Dreams and Notes

Those who are unwilling to face death cannot attain true immortality.

"If the Yin Yang Realms are mixed together, then day and night are reversed, and life and death are intertwined. The disrupted order always needs to be repaired at a price, and here, human life is that price."

In the hazy dream, a somewhat hoarse female voice spoke slowly and deliberately, as if she were talking to someone or reciting a prayer to herself.

The light was soft and muted, bringing a dizzying sensation. The gears of the world ticked away, and every house and street in the city had its rightful place.

It was orderly, yet utterly bizarre.

"Of those who come from the city, less than one in ten manages to leave. Why do they keep coming one after another?" The woman's voice trailed off lightly, then shifted, taking on a hint of sarcasm.

Even in dreams... they will come to spy on us.

"Who are you?"

Yu Xing heard her question clearly and belatedly realized that she was standing in front of this woman.

The woman's face was blurred, shrouded in light, making even her figure indistinct. Strangely, even so, the pair of deep blue eyes on the table were exceptionally clear.

Including a hint of incomprehension and pity in his eyes.

In fact, Yu Xing knew very well that he was dreaming. He remembered very clearly that he was in an abandoned house and that he was forced to fall asleep because of some kind of rule.

So now, he can only exist in his dreams.

But listening to what the woman said, about this city and the endless stream of people falling one after another... it was probably the same as last time, he dreamed of Yin Yang City again.

Practice makes perfect. This time, even without a scene, Yu Xing was able to make a sound. He smiled at the woman he couldn't see clearly and said lazily, "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your self-talk, nor do I think you're anything special by joining this city."

"I just took a nap, and it insisted on bringing me here. It probably likes me too much. I haven't even asked it for compensation for emotional distress yet."

The woman sighed softly, as if in disbelief, and stepped closer, raising a hand to rest on Yu Xing's shoulder.

"What are you doing? Men and women shouldn't touch each other, so please don't touch me." Yu Xing moved aside slightly, preventing the hand from touching her. "I'll leave now."

As a man with very keen intuition, he instinctively resisted the woman's touch.

It's like... this is just a dream, but if she actually sees it, it won't be just a dream anymore.

The woman asked, "Do you know how to get there?"

"I roughly know." Although Yu Xing's arrival was sudden, he had an inexplicable knowledge of how to withdraw his consciousness. The ominous feeling grew stronger and stronger, and when the woman approached again, he didn't even have time to say a word before he immediately pulled his consciousness away.

The next second, his vision was filled with deep red blood.

The soft halo turned into a hellish scene, with dark red everywhere. Blood dripped from the woman's body, and her concealed face was exposed, cracked and fleshy, like a combination of a doll and a human. Only her deep blue eyes remained unharmed.

Yu Xing's perspective gradually shifted upwards, becoming a bird's-eye view, extending further and further into the distance.

The woman also raised her head and gazed in his direction.

"Quite alert," she said, emphasizing each word, her tone slow and deliberate, just as before.

"But we will definitely meet again; it has its eyes on you."

The sounds behind grew fainter and fainter, and the dark red world shrank to a single point before being completely enveloped by darkness.

Yu Xing plummeted downwards, and in the weightlessness, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw the ancient and dilapidated roof beams.

A candle sat lit on the bedside table, its dim light slightly dispelling the darkness. The bluish-green ghostly figure hovered haphazardly, and noticing his movement, turned its head. "Awake?"

"I'm awake." Yu Xing sat up, his voice still a little hoarse. He pressed his throbbing temples, feeling as exhausted as an ordinary person who had just taken a 48-hour train ride.

"You're quite something, assigning us so many tasks, and then you slept for half the day." Yi Qing floated in front of him, exaggeratingly spreading her hands. "Look, it's already dark outside. If you keep sleeping... that Miss Yun won't even need to do anything; she can just walk in and kill you openly."

Yu Xing: "..."

He turned to look at the window, and through the thin paper, he could confirm that it was indeed completely dark outside.

He slept for so long?

Yi Qing seemed to know what he was thinking. She hesitated between teasing him and telling him the truth, but ultimately decided to consider the bigger picture. "It wasn't too long. Time flows differently here than outside. Daytime is compressed into about five hours, so you actually only slept for three hours."

Yu Xing: "... I always said, no matter how soundly you sleep, you can't sleep until dark."

He rubbed his head again, then got out of bed.

"So, during these three hours..."

"Zhao Yijiu secretly went to investigate the room where the Bronze statue is kept. He was afraid that I would underestimate the power of the little water snake because of my subjective opinion, so he insisted on seeing it for himself." Yi Qing smiled, tapping her folding fan against her palm without opening it. "I tried to persuade him, but he didn't listen, so he was naturally corrupted."

Yu Xing paused, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly relaxed Sheqing Ghost.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry, so Zhao Yijiu was fine.

"Of course, it's not a big deal. With such evil offerings, anyone who looks at them or touches them will be contaminated to some extent," Yi Qing said. "For him, it just means the nights will be a little harder, and he'll have more hallucinations."

"The good thing is, he figured out the layout of all the rooms in that row. Here, he asked me to give this to you."

Yi Qing pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Yu Xing: "It's nighttime. He means we should follow the rules and not go into other rooms without permission for now, so please stay in your own rooms."

Yu Xing took the note and read it at a glance by the candlelight.

[The four rooms in that row were combined, with the middle two connected to form a main hall and two side halls on the left and right. A large Bronze statue and 49 smaller Bronze statue were enshrined in the center (one was broken, one was taken, so now there are 47). Each side hall has 7 smaller Bronze statue; their placement is very strange, probably part of a formation.]

Zhao Yijiu's handwriting is much more elegant than his speech. He provides information very clearly, and his handwriting is also very neat, making him look like an intellectual.

Yiqing sighed, "It's best if I'm here right now. If I weren't here, how would you get through this dark night where you can't communicate?"

Yu Xing: "Fine... If it weren't for you, we would have several other ways to communicate. He just thought you were the most convenient."

Yi Qing fell silent.

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