WoH: 17 Years Ago

Not a Dream

15-year-old Zhou Zishu gasped for breath, waking up from a nightmare.

He was so confused- where was he?? Last thing he remembered was he was in a snowy mountain- but that made no sense! It made no sense at all... nothing he'd seen made sense. The Manor... there was no way it was all gone... there was no way he'd-

"Shixiong!"

Zishu jumped several miles and grabbed the fabruc around his rapidly beating heart upon hearing a voice.

"SHIXIONG! Are you up yet?!"

Zishu let out a gasping laugh. He knew that voice really well.

That was Qin Jiuxiao. The 8-year-old Qin Jiuxiao.

Thank god. It was all a dream.

"Shixiong you said we'd go gather some flowers and herbs today! Also Dad wants you for something hurry up and go to him and grab breakfast then we can go!! Shixiong are you awake it's already 10 am!"

"I'm coming I'm coming!" Zishu called. "Jeez- always so impatient!"

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he got ready and walked through the Manor. The flowers were in bloom, the Manor was well-kept and bustling- the disciples of the Manor were walking around, chatting training or taking some fresh air. They all waved at Zishu and Jiuxiao as they passed- as Jiuxiao excitedly ran down the path while Zishu followed. The more he saw of this peaceful present, the more he relaxed- the more he believed it had all been a terrifying dream.

All that changed when he heard the news Huaizhang had for him.

"Zishu, I know this is really sudden but Beiyuan isn't gonna be here for a while," Huaizhang explained. "His dad wrote you a letter saying that they're off fighting in the Ling Province, and Beiyuan went with him. He's a royal, it's about time he learned what a real battlefield looks like."

Zishu froze. He felt all the blood drain from his system, a shiver that shook his bones run down his spine.

He recognized that piece of news.

"Is it a rebellion? A rebellion among the soldiers that're supposed to be guarding the borders?"

"...yeah. How did you know? There weren't any real signs of rebellion in the province, even the Siji Manor's elders didn't see it coming."

Zishu barely heard. His head was spinning, he felt faint, he felt sick, he wanted to collapse, he wanted to scream, everything was a blur of colors and sounds that were moving too fast, that didn't even exist yet-

His dream hadn't been a dream. It had been a warning.

He ran off to stop himself from fainting in front of his shifu.

"Zishu?! ZISHU!"

"Dad are- SHIXIONG?! Shixiong wait!"

"Is that... Da-Shixiong? What's up with him? Is he okay?"

"Doesn't look like... OI! DA-SHIXIONG! DA-SHIXIONG YOU OKAY?!"

Zishu ignored everyone who called to him on the way. He ran directly to the lake in the middle of the cherry blossom forest around the Manor. He was shaking, he could see how pale his hands were and could only imagine how pale his face was-

He thought he was gonna faint right then and there, but instead he threw up everything he'd eaten in the past week and spots of blood.

He gasped, still crouched by the water's edge. He looked like a fucking mess but that matched the whirling storm in his mind right now so it was fine... it was real, it was all real. He was destined to bring ruin to the Manor, everything he loved right now was destined to vanish and leave him all alone- no it couldn't be real, how the fuck would he even know this?? It had all come to him in a fucking dream, how would he have-