Lost?
Si Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Taichu's face, which was no different from his own.
His thoughts involuntarily drifted back to a memory from long ago.
It had been shortly after he single-handedly held up the collapsing heavens of all worlds, every strand of his black hair turning snow-white.
It had been the first "dream" of his life, in the little courtyard on Undying Mountain.
In the dream, the sky was impossibly blue.
Si Shuo ran all over the courtyard, chased and beaten with a walking stick by Third Uncle Granduncle.
Second Uncle Si Che noisily practiced the Fireball Technique.
There were his parents, his Lineage, and all the beauty of those first encounters.
Qing Li carried a plate of still-steaming pastries and smiled as she beckoned to him. "Young master, freshly baked Peach Blossom Pastry. Come try some while they're hot."
The young Si Chen sat on the threshold, looking at the courtyard full of everyday warmth. He was just about to reach out when he frowned.
"Young master?" The Qing Li in the dream looked at him in confusion.
Crack.
A pitch-black fissure split open across the flawless sky.
An indifferent gaze looked down from on high upon the cozy courtyard.
Those were Taichu's eyes, and his own as well.
Everything in the dream froze.
"Such a heartwarming scene."
Taichu slowly descended, stepping onto the Si Household's high threshold. "But is it worth shouldering shackles for them?"
Si Chen chuckled. "You are not a fish. How could you know a fish's joy?"
"Coming uninvited, and ruining my lovely dream besides..."
"I don't recall being so ill-mannered."
Taichu ignored the teasing remark. He waved a hand, and the frozen members of the Si Household, the plants, and the courtyard instantly dissolved into drifting specks of