n

n

nThe next morning Hao Xuan woke up from a call from a new number.

nHe was lying in a small puddle, drenched in a cold sweat from head to toe. His heart was beating so strongly that it shook the entire bed. His body trembled non-stop and he couldn't gain control of his own senses.

n

"What was that?

" he mumbled while trying to remember the dream he was abruptly woken up from. He couldn't remember whether it was good or not, just that it was very important.

nHe put his right hand over his chest and felt the beating of his own heart.

n*Ba-Thump*Ba-Thump*

nThe time between every beat slowly increased until it returned to normal almost a full minute later. His watch was still ringing but he couldn't hear anything other than the sound of his own blood rushing through his body.

n

"What the f*ck was that...Baracus!

"

n*Beep*

nThe call was cut off as a green light flashed on the watch's screen, indicating that Baracus was listening.

n

"Yes?

"

n

"What happened to me? The condition of my body for the last few hours, show me the logs!

"

nThe watch recorded every bit of data from Hao Xuan's body and surrounding environments. It was archived and stored in case it was needed later on. This was one of the very basic functions that Hao Xuan had opted to keep going as it didn't take any extra resources at all.

n

"Approximately 5 hours ago your heartbeat jumped. Your resting heart rate is around 30 Bpm, and five hours ago it jumped to almost 210 Bpm. It stayed like that for the following few hours until you woke up.

"

n

"Any idea what caused this? Something in the environment maybe?

"

n

"No. There were no biological or environmental changes. Whatever caused this was internal.

"

n

"Hmm...

"

nHao Xuan wiped the sweat off of his face and got off the bed. His small puddle of sweat didn't leave a bad odor behind but it still felt extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.

n

"What about...a dream? Could that have caused it?

" he asked with some hesitation.

n

"Of course. The relation between dreams and reality is a very real one. There are even creatures that can live in your dreams. Well, I say creatures but they are strange beings of energy that I don't know much about. Since progenitor could not dream, it was hard to collect data on the subject. Although he did conduct a few studies on other beings.

"

n

"And? What did he find out?

" Hao Xuan asked with interest.

n

"Progenitor believed that what you call dreams weren't always just random images and thoughts from the subconscious. He concluded that dreams had many metaphysical implications. That they weren't meaningless.

"

n

"There are numerous clans and beings of power that use dreams to cultivate, attack, or even travel. Unfortunately, he never had any run-ins with such creatures so he never did know for sure if they were just exaggerations or genuine facts.

"

nHao Xuan was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to make of his current situation. this wasn't the first time he had woken up like this, but it was the first time that it was so extreme.

n

"Alright, keep monitoring my body conditions. Next time you detect anything strange when I'm sleeping, wake me up immediately.

"

n

"Got it.

"

nHao Xuan took a shower and as soon as he got out, the audio call came again from the same number.

n

"Oh, I forgot about you,

" Hao Xuan grinned looking at his watch.

n

"Accept the call.

"

n*Beep*

n

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!

"

nAs soon as the call connected he heard loud, angry yelling from the other side. Hao Xuan's grin widened even more listening to it.

n

"Took you a while. I thought you would have contacted me much sooner.

"

n

"I did as soon as I was able to. Now tell me human, what did you do to me?

"

n

"First of all, call me senior, master, or Brother Hao. Secondly, it doesn't matter what I did, what matters is how you're going to deal with it.

"

n

"AS IF!

"

nHao Xuan's activated the effects of the constitution,

"Say it!

"

n

"S-....senior...

" the voice weakly replied.

n

"Good little fox. Now, what's your name?

"

nYes, this was the boy from the Wu clan. Hao Xuan had given him one of the many spirit bands that were modified by Baracus. He dropped on in the boy's pocket just before he left.

n

"Wu Jin...

"

nThe boy seemed to have calmed down a lot and wasn't blabbering on like before.

n

"Now, to the actual matter at hand. Why is the Wu Clan joining forces with the Jia?

"

nThe boy's hesitation from the boy's voice was obvious even before he started talking. Hao Xuan could feel he was trying to lie to him.

n

"And do not lie to me, ever. Tell me everything you know, clearly.

"

n

"....yes...

n

"Yes what?

"

n

"Yes....s..senior...

"

n

"Good. Now, go on.

"

n

"We have no interest in your kingdom or your war. And until last night, no one from my clan had even considered joining your war.

"

nHao Xuan's brow shot up in anger,

"What?! Your beast armies joined hands with the Jia and attacked us. How the hell haven't you

"joined

" the war yet?

"

n

"Those aren't from the Wu clan. They are just some random guards and exiled prisoners that 'claim; to be from the Wu clan. They have nothing to do with us. The only reason we haven't taken any action against them is because they are not worth the trouble.

"

nHao Xuan was even more confused now.

n

"Then why did you come over last night?

"

n

"One of the people that was exiled from the clan contacted us. He said he found something important to the clan's interests. Something that we would want to know. He was trying to redeem himself.

"

n

"Something...important?

"

nHao Xuan's brow creased up. The guy he was talking about could only be the gnome that was in charge of the base, but what was this about interest to the Wu clan?

n

"So what now? Did what happen yesterday pushed the Wu clan to lend a hand to the Jia?

"

n

"No. Since I wasn't hurt, it won't matter that much unless I raise the issue myself.

"

n

"Good, don't then. Do you have any idea what the gnome was referring to when he said he found something?

"

n

"...

"

nA short bout of silence followed after.

n

"Speak!

"

n

"H-He said he had information about an old enemy of my Clan....

"

nHao Xuan's frown deepened,

"What enemy?

"

n

"The Corrupted Ones....

"

n