Chapter 282 World Eleven (Twenty-three)

When his childhood friends came to visit, the young master naturally wanted to let them stay in his house for a few days.

It was afternoon when Baoshan found a few branches of lily of the valley in full bloom in the Du family courtyard. The maidservant broke off a few of them, their soft white petals trembling and drooping.

The maid wrapped the flowers in a handkerchief and sent them to Baoshan's room.

As Bao Shan reached the Chaoshou Corridor, she happened to meet a young master who was delivering a tranquilizing incense to Madam Du. The young master had a handsome face and a gentle demeanor. He gently fiddled with the flowers and said, "The lily of the valley is a gorgeous flower, and it is best placed in a willow-green porcelain vase."

I happen to have a thin-necked glass vase in my room, which is green in color. I put the lily of the valley in it, and the tender green against the white pistil is a very beautiful sight.”

Bao Shan leaned forward softly, and said timidly, "In this case, I'm really troubling Master Du..."

The young master looked at Bao Shan with a slightly darker look in his eyes and said, "It's just a small favor. Miss Bao Shan, don't take it to heart."

Baoshan could only respond softly.

After the young master's figure disappeared into the distance, Bao Shan said softly, "Young Master Du is a kind person, and he treats you very well on weekdays."

The maid replied, "The young master treats us kindly and politely, and always cares about us."

Bao Shan acted as if unconcerned, her voice soft, "Miss Gu calls Master Du, and he's much more sensible and polite now than when he was little. Master Du was a playboy when he was little, but I don't know when he became like this. Was there some opportunity that allowed him to abandon his old temper?"

Hearing this, the maid's eyes were filled with confusion. She seemed to be trying to recall something. However, she couldn't find any reason for the young master to change, so she casually evaded the question by saying, "Perhaps he has grown older and has become more knowledgeable and polite."

As soon as the precious fan entered the house, the servant brought the glass bottle from the young master's room.

Baoshan placed the lily of the valley in it and sprinkled a few drops of water on the stamens, which made the flowers look even more beautiful.

The servant placed the glass bottle next to the window frame. Seeing Bao Shan swaying slightly, he hurriedly asked, "Miss Bao Shan, what happened?"

Bao Shan gently stroked his forehead, his face pale as he said, "I'm already weak, and I've been running around and working hard these past few days, with my days and nights reversed. I can barely sleep for a few hours at night before waking up."

The beauty's haggard appearance naturally aroused sympathy. The servant then suggested, "Madam has some calming incense that the young master has specially found for her. Miss Baoshan, please go get some for her."

Bao Shan bit her lip lightly. "Since it was Young Master Du who found it, this tranquilizing incense must be rare. I'm a stranger here, so how can I ask for it?"

Baoshan just said that he was fine, and the servant had no choice but to leave.

When the young master asked about the gift of the glass bottle, the servant told him everything about the precious fan's restless sleep.

The young master hesitated for a moment, then took out some calming incense and ordered someone to send it to Baoshan.

Baoshan naturally thanked her softly and timidly accepted the calming incense.

Compared with ordinary incense, this calming incense is slender and has a faint fragrance, but it has a unique sense of tranquility.

As her soft hands caressed the calming incense, Baoshan was filled with a thousand thoughts.

Ever since the incident of the real and fake Du Jinyi that day, Baoshan had doubts in her heart.

Although the young master answered everything Gu Xiaoxiao said fluently, this created a sense of strangeness. Gu Xiaoxiao was only five or six years old at the time, more than a decade ago. But the young master answered without thinking, as if the memory was engraved in his mind. In the whole world, only Du Jinyi insisted that he was the true young master of the Du family.

The rest of the people, from Mrs. Du to maids and servants.

Even Chen Wu, the man who tricked Du Jinyi into running away from home, believed that the young master was real and Du Jinyi was fake.

After You Dongjun found him, Chen Wu's statement was completely different from Du Jinyi's.

Chen Wu only said that he really wanted to get close to the young master of the Du family.

But the young master was surrounded by many servants, and he could not get close to him.

As for Du Jinyi, who had become a beggar as described by You Dongjun and others, Chen Wu had never seen him.

Chen Wu sneered softly and guessed, "That beggar saw that the Du family was wealthy and boasted that he resembled the young master, so he had a perverse idea and wanted to take over the family.

But the Du family is wealthy and powerful, and anyone can tell the difference between him and the young master.

In my opinion, this beggar is suffering from hysteria, so please ignore him!"

But when she left, Baoshan saw the incense ash that had not been collected on the table, and a long incense stick wrapped in gold paper and silver tin.

——The long incense was the same color as the calming incense that Mrs. Du used every day before going to bed.

Bao Shan was holding the calming incense and was about to go look for You Dongjun when her beautiful eyes seemed to be obscured by mist, her body suddenly went limp, and she fell straight onto the couch.

The calming incense combusts on its own without fire, emitting bursts of delicate fragrance throughout the house.

Although the young master was good in every way, after waking up from a night's sleep, Gu Xiaoxiao still believed that the arrogant beggar was the real Du Jinyi.

After all, Gu Xiaoxiao couldn't believe that the little bully Du Jinyi would one day become a handsome young man.

You Dongjun went to look for Chen Wu again. He wrote a talisman for clearing the mind and pasted it on Chen Wu.

But Chen Wu still insisted on his previous statement and did not change it at all.

You Dongjun used his compass again and finally found a fingernail-sized piece of incense ash. He twisted the ash between his fingers and said coldly, "Nightmare..."

You Dongjun's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He hurried back to the Du family. You Dongjun went straight to Baoshan's room. He pushed open the door and saw Baoshan lying quietly on the soft couch, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her lips slightly open.

In the glass vase, there are a few branches of lily of the valley and a slender calming incense stick.

This calming incense is amazing. Even though it is soaked in water, the flame is still burning without being extinguished.

You Dongjun called out "Baoshan" several times, but Baoshan did not wake up.

You Dongjun looked at the calming incense coldly. He raised his peach wood sword and knocked the glass bottle, the lily of the valley, and the calming incense to the ground.

The calming incense was still burning, and the precious fan was still lying obediently on the couch, as if it had had a sweet dream.

You Dongjun knew that the treasure fan was disturbed by a nightmare and was trapped in the dream. It could only wake up if the nightmare itself solved it.

You Dongjun put his arm around his waist, picked up the treasured fan, and walked towards the young master's room.

Seeing this, Gu Xiaoxiao hurriedly followed.

The servant outside the door tried to stop him, saying he would pass the message first, but You Dongjun kicked him away, looking embarrassed. The young master walked out of the room and said in a gentle voice, "You can go down."

Seeing the servants disperse, Gu Xiaoxiao hurriedly followed them into the young master's courtyard.

You Dongjun was holding the treasure fan, his eyes were cold, and his voice seemed to be icy: "You used Dreamweaver on her, quickly remove it."

Only then did Gu Xiaoxiao realize that after all the commotion, Bao Shan lay peacefully in You Dongjun's arms, her face delicate and beautiful. But she didn't even have the slightest bit of life in her, like a jade statue.

Gu Xiaoxiao hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"

The young master chuckled softly and said, "Xiaoxiao, you really are just like what Du Jinyi remembered, your brain isn't very bright."

After saying that, the young master changed his appearance. He was wearing a snow-white robe that reached his ankles. His eyebrows and features did not resemble Du Jinyi at all.

Now, this is the true appearance of the young master, or nightmare—

His eyebrows and eyes were extremely light, like ink painting, or like a dream. With a light wave, the eyebrows and eyes disappeared without a trace.

Mengyao walked barefoot to You Dongjun's side. He leaned over and sniffed, saying in a leisurely tone, "The Maoshan Taoist priest is truly worthy of his reputation. He can even see through my true form."

Behind You Dongjun, the peach wood sword made a vibrating sound.

Nightmare whispered, "You Maoshan Taoists, this is the most annoying thing. You want to use swords and knives before you can even say a few words.

He never listens to the reasons behind things and only cares about those mortals.

Although I am a nightmare, I came here because I was summoned. I did not pretend to be a young master because I was greedy for wealth and fame."

If it were an ordinary day, You Dongjun would not listen to Meng Yan's words at all. He would have raised his peach wood sword and fought with him.

But now, You Dongjun was concerned about the precious fan, so he endured his inner impatience and listened to the nightmare.

The nightmare said that Mrs. Du loved her young son dearly, and she was naturally worried when she learned that Du Jinyi had run away from home.

Chen Wu, who was deliberately instigating, thought that if Du Jinyi was easily found by the Du family, he would never have the chance to get close to Du Jinyi again.

Chen Wu hid Du Jinyi at home and lied that no one from the Du family came to look for him.

Du Jinyi had an empty head, so he naturally believed what Chen Wu said.

After one or two months, the Du family searched the entire city and the surrounding towns, but could not find any trace of Du Jinyi.

Mrs. Du's life was half taken away by Du Jinyi. She was so angry that she fell ill.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Du called for a doctor to treat Mrs. Du.

The doctor knew some tricks to summon ghosts, so he whispered to the sick Madam Du, "Young Master is so disappointing. Madam, don't you want him to change his appearance?"

Mrs. Du sighed softly, it was not that easy.

She no longer wanted to force Du Jinyi, as long as he was safe and sound.

The doctor handed a doll to Mrs. Du and told her to pray day and night. If she was sincere, her wish would come true and she would have an obedient and caring son one day.

Mrs. Du didn't believe it, but she could only put all her motherly love on the doll.

Mrs. Du thought about him day and night, and her sincerity caused the nightmare to appear.

Seeing how much Mrs. Du missed her son, Meng Ye cast a dream weaving spell on her, changing her memory so that the Du Jinyi in her memory had never left the Du family.

The nightmare could have made the puppet transform into the appearance of Du Jinyi.

However, Meng Yan felt that the cave was boring, so he came to change it himself. However, he did not like to show off, so he adjusted Du Jinyi's appearance.

As for the Du family’s memories, for Nightmare, a dream-weaving incense can easily tamper with them.

As Mrs. Du wished, Nightmare became a gentle, obedient, polite and well-mannered Du Jinyi.

But Meng Ye didn't expect that the real Du Jinyi would suddenly appear and bring a Maoshan Taoist priest with him.

Nightmare had woven a beautiful dream for Mrs. Du, how could it be suddenly interrupted?

Therefore, Nightmare used the situation of the real and fake Du Jinyi to make Du Jinyi appear to be a person with ulterior motives.

After hearing this, Gu Xiaoxiao said, "Then Chen Wu, was you also put on Dreamweaver?"

Nightmare said with disgust: "I didn't want to take action against a person like him, but the Taoist priests of Maoshan are the most difficult to deal with, so I had no choice but to do this.

If I had known that you would find out the truth no matter what, I wouldn't have wasted a Dreamweaver on such a villain."

Gu Xiaoxiao asked puzzledly: "With your ability, don't you know that Du Jinyi is in a nearby town?

Since you are doing this for Madam Du's own good, why not tell her where Du Jinyi is and fulfill her love for her son?

Meng Yan's eyebrows were light. He looked at Gu Xiaoxiao, then turned to look at the treasure fan in You Dongjun's arms, and said softly: "You are really not as pitiful and lovely as Miss Baoshan. I am a demon, not a Buddha. Why should I do those kind things to see the mother and son reunited?

I fulfilled Mrs. Du's love for her son not out of kindness, but because she sacrificed her remaining life in exchange for three years of docile Du Jinyi's companionship, which is why I spent so much effort.

This was in a dream. I made a deal with Mrs. Du. She thought it was a good deal, and I thought it was a good deal too. So what's wrong with that?"

Gu Xiaoxiao clenched her fists and asked again, "You and Madam Du can barely say that it was consensual.

But what about the precious fan? She certainly won't exchange anything with you, so why are you weaving dreams on her?"

Nightmare sat in the armchair with a lazy posture. He looked at the sleeping treasure fan with an inexplicable expression.

You Dongjun used his wide Taoist robe to block Nightmare's sight. His eyes were cold and warning.

Nightmare whispered, "It's true that Miss Baoshan and I weren't meant to be together. It's just that I've been in this world for too long, and to fulfill other people's dreams, I've changed many identities.

But he has never married and enjoyed the pleasures of a man and a woman. I personally think Miss Baoshan is the most suitable."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the peach wood sword behind You Dongjun break free from the cloth bag and fly towards the nightmare.

Nightmare was not good at fighting. After practicing dozens of moves, he felt overwhelmed and unable to do anything.

You Dongjun entrusted the treasured fan to Gu Xiaoxiao. He gripped the peach wood sword tightly and pointed it straight at Nightmare's neck.

Nightmares are illusory in nature and can come and go easily.

But You Dongjun put out the talisman on his waist, forming a golden wall that surrounded the nightmare.

Nightmare couldn't break free and could only watch as the peach wood sword sank into his neck.

There was no blood in the nightmare, only a faint snow-white light stained on the peach wood sword.

Nightmare said: "I can unlock everyone's memories and restore Du Jinyi's identity."

You Dongjun's eyes turned cold: "I only want the treasure fan."

Hearing this, Meng Yan's eyes were slightly stunned. When he understood what You Dongjun said, he laughed out loud.

"Little Taoist, there are several differences between you and those Maoshan Taoists.

Today, if it were them, even if I was suppressed, they would only say words of righteousness and morality, saying how I was wrong and that I should let Du Jinyi go and return the identity of the young master of the Du family to him.

But you are different. You wear a Taoist robe and have the Tao in your heart. But it is not just the Tao. You are also thinking about that fragile beauty.

Today, if I tell you that you can only choose one between Du Jinyi and Baoshan, who would you choose?

You Dongjun thrust the peach wood sword against Nightmare's neck, and the snow-white light it stained grew stronger. You Dongjun said coldly, "I've never been the one to make the choice."

Only those who are at a disadvantage will be in a difficult situation and have to make a choice, but he, You Dongjun, will never fall to this point.

As You Dongjun spoke these words, Nightmare began to wander.

He was certain that if he really had to make a choice, no matter what chips were on the other side of the scale, as long as one side was the treasured fan, You Dongjun's choice would never waver.

Seeing that more and more demon spirits were being lost, Nightmare said softly, "The dream has been woven. If you want to interrupt it, you have to go into the dream yourself and rescue Miss Baoshan.

But this is very risky. How about waiting for Miss Baoshan to wake up and survive for a month or two? Then I can help her erase her memory. What do you think?"

You Dongjun frowned and said, "If Dreamweaver enters my body, what effect will the treasure fan have on me?"

Nightmare chuckled softly and said, “The dream I wove was only to plant memories in Miss Baoshan and turn the person she loves into my appearance.

When Miss Baoshan wakes up, her body will not be damaged, and her heart and eyes will only be filled with me——

But don't worry, little Taoist priest. I will be able to solve it in just one or two months.

If you forcefully untie it within a month or two, Miss Baoshan's body will be harmed by the Dreamweaver..."

You Dongjun frowned and interrupted the nightmare: "How can I enter the dream?"

Nightmare murmured softly: "You can't even wait for a month or two, it really is..."

The nightmare tells You Dongjun all the methods of entering the dream. You Dongjun only needs to cut his finger and sprinkle the blood on the dream-weaving incense of the treasure fan, and he will be able to share the dream with the treasure fan.

Before You Dongjun fell asleep, he told Gu Xiaoxiao to keep them safe.

Gu Xiaoxiao hesitated: "What should I do if Nightmare escapes while you're away? I can't beat him."

You Dongjun only placed the talismans in front of, behind, and around the nightmare, and placed the peach wood sword that had been used to cast the spell in front of the nightmare, and said lightly: "He can't move."

You Dongjun continued, “If I stay away for a long time without returning, perhaps I’ve fallen into a nightmare trap.

Then, you only need to thrust the peach wood sword into the nightmare's chest, and he will vanish into thin air."

After hearing this, Meng Ye said in a cold voice: "I didn't set a trap, so don't slander me."

Gu Xiaoxiao opened her mouth to speak, but in the end she didn't say anything and just nodded quietly.

The bright red blood dripped onto the burning Dreamweaver Incense. The flames had not yet gone out, and wisps of light smoke still drifted through the room.

You Dongjun lay beside Baoshan. After a moment of hesitation, he finally hooked Baoshan's little finger.

Dreamweaver burns, dreams come true.

You Dongjun pushed aside the thick clouds and fog, but the thick white fog was like a mountain range, and he couldn't get out no matter what.

There were only a few talismans and a compass left on You Dongjun's waist.

The peach wood sword was left outside by You Dongjun to scare away nightmares.

You Dongjun doesn't trust the nightmare. If he and Baoshan can't get out of the dream, let the nightmare accompany them with its soul torn apart.

The bronze mirror on the compass flickered faintly, illuminating a path through the dense fog. You Dongjun followed the path and, sure enough, the fog dissipated, revealing the true scene.

There are only weeping willows, pines and cypresses here, all of which grew naturally with few signs of human care.

You Dongjun frowned and thought that this place looked very much like Mount Maoshan.

Then I saw a woman walking along the mountain road. She was wearing a bud-green dress and had a frail figure. She had a few wild flowers pinned in her raven-like hair.

When the woman raised her head, she had dark eyebrows, watery almond eyes, and soft, moist lips. Apart from the precious fan, what else could she have?

You Dongjun hurried towards the treasured fan. Before he even reached it, he saw it smiling faintly, and then, like a young swallow returning to the forest, it pounced on a tall man.

The two of them were in an intimate posture, and Bao Shan softly called him "Qin Lang."

Qin Lang, I can’t tell whether I’m calling him Qin Lang or my lover.

You Dongjun felt as if his heart was being cooked by a raging fire, his mind in turmoil. He walked straight towards the treasure fan and said coldly, "Baoshan, come back with me."

Bao Shan turned around and looked at him, her face no longer showing the dependence she had in the past. She trembled slightly and hid behind Qin Lang.

You Dongjun looked at Qin Lang, who appeared in the form of a nightmare.

Bao Shan said softly, "Qin Lang, that Taoist priest is so fierce."