Dreamscape: The Dead Memories Launched an Attack

Since that New Year, Qinghe County has sold more firecrackers every year than other counties, because people in the town say that the Ying Family was attacked by the Year Beast.

Some adults would scare children by saying, "If you don't behave, the Year Beast will come and eat you."

Zou Yongfeng was clearly intimidated. He glanced around and lowered his voice, saying:

"A few months ago, I passed by the Ying Family Old Residence and saw a very, very large dark shadow."

"It's a bit like the Year Beast that adults used to scare us when we were kids. With the New Year just around the corner, our family quickly moved."

"The Year Beast?"

Li Mo frowned, feeling the little hand in his palm getting colder and colder. He gently rubbed it, but he couldn't warm it up no matter what he did.

Li Mo shivered from the cold.

He glanced at her and noticed that Ying Bing's eyes were unfocused and her fair face was devoid of any color.

Long-forgotten memories suddenly began to assault Li Mo.

It's Ice Block.

When she first came to the Li Mansion as a child, she would lock herself in her room all day, only coming out occasionally to eat. If she heard a loud noise, a hint of fear would appear in her eyes, and her expression was just like it is now.

It wasn't just cold, it also carried a sense of emptiness.

The Li Mansion was unusually cold during that period; even the snow melted later than at other homes.

"Ice Block, let's go home."

"Okay..."

Li Mo greeted Zou Yongfeng, smiled and said goodbye to the family of three, adding that he would come over for the baby's one-month celebration after the baby was born, and then he and Ice Block turned and went home.

Looking back, one sees a lifeless, dilapidated ruin on the banks of the Qinghe River, its desolation clashing with the New Year.

Once home, Ying Bing ate dinner and went back to her room, never to come out again, even though she whispered to Li Mo that she was fine and just needed some rest.

But even while eating, Li Mo couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

What exactly happened to the Ying Family back then?

She remained silent, and he didn't say much either.

This scene puzzled Gu Xueqin.

"Son, what's wrong with you two?"

Li Mo shook his head. "No, I went out with her today and ran into Fengzi."

"Did he say he saw something at the Winner's old house?" Li Dalong asked.

"Father, you know?"

"What does your father do? He came to the County Government Office to report a case that day, and he reeked of alcohol. He was probably drunk."

Li Dalong said irritably, "Fengzi is like a madman. I took some men over there to check, and there wasn't a soul in sight."

Was Fengzi drunk and misread? Even so, it shouldn't warrant moving house...

In fact, Li Mo had already used his Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye to check in the afternoon, and there was nothing unusual about Fengzi's recent experiences.

He didn't ask his father if he had seen anything that day. Li Dalong had already talked about what happened that day several times at home during his leisure time. Besides, it was already too late when his father took people there.

The one who truly saw everything was the Ice Block.

Li Mo looked up and saw that the room opposite was completely dark tonight, with no candlelight or even a faint glow.

Is Ice Block not cultivating?

Midnight.

The door to the pitch-black room was gently opened.

Little Li had been stealing for days, quietly entered the room.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Ying Bing lying on the bed, her sleeping face not peaceful, her brows tightly furrowed.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and strands of hair clung to her snow-white neck.

She... had a nightmare?

The Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye is activated.

[Name: Ying Bing]

[Age: 17]

[Root Bone: Lunar Phoenix Physique]

[Realm: Five Apertures of Divine Observation]

[Destiny: Red (Born with imperial bones, possessing the life force of Xuanbing, the spirit of Qiushui, and the appearance of Phoenix Heavens )]

[Evaluation: Though fate has brought many tribulations, it has always managed to turn misfortune into good fortune. Its wings are not yet fully grown, but when the times change, it will surely soar high in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a phoenix descending upon the Six Harmonies and Eight Desolations.]

[Recent experience: Being plagued by nightmares.]

Li Mo tried to release the Taiyin Clear Radiance of the moon, a light that could calm the mind, but it couldn't soothe the girl's furrowed brows.

"What should we do?"

Little Li frowned, then suddenly remembered that the second level of the Phoenix Singing in the Heavenly Marsh time of Divine Intent will and spiritual fusion.

The Ice Block once helped him break through his current level using this method.

What if we use it now?

Could he enter the Ice Block's dream?

However, this also means that the two of them will share the nightmare; if Ice Block doesn't wake up, he will too...

"All things are governed by cause and effect, and life and death are intertwined..."

Li Mo murmured to himself, and took her cold little hand in his.

Phoenix Singing in the Heavenly Marsh, Initiate!

The next moment, he fell asleep instantly, collapsing into the Ice Block's arms with a thud. But he had no mind to enjoy the soft fragrance; he was already breathing evenly.

Li Mo regained his senses and smelled the gunpowder smoke from firecrackers in the air.

He opened his eyes, glanced around, and was slightly taken aback.

The spacious Ancestral Hall leads down the bluestone steps to the Clear Water River that flows gurglingly, frequented by many people.

But ashes seemed to drift in the sky, covering everything with a layer of hazy, snowflake-like dust.

This is a place that was burned to the ground long ago and no longer exists— the Ying Family Manor Ancestral Hall.

"Little child, who are you?"

"I asked the doorman."

"I am..."

Li Mo looked at his small, childlike hands and murmured to himself.

"I am Li Mo, the son of County Magistrate Li..."

"Then what are you here for?"

"I've come... I've come to find... I've come to find Bing Tuo... I've come to find Ying Bing!"

The confusion in Li Mo's eyes disappeared; he had remembered everything!

The gatekeeper didn't think much of it, assuming it was just the son of County Magistrate Li who had come to visit during the New Year.

"Then you can go in. Miss Bing is nowhere to be found. You can look for her yourself."

"Thank you, sir."

Little Li nodded obediently and entered the ancestral Ancestral Hall of the winners.

The fact that this family could own a manor on the outskirts of the city shows that they were a prominent clan, and even their Ancestral Hall was quite grand.

At this moment, a banquet was being held in front of the Ancestral Hall, with people drinking and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere. Unfortunately, the grayness everywhere added a touch of emptiness to the otherwise vibrant scene.

Li Mo searched with his eyes but could not find the Ice Block.

But then they saw a couple at the head table, chatting with someone beside them.

"Uncle Ying, Happy New Year, Aunt Ying."

Li Mo went up and greeted them.

These are Ying Bing's parents.

"Brother Li's child?"

Ying Xuliang lowered his gaze, smiled, and took a red envelope from his pocket:

Happy New Year! Where are Brother Li and his wife?

"My parents are home, I've come to play with Sister Bing."

Li Mo's voice was clear and pleasant to listen to.

Beside Ying Xuliang, a woman with exquisite features said:

"Bing'er is sick. Next time, when she's better, Auntie will bring her to visit again."

It seems that it was in this year that Ice Block's constitution began to show signs of change, causing her to endure the torment of extreme cold every day.

Li Mo thought for a moment and said:

"Then I'll go in and see Sister Bing, okay? I promise I won't disturb her."

The old scholar who looked like a schoolteacher next to him immediately said in an annoyed tone:

"You... you little devil, you're definitely up to no good again, aren't you?"

"?"

Li Mo was taken aback when he saw the person who had spoken.

This schoolteacher, just a few days ago, had his face covered in tally marks while taking a nap...

He never expected that the memories of the dead could still attack him.