Back to the day Pangu first went down, when the siblings were still in Heaven.
The siblings looked at the light flowing all around them.
Nothing like the Mortal Realm they remembered.
Shanjue asked: "So this is Heaven?"
Wanquan, walking ahead, said: "That's right. This is Heaven, and also this world's administrative center."
"How is it different from the Mortal Realm?"
Wanquan stopped and turned around.
"The fundamental difference is 'existence.'"
"In Heaven and Hell, even if an ordinary person's soul leaves the body, the body doesn't die. They can buy a new body, or have one made to order. Even if the original body isn't being used for a while, as long as it keeps getting compute, it can stay alive. But in the Mortal Realm, ordinary people's bodies can't survive with the soul gone like that. Our divine bodies are the exception."
His tone turned practical.
"Also, basically everything here costs money."
"What you're using now are divine bodies, which are extremely precious in themselves. But for everyday things in Heaven, you pay with money."
"Can that money be used to pay Father's interest?" Qianhui asked.
"You can't pay the Creditor with money from here. He wants divine power."
He snapped his fingers.
Two bracelets dropped into the siblings' palms, numbers turning on their faces.
"This bit of pocket money is enough for an ordinary person to live on for half a year. Go anywhere you want in Heaven."
He paused, and his tone grew serious.
"But whatever you do, don't go to the Mortal Realm or Hell. You're not familiar with your current bodies yet. Understand?"
The siblings nodded.
"If there's nothing else, I've got my own work to get to."
——
The siblings walked out of the hall.
It was a clear day outside. A breeze came at them and lifted the hems of their clothes. As they stepped over the threshold, they suddenly felt very light, as if gravity here were just a suggestion that could be adjusted.
"So this is what the heavenly realm is like!" Shanjue said.
Qianhui only thought "maybe I can float," and she actually floated up.
"Can everyone in the heavenly realm fly? That's so convenient!"
She leaned forward, and her body slid ahead.
Shanjue followed.
The siblings circled in the sky several times. There was a choir in their ears the whole time, the melody perfect, very cheerful, every line saying something nice.
They flew for a long time before they realized something was off.
On the streets below, people were stopping to look up at them, and some even had tears in their eyes.
Only then did the siblings notice that no one else on the whole street was flying with their body.
"Brother," Qianhui said under her breath, "could it be that only we can fly like this?"
"Don't tell me everyone knows we're gods," Shanjue said, swallowing. "Landing now would be too awkward. It'd be like admitting it outright."
They looked at each other.
Since they'd already been seen, landing in a panic would only be more embarrassing. Better to keep flying.
They were gods, after all. Who could say gods couldn't fly?
So they relaxed their faces, fixed their eyes on the distance, acted casual, and kept flying.
After flying a while, the siblings began noticing other things on the streets. Walking, hauling, talking——everything had a practiced rhythm. The streets were spotless, and they rarely heard complaints.
Someone took a freshly baked pastry and said thanks with a smile. A few steps later, their face went back to its usual expression.
In front of a shop, a clerk was checking a delivery slip over and over. He had just turned away when he stopped and read the same line again.
Most people were just quietly living their lives. They didn't look sad, and they weren't happy all the time either.
"So this is the heavenly realm?" Qianhui said softly.
It was better than the Mortal Realm in many ways.
But everywhere there was a kind of flat, smooth oppression.
"Then what would Hell be like?"
They wandered a little longer before going back.
——
As soon as they got back, Pangu came to greet them with a smile: "Welcome home!"
"We only just left," Qianhui said. "How are you back so fast?"
Pangu burst out laughing.
"Silly kids, I spent a whole half year down in the Mortal Realm! It's as lovely as ever down there."
The siblings didn't know what to say.
"Did you have fun?"
Shanjue didn't answer.
"In the heavenly realm...can't everyone fly?"
Pangu's smile faltered.
Then he slapped his forehead.
"Look at me, I forgot to tell you. Souls can of course leave the body and fly anywhere, but only divine bodies can fly with the body. For me it's as natural as breathing, so natural it never occurred to me to mention it."
——
The siblings talked about the days when they lived in the Mortal Realm.
Exhaustion. Aging. Class divisions everywhere.
And things they had listened to as hard as they could but still couldn't remember; work they had done for years and still had to double-check, again and again.
"I used to think it was just that I wasn't good enough," Shanjue said. He remembered the heaviness that vanished the moment he put on the divine body.
Pangu listened, his brow furrowing.
"Some places are worse, it's true," he said. "But most of the supply is still within standard range. I've been down to look. It isn't that bad."
The siblings didn't argue.
They just told him, one by one, the hardships they'd suffered as mortals.
They told it plainly.
At first Pangu could still listen with a smile. Toward the end, the smile slowly faded, and he even forgot to eat the half-peeled chestnut in his hand.
"Father," the siblings said, "this is what we saw with our own eyes."