Mirror Flower Water Moon (8)

That night

The cold white moonlight shines through the thick clouds and falls on the surface of the overlapping maple leaves. The green, which originally had a warm feeling, now reveals a faint cold light.

Amid the intertwining shadows of the trees, Xu Xing, with a golden hairpin in his arms, quietly sneaked into Li Zhaoyue's yard.

He came looking for that thing.

The last time the silver thread on his wrist vibrated, Zhu Ming and the disciples of Jinxiantai were present. Since Qingfengyuan was closest to him, he chose to explore it first.

Zhu Ming's yard is adjacent to Li Zhaoyue's residence, but there is sword energy hidden there. Xu Xing decided to enter Li Zhaoyue's yard first, and then find some way to quietly insert the silver thread into the next door.

The courtyard was very quiet, and Xu Xing saw the slightly open window at a glance.

He tiptoed to the window, silver light flashing in his hand. Just as he was about to extend the silver thread into Zhu Ming's yard, a girl's terrified scream suddenly came from inside the house.

He paused and then flipped in in an instant.

The room was dark. In the moonlight, Xu Xing saw Li Zhaoyue clutching the quilt and shouting beside the bed a few steps away, as if she was having a nightmare.

It was just a nightmare. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He was in such a hurry to get in just now that the silver thread he had just pulled out not only failed to be released, but also became tangled up on his wrist. Xu Xing stood by the window and carefully untied the knot.

In the dark room, the girl's sleep talk was filled with pleading.

"No, no, Xu, no..."

Xu Xing's hand that was untying the silver thread froze, and he almost subconsciously rushed to the bed.

The bed curtains were open, Li Zhaoyue was sweating profusely, the black mole between his eyebrows was faintly emitting a red glow, and black air was also spreading from his forehead.

It's a nightmare.

In the invisible space, countless black lines extended from Li Zhaoyue's body to the beams of the house.

Xu Xing raised his head instantly, and the silver thread on his wrist activated, but it only fixed the tail of the thing.

The black shadow screamed and fled from the room like lightning, leaving no trace.

Xu Xing sat on the edge of the bed, looking gloomily at Li Zhaoyue who was still trapped in a nightmare.

It was still that familiar dream, a dilapidated house, and red lanterns hanging everywhere.

Li Zhaoyue rubbed his eyes and followed the short figure in front of him, walking through the gloomy corridor.

The cold wind blew, the lights flickered, and the bright red color was imprinted on the pale face of the guide, making it look even more eerie. However, Li Zhaoyue seemed to be unaware of it and followed this thing obediently.

"Hehehe."

A burst of laughter drifted to my ears, like the playfulness of children, or the laughter of guests.

The thing walking in front suddenly stopped, stood in front of a door covered with wedding characters, raised its sleeve and knocked on the door.

From Li Zhaoyue's perspective, there was nothing underneath those long sleeves. That thing didn't even have a face!

When she realized this, she woke up suddenly, but her feet felt like they were filled with lead and were too heavy to move.

There were footsteps coming from inside the door.

Click——

The door opened, but no one was there.

The guide suddenly turned around, his featureless face facing Li Zhaoyue straight ahead, a wheezing sound coming from his throat.

"Hurry... go in, go in..."

Li Zhaoyue wanted to struggle, but her body was out of control. She wanted to grab the door, but found that her hands had turned into dry skeletons. She was terrified and wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, she smelled a strong stench of decay.

Is she dead?

She didn't have time to think before she was pushed into the room.

The door slammed shut, followed by endless darkness and endless sleep.

"This child is born clever, so let's give him a single name, Xu. Ah Xu Ah Xu, do you like your name?"

"Ah Xu, my Ah Xu, no no!"

Following this miserable cry, Li Zhaoyue woke up again.

This time it was fire, fire all over the sky.

She was wearing a wedding dress and was engulfed in flames amid the laughter of the crowd.

"Happy event, this is a great happy event!"

"Give it back to me! My Ah Xu!"

"This is God's gift, God's gift!"

Amid the noise, for a moment the fire seemed to dim, and a pair of hands suddenly stretched out in front of her.

Li Zhaoyue looked up and met a pair of light brown eyes.

Xu Xing's eyes were filled with pity. He took her hand and said to her, "I'll take you away."

But the fire suddenly grew bigger, and she was unable to grab his hand. She could only stare blankly at Xu Xing as he moved further and further away from her.

He looked anxious and seemed to be shouting something, but Li Zhaoyue could not hear it at all.

She was plunged into darkness again.

Xu Xing suddenly opened his eyes and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He had just found the right moment to pull Li Zhaoyue out, but was blocked by an inexplicable force, which even forced him out.

Staring at the steaming blood on the ground, he took out his sword and cut his wrist fiercely. Immediately, blood flowed out, but the blood did not fall. Instead, it turned into a faint light and entered Li Zhaoyue's eyebrows. After a while, he fell into the dream again.

It was the deserted house, the corridor with red lanterns hanging on it. But at this moment, the illusion was already an empty shell, and Li Zhaoyue's presence had completely disappeared.

Xu Xing swung the sword in his hand impatiently, with a dark look between his eyebrows and eyes, looking very scary.

"Hehehe." A burst of laughter floated to his left ear. He calmly swung his sword, but missed.

"Are you looking for that little girl?" This was the voice coming from my right ear.

"Don't forget, this is Nightmare. You won't be able to find her without taking some special measures."

A ball of red mist slowly took shape and floated unscrupulously beside Xu Xing, completely unafraid of his milky white sword.

Xu Xing closed his eyes and said nothing.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This nightmare originated from you. The little girl was just accidentally dragged in. You know what will happen to those who intrude, right?"

Nightmares arise from the thoughts in people's hearts, which may be fear or desire, but no matter what, if someone who does not belong to this nightmare rashly breaks in, the final outcome will always be strangulation.

This red mist was the other dream beast hidden in the shadows. Xu Xing had sensed its presence that day, but the Yiziyuan had searched for it for a long time and couldn't find it. He had thought it was coming for him, but unexpectedly, it had dragged Li Zhaoyue into it.

His calm and composed look made the fog a little panic.

It had been hiding in Li Zhaoyue for too long, and her spiritual power was too weak to provide it with nourishment. But Xu Xing was different. If it could seduce him to become its host, it would be able to regain its strength.

But it seems that this person is not fooled by it.

"If it's any later, I can't guarantee whether she is alive or not..." Before he finished speaking, Xu Xing lightly swung his sword, and the milky white sword body pierced through the red mist just like last time. It was feeling proud when it saw that he had missed again, but unexpectedly, Xu Xing turned the sword tip and pierced directly into its heart.

Before disappearing, it struggled to ask him why.

Xu Xing slowly smiled: "When I do things, I always trust myself."

After killing the dream beast, the dream really changed. The dilapidated courtyard became lively and the night turned into day again.

Xu Xing squinted his eyes and walked up the corridor.

The corridor was winding, with a turn every few steps, but Xu Xing walked very skillfully, and in just a short while, he reached the lobby.

The sun was shining brightly, the garden was full of flowers, and girls in colorful clothes gathered in the garden, some catching butterflies, some picking flowers, and laughing non-stop.

He walked towards this side, attracting a lot of people's attention.

A woman came forward boldly and spoke to him shyly, but he ignored her and continued walking forward.

"Whose boy is that? How can he be so unromantic?"

"But he has an outstanding appearance and an excellent figure. If it were me, I would also be unable to help but take a look at him."

In the hall, the women covered their mouths and talked, and there was laughter all the time.

Xu Xing walked while searching for the goose yellow figure, and finally caught a glimpse of a piece of clothing outside the innermost screen of the hall.

Li Zhaoyue was awakened by a strong floral fragrance. The strange firelight and dilapidated house were gone, replaced by a magnificent hall and warm, bright sunshine.

She sat there blankly for quite a while.

"Sister, you're finally awake. Today is the Spring Banquet, an important day for eligible young men and women to choose their ideal partners, but you've been sleeping the entire time. Fortunately, you're awake now and haven't missed the opportunity to choose a good husband."

A beautiful woman with exaggerated clothing scolded her.

Hearing this, she looked outside the hall and saw all sorts of well-dressed young men and ladies. All of them were dressed up gorgeously. The women were more beautiful than flowers, and the men were well-dressed.

But there was one person who was completely different.

The man was covered in dust, had a gloomy expression, and was an eyesore.

"Who is that?" She pointed at the man and asked the woman next to her.

The woman looked in the direction she pointed, but after just one glance, she covered her eyes in disgust.

"That's the unlucky star of the Zhuang Mansion. Don't look at it. It will bring bad luck."

"There's no such thing as a jinx..." Before she could finish her words, the woman pulled her to look in another direction.

"Look over there, whose little boy is that? He's so handsome!"

The man the woman was pointing to was Xu Xing. He had fair skin, sharp features, and a gentle demeanor, making him the perfect candidate for a green robe. Looking around the garden, everyone was dressed in vibrant colors, eager to drape themselves in all the vibrant colors. This made Xu Xing appear fresh and refined.

"Wait, is he walking towards me?" The woman climbed onto Li Zhaoyue's neck and hugged her excitedly.

The force was quite strong and Li Zhaoyue couldn't breathe, but he let her hold him.

Xu Xing seemed to have noticed this and sped up his pace.

As Xu Xing's speed increased, the woman's grip on his neck also increased. Li Zhaoyue finally realized something was wrong and twisted his body backwards, breaking free from the woman's restraints.

The once beautiful woman suddenly turned ferocious, screaming and lunging at her. It happened so quickly that Li Zhaoyue only had time to roll to the ground, barely avoiding the attack.

Li Zhaoyue was very agile. After dodging her attack, he ran forward desperately and was about to run out of the hall.

"Come back here!"

The woman screamed, and her originally trimmed and round nails suddenly became sharp and long, scratching Li Zhaoyue's back.

A sharp pain came from behind. Li Zhaoyue gritted his teeth and ran towards Xu Xing.

Xu Xing also changed from walking to running.

As two figures, one in green and one in yellow, crossed each other, a milky white sword cut through Xu Xing's cuffs and chopped apart the dream beast behind Li Zhaoyue.

Xu Xing opened his arms and embraced the trembling Li Zhaoyue.

Warm, powerful hands gently moved around the wound on her back and hugged her tightly. She held the boy's waist tightly, as if grabbing a lifeline.

"Don't be afraid." Xu Xing held her tightly. Li Zhaoyue was still in shock, gasping for breath, and her hands, which were holding Xu Xing's clothes, were still shaking.

The originally bustling courtyard became silent due to the disappearance of the dream beast, and those exquisite young men and women disappeared like ashes in an instant.

Only the gray-faced boy was left.

Li Zhaoyue huddled in Xu Xing's arms and happened to meet the young man's gaze.

Filled with boundless blood and hatred, they were exactly the same eyes I saw through the crack of the door last time.