"Ten thousand years of separation,
ten thousand lis of distance,
ten thousand blooming orchids and wilting plum blossoms,
my heart is forever seeking yours,
and yours seeking mine..."
Zhang Fengxi opened his eyes to the pleasant sound of the river vendors who sang as they sold their goods to passing customers.
He pressed a hand against his mouth to stifle the big yawn that overcame him.
So drowsy.
Glorious spring days like these were best for sleeping.
He closed his eyes again and hugged himself to treat himself to another trip to the dream world.
"Young Master, are you awake?"
"..."
Why did heaven refuse to grant him this sleep?
Zhang Fengxi opened his eyes to slits. He eyed the old boatman who turned his head to look at him with unconcealed curiosity.
"Do you not want to enjoy the sights along the lake? Or maybe buy a few fruits from the river vendors? The loquats are very sweet, I heard..."
The boatman swallowed his saliva back to his stomach. Clearly, he was the one who wanted to eat some loquats and hoped to mooch some from the rich young master on his boat.
Zhang Fengxi tossed the boatman his money pouch.
"Buy yourself some," he said nonchalantly. "I wish to sleep more."
"Your command is my wish, Young Master!" the boatman said eagerly.
The boatman was a happy man, but Zhang Fengxi was a disgruntled one. He wanted to go back to the dream world, but said dream world refused to open its gates to grant him entry.
Was it because he just woke up from a nightmare?
No way, what nightmare could plague him on this beautiful sunny day?
Zhang Fengxi sighed and relaxed his body.
The first scene that flooded his mind was Xie Jianyu, his usually dignified self reduced to a bloody corpse in Zhang Fengxi's arms.
"Fengxi," he called.
Fengxi...
The second one was the blue-faced baby in his arms.
The third one was his mother's cold body inside the ice coffin.
The last one was the jar of poisoned wine that slipped from his hands as he breathed his last.
Zhang Fengxi gasped loudly and opened his eyes in fright.
The boatman was so surprised that he accidentally dropped a half-eaten loquat into the river.
"Y-young Master? Is everything alright?"
Zhang Fengxi was unable to answer. He raked his hand through his long, jet-black hair and looked around in utter and genuine bewilderment.
He then pounced on the only other person on the boat. Panicked, the boatman shrieked.
"Hey! Where am I? Who are you???"
The boatman's jaw dropped to his feet.
Just what was wrong with this handsome young master, he thought. Didn't he say that he wanted to sleep some more?
"Y-Young Master, you are at the Chang Jiang River... I am just a boatman you hired for this little trip..."
Zhang Fengxi relaxed his grip on the boatman's arm.
"Oh. What year is this?"
"This is the 77th year of the Tang Dynasty's reign..."
His answer earned him a glare from Zhang Fengxi.
"Why would I care about the matters of the Human Realm? What year is it in the Heavenly Empire???"
By then, the boatman already decided that this young man in his boat must be a madman. What Heavenly Empire??? What Human Realm? Was he not a human being???
How to deal with a crazed customer? He could not just run away, could he? They were in the middle of a river!
"Forget it," Zhang Fengxi snapped. "Just take me back to the land."
The boatman was more than happy to comply. He quickly rowed his boat to the riverside, all the while praying that the young master might recover one day.
As soon as the boat docked at the dry land, the boatman turned to look at said young master.
"Young Master, we have reached... EEHHHHH???"
The young man was gone. Not even his shadow was visible.
But that was not the most important thing here.
The boatman searched the floor of his boat for something very important.
The money pouch!
The money pouch was gone!
"YOUNG MASTER, YOU HAVE NOT PAID FOR THE BOAT RIDE!!!" he howled in dejection.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fengxi was already miles away, riding his loyal spiritual tiger to return to the Heavenly Empire above the clouds.
From high above, he could see the nine territories that constituted the Heavenly Empire. Each territory was under the jurisdiction of its corresponding palace. All nine palace masters reported to the Heavenly Emperor, whose seat was in the Golden Dragon Palace. The palace was located in the middle of the bustling capital, the Golden Dragon City.
Zhang Fengxi hailed from the Longjing Palace.
He was the currently reigning Longjing Palace Master. Until he committed suicide at the tender age of twenty-four years old.
His heart pounded hard against his chest as he raced back home, intent on finding out why he was suddenly back alive.
Zhang Fengxi almost fell off his tiger when he heard someone shouting his name in an authoritative tone.
"ZHANG FENGXI! DO YOU WANT ME TO BREAK YOUR LEGS???"