Moonlight shone outside the clear glass windows of the palace. The candle lights flickered down the quiet hallways as Zhen Xue made his way to the bath chambers. He was already imagining how he’d soak in the warm tub to relieve his stress when he suddenly couldn’t move. His body became paralyzed and at that moment, he knew something was wrong.

His energy level tanked, making his knees buckle. He stumbled forward, leaning on the wall for support. His condition was getting worse, but this wasn’t news to him. The heaviness he felt many times before sharpened, like someone was grabbing his soul and ripping it from inside his chest. He needed to lie down somewhere quick or someone would find him sprawled out on the floor, unconscious.

He shoved open the door to the bath chambers, steam rising from the pool to greet him. He rarely visited this bath chamber, so it took him a moment to adjust to what he saw. The lights underwater created a glow throughout the enclosure. Marble statues loomed overhead with various gods and goddesses. Stars, represented by glowing gemstones, adorned the ceiling above. There was a bench to the right, the sight bringing him relief that he could finally lie down. 

He threw himself towards the bench, plopping down on his back with a painful ache in his chest. His skin felt clammy and the dropping temperature within the palace wasn’t helping his case. 

He closed his eyes, his mind immediately drifting into the familiar darkness. The sound of traffic filled his ears, a sharp contrast to what he’d gotten used to for fifteen years. He blinked several times, mouth falling open at the scene.

Modern buildings towered high above him, disappearing into the night sky. He faintly noticed his feet tingling inside his boots that were buried in the snow, the sensation too real, which confused him. 

Another dream? Or a memory.

A faint pull in his mind tugged him towards the tavern. The night felt too similar to the time he left, which meant…

He crossed a couple of streets, minding the traffic lights as he passed under them. The red light flashed green and he paused on the sidewalk. Snowflakes floated down from the dark sky, creating a dusting of snow onto the already blanketed earth. 

As drivers stepped on the gas, zooming past him, he couldn’t stop his heart from pounding wildly at the old but familiar sounds. So much time had passed that he forgot how nervous one could feel crossing the street.

He waited patiently until the light turned red again, halting the traffic. The cold air nipped at his nose as he hurried across the street towards the familiar bar, Tabby’s Witch Experiment. It brought a small smile to his lips. He thought he’d never see this place again.

Warmth immediately defrosted his bones as he entered. The smell of hot chocolate, beers, and other refreshments filled his senses with delight. He spotted Xiao Yu and Jie Bai, going over to their table, but instead of greeting them like his old self had done, he ignored them entirely. 

Li Wei stared back at him, holding his gaze with familiar tenderness. Even then, when they weren’t close, Li Wei always treated him the same. 

Even though this was nothing more than a dream, he chose to give tonight a different conclusion. 

He took a deep breath. 

“I know this is sudden, but...” He offered his hand to Li Wei, who stared back at him with widening eyes and parted lips. “Do you want to go out with me?”

“No,” Li Wei said with mild hesitation.

Zhen Xue’s heart sank, his hand falling to his side. “No?” he repeated.

A breath later, Li Wei smiled at him, tilting his head. His sapphire blue earrings swung slightly, catching the amber light. They turned a color that matched his eyes, glowing softly. “Darling, you know better than to ask me in a dream.” He laughed quietly at Zhen Xue’s stunned expression, folding one leg on top of the other. “Who knows? Should you ask me in person, my answer might surprise you. And you do love to solve mysteries, don’t you, Zhen Xue, my dear?”

Hearing his name fall from his lips for the first time equally surprised him as much as this moment. This whole conversation felt surreal. Was he actually speaking to Li Wei, or did his subconscious fill in the gaps within his dream? Regardless, Zhen Xue had the sudden desire to sweep him off his feet, longing to make this pretentious man fall for him even more.

He opened his mouth, having prepared for a decent comeback, but the lights in the bar flickered, drawing a commotion. 

He stayed put, bracing himself for whatever might happen. The unnaturalness of the situation brought him back to the reality that this was a dream, one that could quickly turn into a nightmare. 

Everything was suddenly cast into darkness. The crackling flames gradually trickled into his ears. He found himself inside the burning village he’d once forgotten, tangled up in vines. 

That’s right... Although he’d been forced to forget, in a recent dream, he chased after the silver-haired man, who said some concerning things. Something about Zhen Xue growing strong enough to fight him? What an arrogant bastard.

Never mind that for now. There was no one around, and his situation wasn’t looking too good. He couldn’t even move to untangle himself, and from the way this heat burned against his skin, he knew pain was something he could still feel, even in dreams.

“What is this place...?” he mumbled aloud. 

As though answering his question, there in the distance, within the cloudy haze, was a clicking sound too mechanical to be an animal. 

Before he could make out what was slowly hunting him, a warm embrace suddenly enveloped him from behind. 

Even though the hug was not physically there, the warmth enveloped his mind, both familiar and comforting... protecting him all those times he struggled with nightmares. He never knew where the source came from, only that this presence loved him dearly. His body relaxed, letting the presence guide his mind back to sleep.

He rested well throughout the night, no longer plagued by more dreams, or nightmares. And when he woke to the sunlight, he realized his memory about that place remained. He could now recall dreaming about the burning village, along with the previous time before. There was something he experienced tonight that was important, something he didn’t understand just yet that would be important in the future.

With that thought, he got up and prepared for the trials of the day ahead, sending a small prayer of gratitude to whatever entity was watching over him.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Under the awning of a local pharmacy, Ming Yi, Xu Yang, and he stood in the shade, watching Calisaya sip her tea on the patio of a cafe across the street. Instead of her cloak and sword, she wore a sky blue dress, a sun hat, and a bright blue bow. Overall, she looked unbothered, without an ounce of weight on her shoulders.

“I’m not doing that,” Ming Yi stated after Zhen Xue went over the plan for the hundredth time. Ming Yi folded his arms, turning away as Zhen Xue rolled his eyes at the sight of his dramatics. “You can’t make me,” he added with a stiff jaw.

Zhen Xue released a dry laugh. “What was that yesterday about always following my lead?” He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You call yourself my servant, but never do as you're told.”

“Zhen Xue,” Ming Yi said in a defeated voice. “That’s not true.”

He puts on a wave of dramatics, scoffing at his denial. “You’re the definition of whimsical. I’d have a better chance of getting a cat to listen. Maybe I’ll leave you at the shelter and go adopt a cat instead.”

“Zhen Xue,” he whined, turning around to face him again. He looked like a kicked puppy. “Don’t make fun of me… I’m doing my best.”

He couldn’t stay mad at him when he made that expression. “Maybe you should stop being so easy to bully.” He stuck his tongue out, making a show of folding his arms and looking away before returning to their current situation. “Listen, all you need to do is go over there and talk with her. Maybe buy her a coffee... I’m not asking you to catch feelings and elope on the spot.”

“It’s not about that!” Ming Yi grew quiet in embarrassment at his outburst. He scratched his back sheepishly, muttering with reluctance, “I don’t know how to talk with women...”

Zhen Xue scoffed. He never heard something more ridiculous from the man that won over the most stubborn woman on the continent. Well... at least that happened within the novel version of his story. Ming Yi just needed a gentle push to realize his potential. “You’ll be fine,” he said with encouragement. 

“Dianxia...” he whined pleadingly, looking at him with intent. 

Taken aback by his continued resistance, Zhen Xue stared at him, dumbfounded. 

Why was he so against...

“Might I interject?” Xu Yang stepped forward from behind them, offering a cool smile. “Must this really be done by Ming Yi? I’m more than up for the task.”

With a sigh, knowing they’ll make no progress at this rate, Zhen Xue conceded. “Alright, alright. It would’ve been better for Ming Yi to go. He’s the only one that can win her over, but you can try poking around for information.”

Xu Yang flashed him a confident smile, pleased that he accepted his request. “You got it, little brother.” He gave him a playful wink before strutting over to Calisaya’s table. 

When he arrived, Calisaya lifted her gaze from her teacup, blinking at him with indifference. 

Without an ounce of hesitation, Xu Yang offered her a courteous bow. “Hi there, my lady. Is this seat taken?”

She shrugged in response, lifting the tea to her lips again, no longer looking at him.

Taking that as her consent, Xu Yang sat down across from her. He summoned the server and ordered some tea for himself and a couple of plates of sweets. 

They arrive shortly after, but the two of them were already talking casually long before then. Zhen Xue wished he was closer so that he didn’t have to crane his head to hear what they were saying, but he picked up the conversation, starting with half of Calisaya’s sentence. “...the recent edition?”