The first Qingyuan Sect Annual Bird God Competition wrapped up successfully.
The main reason was that the other three couldn’t continue. Gazing at Little Ke’s head resting on the flat belly of the Ice Chunk, the trio shared identical looks of lamentation.
It seemed even worse than losing money.
Elder Han He advised them to remember to head to Shenbing Peak, ending their playful yet unmotivated escapades. Shang Wu still owed a mountain of debts, and although Little Ke had no intention of making her pay up, her elder salary had already vanished.
If they played any longer, they’d lose their pants!
With not enough players, Qin Yuzhi hadn’t had her fill yet and sighed with reluctance:
“Guess I’ll have to play in my dreams again.”
“You can control your dreams?” Ke Mo asked curiously as he tidied up the mahjong tiles.
“Just a little trick. Don’t underestimate me as someone in the Seventh Realm!” Qin Yuzhi twitched her nose, acting all impressive:
“Memory is the root of dreams. With the Resurrection of Yun Meng Xian, I’ve developed this little secret technique to ensure I don’t slack off in my dreams. Apart from darting through other people’s dreams while I snooze, I’ve also mastered this special skill.”
“How about it? You guys wanna learn?”
Ke Mo was intrigued but a bit cautious about such odd techniques.
Mainly, it was for the Ice Chunk’s sake; better to be prepared.
“No need to repay the mahjong debt.”
“Hmph, this secret technique isn’t easy to learn, but since you ask so sincerely, I might as well share a bit.”
Fifteen minutes later.
Qin Yuzhi’s expression morphed through ‘not bad, but you need practice’; ‘a bit of talent, this shouldn’t stump you;’ finally settling on ‘who am I, where am I, and what am I doing?’
Muttering to herself, she returned to her chamber.
Ke Mo stood up and glanced at the sky; it was getting late, the sky clear without a cloud in sight, the moon hanging at the mountainside, playing with the snowflakes and sprinkling stardust across the night.
Looking back, he saw Ying Bing sitting under the moonlight, her delicate features shimmering in the glow, the rustle of the book in her hands quietly soothing.
“The moonlight is truly beautiful tonight.”
“Very pretty,” Ying Bing nodded, glancing up.
Ke Mo grinned.
Throughout their time training with the Ice Chunk, the two had developed a sort of chemistry, like saying ‘isn’t the moonlight lovely?’
As everyone knows, when the moon is at its most beautiful, the Taiyin spirit is at its peak, making it the perfect time to observe, thus becoming the signal to initiate their training.
It seemed it had been a while since they’d enjoyed the moon together… ahem, observed the Taiyin spirit.
The essence of training is persistence—how could they slack off?
“I’ll wait for you in your room.”
“What do you want to do in my room?”
“??”
Ke Mo was baffled; wasn’t this for training?
Then he caught sight of the mischievous curve on Ying Bing’s lips, her eyes lit by moonlight, half-smiling, half-teasing.
“Tonight, I’m thinking of studying the Yellow Grain Technique. Be a good boy.”
“Uh…”
Ke Mo couldn’t shake off that word, but he still wore a disappointed expression at the thought of not being able to observe the Taiyin spirit, heading back to his room.
Oh well, he still had some tricks up his sleeve; he hadn’t even played with all his exceptional forms.
With Observation Realm’s seven apertures, one could embrace a Great Sage’s power.
The silhouette of Little Ke trailing away in the moonlight stretched on… and on…
Watching him ascend the stairs, Ying Bing pursed her lips, sitting a moment longer before finally getting up.
Once she opened the door to her boudoir, she heard the restless tossing from across the hall and felt a twinge of helplessness.
Gently, she closed the door.
Using the moonlight, she took out the Yellow Grain Technique book which read:
“Thoughts during the day become dreams at night.”
Indeed, the Yellow Grain Dream Technique doesn’t mean you can just think of whatever dreamscape you want, and poof, it happens; at least when you’re in the Observation Realm, you can’t manipulate dreams like Qin Yuzhi playing mahjong in dreamland.
You can only establish a psychological suggestion in a special way.
To make certain thoughts take root, and when you enter a dream, they may alter it to some extent.
If only Ke Mo were sleeping next to her…
What kind of dream would she have?
“Almost there.”
Ying Bing flipped through the book again, confirming her method was sound.
Then, she began to recall the scenes from before.
After her rebirth, many memories were vivid, except the fragmentary bits from the Ruins.
Beyond a vague feeling of emptiness, she couldn’t remember anything else.
She wanted to know why she had failed.
And Ying Huang.
The last time her counterpart invaded her dreams, would anything have been different had she controlled her dream?
Lost in thought, drowsiness suddenly washed over her.
Suddenly.
【Alert! Countdown to system ranking: 29 days.】
【This time’s penalty: Plant 49 strawberries.】
【In order to instill a sense of shame and courage, the system will automatically present related visuals to the host.】
“?”
The last thing Ying Bing saw before drifting off was…
Little Ke’s head inside the Dreambuilder’s mind!
…..
That night, in the dream of a former Huanmo Sect leader.
“The Lord is truly impressive!”
“Eighteen Arhats! You can pull off a hand like this!”
“The Lord is valiant, your mahjong skills are godly!”
At the mahjong table, amidst the flattery, Qin Yuzhi gazed out the window, watching her memories of the Huan Shen Sect, now held in high regard, supervising the weather to ensure prosperity for all beings.
A vibrant scene of thriving.
“Master, I want to be just as impressive as you one day.”
Turning to her, she found a five or six-year-old child filled with innocent admiration.
Her disciple—Si Ye.
“That means you have to work hard, okay?”
Qin Yuzhi smiled and ruffled his hair, but internally, a bittersweet pang struck her.
Baili Si Ye…
He was likely just a pile of dust now, wasn’t he?
Once, within dreams she could never tire of, this reality like a vivid illusion sometimes blurred her perception of truth.
But now it began to crumble, scattering like gravel in the wind.
As reality encroached, so did the end.
Qin Yuzhi sat on her throne, silently observing everything unfold.
With a soft sigh, her dream self drifted through the starry river of dreams, wandering aimlessly, each bubble representing the dreams of others from Qingyuan Sect.
It was another one of her secret techniques—dreamwalking.
She could traverse the dreams of many, even step inside them.
Hmm?
Abruptly, she paused before one particularly colorful bubble.
This bubble seemed to be condensed moonlight, hinting at a touch of pink.
“Is this… Little Ice Girl’s dream?”
Qin Yuzhi blinked with curiosity, her gloom lifting a bit.
What kind of dream would a person as ethereal and aloof as her create?
……
P.S. Happy National Day, dear audience! -3-
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