"Why am I here?" Xiao Dan said with a bewildered look on her face, "I can’t remember. I was on my way home from school, and then I ended up here."
Xiao Dan looked completely confused, not like she was lying.
Qin Sisi looked at Ye You puzzled, "What’s going on? Is she deluding herself like Xiu Ai did?"
Ye You shook his head and slowly said, "I don’t think so. It might be that the memory was too traumatic, so to protect herself she deliberately forgot about it. Or, she might have been in a deep coma at the time with no bodily awareness, and her soul not yet detached, which is why her memory is so blurred."
Too traumatic? Can anyone really be so cruel as to harm an eight or nine-year-old child? Qin Sisi couldn’t bear to think about it.
Then she had another thought, "If she’s lost her memory, why didn’t she go and reincarnate? Does she have some sort of unresolved desire that keeps her spirits here as a wild ghost?"
With her thoughts becoming more meticulous, Ye You nodded satisfactorily, "Do you see the tree behind her?"
Qin Sisi nodded, "Yeah, a big locust tree. What about it?"
Ye You said, "The tree has a soul-anchoring effect. The tree’s Yin energy combined with her grievance is what keeps her as a ghost in this world."
After listening to Ye You’s analysis, Qin Sisi heaved a sigh of helplessness. Her sympathy for Xiao Dan deepened. She hoped that the bad memories Xiao Dan had forgotten would remain buried forever.
Looking at Xiao Dan, Qin Sisi gently asked, "Xiao Dan, can you think of a wish that you want to come true? I can help make it happen."
Xiao Dan’s big watery eyes opened wide in surprise and disbelief. "Can you really help me?"
Her hopeful expression stung Qin Sisi’s eyes. She nodded vigorously, "Yes, I will help you."
She then added, "Xiao Dan, I need your soul power. I help you fulfill your wish and in return, you lend me your soul power. Is that okay?"
Xiao Dan hesitated, whispering, "But I want to see my mom and dad. If I give you my soul power, does that mean I won’t see them again?"
Qin Sisi paused before saying, "Xiao Dan, you’re already a ghost. You can’t be with your family anymore. In a hundred years, I’ll help you reincarnate and you’ll have a new mom and dad."
Her words made Xiao Dan burst into tears, "I don’t want a new mom and dad. I want my real mom and dad."
Qin Sisi’s heart softened, and she glanced at Ye You in uncertainty. She felt a strong urge to help Xiao Dan without thinking about any reward.
Ye You shook his head, "Everything has its own cause and effect, a kind heart alone won’t make any change. Even if she reincarnated now, it is not possible for her to become the child of her current parents again."
Qin Sisi hesitated, "Can we first help her see her parents? We’ll talk about the rest later, okay?"
She looked at Ye You, worried that he would refuse. After all, soul power was vital to him.
Ye You paused and then said, "Okay."
Qin Sisi let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Xiao Hei."
In a deep voice, Ye You said, "No need to thank me. I don’t want to make things difficult for a child. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up on the soul power."
Qin Sisi bit her lip. She didn’t fully understand Ye You’s meaning, but since he agreed to help Xiao Dan first, she believed he would keep his word.
Qin Sisi turned to Xiao Dan and softly asked, "Xiao Dan, is your wish to see your mom and dad?"
Xiao Dan hastily nodded, choking up, "Yes, I miss them. I haven’t seen them for a long time."
After Ye You whispered something in her ear, Qin Sisi added, "Xiao Dan, we need something that belongs to you. This way, your mom and dad would trust us and be willing to come and see you."
Xiao Dan thought for a while, then crawled into the grass and rustled around for a bit. Eventually, she brought out a pink student backpack with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs printed on it.
This is my bag, my mom and dad will definitely recognize it," said Xiao Dan.
Qin Sisi nodded and stepped forward to take the bag from Xiao Dan.
But Xiao Dan suddenly tightened her grip on the bag and looked at Qin Sisi, "Sister, you won’t lie to me, will you?"
Qin Sisi was taken aback but realized that Xiao Dan must have felt very unsafe after being alone in this gloomy place for so long.
So, Qin Sisi took Xiao Dan’s cold, pale hand, and said gently but firmly, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring your mom and dad to see you."
She was still so young, still supposed to be spoilt in her parents’ arms, yet she was all alone. How could they not make this small wish of hers come true?
Xiao Dan hesitated before letting go and pleaded, "Sister, you have to hurry!"
"Okay." Qin Sisi agreed earnestly, extending her little finger and said, "I’ll make it as fast as I can. Let’s pinkie promise."
Seeing Qin Sisi’s pinkie finger, Xiao Dan couldn’t help but smile. She was so innocent and adorable at this age. She extended her own tiny finger and hooked it with Qin Sisi’s.
"A pinkie promise not to change in a hundred years."
The two of them shared a laugh, as if they had made an extraordinarily important pact.
Ye You reminded Qin Sisi from the side, "We need to go now. The time limit for the Invisible Bubble is almost over."
Qin Sisi let go of Xiao Dan’s hand and said, "Xiao Dan, I have to go now."
Xiao Dan’s smile faded and she looked a bit sad, "Sister, you have to hurry. I’ll be waiting."
"Okay." Qin Sisi promised one final time, taking a deep look at Xiao Dan, and activated her rainbow wings.
The darkness was suddenly filled with a burst of dazzling colors. Xiao Dan watched speechless at the wings behind Qin Sisi, now more firmly believing that Qin Sisi had the ability to help her.
Flapping her rainbow wings, Qin Sisi rose four to five meters into the air. She looked back at Xiao Dan’s small, lonely figure one last time before speeding off towards her home.
She couldn’t help but turn back again after she had flown some distance, behind her was only boundless darkness, but she knew Xiao Dan must be still standing there, watching her leave, waiting for her return with an anticipating heart.