Memories

So, we got everything we were looking for with the opera mask that Sui Jiang gifted me. Although meeting Sui Wenyan sure made me spend my time… However, I was more than happy since we could build a relationship out of it. Sui Wenyan is a good girl. I want to see her live the way she wants to and die on her own accord this time around.

Anyway, the plans were just delayed by a bit due to my meeting with the Sui family… Family, huh… The game never talked about who Wenyan's parents were. They did say that Sui Jiang was her grandparent, however nothing else was outright spoken about her family. I should look into it someday.

[Who knows? Maybe you'll find another dragon, eh?]

I saw Goldy snickering as if he said the greatest joke in the world. This is what happens when a person with no sense of humor tries to crack a joke…

{I never knew dragons were that easy to find in this world. Doesn't that mean you're not that special?}

It was my turn to snicker this time. I tried doing that, however I saw people staring at me like I'm some sort of clown, so I decided not to do that and silently walked back to my home. That's when I realized that I hadn't told my folks about leaving the house. I saw them running towards me when they saw my face. However, I didn't want them to see the costume that I bought because that might cause a lot of difficulties for me in the near future. So, before they came, I threw it high up in the air, hoping for my trustworthy partner to catch it. And Goldy sure didn't betray my trust as he caught the stuff and sped up straight to my room without anyone noticing. In their eyes, it was just a gust of wind that flew by them. By the way, I didn't understand why I threw the costume up for him to catch it. I could've just passed it to him and it would've done the same thing as well. Ha… I guess I did it because it would look cool. And oh boy, it did!

My parents were literally in tears when they hugged me. I kinda understand the sentiment because their extremely weak daughter just went missing for hours and returned safely. Even though I told them that I was out taking a breather, they didn't believe me and got a tight hold of me. Gee, I wonder how I convinced them for that journey I did searching for Goldy.

Anyway, since they couldn't believe my lie of taking a breather since no one takes a breather that takes hours, I decided to tell them the truth. At least, half of it, I suppose. I told them that I went to watch an opera and made friends with the main lead, who's almost the same age as Ao and that she'll be coming here someday that fits with her schedule. This time around, my parents believed what I said, but still were reluctant to leave me alone. And that's when Ao came. I hoped for him to save me from this hell, but he clung onto me instead. Damn, this family is so spoiled… I like them though...

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After a considerable amount of time, they finally released me off their clutches and I headed straight to the bath. Although the setting of the game was ancient and involved cultivation, it strangely had a modern bathing system. Like, have you ever seen a toilet with a flush and bathtub in such a setting. Maybe you have, but I haven't. My guess would be that the bathroom was basically stock 3D items they got for free and they just placed it in the game since it basically had no significance. I mean, the game was for all ages and there wasn't any scene where the protagonist saw each other naked or something. So, designing a bathroom was just a huge waste of money.

Anyway, one man's trash is another one's treasure. Since they went for the cheap route, I could enjoy bathtubs and stuff in this world. So, devs… If there's anything that I'm thankful for, it would be this unintentional masterpiece you did!

The water in the bathtub had steam coming from them. I dipped my toe in and then followed through with my whole body. For real though, this is one hell of a feeling. I closed my eyes for a good few minutes.

…

I saw Ao there, crying his eyes out before what was presumably a dead body. He seemed to be wailing to see the face of the person. He looked at both father and mother who were hesitant to do so. I saw mom hugging him as tightly as she could. However, Ao slipped out and took the cloth covering the person's face. However, the face… it couldn't be called a face any longer. It was an abomination beyond repair. Seeing this, Ao cried even more. Tears were flowing endlessly from my folks face as well, as they tried taking Ao away from the dead body. Soon enough, the tears were replaced by pure rage in the ten-year-old's eyes. He asked who did this to his dear sister. I couldn't hear him clearly though, so I read his lips to make sure of it. He did say his sister… Father gave out a reply this time. Taiyi sect's Zhangsun Shan, he said. Upon hearing this, I saw Ao swearing that he'll take revenge on Zhangsun Shan for his sister.

…

I opened my eyes. I was back in the bathtub. Well, I guess I never left it to begin with. What I just saw… I guess that's how Ao Liu became the right-hand man of Wang Lei. Revenge. Revenge for what happened to me… Well, to Hua Liu, that is. But wait, this is confusing!

"It's a future that didn't happen. It's not the previous owner's memories because your parents mentioned Zhangsun Shan's name. And it didn't happen in the game, because the only thing Ao mentioned to Wang Lei was… basically nothing, if your memory serves right. SO, how come you get a snippet of something that happened in an alternate reality?" Goldy, who popped out of nowhere, asked.

"How would I-" I belatedly realized the fact that I'm currently naked in a bathtub and a guy just came in. I wanted to do 'Kyaa!' like every other girl in an anime does, however I was one among many who hated this annoying trope, so that would've been a literal betrayal of my own faith. "What are you doing here, Goldy? Don't you know that I'm in the bath? Naked?" I spoke in a really calm voice.

"Meh, don't worry about it. I've been in the cave without female contact for several years that I'm pretty much asexual now." He nonchalantly replied.

"Wait, is that how sexuality works?" I asked while glaring hard at him.

"Who cares? Anyway, don't change the subject now!" He spoke as if I made that statement just because I wanted to avoid the other conversation. Dude!

I sighed. "Now, how would I know that? There's just two possibilities though. Either this was an event that happened in the game that I forgot, or I'm some sort of oracle. Maybe, I got a secret third skill that lets me see the future?" I asked.

"You saw the past. That too, an alternate reality one. If that's a skill, then it's really a garbage skill!" Goldy shook his head in disappointment for a moment before quickly going back to serious mode. "However, I don't think such a skill exists in this world." He spoke.

"Says the guy who's got a retrocognition skill." I scoffed.

"Again, that's not an alternate reality related skill." He replied.

"Hey! You saw the memories of mine when I was in a totally different dimension." I spoke back.

"Argh… I could see it because your soul somehow carried those memories to this dimension. So, technically that is a loophole created because of you." He replied, seemingly fuming because I was kinda speaking against him.

"Okay, chill. What do you think exactly happened then?" I asked calmly.

"Remember how I spoke about the Gods above Gods. I would like to believe that it's their work." He replied. I thought he was joking, but on second thought, he had no reason to joke around about it.

"Wait, doesn't that mean I got caught? What did I do to get caught like this?" I cried as if I don't remember destroying the reality that Gods set for this world. I just tried to survive though!

"Calm down. Seeing how you didn't get destroyed the moment you changed the set reality, that means that the Gods aren't capable of directly interfering with this world. So, you're safe." He replied and tried calming me down.

However, one thing bugged my mind really hard. "Hey, what if the said God or Gods have their people in this world… Like an apostle or something to hunt down discrepancies?" I asked.

"Hmm, I don't know of such a thing's existence. But if such a group existed in this world, then you probably are at the top of their hit list." Goldy replied. Suddenly I felt all chilly in the hot water.

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