Rebirth

"Ma, ma! Another one's coming through!"

"Alright, I'm going now."

An old woman pushed open a small gate, holding a bowl of steaming soup in one hand and a pair of large scissors in the other. Biting the scissors by the handle to free her hand, she shut the gate before ringing the bell on the side.

"Ma, ma! I told you that you shouldn't bite the scissors every time you ring the bell! You're supposed to cut the fate strands of leaving souls with them, so don't dirty them!"

A young voice from inside the cabin rang out once more, this time with an annoyed tone. The old woman looked back with a smile, "Ahh, look, it doesn't matter much, does it? They'll forget everything after drinking my soup anyways."

"Ma, ma! It's common curtsy. I learnt this in school!"

With a shake of her head, the woman stepped down to the flowing river, approaching a still soul that hovered inches above the beautiful, clear water.

Almost like reading a book, the woman reached out towards the soul, staring deep into every part of it, reciting as she went.

"Lin Yu, died at 17, lived his life as a slave, gave his life for the freedoms of others. Quite the commendable fellow we have here, don't we?"

"Has never trained in his life, yet could wield magic much above his own power. Something special indeed."

Instinctively, the woman reached for the scissors that she had placed on the floor before inspecting the soul, moving it towards the long red strands that streamed from the soul.

"Ma, ma! You have to check them for tags first. I learnt this at school!"

This time, a young boy bounded out of the house, leaping over the gate before staring at his mother in disapproval, "The teacher told us that you have to stick closely to the procedure of inspecting and passing souls onto their next life, otherwise there could be big consequences if something goes wrong."

With that, the child leant closer to the soul, looking at many different spots of the soul before reaching out and grabbing one of the streaming strands, "Ma, ma! Look! This is a note from the Adjudicator. You have to read this!"

The woman's eyes narrowed in surprise, "The Adjudicator? I guess I must."

Tearing off the ribbon from the soul, the woman stretch it out, holding down both sides so that it did not retract back, and began reading through the message.

[ To the 185th Meng Po, the Jade Investigator has instructed for this soul's memories to be erased, however his fate strands must remain. Sincerely, the Adjudicator ]

"Unusual, unusual, unusual... It's been eras since the Adjudicator last made such a request, and it was off the Jade Investigator as well. How curious..." the woman muttered.

"Ma, ma! I was useful, right? I warned you just in time!" the boy jumped and yelped for recognition.

The 185th Meng Po squatted down, patting the child's head, "Yes, you did well. Now go back to the house and finish your homework from The Heaven Blessing School, alright?"

The boy smiled at the praise before leaping back over the gate and rushing into the house, now with an energetic spring in his step. Sighing slightly, the Meng Po read the message once more before throwing it into the air, dispersing it into small particles, each drifting into the high heavens to be recycled.

Throughout her entire lifetime, she had seen the name 'Lin Yu' all too many times, and some had even more extreme backstories than this one, and yet he was receiving such special treatment that his fate strands, the most important part of a soul that were nearly always cut, was allowed to remain. While she did not have the authority to find out, it was truly intriguing to what the Jade Investigator had seen in this soul to create such special circumstances.

Shrugging away the thought, the woman grabbed the bowl of steaming soup before throwing the contents at the soul, every drop soaking deep into the transparent being, erasing the memories from its previous life and replacing it with a clean slate. With a ring of the bell, the soul sank back into the river before floating away, drifting towards the horizon.

"Ma, ma! Another one's coming through!"

The woman sighed as she faced the endless skies above her.

"The heavens, they are truly overworking this old one!"

* * *

The smell of delicious congee, laced with generous amounts of natural honey and several pieces of fresh beef wandered throughout the small cottage, making its way towards the nose of a hungry, but sleeping boy.

The boy's nostrils twitched twice before his eyes sprung open, a special excitement within them. Leaping out of bed and throwing on some clothes, the boy rushed towards the kitchen before being abruptly pushed out by a pair of caring hands.

"Lin Yu, you have to go wash your hands and face before you eat. If you don't, there won't be any girls that like you anymore."

Lin Yu took a good whiff of the aroma once more before temporarily retreating to the water bucket at the back of the house, rubbing his hands and cleaning his face as quickly as possible.

Still dripping wet with water, Lin Yu hurried back into the room in which they ate, sitting himself down by the table and grabbing two of the shaped bamboo sticks that would serve as chopsticks.

His mother brought a steaming bowl of fresh congee, placing it before Lin Yu with a wide smile, "Mum made you your favourite meal today. You can think of it as a good luck charm to your examination."

Lin Yu nodded quickly, too busy stuffing his mouth full of the aromatic meal, gulping down the congee without any hesitation. While this meal was filling and delicious, it wasn't something that could be made everyday, considering their family's conditions. It was already a miracle to make a little profit every harvest, so having this meal was like rain during a drought.

Within minutes, Lin Yu had finished the meal, rubbing his stomach in satisfaction, "Thanks mum! It was really good!"

His mother smiled warmly before turning her attention towards the sharp knocks on the door. Opening the door, she was met with the figure of a tall man in casual clothing, a humorous atmosphere radiating from him.

"Miss Lin Ya, I've come to pick up your son for the examination," the man paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm glad to see that you're going well."

Lin Ya bowed lightly before answering, "Thank you for your concerns, Village Head Jiang."

Gesturing for Lin Yu to come over, Lin Ya smiled at the village head, "This is my son, Lin Yu."

Village Head Jiang scratched his chin with a grin, "Hey, boyo. Do you have anything to take with you?"

Lin Yu wiped his mouth while shaking his head. He had seen this man many times in the fields, often helping out other farmers and aiding those in need. He was a kind man that cared deeply for his subjects and made use of his talent in cultivation to aid others in need. People used to speculate his achievements if Lin Jiang had not stayed behind to take care of the villagers, and no matter who, the speculations would be great, exceeding any other man by far.

Lin Jiang chuckled heartily before gesturing to the carriage outside the house, "Then I'll take him now, Miss Lin Ya."

Lin Ya nodded before handing her child a small paper charm, gripping his warm hands tight within her own, "Lin Yu, make sure you don't cause trouble for the Village Head, and good luck on your examination."

Lin Yu struck a heroic pose, "Don't worry mum! I got this!"

With that, Lin Yu boarded the carriage outside, waving goodbye to his mother one last time. Lin Jiang spoke a few more reassuring words the Lin Ya before boarding the carriage as well. Lin Ya watched sadly, but proudly as her child embarked on his first trip outside of the village, towards the largest school selection examinations on the continent held only once each year.

Tears sprung to Lin Ya's eyes, however she wiped the away quickly, "Kids grow up fast, don't they."

* * *

"Ahem, ahem. Uh, you boys are all fourteen this year, so you've been selected by the village to participate in the Annual Continental Examination, or otherwise known as ACE. As you've probably already figured out, there will be schools that will choose competitors based on their performance in the examinations, and your job will be to please the schools enough to choose you."

The interior of the carriage was quite large, fitting almost a dozen children and the Village Head, Lin Jiang. Although the village was quite poor and could only just meet its ends without a bumper harvest, at least Lin Jiang could afford something suitable for the journey to the examination stadium. Otherwise, who knew how much face he would lose by driving a sub-par carriage to the grand event.

Being mostly obedient, the children stayed quiet as Lin Jiang explained the details of the competition.

"The most important thing for you to remember is that your current strength does not matter much. In fact, when I was your age, I had terrible strength, weaker than any of you children here, however since my talent was good, I was still accepted."

One of the children raised their hand, "How did they know your talent was good if you didn't even have any raw strength? Don't they measure it by how much you've progressed at this age?"

Lin Jiang shook his head lightly, "Of course not. There is a special stone that is lent to the schools each year by the stadium owners, and it tests one's talent. As long as one is younger than the age of fifteen and does not exceed the specific cultivation realm, it will determine the raw talent of a competitor and this will help the schools determine which child to choose. Don't worry though, I can tell you that everyone here will have decent talents. Although I'm unable to ascertain what level of talent you children have, it will definitely be enough, even if the schools do not select you."

Lin Yu listened carefully to the village head. Ever since his father had told him about the pleasure of becoming stronger and achieving more in the world, he had wanted to cultivate. Although he had never personally received formal training, he would invent his own methods to increase his physical capabilities, running quickly across fields, weaving in and out of wheat farms without getting lost, swinging wooden sticks like they were swords, and that was only the beginning.

Just as Lin Jiang was about to continue his explanation, a clatter of hoofs and the drawing of swords sounded from outside the carriage. Lin Jiang placed his hand upon his face as if he was remembering something disappointing before muttering under his breath, "Why do they insist on coming every year?"