2 The first meeting - a second time (1/2)

”-xiong! Meng-xiong!”

Those weren't exactly the first words he expected to hear after entering the afterlife.

”Meng-xiong!” Actually, that voice was a little familiar, wasn't it? ”How are you still sleeping? Your fiance is coming to Wangyun Peak today and this is the day you choose to sleep in!?”

Liu Sumeng's eyes flew open and tossed the sheets off his body, inadvertently slapping the person who was at his side in the face.

The boy squeaked, eyes misty with fresh tears, ”Please don't hit me! I'm sorry, please don't hit me!” Liu Sumeng stared at Xu Hexian as though he'd seen a ghost.

Or rather, this really was a ghost wasn't it!? Xu Hexian died years ago, in fact, Liu Sumeng was the one that killed him out of mercy after seeing him suffer miserably from torture…

Liu Sumeng blinked, wondering if he were in the afterlife or this was some sort of weird death dream. ”Is this the underworld?” he asked casually.

Xu Hexian only gasped, mouth hanging open in abject horror, ”The underworld! H-He says underworld! Finally getting to see your goddess-level fiance after so many years and you're calling it the underworld!? Meng-xiong, I really respect you but don't you think that's a little insulting to Chen-guniang?”

Chen-guniang… he couldn't mean Chen Anyue!? His long-deceased wife!

Talk about ghosts that wouldn't stop haunting him! Liu Sumeng chewed his lips but said nothing.

”Anyways, you can't stay in bed any longer. Your uncle is already going crazy from impatience, ah…he's going to kill me too if you don't get up, you know? Chen-guniang is already almost here… I heard her Shidi is coming to stay with her while she adjusts to our Heavenly Sword Sect.”

What!? Was he going to be able to see Yuan Xuelan so soon after death? Liu Sumeng could hardly believe it! Thankfully, he'd always been a rather awkward and expressionless person in his life, so despite the drumming of his heart, Xu Hexian only saw Liu Sumeng's usual unchanging expression.

He got up from his bed and looked around. A nauseating feeling of nostalgia hit him, making his legs feel weak. This was his room back on Wangyun Peak… next to the koi fish pond, where he could gaze out at the misty mountain tops and scent the rain and early dew each morning in the chilly air. His room wasn't large but it was neat and had everything he needed. The low table where he drank tea and did his work…the little shelf that contained his private collection of books and manuals…

Everything was just like in his memory and he couldn't help but stand there in a trance, taking in the sight fearful that everything might suddenly disappear in a wisp of a delicate dream.

”...”

Xu Hexian frowned as he looked at his Shixiong. ”Meng-xiong…?” he asked, a little nervously, afraid of getting hit again, ”are you sure you're feeling ok? Do you want me to get some medicine for you?”

”Enough,” Liu Sumeng said in a low, monotone voice, ”just leave. I'll meet you outside when I'm ready.”

While his tone might have seemed a bit heartless and even a little cruel to someone that passionately called him Meng-xiong, Liu Sumeng did not mean any offense. In fact, he was just awkward when it came to expressing himself. Thankfully Xu Hexian was long used to his personality so he only tilted his head, a worried expression still on his face. But eventually, he reluctantly lowered his head and left the room.

Liu Sumeng, now alone, reached for his pristine white robes. He felt the material in his fingertips, wondering if any of this was real, his fingers rubbing the grit of the fabric while taking in the thinness of the air in each breath. After putting on his garments and readying himself for the day he couldn't help but run his palm along the wooden tabletop in his room, just to see if it might crumble to dust under his touch.

It felt real. But he didn't believe in any of it, not when the blazing palace and Yuan Xuelan's bloodied visage were still heavy in his memory. The paleness of his skin, cold even in the midst of fire and blood that soaked everything around them. Everything, everything was red.

Liu Sumeng blinked, and then remembered that Xu Hexian said something about Chen Anyue arriving with her Shidi.

Right. This was the day, wasn't it? The day he first met Yuan Xuelan. Was he perhaps reliving his regrets as some sort of karmic punishment? Liu Sumeng wasn't sure… despite everything that happened in the end, meeting Yuan Xuelan was never one of his regrets.

Actually, he felt excited.

He would be able to see a younger Xuelan, cute and naive and not yet taller than Liu Sumeng. A kind-hearted yet a little hotheaded boy who hadn't been tainted by madness and cruelty yet…

Could he really hope to see such a Yuan Xuelan again? An innocent Yuan Zhang.

Excitement, nostalgia, happiness, and fear all rushed through him at once. Despite these overwhelming feelings, Liu Sumeng's expression barely changed, he only bit his lip and rushed out of his door.

Dawn had passed and so had the hour for breakfast. He was definitely running a little bit late, which wasn't like how he remembered it happening before. He went to see his uncle and leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Liu Fumao who watched him with a severe expression as he scolded, ”To think you would sleep in on such an important day. This isn't how I raised you, Liu Sumeng.”

Liu Sumeng lowered his head apologetically, though in his heart he was beaming to see his uncle looking lively and proud, even if it was just a dream. ”Apologies, uncle. It won't happen again.”