That afternoon, Yin Shen had arranged to meet a friend at a teahouse to chat over some refreshments.
Yin Shen leaned over the second-floor railing and called out, “Up here!”
A man in the lobby immediately spotted him and walked up, smiling.
The man with the buzz cut was an online fiction author and Yin Shen’s university classmate. He was the type who knew a little about everything but didn’t delve too deeply into any one subject, making him the ideal companion for casual conversation.
Yin Shen relished their wide-ranging discussions, meandering from science fiction and mythology to history, astronomy, geography, military affairs, and current events.
Their chats weren’t meant to be taken too seriously, often bordering on frivolous, but they left one feeling relaxed and at ease.
On this occasion, their conversation flowed from history to mythology, then to tales of the weird and supernatural, interspersed with some bizarre Western urban legends.
Yin Shen suddenly interjected, “Lately, every night when I fall asleep around midnight, I feel as if another self is climbing out of my body.”
“Then, all night long, it’s as if I’m observing myself from the outside until I wake up.”
“Astral projection in the West, or the yin spirit leaving the body in your novels.”
“What do you make of it?”
The buzz cut man didn’t laugh at the absurdity of Yin Shen’s words. Instead, he pondered for a moment, carefully choosing his response.
“First, we need to clarify something. If humans truly possess a soul, then what is this soul composed of?”
“Is it matter or energy?”
Yin Shen mulled it over briefly before replying uncertainly.
“It seems to be neither.”
The buzz cut man continued, “Then what about memory and consciousness? Do they reside within the soul or still exist in the brain?”
This time Yin Shen answered with conviction, “They’re in the soul.”
“I feel as if my body is an anchor point, tethering the soul to this spot.”
“I sense that with just a slight struggle, I could break free, but it feels like something terrifying would happen if I did.”
“This inexplicable dread wells up inside me, and I don’t dare follow through.”
Yin Shen suddenly laughed. “Do you think I’m about to awaken some extraordinary ability or embark on the path of immortal cultivation?”
The buzz cut man shook his head. “Setting aside whether what you’re saying is true, if humans really do possess a soul that transcends matter and energy, and can even store memory and consciousness, then it’s incomparable to any superpower or immortal cultivation technique.”
“Concepts like astral projection or the yin spirit wandering are merely figments of ancient imaginations. Compared to what you describe, they are as different as heaven and earth.”
“Even the gods of myth and legend and the immortals of Daoist lore pale in comparison to such an existence.”
“The likes of Pan Gu who separated heaven and earth, the Creator God, Brahma, Chaos, Azathoth…none could do anything to you.”
Yin Shen stood there stunned. How had a discussion about the human soul veered into invoking the supreme deities and creators from various mythologies? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⟡fire.net
“You’re getting carried away. Could it really be that incredible?”
“Based on what you’re saying, humans would be invincible if they had souls.”
But the buzz cut man replied in all seriousness, “I’m not spouting nonsense. There’s a basis for this.”
“The universe is composed of matter, and time is the continuity and sequentiality of the motion and change of matter.”
“If your soul belongs to neither matter nor energy, and consciousness depends on the soul rather than the brain…”
“What does that imply?”
“Your soul and this universe are like two non-overlapping planes. You could exist outside this universe, unconstrained even by time.”
“Think about it. Isn’t that the case?”
Yin Shen followed up, “Doesn’t that mean as soon as the soul breaks free from the fetters of the physical body, it immediately departs this universe?”
“The soul could even rise above the river of time, traversing space and eons, becoming an existence unbound by the timeline?”
“I could freely travel to any era and even alter the course of history?”
However, the buzz cut man offered a different perspective. “Not necessarily.”
Yin Shen asked, “Why?”
The buzz cut man explained, “As I just said, the soul you describe and this universe are like two non-overlapping planes with no points of intersection.”
“If you have no connection to the universe, from what vantage point could you perceive its existence?”
“If you can’t even perceive the universe, how could you further perceive time, let alone navigate the timeline?”
Yin Shen suddenly had an inkling about the source of that instinctive fear.
“So you’re saying once the soul leaves the body, it’s like a ship adrift without coordinates or direction, very likely cast out of this universe with no way to find its way back?”
The buzz cut man nodded. “One possibility is that you still maintain a link with the physical universe, an anchor point here.”
“That way, you could observe this universe through that anchor point, becoming, as I mentioned earlier, an observer existing outside the universe and time.”
“If you had different anchor points at various junctures, you might even become what you described—an entity traversing the timeline.”
At this point, the buzz cut man’s tone turned ominous.
“But there’s another possibility.”
“The instant you break away from the anchor of your body, you’re flung into the unknowable realm outside the universe.”
“It could be another universe, the origin of time, another dimension, or some unfathomable unknown.”
“There might be nothing at all there, like a prison, and your soul would be trapped for ten million years, a hundred million years.”
A heavy silence descended upon them. For a long while, neither spoke.
Then the buzz cut man suddenly laughed. He picked up the teapot and refilled Yin Shen’s cup.
“That’s an intriguing idea, quite original.”
“I might use this concept for my next book. It could be a hit.”
The buzz cut man hadn’t taken Yin Shen’s words seriously, assuming it was just another flight of fancy and unconstrained musing, like their usual conversations.
However, Yin Shen’s thoughts were in turmoil. He stood up, ready to leave.
“I should get going.”
“If you end up writing the story or have any new creative ideas, be sure to let me know. We can discuss further.”
But the buzz cut man stopped him and took something out of his backpack.
“Yin Shen, wait a moment.”
“Since I’m using your concept, let me give you something nice in return.”
Yin Shen accepted the box the buzz cut man handed him and opened it. Inside was an irregularly shaped stone with an intricate insect pattern.
“What is this? A fossil?”
The buzz cut man replied, “Redlichia, a type of trilobite.”
“This fossil may not be worth much money, but just imagine—being able to see a creature from hundreds of millions of years ago appear vividly before your eyes. That sense of awe is priceless.”
“Take it home and display it. Ponder and marvel at the ancient Earth and these primordial organisms from eons past.”
Yin Shen thanked the buzz cut man and walked away, examining the gift as he went.
However, just as he reached the lobby, an out-of-control car suddenly came hurtling from the street outside at over a hundred miles per hour. It smashed through the glass doors, the layers of shattered glass crushing down on Yin Shen.
Yin Shen, clutching the fossil in his hand, was sent flying like a rag doll.
In a pool of blood, Yin Shen’s vision gradually blurred.
“Who drives so recklessly that they plow straight from the road into the lobby of a restaurant?”
But upon seeing clearly, a look of sudden comprehension dawned on his face.