Su Jin Xia thought she died. So why is she now sitting with a pretty girl and enjoying tea?
Staring blankly at the pretty girl across her, she tries to comprehend everything.
When she woke up, she found herself lying on a hard elevated platform only to see she was actually lying down uncomfortably inside a magnificent red and gold pavilion.
And the memories of betrayal kept on repeating in her head. Her heavy pants echoed in the silent space and when she calmed down she realized that there was something wrong.
Didn't she die? Then why is she...
She is still wearing the red robes that she previously loved and now hated too much that she wanted to rip it apart.
This clothes only remind her of pain. So she stripped it off until only her undergarments remained.
Suddenly, the red clothes she threw was set in fire and turned into ashes in a second.
"... what... happened..?"
Su Jin Xia shook in fear and alertly looked at her surroundings.
Inside the pavilion, the ceiling is seemingly endless darkness but what mystified it was that just beyond those thin and almost transparent soft curtains separates two worlds. One was a dark abyss and one was a majestic sacredness.
The pavilion is surrounded by a beautiful round of flowers that sways with the gentle breeze of wind. Specs of light flutters around like snow. She tried to reach for one, but it passed through her hand.
The place looked so magical as everything seems to be shining and majestic except the inside of the pavilion where she woke up which seems to be eternally night.
Moments later, a beautiful young boy appeared beside her without her notice.
"Wear this. You can't just stay in your undergarments forever, right?"
"..!"
Su Jin Xia wrapped her small figure with her hands in fear and embarrassment. Although it was just a young boy, in the world where Su Jin Xia came from is a place where men and woman are strictly differentiated.
Quickly grabbing and wearing it, Su Jin Xia knew that to know her own situation, this young boy is the only answer for now.
"... I appreciate your help."
Though this young boy did help her, she is nevertheless a prideful noble from birth to say 'thank you' to someone beneath her status. But thinking of this weird place and this young boy, she managed to say at least some appreciation... avoiding the 'thank you' words.
The young boy didn't seem to appreciate it and just harrumphed.
"Follow me."
She hesitated whether to follow or not but faced with his impatient and frowning face, she was led into a room and subconsciously sat down in front a tea table. Just in time, a pretty girl garbed in soft fabrics entered and helped herself to a tea before serving a cup to Su Jin Xia.
The path they took earlier made her realized how wealthy could the owner be. From every furniture, walls, ceiling and even the marbled floor shouts wealth.
Everything looks too beautiful. The place, the things and people that it made looked so unreal.
Just what is this place? Is this where spirits go after they die?
The pretty girl smiled which made Su Jin Xia stun at how beautiful she is. Although the pretty girl can't be described as a devastating beauty, you can't deny the charm she has when she smiles. If this was a place full of people, surely, every each one will be mesmerized.
Su Jin Xia didn't notice the small blush creeping on her face, she was in daze until she heard a crisp sound of the tea cup colliding the table.
"My name is Yan Yi. I am the Guardian in charge of the 1619th world. Codename #0021. I will be responsible for you, Su Jin Xia, in accordance that you came from the world I am in charged with."
Yan Yi said it with an obvious attitude of someone bored and looking for fun. So this leaves the poor Su Jin Xia in more confusion.
What guardian of the what world? Code.. code what?
Yan Yi is really disappointed. Later she will send another complain about this. She clearly requested to be assigned in a modern world, why did she end up in ancients? Bad review!
She finds it troublesome when explaining things to ancient people. Humph, does she have to do this yet again and again?
"The world you live in is just one of the 3000 worlds. The higher up which you can describe as the gods in your terms handles all of it. They assigned Guardians such as me in each of those world. So, to summarize everything, I am the Guardian of the world you came from."
Su Jin Xia's mind couldn't process everything she said and her head starts to ache in result.
Still, she could understand the gist of it. This young woman in front her is the 'Guardian' of the world she grew up and live in. And that world is just one of the thousands of world they... uh, the gods are managing..?
Her headache stopped when a fragrant smell floated around her. It eased up her pain and helped her relax.
It seems like it came from the another serving of tea that Yan Yi just poured to her tea cup.
Subconsciously, Su Jin Xia said a small "Thank you..." to her before drinking up the tea to calm down.
She realized it too late what she have just blurted, and in her fair white cheeks appear a shy pink color.
Yan Yi smiled with a thin fan covering half of her face. A sly glint passed through her eyes before disappearing.
After Su Jin Xia calmed down, she somehow could understand it.
"Why am I here then? Shouldn't I be dead? Is this the afterlife?"
"Of course not. If this is afterlife, you should be already lining up in the underworld for a soup of oblivion right now."
"Then this place is..."
"Now, now. Don't fret. We all have the time in universe, darling."
Darling... It somehow felt off for Su Jin Xia. Usually, elders use this endearment to their juniors... but looking at Yan Yi... She looks younger than her.
"Anyways, let us talk about what you will do after this. So let me explain some things for you."
Yan Yi played with the thin fan on her hand while casually saying things.
"As the Guardian of your world, I am responsible for you who have been qualified and granted a chance to relive your life again. I am sure that Miss Su is very aware of your rebirth in the last life."
"..!"
This time Su Jin Xia can see some connections and understand things more.
"Does this mean that... that me going back again in time is that 'higher ups' and your works? If that so... then, then why I came back seems a little more clear for me."
Yan Yi stopped twirling the thin fan and hid her smile again behind it.
"Well, not really. Your rebirth have caused a little confusion, but fortunately for you it was discovered to be just a sudden low maintenance in the administration part and fixed it." Or else, you would have been considered as virus and will be forever deleted.
She didn't say the latter as it will not really matter whether Su Jin Xia knows it or not. But luckily for her that Yan Yi is currently not in the mood to explain things more elaborately, because if she did, Su Jin Xia would be pressured to know that her rebirth had actually almost killed her... forever, that is.
No rebirth nor reincarnation. A total obliteration of her soul.
Yan Yi's thoughts strayed far away and remembered a man's figure. She have previously doubted the man who was Su Jin Xia's husband, the emperor.
If she is not wrong, he could be also a host and she have a hint who it was. But... that man's mission is not inline with this world's path.
Well... not that she cares, that is unless he did something out of line.
Yan Yi is the kind of person who wants to prevent any troublesome things to happen. That's why she wanted to 'take care' of him the first time she had her suspicions. And that will wait until she receives the administrations answer.
Clasping her hand to the fan, Yan Yi took Su Jin Xia's attention to her. The poor young woman was just connecting dots to dots to create a line until making a graph to picture out the result.
"Alright. That's that. And because of your rebirth, you have triggered qualifications for you to become a tasker. A tasker is someone who will be given missions to complete and will be given rewards. Don't worry, this rewards will give you benefits. A chance to relive your original life again or you want more beyond that. Of course, if you end up enjoying doing the missions, you can continue as it is. Well, in short you will get what you wish for if you have enough points."
Su Jin Xia's eyes became firm when she heard those conditions. Their betrayal... her pain...Her poor child... she wants to get revenge of course.
With no hesitation, Su Jin Xia said in determination : "I will be a tasker."
Hiding her smile behind the fan, Yan Yi smiled.
"Are you sure? You can reject this too and can go to the reincarnation wheel now."
"No, I will be a tasker. I wouldn't let those scums be happy."
Yan Yi put the fan on the table and poured tea to her cup with a very bright smile.
"Then, happy travel, Miss Su."