Chapter 153

Dream Demon?

Li Zhuiyuan put down his brush, leaned back in his chair, and turned his head to the right, looking out at the bright sunshine on the dormitory balcony.

He then continued to look around, surveying the furnishings in the room, finally tilting his head back to gaze at the dormitory ceiling.

The moment he saw those two words, he began to ponder:

Was he currently in a dream?

Admittedly, the young man knew his reaction was overly reactive.

However, he also understood that this opponent most likely possessed such abilities.

Dream Demon—this shouldn't be a name, but rather a title.

Names could be chosen incorrectly, but nicknames were rarely mistaken.

Ordinary corpse spirits among the dead-fallers also had the ability to deceive people, but Li Zhuiyuan believed that what he was about to face was a completely different concept.

The mere inclusion of "dream" as a prefix was enough to indicate its strangeness.

From now on, he and his companions would likely frequently face self-doubt: "Am I in a dream?"

Even now, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't definitively determine his current environment.

There was no help for it; his current knowledge about it was too limited. Moreover, it was chosen by "that hand" to be a roadblock to eliminate him, which was an inherent testament to its strength. No amount of apprehension he had towards it would be excessive.

However, he had an anchor point.

Because of her, it was impossible for her to be pulled into a dream, and very few beings would dare to drag her into one.

But before confirming, he had one more thing to do.

That was to confirm whether the river's power would be invoked, just as he did before going to Zhangjiajie last time.

He hadn't told Liu Yumei about this. His confidence in willingly accepting this vastly unbalanced confrontation stemmed from the rules of the river.

With it, he could seize this opportunity to counterattack and sever "that hand."

Without it, he would have to revise his plan and adopt a passive approach.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell upon the painting he was just about to complete.

Previously, the *Evil Tome* prevented him from continuing to draw, indicating that, in its view, it would catch fire once he finished. This itself was a premonition.

"I don't care what you think; I care what I think."

This was a gamble concerning the safety of the entire team. If it didn't burn a little, he wouldn't feel at ease.

Li Zhuiyuan rolled up his sleeves, bit the tip of his tongue, and drew out a drop of vital blood. He then began to draw a spell from his forearm down to the back of his hand.

Next, using black dog blood, he drew patterns on the brush.

Finally, with his mind and spirit unified, he held the patterned brush with his spell-marked arm and continued drawing on the *Evil Tome*.

The traces that previously could not manifest now appeared. The young man intended to complete the image of the dream demon on the book page.

And this time, even the *Evil Tome* couldn't stop him.

"You..."

The *Evil Tome* must have been utterly speechless, perhaps even hysterical.

It only needed a small blood offering; even a single drop of fingertip blood would be an extremely valuable supplement for it in its current state.

Yet, the young man insisted on using vital tongue-tip blood to draw the spell, expending more precious resources to overcome its resistance, unwilling to give it even a trace.

He could have obtained its help at a much lower cost, but the young man preferred to spend ten times the extra cost to force it into servitude.

It understood.

Precisely because it understood, it felt even more stifled.

Since its creation, most of its past masters had been manipulated by its words and pages. Only a very few managed to maintain a sliver of clarity and seal it away.

Yet, after falling into this young man's hands, it experienced a profound sense of powerlessness.

The young man's cold rationality was something it had never encountered.

It seemed he had no emotions whatsoever that it could stir or exploit.

To have a love-hate relationship with an evil entity, constantly guarding against and using each other, might be a delightful enjoyment for some clever individuals.

But Li Zhuiyuan saw such actions as incredibly foolish self-cleverness.

He went straight to the source: absolutely no dealings with it.

On this basis, whatever value could be squeezed out was pure profit with zero risk.

Not to mention before, even before acquiring this *Evil Tome*, how many lives had been lost due to its bewitchment, and the two members of the Mao family had even plotted and killed each other.

He wasn't colluding with an evil entity; he was... eradicating evil and defending the righteous path.

The painting was completed, the dream demon fully manifested.

"Boom!"

Flames surged, and the book caught fire again.

Judging by the extent of damage from the last time, this time probably wouldn't destroy it either. It was quite resilient. Excluding this instance, it should be able to burn at least two more times.

There was no wind, yet the burning pages flipped wildly.

It was like a silent roar and cry:

"Between us, who is the true evil entity?"

Li Zhuiyuan sighed with relief.

Confirmed: the river's power could be invoked.

This battle was, in essence, 50% guaranteed.

This was a highly imprecise probability; it merely proved he had the qualification to trade blows with the hidden mastermind.

After the flames extinguished, Li Zhuiyuan carefully wrapped the *Evil Tome* again, afraid of damaging it. He was particularly cautious this time.

Not because he felt sorry for it, but because he was counting on this piece of charcoal to ignite twice more, providing him with light.

After handling these matters, Li Zhuiyuan slung his backpack over his shoulders and left the dormitory.

He now needed to confirm whether he was in a dream.

Li Zhuiyuan first went to the discount store and spoke to Lu Yi, who was sitting behind the counter:

"Brother Lu Yi."

Lu Yi immediately felt it—that tingling sensation down his spine, as if he were sitting on a large block of ice. He instantly stood up with a "thud."

"Oh, Brother Prodigy, do you need to make a call?"

"Page everyone to gather back at school for a meeting."

"Okay!" Lu Yi nodded immediately, picked up the receiver, and began dialing the paging station.

After making the call, Lu Yi sat back down, becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

Then, he quietly pulled out some food and drinks from under the counter and arranged them. He also sliced half a red sausage as thinly as possible, arranging it decoratively.

Finally, he used his water cup as a makeshift incense burner, lit three sticks of incense inside it, and stood two small white candles beside it. A simple small altar was complete.

Various candles were sold in the school store, as the school sometimes experienced power outages, although the school explicitly forbade using candles in dormitories.

Furthermore, sometimes there was a need to arrange candles on the playground for declarations of love.

As for incense, it certainly wasn't sold, but from the first day Lu Yi started working there, he noticed that the counter never lacked incense. Those were Rungsheng's rations he kept for himself.

Lu Yi bowed to the small altar:

"Red Sausage Ghost, Compatriot Ghost, please bless us with peace and safety."

Just then, a student from Lu Yi's department came over with items to check out. Seeing this, he asked curiously, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Lu Yi straightened up, counting money while feigning helplessness, "Ah, the boss asked me to. I'm worshipping the God of Wealth."

Hearing this, the student reached out and touched a can of soda, testing the waters, "Treat a buddy to a bottle of water?"

Lu Yi shook his head.

"What's the big deal? The boss isn't here anyway. Just keep it a secret."

Lu Yi retorted impatiently, "You don't want to graduate, but I do."

"Haha, I was just kidding. Why are you so serious?"

Li Zhuiyuan left the store and headed towards Grandma Liu's house.

Uncle Qin was doing woodworking in the courtyard, likely making two more suitable zither tables for Ah Li.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan, Uncle Qin smiled at the young man.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled back at him.

Uncle Qin seemed to want to say something, but the young man walked directly into Ah Li's room, giving him no chance to speak.

Uncle Qin immediately understood what this meant, but he was even more puzzled: *So fast?*

He still remembered the young man's eye problems; he had only just woken up after being bedridden for a few days. Was the next "wave" already here?

Could it be that the river he walked back then was a fake one?

Ah Li was painting. When the young man walked in, she put down her brush.

Li Zhuiyuan approached the girl, took her hand, and closed his eyes.

Although the girl wasn't sure what was happening, she cooperatively closed her eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan arrived inside the small, single-story house. The familiar cracked spirit tablets now looked rather pleasing; if they had suddenly appeared brand new, that would indicate a major problem.

Turning, he stepped over the threshold.

Far in the distance, thick fog still permeated, but unfortunately, there was no sound.

Before, no sound was good. Now, the young man hoped they would make some noise.

Reaching out, he pulled the white lantern from a crack in the wall. Li Zhuiyuan deliberately walked towards the thick fog. As he advanced, the fog receded, and the silent suppression continued unabated.

Not only was there no sound, but the fog was so thick that the ghost shadows within were invisible.

The young man sighed:

"Are you all so cowardly now?"

They were unwilling to leave, yet dared not step forward, not even daring to make a sound to become the next target.

He opened his eyes, returned to reality, and frowned.

It was difficult for the young man that those things wouldn't come out. He believed he was currently in reality; no matter how powerful the dream demon was, it couldn't have engulfed him upon first encounter... no, before even making contact.

But he just wanted absolute peace of mind now, to draw a line here, marking an absolutely safe reference point.

This was very important, because his analysis and plans needed a sufficiently secure foundation.

Otherwise, it would be like establishing his command center on enemy ground, and all lines extended from there would lack fundamental solidity.

However, after the Fourth Wave's corpse-driving Daoist incident, these unspeakable entities were currently in a completely unspeakable state.

At a normal pace, after some time, when the sky cleared and the rain stopped, some of those things would think they were capable again and emerge from the fog.

If it didn't emerge, the river's power would create an opportunity for it to flow out.

Now, the time wasn't right, and this wasn't a true river "wave."

The girl reached out and pressed her hand on the young man's brow, as if to smooth out the wrinkles.

Her hand, though cool, was very soft and gentle when rubbing.

This was a meaningless act; it offered no direct help in solving real-world difficulties.

But its value lay on another level, proving incredibly precious.

Li Zhuiyuan's brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face as he looked at Ah Li.

From the last time Ah Li took the initiative to go out and buy him Jianlibao, it was clear she was trying to respond.

Aunt Liu stood at the doorway, peeking through the crack, munching on dried mango with great relish.

The scene looked like a boy and a girl playing house.

Yet, they weren't feigning sadness for the sake of expression. Though both children were young, especially the boy, they were shouldering and facing things that would make adults tremble with fear.

Indeed, the one doing carpentry in the courtyard hadn't made it through.

Seeing the young man's thoughts clear, this time, Ah Li took the initiative to hold his hand and closed her eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't quite understand what she intended to do, but he closed his eyes as well.

They returned to the single-story house, once again facing the cracked spirit tablets on the altar.

Only this time, when the young man turned around, he saw the girl had already stepped over the threshold herself.

She stood there, facing the silent thick fog in the distance.

The girl placed her hands behind her back.

Earlier, when facing them, the girl had cried and tried to escape, but eventually realized she couldn't shake them off. So, amidst daily torment, curses, and intimidation, she learned to self-isolate.

In truth, she was still very afraid.

The shadows accumulated over years were not like a tumor on her hand that could be cut off and healed once the wound recovered; rather, the "illness" had already permeated her blood and soul.

To a certain extent, one could only constantly minimize the negative impact; complete eradication was impossible because one's life had already been twisted by its influence.

The young man was actually the same. Even if he cured his illness, he couldn't return to the past or correct the abnormal childhood Li Lan had given him.

The girl's hands, clasped behind her back, fingers intertwined, ceaselessly kneaded.

But this was behind her back.

Facing the thick fog, she raised her head.

There was wind outside. Her hair bun remained dignified and steady, but a few strands of hair at her temples fluttered in the breeze.

From her back, the young man could discern her current facade of strength and underlying weakness.

At the same time, he could imagine the aura she was gradually building in front of her, facing the thick fog.

There was no dramatic, earth-shattering display, no sudden enlightenment shedding her old self to fully unleash her power. The girl had simply "dealt" with these things for too long; no one, as the primary party involved, understood their temperament better than she did.

A faint disdain showed in Ah Li's eyes.

The corners of her lips curled slightly.

Coupled with her face tilted slightly higher than before.

She was imitating the young man.

In her paintings, the young man often appeared like this. She liked his confidence and spiritedness.

Now, although she had only mimicked a small part, and it was just a simple pretense, her hands clasped behind her back were already red from excessive gripping and rubbing.

But it was enough.

Her surname was Qin; she was the sole bloodline of the Qin and Liu families in this generation.

She only needed to display even a slight hint of this confidence to make those things in the thick fog recall the fear of being forcefully suppressed by the Dragon Kings of the Qin and Liu families in their respective eras.

Beyond fear, there was also a sense of mortified rage.

All these years of curses and intimidation had actually failed to crush the girl. Wouldn't that make them all laughable, pitiful clowns?

Instead, they had helped this sole descendant successfully temper her spirit?

They truly were, returning good for evil and eager to help.

No one started it first; almost at the same moment, the thick fog dissipated, and the wailing and howling of ghosts, along with curses and intimidation fiercer than before, descended!

Li Zhuiyuan was able to confirm that this was not a dream.

But he hadn't anticipated that Ah Li would do this.

Although Ah Li didn't know the full scope of the situation, she knew what the boy wanted.

The boy seemed to want them to make some noise, so she would make them clamor.

Even if this clamor and noise was a painful torment for her, she didn't care.

Originally, she only needed to sit numbly behind the threshold. Their threats against her had gradually become a habit, and a balance had even been established between them.

But from today onward, she had actively shown a new attitude. Even if it was just an act, she was the one who voluntarily broke this balance.

This not only meant she would face a stronger backlash but also that when she stopped burying her head in the sand and chose to stand up again, she might attract those truly more terrifying entities that previously disdained to stir trouble here.

They had come before, to look at her.

Each time such a being appeared, it would cause her long periods of suffering and discomfort.

They had no interest in a self-isolated descendant of the Qin and Liu families, but when she finally stood up, they would have the need and impulse to destroy her.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his leg and stepped over the threshold again. He didn't ask Ah Li why she did such a foolish thing.

When Ah Li first took down the ancestral tablet and wood shavings for him, and when he himself fished for "waves" from Ah Li's dreams, there was no longer a need for formalities between them.

These were all problems to be solved eventually, merely a matter of whether they erupted sooner or later.

No matter how noisy these things were now, they would eventually be cleared away and become silent. As for those more terrifying entities, even if they didn't come recently, they would still come looking for him once he made a name for himself during his "river journey."

Since it was a pot of water meant to be boiled dry, a little extra boiling for now didn't matter.

However, when Li Zhuiyuan stepped out, the things that had been loudly clamoring immediately lowered their voices again.

Unwilling to completely admit defeat, yet truly afraid, they hoped some "early bird" would step forward, but absolutely did not want to be that bird themselves.

The thick fog that had just dispersed silently rose again, like a blustering coward who, upon seeing someone truly difficult to provoke emerge, forcibly held himself back.

A new idea sparked in Li Zhuiyuan's mind.

This time, he would face not only the dream demon but also "that hand." The gain he sought was not merely the success of the Fifth Wave, but to make "that hand" pay a heavy price.

The disparity in strength was too great; playing it safe wouldn't yield enough benefit. Just bringing in one "current" didn't seem sufficient. At the very least, he had to muddy the waters.

That way, the party suffering more would definitely not be his.

There were some things he previously hadn't dared to do, as they could easily lead to a more complex situation and greater difficulty for his side.

Now, it didn't matter.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't go for the white lantern in the door crack again. This seemed to offer some psychological comfort to the ghost shadows in the thin fog.

But the young man spread his hand open. Not taking the lantern didn't mean he couldn't fish them out. On the contrary, that lantern, accompanied by their fear of him, was becoming increasingly useless.

Li Zhuiyuan had never naively believed that because Yin Meng was on his team, he had a closer relationship with Yin Changsheng.

It had been nearly two thousand years. If one thought Yin Changsheng genuinely regarded descendants so many generations removed as his own, then one would also have to believe that encountering a stranger with the same surname on the street would instantly make them "like brothers."

However, he was the only person in this era who mastered Yin Changsheng's unique skills, making him essentially his inheritor. Furthermore, Yin Changsheng's only living bloodline revered him as the Dragon King, and he himself was currently in the "river-walking" state.

Whether Yin Changsheng cared or not was largely irrelevant, because he could shamelessly force this layer of karma upon himself.

The prerequisite was:

Yin Changsheng,

was still alive!

The Twelve Edicts of Fengdu – Four Ghosts Raise the Sedan.

The burning of the *Evil Tome* was equivalent to a response from the river's power, meaning he could turn fake "waves" orchestrated by others into true ones.

What Li Zhuiyuan was doing now was, on this basis, forcibly summoning another one.

The worst outcome was that while facing the dream demon, he would also forcibly initiate a new "wave," leading to being attacked from two sides.

The best outcome was to make the true wave collide with the fake wave, nullifying each other and disrupting the layout of "that hand," making it also find the current situation inconceivable.

Building upon the best outcome, there was actually an even better layer, so good it was like casually buying a lottery ticket on the street and scratching off a first-prize car that hadn't even been released for sale.

That was to make the true wave and fake wave completely merge, allowing the dream demon to officially enter and become his genuine Fifth Wave.

The young man was setting the stage for the river's power, giving it a more composed and free direction to flow.

He was betting that the river's power was particularly repulsed by this outside "third hand" attempting to disrupt things; he was betting that the river's power had never had such a good opportunity for punishment before.

The river's power only cared about the outcome, which was in itself a constraint on it.

"Now, I'm untying your restraints."

A wisp of black mist emerged from Li Zhuiyuan's palm, then, like a rope whip, it lashed into the thick fog ahead that hadn't fully recovered its density.

It was done.

In Ah Li's dream, spells couldn't be used, because this place wasn't real.

But there were always some things that could become exceptions.

Using the life stories of the Qin and Liu families' past Dragon Kings as a question bank, and drawing questions using Yin Changsheng's methods!

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that few, if any, "river-walkers" throughout history had ever enjoyed such luxurious treatment as