Chapter 13: Barely Edible

"The pot is already red-hot!" Fang Xiaoling’s shout pulled Luo Lan back to reality. "If you want to stir-fry, add oil; if you want to boil, add water!"

"Oh, right... let's stir-fry some vegetables." Luo Lan opened the cabinet next to the stove and took out a half-empty jug of soybean oil. She was about to pour it into the pot when she suddenly remembered something. "Wait, I haven't chopped the vegetables yet. I can't just throw them in whole."

"What on earth are you thinking? Add some water to the pot first; you can't just heat it dry like this."

Luo Lan grabbed a water scoop from the cabinet and ran outside. When she saw the old well covered by a massive stone disc, the scoop slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground.

Fang Xiaoling followed her out. "Don't tell me you can't move that rock?"

"I was the one who put it there myself," Luo Lan said, staring at the stone disc for a moment before turning back. "Actually, those vegetables can be eaten raw. I didn't use any pesticides."

"They still need to be washed, don't they?" Fang Xiaoling walked over. "Besides, I'm feeling a bit thirsty. I want some water."

"Fine." Luo Lan let out a soft sigh. She planted her feet in a wide stance and focused her energy into her core. Whether it was an illusion or not, Fang Xiaoling seemed to see a circular current of air swirling around Luo Lan's feet. With a sharp shout, Luo Lan thrust both palms forcefully against the stone disc.

They remained locked in a stalemate for a moment, but the stone disc didn't budge. Luo Lan let her arms drop, looking like a wilted eggplant. "It's no use. Li Mengli’s body is too frail. Even with Qigong, I can't move it."

"Are you serious? You looked pretty formidable earlier when you kicked that old man flying."

"That old bag of bones weighed nothing! This is a thousand-pound stone disc." Luo Lan had clearly given up. "I can't move it anyway. I'm going to pull the firewood out. If you're thirsty, just gnaw on some cabbage."

Seeing Luo Lan return to the kitchen to literally pull the rug out from under the fire, Fang Xiaoling reluctantly followed her back into the cabin. She squatted beside a basket, picked up a head of cabbage, peeled away several outer layers, and ate only the heart. "I have to say, it’s barely edible."

After knocking the firewood on the ground to extinguish it, Luo Lan squatted down and picked up a carrot to eat. "What a waste. Do you have any idea how many people in the world would kill to eat the cabbage leaves you threw away, even in this day and age?"

"If you think it's such a waste, you pick them up and eat them." Fang Xiaoling didn't care. After finishing the cabbage heart, she grabbed a cucumber and started gnawing. "This is better for quenching thirst."

"Why should I?" Luo Lan snatched the half-eaten cucumber from Fang Xiaoling’s hand. "Do I owe you something?"

"There are plenty left, why grab mine?" Fang Xiaoling pulled a fresh one from the basket. "We don't even have any bean paste. I really don't understand why you insisted on bringing me here to eat this stuff."

"We do have some." Luo Lan, as if just remembering, stood up and retrieved a jar of bean paste from the cabinet. She squinted at the text printed on the bottom. "March 26, 2021. Good, it’s not expired. This stuff has a long shelf life."

With the addition of saltiness, the two ate with much more gusto, the sound of crunching echoing through the room. Before long, half the basket of vegetables was gone. When their pace finally slowed, Luo Lan spoke up. "Xiaoling, do you remember the driver who came to pick you up at your apartment complex gate?"

Fang Xiaoling chewed thoughtfully. "The time you came to get me? I remember. Wasn't that the driver for Liu Er's grandson? A bald guy. I remember him clearly."

"Wrong. The bald guy is the third one, one of my grandson's underlings. There was a young, handsome guy—that was the driver. He told me to just call him 'Little Tiger.' Remember him?"

"Oh..." Fang Xiaoling couldn't be bothered to recall, so she gave a perfunctory reply. "I think there was someone like that. What about him?"

"He is the target of my mission this time: Tian Hu."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaoling froze, a carrot stuck in her mouth. She recalled the young man driving the car that day, her eyes widening. "How can that be? How old is he?"

"Swallow your food before you speak."

Fang Xiaoling gulped down everything in her mouth and continued, "He might not be old compared to our true selves, but compared to you—I mean, compared to Li Mengli—he must be six or seven years older, right? Besides, you're only a high school senior, and he's already out on the streets. Isn't that just ruining someone's life?"

"Ha, it's not yet decided who's ruining whom." Luo Lan cracked her knuckles. "I want to see how many other kids are as wayward as him. I might as well teach them all a lesson while I'm at it."

"Stop cracking your fingers, you'll damage the cartilage. This is Li Mengli’s body, be careful." Fang Xiaoling burped from fullness, yet still felt hungry, as if she had just drunk a stomach full of water. She tilted her head toward the door; beneath the thin clouds, the sun's rays were faintly visible. "The sun is setting. I skipped a whole day of school with you. The school must have notified our parents by now, right?"

"Yeah." Luo Lan checked the time on her phone. "I have a date with Tian Hu at the rooftop bar at six. It's about time to head that way."

While Luo Lan checked the time, Fang Xiaoling noticed the missed calls on the screen. "Thirty-two missed calls?! Is that from our parents?"

"Li Mengli’s parents, and the office number for the police station. It doesn't matter. I'll be transmigrating back in a few days anyway, let them fuss all they want." Luo Lan stuffed the phone back into her leather jacket pocket and stood up to stretch. "Let's go. I'll let you see my skills at completing a mission. My personal record is half an hour. Sometimes, if the guy is a real scumbag, the difficulty increases—after all, I have to make them truly fall in love with me for the mission to count."

"I'm not going. I want to go home." Fang Xiaoling’s tone was firm. She knew she couldn't sway Luo Lan, but she wanted to make one last attempt. "Sister, can you really not feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The presence of a soul," Fang Xiaoling said gravely. "I think you're too focused on your mission target. Ever since we transmigrated, I've frequently felt Li Mengli’s soul. Even right now, she’s somewhere, watching my every move with intense focus."

Luo Lan placed her palm on Fang Xiaoling’s forehead. "Are you sick?"

"I'm serious!" Fang Xiaoling brushed her hand away. "I swear, many times she even talks to me. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but just now, when I saw those missed calls on your phone, I was certain I heard her voice!"

"Haha, what kind of voice? Telling you to hurry home so her parents don't worry?" Luo Lan shook her head. She had transmigrated tens of thousands of times; was she supposed to be swayed by a newcomer’s intuition? It was absurd. She would rather believe a street fortune teller than Fang Xiaoling.

"Yes! She’s like someone banging on the glass that imprisons her, screaming at me to go home and not worry her parents." Fang Xiaoling stood up and grabbed Luo Lan’s sleeve. "Sister, you heard Li Mengli’s soul, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes, I heard it, I heard it. Let's go now." Luo Lan was clearly humoring her, much like a parent humoring a child who claims to have seen a superhero. "If you don't want to go, that's fine. Once you're back in the city, just take a taxi home."

"If I go back, what should I tell them about your situation?"

"Just say I went out to hang out with friends." Luo Lan stepped out the door first. A few steps later, she added without looking back, "Forget it, just tell them I'm dead. It'll save them from calling me incessantly and changing numbers to harass me. I block one, they use another. It's annoying."

Fang Xiaoling trotted after her. "I think I'll just tell them you went out with friends."

Luo Lan rode her motorcycle to a spot in the city where it was easy to hail a cab and left Fang Xiaoling there. As they parted ways, Fang Xiaoling called out for her sister to come back soon. Luo Lan pretended not to hear and left without a backward glance. Fang Xiaoling knew in her heart that this was likely a permanent farewell in this world.

"It's okay," Fang Xiaoling whispered to herself, watching Luo Lan’s back fade away, a sound only she could hear. "We'll see each other in the other world."

Luo Lan, meanwhile, felt a sense of relief. She instinctively straightened her back, caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror, and tucked two stray locks of hair behind her ears. She accelerated, weaving through the traffic, and soon arrived at the foot of the Rooftop Bar. It was named for being located on the roof of the building, a moderately famous open-air bar in the city known as a gathering spot for handsome men and beautiful women. Long lines had formed in front of the four elevators. When the elevator Luo Lan was waiting for finally opened, it was completely empty. No one was coming down; it was as if the elevator were a man-eating machine that only allowed people to enter, never to leave.

By the time Luo Lan got in, the elevator was packed, yet it didn't sound any alarm for exceeding its weight limit. It seemed as if it would safely reach the top floor as long as people could squeeze in. Luo Lan fished a lipstick from her pocket—the casing served as a small mirror. Pushed against others, she felt someone’s hand brush against her thigh, but she didn't care. She called this "when in Rome," and besides, this wasn't her own body.

The elevator doors opened, and people swarmed out as if desperate to enter the arms of heaven. The theme of the bar that night did indeed feel like paradise. The entire floor was covered in lawn grass, soft white light bathed everyone’s faces from all directions, and even the background music was a gentle, soothing melody. The only thing out of place was the raucous, noisy chatter of the crowd—clinking glasses, embraces, and laughter. It was as if no matter how the environment changed, it was merely a formality for them, failing to alter the mundane routine they lived every day.

Luo Lan looked at the grinning, baring-toothed crowd. She felt they were all very happy, yet also deeply lost. This theme of paradise was like a magic mirror, reflecting the demons who were usually suffering in the hell of their daily lives.