Chapter 25: A dream
White didn't immediately return and instead wandered around the peak. He kept away from people and stayed in the shadows. He climbed to the highest point and sat under a tree. He gazed to the expanse below as he processed the new information. He never imagined that Seir could concoct such a complicated plot. Still whatever scheme it could think would be futile in the end. White sighed and leaned to the tree. The stars twinkled in the dark sky. Looking at them reminded him of an old memory.
"I heard from my mother that when people died they would turn into a star," the boy said, gazing at the sky. They were sitting at their usual spot on top of the mountain. White had not yet been able to manifest and could only let the boy held him in his palm. "Why do you think some of them are brighter than others? Is it because they're more powerful when they're alive?"
White said, "They are not. Those stars are not mortal souls, they are worlds far away from us."
The boy gasped in wonder. He squinted his eyes as if expecting to be able to see the stars more clearly. "Really? Have you visited any of them?"
"No. This is the first one I've ever stepped into."
The boy said, "That reminds me. Master told me you are from the void. Is there anything cool there? Whenever people speak of it they always talk in this mysterious way."
"There's nothing there. That's why your kind named it as the void. Still, there are beings capable to exist there. Though almost all are mindless beasts."
"It sounds like you hate it there."
White replied, "I do not hate it." He didn't know how to hate.
The boy smiled. "So you're bored out of your mind and chose to enter this world. Well, I'm glad that you're here. It'll be very lonely without you."
"You have your pet and your master."
The boy laughed. "You're also important."
When White resurfaced from the memory, the moon had moved higher than its previous location. He sighed. He felt something squirm uncomfortably in his chest. It was as if something was cutting him from the inside. It was never pleasant to revisit his past. He constantly suppressed them. Occupying himself with trivialities and messing with those around him. Was this the sorrow he had heard of? He didn't know. Though he laughed and smiled, it was only a pretense. That brimming joy which bloomed from the soul, he had never experienced it.
White patted his cheeks, wiping off the solemn expression with the mischievous look Ruan Yanxi was familiar with. As he trudged down, he hummed an old tune forgotten by time. When White returned to his room, he found a bowl of wonton noodle soup on the table. Ruan Yanxi was laying on the bed, reading.
White approached the table and asked, "Is this for me?"
Ruan Yanxi flipped through a page before he answered. "… You haven't had dinner yet."
A smile bloomed on White's face. "How nice of you A-Xi! I'll remember your kindness forever." White didn't waste time and ate the still warm wonton. From the first bite, White knew that it was not from the canteen. The canteen food was good but this bowl of wonton had extra care put into it. The wonton was generously stuffed with pork. The seasoning was on point, not too strong or too mellow. "For a prince, you're certainly a master at cooking. Say do you have some tragic past? Your emperor father didn't treat you well and thus you have to cook to eat."
Ruan Yanxi put down his book and shot an incredulous look. "Where did this nonsense come from?"
"That's how it goes in novels." White drank another spoonful of warm broth.
"… You should be more selective of your reading materials," Ruan Yanxi said flatly. "But… I remember that I learned to make this for someone important."
A hazy face of a woman flashed in Ruan Yanxi's mind accompanied by a pulse of headache.
"Wait, do you have a wife?" White asked, covering his mouth. "Princes usually get married early. Will your wife be jealous if you make this special wonton for me? Ah, the drama~"
Ruan Yanxi retorted, "Absurd. I don't have one."
White pointed out, "But you said you can't remember a thing. It's not out of possibility for you to have a wife."
"Why are you so insistent on me having a wife? I just know that I don't have one." Ruan Yanxi huffed and opened his book again. "If this is how you act, I won't make food for you again."
"I'm sorry. I'm in the wrong. I will repent!"
Hearing White's answer, Ruan Yanxi felt that he finally had the upper hand. A slight smirk appeared on his face, hidden by the book in his hand.
The day passed by like fallen leaves in autumn. They passed their days peacefully, learning and recovering. The seal in Ruan Yanxi's consciousness had slowly grown weaker under White's influence. The seal maintained itself by absorbing Ruan Yanxi's spiritual power. With White's suppressing it, it could only slowly waste away. At night, he would receive fragments of memories. At first, they were only flashes but gradually they became longer.
That night Ruan Yanxi dreamed. He was sitting and in front of him was a low table with an opened book. A man towered over him, speaking in a deep but encompassing voice. Around him were children of varying ages. All of them dressed in luxurious clothes. Despite his best attempt, he couldn't see their faces clearly, as if there was a heavy fog surrounding their faces. Ruan Yanxi's sight was drawn toward the boy in a yellow dragon robe. An unpleasant feeling struck Ruan Yanxi's heart. He clenched his hands.
The dream wavered and shifted.
Ruan Yanxi found himself sitting beside a woman. He was still short in a body of a kid. He looked up to the woman. Her face was soft and warm, yet there were subtle lines of sadness engraved on her. She spoke to him but he could not hear a thing. Ruan Yanxi watched, transfixed. The sound of footsteps distracted the woman. They both looked toward the door. A boy, older than Ruan Yanxi, was striding inside. The woman gave a welcome hug to the boy. The two of them looked similar. A mother and her son. A deep pang of sadness echoed in Ruan Yanxi. He reached out, wanting to touch them but they dispersed into dust.
Ruan Yanxi opened his eyes, meeting a pair of eyes. The eyes were black colored but Ruan Yanxi thought that he could see flashes of purple deep inside. Not yet fully awake, Ruan Yanxi absentmindedly observed the visage in front of him. He felt a touch near his right eye.
"You're crying."
The voice shocked him into alertness. Ruan Yanxi immediately pushed White off his bed. "Please show a modicum of respect."
White didn't get up and stayed sprawled on the floor. "A-Xi is so mean, I was worried when I saw you crying in your sleep and this is how you treat me?"
Ruan Yanxi rubbed his eyes and glanced at the sunlight from the window. "What time is it?"
Seeing that Ruan Yanxi didn't pay him any heed, White reluctantly got up. "Very late. We missed all the morning classes."
Ruan Yanxi glared at White. His accusation was clear, 'You didn't wake me up.'
White waved his hand. "It's not as if we haven't been learning by ourselves. But no need to fret, we're actually free today. Han Bingde wished to check on you."
"Already?" Ruan Yanxi asked, surprised. It has only been a month and a half since their stay here.
"From my observation, the seal should weaken enough for Han Bingde to completely break it."
"When is he going to do it?"
"It should be tonight."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone