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Kerbasi's avatar

Kerbasi

Three Lifetimes
Six

The first thing that Seiran said when we descended onto a mountain top was, “Master, are you really chasing after a man?” His voice was riddled with condescension. He had been hiding in my soul space, and when we descended, he had leapt out and stretched on the grassy plains.

“Don’t go using that tone on me. Don’t you want your master to get married already?” I lectured him.

“What difference does it make if you’re married or not? Master is still master.”

In his fox form, he rubbed himself against my leg. He always had a way with words, and it was quite hard to remain angry with him. I stroked him under his chin, and his hind leg moved in glee.

“I’m here to chase after my husband. Isn’t that a wife’s duty?”

“But master…he doesn’t even know you…”

I wanted to kick this dog into mud.

“Will you stop shattering my dreams?” I punched him lightly on the head.

With the pulsating seal on my wrist as a guide, I walked around the mountain with Seiran by my side.

“Master, did Jin Lei reincarnate on a mountain?” He asked, puzzled.

“I guess so. The seal is becoming brighter with each step, so I’m assuming he’s near. Maybe his mortal family lives in the mountain?”

The bright glow that the seal emitted suddenly vanished, and I panicked for a moment until I saw a small white object lying against a thick tree root. It was swaddled hastily and looked like it was abandoned.

“Master, I think that’s a baby,” Seiran said the obvious.

“I think that’s Jin Lei…”

I closed my eyes and released my divine sense, expanding it across the mountain. I saw a woman hastily running down the mountain steps with tears in her eyes. So Jin Lei really was abandoned, huh? I wondered what the reason was, but I didn’t mind. If it meant that I was the one able to protect him as he grew, then it was a blessing.

I picked up the white object and stared intently at his face. Big, round eyes looked back at me, full of innocence. He was drooling, and his pudgy arms were swinging in the air. Small hairs surrounded his scalp, but he still looked bald.

“He kind of looks disgusting…” I trailed off.

“Master!” Seiran said helplessly.

This was my first time actually seeing a baby, as the birth rate in Heaven was not high at all. I had my share of interacting with children, but never with a baby. Lucky for me, I knew how to take care of one, as I had casually perused the neonatal handbook I found in Siming’s library before.

Upon closer inspection of the round facial structure, I had a sudden realization.

“He looks like a potato,” I said as I took my handkerchief and wiped the drool from his mouth.

“…” Seiran was dumbstruck at my creative words.

The little potato in my arms started giggling as if in agreement, further drooling against my chest.

“Despite being abandoned, he looks quite happy don’t you think?” I told Seiran. He could only shake his head as if saying, “What am I going to do with with you.”

“Ah, where should we live from now on?” I asked myself aloud. I didn’t want potato Jin to live on the mountain. What could he gain from it? Absolutely nothing! I didn’t want to hamper his trial, whatever it was, and the only thing I could do was give him a good life where he could easily obtain his dreams.

I searched the surrounding areas with my divine sense, and saw that there were numerous cities. I picked the biggest city, which I assumed was the Capital (because of a palace erected in the middle), and flew towards its gates.

Seiran hid inside my soul space as I looked around the marketplace. It was a bustling place that awed me. No one would dare be so noisy in Heaven. The noises perhaps frightened the little potato, and he started wailing loudly, but his cries blended into the background as if part of it.

“Excuse me, miss. Your baby is probably hungry. You should breast feed him soon,” one lady said as she passed me by. She was holding a basket in one hand and held the hand of a little girl in the other.

“Thank you for your concern, but unfortunately he’s not my son. I don’t have milk…” I looked apologetic. The image of the potato latching on to my breasts embarrassed me. The lewd and inappropriate thoughts I had in Heaven, now completely vanished. I only had them when Jin Lei was in his manly appearance, and I was glad I didn’t have such thoughts towards him as a child. I would rather knock my head against a block of tofu than become a pedophile.

“I have good goat’s milk, which is a good substitute for breast milk!” An old woman called me over from her stall. “This milk has been refined by the practitioners, so it holds nourishment for a baby’s body.”

I patted the potato as I carried him in my arms. I was anxious and I wanted him to quiet down. “How much is it?”

“Just 7 coppers! But if you want the glass bottle to be included, that would be another five. So 12 coppers in all per bottle!” I didn’t detect any deceit in her person, so I nodded my head. After examining the appearance of these coins from a passing shopper, I inserted my hand in my pocket, conjuring them in my palm.

“I’ll buy one bottle. If he likes it, I’ll come back again.” The old woman smiled at me happily as she received the coppers.

After going around, I found out that 100 copper coins were equivalent to one silver coin, and 10 silver coins were equivalent to one gold coin. I also heard that the coin with the biggest value was the Jade coin, which was equivalent to 1,000 gold for one piece. It was an amount that was beyond a commoner’s income for a year, and that coin was mostly used by the nobility, royalty, or even really wealthy commoners who had amassed a fortune in business.

While the potato was happily drinking his bottle of milk, I scoured for real estate establishments. Because I had money on hand, the broker willingly found me the best lot in the middle of the city in a matter of minutes. It was twice bigger than the normal surrounding houses, with fully furnished interiors. The previous owner left for another city, and didn’t want to bring so many things with him. Annexed to the side of the house was also a bookstore that had long been out of business.

It felt like a dream. If I could open up the bookstore once more, it would give me a steady income which could be used to cover up my fortune. Now, no one would question where my money came from. The thought of reading updated books also filled me with endless excitement. I had to read all the books I could read in these three lives! I wouldn’t have to frequently borrow books from Siming’s library anymore. In my head, I already scripted my response to her, “You have new books? Pah! I read those decades ago.”

I paid for the house with one jade coin and 5 gold. The extra 5 gold I gave to the broker as a reward for his fast services, and he looked like he was going to cry in joy. He clutched the gold in his hands and said I was a goddess. Well, he couldn’t be more right though?

In the afternoon of the same day, the potato and I entered the place where we would soon call home.

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