Chapter 13 Auspicious Location, Guiding the Way Amidst the Dark Night and Windy Weather, Perfect for a Jump...
When Xia Zhu opened her eyes, she saw two sparkling toffee candies blinking and hanging in front of her.
"Thank God! Ah Zhu, you're finally awake!"
Feng Feng leaned close to Xia Zhu, first waving in front of her face, then placing two fingers on her philtrum to check her breath, and finally reaching out to pull open her eyelids. Fortunately, Feng Mian leaned out from the back seat and stopped Feng Feng's series of vital sign checks.
"Alright, Xiaofeng, you should be fine now that you're awake."
Outside the train window, the mountains and fields receded behind. The carriage swayed and rocked along the road, the number of passengers sparse, no longer as crowded as when it first boarded. Xia Zhu lowered her head and opened her palm; there lay a green stone quietly.
It seems that the flow of time in dreams is different from that in reality; she is still on this bus heading to Shushan Town.
Feng Feng, who was standing next to her, looked shocked when he saw the natural physiognomy stone in her hand.
"You really did fall asleep again! Ah Zhu, you have no idea, you slept for two whole hours. Feng Mian and I tried to wake you up but couldn't. We were afraid you were asleep but didn't dare disturb the others in the car!" As she spoke, she lifted Xia Zhu's arm and looked her over inside and out. "Ah Zhu, are you alright?"
Xia Zhu felt a tightness in her chest. She had spent three oppressive and gloomy days in her dreams. She opened the car window. Although the winter sun couldn't penetrate the cool breeze, it could at least help to clear her meridians.
She forced a smile at Feng Feng, shook her head and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."
But Feng Feng still kept his big, slightly frightened eyes open.
"You scared me to death, Azhu! I almost fainted when I realized you were in a dream. I forgot to tell you before, if an Unknown Official is injured or attacked by a demon in a dream... and dies, they will be injured when they leave the dream, or even just a corpse. If they die in a dream, they are dead!" Feng Feng almost shouted. She looked around, lowered her voice, and said seriously, "No family allows an Unknown Official to enter a dream alone. Even in Green Stone level dreams, two people must go in together. Also, Unknown Officials always enter dreams with their physical bodies. Azhu, you can enter a dream with your consciousness. I'm very worried. If you encounter danger in a dream, what if you also encounter danger in reality..."
Feng Feng couldn't continue speaking. Her eyes were bright and drooping. Xia Zhu could sense her worry, so he reached out and grasped her wrist.
"I'm sitting here perfectly fine now, Feng Feng, you don't need to worry anymore."
Xia Zhu and Feng Mian comforted her for a while before Feng Feng finally broke free from her fear and anxiety. She said she was really upset. Xia Zhu had no other relatives in the world and was now embroiled in the mystery of her origins. If something happened to her, it would be so pitiful for Xia Zhu.
She had no choice but to try to distract Feng Feng by talking about other things.
"You just mentioned greenstone-level dreams? Do these dreams actually have different levels?"
Feng Feng regained his composure and became excited.
"That's right! The dream levels are divided according to the type of innate gemstone within a spirit's body: green, red, and white, ranging from easy to difficult, corresponding to a minimum of two, three, and five people to enter the dream. Ah Zhu, you came out of the green gemstone dream all by yourself! You're practically the first person in the history of the Unknown Officials to do so! Tell me quickly, what happened to you, and how did you get out!"
Xia Zhu, with Feng Feng's starry eyes looking at her, briefly recounted the ins and outs of the three-day dream, only to see Feng Feng's eyebrows furrowing more and more tightly.
"You mean... the role you played in the dream was Liang himself? Tsk tsk tsk, how strange." Feng Feng pinched her chin. "Feng Mian, this is the first time I've seen this. Do you think it might be related to A Zhu's consciousness entering the dream?" She squeezed between the two seats and discussed with Feng Mian in the back seat.
"Speaking of which, Ah Zhu, what was the trigger for you entering the dream? Have you not entered it again between these two times?" Feng Feng turned to ask Xia Zhu, remembering something.
“Indeed, this is only the second time I’ve had this dream since the day I met you in my dream.” Xia Zhu nodded.
"Does that mean you'll enter a nightmare every time you fall asleep? That's a bit dangerous! Ah Zhu, hold on, don't fall asleep before we get home!"
To keep her from falling asleep again, Feng Feng pestered Xia Zhu to tell her the contents of her dream over and over again.
An hour later, the bus arrived at Shushan Town. The sky was dark, and the thin rays of the setting sun pierced the ridgeline at the edge of the plain. Xia Zhu and the other two got off the bus. Feng Mian walked ahead, and Feng Feng told her that they still had to walk a while. They walked along the main road for a few minutes, then turned into the field ridges. The group followed the direction of the setting sun, walking one after the other in the fields.
In the north, it gets dark early in winter. Xia Zhu took out her phone and saw that it was only four in the afternoon. The dry and cold evening wind swept across the vast land, becoming cold and hard after passing through a few withered jujube trees on the plain, and stinging her face.
Wearing only her winter coat, she layered her school uniform, sweater, shirt, and even a short-sleeved shirt underneath, like a cabbage. Thankfully, her backpack offered some protection from the wind. She exhaled white mist, gathering it in her palms. Feng Mian led the way, Feng Feng followed behind, swinging his arms, while Xia Zhu turned her head slightly as they walked.
"Are you cold?" she asked Feng Feng. She had a scarf she had knitted last winter in her bag. Feng Feng was dressed like a wild man, and was dressed too thinly.
“No no—” The savage shook her head. She walked restlessly, jumping up and down, green leaves falling from her fingertips, landing on the grassy ridges and disappearing.
Xia Zhu nodded and looked ahead again. Golden light bathed the rooftops of distant villages, and Feng Feng hummed a tune she had never heard before behind her.
After wandering through the fields for an unknown amount of time, Xia Zhu watched as the houses with white wisps of smoke rising in the distance receded further and further from view until they disappeared from sight. She had originally thought that village would be the destination for the three of them.
It was completely dark when the three of them entered a grove of trees and walked for another ten minutes or so, stepping on withered branches and fallen leaves.
"We've arrived." Feng Mian, who was at the front, finally stopped.
Arrived? Where have we arrived? Have we arrived at a place for murder, arson, and hiding corpses under the cover of darkness? She looked at the dilapidated, crumbling thatched hut before her and dared not speak, afraid of offending the brother and sister's home.
Feng Feng jumped in front of her, raised his chin towards the thatched hut, and pouted as he asked Xia Zhu, "How is it?"
Xia Zhu looked around and saw that this was the only thatched hut within a ten-mile radius, hidden under a thicket of wildly dancing bare branches. There was no moon in sight either. He nodded and gave a fair assessment.
"A place with excellent feng shui".
Feng Feng covered her head and laughed wildly. Xia Zhu was afraid that she would attract more natives who were more qualified to live in this place.
"Stop teasing her, come in." Feng Mian laughed as well.
"Let's go inside and talk about it!" Feng Feng pulled her hand and they went into the thatched hut together.
Upon entering, it was indeed a dilapidated thatched hut, both inside and out. The outside was just as bad as the inside, with only withered leaves and drafty walls, and a dry well in the center of the room.
Is that so? Xia Zhu doesn't understand feng shui, but she feels there's some truth to it.
Feng Feng pointed into the well and grinned at her: "Jump."
It's not exactly funny how two con artists went to such lengths to trick her into jumping into this well. She'll definitely write a heartfelt winter vacation essay about it when she gets back.
Before Xia Zhu could speak, Feng Mian, to her left, braced herself against the edge of the well with one hand and jumped in. Looking down, she saw only darkness and a cool breeze. She glanced at Feng Feng, and with his encouraging gaze, prepared to close her eyes and jump in, when Feng Feng slapped her on the forehead. Then everything went dark, and she felt a cool breeze whistling past her ear.
A few seconds later, before the pain of landing even arrived, Xia Zhu collapsed into a soft clump of grass vines. Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness, she heard Feng Feng shout from above.
"I'm here! I'm here! Make way, make way!"
Xia Zhu quickly got up from the bundle of grass and walked five or six steps away.
Three seconds later, Feng Feng, accompanied by a few loud laughs, stumbled into the clump of grass where Xia Zhu had just been. It was too dark in the well; she couldn't see Feng Feng's figure clearly, only hearing her seemingly brush off the grass clippings and then walk towards her.
"Azhu, give me your hand." Feng Feng precisely took her hand in the darkness and placed a round, hard object in her palm. The light was too dim to see clearly, and even when held up to her eyes, she could only vaguely make out its outline. It looked very similar to the sandalwood seed that Feng Feng had given her before, so it was probably a seed as well.
A slight itch suddenly came from her palm. Even though she couldn't see clearly, she could feel the seed in her hand breaking through its shell and sprouting, quickly growing into a branch. A moment later, a small, bright yellow lamp appeared in Xia Zhu's hand.
Only then did she see clearly that countless delicate purple branches had sprouted from the seed lying quietly in her palm, eventually gathering and intertwining at the top to form a small lantern-like space. In the center of the space grew a diamond-shaped fruit that emitted a bright light. The fruit wall was thin and translucent, and the inside was crystal clear. It even looked somewhat juicy and delicious.
"Jinjin lamp, it's for lighting, and the fruit inside is edible, sweet and sour and thirst-quenching!" Feng Feng saw through Xia Zhu's idea, and a lamp also appeared in her hand.
The tiny Jinjin Lamp, rootless and unattached, can stand firmly in a person's palm and illuminate most of the surrounding darkness. Xia Zhu likes this magical plant very much. She inexplicably feels that Feng Feng is also like a glowing, delicious, and juicy portable Jinjin Lamp.
The moving lanterns lead the way.
"This stretch of road is a bit dark. Feng Mian should be waiting for us up ahead. His Jinjin Lantern probably ran out, so he always travels this route very quickly." Feng Feng turned to Xia Zhu with a sly look and whispered, "Feng Mian is terrified of the dark!"
"Are there any other plants like this that can provide light?" Xia Zhu couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, Moon Soul Mushroom, Candle Dragon Vine, Bright Stem Grass, and Ghost Eye Banana, but Ghost Eye Banana will attract mandrills, and I don't like those things. The Jinjin Lamp is something I cultivated myself; it can provide light and I can eat it! Isn't that great!"
Xia Zhu nodded in agreement, following behind; she thought it was a good idea too.
She noticed something unusual on her forehead as soon as she nodded, and was about to reach out to touch it when Feng Feng stopped her.
"Ah Zhu, don't move. I put these leaves on for you. There are Aunt Aruo's ghost vines here. If you take off the leaves, you won't be able to see the right path." As he spoke, Feng Feng moved the Jinjin Lantern in his hand to the surrounding walls, and sure enough, it was covered with dark green thorny vines.
"The Ghost Vine is my cousin Aruo's magic. It releases some neurotoxins, like pouring fog into a person's brain. It's specially designed for ordinary people who accidentally wander into this place. Arzhu, be careful, don't get pricked. You won't get lost with my leaves, but it will still hurt."
The road in the well was like a winding underground tunnel. Xia Zhu followed Feng Feng through several twists and turns for a few minutes until there was finally light ahead. Feng Mian also appeared and waved to the two of them.
Upon contact with light, the Jinjin Lamp in Xia Zhu's hand withered quickly, its leaves and branches becoming brittle and scattered with a gust of wind, leaving only the fruit, which no longer shone but was still attractive, in her palm.
"Ah Zhu, try it!"
Xia Zhu picked up a fruit of the Jinjin Lantern. The skin was very soft. She carefully put it in her mouth, and the skin cracked open with a gentle touch of her teeth. The sweet juice flowed smoothly down her throat, and the dryness in her mouth from traveling all day disappeared.
Feng Feng looked at Xia Zhu with a smile, very satisfied with her masterpiece. She reached out and took the leaf off Xia Zhu's forehead, then pulled her to Feng Mian's side.
The place they were in was like a pit several meters high, but the walls of the pit were covered with lush green grass and blooming with unknown colorful flowers. Looking up, the bright moon, which was nowhere to be seen in the outside world, hung high in the sky. A vine ladder hung down from the pit wall, and it seemed that they would have to climb up from here.
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