Chapter 879 Encountering a Fairy
The five returned in the evening.
In the center of the Drip Cave Hall, on that high platform, there was no one left.
There was no sign of Uncle Tang.
Meanwhile, the sunlight that had been streaming through the cave entrance during the day had disappeared, replaced by a faint, silvery moonlight.
Its rays slanted in and fell upon the oddly shaped cave walls.
Under the silvery light, the stalactites hanging upside down look like stars falling from the sky, and the towering stalagmites look like the earth rising up.
The sound of dripping water is incessant, like a soft murmur, reminding visitors that this is a masterpiece sculpted over thousands of years.
The surrounding stalactites, in all their strange shapes and sizes, are rich in trace minerals. Under the refraction of moonlight, they sometimes take on a warm orange-red hue, and at other times appear as a deep gray-black.
The hidden dripping water cave within this mountain is a wonder of its formation, perhaps even older than the Yunmeng Sword Marsh. It has existed since the first Yue Chuzi established her sect, and has witnessed the legends of countless female rulers over the millennia.
The ancient cave is dappled with moonlight.
It was already night, and there were no torches prepared inside the Dripping Water Cave. The moonlight falling from the cave ceiling and the colorful stalactites and stalagmites made the light too weak, making the hall somewhat dim.
Although hundreds of girls gathered together, they could only vaguely see the blurry figures of people in the distance.
The hall was dimly lit, but the voices of girls chattering or muttering could be heard. They each held a wooden plaque engraved with their step count, as if they were exchanging their scores.
A dozen or so Yue women with plaques stood quietly around the hall, the colorful light from the stalactites above flowing onto their snow-white Wu-style dresses, creating a dreamlike scene.
They did not restrict the movements or speech of these newly arrived Yue women, as long as they did not leave the cave hall. However, they looked at them gently, as if they were waiting for something.
There are more than a dozen passageways around the main hall of Drip Cave, seemingly leading to many places. This hall should also be a commonly used gathering place.
The girls who had completed the Yue women's assessment were scattered in twos and threes in the hall.
After spending several days together, the group had formed some close friends, forming a small circle similar to that of Song Zhian, Yu Xiaoniangzi, and Ouyang Rong.
As the five of them walked through the dimly lit passageway into the hall, some young girls cast glances their way.
However, Ouyang Rong noticed that their gazes were all fixed on Song Zhian, and they were paying attention to her.
As a woman from Sichuan, Song Zhian is quite tall, unlike the petite and delicate women of the traditional Wu and Yue regions of southern China. In addition, she is quite recognizable among this group of Yue women. Furthermore, her excellent performance in the previous rounds should have attracted the attention of some of her opponents...
The five people stopped at the edge of the dripping cave and did not squeeze in. They were the second to last group to return, and all the other places in the hall were occupied, so there was really no need to squeeze in.
In addition, Lu Jinghong's question came over, and all five of them stopped in their tracks and fell silent, as if they were thinking about how to answer.
Lady Yu put away the pastry bag, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and quietly asked:
"Oh, I forgot, in my dream I seemed to have my mother, and you guys too, and some bad guys... But it seems we worked together to drive the bad guys away, and then we went to a roadside tavern and had a really bad meal, and it was really expensive... Oh right, I also dreamed that Brother Liu was really amazing, he turns out to be a low-key master, and he and Sister Song saved us when we were in the most danger..."
"What nonsense is this?" Lu Jinghong was speechless. "Didn't you say you could have lucid dreams? How come you forgot so quickly? Are you even lucid?"
Miss Yu stood tall and proud, and said logically and with evidence:
"It was a lucid dream. I was awake at the time, and I knew I was dreaming, so I ordered all the dishes I wanted to eat and all the delicacies I had never tried before... But in the end, it was a nightmare, not a good thing. Why remember it so clearly after waking up? Isn't that stupid? Anyway, I forgot most of it after waking up. I'm too lazy to recall it. My memory is all blurry, and I've forgotten the details."
Lu Jinghong was increasingly speechless as he listened, but after thinking about it, it seemed that it was indeed something that Miss Yu could do.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the carefree Yu Xiaoniangzi, nodded, and echoed:
"Me too, I can't remember."
Sha Ergou paused for a moment, then spoke:
“I dreamt about my sister. In the dream, it seemed like something had happened to her, and my employer came to tell me… The situation in the dream was just like the real thing. I thought it was real and just wanted to go find my sister immediately. But along the way, it seemed like other things kept popping up and blocking me, just not wanting me to get there.”
"I could only watch helplessly as those bad people outside bullied my sister, and I was so worried... These bad people seem to be those corrupt officials outside."
The short-haired young man gritted his teeth.
Ouyang Rong, whose face was usually expressionless, slightly turned his head and, unusually, spoke up, asking a question:
Where is your sister now?
Sha Ergou shook his head, his eyes also looking somewhat confused:
“My sister used to work in Taoyuan Town and would send some money back home every month. Later, she went home and helped patch up the holes in the roof of the thatched house. She also spent money to move our parents’ graves together, erected new tombstones and repaired them, which saved us from having to go to the lake to pay our respects every year during Qingming Festival.”
"She also said she had saved some money for me to use when I found a wife. I didn't want it, but she insisted on giving it to me. I told her to keep the money, but on the morning she left, she secretly slipped it into my shoe..."
Sha Ergou wasn't very educated and his speech was somewhat disjointed, but neither Ouyang Rong nor Song Zhian interrupted him, and even Lu Jinghong, who had the least patience, remained silent.
Ouyang Rong asked again:
"Why did she leave the money behind? Why didn't she take it with her? Where is she going? Is she in danger?"
As the short-haired young man spoke, his voice choked with emotion:
"My sister said she was going on a trip with her employer to do some business. It's quite far, and she said she'd bring me some good food when she got back. But... but she still hasn't come back..."
"I came to Taoyuan Town to look for her, but I was afraid of bothering my sister. Her employer is very generous and honest, and he gives her a lot of money. I was afraid of disturbing her. I finally mustered up the courage to come and look for her, but I got a bit lost and couldn't contact her..."
Song Zhian asked gently:
"What's your sister's name? We can ask her when you return to Taoyuan Town another day."
Sha Ergou scratched his head, somewhat gratefully saying:
"Oh, my sister's name is Sha Daya... so my name is Sha Ergou."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "That makes a lot of sense."
Lu Jinghong's lips twitched slightly.
What strange names they have, like duck and dog.
"And what about Miss Song? What kind of nightmare did she have?"
He suddenly asked.
Song Zhian paused for a moment, then gently shook her head:
"These are some tragic events I witnessed during the chaos of war in Jiannan Road. It's been a long time, and I had almost forgotten about them, but this time when I entered the palace, I had a nightmare, and they all came back to me. They were all strung together in the dream, and it was quite terrifying..."
She took a deep breath, stopped talking, and said in a very firm tone:
"Tiannan is great, I... I never want to go back to my hometown again."
Lu Jinghong nodded in agreement:
“In Jiannan Circuit, where the emperor is far away, there are indeed many corrupt officials, especially that pacification commissioner surnamed An, who has made a mess of Jiannan Circuit. The key is that the court is quite lenient with him, delegating power to him, making him act like a local tyrant.”
"In addition, in the southwest, Li Zhengyan and the Kuangfu Army have rebelled. The court needs Jiannan Road to send troops to join forces with General Qin's expeditionary army to attack from both sides. This has led to the fact that the man surnamed An has become even more powerful, and the court also has to protect him."
"However, in the end, all the local governments are the same, exploiting the people, just to varying degrees... This is why I don't want to follow in my father's footsteps and become an official. I can't do such exploitative things at all. On the contrary, I would easily offend people by showing my displeasure. If I were in such a situation, I would be influenced by my surroundings... I still prefer to be a swordsman."
Song Zhian carefully observed Lu Jinghong's expression and slowly nodded:
"Indeed, Young Master Lu's insight is brilliant."
Sha Ergou puffed out his cheeks and said, "My sister said that all those corrupt officials outside deserve to die."
Miss Yu seemed to remember something and asked with a curious look:
"What did Young Master Lu dream about? What did you just say about eating people?"
Lu Jinghong immediately fell silent. Everyone saw him seem to tighten his grip on the sword, and after a moment, he took a deep breath and slowly began to speak:
"It was a strange dream, and don't laugh at me for telling you. I dreamt that I had mastered swordsmanship and honed my skills in the Yunmeng Sword Marsh. One day, I received a message from the Great Queen, which turned out to be from my aunt. It seemed that my aunt was in danger, so I took up my sword and went to find her. On the way, I met some companions. You guys seemed to be there, but then again, you seemed to be gone. I forgot. Anyway, it was a group of people traveling together..."
"When we arrived at the place where my aunt sent the message, it was an island in the North Sea. We took a boat there and sailed on the sea. Suddenly, we encountered a strange fox. I don't know if it was a fox or not, but its face looked like a fox. It could swim freely in the sea and followed the boat closely all the way... At first, everything was fine, but halfway there, a storm suddenly came. The boat was badly damaged, the deck was damaged, and it started to leak. There were not enough seats for many people, and some people started to fall overboard..."
"Every time someone fell, the fox would eat them. Its appetite was like a bottomless pit, relentlessly devouring everyone one by one... We frantically rowed the boat, but fewer and fewer people remained. Eventually, infighting broke out... Later we learned that it could speak human language. It was incredibly eerie. It kept mocking us, and even at the very end, near the shore, it made us vote, saying we could only choose one person to live..."
Song Zhian frowned and asked:
"What a strange dream! So, who did you choose in the end?"
Lu Jinghong lowered her head and murmured something:
"I forgot what happened next, but in the end... for some reason, it spared me and let me onto the island, but ate everyone else, including those who were voted out. In the end, only I was left... Later, I went all the way to the island, thinking I had escaped this calamity and found my aunt. But then, this fox came out again. This time, it ate my aunt directly. Even my all-powerful aunt was powerless to fight back. I... I was terrified. It was too scary."
"After it finished eating, it even transformed into my aunt's appearance and spoke to me... This demon seems to be able to transform into the appearance of the person it eats. It smiled and asked me if I wanted to become an immortal... I was so scared that I didn't answer."
"It then chatted with me, saying that it didn't actually like eating people, as it would only add to its negative karma, waste its stomach, and cause digestive problems. It told me not to misunderstand it, saying that it was an immortal and its favorite food was... was..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly pressed, "What's your favorite food?"
Lu Jinghong rubbed her face vigorously, her eyes showing lingering fear from a nightmare:
"It said that it just saw me and my aunt, and its appetite was whetted. It ate some dessert before the meal. Its favorite food is me and my aunt..."
"It also said that we were born to be eaten by it, but at the same time we are the luckiest, because we can become immortals with it and live forever."
The atmosphere among the five was somewhat quiet.
Ouyang Rong listened silently, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.
He had experienced the strangeness of this Hall of Mental Cultivation before, but today's third test was being conducted in the outer hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Judging from the concentration of white mist and safety, if he was not mistaken, the place in the white mist that trapped his "mind" yesterday should be the inner hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The "nourishing white mist" in the inner sanctuary was even denser and more dangerous.
The thin white mist in the outer hall had a slightly weaker effect, but it still stirred up some things deep in everyone's hearts.
Based on the dream descriptions of the four friends, this nightmare might be something they've experienced before, something from their subconscious, or something they're worried about...
Whether it's true or false is unclear, and it doesn't even matter. What matters is that the white mist can draw out these things in everyone's hearts, turning them into nightmares to temper their mental resilience.
After all, they were all young girls and boys, and most of them didn't have the kind of "heart-nurturing death trap" that made people soberly participate but was terrifying upon closer inspection, like last night.
More often, it manifests itself as a substitute for nightmares.
Lu Jinghong's nightmare about encountering a man-eating fox demon was definitely not something she had actually experienced; it was probably a reflection of some kind of mental anxieties. As for whether it was true or not... we can only say that many of the elements pieced together in it might be true.
The nightmares of Sha Ergou and those that Song Zhiruo didn't mention should also be of the same nature.
In fact, we can see something from the fact that the Queen's Palace uses this stage as a test of mental fortitude.
Senior Sister Yuan and the others didn't inquire about the teenagers' nightmares in detail, nor did they care about them. They only focused on how many steps the teenagers had taken forward in their nightmare predicaments, using that as the purest evaluation criterion...
Therefore, nightmares are unlikely to involve any important prophecies.
However, Lu Jinghong's cannibalistic nightmare is indeed quite bizarre.
Ouyang Rong, a "regular at the Hall of Mental Cultivation," could roughly foresee some of the nightmares of Sha Ergou, Song Zhian, and others, but Lu Jinghong's nightmare was particularly bizarre and outrageous.
So, what elements, hidden beneath the surface of their subconscious, unconsciously pieced together this chilling nightmare?
Furthermore, for some reason, Ouyang Rong had a vague sense of déjà vu about the man-eating fox in Lu Jinghong's dream...
(End of this chapter)
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