Show some respect!

The same darkness and the same stillness– nothing seemed to have changed, down to the point of him lacking his physical body. No, this time one thing was different. Yang Jingshen didn't feel as terrified as before, or he at least had an inkling of what he was facing.

"You're quite an interesting human– especially for one with a soul damaged to your extent." It was the same voice as well, deep with a metallic timbre and decidedly male.

"Is it that damaged?"

"Very… And, don't just always call me the 'voice'. I'm not just any voice. I'm a soul guardian." (╯^╰)

If he was in his body, Yang Jingshen would've rolled his eyes. "Whatever! But, do you expect me to always call you soul guardian th– WAITWAITwait! I can speak? How am I speaking?"

This time the voice– errr, the soul guardian heaved a long heavy sigh, but when it spoke, it was very– like very very patient, almost as if it was talking to a young child, or better yet, a retard. "You might have already forgotten, but you talked the last time you were here too."

"I- I did?" When was that? Why couldn't he remember?

"It was to the very end. When you imagined yourself as some demon overlord– whatever that is. I don't know if you recall, but you even thanked me for imparting a cultivation technique and promised to keep some words of profound dao in your heart." →_→

"..." Yang Jingshen didn't have to see anything to know that this damned soul guardian– or whatever the thing that called itself a soul guardian was laughing at him. But, hearing this answer, he also felt speechless– really, even he didn't know he had such a deep talent in imagination.

Whatevs! He won't bother about this. Was he the type of person who'd easily get embarrassed over this type of thing? Also, why was he conversing so calmly and cooly with this unknown creature? Shouldn't he be, you know– like extremely frightened or at least weary to a certain extent?

"I have used my power to reduce the burden on your weak soul. That's why you're this calm. If I removed this support, you'll quickly fall into madness like before."

Oh, so no wonder.

Hmmmmmmmmm? Now, wait a minute! Did this thing just…

"Looked inside my head?" O^O

"..."

"... You keep saying that my soul is weak and damaged. It must have a reason, right? And you also said you supported me with your soul power so I don't go crazy. But, why didn't you do it last time, eh?"

"Ah!" This time, the soul guardian took some time to answer him. "I have to admit– last time was mainly my fault. In my haste to establish contact with you, I momentarily forget about your weakened state. Also…"

Yang Jingshen quietly listened to the explanation and finally heaved a sigh. This whole business was way weirder and more complicated than he thought it to be.

According to what this soul guardian told him, when he died in that accident back in his original world, his soul suffered a massive shock and was damaged. This was apparently a mistake on the part of the soul guardians, and this particular one who took charge of him decided to put him into the body of Feng Xi to recuperate.

"Can you tell me why you selected this person? She's female you know?"

"You read this book a few days before your accident. So, it was easy to make a special connection between this world and you."

"Still doesn't explain why it had to be her?" ^_^

"... it was because your auras at the moment of death were matching. So you could easily mend your soul if you reside in her body."

Hearing this, Yang Jingshen felt skeptical. But then, how could he refute whatever this creature said or decide whether it was scamming him or not? For fuck's sake, he didn't even know what these auras and souls and transmigration and damaged souls really mean, what they entail, or how they even happen in the first place ne.

All he know about these terms were some religious or spiritual or fantasy or theological concepts created by various people in his original world. In the end, Yang Jingshen had no choice but to grudgingly take whatever was said by this soul guardian thing as the truth.

"... Stop calling me some soul guardian thing. I'm more powerful than you can ever imagine."

"So?" Your point is? ^_^

"... Show some respect." This time it sounded disgruntled.

"If I don't show you respect, what are you gonna do? Destroy the rest of my soul?"

"..." In front of this silence, Yang Jingshen laughed. "Then I suppose– nothing?" ^.^

"..."

"I'm correct, right? You probably can't do anything to me, what with my being your charge and all. Also, stop peeking inside my head. Maybe then I'd stop calling you a 'thing'."(╯^╰)

"... I can't help it. This is your heart lake. And you don't have enough power to block others from hearing your thoughts and feeling your emotions."

'Fine.' Yang Jingshen fumed in silence. He'd also accept this as well. Apparently, he doesn't even have control over his own 'heart lake', whatever it was. But then…

"You're saying I can get well in this body. But, it can't be that easy right? After all, you're here and there is this panel thing as well… It can't be just there for kicks and giggles ne?" Hearing no reply from the other party, Yang Jingshen pressed on with his inquiry. "So, what's the catch?"

And, after a slight hesitation, the soul guardian finally explained, but the more he listened the more disbelief he felt until he fell into total speechlessness. It was after a lengthy silence that Yang Jingshen could finally bring himself to speak with quite some difficulty. "Can't I just go back?" T▽T

"I told you– you're already dead in your original world." To its credit, the soul guardian had the decency to sound embarrassed.

"Then can't just you finish me here? Kill me or destroy my soul or whatever?"

Soul guardian: "..." Why is the thinking pattern of this human so weird? Aren't they all supposed to be like… very greedy for life and afraid of death?

The reason for Yang Jingshen's pessimism was none other than the information he learned from the soul guardian just now. According to it, there was really a catch. Not something minor, but it was life-threatening. No– it was soul-threatening. Literally!

The story goes like this– Feng Xi died with a lot of grievances and her soul was full of negativities as a result. In the words of the guardian, she couldn't enter reincarnation under this condition, and couldn't extricate herself from her attachment to the world because of the unfulfilled desires in her heart and her irrevocable hatred.

In other words, she wanted revenge. And, unfortunately for him, Yang Jingshen had unwittingly become the sacrificial lamb who'd been selected to dedicate his life and energy to fulfill her dreams and enact revenge for her sake.

Let's just for a moment forget that he had never been anyone's champion -fudge that! He had always only thought for his sake, and let's face reality… if he didn't, then who would?'- but the thing was that he didn't even ask to get involved in this whole mess in the first place.

And the funniest point was that, if he didn't fulfill these conditions, his soul would face the threat of being obliterated. Handy, right? He looks like the perfect poor little lamb, waiting to be slaughtered, its neck washed and all.

"You people went ahead and put me in this situation without even asking my opinion. Like– shouldn't you first ask if I agree before roping me in? Isn't this what usually happens in system nov- urk!" Yang Jingshen suddenly groaned as a terrifying pressure descended on him, followed by an indescribable pain.

"You might have forgotten what I told the last time you were here, so listened well." Unlike how it had been until now, the soul guardian didn't sound as amicable as before. Instead, it sounded cold and downright horrifying. "I-AM-NOT-A-SYSTEM. You'd do well to remember that!"

Yang Jingshen couldn't speak through the soul-tearing pain as he finally got an inkling as to what the other meant earlier when it said that it was powerful. 'But, what got its panties in such a bunch?"

And just like that, the pressure disappeared and so did the pain as the other sighed and muttered a "You're impossible."

"You– what made you so angry? I'm the one who should be angry here. And I was just making an analogy! An analo–" Eeeeh? Now, wait a minute! Why did he feel like he experienced this pain once before? When was it?

"It- it was the last time you were here. You- you don't remember?" The soul guardian stammered and Yang Jingshen thought that it sounded nervous. Nervous? But before he could ponder more on this, it continued to speak hastily. "Listen, it was when you spoke that nonsense that time. Can't you remember?"

Thinking back, he can really remember something like that– very vaguely. Like how he thought he was the demon lord and he was killed and he seemed to have felt this kind of pain at that time? "But, why did I feel pain when talking then and don't feel anything now?"

"Because I'm now supporting you with more of my soul power. No– don't interrupt. When we first rescued you, your soul was fractured and in pieces. I initially used a bit of my own soul power to hold you together before putting you in Feng Xi's body. Honestly, there was no other choice."

No other choice? Yang Jingshen didn't feel so! "Then you should have just obliterated me. Then everything would be over without any trouble."

Silence descended once more and the guardian didn't answer this time. Yang Jingshen was wondering if it had grown tired of bantering with him and was beginning to worry if it would attack him like before when it started to speak again, an unprecedented seriousness in its voice.

"Obilerate your soul? Do you think it's that easy? Do you even understand what it means?"

#####

A/N:

Heya guys, hope you all are enjoying my work, just as much as I do. Today, I wanted to leave this little note thanking all of you lovely peeps who gave me power stone votes, liked my review, and even left a cute review on the front page. ≧⧢≦

Seeing ya all supporting me in these ways -and I didn't just mean ps votes, likes, and reviews, but also about you guys adding my book to your library and taking your time to actually read it as well- I feel even more motivated to continue doing my best in this.

Sooooo.... just wanted to say, thank you! *heart heart*