"Nightmare?"
Dr. Xiao's familiar voice rang out in the dorm room. "...Perfect, it's about time. Since you're awake, don't go back to sleep. Get up and do your morning practice."
Zheng Qing lay with his eyes open, staring at the mottled plaster on the ceiling and the bronze mirror hanging from a thin thread, slowly spinning in midair. For a moment, he said nothing.
The panic from the dream quickly faded beneath the wash of safe reality, but the aches in his body told him beyond doubt how hard he had suffered in his sleep last night.
"Hey, if you're awake, get up. Don't lie around on the floor." Xiao Xiao walked over and gave the young wizard a light kick. "It's almost October. The floor's freezing."
Zheng Qing shuddered instinctively and swiftly sat up from the floor. Not because it was cold, but because Doctor's kick reminded him of the one Senior Colmar had given him in the dream.
Not far away, Fatty Xin and Tuantuan's snores rose and fell, while the faint chirping of birds drifted in through the window.
The little sprites chirped and flew lightly over to the young wizard, carrying steaming towels, toothbrushes, rinse cups, and clean water, urging him to wash up.
The young wizard sat cross-legged on the floor without moving.
"Had a nightmare?" Xiao Xiao asked, brushing his teeth as he studied him in surprise.
Naturally, Zheng Qing could not tell his companion about his miserable experience last night—he would bet that if he gave an honest account, he would be mocked as "Zheng the Scum" for an entire day. No, an entire month!
Leaning against the four-poster bed, he sat on the floor for a long while before answering solemnly:
"From Monday to friday, getting up doesn't mean I'm awake; on