Birthday

"Damn it, what happened these past few days? Why couldn't I remember any of it?" The Spirit Master who had received Meng Li before rubbed his head. For some inexplicable reason, his memories of the past few days had vanished.

Days came and went, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed. It was time for Na'er to awaken her martial soul.

Yet Na'er seemed to be an anomaly in this world. She had not awakened a martial soul at all.

Walking along the roadside, looking at the emerald-green leaves, Na'er was somewhat dejected, keeping her head lowered the whole time.

"Don't be sad, Na'er. What did it matter if you didn't have a martial soul? Force was useless in a peaceful age." Meng Li stroked Na'er's soft silver hair.

Na'er's long, crystalline eyelashes fluttered, but she said nothing.

"Look at me. I'm already level thirty-two. Have you ever seen me use force?" Meng Li smiled.

Na'er shook her head.

"Do we worry about food or a place to live?"

Na'er shook her head again. "But I feel so useless."

"Hey, little girl, how old are you to be calling yourself useless? You're amazing. When it comes to your research into Soul Tool Technology, I'm nowhere near your equal."

"When I was little, I stayed in a place where there were no soul masters, only ordinary people, yet they lived happily too. They had phones and computers to play games on, and jobs to make a living.

"The poor had their way of living, and the rich had theirs. Life could never be smooth sailing, but as long as you were alive, that was enough. To hell with raging storms and towering waves—so long as you lived happily, that was all that mattered.

"There was a character called Wàn Háo in a game I played. There was a line of his that I particularly liked: it seemed like everyone carried a knife, while I only had my fists. I didn't like knives. It seemed like everyone carried knives, mocking this society as being full of sinister people. Don't be sad because of their ridicule. There's no need."

"Na'er, today is the day we met." Meng Li changed the subject.

"I asked you about your birthday before, but you said you'd forgotten. So from now on, we'll use today as your birthday."

"Birthday?" Na'er was still pondering Meng Li's words. She realized that she had indeed cared too much about what others thought, cared too much about those remarks mocking her for not having a martial soul. As long as the people she cared about did not mind, why should she care what anyone else thought?

"A birthday is a day when you have to stay in a good mood. Everyone has to indulge you. You can do whatever you want, eat whatever you want, have cake, blow out candles, make wishes, and receive gifts."

As Meng Li spoke, he spread open his hand, and an exquisite red cord slipped down from it. Strung on it was a piece of jade carved with Guanyin. He had spent a great deal of money carefully selecting the jade and hiring a master craftsman to make it, while the Guanyin design itself had taken him over half a month to draw.

"So pretty." Na'er's gaze was drawn to the necklace as she took it into her hands.

"In the place I went to as a child, carving this image into it symbolized turning misfortune into safety and disaster into good fortune. I hope she can bring you good luck," Meng Li explained.

"Was it really that magical?" Na'er asked.

"It really was that magical!"

"Then I'll wear it forever.

"Why is there a photo on it? And there's a line of writing on the back too."

"You'll see it more clearly in the sunlight."

"This is a family photo of the two of us! That's amazing. How did you put it in there? And the back says, 'A birthday gift from Brother Meng Li to his little sister Na'er, August 30th.'"

"Didn't you once ask me what you should do if you forgot me someday? Remember this—don't lose this gift. This jade pendant represents the traces I've left behind. Remember, you absolutely must not lose it."

"Mhm, I definitely won't." Na'er nodded solemnly. "Even if I forget the whole world, I won't forget Brother."

"Come on, I'll put it around your neck." As he spoke, Meng Li placed the Guanyin pendant around Na'er's neck.

"Brother, this is for you." Na'er looked at the pendant around her neck, then took out another pendant and put it around Meng Li's neck.

"What is this? Your brother hasn't even had his birthday yet." Meng Li examined the small silver pendant. It was a silver gemstone, round and smooth yet edged with slight facets, threaded onto a silver cord. Faint rainbow-colored light flickered within the gemstone.

"Brother, please, please don't lose it either. You always say your memory is bad too, so please don't forget Na'er."

"Definitely.

"This makes it seem like we're parting for life and death. Since when did you become so sentimental, Na'er? Read fewer romance novels from now on. It's your birthday today, so I'll take you to the best hotel in Aolai City for a meal, then to the amusement park."

"Brother is the best." Na'er hugged Meng Li's shoulder and rubbed against him affectionately.

Over the past year, Meng Li had worked hard and earned no less than a hundred thousand using things from his previous life that did not exist here. He could certainly afford a good meal.

After eating, the two of them spent another afternoon playing at the amusement park.

Na'er smiled all day, seemingly having truly moved on from the fact that she had not awakened a martial soul.

Afterward, Na'er dragged Meng Li to the mall to buy all sorts of things, purchasing every snack she usually liked.

Meng Li indulged her as well. As he put it himself, he only had this one little sister—if he did not spoil her, who would? Children at her age were precisely in need of companionship, so he tried to take her out every week.

That evening, Meng Li and Na'er returned home carrying armfuls of bags.

Na'er flopped onto the sofa and said contentedly, "Is this happiness?"

"You've exhausted me." Meng Li smiled as he put the things they had bought where they belonged—what needed to go in the refrigerator went in the refrigerator, and what needed to go in the cupboards went in the cupboards.

After tidying everything up, Meng Li opened the cake on the table.

Na'er's delicate little nose twitched as the scent of cream drew her in.

"Brother, I'll cut the cake for you."

"Hey, make a wish first." Meng Li lit the candles on the cake for her.

Unable to wait, Na'er copied what she had learned from television. She pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and said, "I hope Brother stays healthy.

"I hope I never have to leave Brother.

"I hope I never forget Brother.

"Brother is the best."

"Hey, little girl, wishes won't come true if you say them out loud. And you can only make one wish."

"Oh." Na'er nodded and silently wished for the three wishes she had just made to come true.

"After making your wish, blow out the candles."

"Phew." Na'er puffed out her cheeks and blew twice before extinguishing the candles.

"Wait." Meng Li stopped Na'er just as she was eagerly about to eat the cake and took out the camera he had bought a few days earlier.

"Let's take a photo as a memento."

"But we've already taken enough photos today."

"This one is different. It only happens once a year, so of course we have to record it."

The soul tool camera here was very convenient. With a single click, it could develop the photo, and its resolution was quite high.

Meng Li took many pictures and put the best-looking one in a frame. In the photo, the two stood beside the cake, both smiling brilliantly.

"Can we eat the cake now?" Na'er asked eagerly.

"We can." Meng Li smiled.

"I really hope every day could be like this." Na'er said innocently.