Ji Ru dashed through the passageways of what Tai Yang was sure was a castle. "Sir- I mean- Ji Ru, please- don't run so fast- We'll fall, I'm still dizzy-"
Not to mention highly confused and in utter shock…
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know it's hard but we have to be in his majesty's courtyard in less than ten minutes! We need to get you changed- We also need to grow your hair out really quick so nobody thinks you're weird." Ji Ru said, rounding a corner.
The walls of the passageways were lined with portraits of handsome men and women with ethereal beauty. They had such poise and elegance that Tai Yang felt he was doing them a disservice by setting his bat-blind eyes upon them. As he felt his glasses begin to slip owing to the uncoordinated stumbling of his feet behind Ji Ru, he shakily rammed the golden, circular rims back onto his face and looked ahead.
"We're here." Ji Ru said, looking around conspicuously as he came to a halt. Tai Yang was out of breath, doubled over and flushed as his eyes flicked up at the door. There was a soothing golden glow emitted from the large engraving of a little wolf being held by an undeniably handsome man.
For some unknown reason, Tai Yang was sure when he glanced at Ji Ru that the engraving was far more intimate than a simple image of a man and his pet.
'Is… that him and his 'master'?'
Unaware of Tai Yang's line of thought, Ji Ru touched the door, causing the engraving to glow for a second before the door swung open with a surprisingly tolerable creak.
He felt Ji Ru grab his hand and pull him into the room. "I haven't thrown your clothes away, they're all still in your closet." Ji Ru said, not stopping to take a moment to calm down. Tai Yang jumped slightly when the door behind him closed on its own.
It became painfully obvious by that point that either he was having a very strange dream, or he truly was trapped in an alternate universe; because if the enormous room (that shouldn't have been that enormous based on the spacings between each door in the hall) was anything to go by, this was definitely not Earth.
There were many strange and peculiar things in the room. While at the centre were two beds separated by a space and decorated on all four sides with transparent draping, the rest of the room seemed almost like what a fairy house would have been described as on Earth.
There were little glowing lights and wispy white flowers, floating all around the room; illuminating it and casting a mystical glow all around. The floor was covered in grass and the extremities of the massive room were lined with beautiful plants and vibrant flowers. There were even a few trees, here and there going up several meters and never touching anything for there seemed to be a starry night sky above them; a stream ran over white pebbles and over rocky features near the plants, eventually pooling in a clear body of water filled with Koi fish.
Which was all the more strange when he saw study desks with books and scientific equipment on a stone pedestal surrounded by brightly coloured mushrooms and rose vines around the archways above the desks; and a cave where Ji Ru disappeared into to get him some clothes. Shifting a little, he could see the inside of the cave had intricately carved furniture, made to fit perfectly in the cave.
It most definitely seemed very much like what he imagined the living space of a fairy would be like.
The small lights moved around him, bumping against his cold skin and warmth seeped into his body and tentatively he reached his elegant fingers up to touch them. They bounced off him and spiraled around.
"Tai Yang, white or baby blue today?" Ji Ru asked, poking his head out of the cave.
Tai Yang blinked out of his daze. "Anything is fine…" He said, taking a few steps into the room. He noticed that even though he was supposedly walking on grass, the soles of his feet were not becoming dirty at all.
Ji Ru ran out of the cave and quickly placed the clothes on a dresser with a massive mirror in a flowerbed ( that Tai Yang had failed to notice before).
"Come here, quick!" Ji Ru said, waving him over as he arranged Tai Yang's clothing. "A bit dusty-" Ji Ru said, turning his head away and giving the beautiful white hanfu in his hand a heavy flick. A huge cloud of dust flew out of the robes and engulfed Tai Yang who squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched his nose.
"… Just a bit." He said with a sneeze, removing his glasses to wipe them. Ji Ru took the lab coat that was still on Tai Yang's shoulder from earlier and clicked his fingers.
Tai Yang's eyes widened as he felt his hair starting to grow longer, and when he saw the wavy locks spill past his shoulders and between his shoulder blades, he was ready to pass out.
This was real.
He could physically feel some of the strands resting silkily on his arms, face, and neck.
He didn't need to be pinched; the gentle brushing of his hair against his skin was more than enough of a harsh confirmation that this wasn't a dream.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ji Ru winced as he recognised the familiar look on his best friend's face. "Just a second, you'll feel better in a moment-" He said, opening the drawer of the dresser and rummaging in it.
Tai Yang shook his head quietly, stepping back a bit. He was feeling his crippling anxiety start to take over.
Of course it would.
He was stuck on an Earth that wasn't his home. Away from everything he knew, and everything that was scientifically sound.
From his Bed-Jiejie, professors, work, and peaceful, mundane life
This was not okay.
Not in the slightest.
As the beginnings of an anxiety attack began to become apparent, Ji Ru finally found the green bottle he was looking for. With a gasp, he grabbed it and popped out a white pill.
Like before, before Tai Yang could stop him, Ji Ru slapped the pill into his laboriously breathing mouth.
"In a second… Give it a second-" Ji Ru said consolingly, watching his friend with worried eyes.
An overwhelming calm washed over Tai Yang, just as Ji Ru had said, and he looked over to Ji Ru in shock. Anxiety pills did not work that quick; yet another thing that made the situation more real.
Ji Ru breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's a lot. I know." Ji Ru said, lifting up the underlayers for the hanfu. "You can take all the time you need after we settle in and get scolded." Ji Ru said, reaching forward to help Tai Yang dress.
Shamelessly, he plucked off Tai Yang's clothing and put him in the airy hanfu. "His majesty is going to be scary, so I'm going to warn you in advance. He's also going to be mad because he has this huge meeting with the princess of Atarah he's attracted to coming up… And since you died, I became the best Cognitive cultivator in the castle, so I was supposed to be here in the days leading up to the meeting… Since time flows differently on your Earth and ours, it's kinda possible that I've missed the meeting which would mean we're in a lot of trouble. But what was I supposed to do? I was worried you would die at any moment!" Ji Ru huffed, tying a white sash with designs of clouds on them around Tai Yang's waist.
Tai yang lifted his arm, looking at the draping, white sleeve. The hanfu fitted his lean form perfectly and made him look especially elegant.
"Anyway. He's always angry, so it's nothing new!" Ji Ru said in what really did seem to be a good natured way.
Moving to Tai Yang's now waist-length hair and tying a top portion up into a delicate-looking ponytail, he let the long white ribbons flow down with the silky black strands.
Ji Ru stood in front of him, his face immediately looking shocked. Tai Yang blinked. "…Are you okay?" He asked Ji Ru after the man's eyes started to fill with tears.
Ji Ru couldn't help it. Tai Yang was really there, with his wide eyes, delicate features, and slender form. He was really still alive, and wearing that same ugly style of large, round, gold-framed spectacles underneath his bangs.
Suddenly Ji Ru began to whine, wail and shake Tai Yang by the shoulders.
"Oh Tai Yang, you silly dog! I've missed you so much! How could you go? I can't believe you died and left me here! 'Best Friends FOREVER', means you're supposed to be here with me forever! Uhuhuhuhuhuuu-" Tai Yang blinked rapidly, not knowing what else to do at what sounded like the complaint of a teenage girl on her period, and Ji Ru stepped away to sob into his own sleeve.
Resetting his skewed glasses, Tai Yang stared at Ji Ru in concern. "Don't cry, I- Urm… But you see… I'm… Well not yet… But… but yes, I'm not dead yet-So… Urm… Please don't cry like this, you may get sick and…"
Ji Ru let out a loud sniff and waved his hand at him.
"No, no. D-Don't *sniff* mind m-me. I've been *sniff* experimenting with *sniff* temporary protandrous hermaphroditism to *sniff* have babies *sniff* for Master."
Tai Yang's eyes widened at that and flicked to the door.
His suspicion must have been right…
"These hormones *sniff* are a bit… *sniff* different so *sniff* I randomly feel so- so- so *sniff* odd, but the t-tes-ting should be done *sniff* soon."
Tai Yang looked at him in shock. "Is that possible for people here?"
Ji Ru wiped his face, calming down.
"I'm in the final phase of testing on myself. If it goes well, I can properly start clinical trials."
"Testing on yourself?"
Ji Ru nodded. "Anyone else would die from failed experiments, but since master can take my damage on my behalf, we lessen the chance of unnecessary death. In the last while, he hasn't had to help much, so I think I've finally perfected this experiment."
"…Take your damage?"
"OH NO! TAI YANG WE'RE LATE!" Ji Ru yelped, looking up at something on the ceiling. Before Tai Yang could tilt his head, Ji Ru was running once more, dragging a timid Tai Yang along.