as you were chosen by the fate law, we can agree to one of your wishes." the old man called out.
"Uhm…" Liu Xuefeng was tongue-tied. 'What are they talking about.'
"You are currently in the place called Middle Heaven. This is a place where all the souls gather after their physical selves die. After they come here, we split them into two groups. People with positive karma will have a chance to reincarnate directly. Those with negative karma will have to be judged before we decide if they should reincarnate or perish." Seeing him confused, they explained.
"Am I going to forget my memories after my rebirth?" Liu Xuefeng finally asked a question that had been bothering him.
"Normally, before everyone reincarnates, they have to drink a special soup that will make them forget all their memories. But you can make use of your wish and keep them."
"I wish to keep them," he instantly replied.
"So fast? You don't want to think more? You can wish for anything you ever wanted, anything your heart desires." the old man asked with an interested expression.
"I don't want to forget her…" he muttered as Xiao Tianshi's face flashed in his mind.
The old man nodded with understanding.
"Okay, your wish shall be granted. But because the amount of memories is too huge, we must reincarnate you as a teenager. Do you agree?" warned the Old man.
"Sure." He had already lived for 16 years, so he didn't mind.
"I have one more question. Will I be reborn as a human?" he asked to confirm his thoughts.
"Of course, there would be differences in your body otherwise. Unfortunately, we can't get you back on Earth. Because you died, your life link to that world was severed. You can only reincarnate into a different world. But don't worry, as a fate law holder, we will not mistreat you," explained the middle-aged man.
"If you don't have any more questions, you can go through the portal behind us," he pointed behind him.
'So, I won't meet her ever again…' Liu Xuefeng sighed.
He took a deep breath, took one last look at his surroundings and flew towards the portal.
As he was nearing to it, the golden light that had been hovering near him this whole time, moved quickly and sank into his skull without him noticing.