Chapter 41, The Dream.
In the days that followed, Jiang Huaisu was eager to get back to Huaguo Mountain, waiting for the monsters to return.
However, they remained completely still for several days, behaving in a way that was somewhat unbelievable.
According to the old monkey, while their side suffered heavy losses in the last battle, the enemy was also severely weakened. Their silence for so long suggests they might be calling for reinforcements. Jiang Huaisu tentatively concluded that the monsters were brewing something big.
After staying at Huaguo Mountain for almost half a month, Jiang Huaisu became restless.
She could see the monkeys' fear of Nezha and understood their feelings. She had originally planned a quick victory, but the monsters had somehow gone off to get reinforcements, causing such a delay.
Living under the same roof for so long made the atmosphere increasingly awkward.
Nezha didn't care about any of that; he could isolate the entire Flower Fruit Mountain by himself. The monkeys weren't deliberately targeting him, but they were a little intimidated and would subconsciously avoid him. After all, they had all witnessed how the Heavenly Court ganged up on their own king, and they couldn't change their mindset in a short time.
Caught between the two, Jiang Huaisu had to consider the monkeys' feelings while also not leaving Nezha out in the cold. This forced her to engage in some balancing acts, consciously controlling her words and actions to avoid showing any particular favoritism or bias towards either side.
However, she is not very good at handling interpersonal relationships. After half a month, the monkeys and Nezha at least on the surface were at peace, but she was the only one who was suffering from the pain of trying to please everyone, which made her highly empathetic to some parents of families with two children.
Not knowing how much longer she would have to stay on Flower Fruit Mountain, she felt that this stalemate couldn't continue indefinitely. She realized it was time to create an opportunity to break the ice.
After Jiang Huaisu finished taking stock of the food stored in the cave, she found that there was still a lot of fruit wine left over from this year's brewing. After some discussion, she decided to go to town to buy a batch of ingredients, including both meat and vegetables, with a wide variety of choices.
They moved all of these things back to Flower Fruit Mountain and held a lively celebration in their cave. They set up a feast that very day, not to entertain outsiders, but just to eat and drink behind closed doors to reward their own monkeys, who had been on edge for days, and of course, Nezha as well.
This is essentially a department dinner. When people have grudges, eating and drinking are undoubtedly the fastest way to bridge the gap. Alcohol is a good remedy for expressing emotions, and she hoped to alleviate the awkward, distant relationship between Nezha and the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain through this method.
A dozen or so stone tables were set up in the cave, with various dishes, fruits and wines piled on them.
This time, Jiang Huaisu paid for it out of her own pocket. The taste is not guaranteed, but the portion is generous.
If there aren't enough plates, use lotus leaves. As for the lotus leaves, they were generously sponsored by Nezha; both the leaves and stems are edible and add an extra fragrance to the food, making them much more cost-effective than plates.
The little monkeys all seemed very excited. Only a few sat properly and picked up food, while most swung around in the cave, eating and howling.
The monkeys' calls, varying in pitch, rose and fell around her, giving Jiang Huaisu a headache. She wanted to ask them to quiet down, but seeing the little ones eating with their mouths full of oil and their furry faces beaming with a relaxed expression she hadn't seen in a long time, she thought, "It's a rare chance to relax, so let the headache bother me."
Although she wanted to use the banquet to help Nezha and the monkeys get closer, she didn't intend to hold a large meeting for everyone. If the atmosphere became too serious, it would be less conducive to heart-to-heart talks. She thought that by eating and drinking together, becoming closer would be a natural thing.
The fruit wine had a strong aftereffect, and soon, some monkeys who couldn't hold their liquor began to stagger and slur their words. They lost their energy to make a fuss and were helped by their companions to rest in the inner room.
Jiang Huaisu sat at the same table as Nezha. She had an excellent alcohol tolerance, but unexpectedly, Nezha was also exceptionally talented in this area. He didn't usually drink alcohol, but when he was at the table, he could drink fruit wine like it was juice.
After a few drinks, he showed no signs of getting drunk; his eyes were still clear, and he was even able to help Jiang Huaisu maintain order at the scene.
Jiang Huaisu's verbal commands were ineffective against the disobedient monkey who refused to return to the inner room while drunk. Nezha put down his wine cup, grabbed the monkey, and spanked him swiftly and decisively, giving him no chance to react.
Surprisingly, his technique appeared quite professional, and coupled with the monkeys' repeated screams, it served as a warning to others. The drunken monkeys around were sobered up somewhat, and their wild behavior subsided considerably.
Jiang Huaisu felt his authority as the second-in-command was being suppressed, and when it came to discipline, Nezha was still the best. But then he thought, having been a divine general for so many years, it was indeed easy for him to use his experience in leading troops to suppress these little monkeys.
Thinking of this, she hesitated before asking, "Do you usually treat your subordinates like this?"
Nezha: "...How could you possibly use these tricks on heavenly soldiers?"
"Because you look quite skilled."
"What technique is needed to spank? I used to beat up monkeys from Flower Fruit Mountain when I was Miao Lian, so it's easy for me to do it now."
So he's a repeat offender. Jiang Huaisu understood, picked up her wine glass and took another sip, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Wasn't this banquet supposed to be about building relationships? Now the monkeys seem even more afraid of Nezha!
Then look at Nezha, still leisurely wiping his hands with his magic ribbon, meticulously cleaning each finger, seemingly genuinely disgusted by the hand that had spanked the monkey. He could have simply used magic to clean them; this fuss was clearly meant for the monkey's amusement!
It's clear that this guy had no intention of getting along with the monkeys at all, and was even satisfied with the current situation. With a little trickery, he could subdue these little rascals, which shows his maximum deterrent power.
Jiang Huaisu, in a fit of despair, downed the wine in her cup in one gulp. She had to admit that expecting Nezha and the monkeys to get along well was simply impossible.
Nezha isn't the type of person who likes to get close to others; this social distance, neither too close nor too far, is probably just comfortable for him.
The ice-breaking plan can basically be declared a failure. Things will remain the same from now on. Jiang Huaisu crunched a peanut, glanced at Nezha, picked up the wine pot and filled his cup, saying succinctly, "Drink."
More and more monkeys were helped into the inner chamber to rest, or they lay huddled together in a corner like a human pyramid. The stone chamber was filled with the intoxicating aroma of fruit wine.
In the end, only Jiang Huaisu and Nezha remained sitting at the table. They hadn't eaten much, but empty wine jugs were scattered all over the floor. Nezha simply brought over the wine vat as well, and replaced the wine cups with bowls to save himself the trouble of refilling the wine.
They're so energetic, it's like they want to wipe out a whole year's worth of fruit wine stock today.
Jiang Huaisu, who used to be unmatched in drinking, finally had a good time drinking with Nezha today. Her cheeks were flushed, and she felt that her mind was still clear, but she was already a little drunk.
However, seeing that Nezha was still sitting upright, she didn't want to admit defeat and kept drinking one cup after another, as if she wanted to drown her sorrows in alcohol.
Anyway, their bodily functions are different from ordinary people, so even if they get completely drunk, they won't experience any serious symptoms. The alcohol impurities will be broken down very cleanly in their bodies. At most, they'll just need to sleep it off.
In the corner, a drunken monkey started talking in its sleep, muttering something unintelligible, seemingly not sleeping soundly. Nezha snapped his fingers, and a sleepy bug flew over. The talking monkey quieted down again, scratched its bottom, rolled over, and fell into a deep sleep.
"Sleepyheads have this amazing use?" Jiang Huaisu exclaimed in surprise. "They can interrupt someone's dream?"
"If you sleep soundly enough, you won't dream."
"Oh." Jiang Huaisu lay on the table, looking up at him. "But then again, there's nothing wrong with dreaming. Especially sweet dreams; they can make you happy as you dream. How many dreams do you usually have?"
"not much."
“I dream a lot, probably because I have a rich imagination. My mind is very active even when I'm asleep,” Jiang Huaisu said. “When I was in school, I once dreamed that I was dating a classmate. Even though I had hardly ever spoken to him, I still had that kind of dream. Isn’t that strange? The dreaming process is completely beyond my control. It’s like opening a blind box.”
Nezha: "...Classmate? Who?"
"You wouldn't know him even if I told you. He was our group leader back then, a rather handsome young man."
"You like him?"
"Of course I don't like it, otherwise I would have confessed my feelings before graduation."
"Why would I dream about being with him if I don't like him?"
"Well... that's how reckless and impulsive dreams are during puberty. Maybe I just happened to read some romance novel that day and got a little smitten. Well, he's good-looking, so my brain automatically made him a guest in my dream, it wasn't my intention."
Nezha looked at her with disdain, "Just because you're good-looking doesn't mean you can enter my dreams. It just means you're not strong-willed."
“No, that’s not true.” Jiang Huaisu picked up her wine bowl, touched the rim of Nezha’s bowl, took a big gulp, and then slowly continued, “Third Prince, you are also very handsome, but I have never had any erotic dreams about you, which shows that I am still very sensible and principled deep down.”
If she were fully conscious, she would never have so casually mentioned "erotic dreams" and discussed them so seriously with Nezha. But under the influence of alcohol, her emotions became dulled, and she didn't see anything wrong with it; she simply wanted to express her utmost respect for the Third Prince and had no intention of disrespecting him whatsoever.
Nezha gave a cold smile: "You better be." He paused, then added, "What were you and your male classmate doing in your dream?"
"It was too long ago, I can't remember clearly. Maybe it was just holding hands or watching a movie or something." It wasn't exactly a proper erotic dream, and the other person's face was mostly blurry.
The emptiness she felt upon waking was more memorable to Jiang Huaisu than the dream itself.
“I’ve also had dreams about the Third Prince,” she recalled. “But they were nightmares. In the dream, you said you wanted to pluck all my feathers and use them to make clothes.”
"...Can't you remember anything good I've done?"
"Of course I'll remember! Otherwise, how would we have become friends?" Jiang Huaisu grinned mischievously and bumped his shoulder.
Just as a hint of anger was stirred up, Jiang Huaisu soothed him again. Nezha closed his eyes, propped his forehead with his hand, as if he was a little sleepy.
Jiang Huaisu walked around him talking while holding a bowl. Because she couldn't control her balance very well at the moment, her movements were too exaggerated, and a lot of wine splashed out and spilled onto his hem.
Nezha frowned: "Are you drunk?"
"I'm not!" Jiang Huaisu looked at him warily. "Are you drunk? Your face is all red."
Nezha immediately retorted, "Your face is redder than mine, like a monkey's bottom. How dare you say that to me?"
"You're the monkey's ass."
Nezha endured it for a while, then stood up to help her, but he himself couldn't walk in a straight line. He swayed and had to support himself on the stone table to maintain his balance.
"I'm not drinking anymore, I'm going to sleep."
Jiang Huaisu was overjoyed: "So you're admitting defeat?"
"...When will we have a match?"
"We've been competing all along, seeing who can drink the most."
Too lazy to argue with the drunkard, Nezha snatched the wine bowl from her hand, gulped it down in one go, tossed the bowl aside, and pulled her towards the inner room, saying, "The competition is over now, let's go back and rest."
Jiang Huaisu didn't resist. She was indeed a little dizzy, with drowsiness and drunkenness rushing to her head. She should go to bed and lie down.
Nezha walked ahead, still holding onto her hand tightly. The two walked unsteadily, but fortunately the passage itself was not wide, so the route wouldn't stray too far off course; they could simply feel their way in along the cave wall.
During the day, light streams in through cracks in the cave ceiling, but at night, only candles hanging on the walls provide illumination. The candlelight is dim and viscous, with a honey-like texture. From Jiang Huaisu's perspective, everything in front of her is bathed in a hazy, warm light, losing its clear boundaries.
Only Nezha's hair ribbon fluttered in her field of vision, rising and falling, its vibrant red standing out starkly in the environment.
Without thinking, she reached out to grab him, only to hear Nezha hiss and turn to scold her for being so impulsive. The scolding sounded distant to her, hazy and indistinct.
Then she felt a lightness in her body as Nezha picked her up.
But he himself was not very steady on his feet, and several times he almost fell to the ground with Jiang Huaisu.
Finally arriving at the room, Nezha kicked the door open, threw the person in his arms onto the bed, and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Anyway, it's getting late, let's get some sleep.
He pushed the person on the bed further in: "Move in a little, I can't sleep anymore."
Jiang Huaisu had her eyes closed and was half asleep, but when she heard Nezha's words, she still mumbled a reply and obediently moved over.
The next morning, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the cracks in the cave wall and fell on the edge of the bed curtains, turning the floating dust in the air a pale gold.
The room was quiet, the breathing inside the tent was soft and long, and the air was warm. Long hair was intertwined on the pillow.
The girl's eyelashes hung obediently, casting a small shadow under her eyelids, making her look like she was sleeping peacefully.
Both of them slept fully clothed, though their blankets were in disarray. A crease down the middle of the blankets was the "river and Han boundary" left when they were back to back during the first half of the night. As they slept closer together, the crease gradually narrowed.
Compared to Nezha, Jiang Huaisu's sleeping posture was much wilder. One leg was straight and the other was bent. She lay on her side, taking up most of the bed. Her right hand was on Nezha's waist. If she squeezed forward a little more, she could snuggle into his arms.
Suddenly, she moved slightly and rustled, then turned over, her eyelids trembling as she struggled to open them a crack.
Sinking into the fur mattress was so comfortable that she didn't want to move at all. Sleepiness hadn't completely worn off, and her vision was still a little blurry, as if a layer of frosted glass were covering her eyes.
Jiang Huaisu rubbed her eyes hard, her mind blank for a moment, unable to remember why she was sleeping here.
However, as her vision gradually cleared, she saw Nezha's peaceful sleeping face right in front of her.
The boy's brows relaxed, his former arrogance gone, a few strands of hair falling across his forehead, his breathing shallow, appearing completely unguarded.
Upon seeing the scene before her, Jiang Huaisu swallowed back the gasp that almost escaped her throat and carefully withdrew her hand from Nezha's waist.
I remember now! Last night I was drinking with Nezha, and then I went back to my room to sleep... I guess I got into the wrong room while I was not fully conscious?
If Nezha woke up at this moment, it would be very awkward if their eyes met. Thinking this, she remained silent and quietly admired his sleeping face for a while. As she looked at him, she became somewhat lost in thought and reached out to touch his distinct eyelashes, but immediately realized that it was inappropriate and quickly withdrew her hand.
She had a strange dream last night.
In her dream, she was in the form of a magpie, and Nezha was a large lotus flower. She would pick up a petal, and Nezha would grow a new one; she would pick up another, and he would continue to grow. Her beak was almost worn out, but the lotus flower still bloomed arrogantly.
After recalling the dream, she couldn't help but sigh. Why was he unwilling to suffer a loss even in her dream?
Now that her drowsiness had mostly dissipated, Jiang Huaisu carefully propped herself up, afraid of making the slightest noise. She threw back the covers, preparing to tiptoe over Nezha and then sneak back to her room, so she could pretend nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Just as she crawled out of bed and was about to step over the covers, Nezha seemed to sense something and opened his eyes.
Jiang Huaisu: "......"
It's hard to describe the sense of dread that welled up inside me at that moment. It felt like being caught skipping class by the homeroom teacher, and the awkward moment of our eyes meeting had finally arrived.
She should have fled the scene immediately and dealt with everything after getting out of bed. But before she could jump out of bed, Nezha grabbed her by the back of the neck.
In her panic, she kicked out, but Nezha grabbed her ankle. It was difficult to maintain her balance in this position, and she almost hit the bedpost, but two hands climbed up her waist to help her steady herself.
Jiang Huaisu suffered from not having enough hands and was forced to maintain this posture, turning back to look at Nezha.
The person didn't seem to be fully awake yet, with a tuft of hair sticking up on top of their head, and their eyes looked somewhat dazed. It seemed that their act of grabbing her earlier was just a subconscious one.
"I didn't do anything!" Jiang Huaisu immediately defended herself, "I must have been drunk last night and went into the wrong room..."
Nezha's mind seemed to finally start working. His eyelashes fluttered, and he said, "I know. I was the one who took you back to your room last night."
"That's good, that's good." Jiang Huaisu breathed a sigh of relief; it was best to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
If she were to be misunderstood as being promiscuous and lustful while drunk, it would be impossible to explain herself even with eight mouths. In terms of looks alone, the Third Prince is indeed quite handsome, but she has excellent manners when drunk! She would never do anything inappropriate while intoxicated.
She tried to pull her ankle back, but couldn't. She looked at Nezha with a puzzled expression: "Third Prince?"
Nezha gently rubbed the protruding bone on her ankle with his fingertips. After a while, he uttered a sentence that had nothing to do with the current situation: "Why are your feet so cold? Are you cold-sensitive?"
Jiang Huaisu: "...No, I'm in very good health and very strong." But that's not the point right now!
"Since it's all a misunderstanding, I'll go back to my room first, so as not to disturb the Third Prince's nap." Her words were both clever and considerate. If Nezha had any sense, he would have known that she meant for him to let go quickly.
Nezha was stunned for a moment, then released his grip as if waking from a dream: "Oh."
Jiang Huaisu slumped onto the edge of the bed, lifted the curtain with a sigh of relief, and was about to get out of bed when she heard Nezha behind her say, "This seems to be your room."
"?"
As if receiving a signal from her eyes, Nezha slowly got out of bed, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he sat calmly in front of the dressing mirror, tidied his messy hair with his hands, and his gaze shifted, meeting Jiang Huaisu's eyes in the mirror.
What kind of incense do you use in your room?
Jiang Huaisu honestly replied, "It's the kind that repels insects and helps with sleep, bought at the market."
"It works well for sleep; I slept well last night."
Jiang Huaisu subconsciously sniffed, but couldn't smell any incense at all. The room was filled with a strong lotus fragrance, even the quilt was permeated with this domineering aroma, giving the illusion of being surrounded by lotus flowers.
"How about you? Did you sleep well?" Nezha asked her in a casual tone. "Didn't you say you have a rich imagination? Did you dream last night?"
I dreamt about you.
Nezha froze mid-combing motion, clearly not expecting this response. Before this, he had maintained a blank, sleepwalking expression, but now his face finally regained color, perhaps due to improved blood circulation; even his lips were more vibrant red, creating a lively and alluring scene.
"What did you dream about me?" He avoided Jiang Huaisu's gaze in the mirror, turned his head away, and asked in a harsh tone.
Jiang Huaisu secretly regretted her loose tongue. She hadn't done anything good to Nezha in her dream, and saying it out loud was just asking for trouble. She chuckled and said perfunctorily, "It's nothing, we were just having fun together."
"That's a coincidence, I dreamed about you too."
"Hmm?" Jiang Huaisu asked curiously, "What did you dream about me about this time?"
"...we also had a lot of fun together."
Sleeping in the same bed can have this effect? You both enter each other's dreams, and even the content of your dreams is similar. Is it just a matter of tacit understanding?
Nezha's expression was slightly complicated, a blush gradually spreading from his cheeks to his ears, and he hallucinated a large lotus flower that was gradually turning pink.
He used his magic to tie his hair back, stood up, and walked out, adjusting his slightly loose belt as he did so. "You can continue sleeping."
Finally, after seeing off this big Buddha, Jiang Huaisu breathed a silent sigh of relief. Suddenly, she heard a little monkey knocking on the door outside to announce:
"Sister Susu! Those monsters are attacking again!"
Nezha opened the door and met the little monkey's gaze. The little monkey, as if its throat had been choked, immediately fell silent and took a step back in surprise. Why was this person coming out of their second-in-command's room so early in the morning!
Jiang Huaisu jumped out of bed and ran to the door: "How many people are on the other side?"
"More than... more than twice as much as last time."
Jiang Huaisu's expression hardened, and she was about to go out to check the situation when Nezha stopped her. "I'll go."
His gaze shifted downwards. "Aren't you cold without shoes?"
Jiang Huaisu also looked down. She hadn't had time to put on her shoes because she was in such a hurry, but such details didn't matter at this time.
In the brief moment her attention was diverted, Nezha had already drifted out the door like a gust of wind, his Hun Tian Ling trailing behind him, disappearing at the end of the corridor. His murderous aura remained undiminished; it was unclear how many survivors he would leave this time.
It was gratifying to see the helpers who brought her so enthusiastically, but Jiang Huaisu herself wanted to go and see for herself, and did not intend to let Nezha take care of everything.
She stared at the little monkey outside the door for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and stepped out, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier. It was as if she had bumped into a giant jelly wall, and her body was immediately bounced back.
This barrier couldn't be broken through in a short time. Jiang Huaisu walked around the room once, and finally sat back on the bed in frustration.
The little monkey outside was still peeking in, but it couldn't get in and could only look inside with a worried expression. "Sister Susu?"
"It's nothing." She waved her hand weakly. "Go outside and see what's going on. Come back and tell me if anything happens."
The little monkey nodded in agreement, took two steps, then hesitated and turned back: "By the way, Sister Susu, last night you and him..."
Jiang Huaisu froze, but said nonchalantly, "We've been honing our card skills all night."
Having fooled the little monkey, she buried her head in the blanket and punched the bed in frustration.
She knew Nezha meant well, not wanting her to be exposed to danger. But wasn't this a bit too overprotective? She wanted to go out and see the world too!
Looking back, Nezha treated Zhenying the same way.
Madam Yin asked him to take care of his sister, and his way of taking care of her was to keep Zhenying at Lianxin Residence and try his best not to let her out of his sight. He was only at ease when he had her every word and action under his control.
So, is this guy "taking care" of her now?
They just locked her up here, continuing their autocratic ways as always.
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