Building a dream

After a night of heavy rain, the sky gradually cleared.

The people of Winterfell began their day as well, but Gu Yu and Arya seemed to be missing.

At first, no one paid it any mind. The two often went outside the city to play, so their absence during the day was perfectly normal.

But when night fell, neither had appeared.

Eddard and his wife panicked then and hurriedly sent people to search.

"Father, I've asked the guards at all four gates. No one saw Arya leave the city," Robb reported as he came to Eddard's side.

As for Gary... he was always coming and going without a trace. Who knew where he had gone? Besides, who cared?

Everyone in Winterfell was focused on Arya now. No one would notice that Gary was missing too.

While comforting Catelyn, Eddard told Robb, "She didn't leave the city? Then she might still be inside. Poole, get everyone to search the castle. Don't leave a single corner unchecked. We must find Arya."

"Yes, my lord." Steward Poole quickly withdrew.

Catelyn paced anxiously. "Ned, where could Arya have gone? Where do you think she could be?"

Eddard drew her into his arms. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

The children were worried about Arya too. Only Snow looked a little strange.

He quietly pulled Robb into a corner. "Robb, there's something I want to discuss with you..."

"Snow! You should be helping us find Arya right now. How can you still be thinking about your own business?" Robb scolded in a low voice. "She's your sister too!"

"It's about Arya," Snow whispered. "Come back to my room with me first."

Robb's eyes widened. "You know where Arya is? Why didn't you just say so?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! Don't draw attention." Snow spoke secretively. "Anyway, just come with me first."

The two boys ran into the Main Castle together and went upstairs to Snow's room.

Before opening the door, Snow suddenly said, "Robb, Luke is actually a wizard..."

"Snow! At a time like this, do you think I'm in the mood for jokes?" Robb was so angry that his eyes reddened.

Snow slowly pushed open the door. "It's true. Look for yourself if you don't believe me."

Robb looked as instructed and saw a white oval about a meter tall and two meters wide in the southwest corner of the room.

It looked like a giant ice egg lying on its side.

The "ice egg" radiated waves of cold, keeping the entire room at an extremely low temperature.

Robb gaped. "Snow, it didn't snow last night, did it? Where did you get such a huge block of ice? And wasn't Luke's bed in that spot? Where's the bed? Where's Luke? Where did he go? I haven't seen him all day."

Snow glanced behind him, making sure no one had followed. "Let's go inside first. We'll talk after we shut the door."

Only when Robb approached did he notice four uncovered bed legs beneath the giant ice egg. In other words, the bed was inside the egg?

Snow closed the door before explaining the situation to Robb.

He began with Gary practicing ice magic and continued through Arya's late-night arrival the night before.

"When I woke up this morning, it was like this."

After listening, Robb asked incredulously, "You mean they're both inside this huge block of ice?"

Snow wasn't certain either. "Probably."

Robb said no more. He picked up a wooden chair nearby and smashed it hard against the ice egg.

Crack!

The ice egg didn't budge, but the wooden chair shattered.

Just as he picked up a second wooden chair, Snow hurriedly stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Getting them out! Can they survive being frozen for a whole day and night?" Robb thought Snow was utterly stupid right then. He shoved him aside and smashed the chair against the ice egg again.

Crack!

The ice egg remained completely unscathed, as solid as a mountain.

Robb dropped the broken wood in his hands. "I'm going to tell Father right now and have him find a way to save Arya and Luke."

"No, you can't! I promised Luke I wouldn't let anyone know he's a wizard." Snow grabbed Robb's hand and refused to let him leave.

The people outside were searching the entire castle. Sooner or later, they would reach this room. If Snow hadn't been afraid of Gary's identity as a wizard being exposed, he would never have asked Robb for help.

As for whether the two inside the ice egg were in danger?

Snow recalled what Gary had once told him. "Snow, I practice ice magic. If you see any strange creations made of ice in the future, don't worry. Ice can't hurt me."

Robb knew none of this. Narrowing his eyes, he demanded, "Snow, are you trying to get them killed?"

Snow wavered. He was worried about Gary and Arya's safety too. After all, despite what Gary had told him, the current situation was far from normal.

Robb shook off Snow's hand. "Once I borrow Ice from Father, I'll definitely be able to split this ice egg open!"

"A Valyrian steel sword? Don't bother. That sword can't split this egg." A female voice suddenly cut into their argument.

Robb scanned the room but found no third person. "Who's speaking?" he demanded loudly.

Just then, the raven in the birdcage extended a claw and deftly lifted the wooden latch, opening the cage door.

It flew onto the wooden table and gave the two of them a contemptuous look. "This egg is covered in magic elements. Even if you manage to cut a gash in it, it can restore itself instantly."

Robb had heard from Arya long ago that Gary had a magical raven that could say a great many things.

Ravens were birds that could mimic speech, so knowing a few phrases was normal. But wasn't this bird far too fluent? And its intelligence and thinking... were nothing like an ordinary raven's.

"Little girl outside the door, stop eavesdropping. Come in too," the raven suddenly said.

Snow jogged over and opened the door, coming face-to-face with an embarrassed Sansa.

"Come in, all of you. I happen to need your help with something," the raven said calmly.

After letting Sansa into the room, Snow closed the door again. This time, however, he chose to stay beside it, listening for movement outside while taking part in the discussion to ensure no one else eavesdropped.

The raven first put their minds at ease. "Don't worry. They're fine. Luke created this ice. It won't hurt them."

Sansa was attentive to detail. She asked, "Even if they won't get frostbite, won't they go hungry?"

Looking at the three human young in the room, the raven explained helplessly, "No. They're in a hibernation state right now. Never mind a day, they'd be fine for another month."

Besides, how could they go hungry when they were wrapped in and nourished by such dense mana?

Robb asked humbly, "Then may I ask when they'll be able to come out?"

The raven rolled its eyes. "How would I know? Now it's my turn to ask questions. Hey, you, the young one by the door. What happened? How did Luke turn into this egg?"

Snow recounted what had happened once more.

After listening, the raven fluttered onto the egg and stood quietly for quite a while.

Then it shook its head. "No good. My consciousness can't get inside. All we can do now is wait..."

Sansa came over to Robb and asked, "Robb, are you going to help them keep hiding this?"

Robb smiled bitterly. "Hide it? For how long? We won't even make it through tonight. Once Mother finds out, Luke will definitely be driven away, won't he?"

Sansa bit her lip. "Robb, actually, the reason I wanted Luke driven away was because Theon said some things to me."

Theon?

Both Robb's and Snow's expressions darkened. "What did he say?"

Sansa said, "He said Luke might be our elder uncle's child. Once his identity is confirmed, he'll change his surname back to Stark. Then he'll compete with you for Father's title of duke."

Robb's face darkened. "Don't listen to his nonsense. There's no such thing. Luke is a bastard, just like Snow. He has no right to inherit the title of duke."

At the door, Snow's eyes dimmed when he heard this. He felt terrible inside, but he couldn't show it.

Crack!

A fissure suddenly opened in the ice egg.

The raven spread its wings and flew off the egg, shouting, "They're coming out! Get farther away, all of you! Watch out for the ice!"

Gary had searched in pitch darkness for a long time, but still hadn't found Arya.

Floating in the darkness, he muttered to himself, "The dream has shattered, and the entire consciousness space is now dreamless. Where on earth did she go? Why can't I find her?"

He could clearly sense that Arya was still within his consciousness, but he simply couldn't find her.

"Maybe I can find her if I create another dream."

Gary got straight to work. "And this dream has to be big enough. Only when it reaches a certain size might it be able to reach Arya."

He gathered his mana and began creating a dream...

Winterfell suddenly appeared before him, its inhabitants acting out the first episode of "Game of Thrones."

"No, my head's full of 'Game of Thrones' right now. I can't think about that. I need to think of something else!"

Gary had no desire to "spoil" Arya's future for her. Knowledge of the plot had to remain solely in his hands as the transmigrator.

He waved away the Winterfell dream and began shaping a new one.

"Think of something else, something else, something else!"

A dazzling light burst from his left eye, illuminating the entire consciousness space...

After the brilliant light faded, a new dream was born...

"Xiao Xizi, hurry up. It's getting late. We have to get back to the Forbidden City before the palace gates close."

Gary stared blankly at the goods he was carrying, then lowered his head to look at his clothes. When had his clothes turned into a pale blue, old-fashioned robe?

His left hand had returned to normal too, becoming a human arm again.

"Hurry up! What are you standing there for?"

An old eunuch in a red python robe stood before him, urging him on anxiously.

Gary looked him up and down. A eunuch? Judging by his clothes and hat, he should be a Ming Dynasty eunuch.

Wait, surely I'm not one too...

His face drained of color. He loosened his grip, dropping the goods in his hands, then pulled the hat off his head and examined it closely.

"I'm done for. This looks like a Ming Dynasty eunuch hat too."

The old eunuch flew into a rage. "Hey! You insolent brat! How dare you throw things!"

With that, he turned and walked back, intending to slap Gary to vent his anger.

Still unwilling to give up, Gary slowly reached down... and found nothing to grab.

He instantly flew into a fury, kicked the old eunuch over, and roared, "Where's my little brother? What did you do with it?"