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The Doctor closed the door behind them, and the massive space displayed suddenly in front of them was enough to distract A-Yuan from his previous distress at the cultivators calling for Wen Ning’s head. It also distracted Wen Ning himself, for that matter.

“Welcome to the TARDIS!” the Doctor said as he put A-Yuan down, a paternalistic smile on his face, so he could spread out his arms and spin around. “Yes, it is bigger on the inside. Don’t wander too far away or it might take some time to find you again.”

What were the words the Doctor used just a moment ago? Oh, right.

“Show off,” Wen Ning said.

The Doctor pouted but one second later he was back to chuckling and smiling. Wen Ning would’ve smiled right back had he been able to.

A war cry and a body crashing against the TARDIS door from outside remind them of the crisis at hand.

Wen Ning adopted a fighting stance. That door was made out of wood; it would not stand that kind of punishment for long.

“Relax,” the Doctor said, clapping his shoulder. “Check this out.” Once he said that, he went to the center of the room, where the big, weird column was and began to work. The whole place made a loud noise that ended the same way it began: without warning. “Ready!” the Doctor continue.

“What is ready?” Wen Ning asked.

“Go ahead and open the door,” the Doctor replied, ushering Wen Ning with his hand. “You’ll see.”

Wen Ning stared at the door for a moment in which nothing happened, neither crashes nor yelling. It was disconcerting. There was no way they would leave them—leave him—off the hook just like that. Curious, without lowering his guard, he went to open the door.

There was no one on the other side. Even the landscape was different. Before, it was a forest. Now, they were in front of a lake.

Wen Ning turned his head back to the Doctor. Just who was this man? Was he even a man? Should he be near A-Yuan?