Hu Xing had no idea where she was. She saw the sewers and her grandfather inside, as well as the shadow that was entangled with her grandfather, but she knew she wasn't in the sewers. She could see them, but they couldn't see her.
"What exactly is this thing?" Hu Xing asked.
Qingmu shook his head and said, "I don't know either."
"You say dreams are a world we create ourselves, so nightmares should also be something we create ourselves. But why would someone create a terrifying world to scare themselves?" Hu Xing said, "Like my grandfather now, why does he create a shadow in his dream that wants to kill him?"
Qingmu said, "People often have nightmares because of external stimuli. For example, if I burned your toes with a lighter while you were sleeping, you would definitely dream of being burned alive; if I poured water on you, you would dream of a raging flood. Of course, even without such external stimuli, you will still have nightmares. That's because you have fears hidden in your subconscious. When you dream, your subconscious will visualize your fears by weaving related memories. The darker a person's inner world, the more nightmares they will have."
"However, I can be certain of one thing—" Qingmu's expression turned serious, "This shadow was definitely not created by your grandfather. It is not a product of your grandfather's consciousness; it is an intruder!"
"Intruder?"
"Yes, intruders," Qingmu said. "Like us now, we could also be called intruders in your grandfather's dream, except we've always stayed at the edge of his dream, without interfering with him or violating his rules. If you get closer, his consciousness space will be disturbed, and the space will fluctuate. Ordinary people with Mental Power will have their dreams collapse, and they will wake up in a fright. If the dreamer's Mental Power is much stronger than yours, you might be bound by his spatial rules and unable to escape, or even be attacked by him."
"You mean that shadow is another person just like us?" Hu Xing asked.
Qingmu said, "It doesn't seem likely. The fact that it can impersonate your grandfather's shadow means it has a very close connection with him, which would make sense if your grandfather was a schizophrenic."
Hu Xing found it unbelievable and said, "Impossible! My grandfather has never had any mental problems."
Qingmu said, "That's very troublesome. That shadow clearly has an independent consciousness and knows everything about your grandfather. The fact that it can control the lamp in your grandfather's dream means that it is fully aware of the rules and spatial structure of the dream, and it even knows what your grandfather's consciousness will do next."
"This is absolutely horrible! Why did he want me to kill my grandfather?"
"To be precise, it's not about killing your grandfather, but about killing his very consciousness," Qingmu said.
"What's the difference?" Hu Xing asked.
"If he succeeds, your grandfather's brain and body will belong to him. That means your grandfather won't die; he'll still eat, drink, and relieve himself every day, chatting and laughing with you all. But this person might no longer be your grandfather, but someone else. You could call it—possession!"
"Ah, this is terrifying!" Hu Xing exclaimed, her mouth agape. " Qingmu, you have to help my grandfather! He's a good man, and this family can't function without him. You must have a way to eliminate this intruder, at least to drive him out of my grandfather's body!"
"I'll give it a try."
After Qingmu finished speaking, he took a step forward. Strangely, although they had been at the edge of Xia Wenyuan's dream and were clearly far apart, this step seemed to take them through a time corridor, and they were instantly beside Xia Wenyuan.
At that moment, the long shadow climbed up the wall of the sewer and reached the top of Xia Wenyuan's head.
A thin, shadowy head hung upside down from the cave ceiling. It opened its mouth, revealing menacing teeth, and inside the mouth was a dark, bottomless abyss.
But Qingmu's arrival clearly startled it. Shadow and Xia Wenyuan turned to look at them at the same time.
"Who are you?" Almost simultaneously, the shadows of Qingmu and Xia Wenyuan asked the same question.
The surrounding dream space suddenly trembled, like the initial tremors of an earthquake. Xia Wenyuan's facial muscles twitched along with the space, making him look extremely painful.
Hu Xing felt as if she had been struck hard in the chest by a heavy object, and her brain went blank for a moment.
The shadow glanced back at Xia Wenyuan, then at Qingmu: "You actually managed to stop him from leaving the dream!"
Qingmu said, "Tell me who you are, and maybe I can let you go."
The shadow revealed a ferocious expression. "Why should I?"
A Crow suddenly flew across the sky above the sewer outlet, cawing Guagua.
The shadow seemed a little scared, swayed a few times, and then with a "whoosh," retreated back against the wall, saying, "You can't hurt me. I am his shadow. If you hurt me, you're hurting him!"
"Is that so?" Qingmu said, taking two steps forward. His flip-flops made a more pleasant tapping sound on the water than on land.
Then came another cawing, Crow flapped its wings and flew out from the rocks, its sharp claws snapping shut as it grabbed the shadow.
The shadow howled in agony beneath the Crow's claws.
"There shouldn't be shadows in dreams," Qingmu said. "People have shadows because they have a dark side. If your heart is full of light, where would shadows come from?"
Hu Xing unconsciously looked down at her feet, but saw nothing.
"No! There can't be such a person! At least he isn't!" the shadow roared.
Qingmu glanced at Xia Wenyuan Xia Wenyuan, whose body visibly trembled. Qingmu knew that Shadow was telling the truth; it was impossible to expect the manager of such a large family to be without any darkness in his heart if his origins weren't clarified.
"Who are you?" Qingmu asked. His voice was no longer lazy, but deep and loud, like the sound of a temple bell striking one's heart.
"I am Xia Wenyuan," the shadow said painfully.
"Who exactly are you?" Qingmu asked again.
"I am Xia Wenyuan." The shadow seemed to be in even greater pain.
Qingmu sighed and fell silent.
The Crow suddenly tightened its claws, then flapped its wings and flew into the depths of the sewer, cawing Guagua. Its shadow was torn to pieces by the Crow's sharp claws, and as the Crow flew away, it scattered in the murky water.
Only the shadow's painful screams still echoed in the sewers, "I am Xia Wenyuan..."
Xia Wenyuan huddled in the corner, the sunlight streaming in from the exit illuminating him. On the water beside him, a faint, dim shadow slowly emerged...