Chapter 9

Under the lamplight, Lin Sheng's expression was grave as he lowered his head to carefully re-examine the text he had just translated.

He then flipped through the dictionary repeatedly to cross-reference, checking to see if he had made any translation errors.

Amidst the rustling of pages, he checked three times in a row, and each time he confirmed that he was correct—there were no mistakes.

If this really is a manual on swordsmanship, then that book I saw in my dream... Lin Sheng felt a tremor in his heart.

He still remembered the dense, clear text covering that book, with almost no repetitions.

If all of that was real...

A profound sense of curiosity suddenly surged from the depths of his heart.

That was clearly a dream, how could it be... how is that even possible?! Lin Sheng pursed his lips, lowered his head, and quickly continued translating the remaining passage.

The text he had managed to memorize consisted of two parts: the first was the cover, and the second was a small paragraph at the bottom right. He had no idea what its purpose was.

Soon, by comparing it with the dictionary, he stumbled through the translation of the remaining text.

Fortunately, Guren Script was not considered overly obscure, and there were many experts in the country who studied it; Lin Sheng felt a bit lucky that he had been able to buy a dictionary so easily.

After finishing the translation, he picked up the paper, gave it a shake, and laid it flat on the desk, his expression shifting in an inexplicable way.

"What on earth is this..."

Lin Sheng's expression was complex.

At this moment, he was one hundred percent certain that something had gone wrong with his dreams.

On the white paper spread across the desk, written clearly in black ink, were the words:

'Level 2 Swordsman, written by Ravel'

"Level 2 Swordsman. What on earth is this..." Lin Sheng felt his worldview being overturned like never before.

He fell silent for a moment, then quickly crumpled the translated paper into a ball, stood up, and hurried to open the door.

The living room was pitch black; his parents had not returned yet.

He took a deep breath, walked quickly to the kitchen, and soaked the paper ball under the faucet.

Amidst the rushing water, Lin Sheng watched as the handwriting on the paper ball blurred rapidly, became saturated, and finally dissolved into a faint black smudge where nothing could be seen.

Only then did he toss the soaked paper into the trash can, wipe his hands dry, leave the kitchen, and return to his bedroom.

Without washing up, Lin Sheng stripped off his clothes and socks and dove under the covers.

He was desperate to test this, to return to yesterday's dream and memorize a bit more content to see if that book was truly readable.

And he wondered if that nightmare from before would continue today.

I hope I can get back into that dream. A sense of anticipation stirred in Lin Sheng's heart.

Gone was his previous fear; he closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and emptied his mind.

Time ticked away, second by second.

Lin Sheng's consciousness gradually began to blur. In his hazy state, he seemed to hear the security door in the living room being opened by a key, and someone walking in.

There was no sound of speech, nor any other movement.

Soon, footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by his bedroom door being pushed open.

Someone stood at the doorway, staring at him for a while. He could clearly feel that the person was standing right there, watching him with an inexplicable intent.

Is it Mom and Dad? Lin Sheng guessed groggily.

But soon, he didn't even know when the person had left. His consciousness slipped into deep sleep.

A gray, gloomy manor.

Lin Sheng stood quietly in the hall, beside a fireplace adorned with a half-human bust. In front of him was a rectangular dining table covered with a tattered tablecloth.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

I actually came back?

Lin Sheng found it incredible.

He had expected to have that same nightmare again and had already prepared himself to confront it.

But unexpectedly, he had arrived here once more.

"What on earth is this place...!?" Lin Sheng scoured his memory, but could not find any information regarding this manor.

Logically speaking, dreams should be places I have seen before.

Many dreams are woven from scenery, people, and objects I have encountered in the past, but now, I don't feel even a shred of familiarity with this place... Lin Sheng frowned deeply.

He looked down at himself.

He was still wearing his gray long underwear. This was what he had been wearing before he went to sleep.

Even the loose thread was replicated? Lin Sheng raised his right hand; the thread that had been snagged on his elbow was perfectly rendered here as well.

He paused, then decisively began to stride forward, walking straight toward the study.

He had already explored the rest of the manor; now, he was most interested in the study, especially that book left open on the desk.

Twisting the wooden door open, Lin Sheng quickly returned to the study he had left last time.

The study remained exactly as it had been.

Two mahogany bookshelves were packed with books, and a low wooden table was piled with a stack of volumes, a candlestick, and a large, open tome.

Lin Sheng approached in a few strides, sat down before the low table, and lowered his head to examine the contents of the book.

The dense text and accompanying diagrams were all remarkably clear.

It's so real; it's as if I'm not dreaming at all. A chill ran through Lin Sheng's heart.

To confirm whether he was dreaming, he reached out and pinched the corner of the wooden table again.

The tactile sensation was the same as before, as if it were wrapped in thick cotton; he couldn't feel the sharpness of the edge at all.

What surprised him, however, was that the sensation of this test was much more vivid and detailed than in his previous dreams.

Lin Sheng withdrew his hand and refocused his attention on the book before him.

The long passages of Guren Script gave him a headache.

"My memory isn't exactly strong; I can only memorize a tiny bit at a time. At this rate, how long will it take to finish a single page?" Lin Sheng thought, speechless.

After a moment of reflection, he decided to ignore everything else and just translate it bit by bit. Perhaps he would become more proficient as he went along.

"It seems I have to go back to my old profession." In his past life, he had worked in the field of ancient text translation.

Fortunately, the status of Guren Script in this world was equivalent to Old English on Earth; although it was obscure, it was still relatively easy to translate the general meaning.

Lin Sheng was quite skilled at this kind of work.

"I'll just treat it as learning another foreign language. If I can actually read this book..."

Expectation and curiosity welled up in Lin Sheng's heart like a gushing spring.

He was truly, deeply curious.

What exactly was recorded in this ancient book from his dream?

Could it really be about ancient swordsmanship, as the cover suggested?

Furthermore, if this book could be read, did that mean the many other books on the shelves could also be translated and read one by one?

It felt as if countless ants were crawling over his heart, leaving it tingling and itching.

Once his decision was made, he began to force himself to memorize the first page of the open book again.

This was the same volume he had tried to memorize last time; this time, he was finally opening the first page to examine it in detail.

Time slipped away bit by bit.

Borrowing light from an unknown source, Lin Sheng repeatedly recited and memorized a short passage from the first page.

Without knowing the meaning of the content, rote memorizing an entire paragraph of ancient text was incredibly difficult.

But since Lin Sheng had worked in this field in his past life, he had plenty of experience. Before long, he used his own techniques and methods to successfully commit the entire paragraph on the first page to memory.