4 Soul Space

Ugh.

My head is ringing.

Did I die again?

No, this pain is familiar.

"...water"

.

I involuntarily spoke out my thirst.

As I listened to my own voice, the high-pitched sound of a child, I was sure of it. I didn't die.

"Look, he said something."

Another voice.

This time, it sounded like a gentle woman's voice.

"Ooh, is the white hair yokai waking up?"

Yet another different tone, similar to mine but sounding slightly excited.

It is a pity I can't understand them though.

The foreign language sounded like gibberish to me.

Putting them aside, I check the condition of my body. It seems the pain is still there but it is slightly lessened. Some tubes attached to machines are pierced throughout my limbs and is slowly releasing strange medicinal liquid inside me.

Although I don't know what they are, I doubt they are anything harmful. I can see that these medicine were numbing the pain of my organs and replenishing lost blood.

I don't like the feeling of my blood being mixed with another as it only adds impurities within but so be it.

It's not as if I can reject it as it is keeping this body alive. There is also a strange mask attached to my face, also attached to a tube from a large metallic container. It was slowly releasing gaseous air so that it could enter my nostrils and mouth faster.

Other than these, there is only the feeling of soft cotton on my head and chest injuries. It seems that something has sewn the small openings together and they are slowly recovering.

As for my heart and brain, a device I couldn't understand was lodged within keeping them functional. These devices were strange indeed.

Now then, let us see if I can move...

"Onee-sama, the yokai's fingers are moving!"

"Wow, he really is a strong yokai isn't he?"

I still could not understand anything but I could seemingly tell I was being made fun of.

Whatever, these people may be the ones who saved me so it is not right to pursue this small thing.

Once I got the feeling of controlling the entirety of my body, I slowly open my eyes and move to sit up.

What entered was a white light. It was a different kind compared to the golden light from before.

"Ara, he is awake."

The gentle voice sounded again and as I turned towards it, I saw a beautiful woman.

Long flowing black hair, thin eyebrows, skin white as jade, mesmerising obsidian eyes, small nose, red lips, a bountiful chest, and slim body build wearing a long-sleeved dress held tightly against her body.

"Yay, white hair yokai, show me your powers!"

As I was glued to the woman sitting gracefully by the window, I heard that childish voice once again.

Turning my head, I saw a little girl.

This little girl was like the woman but only a miniature version of her. But the only strange thing was that this girl had strange blue eyes as deep as the ocean and as broad as the sky.

These two, were they related?

Even though they seemed to be waiting for me to answer, I still could not decipher their language so I could only show a confused look towards the child.

"P-o-w-e-r-s!"

As if the child understood that I was confused, she started saying one letter syllables. It is still useless though. Just when I was about to say something...

"Now now Hana, the yokai must still be hungry so he can't show you his powers yet. Let him eat for a bit and go find grandfather."

As the gentle woman said a long string of words that I still could not understand, she walked off to the side to pick up a metallic flat surface with both hands as she carried it towards me.

"Alright onee-sama, but what should I tell grandpa?"

To this, the woman only replied.

"Tell him that the yokai is awake. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Leave it to me onee-sama!"

After saying that, the little girl ran outside the door at full speed. Her tiny footsteps slowly getting softer and softer as she got farther away from here.

"Now then, here you go little boy, you must be starving. I don't know if you'd like these but..."

After the girl left, the woman turned towards me and placed the metallic surface atop my lap. Right in front of me was a selection of meat, vegetables and wheat-based noodles along with water and and fruit juice. In my past life, I would have been fine not eating at all except for meat and wine.

But now, in this little body of mine, was a primal need awakening after a very long time.

I recognise this familiar pain.

The saliva inside my mouth was ceaselessly being produced and was overflowing as I gazed upon the food in front of my eyes as a rumbling sound came from the depths of my abdomen.

That's right.

This was a feeling long forgotten.

As if I was given a burst of strength, my hands quickly moved towards the meat and placed it directly into my tiny mouth.

This, was hunger.

As the food entered my mouth and made contact with my tongue, a feeling of pure bliss was released from my head, numbing my senses as I continued to wolf down every piece of food in front of me.

By the time I was finished, I was dazed.

Staring off stupidly into space, I found myself in an unrefined state with much food leftovers stuck on my shirt and sauces on my face.

Even so, the gentle woman besides me only watched me and smiled like a goddess...

"You must have been really hungry. Don't worry I'll clean it up for you. Just drink the medicine at your bedside and rest for a while."

How I wish I could have understood her.

Seeing me still dazed, she pointed towards my side.

When I followed her finger, I saw a little white circular pill. It had a slight medicinal fragrance even though it was sealed inside a container.

It seems that she wanted me to drink this?

So be it. Poison won't work on me anyway.

But the moment I ingested it, I felt nothing.

What was this? This trashy thing could be called a pill? At most it could only numb pain for a short while before dissolving in my stomach but that's just it. There was no other effects.

After the woman cleaned off the mess from me, I started meditating. Fully understanding one's condition is a basic step in cultivation.

I had to see if this body was suitable to cultivate and what element it had, affinities it would pair up with well, and how talented it was. Depending on these factors, I could shorten my cultivation time by many folds, directly skipping some errors from before.

But before I could fully inspect my body, a booming sound came from my head and a boundless space expanded before me. This familiar place...

It's the space within my Spacial Ring.

But how?