Chapter 50 - Confidant (1/2)
Lei Xing frowned, ”Okay, but still you never know...there are no absolutes in the world.”
”There are absolutes. Death and the passage of time being examples. Time flows forward, never backwards, it cannot simply be manipulated, if it could be done so easily then there will never be any problems, don't you think?”
Lei Xing narrowed her eyes, ”So it can be done then, just not simply is what you're saying, right?”
”It goes against universal law, doing so will upset the balance of the universe, which will have dire consequences and a price too steep. Hence why it is classified as impossible.” Doctor Lou finished with a bright smile.
Lei Xing knit her brows, ”Steep...price?”
Doctor Lou sighed, ”En, one which a soul simply cannot pay.”
Lei Xing gulped, feeling a bit unnerved with a sense of impending doom.
...O_O) Um, should I be worried? I don't remember paying anything...Also, a soul can't pay it? Are you sure? Should I be expecting a debt collector?... I didn't sign up for this, can I get a refund? T_T)...
Doctor Lou looked at Lei Xing's frowning face and then smiled and waved a hand in front of her, ”There's nothing to worry about, this isn't the case here.”
Lei Xing stiffened and blinked, ”What?”
Doctor Lou snorted, ”You're not a very good liar, you talked about not finding any books on magic and then talk about reading a book on a soul traversing through time...You really should try harder next time.” He finished chuckling to himself.
Lei Xing raised an eyebrow, ”So I came across it in one of those folklore books and thought it interesting, what's wrong with that?”
Doctor Lou raised his eyebrows, ”Oh? Which one?”
Lei Xing knit her brows.
Doctor Lou yawned and then stroked his beard, ”It's tiring to keep pretending. I could tell since I first saw you, I was going to keep playing ignorant but since you brought it up yourself...” He shrugged and continued, ”Why else do you think I'd give you a precious treasure of mine? For free too!”
Lei Xing looked at him suspiciously, she was even more guarded against him now that he seemed to know her secret, ”Even then why would you give it to me for free?”
...I knew he wasn't normal....Of course he isn't! He ”made” a magic ring and was just talking about Immortal 101... Haah, this situation is even weirder now than it was when I thought he was just wacky -_-)'...
Doctor Lou laughed, ”Relax, I mean you absolutely no harm, I just wanted to help.”
Lei Xing knit her brows.
...Yeah, like you'd tell me if you did -_-)...
Seeing that Lei Xing was still looking at him with suspicion, Doctor Lou stopped laughing and put on a serious expression, ”It's not often that I meet someone...interesting and when you came to me with your request, I felt obliged to help you since I happen to have exactly what you wanted...As for money, as I said I really have no need for it. Also, good company cannot be priced, so consider it a token of friendship.”
Lei Xing still looking at him suspiciously said, ”But I have nothing to give in return.”
Doctor Lou smiled, ”Your life experience is good enough.”
”I live a very boring life.” Lei Xing flatly replied.
”Boring can be vastly interesting, it all depends on the storyteller and the listener.” Doctor Lou said still with a beseeching smile on his face.
Lei Xing quietly observed him for a while and then asked, ”So what is the case here?”
Doctor Lou furrowed his brows in deep thought for a while and then answered, ”It should be a matter of different worlds. Your soul must have somehow managed to find a portal and so came here.”
Lei Xing knit her brows.
...OKay, I did consider that possibility before, but...
”And this?” Lei Xing asked pointing a finger at herself.
...I don't believe souls migrating equals possession...
Doctor Lou shrugged, ”I don't know, you probably have some sort of connection with her.”
Lei Xing was quiet for a while and then lowered and in a small voice asked, ”Can I go back?”
Doctor Lou showed a weak smile, ”How can you return to a place where you no longer exist?”
Lei Xing's gulped, her eyes feeling hot, still clinging to a fleeting hope asked, ”If I'm here, can't she be there?”
”If your soul came here, it's likely your body must have perished and I don't sense any lingering attachments between you two, which means...” Doctor Lou shook his head.
”I see...” Lei Xing quietly said.
Doctor Lou sighed, ”There is no point fretting over the past, you should focus on your today and the prospects of the future.”
Lei Xing didn't respond.
...The future...an unclear, unknown, unsteady future...
Lei Xing wasn't someone to fret over past events, to her the past has always been what it is and nothing can be done about it, therefore, fretting over it is a waste of time. But the future was something that she could control and shape, and so she always tried to focus on the now and tomorrow. All she'd ever wanted was simply to gain control over her life, to be free to do as she wanted whenever she pleased, with no regard for anyone's wishes, and she didn't want much - just peace of mind.
She has always hated the feeling of uncertainty in her life and had lived most of her life feeling uncertain and unsteady for no obvious reason. She had grown up with loving and supportive people around her, who she also loved, but always felt detached and rarely ever reached out to the hands that were offered, as it never occurred to her that she could count on anyone but herself. She had always lived like that, from a lone viewpoint. She had only truly felt comfortable once she had started working and earning money, and so her mind rationalized money to mean power, and power meant control, and control meant certainty, and certainty meant comfort - to her, and she had found a source of peace of mind, and so she had put all her energy into the prospects of earning more and was finally on her way to the future she'd envisioned when...
...And now I have a murderous dowager and an emperor lording over me...even with all the money, it's pointless...Haah, the future seems very bleak...