Chapter V

This is a dream...it has to be. I couldn't magically end up here if I was just asleep on the couch. In the near distance, I heard my name being called. It was more of an echo, but I could tell that they were close. I looked around, but couldn't see anybody.

It was all so weird.

Everything fell apart.

The world simply disintegrated and I fell in.

I woke up in a cold sweat on the couch. I was a little dazed from waking up so abruptly. In the background, I heard my name being called. It sounded like Rashi's voice. I took a deep breath and exhaled. I was about to stand up when I noticed that Zheng Ye's hanfu was on my lap.

I stared at it dumbfoundedly. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. It made little to no sense unless it had somehow transmigrated just like I did.

I hesitated to stand since I was stuck in my thoughts. How the hanfu got here is a mystery to me...it still isn't exactly clear to me about how I got here either.

As time passes, I guess I'll eventually figure it out.

I stood up and slung the hanfu over my shoulder. I walked upstairs to my room and placed the hanfu on my dresser. I placed the hairpin on top. I sat down on my bed, which is to the left of my dresser. I lay flat down on my back. I groaned and rolled to my side, where my tv is. It's also where my remote is. I reached for my remote and turned on the tv. I flipped through the channels until the news caught my attention. It had looked like the wisteria tree. Or maybe just a clone or something. It didn't look like it was glowing, or maybe it was just me that could see the glow. Who knows, I could be seeing things.

I continued to flip through the channels and concluded that nothing worth watching was on. I stood up from my bed and grabbed my phone. I put it in my pocket as I walked out of my room to go to Rashi's. I knocked on his door once before opening it.

"Hey, Rash-" I may have accidentally walked in on a half-naked Deodan...wearing a skirt?

He side-eyed me. "You've been living here for a week and you still don't know your way around the house? I don't know if you noticed or not, but Rashi's room is in the opposite direction. Unless you wanted to talk to me...?"

Now that I think about it I want to ask him why he's wearing a skirt...

"Are you deaf? Wait what are you staring at!?"

"Skirt..." I pointed to the skirt. "I was wondering why you were wearing a skirt."

Deodan pushed his hair back and slightly blushed. "Skirt- It's called a shendyt, you uncultured swine. A kilt-like garment originating from ancient Egypt. I like to keep the tradition going, so I don't mind wearing this."

"Oh." I smiled. "I like it. I think it suits you."

Deodan fastened the belt around his shendyt and put on his sandals. "Yeah? I think it suits me too. That's why I wear it. Now uh...would you let me finish?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry for barging in." Deodan waved his hand, almost shooing me away."It's whatever. Just learn the layout of the house."

I closed his door behind myself. I wonder if he knows anything about Zheng Ye or the Wisteria. He's been here longer than me, so he should, right? No, that doesn't mean anything.

I stared down the hall, to Rashi's room. Questions flooded my mind. What exactly did I want to ask? What would I do with the information? What if what I'm told creeps me out? I didn't have an answer to any of these. I began to think that I just shouldn't ask anything.

Ugh...stop with the what-ifs, get it together. I can't just be ignorant while staying here.

I walked down the hall and stopped in front of Rashi's door. Before I could knock he opened it.

He jumped a bit, startled. "Oh, hey Xu, what's up?" I smiled nervously, unsure if I'd get the information I wanted. "Hey uh...there's this thing I wanted to talk to you about. It's been bugging me for a while." Rashi looked at me with big sad eyes. "You have a bug??" I shook my head and sighed before speaking again. "No, Rashi. Just follow me to my room. I have to show you something." We walked to my room and I stopped before the door, sighed and opened it. "Okay...well..." I walked in and Rashi followed me. "My dresser. Look." He walked over to my dresser and immediately noticed the hanfu. He touched a sleeve and rubbed it between his fingers. "Where'd you get this?" He turned around and looked at me. "Xuhuan. Where did you get this?" He looked very worried. "Say something. I'm certain that this is-" I sat down on my bed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Zheng Ye's...hanfu and hairpin...right About that...I'm not so sure...where it came from. I had a dream with her hanfu and hairpin and then I woke up. Once I woke up it was just sitting there on my lap...I don't know how it got there." Rashi released the hanfu. "What was the dream about?" I'm not liking the mood here. Everything is tense and I'm a little worried. "Well..." I looked down at my feet and then Rashi. "I was at the wisteria tree, everything was calm and peaceful, y'know? Then...and then everything just went black...and the world fell apart with me in it. I'm not too sure when the hanfu appeared but I think it was before everything went dark.' Rashi silently stared at me and nodded his head. I laughed nervously and avoided eye contact. "Y'know, when everything went black, I thought of that rukh you told me about. I was thinking that it had something to do with the tree. Maybe that's why the tree was glowing." Rashi took a seat on the floor in front of me. "Glowing? I don't hear that often. Although, to my knowledge, the Wisteria does glow at different intervals of time. I've never seen it for myself and I assume you haven't either since this was all a dream, or nightmare if you will. Zheng Ye's belongings though...how...I'm almost certain I should have a reason for this, but I've never been confronted with such a dilemma. This is quite mind-boggling."

"Ha, I can agree with you on that one. Where were these anyway? They're practically spotless for them to be over a hundred years old." Rashi looked up at my dresser and stared at the hanfu. "I'm certain they were buried alongside the tree. You can't simply dig up the soil around the Wisteria, it's guarded, and protected by a spell." I pulled my feet up and now sat Indian style on my bed. "Rashi, let's not pretend that I didn't teleport or transmigrate here out of nowhere. Who's to say that the hanfu didn't transmigrate from my dreams? It sounds a little far-fetched...just a little... but, given the circumstances, it's plausible." Rashi stood up and dusted himself off. "Xuxu." I'm sorry did I miss something here? Maybe I missed something. "Xuxu? Is that what you're calling me?" He smiled and nodded. "Xuxu, we're going to the city to try to get dome clues or hints about this whole hanfu situation. If anybody had noticed it was gone there would have been an uproar in the community, especially if it was dug up. Our best option is to believe that it is teleported for now. Got it? Also, Xuxu, I'm here for you. Anything you're thinking you can tell me. Especially if it's about our city. Or Nudiempyrean itself. Now get ready. We're going into town."