“Your First Reincarnation will be in 10 days time.”
The past 10 days had been a chaotic 10 days for Tian. Because of her personality, Tian was actually quite well-liked by the other Celestial Gods. So when they heard that their Celestial Princess was going to go on her First Reincarnation soon, messages for Tian poured in. At the same time, Tian had to tie up the loose ends on everything she was working on and finish up all she had to do before leaving in those short 10 days. It was crazy and it went by in a flash.
The night before the big day, Tian laid in bed and thought about how she was going to have to leave behind everything for a long long time. Time in the Celestial Realm worked the same as in the Human Realm. There were no differences in time speed amongst all the realms.
Lying there, she could already feel herself missing her family and friends. And she hasn’t even left yet.
She sat up and jumped off her bed. She made her way to her brother’s bedroom and peeked in. From the way the lights were still on, it looks like he was still awake.
“Brother? Are you still awake? May I enter?”
“Tian-er? Come in, come in. My little sister’s always welcome.” Yun saw his sister’s head peeking around the door and invited her in. She was the reason he was still awake after all. He doted on his sister a lot and even though he knew that someday she would have to leave, that someday this time would come, he was still unable to bear the thought of his baby sister being all alone down in the Human Realm.
“Shall we sleep in our parents’ room tonight? Like what we used to do when we’re young. Remember how we used to all sleep in the same room together, and would build makeshift tents out of the blankets and pretend we’re camping outside.”
With a wistful look, Tian thought back to when they were both little and the imaginary adventures their younger selves could come up with. They had gone on so many adventures, sailing the seven seas, defeating evil Gods, discovering different worlds and exploring various Realms. All while in the comforts of their bedroom. She wondered when was it that they stopped imagining, stopped adventuring. When had they grown up? She had not given these much thought before. It was only because she knew she was going to forget them, albeit temporarily until she came back to the Celestial Realm, that she started to really treasure these memories.
Grabbing her brother’s hand, she pulled him out of his room towards their parent’s room. Their lights were on too. It was a sleepless night for all of them it seems.
Knocking on their door, Tian quietly asked if they were still awake. Her answer came in the form of a hug. Her mother had opened the door and hugged Tian without a word. Her father appeared beside them, looking at them with love in his eyes and gently pulled them in. In that moment, Tian was overwhelmed with emotions and started crying. It was her first time leaving her family. She didn’t want to lose the memories of her family, of her friends, of her life in the Celestial Realm. They were all so precious to her. She did not want to give them up.
Like that, she cried in her mother’s arms for a long time, tears seemingly never-ending. Looking on, one could feel how much she was unwilling to part with her family and how much she loved them. And they in return. There was not a single dry eye, as even the Emperor and Prince teared up at that scene. They were indeed a family full of love.
That night, Tian and Yun did not go back to their bedrooms, but slept together with their parents. The insomnia they were experiencing before disappeared as a feeling of family warmth and togetherness lulled them into sleep. That night was special to all of them.
The next morning, Tian was the first to wake. As she looked around at the sleeping faces of her family, feelings of love overwhelmed her. Quietly, she kissed them each on their cheek and slipped out of bed. She padded back to her room and started preparing for the big day ahead.
——
"Take care of yourself alright. Always know that we will be here looking over you my little sky. I love you."
"I'll see you again in a hundred years time little sister. Love you."
"My little baby, I will miss you so dearly. Stay safe and live a good and fulfilling life then come back and tell us all about your adventures okay. I love you."
"I will. Even if I do not remember, you'll always be in my heart. I'll stay strong and learn everything I can about the Human Realm. I love you all too. Yun take care of our parents for me alright?"
With tearful hugs and parting words, Tian left the embrace of her family and with nervous steps, started walking to the Tenth Court(1) where she would be sent off to the Wheel of Reincarnation for her rebirth.
It was her first time at the Tenth Court. She had seen the King of the Tenth Court - King ZhuanLun when he came over to the Celestial Realm to visit her father but she had never actually talked to him before.
Approaching the Court, she saw someone else already standing there. "Guess it must be his First Reincarnation as well" Muttering to herself, she stole a glance at him. At that exact moment he looked up and they made eye contact and he gave her a small smile. But not having interacted much with the male species besides her family, she quickly looked away as shyness washed over her. He was not better looking than her brother but he had this really charming air around him.
Upon seeing her look away, the other Celestial God chuckled slightly to himself.
Standing in front of King ZhuanLun, Tian’s nervousness went up tenfold. Everything up until now had felt so surreal, as if she was living in a dream. But now that she was actually here, reality struck her. It was really happening! It's not a dream!
"Yu Tian(2), the time for your First Reincarnation has arrived. I've judged your soul to be pure and sin-free. Being the daughter of the Jade Emperor I had expected no less from you. I hope you'll learn well in the Human Realm and come back with knowledge that will make you wiser and stronger. Now I'll send you off to meet Granny Meng(3). I wish you well, Tian.
Upon receiving Judgement, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared, beckoning Tian to follow. Seems like it would be her guide for the rest of the journey.
"Zhan Shao Feng, you have volunteered for reincarnation..."
Before leaving, Tian managed to catch the first few words of the other person's judgement.
"Zhan Shao Feng... Zhan... this surname sounds familiar.. and voluntary reincarnation? Wow, wonder what he wants to do in the Human Realm."
Mumbling to herself, lost in thoughts about the idea of voluntary reincarnation, she soon found herself at her destination. The shadow beckoned her forward and faded away. She was still staring at the spot the shadow disappeared from when a familiar figure walking towards her captured her full attention.
"Granny Meng!!" Breaking out into a smile, Tian broke into a small run and hugged the Goddess in front of her.
"Tian-er my little God-daughter! How have you been! I see it's time for your First Reincarnation. Aww it feels like it was just yesterday when you were a teeny weeny child crying for your Mother to carry you."
"Granny Meng! That was such a long time ago! I'm an adult now and I'm about to go for my First Reincarnation already."
Embarrassed to have her past brought up, Tian hurriedly tried to steer the conversation back to her First Reincarnation.
"Alright, alright. Follow me child."
Granny Meng chuckled lightly and walked over to a small bridge leading to a foggy area. It was impossible to look past that layer of thick fog. She ladled a bowl of soup from a brewing pot and placed it on the table situated beside the bridge.
“Here, child, is a bowl of Forgetfulness Soup. Drink this and you’ll forget everything about this life you had. Then I will guide you past the bridge to your new life. Although it saddens me to know I’ll only see you a hundred plus years later, it is my duty to serve you this soup to ensure your memories are erased. Now child, drink this whenever you are ready.”
This moment came too quickly. Tian was not prepared. She had just rejoiced over seeing Granny Meng, someone who is alike to a grandmother to her. And now she is to cross on to her next life. Everything was moving too quickly.
With shaky hands, Tian reached out to take the bowl of Forgetfulness Soup. Holding it in her hands, she stood there hesitating, afraid to drink it, afraid of what is to happen next. Looking up, she saw Granny Meng’s kind face smiling at her, encouraging her not be afraid and to drink it courageously. It was a really difficult moment for Tian.
Gathering up all her courage, she slowly brought the bowl up to her lips. Taking a deep breath, she gulped down the Forgetfulness Soup in one go. Raising her head, she looked at Granny Meng and before her memories disappeared, “Granny Meng, thank you for everything. I’ve always seen you as my real grandmother all this while. See you in a hundred years.”
Trying to concentrate, her head felt heavy and fuzzy. Looking at Granny Meng, she grew more and more confused. She felt as if she should know who the lady in front of her is but yet at the same time, she could not remember anything. She couldn’t even remember her name. Everything was hazy in her mind and she felt lost. A hand gently held her and started guiding her towards the bridge.
“This way, dear. This is the way to your new life. Go, my child.” A gentle voice urged her to walk forward and cross the bridge. A kind face looked back at her with a smile, waving her off into that direction.
Turning towards the bridge, she started making her way across it and gradually disappeared into the fog.
It was the start of a new life.
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(1) Judgement is passed on the souls’ rebirth route in the Tenth Court of Hell according to Chinese beliefs. I wanted to incorporate such elements since Xianxia/Xuanhuan novels lean greatly towards the Taoism/Chinese ideas (correct me if I’m wrong!).
(2) In this case, because the Celestial Emperor is often called the Jade Emperor 玉王大地 whereby Jade = Yu(4) 玉. That's why I wrote her surname/last name as Yu. Hence Yu Tian. Technically Yu is not the surname of the Jade Emperor it is his title. But my small brain could not think of a surname for their family hahaha so I settled with this.
(3) This is Meng Po the Goddess who serves the Soup of Forgetfulness to souls who are reincarnating. Because the story is in English so I decided to call her Granny Meng to match the flow of the story.