When he came to himself, Wuzhi discovered that he was in a crystal palace. The bed underneath him appeared like a block of ice; however, it was strangely soft and springy and reminded him of the velvet cushions that he had experienced in the South Aislan Continent.

He gazed around and found neither windows nor torches. And yet, the room that he found himself in was lit by a soft blue radiance that felt calming and ethereal. The air in the room felt notably fresh and was gently cool.

“Hello?” he called out, sending his voice echoing across the cavernous halls. “Uhm, is anyone there?”

His voice echoed. No reply arrived.

Wuzhi sat up and tried to leave the ice block-like bed. He tried to move his legs, only to discover that he couldn’t control them. He frowned and grunted, and tried to forcibly control his legs. Alas, his efforts proved meaningless.

Wuzhi gulped nervously. He last remembered pushing himself in the Cloud Crane Pavilion and suffering from another ‘episode.’ This ‘episode’ was particularly intense, nearly killing him during the process.

He did not know how much time had passed. He had a preliminary idea about where he was and therefore did not worry about his safety. However, his greatest issue at the moment was that his injuries had grown severe to a worrying degree – the whole of his lower body was paralyzed.

Wuzhi started to panic; his breaths growing shorter and quicker. There was nothing that set him off more than the feeling of not being in control of himself. It triggered his deepest and most primal sense of fear and caused him to grow agitated.

‘Calm! You must keep calm! Nothing comes out of panicking needlessly!’ He repeated within his mind. And while such mantras usually helped him, it failed to serve its purpose this time.

He closed his eyes and attempted to recover his bearings; only to immediately fail. His tension increased as fear began to creep in.

Wuzhi felt afraid. More afraid than he had felt in a long, long time. This fear did not come from external stimulus, but rather from within himself.

Like a drop of ink blotching a piece of white paper, the fear inside him multiplied rapidly. It overpowered his rationality, consumed his thoughts, and nearly cast him into that deep abyss that he did in the lowest recesses of his heart. Just as the terrible fear sought to swallow him fully, Wuzhi felt a cool wind touch his forehead.

“It’s okay. You are safe,” reassured a voice. “Calm your breaths and follow my instructions.”

The voice was unfamiliar and alien; Wuzhi was certain that he had never heard this voice before. However, for some unknown reason, he found himself deeply trusting this voice.

“Good. Breathe in… and breathe out. Breathe in… and breathe out,” sang the voice.

Wuzhi started with difficulty but quickly found himself falling into a rhythm. He finally felt a trace of control return as the fear within him slowly receded. The blackest abyss that held his most terrible memory also returned and sealed itself in the depths of his heart.

An unknown amount of time passed. Wuzhi found himself calm enough to think properly. He still felt the paralysis in his lower body but now felt stable enough to consider this problem in length.

However, before he could do that, he had to open his eyes and thank whoever it was that helped him tide over another ‘episode.’

Wuzhi opened his eyelids; his mesmerizing argent eyes were revealed to the world. Before him, he found a young woman. She looked pretty but not stunningly beautiful. She possessed an aura that made her appear greater than she looked but not enough to flood her surroundings with her presence. She possessed short black hair, a cute face, and a petite body.

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Seeing Wuzhi look at her, she flashed him a toothy grin and greeted, “Hi! You look very pretty!”

Her comment caught him completely off-guard. Wuzhi lay speechless for a moment before replying, “…thanks?”

He then shook his head, wore a smile, and sincerely thanked, “This humble scholar is eternally grateful for Fairy’s assistance.”

“Whoa!” exclaimed the young woman. “You have a very nice voice! Also, you called me a fairy. I like you!!”

Wuzhi appeared utterly lost. For a moment, he wondered whether he had fallen into some alien planet inhabited by queer residents.

Just as he considered the feasibility of interacting with an alien species, another voice –also unfamiliar to him- spoke up. “Mana, stop straddling Wuzhi and get off of him.”

“But I like it here!” rebutted the petite young woman.

“Do it while I’m still being nice to you,” warned the other.

Mana, the petite young lady, mewled with disappointment before removing herself from atop Wuzhi. The young scholar felt the weight on his chest disappear, allowing him to breathe with better ease.

Wuzhi then struggled to sit up. He gave his paralyzed legs a worried look before turning to face his visitors. He was familiar with the strange petite young lady called Mana but felt his eyes being drawn to the buxom young woman that stood next to her. She was tall, dressed in simple white robes, and was a beauty on the level of Sister Baixue – in other words, a celestial fairy!

The young scholar did not stare for too long in an effort to not appear rude. He bowed his head and introduced himself, “Mu Wuzhi, the second son of the Golden Sovereign, greets the two fairies. I would also like to thank the two fairies for your timely assistance during my predicament.”

“Hey!” shouted Mana. “It was me that helped you! She just stood there and scolded me!”

The tall beauty gave the petite young lady an annoyed glance before turning to look at the young scholar with an appreciative gaze. “Your thanks are wasted on us, Young Master Wuzhi. We simply saw that you required help and offered our assistance. Just something that any kind person would do.”

She then placed a hand on her weighty chest and bowed. “This humble fairy is named Collete. This mouthy weirdo next to me is my twin sister, Mana. Both of us come from the Rosemark family of the Central Commonwealth.”

“The two of you are twins?” Of all the information that the tall busty beauty had offered, this was the point that struck the young scholar most curious.

Seemingly familiar with this question, Collette offered a polite smile and replied, “Fraternal.”

“Ah!” exclaimed Wuzhi. “I’ve never come across twins before. It is my honour to meet the two of you.”

“Oh! The honour is all mine,” replied Collete.

Meanwhile, the petite and younger of the two twins, Mana, alternated her gaze between Wuzhi and her elder sister a few times before suddenly going ‘eureka’ and exclaiming, “I see! Sister wants to get laid with Wuzhi!”

Collette instantly felt her heart go cold and her face heat up. A furious expression that was suffused with shock and embarrassment coloured her face as she hissed through gritted teeth. “MANA!”

Wuzhi, on the other hand, was confused. “Get laid?” Limited in his worldly experience, this figure of speech escaped him.

Collette appeared shocked at his innocence and stalled. Mana, unable to keep her mouth shut, instantly offered an explanation. “It’s when a man and a woman who love each other very much, decide to undress themselves and—!” The petite young lady was unable to continue with her explanation as a silk-like web sealed her mouth.

Collette looked murderous as she gazed at her sister. She then hurriedly turned to look at Wuzhi, praying that the latter hadn’t heard her sister’s explanation. Unfortunately, the young scholar possessed very sharp ears and an even sharper mind.

His face was beet-red and his expression, as he looked at Collete, was akin to that of a deer caught between a car’s headlights. Feeling her gaze upon him, he subconsciously backed away and raised his arms to cover his chest.

With a stammering voice, he said, “I-I think w-we ought to g-get to k-know each other f-first…” He then looked away like a kid who had gotten caught for doing something naughty.

Collette felt her face turn crimson and heat up like an oven. She then slowly turned toward her sister Mana and softly whispered, “Mana, could I have a word with you outside? In private?”

Mana nodded her head before turning around and running away at inhuman speeds. Collette wasted not a single second and kicked off the ground in chase. The two sisters soon disappeared from the grand room leaving behind only a distant echo for Wuzhi to hear.

“MANA! I SWEAR TO THE HEAVENS! IF THIS JUST RUINED MY CHANCE TO GET TOGETHER WITH HIM, I WILL KILL YOU!! STOP RUNNING!!!”

Left behind, Wuzhi belatedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He checked his body once, just to make sure that he wasn’t assaulted in his sleep, before quietly whispering to himself.

“It appears that the Sacred Snow Heart Sect is a terrifying place. I must be careful.”