A Dream

Three days had gone by since Qian Lan locked herself inside her bedroom. The water god could only continue to pay her a visit every night in hope of Qian Lan willing to listen to his explanation.

"Knock Knock."

"Qian Lan please, it's been three days already. Are you still not willing to listen to me?"

Qian Lan sighs and looks at Julong who ushers her to quickly open the door for his master.

"Ugh...fine...."

Rolling her eyes, Qian Lan walks to her door and lets in the water god.

"You better have a good enough explanation for why you never showed up at the wedding."

Qian Lan motions for Jiang to take a seat at her table as she closes her bedroom door. Once the water god was seated; Qian Lan moved and seated herself across from Jiang.

"Well? What's your reason?"

Quickly clearing his throat, the water god stares into Qian Lan's tired eyes and speaks.

"The heavenly king ordered for me to check on the border seal. There's been rumors of it weakening and the underworld plague spreading into the human world."

"Wait...what? What's this border seal you're talking about?"

"Ah...it's what you humans call a plague. When the seal weakens, sometimes evil can leak into the human world causing death."

"That's your reason for abandoning me?"

The water god looks puzzled as Qian Lan still looked annoyed after hearing his reason. Seeing his panicked face Qian Lan couldn't help but feel she was overdoing it.

"Forget it, that does sound more important than coming to a wedding. I forgive you, but next time you need to warn me if something changes."

Breaking into a smile the water god could finally relax his tense shoulders.

"Of course! I promise!"

"Another thing, Jiang. You better do something about that goddess of virtue."

"Don't worry. I already took care of it."

Feeling content, the water god quickly bids Qian Lan farewell as he heads back to his sleeping quarters. Once the water god was out of sight Qian Lan turns to Julong.

"Hey, Julong. What did Jiang do to the goddess of virtue?"

Julong breaks into a sweat and tries to dodge Qian Lan's question.

"I don't know, what do you mean by that my lady?"

"Oh, come on Julong. You didn't think I wouldn't notice you sneaking out at night to inform Jiang of my condition, did you?"

"Uh...I only told master of what she said to you. Seeing as she threatened you, I couldn't just ignore it. Master only had her hair chopped off as a warning as the next time it will be her neck."

Qian Lan breaks into a sweat as she is reminded of how ruthless the gods and goddesses could be.

"I sometimes forget that I shouldn't try my luck too much against Jiang."

Just as Qian Lan was cleaning up her table, she hears a quick knock on her bedroom door.

"Knock Knock."

"Who is it?"

"It's me, my lady."

The head maid quickly enters Qian Lan's bedroom and sets down her dinner tray.

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat my lady. Master ordered it. You barely touch your food lately. If you get any thinner, even the wind will blow you away."

Qian Lan scoffs at the head maids rude remark.

"I am not that thin! It's going to take more than wind to blow me away, ok?"

"Just eat your food. Otherwise the one who gets in trouble is me."

The head maid quickly heads back out and closes Qian Lan's bedroom door after saying what she wanted to say.

"How rude."

"She does have a point my lady. You do need more meat. Even human living in poverty have more meat."

Qian Lan quickly gives Julong a knuckle sandwich before moving to her table and inhaling her dinner. As the night rolls in, Qian Lan soon falls into a food coma. Quickly knocking out after not getting much sleep lately, Qian Lan experiences a dream unlike any other she's had. Stuck in a pitch-black room with only a light shinning through from above. Qian Lan could only see an endless sea of darkness before her. From a distance she spots the figure of a familiar person. Smiling from ear to ear, Qian Lan screams out the figures name.

"Chenguang!"

Qian Lan quickly runs towards the figure. As she continues to call out to Chenguang she noticed Chenguang never once turning around. Once Qian Lan was only three feet away from who she assumes is Chenguang. Quickly moving to the front of the figure Qian Lan realizes that it wasn't the Chenguang she met.

"Chenguang?"

With bloodied tears. Chenguang screams out Qian Lan's name and grabs onto her right arm.

"Give it back!"

Chenguang continues to chant the same words over and over. Meanwhile, Qian Lan is in a panic mode and tries to remove Chenguang grip on her.

"Let me go!"

"Give it back!"

"Give...give what back?!"

"My soul!"

"No...let me go!"

"Give it back! That's my place!"

Qian Lan screams in terror and ends up biting her own tongue in her dream to wake herself up. Drenched in sweat Qian Lan wakes up crying.

Julong who was sleeping on the floor quickly notices Qian Lan in distress and runs to her.

"My lady! What's wrong?"

"Wahhhh!"

Qian Lan could only cry out as she remembers her dream. Unsure if it was a sign or a dream Qian Lan couldn't bring herself to speak of it.