As for how Ruxue possessed such powerful Mental Power, Qingmu had no idea, just as he had no idea where the Crow's Mental Power came from.
But after Ruxue swallowed Xia Wenyuan's shadow whole, Qingmu seemed to understand where the cat's Mental Power came from.
Xia Wenyuan's shadow wasn't particularly powerful; it's unknown how many such consciousnesses it must have devoured to become the white cat it is today. And before the consciousness invasion occurred, where did this cat find the consciousnesses it was consuming?
What method did the old woman of the Cuan Family use to enable a cat to devour consciousness and thus gain Mental Power? And where did she obtain so many consciousnesses?
This is a bit terrifying to think about. Could the cannibalistic spirits described in ancient unofficial histories, tales of the strange and supernatural, and illustrated books, actually be true?
Qingmu couldn't help but recall the description of mulberry trees in the Wuzhong County Annals: "Ten zhang tall, perched atop a giant crow, shaped like a falcon, which devours human souls at night..."
At that moment, two Guagua cawed from the dense thicket of the tall mulberry tree in the dream.
Xia Wenyuan was so startled that he fell from the branch. The branch he was on was very high. Usually, if you fall from such a height in a dream, you will wake up, or at least the dream will change.
But Qingmu really wanted to see what the Crow inside the tree looked like. Since Xia Wenyuan could dream about it, it meant that Crow existed in his memory. His subconscious was currently deeply organizing his memories, able to bring out memories that had long been forgotten and existed in the corners of his mind. Judging from his frightened appearance, he must have not only heard the sound of Crow, but also seen what Crow looked like.
Qingmu protected Xia Wenyuan, allowing him to land lightly on the ground instead of plummeting. This way, his brain wouldn't think he was going to die from the fall, and he wouldn't exit the dream.
Sure enough, Xia Wenyuan didn't stop after landing; instead, he took off running. As he ran, he kept looking back, his eyes filled with fear.
The leaves rustled and shook, and a huge Crow flew out, its wings spread wide, blotting out the sky and casting a huge shadow on the ground.
It Guagua as it chased after Xia Wenyuan, its cries sounding like the menacing owl from a distant horizon.
Xia Wenyuan said that when he was a child, he went to the Mulberry Garden with his father. He was naughty and ran around in the garden, causing his father to search for him for a long time.
This story is meant to demonstrate the size of the Mulberry Garden. Of course, Xia Wenyuan wouldn't mention the shameful thing he did: secretly climbing someone else's tree to pick mulberries. After all, he had studied poetry and etiquette, especially in those days when that tree was considered a symbol of the family.
From this dream, we can roughly reconstruct the facts of what happened back then— Xia Wenyuan, being playful, climbed a tree to pick mulberries and startled the Crow in the tree, resulting in him being scared out of his wits.
Xia Wenyuan exaggerated the size of the Crow. Emotions left in our hearts from childhood are always magnified infinitely, especially fear. If there really was such a big bird, it would have been regarded as a monster, and Mulberry Garden would have become famous.
When Qingmu looked closely, he found that the Crow's shape, its plumage, its head shape, and especially its claws, had a strange sense of familiarity.
He glanced at the white cat beside him, and the cat happened to be looking at him as well.
"Do you think it looks similar too?" he asked.
The cat nodded.
At this moment, Qingmu didn't care whether Xia Wenyuan would suffer from being unable to escape the dream in such fear. With a thought, he summoned the Boss Coal.
The Boss Coal didn't glance at the Crow that looked like a roc in the sky when he came out; instead, he focused all his attention on the white cat.
"Caw! Ruxue, I see you again!" the Boss Coal exclaimed joyfully. "I'm so glad you haven't changed, you're still so beautiful! Uh, no! Even more beautiful than before! No words can describe my praise for you right now! I'm so glad you weren't affected by that silly cat, Hanran!"
Ruxue turned her head away, appearing indifferent.
The Boss Coal was about to say something when Qingmu interrupted him, saying, "Put your praise aside for now and look up at the sky."
"Huh?" The Boss Coal was taken aback, and when he looked up, he saw the big bird.
In Xia Wenyuan's dream at this moment, he was running nonstop, with Crow in the sky chasing after him. But from the perspective of Qingmu and the Boss Coal, it was like watching a movie, and a holographic one at that, where they could appreciate the scene from all angles. Although the people and birds were moving, they never moved away from their sight, nor did they drift far away.
"What is that?" the Boss Coal asked.
"What do you think?" Qingmu said.
"Was he dreaming about me?" The Boss Coal clearly noticed that the Crow looked a lot like him.
"No, he dreamed of a different bird, one he must have seen when he was a child."
"What?" the Boss Coal exclaimed in surprise. "No, no, no, impossible! Although you humans think we black birds all look alike, we can tell us apart. Look at that beak, those hands, those feathers. Although there are many differences in the details, you can still tell that it's me, or at least it looks a lot like me. You mean, he saw a Crow that looked a lot like me when he was a child?"
Qingmu nodded and said, "That's how it seems at the moment."
What does this mean?
"I don't know either. Maybe this Crow is related to you, like, perhaps a relative?"
At this moment, Xia Wenyuan seemed to be unable to run anymore. He stumbled and fell, rolling onto his back on the ground, his gaze meeting that of the Crow in the sky.
Xia Wenyuan's attention would be drawn to the details through his memory. So when their eyes met, the details of the Crow's eyes and gaze became clear. This suggests that when Xia Wenyuan was stealing mulberries as a child, he likely made eye contact with Crow in the tree.
The Boss Coal cried out, "Those eyes! Oh, those eyes! Oh my God! That's not some relative, that's clearly me!"
Ruxue meowed once. Yes, just a single meow, expressing no other meaning.
Upon hearing Ruxue's cry, the Boss Coal quieted down, ceasing his shouting. He then gentlemanly stroked the feathers on his chest with his wing and said, "Ah, perhaps that gentleman has seen me before, but in Qingmu's name, I assure you, I have never frightened him!"
Qingmu asked, "Why in my name?"
The Crow said, "Oh, it's just borrowing it for a bit. You won't mind, right?"
Qingmu certainly didn't mind, but the important thing now was that if they didn't get out soon, Xia Wenyuan would really be scared to death. You see, most of the Mental Power supporting this dream came from Qingmu, and Xia Wenyuan simply couldn't get out. If a person has a nightmare and can't wake up, they really will be scared to death.
When Qingmu exited the dream, he saw that Xia Wenyuan's forehead was covered in sweat.
Xia Wenyuan woke up, looking at Qingmu with a questioning look in his eyes. He had no idea that the shadow in his dream had been eaten by the white cat, let alone that the white cat was actually the orange cat lying at their feet, which now seemed to have eaten its fill and was fast asleep.