Chapter 9 Zhuangzi's Dream (Part 9) Ugh—Gu Lianzhou, not even a ghost…
A purple bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating Gu Lianzhou and making him look like a demon.
The woman's shrill moans filled the air.
Song San trembled as he withdrew his finger, his gaze passing over Gu Lianzhou and looking at the illusory figure behind him.
A ghostly figure, dressed as a servant, appeared alongside a woman's screams, carrying a copper basin filled with blood, busily moving about under the corridor.
For a moment, there was a cacophony of voices, rising and falling.
"Madam is in labor and bleeding heavily. Bring hot water..."
"A landslide has trapped the master at the post station. He probably won't be able to return tonight."
"Madam, Madam!"
The woman's cries from inside the door gradually weakened until they disappeared completely.
The servants' illusory figures scattered like dust in the rain.
Between heaven and earth, only the patter of rain could be heard.
Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying rang out.
Gu Lianzhou clenched his fists, his face pale.
Song San sensed his unease and called softly, "Gu Lianzhou?"
The heavy rain poured down, and the sound of the rain mixed with a clap of thunder completely swallowed Gu Lianzhou's voice.
Song San struggled to decipher the shape of his lips and stared in astonishment.
He said, "My mother died because of me."
-
Song Sanyi found it somewhat difficult to process.
After a long pause, she looked away and gazed at the tightly closed vermilion wooden door.
If she understood correctly, Gu Lianzhou meant that his mother died giving birth to him.
What just happened was on Gu Lianzhou's birthday twenty years ago...
She had previously slain demons and monsters for many people, dispelled numerous illusions, and was also forced to learn the secrets hidden in the hearts of others.
Now, Gu Lianzhou stood before him, opening a door in his heart for her.
But it was filled with self-hatred.
The fact that his closest relatives paid the ultimate price for his birth became a source of hatred.
This turned out to be his greatest obsession.
Seeing the man in front of him looking dejected and increasingly depressed, Song San couldn't bring himself to say a single word of comfort.
The wooden door was pushed open from the inside out, making a sharp and long creaking sound.
A strong smell of blood hit the air.
Song San frowned slightly, tugged at Gu Lianzhou's sleeve, and cautiously stepped back.
Even a fool would realize that something is wrong.
The illusion constantly changed according to Gu Lianzhou's consciousness. At this moment, Gu Lianzhou was out of his mind and defenseless, making the illusion even more unstable, as was the illusion itself.
A moment later, a pair of plain white cloth shoes slowly stepped across the threshold, and behind the bluish-gray mist, the woman's slender figure gradually appeared.
Song San narrowed his eyes, and after recognizing the person who had come, he suddenly tightened his grip on Gu Lianzhou's hand. "Get out."
The woman stiffened, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Song San in her direction. Although her blank facial features could not express any emotion, Song San could sense her hesitation.
The human and the demon faced off for a moment.
Clearly, the other party didn't have much patience; in no time, it walked up to Gu Lianzhou and spread its arms...
"Child, come here."
"Mommy, hug me."
How utterly shameless.
Song San felt utterly contemptuous of this and spat on the spot.
Demon: "..."
If it had a face, it would probably be covered in colorful lights right now.
Unfortunately, it was focused on playing the role of a loving mother at the moment and had no choice but to endure Song San's provocations.
Gu Lianzhou had never seen his birth mother's face, so the illusory form conjured by the demon had no facial features and looked extremely eerie.
Anyone with eyes present would not fall for its bewitching trick.
Having drawn such a hasty conclusion, Gu Lianzhou's hands began to wander, attempting to break free from her grasp.
This person...
Song San gritted his teeth, pulled Gu Lianzhou, who had taken a step forward, back to his side.
After several tugs and pulls, as Song San tried to tie Gu Lianzhou's legs with a rope, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the woman trembling and covering her "lips".
If it had lips.
A tear appeared out of nowhere and hung on the pale, unnatural chin.
"My son... I miss you so much..."
Song San immediately sensed something was wrong.
Sure enough, Gu Lianzhou shuddered, as if he had just grown limbs, and suddenly shook off her grip, walking towards the woman without hesitation.
It's over.
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
The woman opened her arms and embraced Gu Lianzhou.
Completely and thoroughly incorporate it into your own body.
Song San took a deep breath, then quickly threw out several yellow talismans, which hit the woman squarely between the eyebrows.
It seemed unaffected, shaking its head, and the several yellow talismans instantly became worthless.
The monster's abdomen swelled up, gradually twisting into a bizarre shape, and it even emitted rhythmic chewing sounds.
Song San's mind went blank as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
This illusory form—no, this great demon—devoured Gu Lianzhou whole.
Not even a dreg was left.
Dark green demonic patterns appeared in an instant, roaming around the great demon's body before disappearing into its abdomen.
It raised its hand to stroke its round belly, looking completely satisfied.
The veins on Song San's forehead throbbed violently.
She wondered why Gu Lianzhou's illusions were so bizarre and ever-changing.
It was originally controlled by the dream demon.
According to the records in the Tianji Sect's library, dream demons feed on dreams.
In this age, people have more nightmares than sweet dreams, and very few people can sleep soundly. The dream demon set its sights on the largest den of iniquity in the capital—Warm Spring Pavilion—and encountered Gu Lianzhou, who was the most suitable person to parasitize.
And now this unlucky fellow has willingly entered the belly of a great demon.
Enraged, Song San shouted, "Spit the person out!"
Before the words were even finished, the person had already touched the ground with their toes and leaped forward.
The dream demon, having just swallowed a person, was somewhat sluggish and hadn't yet reacted when Song San flipped over and mounted her neck. The originally slender and fragile "woman" instantly swelled her body to several times its original size.
Seeing that something was wrong, Song San used the momentum to brace himself and flipped backward to land.
Looking up again, they saw that the dream demon had transformed into a figure over ten feet tall, and in an instant, it lifted the connecting corridor away.
In the darkness, the monster opened its scarlet eyes and glanced down at the humans beneath it, who were as insignificant as ants.
"laugh."
It let out a strange laugh with disdain.
"laugh--"
"Pfft—"
"vomit--"
Song San's lips twitched slightly.
Is this demon crazy?
Hearing it vomit several times in a row, Song San's expression gradually changed from disgust to confusion.
As the dream demon throbbed and suddenly exhaled a huge cloud of bluish-gray smoke, Song San's eyes widened in disbelief.
The cigarette butt containing the man fell to the ground with a "thud." After being washed away by the rain, the smoke dissipated, revealing Gu Lianzhou lying face down, completely unharmed.
Song San was overjoyed—what a Gu Lianzhou! His food is so bad that even monsters wouldn't eat it!
Without hesitation, she strode forward and pulled Young Master Gu back to her side.
The dream demon had never suffered such humiliation. It looked up at the sky and howled in resentment, waving its arms wildly and striking the surrounding buildings, distorting the world around it.
The illusion was showing signs of collapse.
Bricks and rubble fell down in a flurry, mixing with rainwater to form mud that nearly buried the two men.
Song San hurriedly stepped back.
In the illusion woven by the dream demon, if a person is injured, their primordial spirit will also be injured. If the injury is severe, they may suffer from a mental illness.
In the midst of the chaos, the dream demon seemed to finally come to its senses, its dark eyes staring straight at Song San.
It was furious, and it stirred up a wave of air, causing the rain in the sky to splash towards Song San, and it didn't even spare Gu Lianzhou, who was crawling on the ground next to it, throwing him straight into the mud.
Still not satisfied afterward, he picked up the rubble of the collapsed building and threw it at the two men.
Song San quickly crushed the protective talisman, and a faint golden light spread out, barely protecting her within it.
But this was nothing more than a drop in the ocean when faced with the wrath of the Dream Demon.
Sharp wood shavings slid down from his forehead, cutting his skin, and the sharp pain made Song San more alert.
In the territory of demons, they are at a disadvantage.
The only way to leave the illusion right now... still lies with Gu Lianzhou.
Warm blood flowed down the side of my face, down my neck, and soaked my clothes.
Song San sniffed and looked up to search for Gu Lianzhou's whereabouts.
Large raindrops relentlessly pelted her face, and she strained to open her eyes, desperately searching for the man's figure.
Fortunately, she was lucky and found Gu Lianzhou, who was covered in mud, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
His condition seemed much worse than his own, with a large wooden plank pressing down on his back.
Song San pushed himself up and ran forward quickly.
She glanced at the crazed dream demon, barely dodged the bricks and stones flying from the air, staggered and fell to the ground, forcefully pried open the wooden plank, and turned the half-dead Gu Lianzhou over.
Upon seeing his appearance clearly, Song San immediately gasped – the mud was almost filling the man's five orifices; if it were an ordinary person, they would probably have already gone to meet the King of Hell.
Song San rolled up his sleeves, hastily wiped the mud off Gu Lianzhou's face, then swung his arm and slapped the handsome face left and right, shouting, "Gu Lianzhou, wake up!"
He slapped her countless times until Song San felt his palms go numb with pain, as if they were on fire.
The man's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyelids, coming face to face with a hand raised high in the air.
The hand seemed to be carrying the wind and rain, heading straight for him.
Wake up!
The crisp sound suddenly amplified in my ears, accompanied by a loud slap and a buzzing in my eardrums, lasting indefinitely.
Gu Lianzhou was certain that he had been deaf for a moment.
Song San curled up her hands, subconsciously rubbing her burning palms, her gaze falling on the man's bloodied cheek, and she uttered a brief question, "Hmm?"
woke up?
In her peripheral vision, a huge dark shadow rushed towards her. Song San grabbed Gu Lianzhou's shoulder and rolled on the ground, but her back was hit by bricks and stones.
A clear sound of bones breaking echoed within my body.
pain.
Even in the dreamlike realm, it still hurt terribly.
A metallic taste rose in his throat, and warm blood surged up his esophagus. Song San leaned forward and spat, casually wiping the blood from his lips. Dejected, he rolled over and fell into the muddy water.
She stared at the gray sky for a while, then reached into her sleeve pocket, rummaged around for a long time, and pulled out something to hand to Gu Lianzhou, saying with difficulty, "Take this, your brother gave it to me."
Gu Lianzhou looked down at the stick-like object lying under his nose, his mind blank, but he subconsciously reached out and took it.
This should be a knife; the blade is very narrow, the edge is dulled, and the edges are curled.
The handle was made of cherry wood, with a line of small, crawling characters carved on it.
Gu Lianzhou blinked and read in a hoarse voice, "Presented to my elder brother by Shao Yang, Tianxi... third year."
Song San closed his eyes and softly replied, "Yes, it's your good younger brother, Gu Shaoyang."
Gu Shaoyang, who promised me a hundred taels of silver.
"It was him who begged me to take you out, but right now... I'm afraid it's difficult." With his blood surging, Song San pressed his shoulder and coughed up another mouthful of blood. Thinking of the empty promise of a hundred taels of silver, he felt even more pain.
Heavenly deity, she should raise the price.
Wait for her to leave, wait for her to leave...
The rain gradually subsided, and the wind stopped howling.
With his eyes half-closed, Song San saw the man's blurry figure slowly stand up, stand still, grasp the dull carving knife, and stumble away.
Song San was immediately startled awake.
She propped herself up on her elbows and watched as Gu Lianzhou gestured with a knife at the several-story-high Dream Demon not far away.
The twisted black shadow was emitting strange roars, seemingly extremely displeased with the human who had rashly provoked it.
The overconfident Gu Lianzhou silently plunged the knife into the dream demon's body.
Song San couldn't help but twitch his lips. "He really is a brute."
A surge of heat rushed out of Song San's nasal cavity. He instinctively looked up and saw the sky being torn apart.
Blood streamed down her cheeks and into her ears, but she didn't bother to wipe it away, only staring blankly as golden light burst forth from the crack.
The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared.
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