Chapter 5: The Hidden Power of the Jade Pendant

Although Li Wei was focused on the list he was making, his thoughts kept drifting back to the jade pendant that was tucked away in his pocket. Something about it nagged at him...he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was hiding a secret, a secret that could prove invaluable to his plans. But what? What could a simple piece of jade possibly hold? He had no idea. Maybe he was just overthinking it. Maybe it was nothing more than an ordinary trinket.

Li Wei shook his head in frustration and decided to take a break from all the endless pondering. He stood up, stretching his arms and heading towards the kitchen. The coolness of the marble floors beneath his feet grounded him, and he reached for an apple, hoping the crisp fruit would clear his mind.

He settled at the counter, the knife gleaming under the kitchen light as he began peeling the apple. But, as his hand moved a bit too quickly, the sharp blade cut into his finger.

"Just my luck," Li Wei muttered to himself. "I've handled swords, daggers, and all sorts of weapons for years, but I can’t even cut an apple without messing up." He shook his head, gritting his teeth as he quickly made his way to the sink. The blood flowed from the small cut, staining the sink water a deep crimson.

Li Wei hurriedly washed the blood off his finger, his mind preoccupied with the pain and the foolishness of his mishap. As he reached for the first aid kit, he absentmindedly wiped his hands on his trousers, not noticing the stain spreading across the fabric, right over where the jade pendant lay hidden in his pocket.

The pendant, unnoticed by Li Wei, seemed to respond. A faint glow emanated from the area, but he was far too distracted by his cut to notice. After bandaging his finger, he looked at the apple, now untouched, and sighed. He decided he’d have someone else take care of the fruit for him. He called a servant to help and bring the cut fruit up to his room.

Once back in his room, Li Wei began to change his trousers, still thinking about the pendant. As he pulled the fabric over his legs, he suddenly felt an odd warmth, like a gentle heat radiating from his pocket. His hand froze, and his heart raced a little faster. The warmth was coming from the pendant.

Curiosity and unease tugged at him as he reached into his pocket. The moment his fingers brushed against the smooth jade, the pendant began to glow. First faintly, then brighter. It light almost blinding in the dim room. Li Wei stumbled back, his pulse quickening. Fear swept over him. He had no idea what was happening, but this wasn’t just a simple trinket anymore. It was alive, somehow.

The glow intensified for a split second, then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the light dimmed. The pendant’s radiance faded entirely, leaving Li Wei standing in stunned silence, his hand still gripping the jade. He looked at his wrist, expecting to find some trace of what had just happened. And then, he saw it.

A small symbol, barely visible, had appeared on his skin... a tiny, intricate butterfly. It looked almost like a tattoo, its lines delicate and precise. If you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed it entirely. Li Wei’s eyes widened as his fingers traced the symbol. What was it? Where had it come from?

He hesitated, unsure of what to do next. Could the pendant have done this? Was this some kind of mark? He touched the butterfly again, trying to understand what was happening. And then, without warning, the world around him began to change.

Everything blurred. The room spun, and a powerful force seemed to pull him somewhere else entirely. The air around him thickened, and the faint scent of earth and something ancient filled his senses. His eyes darted around, and suddenly, he was no longer in his bedroom. The surroundings were unfamiliar... a bit strange and wild. The walls of his room had disappeared, replaced by the towering, ancient trees of a dense forest.

The air was cooler, the sounds of birds and distant animal calls echoing in the distance. His feet, now bare, stood on soft moss-covered ground. Li Wei blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"What... where am I?" His voice trembled as he tried to grasp the situation. The pendant still pulsed in his pocket, and the butterfly symbol on his wrist tingled with energy.

Before him, a faint shimmer appeared in the air, like a ripple on water. And then, a figure emerged from the haze—a silhouette, a woman with flowing robes, her face obscured by the mist. She took a step toward him, her presence almost ethereal, like she didn’t belong to this world at all.

"Li Wei," she spoke his name softly, her voice carrying a strange, ancient power. "It seems you have finally been able to activate the jade... You have awakened the gift."

Li Wei stood frozen, his heart pounding in his chest. The pendant... the mark on his wrist... what did it all mean? And who was this woman?

Li Wei stood frozen, his heart pounding in his chest. The pendant… the mark on his wrist… what did it all mean? And who was this woman?

The mysterious figure seemed to sense the confusion and disbelief swirling within him. Her gaze softened as if she could read every thought, every question that lingered in his mind. And then, she spoke.

“You’re still confused, aren’t you?” Her voice was gentle, but it carried the weight of centuries. “I understand. Everything is happening so quickly, isn't it?”

The woman smiled, her eyes twinkling with a secret only she knew. “It’s because I’ve known you for a very long time, Li Wei. I was there when you showed kindness to a stranger in your past life. I was there when you gave food and water to an old woman, someone who was starving and alone. I was that old woman.”

Li Wei’s eyes widened. His breath hitched in his chest. This woman… she was the old lady he had helped, the one who had given him the jade pendant. But how could that be? She had been old, frail, and had passed away long ago. How was she standing before him now, in her youthful form, speaking of the past as if it had been yesterday?

The woman’s face grew more serious. “I am a fragment of my soul left behind when I died, waiting for the right moment… waiting for you. You were the one who helped me when no one would, and in turn, I wanted to give you a chance to make things right. I tried to reach you when you died in that ambush, but I failed. Time passed, and you were lost to me.”

She paused, her expression softening as her hands fluttered to her heart. “But now… now you’ve activated the jade. You’ve awakened the power that can change your fate. This place,” she waved her hand, “is the space I’ve created for you.”

Li Wei could hardly process the words she spoke. She continued, her voice growing more confident, “This place is its own world, an entire ecosystem that functions beyond the bounds of your old world. There’s a river, a forest full of animals to hunt, fertile lands for growing crops, and more. It’s a world waiting for you to cultivate it.”

Li Wei’s mind raced. A world? It sounded like something out of a fairy tale. The old lady… no, young lady?....she had been waiting for him to activate the jade so that he could make use of this incredible space.

She smiled at him, her eyes filled with pride. “But that’s not all, Li Wei. There’s a magical spring here. It has the power to heal... Your health will improve the more you use it and even help you gain an ability. Drink from it, bathe in it, and you will feel the changes. This world is yours now. But remember, you are the steward of it. The fate of this place is tied to your choices.”

Li Wei’s mind was spinning. He had heard nothing of this in his past life. He couldn’t even imagine such a place existing, let alone having it handed to him now. But the more he thought about it, the more it felt right. This was the gift he had unknowingly been seeking, something to give him purpose, to rebuild what he had lost. And it had come in the form of a jade pendant, a symbol of his past kindness, now imbued with incredible power.

Before Li Wei could speak, the woman’s figure began to fade, her form growing translucent. She reached out one last time, her voice soft, but filled with finality.

“Li Wei, my kind-hearted soul, make good use of this opportunity. I believe in you.”

And just like that, she was gone. Her image melted away into the air, and Li Wei was left standing alone in the forest, the silence settling around him like a blanket.

For a long moment, he stood still, trying to absorb the enormity of what had just transpired. The world she had described was all around him now—a world that seemed to pulse with possibility.

“Well,” Li Wei muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, “she was right. This place does feel like a world of its own.”

A newfound sense of purpose began to swell within him. He was no longer the lost soldier from his past life, no longer a man adrift. Here, in this space, he had a chance to rebuild, to create a life beyond what he had ever dreamed possible.

He began walking, his feet crunching on the soft forest floor. The trees towered above him, their leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. The air was fresh, thick with the scent of pine and earth. The further he walked, the more he marvelled at the beauty of the space. The birds sang from the treetops, and small creatures darted in and out of sight. This world, unlike anything he had known before, seemed to pulse with life.

As he wandered deeper into the forest, something caught his eye. A glimmer of light through the trees. He walked toward it, curiosity tugging at him. Soon, he came to a clearing, and there it was: a spring unlike any he had seen. It shimmered with a golden hue, the water sparkling as if infused with the very essence of the sun itself.

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