038

In the evening, the innkeeper cooked dinner for Jiang Huali and the others.

They had tried to go out of the hostel in the afternoon, but with heavy snow falling outside, they would inexplicably return to the hostel entrance after walking for a while.

There's no way to get out.

The group searched the inn for a while but found no useful clues.

After dinner, they all went back to their respective rooms.

Mo Ci and Jiang Huali were in the same room; it was obvious whose work this was.

She glanced at the black pattern on her wrist; its color seemed a little lighter.

“This mark seems a bit faded,” Jiang Huali said, looking up at Mo Ci.

Mo Ci leaned closer and replied in a low voice, "Mm."

He took Jiang Huali's left hand and placed his fingers on her wrist.

Wisps of black energy flowed through the connection between them, and after an unknown amount of time, Mo Ci finally put Jiang Huali's hand down.

"Now it's all right."

Jiang Huali looked down and saw that the pattern on her wrist was more intense than before, with faint streaks of gold showing through the deep black.

"With this, will you be able to find me?"

Jiang Huali asked.

"Yes," Mo Ci said softly, "No matter where I am, I will be able to find you."

He sealed most of his power in the mark, so that even when he was not by her side, he could protect her from most of the strange harm.

Jiang Huali lay down on the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and said, "I'll sleep for a while."

Mo Ci looked down at her and replied softly, "Okay."

He sat quietly beside Jiang Huali, watching her fall asleep.

...

Jiang Huali had a dream, but unlike her usual dreams, she realized from the very beginning that she was in a dream.

She looked at herself in her dream.

Dressed in a clean and sharp black outfit, with his hair tied up high and a sword on his back, he was walking on a deserted path.

However, in the dream she seemed to be injured, and her movements were somewhat sluggish.

Jiang Huali floated in mid-air, somewhat puzzled.

How strange, why would she have such a dream?

Being inside a dungeon, she instinctively became alert.

In the dream, "she" walked for a long time before finally encountering a village.

Before she even reached the village entrance, she suddenly drew her sword and shattered a stone that was aimed at her from a short distance away.

She frowned and walked toward the woods beside her.

There was a man sitting under a tree, his right hand tightly clutching his left chest, blood gushing from his chest. The man was pale and looked like he was on his last breath.

She frowned and walked over.

Jiang Huali was stunned.

Although the dream was set in a period drama, Jiang Huali recognized the person immediately—it was clearly Mo Ci's face.

Jiang Huali's heart started racing for no reason. She watched as the version of herself in her dream rescued this person who claimed to be a "personal disciple of Tianmen Mountain".

She went to the village to find a doctor to treat the man, and then left him, still feverish and unconscious, in a dilapidated temple without looking back.

Jiang Huali saw that the person woke up shortly after "she" left.

She felt a little relieved and quickly followed the version of herself in her dream.

Jiang Huali didn't know how long she stayed in the dream, but during that time she learned about the background of this dream world.

This dream world seems to be a low-magic cultivation world, just like in a novel, with sects, cultivators, monsters, and the like.

In the dream, "she" is an assassin. The wound that "she" suffered when Jiang Huali first entered the dream was an accident during an assassination attempt.

She spends most of her time alone, and her daily life revolves around assassination, assassination, and more assassination.

Jiang Huali wanted to praise her own dedication, but found that the system seemed to be missing.

Perhaps it's because it's in a dream.

For some reason, Jiang Huali felt a natural affinity for herself in this dream.

It was as if they were the same person.

After an unknown amount of time, she failed in an assassination attempt and was captured and tortured in a dungeon by the enemy.

The man was saying things like "Jiang family of Wushan", "dragon scales", and "treasures", and Jiang Huali pieced together the information.

"She" seems to be a descendant of the Jiang clan of Wushan, but this lineage was wiped out more than ten years ago, and "she" escaped only because the clan elders risked their lives to protect her.

Her entire family was wiped out, and afterwards she wandered from place to place, living a nomadic life. Later, she became an assassin.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.

The Jiang clan of Wushan was wiped out overnight because, according to legend, they possessed the blood of a dragon. Each member of the clan would grow a dragon scale, the power of which could not only greatly increase one's cultivation, but the dragon scale could also be used to forge weapons that were indestructible.

She has never forgotten revenge, and while working as an assassin, she has also been searching for the real culprit from back then.

In the end, the man couldn't find any dragon scales on "her" body. He tortured "her" with extreme methods before leaving.

To Jiang Huali's surprise, "she" was eventually rescued by that disciple of Tianmen Mountain.

Jiang Huali looked at the face that was exactly the same as Mo Ci's and fell into deep thought.

Having repaid the debt of saving her life, "she" originally intended to leave directly, but this person clung to "her," saying that he wanted to train with "her" and temper his Dao heart.

For some time afterward, this person stayed by "her" side.

"My name is Shen Guiting, what's yours?"

"A person without a name or surname."

Where do you live?

"The world is my home."

From whom did you learn your teacher?

"……Shut up."

...

This man who called himself Shen Guiting was very talkative. Looking at that familiar face, Jiang Huali felt a sense of absurdity.

Shen Guiting is like a chosen one in a novel, favored by heaven, possessing amazing talent, from a prestigious school, and full of vigor.

The person in my dream and the "she" were never meant to be together.

Jiang Huali had no idea when this dream would end, and she vaguely guessed that it was probably the dungeon causing the trouble.

One day, Jiang Huali fell asleep in a tree. When she woke up, she found herself transformed into "her" in her dream.

No longer observing events like a wandering ghost, she became a person in a dream.

But Jiang Huali soon realized that something was wrong, because she couldn't control her body.

That's when things started to go wrong.

Jiang Huali could only hide inside her own body and watch herself perform a series of actions, just like when she was controlled by the plot before.

She found the people who had wiped out her Manchu clan and sought revenge.

After that, her life was like being enveloped in a beautiful dream bubble.

Having avenged his great enemy, Shen Guiting confessed his feelings to her one day, and she accepted.

Then came the preparations for the wedding, and their blissful daily life.

"..."

Jiang Huali subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

Especially when looking at Shen Guiting's face.

But for some reason, she felt an overwhelming sense of happiness welling up inside her, as if Jiang Huali's emotional perception and rationality were separated.

"I wish I could stay here forever."

A thought came to her mind.

After realizing what had happened, Jiang Huali broke out in a cold sweat.

...

One day, Jiang Huali suddenly discovered that she could control her body in her dreams.

And this day happened to be her wedding day with Shen Guiting.

The sound of gongs and drums filled the air, and lanterns and decorations were everywhere.

She was dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown, and was escorted into the bridal chamber amidst a joyous atmosphere.

After the guests had enjoyed themselves, someone lifted her veil.

It was Shen Guiting, dressed in a bright red wedding robe.

Jiang Huali stretched her aching neck, ignoring the overwhelming joy in her heart, and smiled at Shen Guiting: "Are there many people here for today's happy occasion?"

Shen Guiting paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on his handsome face: "Of course, my master and the others attach great importance to our wedding day."

Jiang Huali sighed softly, "Come here a little."

She waved to Chen Guiting.

The crimson nail polish appeared even more vividly blood-red under the candlelight. As Jiang Huali plunged the dagger into Shen Guiting's chest, she smiled sweetly: "I remember—"

"The day we first met, you were also stabbed in the chest, weren't you?"

Shen Guiting was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly, blood trickling from the corner of his lips. "What happened to you? Today is our wedding day!"

His laughter grew louder and louder, eventually becoming increasingly eerie.

"Don't you like it?"

Don't you like it?

Don't you like it?

Don't you like it?

...

Jiang Huali kicked him away, looked at that familiar face, and said, word by word:

I don't like it.

The smile on Shen Guiting's face disappeared, and his facial features gradually vanished, eventually turning him into a wooden figure without any features.

Jiang Huali knocked a red candle off onto the red curtain, igniting a raging fire that blurred the surrounding scenery.

Jiang Huali suddenly sat up in bed.

She is still in her hotel room.

The bedside lamp quietly emitted a soft light, but Mo Ci was nowhere to be found.

Jiang Huali frowned, put on her shoes, and left the room.

The corridor outside was deserted. It was still the middle of the night, and everyone should be asleep. Everything seemed normal.

Where did the Ink Shrine go?

How could they just disappear without saying a word?

As Jiang Huali recalled that dream, she felt increasingly puzzled. Why would the dungeon make her have such a dream?

She was completely unfamiliar with both the scenes and the people in her dream. If she were truly the "she" in her dream, she might still be unable to extricate herself from the beautiful dream.

But in all of Jiang Huali's past memories, there was nothing to do with this dream.

Jiang Huali walked to Qi Man's room.

Her gaze sharpened as wisps of black energy swirled around the door.

As soon as Jiang Huali approached, the black mist on the door drifted towards her, flowing along a thread into the mark on her left wrist.

...It is the mark left by the Ink Shrine.

The door clicked open.

Jiang Huali went inside and saw Qi Man sleeping.

Something's not right.

The commotion she made when she entered was quite loud. Anyone who can survive in a game is usually very perceptive, and under normal circumstances, Qi Man couldn't possibly still be asleep.

Jiang Huali noticed that Qi Man was also surrounded by wisps of black energy.

Qi Man was asleep, with a smile on her face.

It was as if I were having a beautiful dream.

Jiang Huali stretched out her left hand and gently placed it on Qi Man's forehead.

The black energy surged toward the mark on her wrist.

Qi Man's smile gradually disappeared, her brows furrowed tightly, and her eyes seemed to be moving rapidly in fear beneath her eyelids.

"!"

Qi Man suddenly woke up, panting heavily.

Jiang Huali helped her up, her expression grave.

She asked Qi Man:

What did you see in your dream?