Yue Qin opened her eyes and glanced around her. Everyone was still in mediative poses, trying their best to form their Cores. On a closer look though, she realised that some cushions were already empty. Their occupants had most likely already finished and left.
Curiously, Yue Qin lifted her finger and wanted to see what would happen if she tried touching the person next to her. However, as soon as her finger came near to that person, she seemed to touch an electric wall.
Yue Qin hissed in pain as her fingertips were seared by the invisible magic wall. So that was what the guy on stage meant by protective runes.
Noticing her movements, Ms Ana walked before her and her fingers moved in a practised movement. Yue Qin could feel some sort of magic being used but she was unsure what it was exactly. Logically speaking though, she guessed that it was to deactivate the protective runes. "You have completed your Core Formation?"
"Yes."
"Then come along with me."
Standing up to follow Ms Ana, Yue Qin wobbled. She could feel the sudden onset of pins and needles at her feet. It seemed like she had sat for too long causing a lack of blood to circulate to her feet.
A hand reached out to her shoulder to stabilize her. Yue Qin turned to Ms Ana and smiled in thanks. The dark-skinned woman nodded her head in silent acknowledgement.
"You chose to become a Priest in the end?"
"Yes."
"A noble choice. Priests have always been in high demand due to the nature of their skills. Unfortunately, the pre-requisite to have an affinity towards the light element has left many unable to become one even if they wanted to. And for those that did have such an affinity, some chose to be warriors while others mages instead."
As they neared the exit of the hall and walked into a side room, Yue Qin noticed the other students crowding around and chatting away. There was a short queue in front of another teacher who sat behind a plastic desk.
"All right, I need to return now. You need to join the queue. The teacher there will check if your Core was formed correctly and advise you further. See you in class tomorrow." Then Ms Ana turned and left.
Not knowing any of the other students around, Yue Qin quietly joined the queue and observed. On the teacher's table, there were three crystal balls that looked like what the fortune tellers at roadside stores would use to cheat customers. The teacher would first ask the student which Class they chose and then ask them to place their hand on one of the balls. Warriors placed their hands on the left ball while mages placed their hands on the right ball.
No one before her had placed their hand on the middle ball yet, which drove the point of the rarity of priests across.
As the students placed their hands on the crystal ball it would light up at varying intensities. Yue Qin guessed it probably reflected the completeness of their embryonic cores.
The queue moved quickly and soon it was her turn.
"Name, Teacher and Class?" The teacher asked.
"Yue Qin. Ms Ana. Priest."
Suddenly, the chatter died down and everyone turned to face her. The teacher though continued to write on his papers like it was nothing.
Yue Qin ducked her head in embarrassment at the attention. She was not used to having so many eyes on her.
The teacher cleared his throat. "Place your palm on the middle crystal ball."
Then Yue Qin did as instructed. Unlike the others before her, Yue Qin's ball glowed exceedingly brightly causing the teacher to scrutinize her, a trace of appreciation flashing past his eyes.
"You have formed a perfect embryonic core. Keep up the good work! For now, you should go home and familiarize yourself with your Core."
Then he took a goodie bag from behind and passed it to her. "Please sign this to acknowledge you have received the bag."
Yue Qin took the bag, hiding the smile forming at the corner of her mouth. It seemed like some things never changed even in another world. Clutching the bag, Yue Qin walked out back into the school's corridors. Now she needed to find a place to hide while she fused with her current body's memories. Otherwise, she wouldn't even know how to go home.
Yue Qin looked around at the empty classrooms and hesitated. They didn't feel safe enough. Then she thought of the gym's toilet which seemed like the best place to hide. After all, she could lock the door and no one would try to pry open a locked cubicle door. Moreover, the showering room in the gym toilet would be able to save her if there was a need to wash off the impurities from her body after receiving the rewards.
The school couldn't possibly be that big right? Indeed walking for a few minutes, she found a female toilet near the end of the corridor. They even had 2 cubicles for bathing! This was perfect as it saved her the trouble of looking for the gym.
Luckily for her, no one had used the cubicles to bathe recently so the floor was dry. As such, she quickly took a toilet roll into the cubicle, locked the door and started to wipe the floor. Then she sat on the ground in preparation for using the memory orb. Although she didn't have to sit down, Yue Qin felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. What if the sudden influx of memories caused her a giant migraine or caused her to lose her consciousness? Hence it was better for her health if she sat down.
"Apollo! Activate the memory orb!"
Suddenly, she found herself transported to a different place. Her eyesight was blurry and she couldn't see much. But what she did hear was a woman talking. "Hello, my princess. Your name is Yue Qin and I am your mother." Her body garbled for a while before it fell asleep.
The next few memories were also a blur due to the limited eyesight of babies. By then, Yue Qin understood that she was living through her counterpart's life. Everything that she saw and experienced was what had actually happened and she was nothing but a passenger in this ride.
Her days as an infant were often spent with her mother and father. Then, as she grew older and her sight turned better, she realised that she had more than one father. There was a Daddy Feng, a Daddy Lin and a Daddy Zhang. For a moment, her adult brain blanked in confusion. Did that mean her mother had a harem? That was certainly not what she expected in a modern society.
After all, even back in her old world, although there were polygamous relationships, it was mostly a man having multiple wives. Rarely would you ever see a man share his wife unless it was in poor families to avoid having to split the family inheritance among multiple branches or due to the lack of money to pay a dowry for a wife for each son. Most men were extremely against having their woman touched by another man and having to wear a green hat.
Her three fathers were as different as day and night. Daddy Zhang was a businessman to the core, shrewd and cunning. He had a nose so sharp that he could sniff out any inconsistencies and changes in people's emotions. Daddy Lin was loud and boisterous. A typical musclehead that acted on impulse, instead of stopping to think about the consequences of his actions first. Daddy Feng acted like the eye of a storm, gentle and tranquil, seemingly distant from the world. Yet, when provoked, like a hornet's nest, he would mercilessly destroy them all.
Then, one day, as her mother was carrying her around the garden, she met them - A grumpy 10-year-old girl who looked like she would rather be anywhere else, a 12-year-old boy who seemed to like acting like an adult, and a 5-year-old little girl who was puffing her face out like a pufferfish.
"Be good and listen to them alright?" Her mother kissed her forehead gently before handing her over to the other woman who stood behind the 3 kids.
Yue Qin lifted her hands out to reach for her mother, garbling, feeling a sudden fear overwhelm her.
"Be good okay? Mama has to leave for a few days. This is my sister who will be taking care of you for the time being." Her mother smiled, clasping her outreached hands in hers, sending a familiar warmth through her body. Then her mother turned and left, leaving her alone in the hands of her aunt - or so she thought.
"Can I swee her? Can I swee her mama?" The smallest girl chirped, tugging on the ends of her aunt's long dress.
"Of course you can sweetie. Also, it's see not swee alright?" Her aunt knelt down allowing all three kids to take a good look at her.
The little girl stretched out her hands and pinched her cheeks, causing her baby self to start sniffling.
Her aunt's eyebrows visibly furrowed at her daughter's actions and she started rocking her arms, softly humming under her breath to calm the infant down.
From behind the little girl, Yue Qin could hear the elder girl mutter a soft "idiot" under her breath.
"Why don't you introduce yourselves to your new sister?"
That should have been the first warning.
Almost immediately, the little girl enthusiastically pointed her thumb to herself and chirped, "I am Bing Bing!" Then she paused and added on "That is Ning Ning! And this is my big brother Yao Yao! He's the bwest!"
She could feel a soft pet on her head as Yao Yao took a step forward when Bing Bing introduced him. "Hi, Xiao Qin Qin. I'm your big brother Jun Yao. But you can call me Yao Yao. In the future, if anyone troubles you, I'll beat them up for you alright?"
Yue Qin blinked as she stared at him incomprehensively. Xiao Qin Qin? Wasn't her name Yue Qin? Was that his way of giving her a nickname?
The elder girl rolled her eyes. "She's 2. Don't be so violent in front of her."
"What violent?" Yao Yao retorted. "I was being protective alright?!"
"Stop joking around. Who needs you to protect them. Look at how scrawny you are. You can't even lift a 10kg rock!" Ning Ning mocked, sticking out her tongue at her brother.
"Hey! That's perfectly normal at my age alright?" Yao Yao humphed in annoyance, rolling his eyes.
Her aunt, after seeing that the four of them got along rather well left her to her cousins care soon after. "Take care of Qin Qin alright? I have to go to work."
"Yess Mummy." They chorused in unison.
After her aunt left, the three kids continued their bickering and Yue Qin watched on in fond amusement. It was truly a heartwarming sight and she dearly hoped that the bond between them would remain as strong as they grew older.
Then Bing Bing ran up to her again after a while, wanting to carry her but was stopped by Yao Yao. Bing Bing pouted as Yao Yao refused to let her carry the baby Yue Qin. "Bwut I wanna carry were!"
"Stop insisting already. Can you afford it if you dropped her on the ground?" Ning Ning taunted.
"I- I- I wont drwop her!" The little girl started sniffling.
Yue Qin saw Yao Yao jab Ning Ning for her snarky remark. Then he squatted and scooped Bing Bing into his arms. "Don't listen to what your elder sister says. She's just jealous she's not as pretty as you."
"Rweally?" The pig-tailed girl asked, her eyes opened wide.
"Really." Yao Yao replied in a steady tone. "Now, aren't you excited about tonight? Daddies said that they have a surprise for us tonight."
The little girl struggled to get down from her elder brother's arms in excitement, her past unhappiness forgotten. "I forgot!" She giggled. As Yao Yao let her down, she ran over to Yue Qin. "Hear that? Our daddy has a surprise for us today! Aren't you excited about what it'll be?"
That should have been the second warning.
The day flew past quickly, and soon night had fallen and Yue Qin had been brought to her aunt's house.
A mouth-watering fragrance wafted from the kitchen as her aunt cooked their dinner. It was such a pity that the current Yue Qin was only a baby so she could not taste her aunt's food.
As she finished, Yao Yao helped to place her in the tall baby seat while Ning Ning and Bing Bing went to help carry the dishes out onto the wooden dining table.
Then, the door opened from behind her and the three children ran over happily shouting. "Daddy!"
The baby Yue Qin turned her head towards the noise. And it was at that moment, that the adult Yue Qin's worldview completely shattered.