Alice in Dreamland (梦境中的爱丽丝)

Shen Luyu's (Not So) Graceful Grounding

They arrived at the training grounds, where Shen Luyu stared in utter shock. It was a large clearing with rocks and greenery hiding it away, secluding it from the city on the water. There were several platforms and different trails used for activities Shen Luyu's mind couldn't register. Some boys, similar to the one Shen Luyu saw at the base of the trail, were sparring while others watched. There were also some boys with two buckets on a pole resting on their backs, walking down another trail. These kids were the true laborers in this society—what the fuck!

Pushed near the back part of the clearing was a building that loomed over everything. It was the centerpiece of this beautifully crafted mountaintop society. Shen Luyu peered to his side, hoping Feng Lian would explain a little—if not about the grounds, at least about the reason for his being here. Instead of answering, Feng Lian kept his eyes forward, seemingly ignorant of the questions Shen Luyu wanted to ask. Just before Shen Luyu briskly tapped on Feng Lian's shoulder, he stopped himself. Maybe Feng Lian was still annoyed about his earlier accusations. He didn't blame him. The absolute least Shen Luyu could do was be quiet for a while. Even if he had refrained from talking on the way here, maybe he could benefit from staying silent a little longer. And to think that Shen Luyu wasn't even giving Feng Lian that courtesy? How arrogant must he be before it smacks him dead in the face? Talking never did him any good, and maybe it was his life's calling to really understand that fact—to engrave it in his very bones and to forget about the past as if it hadn't, and still had, affected the way he was. Even after all this time, Shen Luyu hadn't learned a single damn thing.

"You okay?" Feng Lian probed.

His emotions were still in a tizzy, but he doubtlessly owed Feng Lian this much—not only to ease his worries but to stop him from having to waste his breath asking. "I will be okay."

Feng Lian sent one more glance at him before gluing his eyes back to the building in front of them.

It took no less than five minutes to reach the building. Near the entrance, the Sect Leader waited for the two to arrive. A man stood next to Sect Leader Le, earnestly waiting as if guarding him, for what reason? It was beyond Shen Luyu, but since he was requested to meet with the Sect Leader, he should make haste so as not to halt whatever needed to be done.

"What took so long? Any longer, and I'm afraid this old man would've taken his final breaths." the Sect Leader sarcastically jested to Feng Lian. Honestly speaking, it wasn't necessarily their fault for their tardiness, but to blame someone else made them out to be akin to a scapegoat, and Feng Lian wasn't about to lose face with low blows like that.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. It was all simple matters, really. I handled it, so you needn't worry more."

"I was just pulling your leg. No worries, the sun still lingers high in the sky." He turned his attention to Shen Luyu, who stood quite a distance from Feng Lian. "Time waits for no one, so don't look at me so blankly. I called for you to spar; get to it."

What in the hell! The blatant hypocrisy reeled Shen Luyu to a stop. Had he not just told Feng Lian that it was all okay, reassuring him that the sun was still high in the sky, so there was still time to kill? Had he been imagining all of it? And his one-eighty personality trip when it came to himself? Thinking about it honestly, it had been like this from when he first came. His outlook had been bitter when it came to Shen Luyu, and what did he expect when he had roused the Waning Lily Manor? Surely, no one would be too ecstatic if their house, moreover, mansion, had been used as a UFC fighting arena. But still, his point held true. The man that stood beside Sect Leader Le seemed to have no problem agreeing with the other—as if this twisted logic was just like seeing a kite on a windy day or a college student raw dogging black coffee as the time was nearing midnight!