Spirit Cultivation

As soon as Liu Xuefeng vanished into the portal, everything in the Middle Heaven returned to normal. Both of the men in white robes picked up where they had left off before he came – their monotonous task of dividing the souls that came into groups. 

It wasn't a dull place per se. If a normal person wandered into this place in the middle of nowhere above the sky, he would find the suspended roads the colour of the sunset outside amazing, as well as the blue and yellow hue of this place beyond the white gates. 

After the boy with the fate law disappeared, everything returned to normal but it hadn't been long since they returned to their task when the old man's expression changed yet again. Why? 

A girl – or rather the tears that flowed from her expressionless face caught his attention. It was almost her turn to drink the soup to erase her memories when blue light glinted from the bowl reflecting the tears on her face.

It happened in an instant – too brief of a moment that if he wasn't looking, he'd have missed it entirely. But he was, and the picture that she made gave him pause. 

Tears were a normal phenomenon on earth, but it was something unheard of in this realm. When a person died, his soul travelled into this place, the Middle Heaven to be judged. However, by the time the soul arrived, he'd have already lost his options to do anything else in his will but to fall in line and await his fate. 

Although not entirely without all his self-awareness, the soul was still not strong enough to move. The force in the Middle Heaven had everything in control and was impossible to defy by the souls that came in this place so that everything proceeded smoothly. 

This was the reason why each and every soul behaved the same. They were dull, expressionless and lacked any reaction their former human selves could muster. 

Liu Xuefeng was an exception, of course. The boy earlier had the help of the fate law as well as his naturally strong soul, so he was able to move freely to some extent with all his bearings intact. After him, the old man thought that it would take another long time before he could witness someone like him again. 

He was wrong. 

Although not as amazing as the boy with the fate law, this girl he was looking at was also a special being in her own way. 

"This young girl has a strong will," the old man thought, just as an idea came to him.

He flicked his hand in a single motion and a white ball of light appeared and left his fingertip. It flew clumsily at first, but quickly took the course the old man intended and sank in the girl's forehead. 

Slowly, the girl's expressionless mask broke like ice as her face began to stretch into a normal human's emotions. The ashen complexion bloomed into colour as she regained the freedom to express herself. At this moment in time, the silent tears she had shed evolved into broken sobs as she was finally able to cry properly.  

She was now a stark contrast to the dull, expressionless souls surrounding her. She had become… human.

"Don't cry, girl. It will be over soon," the old man assured her kindly as he extended his hand to pat her head, only to suddenly freeze, his face bore a look of surprise. 

"What? Did something happen?" The middle-aged man noticed the change in the older man and asked curiously.

The old man ignored him as he shifted to create a hologram in the air with another flick of his hand. It was Liu Xuefeng who left some time ago. 

"Young girl, do you know him?" the old man asked her and she lifted her chin to look up only to stop in stunned silence. 

"Feng'er!" she yelled with a mix of happiness and confusion on her pretty face.

It was as if she couldn't believe her eyes but was glad nonetheless.

"Did he also come here? Can you tell me where he is now?" She wiped her tears as she asked these questions in rapid-fire sequence. 

It was obvious that she would really, really like to know where the boy was. This made both men in white robes exchange looks for the second time that day. 

"No! It's against the rules." 

It was the middle-aged man who answered first, but the older man gave him a nudge as he snickered. 

"If you don't tell anyone, no one will know," he said jokingly as he gave the other one a side-eye as if daring him to contradict what he just said.

The middle-aged man seemed to swallow hard, not wanting to be reprimanded for being so uptight, but he couldn't agree so easily. 

"Well, that's true, but what if the Father does an inspection..." His voice trailed off as worry filled his face. 

"I will take responsibility if anything happens," the old man countered, his voice dripping with confidence that assured his partner. 

"O-okay then..." The middle-aged man finally had no option but to agree. If his senior would bear the consequence then he was fine with it. 

"Listen, girl: your friend already reincarnated. We can help you get into the same world as him, but it will depend on fate if you can meet him again," the old man told the confused young woman. 

"Normally only those chosen by fate laws can have a wish, but we can make an exception this time. Your friend's a fate law holder, but his only wish was to keep his memories," the old man explained slowly. "But as it's a rather small wish compared to what he could have asked to have, we can extend the privilege for a wish to a second person: You." 

Hearing this, the girl's sob had ceased. She had listened attentively, and hope was evident on her face.  

"So… I can still meet him?" 

The old man let on an understanding look as he nodded. "It will be hard but there is hope. He doesn't know that you will be there as well, though, so you will have to find him yourself." 

The old man patted her on the head, encouraging her. 

"Thank you, sir!" She bowed sincerely as if the coming hardships didn't faze her at all. 

"There's no need to thank me," the old man shook his head before giving her a warning. "I still need to tell you something else, though. If you reincarnate with your memories intact, you will have to start your life there as a teen and not as an infant. A baby's brain is not big enough for this much information. Are you okay with that?" 

"As long as I can meet him again, I don't care about anything else." She had on a determined look on her face, and the men could only nod in approval. 

"All right – one more thing: When people reincarnate, their souls will choose a body that is physically close to that of their previous ones. But there might be some exceptions. Your friend may look different now if his soul failed to find anything adequate." 

The old man was kind enough to let her know all these information so she could prepare herself of what was to come after going to that other world. 

"It's okay. I don't mind." The girl nodded, undeterred. 

"Then that's all. You can go through the portal now." The old man smiled kindly, pointing at the portal behind them. 

"Yes!" The young girl didn't hesitate. She ran towards it and jumped in, disappearing soon after. 

As soon as she's gone, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask. "Why are you helping her so much?" 

The old man didn't reply, however. Although in his mind, he marveled at the thought that the girl still chose to follow the boy in death even after he sacrificed himself to save her. "Because love is unfathomable," he answered enigmatically.

If Liu Xuefeng were present during this scene, he would have been shocked because the young girl who just entered the portal was none other than Xiao Tianshi. After he pushed her out of danger, she realized how much she cared about him. 

People truly only realize the importance of someone when they're gone.

.....

After passing through the portal, only a second had passed. When Liu Xuefeng opened his eyes, he could already see that he was in a different place. 

Or rather a different world. 

The difference between Earth and this new world was just very obvious. The things, the atmosphere – they were all strange.

 "Urgh…" he grunted as he tried to move, but taking control of his new body was not easy. 

There was an invisible thing restricting his movement at first as if his brain and body were not yet in sync. He tried to wiggle and lift his limbs, familiarizing himself with his new physique. It took a while, but soon he could finally move comfortably without the awkwardness he had at the beginning. There was no longer any difference from how he felt on Earth. 

He could move smoothly, but just to be sure, he played with his fingers trying to feel if there was anything wrong. After confirming that everything was alright, he started checking out his surroundings. 

He lay on a king-sized bed in the middle of a spacious room. It was modestly furnished, having only a bed and a wardrobe with a big mirror on its doors. But everything was neat and had some luxurious elements like the golden trimmings on his pillows and curtains. 

He might not be from a well-off family in his previous life, but he could recognize high-quality things, and the furniture and bedding in this room were such fine quality materials and craftsmanship. 

Whoa… I guess I'm a rich man's son now... 

The joke brought a smile to his lips as he continued to study his surroundings. He then noticed that he was naked from the waist up and had a bandage across his chest. He was lying under a purple-gold quilt, so he did not see it at first.

"What's this?" 

Xuefeng wondered where exactly and to what extent he was injured as he ran his hand across his chest and the rest of his upper torso, but didn't feel anything. 

Although he didn't, the bloody dressings told him that the injury was severe enough to kill someone. 

"Did he die because of this?" Xuefeng wondered if the previous owner met his end when he got this huge wound.

However, since he didn't feel any pain, he lifted his hand to undo his bandages. He was confused as he didn't find anything. The injury was gone. He noted however that he was somewhat pale, and this new body was thin with little to no muscles. 

He wondered if this body was automatically or magically healed as soon as he took over. He couldn't think of any other explanation otherwise. 

Sitting down on the bed and Xuefeng glanced at the mirror that was hanging on his wardrobe. 

He looked almost exactly like he did in his past life except for his hair which was now blond. He had small crystal blue eyes that were spread evenly apart with thin eyebrows that seemed to curve as a natural extension of his nose. He had a mouth that closed in a thin straight line. 

Yes, his incarnation was paler than it was before but overall he looked somewhat similar. The only complaint he had was that this body was too skinny for his taste, but he could work on that easily later on. 

"Alright…" 

He was already warming up to his new self when an image of the family he left behind in the other world flashed in his mind and he paused, his chest constricting as he saw their faces. 

His mother and father worked hard so he could go to school without worry. He could remember their tired faces when they came back from work, but also the assuring smiles they wore all the time towards their son so he could focus on studying. 

Those smiles motivated him to work hard so he could take care of them in the future. 

"I'm sorry I can't be with you anymore…" he apologized with a small prayer that they could somehow understand and forgive him for suddenly dying. 

He knew that he would miss them dearly. He left much too soon. But then again, even if he was given a chance to relive that moment on the cliff, he would never change a thing. He would still do the same. 

He could escape from the cliff at the last second if he tried but then, Xiao Tianshi would die. He could not let that happen, so he did not regret his choice. 

Tianshi… 

He wondered how she's doing right now. He hoped she wouldn't be so traumatized about what happened. 

He was glad that he was lucky enough to be given a chance to keep his memories. He engraved her features into his heart, and he would never forget: Her delicate hands and hourglass figure, her sweet cherry lips, rosy skin and a pair of almond eyes that looked perfect with her straight coral-black hair. 

"Okay Xuefeng, take a hold of yourself. You need to move on. Your family is safe, but you are in a different world, alone. You need to plan what to do from now on." 

He gave himself a slap on the face to wake up and focus. In difficult times, it was his habit to give himself a pep talk. However, as soon as his palms hit his face, he felt a sharp pain in his head. 

A lot of information and emotions suddenly flooded his mind. It lasted for about ten minutes until the pain finally began to ease. However, the experience made him paralyzed due to the overwhelming information and feelings that came to him like huge waves. 

There was love, regrets, and unwillingness to die that settled in his heart – but they were not his own feelings. Xuefeng realized that they all belonged to the previous owner of the body. 

"Did you also die to protect a loved one?" 

As soon as the question left his lips, memories came to him. These memories were the freshest and were the first things he saw in his mind. 

The boy, the owner of the body was injured in a fight against his cousin. He was provoked into a brawl when the other insulted the female servant whom he was secretly in love with. But because of his status, he could not be with her. 

Sad.

An ironic laugh escaped his lips as he realized the similarity of his body's owner to his situation back on Earth. The only difference was that his and Tianshi's positions were reversed: She was the princess, and he was the pauper.

With a sigh, Xuefeng started segregating all the information he had in his mind to learn more about this world. If he was going to live here from now on, all the boy's memories that were given to him were vital. 

After a moment, he finally got some vague ideas about this place.