Chapter 2 : Dreamer

Yanyue Villa once held the prestigious title of the best estate under the world.

Although something has happened now and there are only a few people in the manor, and it is no longer as prosperous as it used to be, the housekeeper still arranges the guests very well and in a very safe way, without any faults.

Ji Yu reclined on the bed covered with a lake-blue Five Blessings flower-patterned quilt. Her complexion looked even more pale than during the day. Her slender and delicate hand rested lightly on the bedding, with the veins on the back of her hand standing out like scattered colors on white snow, giving a fragile yet beautiful appearance.

The window frames were tightly shut, and the faint sound of spring rain could be heard from outside.

Her eyes were slightly closed, as if she had already fallen asleep.

Hongxiao entered with a bowl of medice soup and was about to call her to take the medicine, only to find that Ji Yu had already opened her eyes.

Those eyes were clearly black and white, clear and bright, like a mountain spring, flowing quietly, staring at you peacefully, making all the vanity and distracting thoughts in one’s heart disappear instantly.

“Young Master, it’s time to drink the medicine,” Hongxiao said gently.

Ji Yu responded with a soft “Mm,” slightly propping herself up to take the medicine bowl.

The sleeve of her moon-white nightgown, embroidered with a small fish, had slid slightly down, revealing a delicate and fair wrist, like a glimpse of newly fallen snow.

The medicinal liquid was at just the right temperature to drink and emitted a strong, peculiar odor, suggesting it was extremely unpleasant. However, Ji Yu seemed unaffected, drinking the dark, foul-smelling medicine without changing her expression.

After finishing the medicine, rinsing her mouth and reclining back into bed, her pale face finally showed a hint of uncontrollable fatigue.

Hongxiao sat by the bedside, looking at her with concern. “Young Master, how is your health? Is anything bothering you?”

After traveling non-stop for over half a month, despite efforts to slow down, the constant journey had left Ji Yu quite exhausted, her face looking thinner and smaller.

“I’m fine,” Ji Yu said gently.

She only said she was fine but didn’t specify where she felt better. Hongxiao understood that the Young Master was reassuring her. Only Ji Yu herself knew where she hurt or felt unwell, and others could not empathize with her pain. If she did not mention it, others would not even know about the constant pain she endured.

Hong Xiao frowned slightly, and at this moment, the Ji family’s decisive and ruthless captain of the Black Armor Guard looked worried.

She hesitated, then said, “Young Master, you shouldn’t have come.”

The Ji family had initially planned to send someone else to Yanyue Villa, but they were unable to spare anyone at the time, so the task fell to Ji Yu.

This highlighted the current difficult situation of the Ji family.

Ji Yu smiled, still reassuring her gently, “Sister Hongxiao, don’t worry. I have protective items with me, Grandmother arranged them before I left. I can’t do much else, but it’s enough to keep myself safe.”

Hearing this, Hongxiao was finally somewhat reassured.

Given how much the old lady cared for the Young Master, there must have been some arrangement.

It was already getting late. Hongxiao helped Ji Yu settle in, adjusting the quilt as she said, “Tonight, I’ll keep watch. I’ll sleep in the outer room. If you need anything, just call me.”

Ji Yu responded with a smile, “Sister Hongxiao, please rest well and don’t tire yourself out. I still need you to protect me.”

If a young master from another demon-slaying family had said such things, it would have seemed unfit for their position, indeed rather embarrassing. However, Ji Yu spoke so naturally, with a touch of affectionate coquettishness.

Hongxiao’s sharp brows softened. Xi was wearing a slim black armor, and she looked like a heroic man, yet she had some feminine features, making it impossible to mistake her gender. The blend of masculine and feminine qualities gave her a unique charm.

After Hongxiao left, the room fell into quiet.

Ji Yu was sunk in the soft mattress, the pillow also soft, showing that Yanyue Villa had taken care to learn her preferences in advance, knowing she liked soft pillows.

The bedding was warm, with a subtle fragrance that was neither sweet nor cloying, but rather refreshing and elegant, allowing one’s body and mind to relax completely. It was perfect for a weary traveler needing rest.

Her throat felt itchy and Ji Yu covered her mouth to cough for a while, feeling a persistent dull pain in her chest that made her vision blur.

Since arriving at Yanyue Villa, the pain in her body had worsened, as if all the hidden symptoms within her had erupted, almost overwhelming her, the pain more persistent than before.

Accompanied by this pain, she gradually fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, the tightly closed window frames silently opened a small gap, and a breeze as if it had a form blew in, causing the silk curtains to sway quietly.

Inside the tent, Ji Yu did not sleep soundly. Her slender fingers unconsciously clutched the bedding tightly, with the veins on the back of her hand slightly raised, reflecting her inner mood.

Ji Yu knew she was dreaming again.

She stood on a fog-covered path, with desolation stretching on both sides, resembling a barren wilderness. Along the roadside, something sinister might leap out at any moment to devour her weakened body.

Endless chill climbed over her, making her already pale skin appear even more transparent.

In the mist, a faint singing voice came from afar.

The singing voice was near and far, revealing an indescribable weirdness. The fog was like a monster, rushing towards her with murderous intent.

Her body felt heavy, and Ji Yu’s was slow to react, like a soul suddenly dragged into a dream, forgetting her own identity and passively plunging herself into danger.

The fog churned more violently, and the singing grew from ethereal and distant to mournful and piercing, getting closer and closer, ringing in her ears with a pain-inducing intensity.

Finally, a woman’s head appeared.

Her neck was extraordinarily long, like a noodle, stretching infinitely, with the lower part of her neck hidden in the fog.

After the woman’s head emerged, a man’s head appeared, followed by the heads of an old person and a child. All four heads were connected by similarly long, noodle-like necks, with their ends concealed in the mist, making it impossible to discern what lay below.

Each head had eyes like bronze bells, staring at Ji Yu with a sinister, greedy, and calculating gaze, filled with extreme malice.

Hiss!

A child’s head rushed toward her impatiently, its mouth splitting open like a gaping wound covering most of its face, revealing sharp, menacing teeth.

Ji Yu’s gaze swept over the four heads and recognized that the old man’s head was the gatekeeper of Yanyue Villa who had opened the door for them in the evening.

Her eyes flickered slightly, but her body remained still, as if stunned by fear and forgetting to react.

Just as the ghosty head was about to bite her, the surroundings abruptly changed. She caught a glimpse of the heads showing expressions of unwillingness and astonishment, as well as inexplicable fear, accompanied by a short scream.

In an instant, the scream and the heads vanished, leaving the world quiet once more.

Ji Yu silently looked ahead. She was standing by a quiet river. The water flowing gently, the night enveloping the area in silence.

Ji Yu pressed her hand against her slowly beating heart. Even in the dream, she could still feel the eternal pain in her chest, a pain that had accompanied her through the first half of her life. It felt like a curse, constantly reminding her that her life had been deteriorating since birth, merely surviving in a state of lingering existence.

Ji Yu walked along the riverbank.

As she moved, the dark riverbank gradually brightened with fiery points of light, spreading like flowing flames.

Upon closer inspection, these flames were actually flowers growing on the riverbank. Each flower had a blood-red color, with double petals and stamens that pulsated with small, flame-like beads.

Ji Yu had never understood what kind of flower this was.

Just as she never understood why, whenever she dreamed, she was always drawn to this place right before danger struck.

But since she knew this was a dream, she didn’t dwell on it too much. Because of her arrival, the dark world was decorated with colors by winding flames, which was both magnificent and enchanting, like a dream.

In the calm and secluded river, there is something extremely powerful and terrifying hidden.

Ji Yu try hard to see clearly but could not uncover the secret, her eyes obscured by an invisible force, unable to grasp the truth.

She felt like a traveler lost in a dream, forced to keep walking, illuminating the fiery flowers along her path. She had no sense of time passing.

Until dawn began to break, Ji Yu felt that the moment to awaken from the dream was near.

Looking up again, she saw a bridge across the river in front of her. There was a lantern standing beside the bridge. The other end of the bridge was swallowed by darkness, and even the light from the lantern could not penetrate it at all.

Ji Yu stared at the far end of the bridge, and suddenly felt a throbbing in his aching heart.

The familiar throbbing revealed something to her. Her lips tightened, and her complexion became so pale it seemed on the verge of breaking, overwhelmed.

Just as she was about to faint from the weight of it all, she saw a figure emerging from the dark bridge. A long, pale hand held a lantern, walking leisurely from the darkness. The figure wore a pure white garment, every step impossible to ignore.

She tried hard to see the appearance of the person in white, but each time, just as she was about to get a clear view, her consciousness fell completely into darkness.