Reborn

IMPERIAL PALACE (2)

The sun rose from the east lighting the whole sky with a slight tinge of reddish orange hue. The birds chirping, the fragrance of various types of flowers tingled Sakura's nose, making her awake in an instant. Her eyes were moist as if she had not slept enough. A new day a new beginning, she remembered this saying from her best friend Laila.

She looked around, it was still early for others to wake up. Why not take this opportunity to get known with the surroundings, she thought. Just as she was about to get up from the bed, she detected a pair of eyes gazing at her from hidden depths. So, the Leader of Blood Devils had assigned someone to watch over her. It meant as long she was in the Imperial palace, she couldn't behave unusual otherwise she might be suspected by him. He is clearly a clever man, if he wasn't an ally in her murder case, she might admire him. However, the truth was already unfolded and she was no longer the naive eldest miss of Eito family.

The unknown person was at Sunstroke Realm. "Really pathetic to watch over a trash would be his thought," Sakura sighed.

She concluded that maybe the minimum qualification to enter the Blood Devils was at Sunstroke Realm. Really low for someone like her, but only handful of people at this continent were at this Realm, impressive but yet disgracing.

She hummed a song from modern times to pass time while also observing the movements of the unknown person. He seemed to moving a little, stretching himself and relaxing but other than that he was rooted at his spot. A diligent and focused person, she thought. Perfect to watch over a trash but not her, she smirked.

Just then a maid came inside and informed that  Empress Sara  had asked her to prepare a bath for her. She was also sorry for coming without knocking as after the bath the Empress wishes to have breakfast with her. Though her tone was polite but there was a slight mockery aimed at her. Implementing that she should be thankful or rather pleased because she was having breakfast with the Empress. She was pleased as she had felt warmth from the Empress from their very first meeting. However, it didn't mean that she was honored. Even if she was having breakfast with her favorite male actor Zhao Luis, she would still have her dignity and not fawn or drool over him.

The bath was prepared for her along with a set of new clothes. She was reminded not to be late as" the time of the Empress was precious" was the exact words of the maid. This was again a rosewater bath; "the obsession with rosewater!," she thought. No one was around and even the unknown person couldn't see her while she was taking a bath. She took this opportunity to open her meridians and restore her original appearance and physique. Then she used an ancient technique called souls apart. It enabled the cultivator to split his/her soul into two halves or more. She split her soul into two, one was inside her body with her original ugly appearance retained. The other one was floating outside with her beautiful appearance. Visible to none, both held the same consciousness that was hers.

She put a magic spell on the body so no one could detect her complete soul was not there. Adding to the fact it enabled the body to behave normally and not like a half puppet. She also put a red invisible charm inside her clothes which would indicate any signs of danger. If danger is unavoidable, she could still return to the body. She was fully prepared to look around the Imperial Palace.

The bath was over and she wore the set of new clothes that perfectly fitted her. The maid came to fetch her signaling her to walk faster. She watched her body disappear after a few minutes and so did the unknown person. It seemed he was very dedicated in his work field.

She then slid through the door as souls were not restricted to physical barriers. She was deciding where to go first and glanced into her consciousness. Her body was walking towards the Imperial garden. Then the garden is off the bucket list, she thought. She decided to visit her dear sister Ichika, it was surely going to be fun. Abruptly she changed her mind as soon as she noticed another soul lingering around.

She looked at him as he was staring at her and then he gave her a dazzling smile. He was a dead soul but pretty handsome. No! he was half dead it seemed his soul had departed before his actual death; he was in a coma state. Who was he? Why was he here? Just as she was thinking about this, he already appeared in front of her. He said, "It is very unusual to see someone who could see me, probably because you are also a soul".