The Crow chattered incessantly, full of self-delusion, while Qingmu pondered the last words of Old Madam Cuan: "If you have a way, take Xue'er away."
Qingmu tried calling out, " Xue'er?"
The white cat turned its head to look at him and meowed once.
The Crow said discontentedly, "Heh heh, don't be so mushy! I just named her Ruxue, and you're calling her Xue'er? How can you be so shameless? You're already married to the boss's wife..."
Ignoring the Crow Qingmu asked the white cat, "You have memories?"
The white cat meowed again, but the sound conveyed no further meaning.
"It seems you have no memory. I wonder what method Old Madam Cuan used to trap your entire consciousness here. Your Mental Power is so strong; it's such a pity it would dissipate like this."
Qingmu's words didn't elicit any further reaction from the white cat, but the Crow was quite surprised.
"What? What did you say?" The Crow stretched its neck. "What vanished? She's perfectly fine, isn't she?"
Qingmu said, "This is Mama Yao's dream. Xue'er is an outsider consciousness. She was brought here by Mama Yao's grandmother, Old Madam Cuan, to guard something. Perhaps her consciousness can still sense Old Madam Cuan's lingering resentment, which is why her Mental Power fluctuated just now."
The Crow paused, stunned. "You mean she's not a real person... a cat?... Old Madam Cuan... Mama Yao's grandmother... Oh my god, that's decades ago! Ruxue... how old is she?"
Qingmu said, "According to Mama Yao, the cat was already there when she was a child, so it must be at least sixty or seventy years old."
"Oh my God! Like--snow--"
The Crow covered its eyes, then spread its wings and peered through the gaps. It saw the soft, pure white plumage and the sapphire-like eyes. It stamped its claws and said:
"Ahem... No matter how old you are, it's okay! Age is never an obstacle to love!"
Then she began to recite a poem. "You were born before I was born, I was born before you grew old. When we met in this life, I will be with you every day..."
Qingmu shook his head and said, "Alright, the space she was protecting has collapsed, the old lady is gone, her obsession has vanished, like a person who has lost their faith. Plus, she was just a pure consciousness and had no memories to begin with, so once we leave, her Mental Power will dissipate."
"Can't we stay here?" the Crow asked.
Qingmu said, "This is Mama Yao's dream. If she stays, wouldn't she become an intruder? Besides, her Mental Power is so powerful that Mama Yao can't withstand it."
"Oh no!" the Crow cawed, "You must have a way, right? I've finally met someone I truly like, Guagua..."
"You said the same thing when you saw that macaw last time."
"Um... really?"
Qingmu ignored him and instead communicated telepathically with the white cat, saying, "I'm going to take you out now and find you a new body."
The white cat didn't react.
Qingmu added, "This is Old Madam Cuan's last wish."
The white cat still didn't react.
The Crow beside him reminded him, "Hey, what's the point of saying that? You've forgotten, this is a dream!"
Qingmu suddenly laughed and said, "I almost forgot, you're so clever."
With a thought, he replicated the scene of the Old Madam Cuan that he had just seen.
The cat's Mental Power indeed fluctuated violently.
The Crow asked in surprise, "So young? Are you sure this is an old lady?"
Qingmu finally got the old lady to speak, " Xue'er..."
The cat meowed and leaped into the old woman's arms. Qingmu had to use his Mental Power to catch it. Just then, the Crow jumped up and cried, "Let me do it! Let me do it!"
Qingmu then let the Crow take over. Their coordination was exquisite; the Crow easily took over Qingmu's Mental Power, mimicking the old lady's embrace, and hugged the white cat.
"So heavy!" the Crow complained. Of course, he knew it wasn't the cat's weight that was heavy; consciousness has no weight. What was heavy was actually Mental Power. Ruxue's Mental Power was no weaker than the Boss Coal's, so of course he would feel the weight when he hugged her.
Old Madam Cuan spoke again, " Xue'er, from now on you will follow Qingmu and listen to Qingmu..."
The cat meowed softly and sweetly.
The Crow was captivated by what it heard, but then, hearing Qingmu Hikaru tell the cat to listen to Qingmu, it reminded him, "Hey, talk about me, talk about me!"
Qingmu smiled and then had Old Madam Cuan say, " Xue'er, this Crow is called the Boss Coal. Be his good friend from now on..."
The white cat glanced at the Crow, then proudly turned its head away.
Seeing that things were about right, Qingmu opened the Dream Corridor with a thought and said to the cat, " Xue'er, go in and wait inside."
The cat obediently jumped inside.
The Crow exclaimed in surprise, "What is this?"
Qingmu said, "You can go in and take a look."
The Crow stretched its neck to look inside, but it forgot it was a dream. The moment it stretched its head out, its entire body was already in the Dream Corridor. It remembered spending countless years with Qingmu in a similar, ghostly place. Although they eventually returned, the feeling of loneliness was unbearable.
Startled, he turned around and popped out with a flap of his wings, exclaiming, "That was close!"
Qingmu said, "Your love is inside, why don't you go in and keep it company?"
The Crow turned its neck and said, "Love! What love?... My favorite is braised pork knuckle, Guagua!"
Qingmu had an urge to kick him into zero-dimensional space.
"By the way, where did you get a zero-dimensional space from?" the Crow asked.
"The old lady gave it to me," Qingmu said.
Crow watched as Qingmu put away the Dream Corridor and said, puzzled, "Based on our experience last time, you locked Xue'er in a zero-dimensional space where time doesn't flow. When she comes out next time, the space will overlap with ours again, returning to the moment she went in."
Qingmu explained, "The other end of this corridor connects to another space. I'll have her hide in that space, and then time will synchronize with our world."
How do you know it will synchronize?
"I guessed."
"Guess? When did you become so unreliable! Oh, right, you've never been very reliable, quack!"
"Do you want to go in and keep her company?"
What's that place over there?
"Desert."
"Um... I think experiencing the feeling of longing for someone might not be bad."
"..."
The Crow was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered. "You just said you wanted to find him another body."
"That's right."
"But where can I find such a white cat? I've heard Siamese cats are very white, but they don't seem to be this beautiful. Maybe I could try looking in Bangkok..."
"Need not."
"Need not?"
"We have some at home."
"Ready-made? You mean..."
"Yes, I meant Hanran."
"Oh my God! God! Buddha! Taishang Laojun! No!!!"