Chapter 50: Dreamfall and Resolve

?

…

!

Bai Jiujiu’s eyes flew open in shock. She stared blankly at the wine gourd in her hand.

What was that girl—the half-breed—saying…?

“Bai Jiu’er? That name matches Hun’er quite well.”

“Right? See, even your sister likes it!”

As if answering her inner doubt, the girl called Hun’er repeated it.

Now Bai Jiujiu heard it clearly: the name that person had given her was Bai Jiu’er.

Could it be!

She quickly turned her head, searching for something to confirm her suspicion. Spotting a few books on the desk near the bed, she crawled over, using both hands and feet.

Under the bewildered gaze of the two monsters, Bai Jiujiu pulled herself onto the desk and picked up a thick book.

Its pale blue cover bore only a large title and a few lines of small text:

“Cultivate the Body, Calm the Mind”

[Compiled by the Old Dream Sect]

[Published on the 14th of August, the 23rd Year of Yuanning]

Indeed…

“Jiu’er! Don’t touch that—it’s your father’s study book.”

Bai Jiujiu let the woman pick her up, the book and gourd taken away. She didn’t resist, just lay limply on the woman’s shoulder.

In the Eastern Wilderness Immortal Continent, the era name was changed every hundred years—for example, the character “Ping” in the previous “Yuanping” era, determined jointly by the seven major sects and five great kingdoms based on the past century’s events. Every thousand years, the entire era name was replaced, establishing not only the minor era name but also the primary one—the character “Yuan.”

Era names were not only for the convenience of commoners and cultivators but also to better preserve inherited texts and techniques. The year of compilation and publication had to be recorded, and a book could not be published beyond the current era name.

Bai Jiujiu clearly remembered that she should be in the Yuanping era. Yet now she had become a baby, transported to the Yuanning era.

That was over two hundred years ago!

****

“Wake up, wake up!”

Little Wu shook the unconscious Tong violently. Seeing her eyelids flutter, a sign of waking, she stopped.

Tong Qiu was first splashed with cold water, then shaken wildly by Little Wu. Slowly, she opened her eyes and came to.

This is… underwater!

Tong Qiu’s head still throbbed. She shook it slightly, trying to dispel the sensation.

Now she could see clearly: she was inside a bubble, isolated from the clear water outside.

Hiss—it hurts!

A sharp pain shot through her left arm again. She clutched the wounded area, astonished to find that where flesh had been torn away and bone exposed, new, tender skin had grown, noticeably paler than the surrounding skin.

What was happening?

Tong Qiu looked up and saw Little Wu swim to a giant shell, open it, and lie down on the pink bed inside. In front of her was another bubble, where a still-unconscious Bai Jiujiu floated, suspended like herself.

Senior!

Tong Qiu rushed forward in panic, but her foot slipped. She crashed headfirst into the bubble, tumbling wildly inside until she hit a coral and stopped.

Dizzy, dizzy…

“Officer, it took me no small effort to create this bubble large enough to hold you. Be careful not to break it.”

“Little Wu? You saved us?”

“Of course. In the entire Turbid City, only I could rescue you from Chi Hun unscathed.”

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

A life-saving debt was beyond repayment.

Moreover, this was the second time Little Wu had saved Tong Qiu. The accumulated gratitude left Tong Qiu, who always repaid kindness, unsure how to proceed.

“It’s nothing, nothing. Didn’t I promise you two esteemed guests? I said I’d meet you tonight.”

“I am deeply grateful. In the future, if you ever need my help, I will give my all.”

“That won’t be necessary. After all, there’s little an officer like you could do for me. I just want to write new songs every day and have more people come to Drunken Tower.”

Little Wu covered her mouth with a laugh, her slender fingers plucking at the strings as she spoke.

“Senior…”

Carefully controlling her movements, Tong Qiu moved to Bai Jiujiu’s side. The two bubbles touched and fused naturally.

Now Tong Qiu could reach Bai Jiujiu.

Her breathing was steady, no immediate danger. But no matter how she shook her, Bai Jiujiu would not wake.

“Don’t bother calling. This honored guest has fallen into a Dreamfall.”

“Dreamfall… Could it be the one from two hundred years ago?”

“Exactly. The Dreamfall that swept the entire south two centuries ago. Chi Hun, as the mastermind, has likely mastered a method to induce Dreamfall without needing formations.”

“When this guest wakes, she may no longer be herself.”

Little Wu’s eyes were mournful, her music turning sorrowful and tragic, as if lamenting Bai Jiujiu’s fate.

Tong Qiu’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Bai Jiujiu in her arms.

“Dreamfall…”

At best, Tong Qiu was only a third-rank officer. Her knowledge of Dreamfall came from Old Sir Song Ming. Her weak cultivation and lack of understanding left her with no choice but to hold Bai Jiujiu tight, at a loss.

“Officer, you should go to the Demon Suppression Bureau immediately and seek their help.”

“Little Wu, you may not know this, but I am no longer an officer. I’ve even been wanted with a bounty on my head.”

“Eh? Why?”

Tong Qiu held nothing back. She told Little Wu everything: meeting Bai Jiujiu in Cloud Town, cooperating in Chongxi Town, learning of her wanted status in Lianlin City, and encountering Chi Hun in Turbid City.

Little Wu’s hands never stopped moving, but as Tong Qiu spoke, her eyes slowly closed.

When she finished, Little Wu let out a long breath, opened her eyes, and the harp’s melody turned gentle and melodious.

“Officer, if you ask me, what’s the point? If I were you, I’d take the unconscious Bai Jiujiu straight to the Demon Suppression Bureau. Not only would you get a reward for the orphanage, but you could also atone for your crimes, restore your position, and even rise higher.”

This was undoubtedly the rational choice, the one that maximized benefit.

But Tong Qiu looked at Bai Jiujiu’s beautiful face and smiled, shaking her head.

Oh?

Little Wu’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

“Officer, are you really bewitched by Bai Jiujiu? Though humans and monsters coexist peacefully now, you are human, and we are monsters.”

Little Wu’s words subtly challenged Tong Qiu, questioning her actions.

“Your partnership with Bai Jiujiu should have ended when Chi Hun took Xiao Ya hostage and forced you to go to Qingqiu. By then, Bai Jiujiu already knew Su Ling’er’s location. Bringing her here, even asking for my help, was already an act of utmost kindness.”

“After all, you lost your position as an officer because of her, and now you’re a wanted fugitive. Besides, Bai Jiujiu hasn’t even paid you the ten million gold ingots she promised. There’s no need to risk your life before receiving the deposit.”

Little Wu’s insinuations kept urging Tong Qiu to take Bai Jiujiu to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

These words were reasonable, neither exaggerated nor deceitful. They were sound advice based on the situation.

Tong Qiu closed her eyes, tilted her head, and puffed out her cheeks. She took the wine gourd from her waist and looked at the Three-Flower Wine nearly overflowing from it. The corners of her eyes crinkled.

My gourd… was it always full?

Never mind…

Tong Qiu put the mouth of the gourd to her lips and let the wine pour into her throat.

“Little Wu, you should know that Teacher Mu picked me up from the battlefield between Shangshu and Chu. He always wanted to create a paradise where all children could live happily. Five years ago, he finally established an orphanage in Zhongting.”

“But, Little Wu, you might not know what the orphanage faces now. Three months ago, after Teacher Mu returned from suppressing Jiao Pan alongside Lord Wuqing, he died of severe poison.”

Tears streamed from the corners of Tong Qiu’s eyes. Teacher Mu was both her master and a father to her.

“Earlier, with Teacher Mu’s support as a seventh-rank officer, the orphanage could operate normally. It even allowed children with spiritual roots to join the Demon Suppression Bureau or other sects for cultivation. But after Teacher Mu’s passing, the only pillar left for the orphanage was me, a third-rank officer. My salary alone couldn’t sustain it. Those who had supported the orphanage out of respect for Teacher Mu all distanced themselves. Some even wanted to annex it for their own use.”

“I tried to seek help from Teacher Mu’s old friends, but at the time, I was just an ordinary third-rank officer—one of many in the Bureau.”

This was a memory Tong Qiu didn’t want to revisit. Teacher Mu’s death three months ago had plunged the once-thriving orphanage into a precarious state.

Mockery, schadenfreude, slander, and hidden agendas surrounded them.

Teacher Mu had made too many enemies while building the orphanage. Once he fell, those enemies encircled it like wolves.

The darkness lurking in human hearts once again seized the orphans, trying to drag them back into the abyss just as they had glimpsed the light.

These people couldn’t stand to see them thrive, couldn’t bear the thought of those they called ‘lowlifes’ rising to equal status.

Tong Qiu’s voice grew tearful, her words passionate and deliberate.

“I’ve figured it out these past few days. Even if I get fifty million gold ingots, what good would it do? It still can’t protect the orphanage—it would only hasten its destruction.”

“I don’t want to see Teacher Mu’s dream shattered, nor do I want the children of the orphanage to return to darkness.”

When Tong Qiu heard Bai Jiujiu say she was the master of a mountain, governing many monsters with order, she had already decided.

Since humans couldn’t be trusted, better to trust a monster.

“I will do my utmost to help Senior find Su Ling’er. After I take my revenge and die, I hope Senior will take everyone from the orphanage to Cloud Mountain, so Teacher Mu’s dream can come true, and the children can live forever in paradise!”

Tong Qiu had placed everything—herself, Teacher Mu’s orphanage, their shared dream—on Bai Jiujiu, whom she had known for less than ten days.

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