Dream Lover [New Book Please Collect!]

Autumn arrived late in Jiangnan Province, but it had arrived in the end, and the weather gradually turned cooler.

Watching the female pilgrims who were still dressed to the nines in skimpy clothing, Li Chu felt slightly puzzled.

"Aren't they cold?"

"What difference is there between girls willing to display their beautiful figures regardless of the weather and fairies? The only thing we can do is offer them our burning gazes and provide them with a little warm comfort," Yu Qi'an declared with righteous conviction.

Li Chu seemed to understand, yet not quite.

Near noon, a commotion arose among the pilgrims lined up in the front courtyard.

Someone shouted, "Which little bitch dares cut in line?!"

"Drag her back! Have you no shame?!"

"Don't you know you have to follow the rules if you want to see Little Daoist Priest Li?"

"Out of the way! I'm a Purple-Clad Guard under Facing Heaven Pavilion! Who dares block me?!"

"..."

Li Chu hurriedly went to lead the visitor into the backyard.

Her hair in disarray and her willow brows raised in anger, Li Xinyi sat beside the stone table with her lips pursed and her arms crossed, looking thoroughly puffed up with rage.

Of course, even when she was not angry, she was still puffed up.

Li Chu poured her a cup of tea.

Looking at the little Daoist priest, she said gloomily, "It's really hard to see you these days."

Li Chu nodded. "The temple has been receiving a lot of incense offerings lately."

Li Xinyi's tone turned sour. "Yes, you're famous now. When I went back to Hangzhou Prefecture a while ago, I even heard people talking about you..."

Li Chu said blandly, "I've only made a lot more money, had a lot more people recognize me when I go out, and received a lot more flattery when I do things... Other than that, there's nothing good about it."

Li Xinyi's chest heaved violently twice. Some words that would have been censored were right on the tip of her tongue. But after looking at Li Chu's face, she ultimately held them back.

What had she, Female Knight Li, struggled in the martial world for all these years for?

Wasn't it precisely for those things?!

And he still spoke as though none of it mattered?

Among all those tales spreading about Little Daoist Priest Li, there had not been no trace of her.

But most of the comments were things like "clinging to someone's thigh," "winning while lying down," "freeloader," and "a minor lackey from Facing Heaven Pavilion."

It was infuriating.

What was even more infuriating was that whenever she encountered something she could not solve, she still had to come ask Li Chu for help...

Ever since the Vengeful Spirit Case, she had remained stationed in Yu Hang County. Things had been calm for a while, and she ought to have returned to Hangzhou Prefecture.

But a couple of days ago, Li Chu had told her about being plotted against by several ghosts.

Li Chu had merely informed her as a matter of routine, since innocent people had been harmed as a result. Yet Li Xinyi immediately sniffed out a different scent beneath the matter.

Ghosts that could appear in broad daylight were generally called Day Roaming Ghosts, and not a single Day Roaming Ghost was harmless.

After all, ghosts were naturally drawn to the night. Even if they could withstand the fierce Yang Energy of daytime without dying, their strength would still be greatly weakened.

Any that still dared commit murder in broad daylight were no ordinary Day Roaming Ghosts.

They might even have all been Ghost General level!

According to Li Chu, at least three Ghost Generals had gathered in Yuhang Town, though he had killed two of them.

But there had to be a bigger fish behind all this!

She became even more determined to uncover the truth behind the Vengeful Spirit Case. Perhaps she might even root out a Ghost Commander!

If she truly solved this matter, then even if she did not become famous and achieve greatness, a promotion and pay raise would at least be unavoidable.

That was why she had simply stayed behind.

As for how Li Chu had escaped unscathed from a trap laid by three Ghost Generals and even counter-killed two of them...

She no longer wanted to ask.

Ask too much, and life would lose its motivation.

That said, the reason she had come to find Li Chu today had nothing to do with the Vengeful Spirit Case.

While she was in Yu Hang County, Zhou Dafu would report all Weird Cases within the county directly to her, and she would handle minor matters casually herself.

But recently, there had been one strange matter that even she could not handle.

With the cool breeze brushing against them, she slowly explained it to Li Chu.

At the foot of Miao Feng Mountain was a Ge Family Village, also under the jurisdiction of Yu Hang County.

Ge Family Village had only one major landowner: Master Ge's family. The rest of the villagers were basically tenant farmers who cultivated Master Ge's land.

These local landlords were unlike families such as the Wang Family and Zhao Family in town, who had made their fortunes through business. But with wealth passed down through generations, their family assets might not be any less substantial.

By Master Ge's generation, although he had married seven concubines, he had only one daughter.

As he gradually grew older, he had come to terms with it. He no longer intended to have a son and instead cherished this only daughter as the pearl in his palm.

Miss Ge was lovely in appearance and lively in temperament, always well liked. Master Ge had also hoped to find a suitable live-in son-in-law, but after searching high and low, he had long delayed choosing a husband for his daughter.

Beginning half a month ago, Miss Ge's spirits had suddenly begun to decline, and her whole person had become sickly and listless.

But after inviting many physicians, none could identify her illness. All they could say was that it was an ailment of the heart.

When asked whether Miss Ge had any worries on her mind, she would merely blush without saying a word.

A little maid who attended the young miss at midnight heard her talking in her sleep every night. Her sleep-talking actually sounded like a conversation with someone, with questions and answers... And upon listening carefully to the content, it was rather unfit for the ears.

After it happened many times, the little maid no longer dared conceal it and reported the matter to Master Ge.

Even then, the Ge family had not considered the possibility of an Evil Spirit. They only thought Miss Ge had some physical ailment.

Master Ge thought, could it be that his daughter had reached marriageable age without getting married and had begun thinking about men?

So he began considering finding a live-in son-in-law. The moment word spread, handsome young men from every village within ten miles came flocking over at the sound of her name.

This time, Miss Ge was no longer silent. She forced herself to rally her spirits and made a tremendous scene, threatening death, weeping, making trouble, and hanging herself...

Amid the uproar, Master Ge tried to persuade her, saying that she had to marry sooner or later, and there was nothing wrong with marrying a little earlier.

Who would have thought that Miss Ge would reply, "In this life, I have already set my heart on Zhang Lang. Other than him, I will marry no one."

The entire family was stunned by those words.

So the young miss had already had someone she loved?

Could her recent sickliness have actually been caused by lovesickness?

Master Ge had no intention of stopping her. It was a good thing for his daughter to have someone she loved. No matter which family the young man came from, he would give away his family fortune if necessary to secure his daughter's happiness.

But his daughter simply refused to reveal which family this Zhang Lang belonged to.

Only after much coaxing and trickery did she finally tell them that Zhang Lang was someone who had come to her dreams every night for the past month.

He possessed peerless features, as graceful as jade, overflowing with talent and capable of composing elegant lines at the drop of a hat. He was considerate and understanding, and knew every little secret thought in a girl's heart.

In short, there was simply no more perfect lover in the world.

In her dreams, Miss Ge had already gone together with him to Wushan, sharing clouds and rain several times, with torrential rain pouring down...

And after these many days of heavy rain, Miss Ge would always awaken feeling increasingly listless.

But she did not believe it was Zhang Lang's fault, only that she had exhausted herself with excessive worries.

She did not know where Zhang Lang had come from, nor where they would go, but she felt that her days with Zhang Lang had been unlike anything she had experienced in the previous twenty years. Even death would be willingly accepted.

Master Ge was greatly alarmed.

What lover was this? This was clearly a ghost bewitching a person!

Not daring to delay, he hurriedly reported it to the authorities and wished to invite the officials of Facing Heaven Pavilion to eliminate the ghost.

Unfortunately, Miss Ge resisted fiercely, so Li Xinyi had been unable to learn much from her.

She had kept watch in the outer room of Miss Ge's bedroom for two days, yet had not seen the slightest trace of an Evil Spirit.

But Miss Ge's sleep-talking persisted.

It seemed...

This was not an Illusion Technique cast by some Evil Spirit. Rather, the Evil Spirit itself traveled within dreams.

She recalled a legendary kind of ghost.

A Nightmare Spirit.

This kind of ghost specialized in entering people's dreams to absorb their Yang Energy for cultivation, and was exceedingly troublesome.

Left with no alternative, she had come to find Li Chu.

It had practically become a habitual way of thinking...

Li Chu had no experience dealing with this sort of ghost, but he did not decline. After all, he could not simply watch a young maiden be killed by a ghost. He had to give it a try.

At once, he went with Li Xinyi to Ge Family Village.

Across all of Ge Family Village, there was only one vast estate. Without question, it was the home of the landowner, Master Ge.

Upon arriving at the Ge residence, Master Ge naturally thanked them profusely, gripping Li Chu's hand as he made one promise after another.

As long as they eliminated the harmful ghost, there would definitely be no shortage of rewards for the two of them.

However, Li Chu was no longer that green little Daoist priest who had never seen money before.

He merely said with an air as light as drifting clouds, "I will do my best to eliminate the ghost and save Miss Ge... This is absolutely not about money."

Feeling the little Daoist priest's grip grow noticeably seven parts stronger, Master Ge nodded repeatedly. "I understand, I understand. How could a Young Daoist care about such worldly things... But worldly things are all I have. If my daughter comes through this safely, the reward I just promised can be doubled."

Li Chu's grip also doubled with the same light-as-clouds air, making Master Ge bare his teeth in pain.

After exchanging pleasantries, Master Ge personally led the two of them to Miss Ge's residence.

The moment they entered the side courtyard, they heard Miss Ge's weak yet shrill voice from inside.

"Stop your wishful thinking! Zhang Lang is the finest man in the world, and we have already pledged ourselves for three lifetimes! Even if I starve to death or hang myself here, I will never give my heart to anyone else! Get out!"

Then came a crackling series of smashing sounds, followed by a group of women dressed as matchmakers slipping out with dirty, disheveled faces.

Li Xinyi clicked her tongue and whispered, "This Miss Ge... is becoming harder and harder to deal with."

This week, the book got featured in six channels and on the app. Though they were all inconspicuous little spots, I heard whether a new book can take off depends on this step... So I spent a long time thinking about what to write during this period. I'll drag out the major plot a little longer; I still haven't figured it out...

The number of collections seemed to have risen a little faster today, but the comments and Recommendation Tickets were especially quiet, almost fake... I'm a little nervous. I don't know whether Qidian's bots are at work...

As always, if you're interested, please feel free to collect, send Recommendation Tickets, tip, comment, or leave chapter comments. Thank you!