After the Dream

Chapter 2

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

"Y-You... It's you!!"

Unable to hide his shock, Shen Qingqiu briefly lost his composure; his index finger pointing at the other person. Seeing his reaction, Luo Binghe, who was still squatting on the nonexistent ground of the dreamscape, cocked his head up while resting his chin on his hand, elbow on his knee. His smile grew wider.

"Yes, it's me, Shizun's favorite disciple."

Seeing the color of Shen Qingqiu's face turning from white to red then white again appeared to amuse him so much, that a soft chuckle escaped his lips. Unfortunately, Shen Qingqiu did not share his joy. How could he? The first time they met, this man went and ripped off his limbs on the spot. The second time they met, not only did he blow a hole in the roof of his residence in Qing Jing Peak, he even tried to deceive him and steal his chastity!

...Alright, perhaps he was also partly at fault for failing to check, but still, this person chose not to tell him the truth and took advantage of his unawareness! Under these circumstances, now that they met again for the third time, this Luo Binghe from that world couldn't be having any good intentions, could he?

"...Why are you here?" in an attempt to calm himself down, Shen Qingqiu flapped his paper fan open, hiding half of his face behind it. Luo Binghe's answer, however, was nothing unlike what he had expected.

"Why am I here? Shouldn't Shizun be the one to tell this disciple why I am brought here in the first place?"

"What-?!"

"Isn't it Shizun who called this disciple to come into your dream?" Luo Binghe raised his brow, but that smile still hadn't ceased from his face, "Oh, but looks like it's a one-way in and no way out. I wonder what exactly is Shizun's intention for trapping this disciple in here?"

The Demon Lord rose to his feet, causing Shen Qingqiu to instinctively take a step back. He did not understand a word of what this man was speaking, and this fact only served to make him feel even more suspicious.

"I am the one who brought you here? What nonsense are you speaking? Unlike you, I do not have control over the dream world."

"That is true. This disciple is wondering about it, as well. How could a human like Shizun manage to drag this disciple into this trap of a dreamscape?" Luo Binghe placed his hands behind his back, further approaching the retreating Shen Qingqiu, "What did Shizun do to be able to achieve such a feat?"

"I did not-"

Shen Qingqiu fell silent. What was the last thing he did before all of this occurred? He was just resting on his bed in the bamboo house, waiting for Luo Binghe to return from checking the palace's security. There might be an infiltration attempt by the enemies, he was told, but Shen Qingqiu could not recall seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary. All he did was read a book in their bedchamber and-

"Ugh...!!"

All of a sudden, inside his head there was a piercing pain. Countless memories started pouring over his consciousness like raging water rushing out of a broken dam. Some things were from this world, some others from the world he had left behind. Both good and bad, pleasant and painful, they crashed into his mind, pulling and pushing to appear one after another in a merciless, endless stream. Shen Qingqiu could not take it anymore, the void around them warped and twisted as if it was about to swallow him whole. With nothing to hold onto in this vast, empty space, unable to find support, his body faltered to the side.

Nevertheless, instead of the hollow floor, Shen Qingqiu fell straight into a person's arms. He felt a big hand placed on his back, and from there, warm spiritual energy began to flow into him once more, calming his frenzied senses.