Chapter 2 - The First Soul

Fifteen years later, a frail young lady walked into West Park. Her face was pale, and her steps hollow.

She mumbled to herself while looking at her phone, “Curtain fig beside the toilet… Isn’t this the place?”

She raised her head to look at the public toilet. It was situated in a field of grass. A few well-trimmed conifers could be seen, but no sign of a curtain fig. The sun was burning radiantly overhead. Showered by the golden rays, the cicadas in nearby trees chirped in presto. The hot and noisy environment unnerved the young lady.

All of that was making her uncomfortable and drenching her in cold sweat. She slowly squatted down while cradling her stomach.

Just then, the burning sun overhead disappeared. The cicada cries also disappeared. A cool shade fell on the young lady. She looked up and became flabbergasted.

Somehow, there was now a gigantic tree beside the public toilet. Its crown spans several kilometres, as if taking over the sky. It swallowed everything around it without its shadow. A thick mist emanating from its lush leaves blurred the boundaries between things.

The young lady stood up, glancing around. She couldn’t see the edge of the giant tree crown, nor the sky above it. It was as if she were in a whole other realm, where the curtain fig stood as the pillar that supports the sky.

So the text that randomly appeared on her phone was real! The legend about the sacred dark spot in Lanhua City is real!

It was a tree hailed by heretics since ancient times as a god. It could grant you any wish if you offered up your soul.

The young lady slumped to the ground, still cradling her stomach. Hot bitter tears welled from her eyes, but her smile showed salvation.

She looked at the screen on her phone. On it was an ad message.

“Have you been hurt badly by someone else? Have you been backed into a corner? Have you been betrayed, backstabbed, discarded, or destroyed?

If the answer is yes, come to the curtain fig tree beside the toilet in West Park. Little Crow at your service!”

She received this text out of nowhere today. The “sender” field was also blank.

If it were anyone else receiving the message, they would've taken it as just another spam and ignored it. But the young lady fell for it as soon as she laid her eyes on it.

Every word in that message felt like a dagger stabbing at her heart. She had long been broken into pieces and was cornered without an escape. She had been betrayed, backstabbed, discarded, and destroyed countless times.

She didn’t know if she could still consider herself a person.

Her sister was right, the most she could be was a lump of rotten mud! To be toyed with and stamped all over, however people liked. She was rotten mud that couldn't hold a proper shape. It would slip back down even if it were somehow put high on the wall. She was merely a waste of food and oxygen.

The young lady breathed a dry chuckle, her eyes filled with self-deprecation and destitution.

She buried her head, looking for something in her purse, but failed to notice that, among the branches shrouded in the thick mist, sat a little crow, quietly cocking its head to study her.

Soon, her hand grabbed what she was looking for. It was a fruit knife. Its blades seemed to have been carefully sharpened to perfection.

Grasping the handle, she motioned the blade over her wrist, as if looking for the right spot to slice open.

She was born and raised in Hualan City. Naturally, she knew the legend about the sacred dark spot. It was said that a god would devour the souls of those who committed suicide in this spot and exact revenge for them. Some might call it a quid pro quo or a sacrificial ritual.

No matter how much hurt and untruth a person suffered in their life, the god would deal with them one by one. It would deliver eternal peace to tormented souls.

The young lady came to give up her life. She couldn’t save herself, so she was placing her last bit of hope in the fictitious legends of a god.

No, judging from the current situation, the god wasn’t fictitious at all. It had heard the desperate outcries of her soul and came to her as promised. This misty realm was home to the god—the god who must have been standing among the clouds, quietly observing its worshipper, ready to bestow a miracle if she showed enough sincerity.

On that thought, the young lady hesitated no more. She put force into her hand and slashed at her artery. But before the blade could connect with her skin, she fell unconscious.

Flap flap. The little crow landed on the woman’s body. The crow took the fruit knife into its short beak and tossed it far away with a swing of its head.

Then, it lifted its head to caw at the giant curtain fig.

The tree’s leaves rustled, as if responding to the bird. Two vine-like branches reached down. The lush leaves stroked the young lady’s head gently, as if a kind grandpa was comforting a weeping, injured child.

The young lady’s brows that remained furrowed even as she fell unconscious finally relaxed. Her sleeping visage now looked serene, as if she were having a good dream.

The leaves continued to stroke her head, condensing all the memories hiding in her brain into a small orb of light.

The leaves took the orb out of her head and carried it in front of the little crow.

The bird hopped backward, as if avoiding the orb, but more branches came out to grab its little legs and wings. The branches bound the little crow in place, pried open its beak, and stuffed the orb into its little round belly.

“Caw caw!” The little crow sounded angry. The next time it spoke, though, was in a crisp female voice, “Bitter, so bitter! Bleh!”

“You must eat it even if it’s bitter.” A deep, resonant male voice sounded from the massive tree crown.

The little crow hugged its belly with its wings. Its beak opened and closed, making barfing sounds in between.

“Why are her memories so bitter?!” Drops of tears oozed out from the crow’s beady eyes.

“Good job! Daddy has some candy for you.” A branch reached down from the tree crown. On the proffered leaf was a red cady.

The little crow immediately pecked the candy and crunched it up.

The leaves took the chance to rub the bird’s round little head, and said, “Go, the earlier you fulfill this worshipper’s wishes, the earlier you can come back to Dad. I will be very lonely without you chirping around me.”

“Fine, I’m going.” The little crow spun on the spot and turned into the fainted woman. It wasn’t some simple transformation. It was a replication of the young lady, from her appearance to her memories. Every mole, scar, and wound was reproduced on this body. Even those who knew her the best wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

The little crow showed a hint of disdain when she looked at her human body. Still, she picked up the young lady’s purse and cellphone, ready to leave her dad’s realm.

“Yaya, don’t bully the cats and dogs outside.” The curtain fig had some concerns.

But the little crow brushed it off with a wave of her hand without even looking back.

“Don’t steal shiny things either, especially from the jewellery shops. Thieving is illegal. If the humans catch you, I’d have to bail you out, and it’d be so embarrassing!” The curtain fig continued to drone.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get caught.” Yaya was starting to sound annoyed.

The fig tree was even more concerned. A branch swiped back and forth against its thick trunk. If it were in its human form, it’d be rubbing its forehead and sighing.

“The most, most important thing: don’t try to gouge out other people’s eyeballs. That’ll land you in jail!” The curtain fig warned her with utmost gravity.

Over a decade ago, this little crow almost gouged out a human child’s eyes. The curtain fig was sweating profusely when the little crow recounted the story. Thankfully, the human child was smart and negotiated with the little crow. Or else, he would’ve become blind.

If the little crow didn’t have the curtain fig’s guidance after it gained intelligence, it would’ve become the devil incarnate.

Back to the present, the she-devil was briskly walking away while replying impatiently, “Alright, alright. I won’t gouge out people’s eyeballs! I’ve already seen the most beautiful eyes in the world. There’s no way I would want someone’s murky stones! No matter how pretty their contacts are, I don’t like them!”

“You can’t go for them even if you like them. I’ll spank you if you do!” The curtain fig threatened with feigned ferocity.

But the little crow had already gone from the thick mist, without a trace left.

“Tsk, I wouldn’t gouge them out. Don’t take me for an idiot. If I do that, the eyeballs will rot and become stinky.” The crow girl grumbled to herself while waiting for her ride in front of the park entrance. “I will make that boy stay by my side, all day and all night. He will look at me with those beautiful eyes every single moment.”

Thinking back to the boy with tearful eyes all those years ago, beautiful as a dream, the little crow subconsciously licked her lips.

Just then, several cars stopped in front of the little crow. A tall, strikingly beautiful woman jumped down from one of them, followed by several buff men in black.

They quickly surrounded the bird in human form, grabbed her limbs and carried her to the frontmost car.

She unclenched her fists and lowered her defence, recognizing the woman.

Some bystanders yelled at them, “What are you doing? A kidnapping? I’m calling the police!”

“I’m her sister! She’s on suicide watch. Would you take responsibility if I let her go and she dies?” The tall woman rolled up the little crow’s sleeve to reveal an arm laced with cuts. Some had already healed, leaving ugly scars, while others were still oozing blood, clearly still fresh.

The little crow didn’t struggle either. After eating the young lady’s memories, she knew the woman in front of her was indeed her sister. The pair had relied on each other since their childhood and had a great relationship.

The tall woman took out her phone and found a photo of them together to show the crowd.

The crowd that was blocking the cars finally moved aside.

Just like that, the little crow was carried onto the car and stuffed into the backseat in a daze. The tall woman also crawled into the car and spoke harshly, “Zhao, lock all the car doors!”

Click click click click. The doors were locked shut.

The tall woman raised her phone and pressed the little crow for answers. “What was that text? What do you mean by ‘I’ll be gone, take care of yourself’? What about ‘I’m sorry, please forget me’? Are you trying to kill yourself again? How pathetic are you, to keep trying to die over that piece of trash?”

“I went to great lengths raising you. I gave up on going to university just so you could. I took four jobs a day just so you would want for nothing. Is this how you repay me? Is your brain full of shit, ruining yourself for that scum? If I knew this is how you would turn out, I should’ve tossed you into the pit and buried you with our dead parents back then! Are you doing right by me? Huh? Are you doing right by our parents in heaven? Huh?”

The tall woman’s face contorted in anger, and her voice was shrill, but her eyes brimmed with helpless tears.

She really didn’t know what to do with her stubborn sister anymore.

“To Yi Corp Med Center.” The tall woman ordered the driver, Mr. Zhao, coldly.

Then, she took out her phone and dialled a number. Her voice had become pleading. “Mr. Yi, please save my sister. No one can match you in the field of psychology. I’ve done a lot for you during the years you were sent abroad by your father, and I helped when you were dealing with your stepmother.

“We both know that the success I enjoy today is largely thanks to you, but at the same time, you can’t deny all the work I’ve done for you. I’m asking you to please remember that and heal my sister, and we’ll close our books. I will throw myself on my knees before you if that’s what it takes.”

Then, the tall woman exhaled slowly, as if relieved by what the other person had said.

The little crow was lying haphazardly across the backseat. She hadn’t said a word the entire time. Her expression remained fragile and sorrowful. Yet, a sly gleam can be seen flashing across her jet-black pupils.