Chapter 44

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Chapter 44:

While the two were chatting, a knock on the door interrupted them. Chihong stood outside and whispered, "Miss, Young Master Zhao is here, waiting upstairs."

"I understand," Li Chunzhou picked up Li Li in her arms and said to Chihong, "Please prepare the carriage."

Upon leaving the courtyard, Li Chunzhou saw Ming Xiang sweeping the yard with a broom. She paused and called Ming Xiang over to accompany her outside.

Ming Xiang, puzzled, timidly followed along under Chihong’s silent gaze.

Upon seeing Zhao Junyuan, Li Chunzhou didn’t exchange pleasantries but instead directly invited him to join them.

Li Chunzhou and Ming Xiang sat inside the carriage with Qi Leyuan in her arms, chatting with Zhao Junyuan who was riding outside through the curtains.

Zhao Junyuan tried to ask Li Chunzhou about his elder sister, but she always managed to change the subject.

The carriage journey lasted about the time it takes for incense to burn, finally coming to a stop.

Li Chunzhou descended from the carriage wearing a veil.

Before them was an ordinary alleyway in Daliang. The narrow cobblestone path twisted and turned, lined with mottled stone walls covered in moss from the summer rains. Between the alleys, rustic brick houses leaned, their weathered walls revealing the passage of time, with a few small jasmine plants near the doors emitting a faint fragrance.

Li Chunzhou walked in front, leading the way, while the two people behind her could clearly see Li Chunzhou’s graceful and light footsteps.

Even though they weren’t standing close, Zhao Junyuan could still smell the faint fragrance emanating from Li Chunzhou. Her silk clothes fluttered in the wind, like dancing butterflies, elegant and captivating. Suddenly, Zhao Junyuan understood why Li Chunzhou was so famous in Shengjing City.

The deeper they went, the fewer people were seen chilling by the roadside. Many households had old trees in their courtyards. Sunlight filtered through the green trees, casting dappled shadows on the alley, decorating the small shops and taverns along the lanes. Occasionally, snippets of conversations drifted out of the windows, filling the entire alley with an ancient and leisurely atmosphere.

Li Chunzhou suddenly spoke, "Young Master Zhao, have you told your parents about your elder sister?"

Zhao Junyuan came to his senses, feeling regretful about his previous demeanor. Glancing away from Li Chunzhou’s waist, he replied, "I have indeed sent a letter to my parents, but they probably haven’t received it yet."

"I see…" Li Chunzhou seemed to smile, her face hidden behind the veil so Zhao Junyuan couldn’t see her expression clearly.

A cold wind blew from behind Zhao Junyuan, making him suddenly feel like someone was watching him. Puzzled, he looked back, but saw nothing except a fleeting shadow out of the corner of his eye as he turned.

"Probably just a passerby…" Zhao Junyuan thought to himself, turning back and trying not to dwell on it, but the seed of doubt had already been planted in his mind.

Looking ahead again, Zhao Junyuan realized that at some point, all the people had disappeared from the path before him. The houses around showed signs of occupancy, yet there was not a single person in sight. It was as if they had all vanished into thin air.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…"

Behind Zhao Junyuan, there were faint, almost indiscernible dripping sounds that followed them along the way, barely noticeable unless one listened closely.

Just as Zhao Junyuan started to think he must have misheard, a strange sound suddenly came from behind him. Instinctively, he turned around to look, but there was still nothing there.

With intense unease, Zhao Junyuan spoke up, "Miss Li, where are we right now?"

However, Li Chunzhou ahead paid no attention to his words, she didn’t turn around or respond, just continued walking along the path.

The path seemed endlessly long.

Zhao Junyuan glanced beside him and saw Ming Xiang, who was also following behind Li Chunzhou, looking puzzled and slightly afraid.

This time, Zhao Junyuan finally realized something from Ming Xiang’s fearful expression. He turned around once more, and this time he saw a different scene from before.

Behind the three of them, stood a featureless woman holding a clay pot. Water dripped from the pot onto the ground, while the woman just stood there motionless.

Soon, the woman’s delicate clay pot slipped from her hands, falling slowly in a way that Zhao Junyuan could almost hear his heart beating, descending slowly under his gaze.

At the moment the clay pot hit the ground, the peaceful alley seemed to be torn apart in an instant. The crisp sound of the impact shattered the silence, the pot broke into countless pieces, glittering slightly in the sunlight. In an instant, everything started to move again, time and the air around it flowed quickly.

The sound of the clay pot shattering echoed throughout the entire alley, like the sound of fate beginning to turn.

A dazzling light in front of Zhao Junyuan made him involuntarily close his eyes. When he opened them again, the familiar yet unfamiliar scene reappeared before him.

It was the nightmare that had haunted him for seven years, the one he had feared the most.

***

Li Chunzhou opened her eyes and found herself back in the courtyard behind the Spring Flowers Tower.

It was late at night, with a chill in the air, doors and windows wide open. Li Chunzhou saw a silver moon high in the sky, but outside the window, everything was dark, as if not even the moonlight could illuminate it.

The wind howled, making Li Chunzhou shiver. She wanted to call Chihong to help her close the windows.

No one answered, only the candlelight flickered twice.

Li Chunzhou belatedly realized that even Li Li was not with her. She extended her hands and looked around, unsure of what to think. The night wind was too cold, so Li Chunzhou decided to stand up and close the window across the room.

However, as she got up, she caught a glimpse of a shadow on the ground, causing Li Chunzhou to pause her movement.

She turned back to look carefully, realizing it was her own shadow on the ground, but it looked somewhat strange…

Li Chunzhou was certain it was her own shadow, but the two heads were at odd angles on the shoulders, swaying slightly with the flickering candlelight. She touched her head, confirming there was only one. So, what was the deal with this shadow…?

"Pitter-patter."

The weak flickering candle was suddenly extinguished by a gust of cold wind. Just then, knocking sounds came from outside the window. Li Chunzhou looked out by the moonlight, seeing darkness still surrounding the distance, but faintly making out no one beside the window.

The knocking on the window continued incessantly.

Li Chunzhou quietly stood still, following the sound, only then realizing – the sound was actually coming from inside the mirror.

In the mirror, "Li Chunzhou" looked back at her and suddenly smiled.

Li Chunzhou wasn’t afraid. She looked calmly at her reflection in the mirror, then remembered where the matches were in the cabinet. She prepared to relight the candles, but as she reached for the matchstick, she felt another soft, cold touch.

Li Chunzhou felt another hand on top of hers, resting on the matchstick.

Even though she was alone in the room, whose hand was this?

Li Chunzhou was annoyed by this repeated magic trick with the hand. She pushed the hand away with a little force and muttered, "Rude!"

The "thing" across from her froze, as if it hadn’t expected her reaction.

"A’xuan."

As Li Chunzhou spoke, Li Zhexuan’s long hand reached out and held hers. Li Chunzhou squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again to find that everything in Spring Flowers Tower had disappeared.

The scene before her was still the same alley. Li Zhexuan stood beside her, holding her hand sincerely.

Li Chunzhou lifted her veil and looked around, saying, "It seems I guessed right. The dangerous ability in this Sub-dungeon is ‘memory reading’."

Behind her, Ming Xiang and Zhao Junyuan were lying on the ground, while Qi Leyuan stood stiffly on two claws.

Curious about the scariest scene in Li Li’s memory, Li Chunzhou held Li Zhexuan’s hand and placed her other hand on the motionless Li Li on the ground, planning to enter the illusion created by the dangerous ability to see.

She closed her eyes, then opened them to see a chicken standing in front of a tall mountain of long beans.

Li Li, tears streaming down her face, kept muttering about beans, saying, "Can’t finish eating… can’t finish, can’t finish at all!!!"

Long beans, also known as cowpeas, in the summer, just like the cats and dogs in the countryside, during the breeding season, when everyone hears that a family can’t finish eating their cowpeas and wants to give them away, they all worry.

Qi Leyuan felt desperate eating cowpeas, there were just too many in front of it, almost forming a small hill.

Qi Leyuan looked at the mountain of beans in front of it, with a hint of despair in its eyes. It pecked at the beans desperately, but no matter how hard it tried, the beans seemed endless. Qi Leyuan felt restless, looking around for a way out, only to find bean mountains everywhere, filling its heart with helplessness and frustration, unable to resist crying while eating.

In the end, it put down the beans in its mouth, raised its head, and let out a loud cry of sorrow, as if using the chicken’s cry to express its helplessness and despair.

Li Chunzhou was silent at first, then she spoke quietly, "Forget it, let’s not look anymore, let’s get him out."

When Qi Leyuan opened his eyes again, he still felt a bit out of it, mumbling, "I don’t want to eat, I really don’t want to eat…"

A familiar voice whispered in his ear, "Li Li."

Qi Leyuan opened his eyes and saw Li Chunzhou smiling at him. He looked dazed for a moment, then excitedly flew into Li Chunzhou’s arms, almost shedding tears.

Li Chunzhou gently stroked Li Li’s feathers, thinking about what she had seen earlier. She looked at Li Li in her arms, feeling amused. She held back a smile and said, "Li Li, I’m really curious, what kind of person were you before…"

After hearing her question, Qi Leyuan cleared his throat and said seriously, "Me? I was actually described as ‘a tall and strong man, with powerful arms, steady steps, a body robust like a wall, a majestic appearance with eyes that shine like stars, eyebrows like painted, like a demon-slaying god from heaven, a true hero in the mortal world, with broad shoulders that a little girl would feel safe leaning on!’"

Li Chunzhou blinked and just smiled, not sure if she believed him or not.

"Did Li Li just see something scary?"

"Gasp…" Qi Leyuan took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Yes, he did. It was really frightening. I’ve been through so many dungeons, you can’t imagine the horror of the illusion I just experienced. You’re a kind and innocent girl, I suggest you don’t ask about it."

"Has Li Li been to many different dungeons?" Li Chunzhou became interested and asked with a smile, "Are those worlds very interesting?"

Qi Leyuan looked at her beautiful eyes, full of curiosity and eagerness to learn, and softened his heart, thought for a moment, and casually said, "I have been to many dungeons. At first, I couldn’t sleep because I was scared, but in the end, the only thing that really scared me was not being able to sleep at night and having to wake up early in the morning."

Li Chunzhou giggled and asked, "So… Li Li, have you ever considered why the Main God Space sends groups of players to different worlds?"

After a moment of silence, Qi Leyuan spoke seriously, "Well, I do know a little about this, but it’s hearsay… The Main God System is related to brainwaves and souls."

Li Chunzhou widened her eyes, looking eager to learn, and asked, "What are brainwaves?"

Qi Leyuan gestured to explain to her, "Brainwaves are signals produced by the brain during wakefulness, mental stress, or emotional excitement. The highest frequency component is a gamma wave, produced when a person is focused or alert."

Li Chunzhou nodded, "So, are brainwaves related to a person’s soul?"

"There is indeed a certain relationship between the two, as brainwaves are electrical signals produced by brain neuron activities. However, the soul is a more complex concept involving overall brain activities, deeper cognition, emotions, and more. Brainwaves can be seen as external energy radiation produced by brain physiological activities, following the laws of energy conservation and thermodynamics."

Qi Leyuan continued with a different tone, "Therefore, many dungeons set up various terrifying scenes, possibly to harvest this overflow energy. Just like this Sub-dungeon, it can read everyone’s memories, then create their greatest fears to stimulate brainwaves and so on."

Li Chunzhou knew that Qi Leyuan had probably encountered this type of dungeon many times before, so he had strong mental defenses. The evil spirits couldn’t read his deep memories, so they could only try to scare Qi Leyuan with fake threats.

Li Chunzhou tilted her head, puzzled, and asked, "If the goal is to collect energy, why make the players die?"

This time, Qi Leyuan’s tone was less certain as he replied, "It might be because they are collecting souls, or consciousness. Consciousness exists above all dimensions. Experienced players, after their consciousness is tested in the dungeon, can gather more energy. It’s like refining iron – the more refined the consciousness, the higher its value, and the greater the rewards when harvested. In our daily lives, don’t we often see people who speak more influentially than others? These people can influence others because their spiritual energy is higher than average."

As usual, Li Chunzhou praised Li Li with a smile, "I see, Li Li really knows a lot."

Li Chunzhou turned her head to look at the two people lying on the ground and said with a smile, "Let’s go see what Ming Xiang is scared of first."

Qi Leyuan stood obediently on her head, Li Chunzhou’s hand still holding Li Zhexuan’s hand as she crouched down and gently stroked Ming Xiang’s cheek with her other hand.

Suddenly, the scene in front of them changed.

The first scene the two saw was an average-looking girl surrounded by a group of stylish peers. Her long hair covered her face as classmates took her bag and rummaged through it in front of her.

The peers occasionally exclaimed in shock and finally emptied the contents of the bag onto the ground.