Death God, Zhuanghe's Dream

"Zhuanghe, what exactly is going on?" Gu Song's emotions were a little agitated.

Zhuanghe's emotions were clearly also a bit out of control: "We've offended a god, so we have to die."

Gu Song wanted to ask something else, but I stopped him.

I stepped forward, "What do you mean by 'god'?"

Zhuanghe didn't care who I was, "The Death God."

"Have you seen it?" I asked again.

He nodded, "Yes, it was wearing black robes, its face couldn't be seen, and it held a scythe in its hand."

Black robes, couldn't see its face.

I couldn't help but think of that Island Nation's Onmyoji.

It's just that the Onmyoji I'd seen didn't carry any scythes.

I looked at Zhuanghe, but in my mind, I wondered, if it really was an Onmyoji, and if they truly wanted Zhuanghe's life, why didn't that guy make a move when Zhuanghe saw the so-called 'Death God'?

Zhuanghe was clearly terrified. It could be said that he had no ability to resist at all right now.

"Where did you see that 'Death God'?" Xu Qiuyan asked softly.

"In a dream, I saw it in a dream. It wanted to kill me, so I woke up. Haha, as long as I don't fall asleep, it can't kill me."

I finally understood why Zhuanghe looked so haggard. It was because he had been desperately trying to stay awake, forcing himself not to sleep. He was afraid that if he fell asleep, the 'Death God' would kill him in his dream.

Zhuanghe was very lucid. He wasn't rambling. On the contrary, he could accurately describe what was happening to him.

His fear was also real, meaning his dream was truly terrifying. Perhaps he had truly felt the threat of death in his dream.

"Who are you guys?" Zhuanghe finally came to his senses and looked at Xu Qiuyan and me, asking. Conversely, he ignored Yin Wuyu, not even glancing at that kid.

That kid had already sat by Zhuanghe's bed and was playing a game.

"We're here to help you. We're all friends of Professor Gu." I didn't reveal my identity. Besides, even if you mentioned the Ninth Bureau to an ordinary person, they might not know what kind of department it was.

Hearing me say that, Zhuanghe looked at Gu Song. Gu Song nodded, "I invited them to help figure out how Xiao Tang died. She can't have died without knowing why."

Zhuanghe bit his lip, and after a long while, he said, "I know how Xie Xiaotang died. I know how Ding Wei died. I saw them die with my own eyes. They died in great pain." As he said this, he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself.

"Then tell me, how did Xie Xiaotang die?"

"She was killed by the 'Death God.' It wasn't a car accident. The 'Death God' killed her. The 'Death God' was right behind her at the time..."

I was stunned. What he said actually matched my dream. Just as I was about to press further, I heard a "bang"—the sound of the room door closing from outside.

Instantly, the entire room plunged into darkness.

I reached out to pull Xu Qiuyan. She should have been right beside me.

But I didn't touch her.

I called out, "Qiuyan!"

No response.

I called again, "Mute!"

Still no response.

"Gu Song, Professor Gu!"

Still no answer.

I felt a chill run down my spine and prepared to take out my phone to illuminate the area.

But at that moment, a light appeared before my eyes.

However, the light seemed to be quite far away from me.

"What are you spacing out for? Run! Don't let him catch up."

Then I felt myself being pushed.

I looked around. I was no longer at Zhuanghe's house but was in the wilderness, likely in the mountains.

In the moonlight, I could see the person beside me clearly. It was Zhuanghe.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know," he answered concisely. At this moment, he didn't look worn out. He ran very fast, and we sprinted towards the light.

"What on earth is going on?" I still didn't understand.

"You ask me? Who am I going to ask? I kept forcing myself not to sleep, but as soon as you guys arrived, I was brought to this hellhole, and I can't even wake up." He seemed to have a lot of complaints about me.

However, his words made my heart skip a beat. Judging by his tone, we must be in his dream right now.

And him taking me like this, running wildly, was actually an escape. The "him" he mentioned in "Don't let him catch up" was the "Death God" he had told us about.

Why was this happening?

I didn't ask anymore because he had no answers either. He probably thought I was the one who brought him into the dream.

But I swear to heaven, I was just as clueless.

"Jiang Xiaobai! Jiang Xiaobai! Where are you?"

Someone was calling me. The voice sounded like it was coming from not too far behind me. I knew that voice very well; it was Xu Qiuyan.

"Don't answer, and don't turn around. It's him messing with you," Zhuanghe told me, but his feet didn't stop moving.

"Jiang Xiaobai! Ah!" She shouted my name again, followed by a scream.

I stopped in my tracks. Without hesitation, I turned and ran in the direction of Xu Qiuyan's voice.

I had promised I would protect her, that I wouldn't let her get hurt.

So I had to go back for her.

"That's not your friend, it's the 'Death God'!" Zhuanghe sounded agitated, cursing from behind me. "Do you want to die that badly? Then go ahead and die. I'm not going to go crazy with you."

Even though he said that, I heard him following me.

He came up beside me, saying, "I told you, that's not your friend. It's his usual trick. He did the same thing to me before. He knows who we care about the most, which is why he uses this method to trick you into going over."

I didn't say anything. I knew he might be telling the truth.

But I had to go. It's better to be safe than sorry.

If it really was Xu Qiuyan, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her and I did nothing knowing she was in danger.

So I had to go, even if it was fake.

"How did you get into my dream? How could you pull me into a dream?" Zhuanghe was still stuck on that question.

I replied, "I don't know."

He was clearly not satisfied with my answer.

"I really don't know. I thought you were the one messing with me before."

At this moment, I really missed Duan Hongbin and the others. To be honest, my heart was filled with fear right now. I had grown so accustomed to their presence. As long as they were by my side, I wouldn't be afraid of anything, no matter how big the problem.

I had been a slacker for years. They were the ones pushing me forward.

Before I met Xie Yi, I lived entirely in my own world, almost completely cut off from the outside.

They were the ones who truly kept up with the times, the ones who truly possessed extraordinary abilities.

But Old Shu and that fatty said that their abilities were granted by me, and that I actually possessed all the abilities of those three.

Yet, I didn't know how to use them.

That's why Old Shu asked Fatty to seal them. It was so I could unleash my own potential.

And I actually believed it.

I even let Xu Qiuyan accept the seal along with me.

If Xu Qiuyan hadn't been sealed and encountered something like this, I wouldn't be this worried.

I regretted it a little.

Finally, I saw Xu Qiuyan. She was sitting on the ground, looking at me helplessly.

"What's wrong?" I walked towards her, asking with concern.

She said with a tearful voice, "I'm so scared. I just saw a shadowy figure lunging at me, and I fell while trying to dodge it."

I stopped about a meter away from her. "What about the shadow?"

"It's gone. Xiaobai, I can't get up. Can you help me?"

I didn't move. I just looked at her quietly. "You're not Xu Qiuyan."

Zhuanghe, standing beside me, nodded vigorously. "You finally aren't being foolish."

Tears welled up in Xu Qiuyan's eyes, falling like raindrops. "Xiaobai, what's wrong?"

I sighed. "She doesn't cry easily, and even if she fell, she wouldn't just sit on the ground waiting for someone to help her." Xu Qiuyan was strong at heart.

Of course, that wasn't the main reason. The main reason was that the look in her eyes was wrong.

Her gaze was like a hunter waiting for prey.

How could Xu Qiuyan have such eyes?

"You said you would always protect me. You said you wouldn't let me get hurt again." The Xu Qiuyan on the ground cried even harder.

That's right, those were indeed words I had said. If I didn't know Qiuyan so well, I might have almost believed her.

"He also said that we would always face any danger together."

At this moment, someone walked out from the side. Zhuanghe's eyes widened because the person who walked out was another Xu Qiuyan.

She glanced at me, a smile forming on her lips. I smiled back at her. "I knew you'd definitely show up too."

She winked playfully. "Why?"

"Intuition."

She looked at the Xu Qiuyan on the ground. "You're quite convincing."

The Xu Qiuyan on the ground's expression changed drastically. Then, she transformed again.

Her face was covered by a swirling mist, obscuring her features. She was the black-robed figure.

Just as Zhuanghe had said, he was holding a scythe. The gleaming scythe shone brilliantly under the moonlight, but I felt a shroud of death enveloping me.