The Truth Behind Nightmares Devouring People (Please Keep Reading)

Xie Yu patiently explained, "Mortals come to understand this world through the six faculties, six consciousnesses, and six sense objects.

The six consciousnesses are eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness.

They correspond to the six faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

They also correspond to the six sense objects of the mortal world: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and knowledge.

For generations upon generations, mortals had relied on these things to understand the world, gradually forming a framework of common sense and logic. For instance, blood had a bloody smell, corpses had a stench of decay... All these things made up the mortal world of the six sense objects.

These six sense objects were the boundary through which mortals observed the world, and also a 'cocoon chamber' they had woven around themselves. Whenever they encountered something beyond that boundary, people would feel panic and fear."

Upon hearing this, Xie An suddenly felt as though he had touched upon some realization of the rules governing ghosts and monsters.

Xie Yu continued, "Ghosts, fiends, and demons can block and distort the mortal Six-Sense Cocoon Chamber. This ability is called Cocoon Force!"

It was Xie An's first time hearing this term. "Cocoon Force?"

Xie Yu nodded. "Cocoon Force can distort and control a person's six consciousnesses, create or magnify fear, and weave a Six-Sense Cocoon Chamber from which one can never escape. Ghosts and monsters were not originally so terrifying, but through Cocoon Force, they distort and amplify the instinctive fears within people's hearts.

That is why Dark Force masters cannot kill ghosts and monsters. Even Dark Force masters cannot escape Cocoon Force's control."

Seeing that Xie An was still somewhat confused, Xie Yu gave an example. "Let me give you the simplest example. When Young Master Mingxi exchanges blows with someone, you must first see the enemy strike at your face before you raise your hand to block it. Isn't that so?"

Xie An nodded. "Yes."

Xie Yu suddenly said, "But what if that vision itself is false? How would you kill or fend off the enemy?"

Xie An was left dumbstruck.

At first, it sounded like wild fantasy, but upon careful consideration, it fit the behavioral logic of ghosts and monsters perfectly.

No wonder ghosts and monsters felt so utterly terrifying.

First, the logic behind their actions exceeded the boundaries of human understanding, so humans naturally felt instinctive panic.

Second, ghosts and monsters possessed Cocoon Force, which controlled people's six senses and endlessly magnified their instinctive fear... That was truly terrifying.

After a month in this world, this was the first time Xie An had heard such a profound explanation.

This Daoist Master Yusu... was an expert!

Xie Yu continued, "Why did Young Master Mingxi and Zhao Hu have the same nightmare? It was because you were afflicted by evil at Li Family Village. But being afflicted by evil is merely a folk saying. In truth, you were afflicted by a ghost's Cocoon Force. This Cocoon Force controlled your thoughts and guided you into having the same nightmare."

So that was it!

Although everything now made sense, the fear in Xie An's heart... invisibly deepened by several degrees.

"When was I afflicted by evil? The moment I entered Li Family Village?"

Xie Yu shook her head. "Li Family Village's evil aura and resentment were not so great a month ago. It would not have afflicted outsiders the moment they stepped inside. You must have triggered one of the six senses. Young Master Mingxi, please tell me every detail of what happened when you entered the village."

Xie An recounted everything in detail:

"At first, Shopkeeper Zhou Yun from the grain shop came to the residence to make a report. He did not see Father, so he came to West Courtyard to report to me instead. He said that the tenant farmers of Li Family Village in Wuqiao Town had recently been fleeing the village in large numbers. I wanted to share Father's burdens, so I took Zhao Hu to the countryside to investigate.

When we first arrived at the village entrance, I saw a tax official dressed in black collecting taxes. Farmers delivering grain, dressed in padded clothes and carrying sacks of grain, stood in line at the entrance to pay their grain taxes. My attention was drawn to an old locust tree with a crooked neck at the entrance.

Dense rows of mangled, bloody corpses hung upside down from that old locust tree. Beneath the tree, an old Daoist in yellow robes was performing a ritual. He scattered spirit money while shaking a soul-summoning bell, chanting, 'Heaven trembles, earth trembles, this tree bears a Yama Stake. When the living come here, do not answer, do not answer...'"

Xie Yu interrupted, "Then... did Young Master Mingxi answer?"

Xie An said, "Later, I went to the home of Li Degui, the village head, and spoke with Li Degui."

But Xie Yu shook her head. "Li Degui is not important. What matters is that Grain-Collecting Ghost."

Xie An said, "The tax official came knocking at night to collect taxes and asked whether we had paid the Grave Tax. Zhao Hu and I followed the taboo that one must not answer when ghosts ask questions, so we did not respond..."

Xie Yu suddenly said, "The Grain-Collecting Ghost at night and the tax official collecting grain at the village entrance during the day were the same entity. Did you answer that tax official during the day?"

Xie An's eyes widened.

He had never considered that possibility before. Now, he could not help but recall what had happened.

"When I entered the village, I was sitting in the carriage and sent Zhao Hu to ask around. Zhao Hu must have spoken with the tax official. So... that was why Zhao Hu was afflicted by evil!?"

Xie Yu nodded, then fixed her gaze on Xie An. "Then did you, Young Master Mingxi, ever answer that tax official?"

Xie An instinctively shook his head. "I didn't..."

Yet before he could finish speaking, Xie An sharply inhaled.

He suddenly remembered a detail.

At the time, Zhao Hu had reported—the old Daoist said that the grain collector entered the village every night to collect taxes, and the tenant farmers could no longer survive, so they fled. Yet the tax official said he clearly came only once a year.

Xie An had been curious, so he looked toward that grain-collecting tax official.

The official happened to turn and look over. Smiling, he greeted him, "So it is Young Master Xie, here to inspect the place. Refugees outside the city are running rampant, and things are far from peaceful. Young Master should return to the city early."

Xie An had nodded and answered with an "Mm."

Just because of that one "Mm"!!?

Xie An told Xie Yu about this detail. Xie Yu nodded. "That explains it. Young Master Mingxi answered with that one 'Mm.' That counted as answering. The old Daoist performing the ritual at the village entrance may have died, but before his death, he must have discovered the rules behind Li Family Village's evil affliction. After dying, he clung to that obsession and warned the living not to answer upon entering the village..."

Xie An's spine went cold, a chill pouring from the crown of his head all the way down to his toes.

Fuck...

Who the hell could guard against that?

Mortals had far too little sense of security in this world.

Xie An stood there in a daze for quite some time before recovering. "Then Zhao Hu's body had clearly rotted away, yet his consciousness remained normal because of Cocoon Force?"

Xie Yu nodded. "Young Master Mingxi is very clever. But Cocoon Force can only guide nightmares; it cannot directly turn into tangible harm."

Xie An asked, "Then why did Zhao Hu wake from his dream and find that his internal organs were gone, exactly as they had been in the dream?"

Xie Yu spoke with absolute certainty. "Because someone was pulling strings behind the scenes, deliberately expanding the panic. Liu Fu's fetus turning into a Monster Strain was also done deliberately by someone."

As she spoke, Xie Yu walked to the dressing table and searched through it... then pulled open the wardrobe and rummaged inside.

Sure enough...

From a corner of the wardrobe, she pulled out a white cloth doll.

The doll was about the size of two infant fists. Its mouth had been painted with cinnabar, and a pair of scarlet eyes had been dotted onto its face. On its belly was written someone's birth date and eight characters, along with a strange blood talisman of the Six Ding and Six Jia.

The instant Xie An saw the doll, he felt intense mental discomfort.

He activated Qi-Gazing to inspect it.

The qi within the doll... was all sinking downward.

In other words, this doll was not a dead doll, but a... "living" doll with the abilities of an evil spirit.

Xie An blurted out, "The one that truly dug out Zhao Hu's internal organs... was this doll?"