YuQiao had a long dream and when she opened her eyes, she was not at home anymore. Her body and hands were tied with a piece of red rope, and she was lead with many other people by a person dressed in black walking in the front.

“Am I being led to prison?” She looked all around her. “This path is not the path to the city’s prison,” she thought to herself. She was surrounded by a thick forest and just beyond she could see a river and people crossing a huge bridge which connects this side of the land to the other side. Everyone here is not from the house or the city.

Why was she walking anyway? She got stabbed at her back, she should not be alive. The part where she was thrust with the blade was still visible; it was dyed red with her blood. However, the colour of the blood had changed from a crimson red to a deep red. “How long has it been?” YuQiao thought to herself.

Everyone still had their eyes closed. She was the only one who was awake. She looked closer at the others, and they were very pale, almost like a ghost. No, they do not resemble ghosts because they are ghosts. Sudden realization struck her as she understood that this path was the road to the underworld leading to the reincarnation.

“No, I do not want to go there yet,” said YuQiao, suddenly realizing the truth and the stupid things that she had done. She had broken all the promises that she had made with her father and her mother. When her brother had died, she should have left, she should not have sought revenge with YongSan, at least not at that time, she mustn’t die. She was the last of her family and with her death; there is no one else to revenge them.

Her thoughts ran wildly, and she struggled to break free from her bonds, but the bonds restraining her were very loose therefore with little effort she was able to untie herself. Slowly and carefully, she slipped away and with all her might she ran in the opposite direction from the group.

Running and running she could not stop until last of strength was failing her and stumbled upon the roots of a tree and tumbled onto the ground on all fours. Only at this moment she dared to look behind and saw that there was not anyone chasing her that she eventually relaxed and felt the pain on her knees and hands when she fell onto the ground. “So even if you are a ghost, you still feel pain.” She looked at her hands, but there weren’t any visible signs of injuries. “Ghosts get hurt, but they left no marks on the body.”

Standing up again, she walked around the forest until morning came and little rays of sun started to pierce through the thick forest. She had heard before that ghost are afraid of the light, so she decided to stay away from them, but it was getting harder and harder to avoid the light so being a curious girl she reaches out her hand to touch one of the sunbeams.

She was still afraid as her hands trembled as she reached out to the rays, but her hands were not burned by the rays, they just went through her. She lets out a breath of relief and looked at the sun, although she was under his almighty arms, but she could no longer feel his warmth.

For a minute, there, sadness flowed over her as she contemplated the fact that she was no longer part of the living. She straightened her back, and slapped her cheeks, “Do not think of these things, and focus on finding a way out of the forest.” And she started walking again carefully evading the branches and roots of trees.

Apparently, ghosts can sometimes touch living things if they focus enough, or it just happen by itself because YuQiao was tripping all over the place even though she could pass through some of the branches. In the end, she decided to just avoid all of them as to prevent herself from tripping anymore.

Even after a few hours stuck in the forest, she still was not able to get out of the place. But YuQiao did not give up and she kept walking around.

Suddenly, she heard a voice talking to her. “Child”, it calls to her. YuQiao doesn’t know whether it was her own imagination or was it really real, but she looked around just in case. And then the voice called out to her again and she saw a wisp of smoke that resembled a man who signalled her to follow him. “Come”, it encouraged her. Without much help, or any ideas to get out of the forest, she followed him, “Help from smoke is better than no help at all,” thought YuQiao.