Chapter 174 Dream Interlude: Would an Outsider Like Me Go Somewhere With Me...?

After the message was sent, there was no response from the other side for a long time.

Qiu Tong took the opportunity to sit cross-legged on the bed and, under the guidance of the Tai'a Sword, circulated her spiritual energy to suppress the nascent nightmare energy. Her mind finally became clear, and the chilling sensation on her body gradually subsided.

For cultivators, being caught in a nightmare means the destruction of their path and the annihilation of their heart, with no way to start over.

From then on, they may live in a daze, oblivious to the ways of the world, or their minds may become closed off, and they may experience the five signs of decay until they die.

But before they are completely trapped in the nightmare, there is still a chance to save them.

In his previous life, Wei Chang would not have been in the dire situation of the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, but the news of Lin Feiran's sword bone being removed came too suddenly, and the two of them were so shocked that they didn't even have time to recover.

At that moment, he seemed to remember something, and in a daze, his eyes flickered, and then he looked on in disbelief.

He only said he wanted to return to Daohe Palace to get some answers, so Qiu Tong accompanied him on the return journey, which took about five days.

At first, nothing seemed amiss. He simply couldn't sleep all night, sitting beside her without saying a word, occasionally meditating. On the third day, something was off, but Qiu Tong only thought he was having mental turmoil.

On the fifth day, just as the two stepped into Daohe Palace, Wei Changzai was completely possessed by a nightmare.

From that moment on, he sat forever on the high cliff, never to be heard from again.

At this moment, the outside world was gloomy, with overlapping clouds and a cold rain falling in a drizzling, scattered manner.

Before I knew it, winter had arrived.

Qiu Tong opened her eyes, wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead, and recalled the past events again, a wave of injustice and sorrow still welled up in her heart.

But even now, she doesn't know if this sorrow is real or not.

"Qiu Tong, how are you feeling now?"

The spirit of the Tai'a sword also stopped, its pupil-less eyes looking at her, its voice much softer than before.

Qiu Tong recalled Wei Changzai's nightmare and felt somewhat listless, only managing a slight smile: "My mind is much clearer now, and my spiritual energy flows without hindrance. Thank you for your guidance earlier..."

The spirit of the Tai'a sword looked at her and couldn't help but shake its head: "Even if you have something that confuses you, you shouldn't think about it too much. What are you thinking about?"

Thinking of Qiu Tong and Wei Changzai, the sword spirit couldn't help but guess: "Are you thinking about the Kunwu Sword Master?"

Qiu Tong's lips parted slightly, but she didn't say anything in the end, only shaking her head.

She looked at the spirit of the Tai'a Sword, then suddenly remembered something and immediately got up from the bed.

"Spirit of the Tai'a Sword, just now when I was inadvertently trapped in a nightmare, you provided a ray of clear light that broke through my barrier... How come I didn't know you had such abilities before?"

Seeing that she was safe, the spirit of the Tai'a Sword breathed a sigh of relief and said in an annoyed tone, "The Tai'a Sword rarely appears in the world. It is full of wonders and is rarely heard of by the people. You are so young, so naturally you don't know."

The original owner was exceptionally intelligent and clear-minded, and he tempered the Tai'a Sword daily with the moonlight at dawn and dusk, imbuing it with a purifying spiritual light. However, before you were possessed by the nightmare, it could still be summoned; but if you truly fall into the nightmare, then there will be no way to save you.”

"I see."

Qiu Tong couldn't help but sigh silently. If he had known about Wei Changzai's strange behavior earlier and used the Tai'a Sword to see through it, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way...

Just then, a thought flashed through her mind, and she asked, "What would happen if someone who has been possessed by a nightmare received such a ray of pure light?"

The spirit of the Tai'a sword pondered, "My former master once saved someone who was possessed by a nightmare. Although he could not completely cure the illness, he was able to keep him awake for a moment."

Qiu Tong's expression brightened. In this way, wouldn't she be able to ask her third uncle what exactly happened back then?

Thinking of this, she stopped waiting, got up, picked up the Tai'a sword, and left. She arrived at Xiaoyu Gate in just a few breaths.

Despite the overlapping array patterns, Langqiu remained kneeling on the ground, with two spiritual veins hanging down his back like tails.

He was no longer burying his head in his food and acting erratically as before. Instead, he kept turning his head, his gaze wandering around, as if he didn't know where he was.

Upon hearing footsteps, he immediately turned around. The instant he saw Qiu Tong's figure, he seemed to mistake her for someone else, his pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately moved to the back.

Qiu Tong didn't try to talk to him like before. Instead, she drew her sword and unleashed a clear blue light that pierced straight through his brow.

In an instant, Langqiu's face twitched, and he let out a few cries of pain, but the light in his eyes gradually gathered, only to dissipate again after a moment.

Qiu Tong asked anxiously, "What's going on?"

The spirit of the Tai'a Sword said, "He has been in a nightmare for too long, and even a moment of clarity is hard to maintain. However, he is much better than before. You can try asking him."

With no other options at the moment, Qiu Tong slowly leaned closer and asked, "Third Uncle, do you still remember what exactly happened before?"

Langqiu stared at her for a long time, then suddenly began to writhe on the ground, muttering incoherently, while the two exposed spiritual veins on her back were twisted together.

Qiu Tong was startled and couldn't help but take a half step back. She thought that perhaps the question was too general and it was really difficult for him to answer.

"Third Uncle, do you still remember why you stole our ancestral treasure? Why did you and my father argue back then?"

Whether it was because he heard a certain word, or because the question was clear enough, Langqiu stopped twisting his body, his crimson eyes suddenly lifted, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints, staring intently at her.

"You forced me, you forced me, Elder! I didn't intend to steal! How did he know...? I was trying to do it quietly, someone must have leaked the information, forcing me to find out who the traitor is... May he be torn to pieces..."

His speech was completely incoherent, and the look he gave me was quite frightening.

Muttering "a thousand cuts" under his breath, his eyes were fixed on her. A chill ran down Qiu Tong's spine, but she still went forward and asked several times. However, no matter how she asked, Lang Qiu could only repeat the four words "a thousand cuts".

Who exactly forced him? Could there be more to the theft than meets the eye? Could it be... related to Prince Qingping?

Qiu Tong felt a headache all of a sudden.

Perhaps this light is not strong enough, or perhaps there are other ways to temporarily clear one's mind.

Thinking of this, she went to the fox clan's library, hoping to find some solutions. Just then, a faint light flowed from the communication jade token at her waist, which should be Lin Feiran's reply.

She immediately picked it up and looked at it; the horizontal and vertical lines on the white jade intersected to form two simple characters.

Qiu Tong couldn't explain it either, but she secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her reply.

"I have something shocking to tell you. It's not a made-up story, nor is it meant to amuse you. I'm not crazy."

Lin Feiran was puzzled by the message, but still replied, "Okay, please speak."

Having just returned from Ru Xian's place, she was trying to sort out her thoughts when she heard the sound of the communication jade token. She took it out and saw Qiu Tong's mysterious words.

She was curious to see what important matter Qiu Tong had to discuss with her.

After replying, Lin Feiran hung the jade token at his waist, then picked up his sword and walked outside. He hadn't practiced his sword yesterday because he was drinking, so he had to make up for it today.

She walked into the courtyard and had just begun her ritual when she caught a glimpse of a sentence drawn on the jade token.

"I have been reborn."

Lin Feiran tilted his longsword and suddenly scraped off a layer of bark from the old ginkgo tree.

"..."

That's quite rare.

She picked up the jade token, and Qiu Tong continued to send messages, with a faint red light appearing on the white jade.

"I was reborn on a snowy night. When I woke up, I saw my mother holding me and crying. She said that I had been playing and fell into the icy river the day before. I was knocked unconscious at the bottom of the river. Fortunately, some people from my tribe who were passing by rescued me and saved me from losing my life."

Lin Feiran raised an eyebrow: "Qiu Tong?"

A voice quickly came from the other end: "Of course I am Qiu Tong! I know you don't believe me, after all, I also thought I might be dreaming, that I've been reborn..."

Do you remember when I locked you in the room and we eavesdropped on conversations between people like Zhang Chunhe?

That's what I knew in my past life.

Otherwise, how could I, a demon with low cultivation, know about their schemes?

Lin Feiran paused, and the surprise in her eyes gradually disappeared.

When she first learned about the bone-removing incident, she was filled with grief and anger and had no mind to think about the strangeness of it. Later, when she calmed down, she did not think about it in detail again.

But Qiu Tong was reborn...

Qiu Tong spoke her mind, but received no response for a long time. Feeling anxious, she couldn't help but say something to prove herself.

"Your mother died when you were six, and your father died when you were nine. You had an old butler who had been with you for many years, whom you called Uncle Xu."

Do you know why I was able to enter the Flying Flower Gathering despite being a demon?

"It was because of a senior in my past life that I met him by chance. He gave me a precious jade, which allowed me to participate in the Flying Flower Festival. Before entering Spring City this year, I also went to look for him."

Lin Feiran frowned slightly, but upon seeing these words, she couldn't help but reply, "These are all things of the past, and how would I know whether they are true or false?"

Qiu Tong was extremely anxious. In her previous life, she had quite a few interactions with Lin Feiran, but this time Lin Feiran had left the mountain early. The time when the two spent the most time together was at the Flying Flower Gathering.

What was she going to say about the future that both of them knew, but that Lin Feiran was unaware of?

Halfway through her journey, a sudden inspiration struck her. She immediately stopped and quickly began writing on the jade tablet.

The Demon Lord's cultivation technique is flawed; one day in the future, he will surely explode and die.

This is not something I made up. He must already be showing signs of a disordered pulse. If you observe him closely, you'll surely spot something unusual.

Lin Feiran stared at those words, momentarily speechless.

Regarding the matter of the disordered pulse, she was certain that no one else besides the two of them knew about it.

Even if Qiu Tong stumbled upon it by accident, she couldn't possibly explain it so clearly.

Regarding her rebirth, Lin Feiran was somewhat surprised, but not entirely unable to accept it; however, it felt like dying in a hailstorm…

Qiu Tong, perhaps having received no reply for a long time, couldn't help but say, "You still don't believe me? But now that the chaos of the fox clan is over, what can I say about what's about to happen?"

Upon seeing the words "Fox Clan Rebellion," Lin Feiran was almost certain of Qiu Tong's words.

While the person opposite was still chattering on about the future, Lin Feiran replied with three words.

I believe you.

Qiu Tong paused, as if those three words possessed some special magic. Almost instantly upon seeing them, her previous anxiety and helplessness subsided, replaced by a surge of warmth flowing into her heart.

"...Thank you for believing me. But I don't know if it was just a dream or if it actually happened."

"Don't rush, tell me slowly. But before that, I have a question for you: why do people die from a burst of shrapnel?"

...

That night, the stars were dim.

Lancheng, the city of demons with its spring-like climate all year round, has finally ushered in its harsh winter.

The birds and insects in Xingzhi Palace all fell silent, and no one knew where they had gone.

Several days have passed since Qiu Tong spoke frankly, and Lin Feiran has been pondering her words, while Ru Xian is quietly waiting to go into seclusion in the Bitter Sea Pool.

Even today, upon hearing that he had emerged from seclusion, Lin Feiran looked out the window, stood quietly for a moment, and then went out carrying a golden moon lantern.

Apart from her, even the ginseng boy who often came to serve her was unaware of her leaving the pass.

She observed from the rooftop for a moment, accurately located the spot where the hailstones would land, and leaped away.

Meanwhile, in another warm pavilion, Ruxie was returning to his room, looking slightly tired. He sat quietly on the windowsill, gazing at the demon city under the still night, his eyes unfocused, lost in thought.

Just then, a golden lamp hung down from the eaves and swayed in front of him, instantly casting a warm glow on the cold windowsill.

He looked up and saw that behind the golden lamp, the girl was half-crouching on the eaves, her gaze serene, yet with a clear smile.

She asked, "Are you cold? Would you like to go somewhere with me?"