Making Plans

I get up and bow before I leave the room. Dai Xuan isn’t back yet and I am not particularly hungry, so I just walk back to my own rooms. I’m allowed one night of sleep, surely? The main attack didn’t happen for some weeks after the monster dogs appeared… but I don’t know how my actions may have altered the timeline. What’s worse is that I don’t actually know much about the enemy itself.

One more reason for the drama’s less than stellar popularity were the one-dimensional enemies. They were always in the shadows until the final attack, where there wasn’t even one named character, just a faceless mass of people running over Xiyang. They were vaguely styled as ‘Northern Barbarians’, as these dramas often make it easy for themselves. The focus was always on the main characters. In most other stories you get at least a glimpse of the enemies beforehand, learn about their motivations, see some faces to make the final battles more engaging… but, no. Not in [The Ballad of Falling Snow]. While I didn’t mind it much personally while watching the story, it doesn’t at all help me now. How am I supposed to defend against an enemy I don’t know? I sound like an old-timey general, but I guess they are famous for a reason.

——

After I’ve lit a fire in the small oven in my room, I finally undress. Expensive robes and hair decorations pile up on the table one by one. Am I expected to return them? Will I offend anyone if I do? If I don’t? They seemed happy for me to be wearing them, and I don’t want to be on the Feng family's bad side, so I carefully fold the clothes and put them away together with the jewellery. As I search for an empty drawer to fit them, I come across a small wooden box in one of the lower shelves. Curiosity overcomes me and I’m about to open it when I pause.

“Zhiyu?” I ask into the silence.

Nothing. Still nothing.

“Are you still there? I hope you’re just too exhausted to interact with me, but maybe you’re still listening. Still seeing what I see. I don’t mean to be disrespectful by going through your things, please forgive me…”

When I receive no answer, I open the box. I don’t know what I expected, but it isn’t a golden hairpin. I recognise it at once, but only because I faced its wearer recently. A small, ornately worked dragon snakes around the end of the pin, in the same style as the queen was wearing when I met her. The pin is mostly dull, but the head of the dragon gleams in the light of the lanterns. I can just imagine Murong Zhiyu taking out the box and petting the dragon again and again. How she must miss her mother and her family. She left the palace as a child, chosen for a duty by destiny she had no say in. And now she’s not even master of her own body anymore, as fate has burdened her with me. I pet the head of the dragon as well.

“I promise you I’ll save your city. And when it’s all over, I’m going to force Gui to return your body and send me back into mine. I only wish I knew what you think about Feng Yu and Liu Renqing. But maybe it’s better I don’t. This way I won’t feel bad taking both away from you… Well, if I even succeed. Now I’m rambling. I should go to sleep.”

——

I wake in the middle of the night, feeling for my phone on the nightstand to check the time. When I don’t find it, I grumble and stretch further, only to find my sleeve caught under me and… wait. Sleeve? What… Oh. Yes. No phones here. I fall back into bed as my surroundings come into view in the sparse light of the embers. Well, if I’m awake anyway…

A few minutes later, the fire flares up once more and I stare into the flames with a blank expression. It isn’t very cold at night, but the fire helps to keep me occupied before my thoughts drift too much. What am I saying? They’re already drifting. I miss my old life. I don’t particularly miss my job, but the rest of it. My friends, my parents. The internet. Sigh. Then again, my fanfic on the internet is what got me into this mess in the first place.

“Zhiyu?”

Still no reply, but I feel a pressure in my head like an oncoming migraine. It’s gone as fast as it appears, but…

“You’re still there!! I was so worried!!! Don’t overexert yourself and please rest well. I’m trying to do my best in the meantime.”

The pressure doesn’t return, but at least I know she is still there. If she wasn’t… could I even leave this body without it dying? What happens to a body if you remove its soul completely? What… What happened to my body? A creeping feeling of cold dread settles in my stomach as I sit bundled up in my blanket in front of the fire, shivering despite the warmth in my face. I know nothing except for what Gui told me. Did he lie to me to achieve his goals? What if Murong Zhiyu demands her body back and I get kicked out? If that happens…

“Can I even go back?” I whisper into the darkness.

——

I wake again, this time on the floor, in front of the fireplace. My back isn’t thanking me, but at least I felt somewhat rested. Luckily Murong Zhiyu owns several uniforms, so I dress in a fresh one and walk out the door to find out what all the shouting is about. On the central courtyard, most of the disciples are gathered together to train sword forms. Dai Qian is overseeing the training herself, sitting on a chair on a slightly elevated platform. She doesn’t even have to stand up to correct their postures. With precision, she flicks small sparks of her genuine qi at the body parts that don’t perform as well as they should. A short exclamation of pain from the disciple follows and they adjust their stance.

“Sect Leader Dai,” I greet her with a bow and receive a nod in return. “I see you’re convalescing at a faster rate. I am glad to see it.”

“As am I. It feels so good to be outside again.”

“Why wasn’t I woken for the training session?” I ask, as I spot even Dai Xuan in the crowd.

“You are not to do anything strenuous today. In fact, I order you to rest and meditate to regain your energy.”

Yes, I do feel exhausted, but that’s not why I’m inclined to agree. It’s because I need some time alone to investigate the city wall. Maybe…

“I will go into the valley to meditate, then.”

Dai Qian nods. Attuned as I am to the magic of the pearl, proximity to water will help me regenerate much faster. Of course she knows this.

“A good idea. Natural energy courses through the valley.”

“Also I hope to find some herbs for you. Shimei showed me what the ones for your tea look like, growing closer to the water.”

“You’re to meditate, not work.”

“I will only pick them if I come across them by chance.”

Dai Qian sighs, and it’s the sigh of a defeated parent. It’s only been a few days and I love her. Of course Murong Zhiyu would feel closer to her if she was mothered this way for basically all her life. Even if the queen is her biological mother, she only spent a few childhood years in the palace, and if I can believe what I’ve seen in countless dramas, the royal parents usually don’t engage with their children as much.

“Liu Renqing asked for you this morning.”

I quickly scan the crowd, but I can’t spot him among the training disciples. Dai Qian takes that moment to flick a few orbs of qi into the crowd and I hear a chorus of ouches.

“He left after we told him you needed to sleep.”

“If everyone is training, he should join them. I know he’s the general’s son, but he is still a disciple of Huoyun Sect.”

“His is a special case. Since his sister died, he is the Liu family’s only heir. It makes sense that Liu Zixuan would prioritise educating him herself over my teachings. There’s much more to leading an army than cultivating your strength. Not that I believe we are doing anything lesser here, but the focus is different. Don’t be so hard on him all the time, my child.”

There was absolutely no mention of this in the drama. A sister? What? He was the only child of the Liu family in [The Ballad of Falling Snow]! Sent to Huoyun Sect for basic education in cultivation during younger years, then called back to train as General Liu’s successor later. He seemed to prefer his role as general’s son and often got into arguments with Murong Zhiyu about his loyalty to the sect. At the end of the drama he was vindicated when his faction was the one with the highest survivability in the disaster and helped Murong Zhiyu escape. I never knew… But this world’s Murong Zhiyu probably does, so I keep my mouth shut and just nod.

“I’m sorry. I suppose I just miss him here.”

Dai Qian softens and smiles at me. “Everyone at Huoyun Sect misses him. He was always kind and helpful. Since he returned to his mother’s house, he’s been distant. He hasn’t been here to visit his friends in months. He only comes to visit you.”

“I’m sorry…”

“You don’t carry any blame in this. Xuan’er explained the situation to me and I don’t believe you’ve been encouraging him. No, these are all his own decisions. Now go and meditate, but don’t stray too far from the city. We don’t know if there are more monsters planted somewhere.”