On a stormy night, there was a Taoist Priest who was doing his daily rituals of handing out incense to the deceased's graves. Finishing his last grave, he made his way into the forest. In the rain, he was drenched from head to toe but duty calls.
He sighed heavily as he continued his walk to his shed which was located in the middle of the forest. Stopping in front of his fence, he heard something besides the rain and heavy winds.
"Is that, a baby's voice?" asked the Taoist Priest looking around until he spotted a baby's crib in front of his door. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly approached the crib until he noticed signs of life.
Turning the crib slowly, he came face to face with a baby who was still crying but there were no more tears. Hearing the baby's voice strain, the Taoist Priest's heart was moved like a mountain during spring.
Carefully picking the baby up, the Taoist Priest went inside and turned on the lights. Sighing, the Taoist Priest remembered he had some baby milk powder from that one lady he helped.
Placing the baby down gently on his couch, he quickly dashed towards the kitchen and looked around. He grabbed a bottle of water, poured the baby milk powder inside of it, and shook vigorously.
Seeing the bottle turning white, he sighed and slowly fed the baby bit by bit since he didn't have a bottle that the baby can suck on.
Little did he realize, this moment would change his life...
5 years went by in the blink of an eye, the Taoist Priest named the boy Ken. Ken had black short hair and a face that would make people turn away in fright as he had a birthmark on both of his cheeks.
It looked as if he was slashed by two daggers, the Taoist Priest told Ken that birthmarks can also indicate how you died in your past life.
During his upbringing, Ken was a curious kid who followed the Taoist Priest wherever he went, even to the graveyard. The Taoist Priest eventually began to teach him everything he knew because one day, he found out Ken could see ghosts.
Ken was told that because he had a lot of spiritual energy, he was able to see ghosts. The Taoist Priest also learned that Ken was quite stubborn, if he didn't have an answer to anything, he would go through trial and error until he got it right.
On Ken's fifth birthday, the Taoist Priest taught him how to open his third eye. Despite having a book on how to open the third eye made by his master, he still took 2 weeks to open it.Â
Present Day...
"I did it!" screamed Ken as he could see wisps of spiritual energy floating around him and he even saw some ghosts who were playing outside, more specifically, he could see their spiritual energy now. "Now I can see, how the ghosts are moving stuff with their powers, haha."
Hearing the door open, Ken saw his master rushing in and tackling him to the ground. "Calm down son!" said Ken's master who was pinning him down by holding his arm behind his back.
"Master, what are you doing!?" yelled Ken as he struggled to get free.
Sighing, Ken's master let go and Ken stood up, "Haha, I had to be cautious, I thought you wouldn't be able to handle the backlash and become mad."
"That warning was real?" asked Ken as he read a quote that said that there is a chance of going mad when you open the third eye due to the influx of knowledge and things they observe.
Ken's master patted his clothes and scoffed, "You are lucky you have a lot of spiritual energy, you lucky boy."
Smiling cheekily, Ken puffed out his chest as he looked at his master with pride, "It is not my fault I am built differently." Feeling a smack on his head, he held his head in pain. "Okay okay, I am not built different, I am still human."
Chuckling, Ken's master nodded and asked, "Ken, I have to ask you a serious question."
Looking into his master's eyes, Ken knew it was not the time to make jokes. Sitting down on Ken's bed, Ken asked, "Ask anything."
Staring back into Ken's eyes, he said, "Would you like to be a normal person or someone like me..."
Getting confused, Ken scratched his head, "What do you mean master?"
Heaving a long heavy sigh, Ken's master began to stare into space, "I had many friends, and comrades, do you know what happened to them?"
"I...can guess."
"You are too smart sometimes, but yes, they died in combat."
Ken saw his master's inner struggle, "Master, I want to be like you and protect people!" yelled Ken as he clenched his fist. "The people you help, I want to inspire hope like you do."
The master's eyes filled with water as he wiped them, looking at Ken, he spoke softly, "Even if I die?"
"What do you mean...master?"
"I am dying," said Ken's master as he looked at the ceiling, afraid to watch Ken's face.
Hearing those words, Ken's heart froze, until his third eye suddenly examined his master's body and found something horrifying, "You...have cancer!?"
Seeing the black spots in his lungs and liver, Ken was shocked. "Yes."
Clenching his fist tighter, Ken spoke softly, "How bad is it?"
A silence that lasted two minutes permeated the room as Ken's master was just staring into space, not wanting to watch the expression on Ken's face nor reveal the truth. "I think, I have about 9 years if I don't fulfill my duties, but you know me, haha."
Ken narrowed his eyes, "So, you have less than 9 years I am guessing."
Nodding, Ken's master spoke but this time, he looked at Ken, "Is your answer the same as before, you are willing to learn everything from me and continue this line of work?"
Smirking, Ken spoke confidently, "If you can do it, I can do it!"
Ken's master chuckled as he finally felt happy, for once in a long time. The first time was when Ken called his dad, which was funny and sad at the same time. Just two lonely souls on a journey of finding themselves...
9 years later...