Dream of Delusion

It stood to reason; the original firewood was only enough to burn until midnight, which was exactly the current time. Although Lu Li had gone out to find some more, he lacked the time, and he couldn't carry much on his own. The remaining wood would last at most three or four hours, while it was still at least five hours until dawn.

Do not be fooled by the fact that those Corpse Ghosts had retreated; Lu Li knew clearly that other monsters were definitely lurking in the darkness. If the campfire were to go out, those monsters would certainly not mind making him and the Old Man their breakfast tomorrow.

The Old Man held the Puppet, yet he failed to notice the tear at the corner of the Puppet's eye becoming increasingly bewitching. A stifling atmosphere filled the dilapidated temple, inducing a drowsy sensation. Lu Li saw that the Old Man holding the Puppet across from him was already struggling to keep his eyes open. He added some wood to the fire, only to see the Old Man's head droop as he fell into a deep sleep once more.

A wave of dizziness struck Lu Li again, but this time, his eyes brightened: Brain limit release 10%... 11%... 12%... 15%!

The liberation of his brain not only accelerated Lu Li's thinking speed but also greatly enhanced his ability to receive information, even sharpening his perception significantly. In daily life, we receive a massive amount of information every day, but to prevent our brains from burning out, our internal protective mechanisms filter out unimportant details.

Now, these bits of information that we usually ignore were being collected by Lu Li one by one. Temperature, air, scent, light, sound, and even vague, inexplicable sensations were all stored as data in his brain for analysis and processing. Lu Li pinched his temples, his eyes flashing: "Caught you..."

Then, Lu Li fainted, two streams of nosebleed trickling down. The dilapidated temple peeled away bit by bit, turning into dark brown fly ash and drifting away. The real became the illusory, and the false became increasingly real. This was a dream, yet it was not; it existed between the void and the real, the true and the false.

When Lu Li opened his eyes again, he saw the Puppet across from him. She was still gazing with deep affection at the sleeping Old Man. Lu Li suddenly felt it was cruel; these two existences were like the flowers and leaves of the Manjushage—when the flower blooms, the leaves fall; when the leaves flourish, the flower withers. They never see each other, forever missing one another. In the waking world, the Old Man did not understand that the Puppet possessed her own consciousness, living in ignorance; in the Dream of Delusion, the Old Man, as a mere mortal, could only sleep, while the Puppet could only watch.

These two had relied on each other for decades without ever truly communicating. Such ignorance, what a tragedy! Lu Li sighed, then said to the Puppet: "So, continuing from our last topic, what do you want me to do?"

"Greetings, Young Master." The Puppet withdrew her gaze and bowed to Lu Li. "I said before that every existence here has a meaning. The temple that should have been here has disappeared—it is not without meaning, but has been hidden by someone! It symbolizes safety. As long as we find the temple and move the campfire there, we will be truly safe, and the safety of the temple in the real world will also be strengthened!"

"A temple, you say?" Lu Li took a deep look at the Puppet and did not ask further about it, instead saying: "The firewood in the real world is running low. You surely know better than I how many things are peering from the darkness. Do you have a solution?"

"The Young Master need not worry about that; I will handle it when the time comes." The Puppet smiled slightly, then turned her head away and said: "Hurry and prepare. We don't have much time. The flow of time in the Dream of Delusion is unstable. If we haven't finished by the time it runs out, it will be disastrous!"

Lu Li tore off another piece of his pant leg to make a makeshift torch. He found this Dream of Delusion truly strange; previously, when he tore a piece of his pant leg here and returned to reality, he found the piece still existed. But now, after returning to the Dream of Delusion, that piece was gone. With both pant legs now missing, his school trousers had become shorts.

Fortunately, these drifting red snowflakes were not particularly cold, or the temperature alone would have been enough to give him trouble. The Puppet walked nimbly in front, telling him about the Dream of Delusion, while Lu Li followed at a steady pace, holding the torch.

"The Dream of Delusion is like a series of bubbles, regional in nature, but not entirely isolated. Although ghosts generally do not leave their own area, it is possible for them to cross boundaries. When living beings fall asleep, a projection of them appears here—naturally, they are in a deep sleep. Once harmed by a ghost here, they will also suffer harm in reality."

"Everything here has a meaning. For example, a house generally represents safety; those ghosts cannot enter a human's house of their own volition!"

"Of their own volition? Does that mean there are ways they can enter without it?" Lu Li asked with interest.

"It is difficult for ghosts to exist in reality, and it is also difficult for them to make contact with it, but it is not absolute. They can create disturbances. Normal people might not hear these, but those who are weak in blood and qi or suffer from neurasthenia might receive these signals—like the sound of knocking on a door. As long as the owner opens the door themselves, those ghosts can enter the house that represents your safety without restraint."

"You said it's hard for ghosts to exist in reality? Then what about those white-skinned monsters?" Lu Li asked curiously. Although the Corpse Ghosts were extremely afraid of fire, they could still exist in the darkness of the real world!

"...Those monsters have special reasons..." The Puppet paused, then said: "They are different from spirit-types like me. Our physical forms in reality are inanimate objects, while their physical forms, though dead, are still human flesh."

"The Dream of Delusion also has different periods. During the day, it enters a low tide; ghosts in this period are difficult to move and cannot harm the humans projected here. But at night, if you are not in a house and have no campfire or similar things around you, you are very likely to become a snack for the monsters! Of course, when a large number of humans gather together, their life force can also form an effect similar to a campfire."

"One thing to note is that the Dream of Delusion and the real world are not completely disconnected. For instance, special humans like you can enter here, and we can also use our abilities to influence the real world. In the real world, certain actions can even directly break the barrier between the two, summoning ghosts that exist in the void into reality."

"This world is not safe," the Puppet concluded.

"It really isn't..." Lu Li pondered for a moment before saying with a low laugh: "An interesting world indeed!"

I ask for recommendations and bookmarks; those with reading lists can add this. Also, some people sent red packets today and yesterday. There was really no need, but Xu Ming thanks you here. Thank you to everyone who supports me, truly, thank you!