※ Chapter 3 ※

Sulli suddenly feels a pull from the world of souls. It clouds her visions, dragging her into it.

She's caught in a vision of an open field. She hears the sound of brutality, while also sensing the scent of pure love.

She sees a flower, blossoming beautifully as pure raindrops wet its petals. A butterfly drifts above it, then soars high, as if the sky is its limit.

Then she sees a faceless silhouette of a man, completely covered in the colours of the galaxy, charging at another similar silhouette, which is tinted terribly of a dirty mix of black and red.

"That means he's possessed," she says to herself.

Steel-on-steel, their swords collide. The galaxy silhouette brings his sword down and slashes through the possessed one's armor. The wound isn't deadly, but drops of blood begin to stain the sand at their feet. Then he brings the sword to the possessed one's throat, making him let go of his sword in defeat. After a moment of consideration and hesitation, the galaxy silhouette backs away.

Thunder roars in the sky. Everything goes black. A massive lightning bold strikes the flower and blood drips from its petals. The two silhouettes stand on either side of the flower.

The galaxy one transforms into one thousand butterflies that meet the thunderstorm above.

Meaning he has gained the curse of immortality and will suffer eternally.

The possessed one loses its colors and realization dawns upon him. He screams in agony and willfully transforms himself into one hundred black cardinals.

Meaning he chose the punishment of reincarnating and suffering again.

The flower turns blue as its petals wither and dry..then break apart..

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Suddenly, Sulli feels a hard jerk on the remote flesh of her body. Her head snaps forward as the soul realm disappears in a swirl of smoke around her.

"Wake up, you lazy cur!"

She's torn from the vision abruptly. The temple's senior Daoshi, Charmaine Sheh is standing over her, furious. She taste blood on her bottom lips where Charmaine has just slapped her, her cheek stinging in pain.

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Yifan's POV »☆●

"Oh no, do I have to pretend again that I don't know the hands of my sweet boy?" Mom giggles as I cover her eyes with my hands as usual. And she has no difficulty guessing it's me, also as usual.

No one in the world knows me as good as this woman does. Which is nice but also kinda sad because I've never succeeded to surprise her.

As I move my hands off her eyes, she turns around and looks up to see me. Her eyes are full of affection as she cups my face. The affection that makes me feel like the happiest guy in the world.

"l got you a little something," I smile at her and reach inside my chestplate, bringing out the freshly made wandouhuang - her favourite dessert along with some flowers.

"You brought these for me?" she squeals as she grabs them from my hands, a crumpled piece of paper falls out of my sleeves as she does so.

She looks down, "What's that?" she asks as she kneels to retrieve it.

"Oh, it's nothing," I grab it from the floor before her, "l found this sketch on the streets and kept it because, well..it's a little weird."

"Weird how?" she asks. I sigh and open it to show her. Her eyes widen in shock. Because it's a sketch of a pair of eyes that look exactly like mine.

"Okay, okay, now don't be dramatic. It's just a sketch that coincidentally matches me. It's not like your son has the most unique pair of eyes in the world and it can't match a sketch accidentally," I chuckle."

"You do, though!" she frowns, "l think I should show it to Sulli."

"Now who's that?" I ask and her eyes light up in admiration immediately. I don't like it.

"What's with that look? If you love her more than me I'm gonna kill her," I complain, crossing my arms.

She laughs, "l could never love someone more than you, my sweet sweet boy," she kisses my forehead, "Sulli is a psychic, a fortune teller."

I roll my eyes, "Oh sure, she said I see the future and you believed in her. Come on mom-"

She shakes her head, "No, no. She truly is blessed. Her visions has helped me many times," she touches my shoulder, "Come inside. I'll introduce you to her. She works as a servant in this temple."

Mom looks away with a frown, "Today, the senior Daoshi asked her to clean the shrine where by rights, she should be leading prayers."

"How did you get close to her anyways?" I ask.

"Well.."

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Flashback:

Charmaine Sheh, the senior Daoshi is assaulting a young slave named Sulli. When one of her statement strikes her like a cold bucket of water splashing over her head.

"Your people worship the stars and the sun, how many of them truly believe in self-cultivation?"

Charmaine's lips tighten to a thin line and her hand trembles, but she glances at the marble face of Hsiang-tsu and doesn't dare to strike Sulli again. She turns away in a fury.

"Dama Xiuqin? Dama Xiuqin!"

Yifan's mother, an assistant of the Hsiang-tsu temple, comes hurrying to attend Charmaine.

"Daoshi," she addresses politely with a bow.

Charmaine nods, "Watch over this little girl. She fancies herself some sort of wise woman. Don't let her overstep herself."

"Yes daoshi, " she responds.

As Charmaine's angry footsteps fade down the hall, Sulli turns her head back calmly to the statue of Hsiang-tsu and tries to connect with him again.

Dama shifts, startled as she realizes Sulli is ignoring Charmaine 's orders.

"What are you doing, young lady? Stop! Daoshi ordered you to- "

"l speak to Hsiang-tsu. I've been his acolyte since I was a child. I've heard his voice, seen his face in my visions many times. Even in my greatest sufferings, he has shown me salvation," Sulli confesses with a sigh.

"Shown you salvation? You're a psychic?" she questions in surprise.

Sulli nods, "l am. Tell me Dama, do you believe Charmaine deserves a place in this holy place?"

"She's the senior Daoshi.." she mumbles.

Sulli shakes her head, "A title given by men. Has she ever shown a true connection to the mysteries of the world?"

She shakes her head quickly and whispers, "No.."

"Has any practice they performed here helped you find salvation, helped you sync with the Dao?" Sulli asks again.

Dama shakes her head again, almost imperceptibly.

"Would you like to know what would?" Sulli offers with a faint smile.

Dama hesitates, looking around to see if anyone's watching, then turns to her, "What can you see?"

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"And since then, she has shared many visions with me," Mom finishes.

"I've a feeling that Charmaine is assaulting your Sulli again," I gesture to the inside of the temple. A loud voice of a woman is echoing through the hallways.

"It could be! Look, the guards are gathering. Let's go," mom grabs my hand and drags me inside.

I see a girl sitting by the statue of one of the eight immortals of Taoism, Hsiang-tsu. I suppose that's Sulli. The Daoshi is towering over her with an angry snarl.

"l wasn't sleeping, Charmaine. Do you not recognize the difference between a woman dreaming and one receiving visions?" Sulli wipes the blood from her lips using the fabric probably used to clean the shrine.

" Visions? You're a barbarian! Why'd you be blessed with visions? I'm the senior Daoshi. The Dao would favour me. How dare you even call me by name?" she glares at her.

"You're the senior Daoshi by the laws of men, not the universe. The universe bestows its power where it chooses it, not where China commands it. Besides, the Dao is lost in China," Sulli states calmly.

" What did you say? No country has ever been as favoured as the great China!" she growls.

They both look up as the guards at the temple doors stand aside to admit few visitors. Sulli's eyes finally land on me and mom. She nods in recognition and smiles.

"Scrub the altar, slave. And do not expect such mercy if I catch you sleeping on the job again. Don't forget you're a servant here, not a Daoshi. Stick to cleaning and don't sully Hsiang-tsu's ears with your pitiful requests," Charmaine groans.

"You know nothing about the Dao if you think Hsiang-tsu picks and chooses among requests," Sulli sighs.

"There's no savage tree spirit we serve. He's Hsiang-tsu, a disciple of Tung-pin himself!" Charmaine's hands ball into a fist.

"And you disrespect both of them by saying they care about titles!" Sulli finally raises her voice. She stands tall, knowing that Charmaine can't let such a statement go unchallenged. This girl has no fear in her eyes. Her mental state is calm as a river.

"Blasphemy!" Charmaine grabs her by the front of her dress, bunching the fabric in her fist. She turns to the silent guards flanking the temple's entrance.

"Take this slave and beat her!" she commands.

For one moment, no one moves. Sulli closes her eyes as if she can feel the Dao syncing with her. Mom eyes Charmaine with distaste, but dares to do nothing.

"Beat me if you must. I'm the one who stood up to Charmaine Sheh. I'd not see you punished on my behalf," Sulli addresses the guards, who hesitate with their heads still bowed.

"She..she really is favoured by the universe, Daoshi. Perhaps we should listen? It'll not be wise to punish her just for sharing her sync with the Dao," Mom finally speaks up.

A hint of smile plays across Sulli's mouth at Mom's support. She faces Charmaine calmly, whose face is scarlet with rage.

"Has this savage corrupted all of you?" Charmaine starts to look around and growl. Her loud voice makes mom shiver. I feel her grabbing my shoulder tightly. Guess I've to do something.

I step forward, glancing at mom. She nods reassuringly. Charmaine frowns noticing me.

"I'm a Wuluan soldier. I'll punish her if you allow," I tell Charmaine.

She smirks at my word, "Finally, someone with conscience," she turns to mom, "Dama, look, your son even understands."

"l can punish her but not in the holy space of the temple. Allow me to take her outside," I say.

"Sure, go teach her who has sync with the Dao," Charmaine laughs devilishly.

I place my axe at the small of Sulli's back, marching her outside. Mom follows us outside.

As soon as we're outside, out of sight of Charmaine, I move my axe off her neck.

Mom turns to her, "This is my son. Please know that he won't ever harm you. I've told him about you-"

She lays a hand on mom's arms, with a gentle smile, "l know."

"Warrior Antares," Sulli bows addressing me, "Blessings upon you. I've heard tales of your bravery."

"Blessings upon you too," I return the bow.

"Sulli, I need your help. I'm very concerned about my son's future due to some..incidents. Please tell me what can you see about his future?" mom pleads earnestly. Sulli looks up to meet my eyes. Suddenly a confusion and fear cast over her face, her eyes loses its spark.

" Your..life wouldn't be easy. Be careful of what you do. Destiny doesn't seem to favour you.." she says in a shaky voice.

I frown, confused of what destiny she's talking about. Suddenly, I get a flash from the past..a past I never wanna remember.

"May I ask how you got a curse from the..Diyu?" Sulli asks hesitantly, unsure if it's okay to ask. It's not. I don't wanna talk to anyone about it. Taking the hint, Sulli dismisses it.

Before I was born, the jerk my mom was married to sold his own soul to the Diyu realm..in greed. Mom was his sacrifice to the Diyu court. When I was five, the Diyu court captured us and wanted us to pledge loyalty. I refused to bow to the evil. The Diyu court was surprised by my courage. They said they received commands from the goddess to let me go for now. But I was eternally cursed to never find a soulmate. And whenever I get closer to happiness, I'll lose it.

I was a child then. I didn't understand the curse of mate. But now that I understand, I still don't care. In fact, none of the curses bother me. What bothers me is the pain my mom had to endure. If that jerk wasn't dead already, I would've killed him myself.

And as for the Diyu court, I don't know much. I just know what Tao has told me as stories in childhood. And unlike what most people think, it's not a myth. It's real.

Mom's expression gets grim and gloomy as she nods, "Thank you for the warning, Sulli."

Inside the temple, we hear the muffled sound of Charmaine yelling. Mom flinches.

Sulli sighs, "She'll know..if I go back inside without a mark on me, she'll know your son disobeyed her."

I roll my eyes, "And you think she scares me?"

Sulli shakes her head, "Certainly not. But I won't expose you to her wrath nonetheless."

I cross my arms, "And I won't harm you if my mom doesn't want you to get harmed. What are you gonna do?"

Sulli casts an eye around, then runs a finger around the base of a torch sconce, collecting the ash and soot. She rubs the ash on her cheek, carefully blending it to look like a fresh bruise.

"What are you doing?" mom asks.

"She'll be gratified to hear me cry in pain. It'll help her to see these as bruises, not as a disguise," she musses her hair and dress carefully, arranging everything to look as if she has been beaten.

"That's smart," I admit as we walk back inside. When we return, Charmaine has already left.

"Are you all right?" A woman steps forward and holds Sulli, shooting angry glance at me.

"Be calm. These mark on my face are but ash," Sulli states. She carefully wipes the soot from her skin and smiles at me, "I'm fine. Thanks to the courage of Dama Xiuqin's brave son."

I sigh, "Alright, alright, I'm no one special. I just did what my mom wanted me to do. Don't draw attention at me."

Another woman steps forward, "We all know you sync with the Dao. Tell us, please..tell us what you envision!"

The small crowd gathers around her as she takes up a position in front of the statue of Hsiang-tsu. Mom joins the crowd. I roll my eyes and head outside, biding goodbye to mom. It's been a long and exhausting day. I need to go rest.

To Be Continued »☆●