Jasmine petal fallen on cigarette ash

Chapter 2

My head was heavy, like it was carrying a thousand tons of trembling rocks. I spent all the power I had at that moment to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. Something was trapping me in a tiny cage, aggressively tying my arms and legs in a fixed position. I did all I could to escape, but nothing worked. As soon as I was about to give up, the slack chain suddenly disappeared. I was floating like a wooden log on a river. A chain of grieving sounds scattered through my ears. I opened my eyes, but it was so bright that I could not see anything. I blinked ceaselessly, hoping to get my vision back. It felt like something was violently scratching my throat. I couldn’t resist a hard cough from bouncing out of my throat. Everything went silent, and I coughed to death. When the coughing was over, my vision became clear. Ahead of me was a weird room filled with strangers. They all stared at me as if I were a monster from hell. Their clothes looked like costumes in the Nguyen Dynasty, but the room looked like those in the UK in the 1920s. A vivid memory reel flowed into my mind, so intense that it made me dizzy. I fainted out, knowing nothing more.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

The former owner of this body was Miss Vo Thi Cam Van. She was born by one of the mistresses of Mister Vo Thien Truong - the keeper of Greyshead’s harbour. All water transportation from Brasshelm through the Greyshead River could only be accepted after his approval. As soon as Cam Van gained her first consciousness about the world, she was taught to be born to serve the First Wife and her children. When she was six, she was sent to Mrs. Bach Cuc, the First Wife, and became her closest maid. Cam Van had done her job with all her heart, responsibility, and loyalty. She looked after Mrs. Bach Cuc, whom she called the Great Mom, whenever she was ailing, carefully prepared every meal, and carved to heart every one of her favourite foods, clothes, and accessories. She could understand what her Great Mom thought and wanted without hearing a word. But however close and devoted to Mrs. Bach Cuc, Cam Van could never win her heart.

Humans were creatures with endless desires. Mister Truong was not satisfied with his limited power in water transportation. One of his old friends back in his home country, Mr. Manh, luckily discovered a giant pure iron ore mine at Binh Ngai Coastline. Mister Truong immediately found a highly promising money-making machine. He wrote a letter to Mr. Manh, and their cooperation started from there. But to whom can he sell this money-making source? The Brass Jackals gang came into his target. The Beaumont was an age-old iron forger. The father, Arthur Beaumont, came to Brasshelm twenty years ago and built a forge on his own. His forge quickly became the dominant iron goods supplier for the district. After the civil war, the Beaumont forge eventually lost its position due to international modernization. To save his family from starving to death, Arthur’s second son, Benedict, had managed to turn the forge into a larger-scale company through both legal and illegal activities; illegal ones accounted for the most. After two years of working like a horse and selling his soul to Satan, Benedict brought the Brass Jackals gang and the Beaumont company to the peak of glory. Residents at Brasshelm, their pets, and even their cattle trembled in terror when they heard the Beaumont names. They mechanically obeyed the gang’s orders without a second thought. Recently, Benedict planned to expand his family’s business by selling their weapons illicitly to Aaron Windson, the boss of the Black Teeth Mob at Lennor. As a matter of fact, he would need a source of iron of excellent quality. Mister Truong offered Benedict the best-quality iron source at a reasonable price and full authority for his ships; in return, Benedict gave him 50% of the benefits after his business with Aaron Windsong and sent his henchmen to protect Mister Truong and his family. But it was not enough for Mister Truong. With a skeptical and stubborn brain, he worried that Benedict would betray him one day. To kill that possibility before it could ever have a chance to form, Mister Truong asked Benedict if he needed a lovely wife to care for him after the endless days of killing and fighting. He suggested they could create a forever-lasting bond through an in-law relationship.

The news about the wedding between Benedict Beaumont and Miss Cam Chau came to the family like a thunderstorm. Mrs. Bach Cuc used all her soul and spirit to oppose this marriage. At first, she complained and cried days and nights, keenly persuading Mister Truong that the marriage would definitely lay Miss Cam Chau’s life under a thousand acres of earth. She purposely brought up the beautiful memories between him and Miss Cam Chau, pointing out to him that she was merely an innocent and adored missie, incapable of dealing with either Benedict or the Beaumont. Mister Truong, of course, already thought about all of these situations when he decided to propose this cooperation to Benedict, but he could not do anything different. No matter how much his heart was wrenched when he thought about Cam Chau, he could not think of a better plan. Painfully realizing nothing could change her husband’s mind, Mrs. Bach Cuc collapsed entirely and could not get out of bed. Not until then did Mister Truong and Mrs. Bach Cuc remember Cam Van. Mrs. Bach Cuc came up with an idea to replace Cam Chau with Cam Van. They could lie to Benedict that Mister Truong had two daughters, and Cam Van’s health was not good enough for her to get out into society. What a perfect plan. After hearing that she was sold to the boss of Brass Jackals like a hen, Cam Van, with an aching heart, believed that her life was ending. She begged the Vo masters for their mercy, but what she got was their antipathy and ignorance. To the deadlock, she decided to jump down the Greyshead stream in a starry night, ending all her miseries and shame.

I couldn’t help but sigh. Being born as a woman has never been easy, even in our age when the world has become more and more humane and developed. I quickly flashed through the series plots. Mister Truong was only mentioned as the keeper of Greyshead’s harbour, through the conversations between Benedict and the people surrounding him. People did not know exactly who he was or what he looked like. Wonderful, my soul was trapped in the body of a character whose identity even the scriptwriter did not know.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

In my dream, I met an older man with a long, long beard. His hair and clothes were purely white, flowing like a waterfall. His skin was juicy as a lychee when its skin was peeled off. His cheeks were as pink as the Peaches of Immortality on the Five Elements Mountain. A ball of golden light wrapped around him. I was covered in a giant, fluffy, white material that looked like a cloud. When I met that man’s gaze, a feeling of peace embraced my mind and heart.

“Con đang bối rối lắm phải không?” (I bet you are confused.) The man talked to me. His voice echoed from a far-away distance.

“Dạ …” (Yes…) I was genuinely puzzled.

“Thật ra thì con đã chết rồi, do con ép mình quá, lo học hành mà không chịu chú ý đến bản thân. Nhưng mà con biết không, mẹ con đêm nào cũng van xin thần Phật, xin các Ngài hãy thương tình mà cứu vớt con, cứu con khỏi khổ nạn, thậm chí chấp nhận hy sinh cả tuổi thọ của bà ấy. Các vị chư Phật vì quá cảm động trước tình mẫu tử thiêng liêng của mẹ con mà ban cho con một cơ hội nữa.” (What happened was that your soul has left the world where you live. You died of a stroke. You were so irresponsible for your health and wellness. But you know, your Mom has been insistently praying for you every night before she goes to bed. She begs the Buddhas to save your soul, body, and mind from the world's harshness; she is even willing to trade her lifespan for you to live and grow up peacefully. Her sacred love touches the Buddhas. They decided to give you a second chance, because they do not have the heart to see your Mom being grief-stricken.) I was shocked. The ice-cold air poked through every single nerve in my nose. Scammer. He must be a scammer! This couldn’t happen!

I forced myself not to cry. I looked him straight in the eyes. I could feel my fragile skeleton trembling uncontrollably.

“Haizz, ta biết chuyện này khiến con khó chấp nhận. Các vị chư Phật đã đồng ý cho con thoát khỏi kiếp nạn lần này, nhưng với một điều kiện. Vừa nãy con cũng đã xem qua số phận của tiểu thư Cẩm Vân rồi. Trước khi nhắm mắt xuôi tay, cô ấy đã bị thù hận che mờ mắt mà nguyền rủa rằng, cô ấy sẵn sàng bán linh hồn mình cho quỷ dữ, chỉ cần con quỷ đó chịu giúp cô ấy trả thù nhà Võ Thiên. Ta không nỡ để cho một linh hồn ngây thơ, đau khổ sa vào con đường tà đạo. Hơn nữa, đối với ta, sự trả thù lớn nhất chính là để những người muốn ta đau khổ thấy rằng ta không hề đau khổ như họ mong muốn. Ta hãy sống hạnh phúc và sống vì bản thân ta,” (Haizz, I understand it’s tough. The Buddhas have approved your recovery, but with a condition. You just walked through Miss Cam Van’s tragic life. Before she breathed her last, she cursed that she was willing to sell her soul to the Devil, as long as he helped her avenge the Vo Thien. I cannot find myself looking at a naive, miserable girl losing herself without doing anything. Besides, to me, the biggest revenge for those who want us miserable is not to be as miserable as they wish. You live as happily as you can, and do whatever you love, for yourself.)

“Ông Bụt” smiled at me. He was undoubtedly “ông Bụt” - a fairy who showed up whenever you were in a blind alley to help you. His smile hugged my soul with empathy and serenity. But why were I so sad?