"Dream Horn Bro"
The living room curtains were open, but the dense clouds outside made me drowsy in the morning, and the dim yellow light inside made the environment somewhat hazy.
“When I first found her to be my messenger, everything was fine. But everything changed after she taught me how to connect to Dream Corner.” Dong Ying was probably exhausted. She slumped back on the sofa, her hands resting on the dolls again. She looked just like Wen Dai when she arrived. Her eyelids drooped and then opened again. “…Sorry, I’m dizzy again. I’ve been like this a lot lately. It’s been very difficult to attend classes. Otherwise, I probably would have finished the semester and dealt with it during the holidays.”
Having already shaken off her drowsiness, Wen Dai immediately stood up. She walked over the coffee table and squatted down in front of Dong Ying. She took the girl's slender wrist to feel her pulse, and the lines between her brows, which had been furrowed, became even deeper. She looked up at Dong Ying and said seriously, "If you really can't open your eyes, you can close them, but don't fall asleep. Tell me carefully what happened, because I can't sense any spirit on you right now."
"Hmm... In the second month, after I discovered the problem with my condition, I wanted to end the connection. It was just an emotional support anyway, and I felt that occasionally dreaming about him and talking to him through the fortune teller was enough. But when I went to my previous fortune teller to tell her that I wanted to break the connection, she said there was no way. She said that once it started, it couldn't be stopped, and I could only communicate with him myself." Dong Ying yawned, her head tilted on the cushion, her breathing slow and heavy.
With her eyes closed, only her eyelashes trembled. Dong Ying's fingers curled slightly as she rummaged through her past memories, her forehead clenching slightly. "In the dream, I had a feeling that 'he' wasn't my dream antagonist. I felt disgusted and regretful at the time. 'He' was wearing my dream antagonist's skin and had my voice, and he wanted me to have 'his' child. I felt like I had been bewitched before. How could my dream antagonist want me to have a child? He knew that, he knew I wanted to be childless."
“The third month, which was last month, was truly a nightmare…” Dong Ying sank into the darkness beneath her eyelids.
Tempe in October was still very hot, except for a few cooler nights, but she did the opposite.
On her way to class during the day, Dong Ying was the only one wearing long sleeves and trousers. Just a few months ago, she would dress up nicely, wearing short skirts and tank tops without any problem. This stark difference made her close friends come over to ask her what was going on. They had heard her say things like "What's been on your mind lately?" countless times.
She sat shivering involuntarily in her seat. The air conditioning in the classroom made her feel cold from the inside out. Even the professor who came to teach asked to turn up the air conditioning when he saw her condition. The tall man walked to her side, his furrowed brows showing concern. He asked in a caring tone, "Are you feeling unwell? Please let me know if you need anything."
A coat borrowed from a friend was passed to her from nearby. Faced with the professor's concern, she could only wrap the coat tighter around herself and force a smile, saying, "I'm fine, I'm already very comfortable, thank you very much."
The truth is that only her skin and flesh were warmed. Shivering, she felt that her bones were not bones, but ice that had been hammered out of her.
She tried desperately to pull herself together, her upper body almost forming a turtle shell, all because of a sudden, sharp pain in her front. A whimper was swallowed back down her throat by instinct; she'd grown accustomed to these occasional bouts of pain by now. She braced her elbow on the table, her raised hand half-covering her face, her brows furrowed so tightly they seemed to touch, her lips trembling slightly. In her mind, she communicated with the voice that only echoed in her ears: "Stop messing with me! I know you're not him, get away from me!"
"You promised, didn't you? You promised in your dream that you'd have my child—" But that husky voice wouldn't leave her ears, and there seemed to be a sighing sound. It was deliberately disgusting her.
The feeling of being violated made her extremely sensitive; even a slap on the shoulder from a close friend could make her jump up and yell, "Don't touch me!" Her strange behavior couldn't escape the eyes of others, and she was summoned for questioning many times, even taken away for psychological evaluation.
"I just had a really scary nightmare that I can't stop thinking about. I'll get over it quickly."
Stepping out of the consultation room, the blinding sunlight shone into her eyes, obscuring most of her pupils with her eyelids. Her gaunt face resembled a ghost from a movie, except hers was a waxy yellow—she had no concept of waxy yellow before, but now she was experiencing it firsthand.
I wish it were just a nightmare. But her nightmares will eventually come to an end.
The quiet bedroom was dimly lit, and the person lying on the bed seemed to be electrocuted. Their legs twitched incessantly as if stimulated. Most of the blanket had fallen to the floor. The person raised their hand to their chest, waving and scratching. Tears streamed from the gaps in their tightly closed eyes, flowing down their temples like a river.
As she wandered through her dreams, hands seemed to come from all directions, many hands in total. She couldn't escape them; she was manipulated like a toy.
The whispers of reality came from the dream: "Don't touch me...don't touch me..."
But the "bumps" kept happening.
There were no traces of defilement on her body, but Dong Ying felt as if her soul had been violated countless times. It was a pain far more unforgettable than any physical assault.
He would never do that to her; she wanted him to save her. She felt pathetic.
It was one thing for my dreams to shatter little by little, but I never imagined it would happen in such a tragic way, and I never expected to suffer like this.
The dim yellow light, accompanied by the pattering rain outside the window, brought me from memories back to the present.
"About my dream corner... I still like him very much, even though we are far apart, even though I can only stand in a place where I can't move and watch his back from afar; even though we don't even have a chance to look each other in the eye; even though... he didn't come out to protect me when I was injured." Dong Ying opened her eyelids a little, looked up and took in the afterglow of the ceiling, as if her eyes would not be hurt by the light. Clear tears rolled out, slowly accelerated, and fell over in one go.
Wen Dai, squatting in front of Dong Ying, was deeply moved. She looked up at Dong Ying, her hands twitching as she sighed softly, "...I understand. From what you've said, my initial analysis is that it's a wandering spirit or monster clinging to you, draining your life force. Its abilities are probably stronger than ordinary ones. It definitely knows what you're going to do, like what we're here to deal with today. However, it might be quite arrogant, and it might reappear. We'll stay by your side, just a little distance away."
She stood up and returned to her seat. She opened the bag that had been draped over the sofa, took out a red cloth, then held a coin in her hand and handed it to Chen Sizhe.
"Here. Use what you're good at to add a protective spell, then just draw whatever you like; you should weigh the pros and cons, don't make it too useful, or you'll end up tricking that thing into leaving."
Chen Sizhe frowned, took the thing Wen Dai handed him, pursed his lips, and said with some displeasure, "How can this be so casual? The effect of a spell is related to the caster's magical power. I don't think it will be very useful to me." Although he was reluctant, his hand obediently held the coin, and with his other hand he made a sword finger gesture, quickly drawing a few lines in the air before wrapping it in the red cloth.
Wen Dai took the red cloth bag folded into a triangle and rubbed it a couple of times before handing it to Dong Ying. Her gaze lingered on the item she had given Dong Ying, saying, "Don't get it wet. You can just put it in the little pocket on the front of your pajamas. Don't have too high expectations for it. If that thing comes back, just tell it that you've found someone to deal with it and curse it. I think it'll fall for that."
She stepped back, picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, her eyes reassuring as she looked at Dong Ying. "Don't worry, we won't go far. We'll be here as soon as it arrives. You can take a nap now; you probably haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time, right? But... I took your room key, otherwise it'll be a bit of a hassle if we can't get in."
The only response Wen Dai received was a sleepy yawn from Dong Ying. She raised her hand to wipe the wetness from the corner of her eyes, gave a soft "hmm," and stood up, her steps faltering slightly. "Okay, I believe you."
Wen Dai and Chen Sizhe left the room one after the other. Chen Sizhe, after locking the door, glanced at Wen Dai, who was waving the room key around, and asked, "Trying to fish?"
Wen Dai stuffed the black room key into her coat pocket, shrugged her shoulders twice, and took a rather casual step. "Let the willing take the bait."
The elevator pressed the button for the next floor. Chen Sizhe stood beside her with his hands in his pockets. They arrived in an instant and stepped out of the elevator side by side. "How did you know this floor was the restaurant?"
"Don't think only lawyers do background checks and investigations. I didn't just barge in blindly. She told me the hotel's location, and I started thinking about how to handle it. You're the only one in my career who's called me a fraud, understand? I'm always reliable." Her tone was undisguisedly contemptuous, revealing her vengeful nature. She glanced at her phone to check the time, and the waiter at the door led them to an empty seat.
The restaurant's breakfast special included morning tea, which suited Wen Dai's taste. She ordered several dishes with great care, leaning back in her chair with a leisurely and relaxed demeanor. Chen Sizhe couldn't see how reliable she was.
But his empty stomach desperately needed an energy boost. He casually tapped the menu twice, then looked directly at Wen Dai, who was admiring the rain scene across from him. His tone was lightly mocking: "You seem to be in a good mood. Do you think that what's clinging to Dong Ying is already trapped?"
“I’ve never lost a battle.” Wen Dai glared at him with dissatisfaction, her face still tilted towards the French window, taking in the world of rain. She watched the raindrops roll down and mingle with the other raindrops. She casually swung her crossed legs and said disdainfully, “I just added a little magic to that talisman. Hmph—as long as that thing dares to come over, it won’t be able to escape.”
To deal with shady things, you have to resort to underhanded tactics.
Back in her bedroom, Dong Ying fell asleep as soon as her head hit the bed. Dreamless sleep was a rare comfort, but in the darkness, she slowly began to feel a sense of oppression—her whole body was bound from the chest down, and the immense binding force made her unable to move. Her closed eyelids trembled and then opened, revealing a familiar face.
There was no infatuation in those eyes; the being that shaped like her dream had two lead-gray eyes, and only deathly stillness could be seen in them, the light was cold.
It raised a hand and stroked her cheek, uttering words that landed on her lips: "Yingying, why are you so disobedient? Do you think the people you found can restrain me? You're too naive, Yingying. I'm not one of those incompetent brats."
As if her neck was being choked, Dong Ying managed to force out a voice from her throat: "Get away! You perverted bastard. What good will it do you to cling to me? Whether the people I found can restrain you... you'll find out soon enough. If you're so capable, then don't try to run away!"
Its body couldn't even conjure an expression; it simply faced her indifferently. Its slender fingers, resting on her cheek, slowly moved down, touching her extremely cold skin, past her neck. "Ah, you are truly too arrogant. It seems I have been too gentle with you." Suddenly, it used its tiger's mouth to try and kill her neck.
The talisman in the small pocket on Dong Ying's chest slowly took effect, its overflowing energy transforming into fine threads that instantly bound the unknown entity. And finally, emotion appeared in its leaden gray eyes—a look of utter astonishment.
It was helpless to float away, as if the thread actually weighed millions of pounds, so heavy that its spirit was dragged down to the ground.
The pressure that had been building up on her finally subsided, and Dong Ying immediately got out of bed. She rubbed her neck, which had been touched by the unknown spirit in front of her, and glared at it across the bed with disgust. "You're too arrogant. You're just crying wolf."
The lights, which had been turned off after the room key was removed, came back on, and the sound of the door latch closing drifted into Dong Ying's bedroom from outside. A short while later, Wen Dai and Chen Sizhe, carrying bags, strode in.
Wen Dai, who was in the lead, glanced at the spirit that was still struggling on the ground. She walked up to Dong Ying and carefully examined her. "Hmm... it's alright. This thing has weakened the flames on your body quite a bit, but it's good that they haven't gone out. I'll help you replenish them after I deal with it."
"Also, you have good taste, and your dream horn is quite nice. It's a real shame that such a pervert used it as a costume." She glanced at the spirit on the ground, which was gathering anger, and her sarcastic tone matched her disdainful eyes, causing the already arrogant spirit to struggle on the ground again.
The feigned male voice vanished, revealing his true voice in anger, a deep, hoarse sound echoing in their ears: "You guys are really cunning, actually setting a trap for me."
"If you had any real strength, this trick wouldn't work on you." Chen Sizhe strode up to the spirit, seemingly quite interested in it. He squatted down in front of it, his cold gaze sweeping over it like a researcher examining a new product in a laboratory. "Take on a human-pleasing form to harass people... Were you originally ugly? Unable to be seen by others?"
It's not the sarcastic tone that hurts, but the genuine bewilderment.
He moved his fingers and casually curled his lips, saying, "I'd really like to see your true face—show yourself."
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