Ai Lin had a simple task to carry out.
Basically, all she needed to do was find a quiet spot to lie down and not cause any trouble.
Yu Sheng arrived next to the still-sleeping silver-white fox spirit.
He circled her massive form and her many tails, finally finding a comfortable spot nestled between two of her large, overlapping tails.
He bent down, tugging at the fur on one tail to adjust its position, then patted the other tail to fluff it up a bit.
Ai Lin, watching him, blinked in surprise and asked, "Are you making a bed?"
"Isn't it to make lying down more comfortable?" Yu Sheng replied casually as he leaned against that fluffy, silver tail.
"Who knows how long you’ll be asleep, and I’m someone who values sleep quality..."
Ai Lin let out a soft "tch" sound.
Once Yu Sheng settled in, she floated over and landed directly on his chest, declaring, "Catch."
Yu Sheng fumbled to catch the floating picture frame that dropped from the air.
For a moment, he thought she was taking revenge on him for laughing earlier, and he exclaimed, "Whoa! Could you at least say something before you fall?"
At least he caught Ai Lin and avoided being crushed under the frame.
He adjusted his position, half-reclining while holding the frame.
He exhaled softly, waiting to sink into the depths of the dream.
Experiencing a transition from one dream to another was truly unprecedented.
A soft humming filled the air, Ai Lin's voice singing an ancient lullaby, evoking a distant and nostalgic atmosphere.
Although he couldn’t understand the words, he could feel a calming power gently seeping into his heart.
Yu Sheng felt his eyelids grow heavy.
In that half-dreaming state, he peered down at the picture frame cradled in his hands, feeling as if he held someone's portrait.
Yu Sheng: "..."
Why does this doll always manage to create such vivid images?
In the next moment, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted, and he suddenly plunged into the depths of this dream.
He felt as if he had lost control of his body; actually, he couldn’t feel his body at all.
It was as if he had become a void, rapidly flying through a series of memories, thoughts, and perceptions that didn’t belong to him at all.
Surrounding him were overlapping, shadowy fragments of images, intertwined to form an endless curtain, which melded into a tunnel that stretched into darkness.
The sounds were loud and chaotic, information flooding his mind that he couldn’t even judge whether it was real or simply memories surfacing.
He heard someone gasping in surprise, something exploding, a whirling sound coming from the celestial shuttle’s power system.
They were falling; the shuttle had gone off-course, plunging into an unexpected world as if it had suddenly appeared.
A tremendous impact followed as the shuttle crashed into a dark mountain.
The spirit of the vessel burst out, engaging in a fierce struggle with the immortal piloting the shuttle, arguing over matters like "skimping on spirit stones," "reckless driving," and "reporting to the immortal sect."
Then, amid an explosion, the spirit was lost, many perished.
Those who survived soon fell one after another.
All the deaths and separations transformed into a torrent of fragments, swiftly flowing in front of Yu Sheng’s eyes.
He witnessed those blurred, once-vibrant figures perishing from hunger, succumbing to poison in the woods, dying in despair-driven conflicts, falling victim to... the pervasive malice that filled the valley.
The valley itself seemed intent on killing them by inducing hunger.
Then, that endless "tunnel" suddenly vanished, and Yu Sheng found himself lingering in a faded scene.
After traversing countless chaotic memories, he finally arrived in the current dream of the fox spirit.
Just as Ai Lin had described, the colors in this dream were uniform.
Everything here bore an old, lifeless gray texture—dark skies, gloomy woods, murky soil, and stones.
Just a glance filled him with a sense of oppression.
"Ai Lin?" Yu Sheng called out in his heart, not seeing her figure.
"I'm right here."
"Where are you?" Yu Sheng glanced around.
"I can't see you."
"With you," Ai Lin's voice came directly into his mind, and it felt... strange.
"You can't see me or your body. Right now, we are two 'foreign consciousnesses' that have entered this dream. Having a perspective is already good enough."
"Oh, so that's how it is," Yu Sheng understood and began searching for Hu Li’s figure in the small forest.
He didn’t have to search long; almost the moment he thought about finding her, he heard a sound nearby.
It was the sound of something digging in the dirt.
Yu Sheng quickly followed the sound, his perspective drifting through the shadowy trees until he spotted a pale figure.
A silver-haired girl in ragged clothes was kneeling at the edge of a clearing.
Her once fluffy and beautiful fox tail, now covered in dirt, looked messy and unkempt.
She lowered her head, feverishly digging in the earth while muttering to herself.
Around her were deep holes of various sizes that she had dug with her hands.
Yu Sheng "floated" over and came alongside Hu Li.
Hu Li couldn’t see him and continued to dig with all her might, her hands clawing into the dirt repeatedly.
Suddenly, Ai Lin's voice entered Yu Sheng's mind: "Talk to her, engage her in conversation."
"But she can't see us."
"It’s okay, just speak to her. This is a dream, and she will respond—there's nothing unreasonable for someone dreaming."
Yu Sheng pondered for a moment, looking at the fox spirit girl.
"What are you digging for?"
"Mom and Dad..."
Hu Li answered without question, as if she had naturally heard the voice, "I remember burying them here... They are definitely buried here..."
Yu Sheng felt a weight in his heart and unconsciously asked, "Why do you want to dig them out?"
"I... I miss them," Hu Li gradually stopped digging, her expression growing vacant, yet she instinctively responded, "I’m so hungry. I want to tell them that I'm so hungry... But I held on. They said not to listen to that monster. I held on, but... I'm so hungry..."
Hu Li lowered her head, glancing at her dirt-covered hands before continuing to dig, mumbling to herself, "They should be right here, they must be right below... I listened to them, always listened... I didn't listen to that monster..."
"Her mental state isn't right," Ai Lin's voice echoed in Yu Sheng's mind, "It's way off..."
"I noticed. I could feel something was off from the first time I met her."
Yu Sheng replied in thought.
"I’m not just saying that. It seems like something else has mixed into her mind, something is trying to interfere with her thoughts," Ai Lin explained, trying to clarify the complex situation to Yu Sheng, "There are other voices mingling with hers—her own will has been holding on, but foreign thoughts are overwhelming her."
Ai Lin paused abruptly.
Hu Li stopped digging, her confused expression shifting as she took a few steps to the side, standing dazed in the clearing.
Yu Sheng immediately followed, while the next moment, he thought he heard a faint, murky voice.
The voice seemed to resonate directly from his heart, akin to his own whispered thoughts—
"Dig, dig them out..."
You just want to see them, just want to confirm that you’ve been listening to them.
It’s been a long time since you met, right...
"'I' miss them so much..."
Hu Li turned back, confused, glancing at the deep holes she had dug.
"I miss them so much..." she quietly murmured.
Suddenly, Yu Sheng realized that the voice he had just heard from his heart was indeed the "foreign interference" that Ai Lin mentioned!
His and Hu Li's dreams and spirits were connected.
Therefore, what he had heard wasn’t his own inner voice but Hu Li’s true feelings surfacing!
Hu Li slowly turned towards another direction in the clearing, seemingly wanting to continue digging.
Each handful of dirt she unearthed chipped away at her own mental defenses.
Yu Sheng finally understood the essence of that voice and a chill surged from his heart.
Instinctively, he called out, "Hu Li!"
The fox spirit girl paused in confusion, looking back at the empty edges of the forest.
After a long pause, a glimmer of clarity returned to her eyes, as she remembered where she had heard that familiar voice.
"... Benefactor?"
Yet the forest remained silent, and there was no response from Yu Sheng; his call felt like merely an illusion.
Hu Li stood dazed in the clearing.
After a moment, she finally noticed the numerous deep holes she had dug.
Fear gradually etched itself onto her face.
She had awakened, startled awake just before her defenses collapsed.
(End of Chapter)