Chapter 74

With the precedent of Arcadia’s Ruomeng, Mu Huiyue felt less surprised.

She listened as Su Luo continued, “Jing Heng sought the art of immortality, traveling everywhere in search of a mythical beast with the power to grant eternal life. In the end, he contracted a Ruomeng.”

“And in his dream of immortality and leisure, the Ruomeng evolved, awakening the super S-level Light system skill, Resurrection, which allowed his lifespan to break through its limits, enabling him to live well even up until six hundred years later.”

Su Luo shrugged. “That guy is now an A-level investigator with the Bureau of Secret Realm Affairs. If you encounter a historical-related secret realm, you might even meet him.”

Mu Huiyue: “…”

Though she had mentally prepared for it, learning that an ancient emperor from history books was now her colleague was still a bit too shocking.

“It was precisely because of the contact with Jing Heng that the Bureau of Secret Realm Affairs gained a detailed understanding of the existence of [Ruomeng],” Su Luo continued. “This is just the information that has been confirmed so far. I believe there have been other beastmasters in history who contracted with Ruomeng and awakened new skills through dreams. This is the magic of Ruomeng…”

“It’s almost like a wishing machine…” Mu Huiyue sighed.

Whether it was “a land like home” or “immortality and leisure,” these fantastical dreams became reality with the evolution of Ruomeng.

Although most people find it difficult to control the content of their dreams, unable to use it as conveniently as a true wishing machine, as long as it’s a strong desire from the day, no matter how impossible, it seems Ruomeng can make it happen.

No wonder [Ruomeng] is considered a legendary fantasy race. This [Thought-Made Dream] skill is truly something that touches the divine realm.

To think that such a magical creature was encountered by her in a dream.

Mu Huiyue frowned slightly and looked at Su Luo.

There can’t be so many one-in-a-million coincidences in this world. Was that bizarre dream and the Ruomeng she fled with truly just a simple [chance encounter]?

The white-haired girl raised her head, her emerald eyes gleaming.

“Mm… We should be thinking about the same question.”

“Ruomeng itself cannot dream, yet something [unknown] appeared in your dream.”

“Then this dream is very likely to have come from a third party. It’s highly probable that you and Ruomeng entered someone else’s dream.”

Mu Huiyue nodded. “I was able to remain conscious in the dream, which should be because of the white tiger talisman.”

This was the only coincidence with Mu Huiyue. If she hadn’t broken the logic of the dream while remaining conscious, Ruomeng would most likely have been captured and controlled by the “Dream Creature Technology.”

Su Luo fell silent. Considering this premise, perhaps this was not an ordinary dream at all, but rather a trap specifically woven to capture Ruomeng…

Who would want to capture Ruomeng, and how did they know it would appear there?

She inexplicably thought of the vanished Angry Rock Xuanwu from the island secret realm.

Things aren’t peaceful in Jingzhou lately…

“I’ll record the relevant information and have the Affairs Bureau investigate,” Su Luo said, lifting her gaze to the young Beastmaster in front of her.

“Regardless of who the third party in the dream is, it’s a good thing that you saved Ruomeng. You might even encounter it again in the future.”

“You can keep the white tiger talisman for now. Unfortunately, the part that stores energy can’t be repaired quickly, but the effect of staying conscious in the illusionary dream still remains.”

She smiled at Mu Huiyue. “Honestly, I’m really glad that you proactively reported this to me, Huiyue.”

Earlier, with the talk of the “Origin Spirits” and “hometown,” there were many things that seemed a bit mystical, and Su Luo had been reflecting on whether she had frightened her or made things worse by revealing her identity. After all, Mu Huiyue was just a newly-adult college preparatory student.

Fortunately, it seemed that Mu Huiyue trusted her more than expected.

“My Beastmaster talent is Dark-type enhancement, Minister Su Luo,” Mu Huiyue also smiled slightly. “I can sense the true emotions of the person I’m speaking with, so I can trust you.”

“There’s one more thing…”

“Mm?” Su Luo was a bit surprised, as she had been about to open the terminal and start recording the meeting notes.

Mu Huiyue briefly explained Zhao Lu’s words and the situation with Mu Yixia.

After she finished speaking, she noticed that the Deputy Minister was frozen in place, even forgetting to turn on the terminal.

Her reaction was almost identical to that of Zhao Lu, who had heard this issue before.

Mu Huiyue was also a bit surprised. In her mind, Su Luo should have noticed the anomaly as well, since she likely also belonged to the “hometown” of souls not from this world.

She hadn’t mentioned it before simply because Su Luo didn’t know Mu Yixia.

“Wait a minute…” Su Luo placed a hand on her forehead, showing a slightly confused and struggling expression.

Noticing the Beastmaster’s odd behavior, the crouching white tiger stood up, and the dim light in the office brightened again.

Su Luo waved her hand to calm her pet.

Zhao Lu, with her strong logical thinking as a professional lawyer, was able to quickly suppress her emotional response. But Su Luo, who usually acted on intuition, needed more time to notice the abnormality in what should have been “common knowledge.”

After a long while, the white-haired Beastmaster slowly exhaled, raising her head to look at Mu Huiyue.

She had thought that seeing the Dreambeast in the dream was already shocking enough, but she never expected Mu Huiyue to bring even more explosive information.

The secret realm exploration ten years ago was jointly led by the Bureau of Affairs and the Beastmaster Association. As the Deputy Minister in charge of secret realm exploration, Su Luo was, of course, well aware of the insider details.

Aisha Legend, a Beastmaster with an exotic background, had been one of the collaborators in the exploration. Now, she had disappeared in the secret realm and had brought back someone who looked exactly like her daughter…

If she had disappeared, how had Mu Yixia been sent back?

Mu Yixia had even lived together with Mu Huiyue’s family for so many years…

Under normal circumstances, the Bureau of Affairs would not have handled such a case so carelessly.

All the details seemed to be shrouded in mist, yet those who were involved in the event were unknowingly influenced by an invisible force, naturally accepting everything.

The secret realm of the Origin Spirits… What exactly is hidden in the “Vast Tree Sea”?

When the first World Tournament took place, the Origin Spirits first opened the “Vast Tree Sea,” and Su Luo was one of the few human Beastmasters who entered it in the first batch.

However, her memory of the “Vast Tree Sea” felt like it had been distorted by a time-space anomaly. Afterward, Su Luo could only recall the resources brought back and a small portion of information related to the rules, leaving behind only a vague outline of the realm itself.

This was due to the rule constraints of the Origin Spirits, who had informed all humans before entering the “Vast Tree Sea,” so Su Luo was not surprised by it.

However, it had never happened before that someone like Mu Yixia, marked by the influence of time-space laws, had come from outside the realm.

“Minister Su Luo?” Mu Huiyue softly called out, as the other had been silent for quite a long time.

“Sorry…” Su Luo steadied herself and asked, “Your sister… Mu Yixia is currently in Xingzhou, right?”

Mu Huiyue nodded. As expected, Mu Yixia would be entering Xingzhou University.

“I… I should… No, that’s not right…” Su Luo rubbed her face with both hands, her mind seemingly at war with itself.

It was rare for her to feel this confused. The white tiger slowly walked over, its black-and-white striped tail wrapping around the Beastmaster’s wrist, emitting a soft, fragmented light.

Mu Huiyue felt a pure and resolute emotion from it, and Su Luo’s gaze finally cleared up.

“This matter might be more troublesome than I imagined.”

Su Luo looked at Mu Huiyue again, “Putting aside the Aisha factor, what do you think about Mu Yixia, Huiyue?”

The last time Mu Huiyue saw Mu Yixia was during the selection match at Changning High School. After that, Mu Yixia seemed to have entered the national rankings, but they never crossed paths. Then the incident with the Angry Rock Xuanwu occurred.

Mu Huiyue hadn’t spent much time with her, and most of her memories were filled with feelings of disdain and misplaced anger.

Mu Yixia had her own goals and ambitions, whether it was the deliberately presented image of gentleness or her clashes with her sister.

She would hide her emotions, wear a controllable protective layer, and fight for her own interests; she would also treat her pets with care, properly using her Beastmaster talent to heal the little cloud dog, Misha.

Whether such a personality was likable or not, Mu Huiyue couldn’t deny that these traits were full of the vitality of a [human].

If she truly had a younger sister, and if by chance, in the absence of Aisha, she had been raised alongside Mu Yi by this method…

Then this was the Mu Yixia as she was now.

Mu Huiyue described her thoughts honestly.

After hearing her words, Su Luo fell silent for a while, before finally making a decision.

“Then… let’s maintain the status quo for now.”

“If the energy on her is related to the time-space law level, acting rashly could affect the cause and effect of both the past and the future.”

“I also believe in the Aisha legend. She wouldn’t send dangerous elements out of the secret realm and deliberately place them with her daughter.”

The white-haired Beastmaster paused for a moment, gently stroking the tiger’s tail on her wrist. “The second point is based on my own judgment: at this stage, it’s better to wait and observe.”

“As for the Bureau, I will find an opportunity to restart the investigation into the incident from years ago and continue monitoring Mu Yixia’s situation.”

“If there are any new discoveries, I will inform you immediately, Huiyue.”

Su Luo looked at her and continued, “But the most direct way to figure out what’s going on with Mu Yixia and the Aisha legend is—”

“To participate in the Source Spirit World Championship, right?” Mu Huiyue understood.

No matter how many speculations there are, it’s better to see the “Vast Tree Sea” with her own eyes.

“Exactly.” Su Luo smiled. “So for you right now, improving your strength is the most important thing.”

“I understand.” Mu Huiyue nodded.

Once she was sure the Bureau was aware of the situation, Mu Huiyue ended the meeting and returned to her dormitory.

Su Luo watched her leave, and only when the young woman’s figure disappeared outside the door did she lower her gaze, slowly stroking the white tiger beside her.

Mu Huiyue noticed Mu Yixia’s anomaly because she doesn’t belong here and her perception isn’t bound by the time-space laws of this world.

Su Luo should be in the same situation, but she was still affected.

This means that the presence of time-space laws applied to Mu Yixia is likely deeply connected to her as well, which in turn affected her, preventing Su Luo from seeing through this strange “common knowledge.”

The existence connected to Su Luo, a soul from another time and space…

The white-haired illusion beast master lifted her head and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window.

The capital of Dayan was bustling as usual, with vehicles and pedestrians flowing ceaselessly through the lively city.

In the sixty-eighth year since her arrival in this world, she had finally found this small hidden clue, witnessing the faint morning light before dawn.

…

…

Meanwhile, at the First People’s Hospital of Jingjiang City.

Chen Jiashu had completed the discharge procedures and walked out of the hospital gates with his parents.

The chaotic thundercloud had shrunk into a small lead-gray ball, held by the beast master, looking listless.

Chen Jiashu patted his pet beast. After the series of accidents during the national ranking competition, both he and the chaotic thundercloud had suffered greatly and had only just barely recovered after staying in the hospital until now.

Only he and Lin Fei were unlucky enough to be caught directly by some intense flames that nearly cost them their lives on the deserted island.

He still had memories of escaping with other contestants, but most of it was too blurry to make sense of.

People from the Bureau of Affairs and the Beastmaster Association had visited, saying it was a case of memory interference from the creatures of the secret realm. They assured him that his memory would slowly return, and even if he couldn’t recall this particular part, it wouldn’t affect his future life.

Chen Jiashu had been idly monitored in the hospital for several days, and today he was finally allowed to leave.

However, Lin Fei in the same ward hadn’t been so lucky.

Early this morning, Lin Fei’s condition suddenly worsened. The ward was in chaos, and he almost had to be rushed to the ICU.

Chen Jiashu couldn’t understand how Lin Fei had managed to fall into the ICU after just one sleep.

He sincerely hoped Lin Fei would recover soon…

With a sigh, he held the chaotic thundercloud and left.

At this very moment, Lin Fei was lying in the ICU, his head wrapped in bandages, a circular magnetic sensor stuck to his temple. He was curled up on the hospital bed, unable to move.

He didn’t mind the physical discomfort, but his expression was dark as he stared out the window.

The failure of last night’s mission meant the organization had permanently lost the chance to capture this particular Ruo Meng.

This was one of the few confirmed hotspots, the only one across all worlds—the most special Ruo Meng.

Because of his failure, a fatal crack had appeared in the once unbreakable wall.

In the end, he never saw who had rescued Ruo Meng. Both the person and the extraordinary creature they projected were shrouded in an elusive, almost impossible-to-detect illusion.

It was a shield from Ruo Meng, a desperate illusion beast protecting the unexpected life-saving straw, preventing him from discovering it.

Who was it…?

Who had infiltrated the dream he had built and saved that precious Ruomeng?