Confidant

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 you 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... 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 her head and, in a small voice, asked, "Can I go back?"

Doctor Lou smiled weakly, "How can you return to a place where you no longer exist?"

Lei Xing's gulped, her eyes felt hot, but she still clung 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, 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, 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 cared for. But still, she 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.

{...And now I have a murderous dowager and an Emperor lording over me...even with all the money in the world, it's pointless...the future seems very bleak-...}

Bam!!

Doctor Lou excitedly as he slammed his hands on the table, causing Lei Xing to jump in shock. He exclaimed, "Ah yes!" and got down from his stool and scurried to the back of the shop.

Lei Xing frowned.

{...What is he doing now -_-?)...}

 After a short while, Doctor Lou came rushing back holding a jug and two cups with a bright smile, "As I thought, I still had one left." He set them down on the desk and excitedly said, "Now to commemorate our friendship."

Lei Xing raised an eyebrow, "Friendship?"

"Of course! We are now friends... right?" Doctor Lou looked at Lei Xing with a confused expression.

"I don't even know who you are." Lei Xing flatly said.

Doctor Lou blinked, "Ah, you don't?"

 Lei Xing narrowed her eyes, "Of course not, how did you figure it out, and with one look too? It's not like there's a sign above my head or anything."

"Ah, but there is." Doctor Lou remarked.

Lei Xing went wide-eyed, "There is?"

Doctor Lou then burst into laughter, and Lei Xing frowned in response.

{...I'm not fond of being the butt of anyone's joke, you know -_-)'...}

Lei Xing set aside her irritation and proceeded to get answers, "So explain, how did you know? or how can you know? and how do you know all that too? Have you met someone like this before? Or perhaps, are you also like this? Also, you said you don't see any attachments...so are you a seer or something like that? How can you be sure I don't exist there anymore or that she isn't there, can you see it? If not, then how can you know for certain? Explain."

Lei Xing finished rambling off the series of questions and looked at Doctor Lou, who seemed taken aback as he seemed to be frozen.

After a few seconds passed, Doctor Lou blinked and then sat back on his stool while grumbling under his breath, "Questions, questions, questions, questions...you ask a lot of questions, you'd think the world swindled you or something."

Lei Xing stared at him and pretended not to hear, waiting for the answers.

Doctor Lou looked at her and then sighed, "There have been other cases, probably...Every case has different circumstances, but I am sure there is probably one...or two like you...you can consider this whole scenario more of an accident of the universe...Ah, do I know anyone like that right now? No...A seer?... I guess you can call it that...how do I know? Well, it takes years of studying the universe, which in turn... opens up new avenues of vision...Ahh..."

Lei Xing opened her mouth, "The-"

Doctor Lou interjected, "No, I can't teach you. You don't have enough time. It'll be a waste of energy, it's too much work, and I'm very busy." Doctor Lou finished by nodding to reaffirm his position.

Lei Xing pursed her lips and quietly grumbled, "Tch, you're always here sleeping, how are you busy?"

 "I'm meditating, not sleeping!" Doctor Lou defended.

"With your head cushioned on your arm pillows?" Lei Xing asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm old! I have creaky bones!" Doctor Lou indignantly replied.

"Sure..." Lei Xing then glanced off to the side, still not believing his excuse.

Doctor Lou smiled, "Ah, so now that we're done with that, let's celebrate!"

Lei Xing pursed her lips, still a bit unnerved and suspicious of his character.

 "Here." Doctor Lou moved a cup to her front. "Now, from today we are fr-"

"Ah! There's something else..." Lei Xing interrupted, causing Doctor Lou to glare at her, but she wasn't bothered and continued, "Hm, I'm not sure how to explain this...but I seem to have seen something...no, imagined something that happened to someone else, vividly too...One was...a memory, and the other was a dream, is that normal with this?"

Doctor Lou furrowed his brows and stroked his beard, "Hm, so you can see into people's minds...?"

Then he excitedly smiled, closed his eyes, and put his fingers on his temples, "Okay, I'm ready, now tell me what I'm thinking?"

Lei Xing frowned and was not amused, "I didn't say I could see into people's minds..."

Doctor Lou's smile fell, and he opened his eyes and dejectedly said, "Oh...how disappointing..."

Lei Xing's lips twitched.

{...I'm sorry I couldn't entertain you -_-)...}

 "It was just one person's...so far...subconsciously? I'm not really sure how it worked out...Is it possible that I gained some powers from crossing over?" Lei Xing hesitantly asked.

Doctor Lou raised his eyebrows, "Powers?"

Lei Xing nodded, a bit excited, and eagerly awaited his response.

Doctor Lou blinked at her a couple of times, and then he burst out laughing...again.

Lei Xing frowned in irritation, "I'm being serious."

"Yes, of course you are...Powers, sure why not?...hahahahaha soon you'll be flying high in the sky hahahahahaha...yes a phoenix of grand proportions, how about that? hahahahahaha....Just you wait, you'll see! hahahahahahahaha...Powers..." He continued jesting, howling with laughter, and even started banging on the table as he was laughing.

 Lei Xing stood there with a deep scowl on her face. The more he laughed, the more irritated she felt and the more irritated she felt...the more embarrassed she became.

Eventually, she turned around and stormed out of the shop.

"Ah? hahaha wait! Come back....hahaha, you didn't drink the wine hahahahaha...." Doctor Lou shouted behind her, "Be sure to come visit hahahaha... we're friends now! You have to! Hahahaha!..." He shouted in-between howls of laughter.

Lei Xing's frown deepened as she heard him calling out to her. She stormed out the doors and didn't look back, Ah Jin saw her come out and quickly followed behind her.

Lei Xing didn't stop and just randomly turned on the street and kept walking to get as far away as possible from the sound of that laughter and the embarrassment.

{...Powers? What was I thinking? And I actually said it to that - It's my fault for opening up to that maniac, yes it is my fault!... But even if it's ridiculous, couldn't he have been less...less...less of a FREAKING a**h*ole about it!!... Also, it's not that funny!! ಠ╭╮ಠ)...}