Little Jin

His face wet with tears, he sniffled, trying to bring back his bearings.

He couldn't believe what his master had endured after his death.

'She said her family was exterminated? If only I was with her at that time, I could have defended them.'

"Jia, I should have been with you at that time." He whimpered.

Song Jia sighed. "What could you have done? The person that I was in that world didn't even find out about Crystal until my soul merged with another piece and I was brought back here."

"So you mean, you were all alone there?!" He dug his hooves on the ground in frustration.

"Calm yourself. What's done is done. There's nothing we could do as it happened literally worlds away from us."

"Still.. If only I was with you.."

She sighed once again. "I was an infant when that happened, and missing pieces of my soul. You wouldn't have been awake there as well as I had no recollection about my life here."

"Anyway, how did you know the master is back?"

"I didn't know until I met her outside the inn. When I heard that the eldest granddaughter of Song Clan had died, I rushed back here. I have been keeping tabs on the Song Clan after Jia's death. I heard that they have named one of their descendants, Song Jia, after our own Jia." Then he turned to Song Jia. "Whenever I visited your grave, I would also check up on her, thinking that she should live up to the name. Although she didn't have any significant achievements, at least she was not a bad seed. But when I heard of her death, I had to see it for myself."

"I heard about you appearing in the area from the people at the inn. You know, they wanted to cook a meal out of you?!" Song Jia folded her arms.

"Hmp. They could only dream! Because of those rascals, I kept being delayed! I could only hide in the dark alleys. I planned to enter the Song Clan's residence tonight. But I saw you earlier! I was shocked to see Jia's young self walking down the streets. So I followed and hid, until I saw you now who had the same aura as the one from the streets. I knew you had that illusion ring, as you used that back then. But I was unclear as to which is real and which is the illusion with my current state."

"I see. So that's why you were outside just now. But how did you know it's me all along?"

"It's your aura. Although faint, it was similar to how you were before."

"Why did you bite me then?"

"Of course it's to make you remember me. When you acted like you genuinely don't remember me, and I was already sure that it must be you from your similar aura, there was only one possible reason! That you were sealed inside!"

Song Jia nodded in understanding. "Well, now we three are back together like before."

She felt her power grow a hundred-fold the moment the seal was broken and her memories of her previous life rushed in.

From his birth in this world, his first childhood memory, their first meeting, up until his death, he recalled every bit of it.

At this thought, he became sombre.

With the memories came all the emotions he had felt at that time.

"Jin.." She whispered.

The golden qilin whipped his head to look at her. Now that the seal is broken, their connection became clear and strong once again. He felt how she's feeling at the moment.

"Yes?"

"Since you've been keeping tabs on the Song Clan after that time, what about the others? Do you have news about them?"

How she wished that there were survivors at that time.

"That time at the battlefield, we were on the losing end as you have already exhausted all of your strength. If not for your quick thinking back then and sent word to the men stationed on the east from the battlefield, we wouldn't have backup at that time. Just before they arrived, you have already used every bit of power to protect the rest. Thankfully, their arrival brought us the win. However, even if we were able to take you away from the battle, your wounds were too severe….Anyway, since then..I would hear bits and pieces of news about some of them. Your Vice general back then has already retired and has been in closed cultivation for a while now."

Song Jia remained silent as she listened to him, absorbing all of the information.

"I see. It's good that there were survivors.."

"They'll be overjoyed to know you've come back, Jia!"

"Mmm. Stay here for now. We can't let anyone find out about me being back or about the eldest granddaughter of the Song Clan being still alive."

"What? What do you mean? Won't they be happy if they know you're alive?"

"Not all of them will feel that way. I died after sustaining heavy injuries from an ambush. Even my father was unconscious for weeks but now he's okay.."

"Your father…."

"She's talking about Song Xia.." Crystal threw the information at Little Jin.

"Oh. I thought you were talking about the Song Clan's ancestors…wait.. What? You were ambushed?!!!" Little Jin gnashed his teeth and stomped his hoof on the ground.

'Heavens! Why have you let my master suffer?! Not once, not twice..but three times! This is injustice!'

Just then they all felt the fluctuations in the weather outside of the space.

'Now you're mad! Don't I have the right to feel for my master?!'

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped outside.

Song Jia patted his head. "Whatever happened may have been tragic. But from what happened, pieces of me have found each other. And also, we now know that there's someone with ill intentions."

Little Jin finally calmed down. 'Yes, at least now my master is back….Fine! You probably have planned for her to calm back all along. Tsk.. But I hope you won't give her a hard time anymore..'

Thunder clapped once outside before it dispersed.

"Go inside already.. The mansion is big.. You can pick out a room you like."

"Oh! Umm.. by the way.. Do you have anything for me to eat? I have been hiding since those rascals kept chasing me.."

"Yeah.. I'll cook you some food.. You've done well all this time, Jin." She patted his head one more time and strode inside the mansion and went directly to the kitchen.

Little Jin was still dumbfounded outside of the mansion. "Did she just say she'll cook?"

"Yup! And she's a great cook!" Crystal beamed at him.

"She didn't know how to cook before…I'm sure the Song Clan didn't let her cook either.. So…"

"Yup.. She learned it back from the other world. She also knows a lot of things.. You'd be surprised!"

"I am already.."

"Hehe.. come on.. Let's watch her cook."

"Alright!" He galloped his way inside, following Crystal.

He couldn't help but look around with curiosity, mesmerized by every furniture and structure there was. Everything was so strange.