Throughout history, humans have always had this grand pre-conceived notion of gods and deities being celestial beings who are one step away from helping them solve their problems. However, the truth was far from that. We don't actually have the authority to directly interfere with anything that happens in the human realm. Only the Jade Emperor could do that. And let me tell you, the number of times that I've witnessed that ancient man lift his finger is less than the fingers on my one hand. For the rest of us, the most that we could do after hearing your prayer is to appear in your dreams to inspire your own problem-solving skills. So the next time when  you had a weird dream of interacting with a stranger you've never met. That was probably a god or a deity. And if we appeared in your dreams and you couldn't recall it the next day, then that's on you. Yes, you. I'm talking to you.

Anyways back to my story.

It took me years to recover from losing Wei again. I spent my time wandering about the evergreen field, looking more like a soulless wisp than a deity, ignoring all of my responsibilities and the prayers of my followers. It was a miracle that I still have any followers. 

Yes, I know that Wei was, or will be, reincarnated. But he would no longer live as my son in his new life. Nevertheless, I was still curious.

"Is his soul reincarnated yet?" I kept close at Meng Po's feet as she scooped another bowl of soup from her bottomless cauldron and passed it to the next person in line. The person, who seemed to have passed away from some disease that was evidenced by his pock-marked skin drank the soup without so much as a word before tossing the bowl in the basin that was placed just beside the cauldron. After that, he crossed the short cobblestoned walk that led to a misty doorway and disappeared into it.

Meng Po turned to look at me. "Peiyang Niang Niang. You know that I couldn't tell you anything."

I lowered my gaze and stood still.

Seeing that I wasn't pursuing the matter anymore, Meng Po continued to serve her soup.

I saw a few pairs of feet passed by before I blurted, "Is he a boy or girl?"

My sudden question caught the unassuming Meng Po. "A b-"

"Hah! Got you! So he's a boy in this life too." I said as a smile slowly formed on my face, reminiscing Wei when he was my son.

A flabbergasted Meng Po countered. "You- You tricked me. I thought you gave up from asking questions."

"Well, you thought. But I won't stop until I get my answer. Just let me know his name and birth date. I'm just going to observe him through my all-seeing mirror. Nothing more."

An all-seeing mirror is a mirror that reflected the human realm. Every single god and deity have their own. This was what we used to look at how our followers were faring. Do you know why you need to show your face and recite you name and date of birth when you offer your prayers? I'll tell you why. It's so that we could recite your name and birth date to this mirror to observe your current situation. And we would be able to recognize if it's you if we saw your face from our altar. You won't believe how many people have the same name and birth date. It gets confusing sometimes.

Meng Po let out a long resigned sigh. She couldn't stand my constant pestering anymore and finally gave in. "Fine. I'll tell you. But promise me that you wouldn't interfere with his life." 

"Of course." I nodded. If she had asked for me to sell my soul, I would've done so. As long as I could get my hands on any information regarding Wei's reincarnation.

"In any way." Meng Po's eyes were like warning lanterns, blazing with gravity.

I nodded again. "In any way."

Meng Po closed her eyes and sighed. By then, she had stopped passing out her soup for some time and a dense line was forming speedily.

"His name is Xiao Pan. Date of birth, 21st day of the eleventh lunar month in the Year of the Rooster."

My eyes gleamed with gratitude as I waved my goodbye hurriedly. "Thank you! I won't forget your kindness!"

While I was leaving, I heard Meng Po's mumbles which sounded like, "I just can't stand having you stuck on me day in day out."

But I didn't care. Now, I just need to find a quiet place to look into my all-seeing mirror.

I arrived at a corner of the evergreen field that sees little activity and recited the name and birth date that Meng Po gave me to my all-seeing mirror. There are no two mirrors that are the same. Mine was the size of my palm and framed in the lightest shade of jade. 

The surface of the mirror blurred before revealing a boy. The terrains surrounding the boy told  me exactly where Wei was reincarnated to. It was at the west. The place he lost his life. I knew because I had asked around to see if anyone knew anything about the west after Wei was drafted. At the time, no one knew anything of the west but I remembered that a random fellow told me the soil at the west is a few shades darker than everywhere else,  so much so that it sometimes looks like it's almost black. It was why crops could grow so much better there.

However, the boy's chapped lips and ashen face told me that the area was having a bad drought. A drought that might've even had lasted years. The once thriving agriculture hub was dying out. Then, the boy broke into a grin. And even in a different body, I  could recognize that grin. To be fair, I would've been able to recognize it no matter how many times he was reincarnated. It seemed to me like Wei was still the bright and cheerful boy even in his current life.

A smile formed on my face as I watched him. He whistled as he skipped, a basket in his hand. The basket was falling apart from the weight of whatever was inside it.

The boy stopped in front of a rugged door, took a deep breath and nervously wiped his hands over the tattered clothes that hung on his bony back. I scowled at how unhealthy he looked. 

The boy then opened the door gingerly, the old hinges creaked as he pushed in. Before his hand left the door, it was yanked open rudely.

"AND WHERE IN THE WORLD DID YOU GO?!" A grouchy woman roared. Her roar made the boy and even I jump.

The woman yanked the boy and shook him. "You are supposed to work! This is why all the crops are dying! It's because of your incompetence!"

"B- But mama, I got you potatoes." The boy whimpered and lifted the basket to the woman.

The woman flicked her arm at the basket which threw all of its contents to the ground. "I don't need your potatoes! I'm SICK of potatoes!"

That was the first red blot on my vision.

The boy quickly squatted and picked up the potatoes. The woman raised her hand and it landed on the boy. And she didn't soften her blows at all. "Stop." Smack. "Picking." Smack. "The." Smack. "Gods." Smack. "Damned." Smack. "POTATOES!"

Red like blood, swallowed my entire vision. That was Wei. That was my Wei. My only son. 

How dare she.