Chapter 108 Dream Thirteen Awakening
At three o'clock in the morning, Liuxian Temple was sound asleep amid the chirping of insects from far and near.
Moonlight filtered through the branches of the willow trees in front of the courtyard, and the bronze bells swayed slightly, but made no sound.
Suddenly, the temple door opened, and a stylishly dressed, light-haired woman crept in, a lit candle in hand. She stealthily made her way to the main hall, placed the candle on the incense table, and kowtowed several times on the cushion, muttering something to herself.
"My Lord God, I've heard that you're the most powerful in the area. Could you please bless me to have a good night's sleep? I've been suffering from insomnia for three days, and I don't want to die suddenly...?"
call--
A gust of wind blew in front of the hall and blew out the candles on the altar.
The girl stood up in surprise, a look of fear on her face. "My Lord God? Is that you?"
The willow branches were blown by the wind, and their messy shadows were reflected on the railing on one side, looking quite ferocious.
Ding-ling, ding-ling...
The copper bells that had been as steady as a rock just now began to make sounds, one leading to another, and finally the whole tree was filled with tinkling sounds, which sounded a bit creepy.
The girl timidly walked towards the door, her body bent, as if she wanted to leave.
Snap! — A bunch of willow branches unexpectedly wrapped around the girl's wrist, making her unable to move.
The girl let out a hasty scream and quickly untied the willow branches from her wrists, only to find that they were getting tighter and tighter, and she was being slowly dragged towards the tree trunk. Countless waving and shaking branches became strange tentacles, joyfully welcoming their prey.
Finally, the girl couldn't help but blurt out "Oh my god!" She yelled, "Stop watching the fun and help me!"
A pair of silver scissors flew over, snapped and cut off the willow branch that was holding the girl, and then returned to Meng Caiyun's hands.
Meng Zhao's paper man pulled Bai Heng back. Liu Zhi wanted to chase him again, but was stuck by the overwhelming white paper men and couldn't get rid of them. In the end, she simply cut off her tail to survive and stopped fighting with Meng Zhao.
Meng Caiyun was quick-witted and quick-handed. Seeing that the enemy was about to escape, he pulled out a whisk from his waist and swept it in circles. The white whisker's tail wrapped around the tree trunk tightly. The black shadow inside had no time to break free and was stuck to by Meng Zhao's paper figurine, causing it to scream.
"It really is hidden in this tree," Bai Heng finally poked his head out from behind Meng Caiyun. "But how did you know?"
Meng Caiyun tightly grasped the shadow on the other side of the whisk, while leisurely explaining, "I noticed some unburned talisman ash on this tree before. I didn't think of it at the time, but after asking Turtle Soup, I suspected someone might have used talismans to imprison the real Lady Liu, rendering the copper bell ineffective and allowing the Nightmare Ghost to slip in."
"The Nightmare Nest acupoint that my father cleared out back then was not far from here. Perhaps one of the ghosts that slipped through the net had set its sights on the incense offerings at the Willow Fairy Temple and wanted to take over. Unfortunately, the Willow Fairy Temple caught fire in 2009 and was rebuilt, and open flame offerings have been prohibited since then."
"So, it must be very hungry now."
Bai Heng's scalp tingled. "Liu Wu was killed by the person who reported the case. Could it be that the person who reported the case was killed by this thing in turn?"
The imprisoned black shadow couldn't bear the power of the talisman and screamed: "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Meng Zhao withdrew some of the paper figures and said coldly, "Tell me the truth and I'll spare your life."
The shadow twisted and struggled, unable to free itself from the whisk even with all its might. Finally, it spoke in frustration, "...What do you want to know?"
Bai Heng asked sternly, "Who are you?"
The black shadow laughed strangely a few times: "Haha... Who am I? How should I answer you... I don't know who I am, I am just me."
Meng Zhao asked the paper figurine to come forward again: "Don't cheat."
The black shadow screamed and cursed terribly: "Put these things away first!"
The paper people spat at it, stopped beating it fiercely, and returned to the air with their hands on their hips.
"I'm not lying to you... When I was conscious, I had already swallowed that man's nightmares. He and I are one..." The shadow's breath was weak, but he still spoke without restraint: "So, I might be the one who killed my own brother with my own hands? Hehe."
Meng Caiyun pondered: "The one who killed my brother personally must be the one who reported the case."
The shadow laughed. "He kept kowtowing in the temple. He kept kowtowing. Madam Liu didn't save him, but I did! I ate him, and he was freed from the nightmare..."
Meng Caiyun snorted, "You deliberately planted a nightmare in his body so that he would suffer and become your food, right?"
The shadow couldn't stop laughing. "That's what he said, but if he had nothing to hide, he wouldn't be trapped by nightmares... Hahahaha, he clearly believed a Taoist priest and wanted to steal the book to sell for money. When his brother found out, he showed no mercy and killed the man directly and buried him under the scarecrow. He did evil, but it turned out that the book was fake. Hahahaha... He regrets it so much! His family is gone, and his money is gone. He wishes he could have been the one killed."
The shadow teased, "Since he wants to do that, I'll oblige him. I gave him a dream where he was the one being killed. But he wasn't happy about it. Men are like the sea's needle, so hard to please."
"He still wants Madam Liu to save him. Madam Liu won't save him, so I'll do it. I'll just eat him and eliminate evil for the people..."
Bai Heng scolded, "You're still trying to eliminate evil? I think you're the worst! Do you dare to say that the nightmares those two community police officers suffered weren't caused by you?"
The black shadow said with grievance and cunningness: "I was sealed in this tree for a long time. A few days ago, the seal suddenly broke down. I just got out, and there are no incense sticks in the temple. I really want to eat something."
Meng Zhao stopped his incessant complaints and asked, "Where is the real Madam Liu?"
The shadow smacked his lips. "She was sealed away with me... but she has lost her incense, and after so many years... I guess she has dissipated long ago."
"One last question," Meng Caiyun stared at him. "Who was the Taoist priest who instigated the theft of the book? Was he the one who sealed you?"
After reading the whole story, if it weren't for the Taoist priest, this case would be nothing more than a human tragedy.
But this Taoist priest chose to get involved in it, and lured the reporter into getting the Taiyin Immortal Law at all costs. Afterwards, he found out that the book was fake, so the reporter lost both his money and his life. Knowing that he had committed a serious sin, he died at the hands of the nightmare ghost.
Meng Caiyun just thought it was absurd.
Is the book really just a fake? But what basis does the Taoist have to say it's fake? People have such little understanding of the Taiyin Immortal Law, so how can he swear that it's a fake book?
Some speculative gray industries in the Xuanmen do produce some counterfeit and shoddy magical tools or secret manuals and put them on the black market to cheat people, but the Liu family is not a member of the Xuanmen. The Taiyin Immortal Law in his hand is much more real than the Taiyin Immortal Law in the hands of a Xuanmen person.
The black shadow was silent for a while, and when it was about to make a sound, the red cloth on the tree trunk suddenly turned charred black, and the black shadow wrapped in the whisk screamed miserably, as if it was suffering from the pain of being burned by fire.
"What's going on?!" Bai Heng was a little surprised.
Meng Caiyun frowned, and the Imperial Spirit Scissors flew and cut off the willow branch wrapped in red cloth, but the invisible flame continued to burn. The black shadow rolled and finally turned into a wriggling black insect under the confinement of the whisk.
Seeing this, Meng Zhao suddenly covered his mouth and nose. His eyes went dark and his skin became hot, as if he was being tortured at the same time as the black shadow.
Meng Caiyun said anxiously, "A Zhao!"
"No wonder this bug is willing to talk so much, so this is what he's planning..."
Meng Zhao's mind raced, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid, a trace of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. He suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. He gritted his teeth and clutched his chest, his spiritual power suddenly erupting like a raging wave crashing against the shore, completely shattering the foreign object.
"How are you?" Meng Caiyun supported him with concern.
Meng Zhao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, lowered his eyes with a cold expression, and looked at the black insect wriggling on the ground: "It turns out that its true form is a worm. How disgusting."
He raised his foot and rolled over it mercilessly. With a "splat", black liquid splashed all over the ground.
Bai Heng frowned and took a few steps away: "What happened to you just now?"
"I guess the nightmare ghost will 'lay eggs' in the human body. When the insect grows up, the human becomes its shell. I guess that's how it eats the person who reported the crime." Meng Zhao reached up to adjust his glasses. "I was bitten by it before. It knew it was about to die, so it wanted to take over my body."
Bai Heng was terrified: "Are you saying there are bugs in your body?!!"
Meng Zhao: "That's not the point."
Bai Heng asked nervously, "Where are the bugs?"
Meng Zhao: "I ate it."
He was speechless: "Don't make that expression. Bugs can eat people, so why can't people eat bugs? Haven't you ever eaten roasted silkworm pupae?"
Bai Heng had a look that said, "Stay away from me!" "I'd rather starve to death than eat that!"
Meng Caiyun tried to mediate with a dry laugh, stopping the quarrel and asking Meng Zhao, "Is everything really alright?"
Meng Zhao covered his lower abdomen and smiled weakly: "It's okay, I'm prepared, but I don't know if I will have diarrhea."
Bai Heng was still struggling: "Are you a fake person? If it eats you, then you eat it? Can't you just spit it out..."
Meng Zhao looked at her expressionlessly: "Now that you mention it, I feel like vomiting."
As he spoke, he covered his mouth, shrugging his shoulders as if he was retching, and burped in Bai Heng's direction.
Bai Heng screamed and ran away.
Meng Zhao finally returned to normal, with a hint of sarcasm on his lips: "Believe everything."
Meng Caiyun: "...Okay, stop bullying her."
Meng Zhao was silent for a moment. "There's a Dharma Assembly tomorrow. How about you switch shifts with Junior Sister Guanli this time?"
Meng Caiyun found it funny: "Why, do you think something will happen tomorrow? But even if something happens, changing shifts won't solve it. Junior sister is not as good as me."
"We killed the Nightmare Ghost, but we still don't know the origins of that mysterious Taoist priest." Meng Zhao lowered his head. "He was most likely the one who sealed the Nightmare Ghost and Madam Liu. But who secretly broke the seal and deliberately exposed this old story to the world? I'm afraid it's a trick."
Meng Caiyun remained silent, looking solemnly at the willow tree before him. After a long pause, he sighed, "We'll see what happens tomorrow. I know my limits."
Meng Zhao: "Then let's go back now?"
Meng Caiyun pondered for a moment, "Madam Liu has at least blessed a piece of land. Although she wasn't blessed enough to become a land deity, it's cruel that she's been trapped in the seal for so long. Let me recite a few scriptures for her."
Meng Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Alright."
He looked around and said, "I'll ask Bai Heng to help set up the surveillance for tomorrow. You should go back early and don't stay here any longer."
Meng Caiyun nodded, and after the other party left, she walked forward again and stood quietly under the withered willow tree.
She placed her palms on the veins of the tree trunk and chanted scriptures to save the souls of all living beings. Her voice was like clear spring water washing over jade. The willow branches moved without wind and the hems of her clothes fluttered.
After a moment, tiny specks of light seeped out from the tree and slowly spread out like fireflies on a summer night.
Those points of light lingered and swirled around her, eventually turning into fine rain of light and dissipating in the evening breeze. When the last star passed between her lowered brows, she seemed to hear a mournful sigh.
The light spot sank into his eyebrows, and Meng Caiyun suddenly opened his eyes. The scene in front of him changed. The quiet and lonely night just now disappeared, and the sky was bright and bright, with mottled golden light shining through the gaps between the willow leaves.
There were many tourists around him, wearing long gowns and jackets, which was different from the style they wore in recent years. These people walked through the courtyard with smiles on their faces, as if Meng Caiyun was a transparent person.
She turned around in confusion and walked a few steps in the courtyard. She saw that the decoration here was exquisite, completely different from the dilapidated Liuxian Temple. She then cast her eyes on the only unchanged willow tree in the courtyard.
Is this... a memory of Madam Liu?
The sound of singing from the gramophone came from the hall.
Meng Caiyun passed through the window like a gust of wind and found that a banquet with great cheer was going on here.
In the last century, Liuxian Temple was taken over by Zhao An. Later, the Zhao family mansion was razed to the ground, but Liuxian Temple was preserved.
Meng Caiyun turned his gaze towards the man in military uniform sitting on the main seat, who was toasting with a young man in a lilac gown.
The sounds of joy and laughter flooded into my ears like a tide, passing through the corridors of time.
"Brother Liuxia, this sheet music of yours..." Zhao An, playing with a thread-bound book in his hand, suddenly burst out laughing. "I'll make it more valuable than the Complete Library in the Four Treasures. Do you believe it?"
The young man's hands trembled upon hearing this, and the wine soaked his sleeves. He said with a panicked look on his face, "Brother Zhao, don't be ridiculous. This is just an ordinary sheet music. It contains folk tunes, not some heavenly book."
Zhao An had a playful expression: "What if I could make it so?"
The young man was stunned.
Under the dim light, the gold embroidery on the man's uniform gleamed brilliantly. He showed no sign of concealing the drunkenness that permeated his eyes and brows, speaking arrogantly, "Someone sold last week's scrap metal as if it were from the Western Zhou Dynasty. Didn't they also cheat the foreigner out of eight thousand dollars?"
The young man stammered, "This...this is probably inappropriate."
Zhao An drank another glass of wine, pounded the table and laughed: "What's wrong with that? Just wait and see... I don't have to do anything, just spread some ambiguous information, and those idiots will naturally come to steal and rob. Once there is one, there will be another. After so much robbing, they will believe it themselves!"
The young man cautiously patted the other's arm: "Brother Zhao, you've had too much to drink."
"Drunk? No," Zhao An put his glass on the table. After a moment, he turned his head and instructed the servants, "Oh, ask the guy from the photo studio to set up the camera. And, ask the wife to come along."
He drunkenly held the young man's shoulder and lowered his voice as if offering a treasure: "Xunyin, this shop can take color photos! ... I'll develop one for you when the time comes."
A mahogany upright camera was set up under the willow tree. Fashionably dressed guests crowded in front of the camera, chatting and laughing. Not far away, a woman in a cheongsam came to the man in military uniform under the flattering gazes of everyone.
Meng Caiyun thought of the faded old photo tucked between the pages of the book. His eyes swept across the crowd and finally landed on the woman in the cheongsam.
She was suddenly stunned.
There was a flash of light, and the screen gradually turned white. The scenery was swallowed up by the halo one after another and disappeared in pure white.
The dream is over.
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