~Scroll of the Dead~

8 Years Ago / Xiao-Long Town

A town located near the capital of the Realm of China. Like the majority of the towns in Heaven, it had a mix of urban and rural settings. The huts and buildings were neatly arranged. Motorcycles and mobile food stalls roam about the streets with merchants trying to secure the best deals. It was the most peaceful out of all the cities due to it being close to the biggest military stronghold, no one dared to cause any trouble lest they face the might of the military.

Yang sulked as he walked down the streets with both hands in his pockets. His face had a few scratches from a fight he had gotten into a few hours back.

“Stupid Ping,” he called the name of the person he had punched for making fun of Wukong “And stupid Jiàn Yǔ!” he punched the air in fury.

“Yang?”

The boy looked back and saw a familiar face, Hui Minghao waved as he approached him with a gentle smile. He looked the same as ever, probably because beings in Heaven aged slower and could live on for centuries.

“Gramps?”

“You barely visit the temple anymore,” Hui responded with a sad look “I was getting worried.”

“Ah, my bad,” Yang blinked before looking away in shame. The last time he visited the old monk in the temple was a year ago, during his 800th birthday.

“No it’s fine,” he nodded “I thought you got tired of my stories of the Monkey King.”

“Like hell I will!” Yang yelled out in anger, the last thing he wanted was to lose interest in his hero.

The old monk noticed this and smiled ‘So he hasn’t changed as well,’

During Yang’s previous visit to the temple, Hui had wandered away out of boredom during his birthday celebration as the old man sought entertainment far greater than that. He discovered Yang trying to sneak away too, they both left and went on a walk throughout town together, Hui entertaining Yang about the renowned Journey to the West.

Yang quickly became immersed in his stories about Sun Wukong and decided to make up his mind to become someone like him.

Hui began walking with Yang following behind “How’s Fang?”

“Great as ever,” he jacked his arm. Yang’s mother had died as a result of childbirth, he had stayed with his father’s sister, Fang.

“And your father?”

Yang froze in his tracks, the only time he saw his dad was during stuff like national days. This was because Yang’s father, Ming, served as a soldier in the emperor’s court which was the reason they had to relocate here. Hui knew this of course but still decided to ask, he was worried about his friend. Yang shrugged

“Don’t know,”

“Ah,” Hui shook his head “Still fighting with him?”

“Nah, there’s nothing I can do about it” Yang responded, he used to sulk about it but as time passed, he had gotten used to it.

They both kept on walking for a while.

‘He’s alright I guess,’ Yang yawned as he stretched ‘People say he’s too ‘eccentric’ or whatever that means, but the way I see it, he’s just trying to live a happy life.’

Hui came to a stop which caused Yang to stare in confusion.

‘What now?’

“We’re here,” Hui spoke up, the two had arrived at a vase shop.

“Eh? What are we doing here?” Yang looked at him.

Hui smiled as he raised a finger “Have you forgotten?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Yang was hit by the realization of what was happening right then, he asked “Wait, it’s time already?”

Hui chuckled “Yes, my 801st birthday is just days away.”

“Argh dammit, how could I forget that!” Yang yelled in frustration, truth be told, he had a lot of things on his mind.

Hui Minghao’s mouth gaped at the display before thinking deeply, he could tell Yang wanted to find a good gift for him. So he came up with a solution.

“How about,”

Yang turned his attention towards the old monk once again.

“You’ll pick the vase, as a birthday present.”

Yang blinked “Eh, you sure?”

“Very,” he nodded “But you’ll have to think carefully and considerately” he gestured a finger, his budget was limited after all.

Yang looked at him before nodding as well, they both entered the shop. He took a look around as Hui went to the counter to talk to the shop owner.

He was on his own for now, which meant he had to search for the perfect vase.

-WHOOSH!

All of a sudden, a gentle breeze passed by. Yang was the only one who saw this, however. He looked around confusingly.

“Where’s this wind coming from?” he became annoyed by this. Yang found the source of the breeze, it came from the only vase on one of the shelves. It was shaped round like a ball, the body had a light brown color with the neck and base being orange with a curved pattern all-round. The body itself had something resembling a cloud pattern.

‘That…’ Yang couldn’t tell why, but he felt attracted to this vase. It looked pretty bland and average but he somehow liked it and wanted to take this one home rather than give it to Hui.

But he couldn’t, he made a promise to a friend. He kept on looking till he found something he knew the monk would like.

Meanwhile, Hui had picked up a newspaper and began reading. Nothing much was there, other than discussions with the emperor’s advisor revealing himself to be a member of the elf race. This had caused an uproar throughout the realm of course, but he wasn’t bothered by this. He supported the idea that all beings should live in harmony.

“Oi, Gramps!”

Hui turned towards Yang - who ran towards him. He held up a light blue vase that had a sun engraved in the middle. Yang proudly let out a grin, he had searched and chosen the right gift on his own after all.

“Well, what do you think?” he leaned in, hoping for the old monk’s thoughts.

“It’s perfect.” Hui Minghao responded with a calm smile.

“Hehe,” Yang chuckled “Oh, I almost forgot.”

Hui raised an eyebrow as Yang went to the counter where the shop owner sat.

“Hey, Old man, how much is that vase?”

The shopkeeper looked at him annoyed, “Be more specific.”

“That,” Yang pointed back at the vase “How much is it?”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were into vase collecting Yang.” Hui looked at him in shock

“I’m not, but this one just looks good,” he replied

“Eh? You can have it,” the shopkeeper shrugged lazily “It’s been here for over years now, I was planning on dumping it or giving it away.”

Yang leaned in with an annoyed look “Why? It’s good.”

“You have a weird taste kid,”

“No one asked you!” Yang glared at him.

A sigh came out from Hui Minghao’s lips ‘He’s still as obnoxious as ever, this boy,’ there were times when the old monk couldn’t do anything but shake his head at Yang.

Soon afterward, they completed the transactions for the vase and left the shop. They both held their respective vases outside. But Yang became quickly bothered

“Hey Gramps, don’t you need a hand with that?” Yang asked with concern, the temple wasn’t distant but a man his age couldn’t handle such a feat of carrying that vase all the way there. Hui noticed this and smiled.

“No, thanks for asking,”

Yang became more persistent, “You sure, I’m pretty strong enough to carry that.”

“Oh?” Hui tilted his head curiously

“Yeah,” Yang nodded “I’ve been training lately so I can become as strong as Wukong!”

“I can see that, but shouldn’t you be heading home?” Hui asked “You know how your Aunt Fang gets when you-”

“Yeah yeah, I get it,” Yang cut him off with a shrug. He turned around and began walking away

“So I guess I’ll be seeing you next time on my birthday next time?” Hui called out, of all the friends he had made in his eight hundred years of living, Yang was the one he could relate with the most. So it was no surprise he wanted Yang to be there more than anything.

Yang waved as he walked away, he was excited to meet an old friend and the frustration he gained from his fight in the morning had cleared up easily.

~Scroll of the Dead~

“Alright I’m glad to hear about you buying a vase but what the hell was that?”

Shin interrupted Yang’s narration.

Confused, Yang raised an eyebrow “What?”

“Yeah, I wanted to hear how you got cursed, not some crappy slice-of-life story!” Shin pointed a finger

“Are you for real?” Yang asked in disbelief

Shin nodded causing Yang to sweat. Though Yang couldn’t blame him since he was like Shin in a way, they only cared about the interesting part of things.

“You can’t just jump to a different part of the story without knowing what happened, you sound like someone who skips cutscenes.”

Those words hit Shin like an arrow. Yang was correct, he never bothered reading stuff in a game and was more focused on completing the story. He sobbed in defeat.

“But…”

Shin looked up in anticipation.

Yang sighed “Let’s just continue.”

“‘Kay!” Shin nodded, “By the way, you were glued to that vase for some reason,”

“I’ll get there in a sec, I promise,” Yang responded.

‘I’ll tell you how that vase… took everything from me.’

Shin leaned in enthusiasm as the story continued.