I Had a Dream

In fact, Yan Heqing’s words were half true and half false. It was true that he had slept in another room last night, but it was not true that he had just happened to return and catch Cuihong waking up.

Let’s rewind to the night before.

After the Hainan Yellow Rosewood tree fell completely, Yan Heqing helped the dust-covered Cuihong, intending to support him into the house.

Just as they reached the door, they encountered Wen Chu standing there.

“Mr. Wen, why are you just standing here? Aren’t you going inside to rest?”

“You said not to wander around,” Wen Chu replied.

Wen Chu’s gaze fell on Yan Heqing’s somewhat dirty and disheveled clothes. After a few seconds, he naturally reached over and helped Cuihong, who was in a miserable state.

“Did I?” Yan Heqing scratched his head awkwardly, not expecting that his casual words would have been taken seriously. He felt embarrassed, and dust from his head started to fall uncontrollably.

“Achoo—”

Having worked at the junkyard for years, Yan Heqing had gotten used to many things, but the annoying dust always made him miserable. If he didn’t wear a mask while working, his nose would be completely blocked by the end of the day.

To his surprise, his allergic rhinitis flared up at that moment, with the dust surrounding his nose. After the first sneeze, more sneezes came uncontrollably, and he had no choice but to cover his nose and mouth with his hand.

“Mr. Wen—Achoo—could you help me—Achoo—take him back to the room—Achoo—?”

Wen Chu: “……”

Yan Heqing squatted down, trying to hide his face in the cracks of the floor, but the floor tiles of the Wen family were too large and round, and he couldn’t see any lines.

Woe is me, it’s the first time in my life I’ve been made to lose face.

Suddenly, his shoulder sank, and he turned to see Li Lian.

Li Lian, with his usual smiling expression, handed him a mask and a bottle of water.

Using the water, Yan Heqing cleaned the dust off his face, put on the mask, and after a few seconds, the sneezing stopped.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Once he was cleaned up, Li Lian said, “Yan Xian, while Mr. Wen is not around, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Li Lian motioned with his eyes that there were people around, and Yan Heqing understood. The two of them walked out together and found a secluded corner in the front yard.

“Yan Xian, it’s like this. I’ve been a fox for a hundred years, and I’ve never harmed anyone, but for some reason, now that I’ve finally taken human form, I can’t make any facial expressions like ordinary people. I can’t express emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, and my face is just stuck in a perpetual smile. I’m afraid to appear too often because I might scare people.”

Now it makes sense.

No wonder every time Yan Heqing saw him, Li Lian always had that annoying smiling face.

Yan Heqing patted his chest: “No problem, it’s a simple task. Leave it to me.”

With Yan Heqing’s assurance, Li Lian finally relaxed. As he turned, only the fox remained in the spot.

Li Lian appeared to be a red fox, with black fur on his limbs, white on his chest, and brown-gray on his back. This was the most common type of fox. To be able to transform into a human after a hundred years of cultivation wasn’t easy.

Li Lian sat there, his eyes fixed on Yan Heqing: “Yan Xian, I’m counting on you.”

Yan Heqing squatted down to Li Lian’s level, extended a hand, and tapped the fox’s head. Immediately, a yellow glow surrounded the fox’s fur. The glow spread across its body, and before long, Li Lian was enveloped by it and floated into the air.

Yan Heqing brought his fingers together, placed them near his lips, closed his eyes, and began to silently chant a spell.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes. At the same time, the glow surrounding Li Lian faded, and the fox landed gently on the ground.

The fox turned its hand, and Li Lian appeared again.

Li Lian touched his face and, controlling his expression, was finally able to show a crying face.

“Yan Xian, thank you so much.”

Yan Heqing waved his hand: “No need to thank me, you were the one who gave me water and the mask earlier.”

The two of them exchanged pleasantries in the front yard, completely unaware that Wen Chu was standing at the edge of the balcony on the second floor, silently watching them.

After the two disappeared from sight, Wen Chu finally withdrew his gaze.

On the bed in the room, Cuihong lay with a dusty face. Wen Chu walked over, reached out, and tapped the fox’s forehead. Immediately, the fox’s face contorted, as if trapped in a painful dream.

After a moment, the expression relaxed, as though immersed in a pleasant dream.

This cycle continued until Cuihong returned to a calm state, at which point Wen Chu opened the door and left.

As he walked downstairs, he bumped into Yan Heqing, who was about to go upstairs.

“The guest room bed is taken.”

Yan Heqing climbed up the stairs: “Oh.”

“You can sleep in my room tonight.”

Yan Heqing: “Huh?”

His foot paused mid-air, and his entire body tilted before he fell backward.

As he fell, the world spun around him, and he barely had time to close his eyes.

The moment his shoulder and back hit the ceramic tiles on the floor, a loud crash rang out.

In an instant, the world went silent.

---

When he was helped up, Yan Heqing didn’t dare to open his eyes, fearing that if he did, his embarrassing tears would start to fall.

He wasn’t sure who helped him up, but he lowered his head slightly while keeping his eyes closed, saying, “Mr. Wen, no need, do you have another guest room?”

He heard the sound of doors opening from upstairs and someone coming down.

After a brief silence, Wen Ya’s voice rang out: “Yan Xian, I’m so sorry. I’m apologizing on behalf of my brother, but tonight is a special case, and there are no other guest rooms available.”

Upon hearing Wen Ya’s voice, Yan Heqing could only let go of the thought and said, “Then I’ll just share with Cuihong—”

“No way!”

Before he could finish, Wen Ya quickly interrupted. “Yan Xian, the little Daoist priest who came with you is badly injured. If you both share a bed, it’ll be detrimental to his recovery. Besides, you’re in this state because of my brother, so let him take care of you tonight!”

Her words became more and more urgent, as if she would throw a tantrum on the floor if he didn’t agree.

---

My God, what’s going on with this world? Why is everyone so strange?

The pain in his body finally subsided, and the tears were well-controlled. Only then did he open his eyes.

He saw Wen Heng and Gu Lin in front of him, and the person who had helped him up was none other than the culprit: Wen Chu.

---

Wow, can I still maintain my dignity staying at the Wen house?

Wen Heng was holding his battered backpack, half of the long whip still dangling from it, with garlic, now flattened, emitting a strong garlic scent.

In the end, Yan Heqing still carried his backpack and walked into Wen Chu’s bedroom.

The master bedroom was very different from the guest room. The guest room, where he and Cuihong stayed, wasn’t small, and the decoration was cozy with stuffed animals scattered around. The bed linens had an intricate design, with lace and frills that made it look like a princess bed from the last century.

Cuihong had even joked about the Wen family’s “eccentric” taste in decorating.

However, Wen Chu’s room was far simpler than they had imagined. It was a large room with only a bed, a wardrobe, and a table. There were no unnecessary paintings on the walls, and everything was in simple black, white, and gray tones.

As soon as he entered, it felt as if the temperature dropped.

---

“Mr. Wen, is this the only bed? It doesn’t seem enough for two big men to sleep on. Maybe I should go outside…”

“How’s your sleeping posture?”

“Eh, it’s fine.” Yan Heqing tightened the straps on his backpack. He had never fallen off the small bed at the junkyard, so his sleeping posture should be fine.

Wen Chu looked at him: “Then it’s enough.”

---

It turned out that some things couldn’t be fully trusted, especially when it came to Yan Heqing.

---

Wen Chu had a dream.

In the dream, he was still young, wearing a long robe that didn’t fit well and with his hair awkwardly tied up. He sat in a cart, bored, staring at the ever-changing scenery outside the window.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but he remembered the snow-capped mountains in the distance turning into rivers, and the sound of birds chirping and flowers blooming in the air.

As the cart slowed down, it came to a stop. The door curtain was lifted gently, and a clear female voice sounded: “Your Highness, we’ve arrived.”

Wen Chu: “Mm.”

As he stepped out of the cart, he realized a large crowd had gathered, most of them wearing identical clothes with their hair styled in high ponytails. The sea of people was quite a spectacle.

When the crowd noticed him, many turned their gaze toward him.

The feeling of being watched wasn’t pleasant, and he wanted to escape.

However, at that time, the young Wen Chu couldn’t act like that—it would be improper and would upset some people.

Soon, an elderly man, who looked like an immortal, walked out from the crowd, chatting cheerfully with the state teacher who accompanied him. Occasionally, the elderly man would glance at Wen Chu.

“Your Highness, it seems the elder is very pleased with you,” the woman who had called him out of the cart said with a smile.

Wen Chu didn’t speak, only observing everything with his eyes.

Suddenly, a boy about his age appeared in his line of sight.

The boy was dressed the same as the others, but his hair was styled differently—long and loose, fluttering in the wind.

He wasn’t in a good position, and when the boy ran toward him against the light, Wen Chu couldn’t see him clearly.

The boy’s voice reached him: “Hello, nice to meet you, my name is…”

Before the boy could finish speaking, Wen Chu suddenly fell into darkness, followed by a suffocating feeling.

At the brink of death, Wen Chu suddenly opened his eyes.

He then realized that someone had covered his mouth and nose. Wen Chu slowly removed the hand and moved the body pressing on him. He barely managed to sit up and turned on the bedside lamp.

As soon as the light was turned on, the person who had been sleeping soundly began to show signs of waking.

Yan Heqing rubbed his sleepy eyes and said, “Mr. Wen, did you turn on the light to deal with something?”

“You said you sleep well, didn’t you?”

Hearing Wen Chu’s words, Yan Heqing’s mind hadn’t fully processed what was going on when an image suddenly appeared before him: it was a photo of him sleeping in all sorts of awkward positions.

Yan Heqing: “!!!”