Ayin Delivery (7)

During his fitful sleep, Yu Xing dreamed for the first time in ages.

He saw himself standing alone beside a flowing river. Thick, silent white fog surrounded him, and indistinct figures flickered in and out of view within it, whispering unintelligibly.

He stood there, doing and saying nothing. He didn't even shift his gaze, as if his feet were nailed to the ground.

A moment later, a streak of crimson suddenly appeared on the distant river.

Splash, splash...

The current washed against the banks. The crimson rushed closer in an instant, spreading across the murky water. The lively stream was replaced by waves of sweet, pungent blood, and in the blink of an eye, the long river had become a river of blood.

The white fog remained.

Yet the figures within it seemed to draw closer. One by one, their ghastly pale faces emerged, silently staring at him as they surrounded him from every direction.

The oppressive feeling reached its peak amid the gurgling of the bloody river.

Yu Xing felt as though he couldn't breathe. He opened his mouth and gasped for air, but suddenly a hand came to rest on his shoulder, and a voice murmured, "Young master..."

"Young master... Your hour and a half is up. I've come to wake you." Zhao Ruru crouched by Yu Xing's bedroll and rubbed his shoulder.

The team had pitched tents like those used on a march. The others were crowded together in one tent, while Yu Xing's was the smallest, though he had it all to himself.

Zhao Ruru had lifted the tent flap and leaned halfway inside. The cramped space had room for only one bedroll, and she could reach Yu Xing with a single stretch of her arm.

Yu Xing had never been a deep sleeper. At