"Ummm... Goddess...?"
The soul spoke shyly as he trailed behind the Goddess of Fate and Destiny.
"Yes, Crown Prince?"
"Where am I going next?" he asked innocently. "Am I going to et him again?"
The goddess almost rolled her eyes again. Why, the Crown Prince was as love stricken as his husband. He had gone through a hundred and twenty-five deaths on the Human Realm, and all he cared about was eting his husband again.
Thankfully, in his next lifeti, he was going to be born as a human being. If everything went well and he accumulated enough karma for the next life, he could return to the Heavenly Realm after probably seventy or eighty years.
"Yes," the goddess said in reply. "If everything goes well, you will see him again."
The soul broke into a shy smile.
"I am so happy," he said. "Thank you, Goddess."
After exiting the Garden Of Passing Souls, there was a small path that led directly toward the Naihe Bridge.
The little soul’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw many more souls, taller and older than he was in appearance, who were marching steadfastly along the bridge in a single direction. The end of the bridge was obscured by this procession of spirits, but he could discern that they were all converging toward a radiant, welcoming destination, a place that exuded warmth and sacred light.
"Go on," the goddess encouraged the little soul with a little nudge. "You are going to co across an elderly in the middle of the bridge. She will give you a bowl of soup to drink. After you empty the bowl, continue walking until you reach the end of the bridge. You will then return to the Human Realm."
The little soul happily bounced toward the bridge.
"Thank you, Goddess!" he said happily as he waved goodbye at the goddess.
"I hope to see you in the Heavenly Realm as soon as possible, Crown Prince," she whispered in a low voice as she watched the little soul disappear from her sight. "Please be safe on your next journey through another reincarnation cycle."
As he journeyed onward, the little soul couldn’t resist stealing glances at the magnificent Underworld sky that stretched endlessly above him. It bore an uncanny resemblance to the star-studded night sky of the Human Realm, he mused.
Having spent countless lifetis beneath the vast expanse of celestial bodies, his mind instinctively associated the sky with the tranquility and serenity of slumber.
It felt so good that he might just fall asleep on the spot.
But no, he could not fall asleep here, he thought to himself.
He wanted to be reborn soon.
He wanted to et that lovely person again.
The little soul happily broke into a little run along the bridge until he found the elderly lady.
She was standing next to a huge cauldron of soup. With a gentle flick of her wrist, she conjured one bowl after another from thin air and filled them with soups.
The bowls were then offered to all the passing souls.
Everyone obediently drank their soup, after which the bowls simply dissipated into thin air and they continued their slow walk toward the end of the bridge.
"Granny, a bowl of soup, please," the little soul bead at the elderly. Granny ng smiled at him and passed him a bowl of the Forgetfulness Soup*. And yet, before he could empty it, he heard a voice behind him cry out.
"What is this???"
"This is the Forgetfulness Soup," Granny ng explained to the soul who received the bowl after the little soul. "You have to drink a bowl before you reincarnate in order to detach yourself from your past life completely."
Eyes bulging in fear, the soul shook his head fervently.
"No," he said. "No, I am not taking that... that bowl of soup! It is poison. I know that you are trying to poison ! Everyone is trying to get rid of !"
The little soul stood in a daze, his bowl of soup tightly clutched in his hands as he watched the scene before him.
"What is a poison?" he asked out loud innocently.
"There is no poison in the soup," Granny ng told the frantic soul again. She again extended a bowl of soup toward him. "My grandchild, be good and drink a bowl."
"No! NO!"
The frantic soul, consud by desperation, lunged at Granny ng’s outstretched hand, knocking the bowl of soup from her grasp. Before the delicate porcelain vessel could even touch the stone floor, it vanished into thin air. The frantic soul then bolted away toward the end of the bridge.
"Out of my way!" he bellowed, his eyes widening in a scary glare and his voice echoing across the bridge, sending shivers down the spine of the little soul standing in his path.
The little soul, paralyzed by terror, could only watch in mute despair as the frantic soul shoved him aside ruthlessly. The sudden force sent the little soul teetering precariously on the edge of the bridge.
"Ah... ah... AH!!!"
Unable to maintain his balance, he plunged into the dark waters beneath the bridge.
The icy depths of the soul stream engulfed him, slowing his descent as the dense liquid enveloped his small body. After what seed like an eternity, he broke through the surface, gasping for air and desperately calling out for help.
"Help! Help!!!"
His cries echoed through the vast expanse of the soul stream, but the boats carrying souls towards the gates of the Underworld remained indifferent, their occupants deaf to his pleas for assistance.
Adrift in the relentless current, the little soul was swept towards a towering waterfall at the far end of the soul stream. The thunderous roar of the cascading waters grew louder with each passing mont, filling him with a growing sense of dread. As the edge of the waterfall lood closer, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable impact.
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Author’s note :
Oh, oh, where is Little Yu heading to?
A. Back to the Heavenly Realm
B. To the Demonic Realm
C. To the Human Realm still
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