Nian Yue listened carefully, understanding the depth and emotions of those words. At last she nodded. “Do you have an essence vessel?”

  “I do not have any Po attachment,” the young lady replied with that smile of hers that doesn't seem to fade.

  “...You are quite knowledgeable for someone who doesn't know what happened to them.” Nain Yue deadpanned. “Alright, I want you to give me your hands for a moment and–” Just as Nian Yue stretched her arms forward, the young lady pulled away, taking a step back. Nian Yue paused. “...Don't worry. I will not harm you. You are safe with me, hm?”

  The young lady nodded and then stretched her arms forward. But just as Nian Yue was about to take hold of her hands, the girl pulled away once again, spinning on her heels and slipping away from even the shadow of Nian Yue. Nian Yue felt annoyed. “...Are you shy?”

  The young lady inclines her head innocently as if she doesn't understand or want to understand the expression Nian Yue wore on her sore face.

  “I do,” said the young lady.

  “Doesn't seem like it.. Come on, how old are you? Stop playing.” Nian Yue scolded. “How will I help you if you won't cooperate?”

  This time the young lady trailed her eyes around and found a smooth and comfortable rock in the distance. She immediately tiptoed towards it and took a seat. It was huge enough for her to take a free and sprawled rest. “I have been dead for almost a century.” She lifted one of her legs to rest over another. That disgusting gore of the bug still sticking at the bottom of her bare foot.

  Seeing that Nian Yue almost choked on air. “What is that! clean it!”

  “Clean what?” The young lady asked, lifting her leg further—enough to give Nian Yue a not so modest look at her thighs.

  “A-Ayiah! Down! Down!” Nian Yue closed her eyes with both of her palms, almost covering her whole face.

  The young lady raised an eyebrow and put her leg back down. She tilted her head to the side, confused. “We are both women.”

  Nian Yue let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She picked up a stray leaf and handed it to the girl. “Use this and clean what you have under your foot.”

  The girl blinked and eyed the leaf as if not knowing what use to make of it.

  Nian Yue shook her head and took the leaf from the girl’s hand and kneeled down. She gently grasped the girl’s dirty foot, raising it slightly before wiping the butchery off with the leaf and then throwing it away. “There.”

  “Goddess is so~ brave.” The young lady cheered, letting out a soft chuckle as she pushed herself off the rock. “I am ready now.” She stretched her arms forward once again and held them towards Nian Yue obediently.

  Nian Yue blinked and let out a weary but grateful sigh. So, was this young lady just testing her reliability which was cleaning her foot? “I'm glad.” Nian Yue stood to her feet—now face to face with the girl in front of her. Now that they were in a position where they could see the differences between their bodies, Nian Yue realized the young girl was indeed taller. She would be a palm taller than Nian Yue. Her features were blooming mature—eyes sharp yet poetic, full lips curled like a blooming heart. Beauty like no other, such blessings from heaven. And yet her presence was strong and commanding, contracting her visual softness. This young woman truly carried all kinds of grace with herself.

  Nian Yue pulled herself out of the strange thoughts and reached for the girl’s hands. Nian Yue gazed up at the woman’s face with a raised eyebrow, suspicious and wary. But when the girl didn't seem to pull away, Nian Yue visibly relaxed and grasped the young girl’s hands. Their fingers interlocked with each other. The hands in Nian Yue’s grasp were soft, gentle and cold, perfectly matching the girl’s appearance.

  Nian Yue’s lips curled into a tender smile. Her eyes soon fluttered close, centering her energy at the skin contact with the girl. They stayed there like that for a moment. But then Nain Yue’s brows twitched. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. Likely she hadn't even connected with the girl. Feeling frustrated, she opened her eyes. “You were supposed to cons–”

  “Boo.”

  Nian Yue flinched. Who wouldn't if all of a sudden they see a face mere inches apart from theirs. With eyeballs rolling towards the nose the girl made a silly face, while Nian Yue could only stare back at her, feeling stupid.

  The young girl laughed. Her giggles echoing through the trees. However Nian Yue didn't find it funny and shook off the girl’s hands. She turned around, facing her back to the girl and crossing her arms over her chest as she put on a show of being upset. “Fine, if you want to play around, you can do it with someone else. I have better business to attend to. Come to me when you're done playing your silly games.”

  Nian Yue started walking away. Her mind was in dismay. She didn't intend to leave at first but seeing that the girl had also started following her, made her walk freely. She decided to really finish her other tasks so she could deal with this one mischievous ghost with proper focus.

  Nian Yue opened her magical scroll once again. One hand held the scroll while the other lifted to form her silver communication core, as she asked the core to lead her the way. While walking she glanced from the corners of her eyes—with the smallest turn of her head, just to make sure the girl was still following her. But then she realized the girl was no longer there. Nian Yue paused and quickly turned around. Her eyes frowned in worry. Did she lose the ghost or worse—her trust? That wasn't her intention!

  Nian Yue pursed her lips and decided she would find the girl. She could not go far anyways if this forest was where she belonged. But then her unfortunate core suddenly signaled that there was a soul around who hadn't stepped into their reincarnation circle yet. Unfortunately it wasn't the girl, it was someone else whose mention was in the scroll.

  And now Nian Yue had to make a choice. Whatever the reason, she couldn't ditch her duty after all. And so Nian Yue decided to tend to this soul first.

  Walking in the line of her core’s directions she found a village just outside the forest where the trees started to get less dense. It was an open area. Little cottages and houses lined together forming a community that rounded the surroundings, leading with a path guarded by little flowers—peaceful and beautiful. However, it was only the upper facade.

  The villages that were in touch with this forest had one thing in common, dim lights and tragedy. It was as if these villages were cursed to forever bear the mark of something that happened centuries ago. Nian Yue did not expect it but she realized the village she had come across was the Lichuan village of the infamous Shengzhou country. Most prayers heaven received come from this one nation. Devoted and dependent, this nation was among one of the most religious countries.

  “...How could I forget this one?” Nian Yue cursed herself and forced her feet to keep going. Soon her core led her towards an isolated area—the graveyard of the village. The silence was comforting until it wasn't.

  “Aiyooh! Too bad! Too bad!”

  Nian Yue’s eyes bulged hearing the voice. It seemed to belong to an old man. He was coughing and cursing and what not. Passing a few trees, Nian Yue finally found the grave and its ghost right over it. “..Greetings, respected elderly,” Nian Yue greeted the ghost.

  The older man looked up, slightly surprised, slightly offended. How dare anyone interrupt him like that. “Who are you??” The older man asked.

  “Oh.. Yes, nice start. I am the goddess of reincarnation,” Nian Yue introduced herself with graceful calm, hoping that would help with future efficiency.

  “Oh..” The old man nodded, caressing his chin. “The reincarnation goddess, huh? Gods are real after all. Why are you here?”

  Out of all possibilities, Nian Yue did not expect for her only purpose to not be recognized. Was she that isolated in mortal eyes? “...I am here to lead you to your next life–”

  Before Nian Yue could finish her sentence the old man snapped with wide eyes. “HUH!? You are here for what?? Who told you to do that!?”

  “I have..” Nian Yue glanced down at her scroll. The name that was gleaming with golden shine was Cai Ming Li. What a prosperous name. “At least five hundred prayers in your name to grant you.. safe reincarnation.”

  “That bloody son of mine probably bribed the whole village to pray on my name!” Cai Ming Li said bluntly. “I wish for his downfall! This ancestor will never rest in peace and haunt them for eternity!”

  “That's such a scary threat grandpa. You'll break your back.. please Calm down.” Nain Yue tried her best to divert the conversation.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Hush!! This grandpa is already dead and free from worrying about those things—” And suddenly there was a quick cracking sound. Cai Ming Li caressed his back. “Aiyooh my back...”

  Nian Yue stayed silent. Maybe secretly threw a look at the old man as if saying, That's what happens when you don't listen and Cai Ming Li did not appreciate it. “I had back pain before my last breath! It's obvious!” said the old man.

  “Okay–” Nian Yue forced a smile on her lips, even if it was a crooked one. “Is there any reason you don't want to step into a new life? Perhaps an unfulfilled business, grand uncle?”

  Cai Ming Li calmed down. A simple, warm smile spread on his lips. “Of course I do.” He let out a silent hum and closed his eyes as if remembering something. “I had a lovely little granddaughter. A gentle girl, very loving and caring. In my last few days she was the only one who stayed. How could I just go and leave her to that useless son of mine?”

  Nian Yue nodded with genuine understanding. “That's such a beautiful sentiment, grand uncle. But.. you can't do anything like this.”

  “Of course I can!” Cai Ming Li puffed out his chest and spoke proudly. “This grandpa has wealth! Wealth, worth this whole village and I will not rest in peace until it belongs to my granddaughter!”

  “...” Nian Yue had to massage her forehead for a moment to keep herself from crying hysterically. “And how is grand uncle planning on doing that?”

  “Of course!” Cai Ming Li picked up a stray stick. Not to talk about how the stick slipped from his grasp multiple times before he finally got a hold of it. These problems are normal with new ghosts. “Yes! So, I have buried a pot of gold in this place.” He carved out lines that were leading to a single tree and put a character denoting gold under it. “I need to lead my granddaughter to this place. And then tell her to dig out her wealth! I just need to figure out how. Since I'm unable to move from here due to this grave attachment,” He sulked.

  “Mhm..” Nain Yue pretended to be interested. “And so.. how will grand uncle overcome this hurdle?”

  “Wait till I forge control over my body and manipulate the materialism of this world,” said Cai Ming Li with determination. “Or.. someone could help me,” he said with a little intent in his tone, while side eyeing Nian Yue.

  “....” Nian Yue’s eyes grew wide when she realized, “I can not interact with mortals like that!”

  “Why?? Weren't you here to help me??” Cai Ming Li raised an eyebrow.

  “Indeed but.. celestials are not allowed to interact with mortals for such matters..” Nian Yue reasoned.

  Cai Ming Li’s left eye twitched with annoyance. “Celestials can't do this, bla! Celestials can't do that, bla! What else could you useless people do besides eating all our offerings!? We should really stop offering you even the smallest of our seeds!”

  “That's really wise grandpa. I agree,” said the young lady in purple.

  Nian Yue almost spat blood out of her mouth. She might have blinked for a split second and there was already an extra person in the frame before her eyes. The young woman she lost earlier into the forest was now sitting beside Cai Ming Li, smiling brightly as if she didn't just appear out of thin air and had now joined the conversation.

  “You! Where were you??” Nian Yue scolded, eyebrows knitting together.

  “Oh. I found a nice stone in the river. It's green, like a twin to an emerald.” The young lady showed the stone to Cai Ming Li. “Isn't it beautiful grandpa?”

  “Oh sweet heavens.” Cai Ming Li melted as soon as his gaze fell over the stone. One of his fingers tried to trace its surface with admiration. “My granddaughter would have loved it. She loves collecting beautiful stones,” he said with emotions in his trembling, happy voice.

  “Grandpa could give it to her.” The young lady handed the rock to Cai Ming Li. “I could get more anytime. There's a river nearby.”

  “There's no river nearby! Unless you are talking about one from Yincu! You wandered back that far!?” Nian Yue was stunned.

  “What importance does time and space have for a ghost or a god?” The young lady said with a tilt of her head.

  Nian Yue fell silent, out of all words all of a sudden.

  “Oh but I couldn't child, it's yours.” Cai Ming Li struggled sincerely as he tried to hand the rock back to its owner.

  “I'm truly influenced by grandpa’s earlier words of wisdom. So keep it as a gift from this humble passerby granddaughter to this wise grandpa.” The girl smiled.

  Cai Ming Li had tears in his eyes. He sucked in a long sniff and took tight hold of the rock in one hand while the other caressed the young lady’s head. A warm smile spread across his lips, as he made a face that was both happy and satisfied. “Truly the image of a sincere granddaughter. What could I call you, sweet child?”

  “Anything grandpa likes,” said the young lady.

  Cai Ming Li hummed in thought. “My dear, you seem to love wearing purple. So as your eyes. And I could hear it in your voice, very humble yet mysterious. If I were to name you, I would call you Zi Yin Huan.”

  “ahahaha.” Zi Yin responded wholeheartedly. “Zi Yin, very pretty. I love it grandpa.”

  Cai Ming Li was satisfied and proud. “Oh, did I introduce my granddaughter to you? She was just like you, calm, considerate and respectful. She must be just your age,” Cai Ming Li said happily.

  “Oh? How old is she?” Zi Yin asked.

  “She will be twenty this year, so nineteen,” Cai Ming Li said.

  Zi Yin chuckled. “Unfortunately, this Zi Yin is a century old soul grandpa.”

  Cai Ming Li was visibly surprised. His earlier awe was replaced with worry and sympathy. “Oh child. You do not look a day older than nineteen, what happened?”

  Zi Yin shook her head, as her smile widened. She did not know.

  “.....” Cai Ming Li was emotional again. Looking for a way he turned to Nian Yue who seemed to be lost in thought, staring at nothing. “Hush there! Don't forget to help this grandpa’s new granddaughter after you help me!”

  Nian Yue snapped out of her daydream and blinked. A fake smile arched on her lips—nothing but full of formality. “Sure..” She started thinking if there was still the option of moving to another soul available, so she could come back again and deal with all this mess with proper care.

  At that, Zi Yin snapped her finger and said confidently, “Grandpa, I fear she would yet again move to another soul.”

  But of course that was just a silly thought. She couldn't keep doing it after all. Besides, she could not afford to lose tracks of two already existing souls in need. And also that– “What..” Nian Yue responded suddenly, dumbstruck.

  “Again!? Has she done that before too?? That's absurd! You celestials are indeed useless! Careless! Don't you think I'll let that slide! This grandfather could shake heaven! Just what do you think of me!” Cai Ming Li shouted, arms flying in the air, outraged.

  I hope Saturn celestials are not hearing this.. Nian Yue thought helplessly.

  “Are you listening!??” Cai Ming Li yelled again.

  “Of course, Grand Uncle. My apology. I wouldn't dare think again about making good use of my time. After all, who wants to be efficient and not stuck at one task for eternity? It's so fun, they have no time for themselves,” Nian Yue said with a smile.

  “...Is this goddess being sarcastic?” Cai Ming Li said suspiciously as he looked at Zi Yin for an answer or to at least make sure that she was also seeing what he was seeing. But the girl in purple only shrugged with a smile.

  “I wouldn't dare,” Nian Yue replied just as double toned.

  “Why not think about how to reach out to Grandpa’s Granddaughter. That's the main task at hand, isn't it?” Zi Yin interrupted the banter between the two.

  “We have it figured out unless the Goddess doesn't listen,” Cai Ming Li said with a huff. His arms crossed over his chest.

  Nian Yue let out a sigh and massaged her temples. “Let me see what I can do..” she said half heartedly.

  “Celestials can disguise themselves. Can't they?” Zi Yin asked suddenly.

  Nian Yue and Cai Ming Li both blinked at the same time and then one gasped with happiness and the other's jaw dropped with disbelief. Nian Yue was going to be no more than a delivery person against heaven’s will.

  “I will assume they can. I could carve the way like a map and you could deliver it to the granddaughter,” Zi Yin said with an innocent smile.

  “That's correct! Very intelligent. What a wise thought!” Cai Ming Li raised his hand and caressed Zi Yin’s head as if she was a cat.

  Nian Yue sucked in a deep breath but agreed anyway. Not like she had any other option at her hand anyway. “Then it's clear. But we will have to wait a day. This night is almost over. After delivering the message I would have to lead you to the reincarnation circle and I can't do it during the day. I'm inefficient under sunlight.”

  Cai Ming Li and Zi Yin both stared at Nian Yue. But only Cai Ming Li deadpanned the goddess. “You are quite useless aren't you? Never seen a celestial so useless in my life.”

  “Have you seen celestials at all..?” Nian Yue mumbled to herself like a sulking child.

  And just like that the three spend the rest of night and the next half of the day doing nothing but playing random games together. Nian Yue and Zi Yin had quite the time playing tag together where it was always Nian Yue running behind Zi Yin, panicking about everything while the latter giggled as she ran. Cai Ming Li, like the responsible adult he was, looked after and watched the two children play with a satisfied and warm look on his face. What was missing for him was just a cup of tea.

  Then, the evening arrived.

  “Take a look Grandpa,” said Zi Yin as she showed the leaf to Cai Ming Li. A clean pathway and a clear carving of the forest was imprinted on the leaf, just as Cai Ming Li instructed, finishing with the last point carved in the form of a tree—under the tree was the sign of X.

  Cai Ming Li quickly scanned the leaf and with a thumbs up he gave Zi Yin a wide smile. “Perfect!”

  Zi Yin chuckled and wrapped the leaf with a banana leaf like a little envelope and handed it to Nian Yue. Nian Yue gratefully took it and nodded. “I’ll take my leave then.”

  “Be careful!” Cai Ming Li reminded.

  Nian Yue smiled through a tired sigh. “I will.”

  ____ ____ ____

  Character Names

  [蔡明礼 (Cài Míng Lǐ) — “Brilliant and courteous”]

  [紫音幻 (Zǐ Yīn Huàn) — “Illusion of Purple Sound”]

  World Build/Countries/Villages

  [礼川村 (Lǐchuān Cūn) — “River of Rites Village”]

  [圣州 (Shèng zhōu) — “Holy land”]

  To be continued:-

  —----------—