Yearning Of The Jade

Chapter 4: The Rich, The Poor, and Me

"Yes. be my goddaughter. I know you're all alone and I can't imagine what a young girl like you has gone through all this time without any family. It would also make it easier to explain to my Lao Ye about you when he arrives home. From now on, I would like to be your family. What do you say?"

For some reason, I knew that everything was going to be okay. I knew that I could trust this woman despite everything that happened. I just knew.

"Of course. Godmother."

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Chapter 4:

That night I found myself tossing and turning on the hard wooden bed, trying to process everything. Even though my body was sheltered, fed, and clothed, my mind was restless. My thoughts were drowned in anxiety and fear. How did I come into this state? When will I ever return home? As much as I hate to admit it, I have come to the conclusion that I was trapped in the cage of time.

I replayed the scene in the forest a repeatedly and was completely puzzled. How did I manage to defeat the robber? I had no knowledge of any self-defense but I somehow saw the robber as inferior. I felt dominance and superiority over the robber. While he pointed his sword at me, I easily predicted his attacks easily. I did not spare a single sweat and simply listened to the voice in my body as I swiftly avoided his strike. The action itself seemed so familiar as if I have done it a million times before.

My normal self would not have the ability to do that. My normal self would have frozen at the sight of the sharp blade. This is not what the real Tan Ling could do. My mind shifted into a state of dread as I came to a sudden thought. Is this not my real body?

I lifted my body from the bed and took a golden mirror from the dressing table. If this was not my real body, I will find out now. In my earliest memories of childhood, my mother and Aunt Mei called me "little mushroom" because of my birthmark. It is brown in color and shaped like a little round mushroom on my back of my neck, hidden by my hair for the past nineteen years.

I positioned the mirror behind my neck at an angle that I could see its reflection. A familiar shape that lived for nineteen years still remained. I'm me. I'm still Tan Ling.

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On one bright and sunny day, the streets of Beijing were bustling with life. People came and left the streets, smiling to their heart's' content.

Happiness, family, and friendship. I sure miss those.

Carrying my school bag on my shoulders, I returned to the apartment after finishing a long day of college classes. Aunt Mei was sitting in the living room, watching her regular television. I rested my bag down and grabbed a bag of potato chips to join her. Noah, as usual, was studying at the dining table.

"How's your day?"

"Good," I answered. "Except last night when I had an awful dream."

"What was it about?" She asked while keeping her eyes on the television.

"I dreamt that I was trapped in an ancient world in the past. A robber tried to kill me, but I defeated him. After that, a middle-aged woman offered me a place to stay and took me to a city with no electricity and running water. It was awful, I was a foreigner and all alone."

Aunt Mei kept her eyes on the television show, not moving an inch. On the screen, a male character with long coiled hair soon appeared. In the next shot, a female character appeared with eyes glaring full of hatred. They stood completely still, trying to figure each other's move. The suspense was finally relieved when the female broke her stance and dashed towards the male. Despite the female's sword pointing directly at him, he seemed completely relaxed. He stood still until the female's sword was inches before penetrating his face.