In the heart of China's oldest province, among mountains that hold ancient secrets, there was an archaeologist specializing in ancient languages. Her passion had taken her all over the world, and she had dedicated her life to deciphering forgotten languages and uncovering secrets buried by time. But nothing compared to the discovery she had just made.

  Her latest expedition had taken her to a hidden cave, a place mentioned only in the oldest stories of the region. Inside was a majestic and enigmatic door of oriental appearance. The carved wood bore inscriptions in a language that seemed to have Chinese roots but defied any attempt at classification.

  The archaeologist had spent a week in front of that door, with her assistants regularly bringing her food and fuel for the small generator that kept the lights on. Despite all her efforts, she had reached a dead end, and all that remained was to take photographs of the door and the inscriptions to analyze them in her study and consult other specialists who might be able to offer her some help.

  As she approached her equipment, a slight tremor began to be felt under her feet. Without hesitation, she ran to her backpack to grab her laptop where she kept all her notes and discoveries about various languages.

  In her race against time, she realized that the tremor was not natural and it seemed as if the vibrations were coming from the door itself.

  With her computer in hand, she turned toward the exit, but that's when the ground beneath her gave way, throwing her into a hidden room beneath the cave just as the ceiling collapsed. Surrounded by dust and darkness, the archaeologist saw that she was now in an underground chamber, isolated from the outside world by the debris blocking the hole in the ceiling.

  However, one detail caught her attention. In the center of the chamber, illuminated by a mysterious light that allowed her to see in the darkness of the cave, was another door similar to the one she had found, but with inscriptions that seemed even older.

  With the mysterious light as her guide, the archaeologist searched unsuccessfully for another exit, but the only escape route she could see was the hole in the ceiling, now blocked by debris, and the enigmatic door.

  Aware that every moment was precious, she approached the new door to see if it could be opened. But as she approached, despite the desperate situation, her passion for knowledge and archaeology made her heart beat faster at what lay before her. She knew that, trapped in this place, she was standing before something that could completely change the history of China, and perhaps the entire world.

  As she examined the inscriptions and the door, a new tremor began to shake the cave, this time even more intense than the previous one, while the door began to glow brighter and brighter.

  And as she covered her eyes from the blinding light, the ceiling, already weakened by the previous tremor, collapsed completely, burying the mysteries of the cave along with the archaeologist under tons of rock, forever.

  I wake up in a room bathed in soft light, facing a woman of unparalleled oriental beauty, who watches me sitting in an oriental-looking armchair with a mixture of serenity and sadness. Her clothing, although seemingly simple, is clearly worthy of a Chinese imperial palace.

  “Who are you? Where am I?” I ask, confused.

  “My name is He Xiangu”, she replies in a voice that calms my troubled heart. “And you are somewhere between life and death. I'm sorry to tell you that you are currently dead.”

  “Dead?” The word slips out. I know I should be more stunned, in deep shock, but for some reason, my mind feels clear and it seems as if nothing worries me.

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  “I am deeply sorry, but yes”, she says, nodding at my words. “Your search led you to a place that should not exist. The door you found should not have been there, and your discovery triggered a series of signals that forced us to destroy it, and you were an incidental victim of those circumstances.”

  “I can't believe it all ended like this”, I murmur with a calmness that is out of place in my circumstances.

  “Since you died because of us, there is compensation, something we have done before in similar circumstances”, He Xiangu tells me with a melancholy smile. "We offer you the opportunity to be reincarnated in the world to which that door was originally connected, with your memories intact. In addition, you will receive a body with the Blessing of the Heavens and a minor request.“

  ”Could I choose that Blessing?“ I ask immediately, intrigued despite the situation and, I suppose, thanks to my calmness, which I can only describe as supernatural.

  ”Of course, it's the least we can do”, she replies.

  ”And how do we do that? What would that Blessing be?" I ask again.

  “In the world you are going to, people born with the Blessing of Heaven have stronger bodies and a better understanding of various things that I cannot reveal to you. There are other Blessings, but as a human being, you cannot have them”, she replied.

  “If you want to choose, you will have to indicate how you want to distribute the Blessing that has been granted to you”, He Xiangu told me with a smile. “What do you want, a strong body, better understanding, more luck, or a little bit of everything?”

  I look at He Xiangu indecisively and say “Isn't there a more graphic way to choose, something that tells me the magnitude of that Blessing so I can be more informed about what I choose?”

  He Xiangu looks at me for a moment and says “Knowing the world you come from, I think you'll find this way more user-friendly.”

  With a wave of her hand, a pillar rises from the ground with a scroll on top.

  “Go ahead, I think everything will become clearer to you”, she says with a smile.

  I approach the pillar and look at the scroll. I see that it only has four entries that say:

  Body 8, Understanding 8, Spirit 8, Luck 8

  “What does this mean?” I ask He Xiangu without looking at her as I concentrate on the scroll to try to decipher what it means.

  “Those are the Blessings you will be born with in the new world”, He Xiangu tells me. “In that world, a human, without being Blessed, would normally have between 4 and 6 in what is written on the scroll. According to your request, you can increase or decrease those numbers to choose how you want your Blessing to be distributed, but I warn you that I cannot tell you what is written on the scroll means or what it is for.”

  I stare at the parchment for a long time under He Xiangu's watchful gaze, and understanding what she has taken as an example from my world, I begin to doubt as my little min-maxer soul, which only emerges when I play video games from time to time, takes hold of me.

  After making a decision, I ask her “If I put a 2 in one of the sections, would that be too bad?”

  She looks at me and asks “Are you thinking of putting a 2 in something?”

  “Yes”, I reply. “From what I can gather from those statistics, to give them a name, and from the type of door I found, I imagine that the world I'm going to is somehow related to Chinese mythology.”

  I put down the scroll to look at her intently and say “And the fact that you happen to have the name of one of the eight immortals is probably not entirely coincidental.”

  He Xiangu looks at me with her smile without confirming or denying anything, but I can see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes.

  “In a world like that, I suppose having a strong body can be useful, but it will always be inferior to mastering magical techniques or having the luck of the heavens on your side if all the ancient stories are to be believed”, I say. “Even Sun Wukong, despite his powerful physique, relied more on his magical techniques than his strength when he rebelled against the heavens.”

  “I may regret it later, but I choose Body 2, Understanding 10, Spirit 10, Luck 10”, I say to confirm my choice.

  “Are you sure?” she asks, her smile fading and a serious expression on her face.

  “Yes, for better or worse”, I reply.

  With a wave of her hand, the pillar with the scroll disappears.

  “And your minor request?” he asks me next.

  "Considering how low my Body is, I will probably be born with a body that gets sick easily, I will be the typical girl who catches every cold and illness around her. I want to be born into a family that can take care of me and pay for the doctors who will have to visit and treat me frequently”, I say.

  He Xiangu nods, her face reflecting sincere approval as she says “It's fair. It will be granted."

  Then, with an elegant gesture, she conjures up a door similar to the one I found in the cave. “When you cross through, you will begin your new life. Remember your past experiences, they will serve you well.”

  I approach the door, filled with new determination. “Thank you, He Xiangu, for this second chance.”

  “May you find peace and purpose in your new life”, she says as I push the door open, ready to walk through it.

  “Too bad you wonn't remember any of this”, I suddenly hear her say just as the doors open, but before I can react to her words, a tunnel filled with stars beckons me.

  In these novels, there are always characters with weak physiques, poor constitutions and deformities who end up becoming incredibly powerful due to the magical techniques they learn. And the protagonist, relying on these novels and stories, makes the mistake of thinking that she will be sent to a world that works like those stories. I feel that this was not made clear enough during her conversation with He Xiangu.