Chapter 14: The World’s Unrest and a General’s Dream

Meanwhile, upon returning home, Xia Zhiquiu browsed her phone and discovered that the hottest topic online was: Does this world truly have supernatural entities?

Beneath the topic, however, a myriad of opinions circulated.

“There really are ghosts in this world! A few days ago, I passed by a house in my area where someone had hanged themselves.

Suddenly, I heard some strange sounds. Peeking through a crack in the door, I saw a white figure floating beneath the rafters!”

“Oh, come on, where would supernatural entities even come from in this world? It’s all just people scaring themselves.”

“Speaking of which, when I went to see a movie a while ago, I found that something had happened there. Many unconscious people were being carried onto ambulances by medical staff…”

“What you’re saying is nothing compared to this. I’ve also experienced something terrifying recently. Two days ago, I discovered my colleague actually had no shadow!

And then today, he died at home! Now I’m incredibly scared, fearing that when I wake up, my own shadow will be gone too.”

“Holy crap, is that for real?”

“Fake at first glance. Aren’t shadows just formed where light doesn’t hit? Hahaha, how could they disappear? This guy is just fishing for likes, right?”

“When a person dies, it’s like a lamp goes out, eventually turning into a handful of dust. Therefore, in conclusion, there are no supernatural entities in this world.”

“But some things simply cannot be explained by science. For such things, it’s better to believe they exist than not to.”

…

Reading these comments online, and recalling the increasing number of missions within TNS to eliminate anomalies, Xia Zhiquiu couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of worry.

This world truly is becoming more chaotic.

In response to this, all Xia Zhiquiu could do was to become stronger, for only then could she protect those she wished to in the future.

Just then, drowsiness slowly crept over her. Xia Zhiquiu set her phone aside and gradually drifted off to sleep.

However, Xia Zhiquiu’s sleep was far from peaceful. In a daze, she seemed to have a dream, a very bizarre one.

In her dream, she found herself on a battlefield strewn with corpses, where two armies clashed, men and horses fell, and blood gushed forth…

She, too, was clad in armor. Gazing at the enemy soldiers relentlessly charging at her, though Xia Zhiquiu felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity, she instinctively raised her sword and plunged into the fray.

At that moment, Xia Zhiquiu felt the dream was incredibly real…

Not until the enemy forces had fully retreated did she see the joyous, cheering smiles on the faces of the soldiers who had fought alongside her. Xia Zhiquiu’s heart couldn’t help but swell with emotion.

She raised her long sword high, and in that moment, she was the general commanding three armies!

But soon, the scene shifted. After a moment of disorientation, Xia Zhiquiu found herself in an entirely different place.

Inside a magnificent, opulent hall, the chamber was bustling with noise. Numerous officials, clad in court robes, were engaged in heated arguments.

Upon the high dragon throne, the figure in dragon robes was indistinct, yet felt strangely familiar.

Xia Zhiquiu tried to speak, but found she couldn’t utter a sound, until a eunuch’s voice rang out loudly.

“Protector General Xia Zhiquiu, being a woman, was blessed by heavenly grace, and should have upheld her duties, assisting her husband and raising her children.

Yet, you dared to deceive the Emperor, joined the army under a male guise, misled the sacred ear, and in your memorials, spoke with much defiance, showing great disrespect…

All the aforementioned charges are supported by irrefutable evidence, and you have confessed without denial.

The Emperor is benevolent, but the law cannot be defied!

However, considering your meritorious service in protecting the nation, you are hereby stripped of all your titles, ordered to surrender your military seals, and confined to ponder your transgressions. This is an imperial decree!”

Xia Zhiquiu watched the scenes in her dream shift rapidly, like fleeting glimpses, until she found herself back in a very grand residence, its main gates slowly closing…

In that moment, she was to be imprisoned within this manor. An inexplicable surge of grief and indignation rose within Xia Zhiquiu, as if protesting the injustices of the world.

The dream continued. Days turned into nights, until one evening, Xia Zhiquiu, her dark hair unbound, was practicing calligraphy in her study, clad in a simple, thin dress, when she suddenly heard a loud proclamation.

“The Emperor has arrived!”

Hearing this, Xia Zhiquiu instinctively stepped forward to receive the Emperor. But after she bowed and raised her head, she finally discerned the Emperor’s face…

In an instant, her pupils constricted, and she was startled awake.

Lying on her soft bed, Xia Zhiquiu gazed at the darkening sky outside her window, her hair a disheveled mess.

She patted her chest, took a deep breath, and then grumbled, somewhat annoyed.

“How could I have such a strange dream?”

And that annoying Bai Hao, she hadn’t expected that even in her dream, he would still be so persistent, like a lingering spirit…

Although the dream had been absurd and bizarre, Xia Zhiquiu didn’t dwell on it. She tidied herself up and prepared to go to work.

However, during this time, Xia Zhiquiu found herself wondering if it was time to end her fake romantic relationship with that young man.

After all, the boy had already broken up with her daughter. Although they still kept in touch, surely her little ‘cabbage’ wouldn’t be ‘picked’ by him, would she?

After some thought, Xia Zhiquiu decided to bring up the matter only after the young man had fully recovered. This was already the limit of what she could accept.

After all, she had never considered finding a man as a partner, from beginning to end, let alone a young brat like Bai Hao. There was a whole generation’s age gap between them.

The next day, when Xia Zhiquiu returned to the young man’s hospital room, she couldn’t help but pause in surprise, and it was a while before she spoke, a hint of astonishment in her voice.

“Oh, has the sun risen from the west?”

Hearing this, Bai Hao put down the English test paper in his hand, and smiled at the beautiful, mature woman who had just entered.

“Sister, you’ve come at just the right time. I happen to have some questions I don’t understand that I wanted to ask you.”

Xia Zhiquiu, hearing the young man’s words, raised an eyebrow, and spoke, somewhat speechless.

“I’m not a teacher, how am I supposed to teach you?”

“Why not? Sister, you spoke English so fluently with a foreign patron last time, teaching English to a high school student like me would certainly be more than enough.”

Hearing this, Xia Zhiquiu let out a soft hum, but didn’t retort.

Bai Hao watched the mature woman sit down before him. Due to her voluptuous figure, her body’s curves became even more taut and alluring as she settled.

At the same time, her intoxicating fragrance wafted to his nostrils, proving extremely seductive.

Xia Zhiquiu took the young man’s English test paper, glanced at it, and spoke.

“You still haven’t said why you’ve suddenly started studying. This isn’t like you, is it?”

Hearing this, Bai Hao scratched his head, and gave a shy smile.

“Didn’t I just come to my senses yesterday after listening to Sister’s words? I realized I really need to think about my future. I can’t possibly fail to get into college and then just mooch off Sister, can I?”

Xia Zhiquiu rolled her eyes at the young man’s words, and pursed her lips as she spoke.

“You wish, I certainly won’t support you.”

“Alright, since you genuinely want to learn, I can teach you. But you must apply yourself diligently.”

When Bai Hao heard Xia Zhiquiu agree, a peculiar glint of joy flashed in his eyes. He then quickly nodded and promised.

“Teacher Xia, don’t worry, I’ll definitely study hard!”