After the Dream

Chapter 1

*** A/N: My submission for "Bing Yuan Mini Bang 2022."
Illustrations are drawn by my partner, Moyi (twt: moyitaro).

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Drifting between a state of unconsciousness and cognizance, Shen Qingqiu felt flowing spiritual power being transferred into his core. It was warm and familiar, giving him a sense of comfort, but at the same time, something was strangely foreign about it that he could not maintain that sense of comfort for long. Falling in and out of a daze, his limbs were numb and he had an unexplainable feeling that he was floating within a void.

It took some time until Shen Qingqiu finally found strength returning to his muscles. First, the tips of his fingers twitched slightly, then his head was tilted to the side, towards the source of spiritual energy streaming into him. His eyelashes trembled. Expecting that a burst of light would enter his sight, Shen Qingqiu did not dare to open his eyes abruptly. Yet his concern did not become reality. Even when his eyes had fluttered halfway open, he found that his surroundings were neither bright nor dark.

Shen Qingqiu breathed out. There was no particular scent he could detect. It was definitely not his own residence at Qing Jing Peak, not the remodeled bamboo house in the Demon Realm's underground palace. In fact, he believed no place in the world could be as bereft of any scent such as this, not even the smell of wood or greeneries. He began to think that he truly was trapped within emptiness.

That is, until a voice reached out to him from his side.

"You're finally awake."

The spiritual power being transferred into him gradually ceased. Although Shen Qingqiu found the voice familiar, his hazy mind still failed to identify a name. With great effort, he propped himself up on his elbows, pinching the crease between his brows. Nothing came within view when his sight began to clear, just a boundless space with a faraway horizon beyond the distance. A single word arose in his head then, and he spoke it aloud unconsciously.

"The dreamscape?"

Who knew what urged him to do so at that moment, but once he said this word, Shen Qingqiu turned aside. He saw there, beside him, a handsome young man donning black and red attire, his beautiful silky black hair falling gracefully on his broad back. A crimson mark branded the center of his forehead. Of course, Shen Qingqiu did not need to ask who this was for every single cell in his body, every drop of qi running through his meridians would recognize this person without fail.

"Binghe?"

And yet when he met the other's eyes, an unexplainable dread ran through his spine. "Luo Binghe" smiled at him, further augmenting his extremely fine visage. The strange thing was that this gentle, cordial smile only served to heighten the sense of danger blaring in Shen Qingqiu's mind. He drew back before he himself could even realize what he was doing.

Seeing his reaction, "Luo Binghe" chuckled as if he found it amusing.

"It has been a while since we last met...Shizun."

***

Deep within the underground palace of the Demon Realm's Saintly Ruler, there was a hidden geothermal spring, a natural hot water source forming into a small pond inaccessible to anyone but the Saintly Ruler himself and his venerated master. The temperature would immediately make one sweat upon entering the spring area by a few steps; vapors turning into white steams filling the air. It was a place suitable for humans and demons alike to rest and recuperate their energy after an exhausting day.

However, right now, this "recuperating place" unfortunately was chosen to host an exhausting activity by none other than His Excellency the demon folks' Saintly Ruler himself and his beloved spouse, his master that was the Lord of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect's Qing Jing Peak.