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Blue and violet stars of a stretching galaxy sat high above a tower of ice.

This frozen structure towered over Qing Xiashu while shadows cast by the wide moon tried to swallow him whole.

As small as he felt, nothing compared to the way scene before him loomed.

A citadel. Stretching to the sky and glittering with golden tiles. Gates like open maws. Spires of crystalline ice jutting from inside.

An explosion paused in time and unmelting.

If the ice had been orange it might have looked like a child's poor rendition of a burning castle. Flames sticking out at odd angles and pushing through roofs at the center of the compound rather than the methodical spread of gluttonous fire.

Goldfish swam in the air above him, urging him to move forward.

They beckoned him to climb an elevated terrace, that something would wait for him there.

The back of his mind begged him to turn away, to protect his senses.

But the fish pushed.

The cold was growing unbearable now.

Snow seemed to fall from empty air, landing in his eyelashes and hair. As he tried to blink the flakes away, his hands came to rub the irritation from his eyes.

Foolish it was to block one's eyes in a place like this.

Qing Xiashu found that the scenery had shifted when he let his hands fall.

Morning sunlight was beginning to peak over the rolling forest to the east. It pushed back the shadows and lit up the crystal environment like a hundred lanterns.

The opened ceiling behaved like giant sun catchers, throwing rainbows and shards of light across the room that opened onto the terrace.

The mousy child had no time to revel in the colorful display.

Bodies frozen in the ice with expressions of horror forced new shadows into the little bits of joyous sunlight.

Every corner of the frozen room held human bodies that had been paused in place, arms and legs flung out. Heads thrown back as though they'd been caught by a blast and let out one last scream.

The epicenter was the worst of all.

A ghostly form sat before a body that at some point had been leaking blood but had since frosted over.

The ghost moved slowly, carefully, delicate hands folding crisp lines into red paper, golden characters littering each sheet. Qing Xiashu couldn't read them at this distance.

If he could read.

Yet something told him they were words of mourning.

Slowly, as slowly as the ghost folded the red paper, Qing Xiashu crept closer.

The fish, having not yet given up their mission to push his progression, fluttered their tails and swam ahead of him.

Their soft orange light caught the ghost's attention; causing the being to pause their folding.

And turn towards him.

The familiar eyes of the mourning ghost widened as the child tipped backwards [https://img.wattpad.com/d72eeba5a00968cd31340ee3a2acc24642bdad84/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f596c386963707a396f4e6a3952673d3d2d313439373030303735302e313830393436336465383339393030363238303031323735333439392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

The familiar eyes of the mourning ghost widened as the child tipped backwards.

Down.

Off the edge of the terrace that should have been much further than where it lay behind his heel.

It had had a railing before.

But now he was falling without a sign of the ground growing closer. If anything it felt like the ground was growing further away by the second.

Qing Xiashu fell through the clouds before long.

Only to be met with the tops of trees rather than the sky.

Another palace lay before him.

Burning.

Flames licking at every surface that wasn't stone.

This palace was nothing like the last, it didn't glitter gold.

Instead the flames flickered on silver panels as though they were mirrors.

This palace was surrounded by mountains of evergreens and snow, instead of warm summer forests of the previous.

This palace was familiar.

This palace was home.

Blood trickled across broken marble as smog filled his lungs.

A figure shifted uneasily as they were beaten by freezing winds before collapsing. Reddish hair woven with golden leaves and orange ribbons flicked away from their body by the air.

Tears dripped from the golden eyes of a child much younger than himself.

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A copper gilded sword fell backwards into a splash of water.

The sound of bones breaking and blood rushing filled his ears.

Rot and mildew filled his nose.

The blaze broke the night sky.

Dread rushed up his throat as the ground finally came hurtling in.

Qing Xiashu sat up with a cold sweat running down the back of his neck.

He ran his hands over his face as he swung his legs off the edge of the inn's bed.

He hadn't had dreams like these for years.

Which concerned him.

A light weight shifted into his lap accompanied by a faint whimper. Qing Xiashu peeked down at the fluffy puppy that had half crawled into his lap. "Hefeng, you're growing too large for being a lap dog." He chuckled, patting the young dog's head nonetheless.

When his form had relaxed enough, he removed the pup from his lap and stood to peer through the window.

As soon as he had spotted the soft light of golden stars breaching the thick clouds, he relaxed further.

Golden stars... His precious sign of the waking world.

These dreams always seemed to foretell dramatic happenings...

Be it the Chaoting palace master taking him in, or being gifted his own sword.

Or of course the time someone tried to assassinate the princess.

That sure had been a fun day...

But it foretold more lies than truth.

He dressed himself and tied his hair back while he noted through his dream. Cataloging and categorizing anything that might become useful later.

His older brother being depicted as some strange mourning ghost and the deranged burning of the Chaoting Palace were undeniably the most unsettling parts.

Xue Feiyi was an odd one for sure.

But not so odd as to be folding courting papers for a frozen corpse.

Meanwhile, while the freezing of the Southern Citadel was common knowledge, there wasn't much agreement on the topic.

The only solid fact was the entire Hong family was gone in a night.

Everyone seemed to have their own opinions on the suspect.

Most argued it was a targeted attack by Chaoting royals or Tiantang royals specifically.

Supporting the idea of an assassination was the class of cultivators with specialized abilities to control natural matters, ice, flame and so on. Ice elementalists especially were common in the North where water sources were never far. Their king one of the most powerful.

But no human could have possibly done something so explosive and destructive.

Not even the Chaoting Palace master.

Something like that could have been only divine.

Some furious deity taking their anger out on the materialistic royals.

Qing Xiashu shook his head. He wasn't naive to his brother's involvement.

After all, they had met the night that the Ying Citadel was frozen. The man was injured and completely out of sorts.

More than likely he'd been there.

Escaped.

Maybe even saw the perpetrator.

He may be the only living human being with answers.

But Qing Xiashu knew Xue Feiyi would never admit to it.

And to that end Qing Xiashu would never question him.

What he did question was why these dreams always forced him back to his illiterate childhood. He wanted to know what those notes said!

Instead he prepared the royal siblings' breakfast. Utilizing the head start he'd been given in his busy day.

Hefeng bounded after him into the kitchen.

He prepared something that required some simmering time and returned to the floor his room was tucked into.

One door down was Xue Huayu.

He didn't bother knocking on her door, instead popped it open and tapped on the wall. Hefeng dutifully sat in the doorway and observed the hall just in case someone might approach.

"Xue Xiaojie." He beckoned softly, patting an odd lump of blankets on the bed. "Time to get ready for breakfast."

"It's not light yet!" The young girl complained.

This whining lump...

Is the Northern crown princess...

And she has just turned twelve...

Qing Xiashu chuckled before picking up the corner of her blanket. "How would you know that from under your blankets, hm?"

A scowling face looked back at him before the blanket was grabbed back down.

The boy rolled his eyes, contemplating a moment while he fiddled with the yellow tassel in his hair before speaking. "I'll show you a new sword form before I wake Xue Shixiong if you get up."

The blanket went flying and the girl had sat herself on the floor in an instant. "Get on with it then." She demanded. Flicking her sleeping braids off her shoulders for him to work into some semblance of order.

Qing Xiashu chuckled and settled down on the girl's bed, letting her lean back against his knees. He laid her hair across his lap and began combing and braiding it, carefully pining it into buns and wrapping in ribbons.

"Er-ge, what's for breakfast?" Xue Huayu asked, tracing the pleated hem of his skirt and the frost embroidery on his coat.

"Congee."

Xue Huayu scoffed. "Again? You have a problem."

"Don't you like my congee?" Qing Xiashu asked, lightly tugging her head off to one side.

"You make it like four times a week."

"Fine, I will have congee and you can wait for me to make something else."

"Hey! I could ask one of the cooks!"

"You know Xue Shixiong would have both our heads if you got your hands on something made by an inn chef. Besides, they've all been sent home while we stay here." He explained, ignoring the light shape that suddenly became anxious in the corner of his vision.

"That's not fair, Er-ge. Da-ge is overprotective."

"No. Actually he's very reasonable. Many royals simply have tasters, and a lot of them end up poisoned. Just having one of us cook for you is far safer."

Xue Huayu groaned and dropped her head back to look up at him. "I'm not gonna die." She said flatly. "And Da-ge isn't either. When I'm crowned he's gonna be there. You'll see."

Qing Xiashu only smiled and patted her forehead. He certainly hoped that was the case. "Reapply your stain before you dress yourself." He reminded her.

"Yes, Er-ge."

He gave her another soft smile before he left the room and finally turned his face to follow Hefeng's anxious pacing.

"What is it then?" He asked as he tucked his hands into his sleeves, discreetly following Hefeng's path.

The spirit beast was bound to lead him somewhere interesting. Last time she had led him to the acquisition of Touming.

This time it could be anything really.

But instead, she only led him to a courtyard. Where a boy, no more than a year younger than himself sat hunched over a stone table. There was a hood over most of his head but it left his face exposed. The child seemed lost in thought while staring down at a golden sword resting before him.

Qing Xiashu's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

Yes.

Hefeng was right.

That kid shouldn't be there.

"Hello there." He greeted as he walked closer, smiling politely. He would have to remove this boy swiftly, they had rented out the entire building for safety's sake. Any breach was dangerous.

How could the guards be so negligent?

The boy looked up quickly at the sound of his voice, stiffening in the shoulders. "Hello..."

"I'm afraid you can't be here, this inn is being occupied in its entirety under the crown." He explained, stepping over to the boy before peering down at the sword. "Is the blade troubling you?"

The boy glanced back to the sword with a frown. "I don't know how to use it."

Qing Xiashu's nose crinkled.

"How did you get it?"

"I won it in Yang Xin..."

"It has a blade spirit attached to it, why would someone give it up so easily?"

"Gambling addiction probably." The strange boy answered with an exaggerated shrug.

Snickering softly, Qing Xiashu shook his head. "Come, I'll walk you out."

"Sorry to wander in here like this, I didn't know it was fully occupied."

"It's quite alright, it isn't like there's a sign posted out front." Though maybe there should be... "Are you interested in cultivation at all?"

"Who in the world would teach me that? This is the Borderlands."

"Mm... I suppose you're right." He went digging for one of his kongjian bags in an instant. "Can you read?"

"Mn, but I don't have many chances to."

"What if you try this?" Qing Xiashu held a heavy book to the boy. "My Shixiong assigned me readings on cultivation styles from the Southern and Eastern resident sects. You might be able to learn something from it."

The boy hesitantly took the book as they passed an archway that opened onto the street. "You're giving it to me?"

"Mm!" Qing Xiashu offered a bright smile as he handed off his homework. "It could serve you well."

"Thank you." The boy tucked the book under one arm and turned to salute Qing Xiashu. "I'll make use of it." He promised before disappearing into the market scene.

"Have a good day!" He called after the boy, waving him off.

What an odd child.

An educated boy with Southern martial bow and rusty Eastern clothes in the Northeastern Borderlands.

"How did a child slip past you both?" Qing Xiashu needn't turn around to know that both of the posted guards jolted from their dozing.

It would be years before his mind began ticking the boxes...