Chapter 9: Scenes from a Fantasy Dream (Part 1)

  After that night, Shen Danqing seemed to have made up her mind not to let Shen Bailian meet Ruan Ci again. She kept him confined at home every day, and it was very difficult for Bailian to even step out of the house, let alone leave their residence in Gu Cheng and go to the lake and forest.

  At noon, Shen Bailian swept the yard and had nothing to do. Feeling bored, he sat under the eaves with a sharp stone in hand, doodling on the muddy ground. Although he hadn't learned painting, his few strokes were quite vivid. Before long, a girl's pretty face appeared on the sandy ground, with a wildflower on her head. Her expression was three parts mischievous and seven parts coquettish, identical to Ruan Ciren's.

  Shen Bailian stared blankly for a while, then sighed and quickly wiped away her tears, afraid that Shen Danqing would see them.

  "Baoying Ge, you drew... that pretty good-looking one, why did you erase it?"

  Suddenly, a question came from above his head. Shen Bailian looked up and saw that it was He Yi from next door who was leaning against the wall and talking to him. He didn't know how long he had been waiting there, but apparently, he had seen the painting just now.

  "Shh, be quiet!" Shen Bailian hastily turned her head to glance inside the house, then walked over to the wall and looked up, "He Yi, you're climbing so high, if He Shu sees you, won't that be terrible?"

  Hei Hei waved his hand carelessly: "My mom is busy, the water screen barrier in the iron shop cracked somewhere and water poured in, extinguishing the fire in the furnace. My dad and she went to find Uncle Feng of the village elder's family to help with the spell repair, it'll take a while before they come back!" He paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "But when my mom left, she forgot that her son was still in the house and locked the door. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to climb over the wall."

  Shen Bailian smiled and said: "Auntie He didn't forget you in the house, but deliberately locked the gate to make you calm down and cultivate your nature."

  He Cong's face turned sour as he said, "Baoyu, stop teasing me. I'm just borrowing your family's gate to pass through, and if my mother asks when she gets back, you mustn't breathe a word!" With that, he prepared to jump down.

  Shen Bailian hastily suppressed her smile, shaking her head and saying, "No can do. My mother is taking a nap in the room, if you open the door she'll know, and then it will be hard to explain." Suddenly having an idea, she said, "You pull me along, we'll leave from your neighbor Pu grandfather's house."

  He Qizhi said: "Bailian Ge, why are you also climbing the wall?"

  Shen Bailian's face flushed, and she said in a low voice: "I... I want to go out of the city, but my mother doesn't allow it. But I've made up my mind, if I don't go there to take a look, I won't be able to put my heart at ease."

  "Hehe, what's difficult about it? Let's be quiet and not let Auntie hear... Come on, I'll pull you!"

  After a while, the Shen family's courtyard was quiet and still, with no sign of Baiying. However, from behind the door of a small courtyard belonging to another household, two figures with cat-like waists and hunched backs slipped out quietly.

  He Yisheng went to play with the red flowers, and Shen Bailong bid him farewell before rushing along the road to visit the shores of Xi Hu.

  The white mist on the lake is vast, the willows on the shore are still there, the summer breeze in the forest is gentle and pleasant, and the birdsong can be heard from time to time. However, by that big white stone on the green grass, I couldn't see that lively figure who likes to wear bright clothes.

  Shen Bailian waited for a long time, guessing that Shen Danqing would wake up soon. He reluctantly left the place with a mixture of confusion and melancholy in his heart, silently wondering: Why didn't Ah Cai wait? Was she tired of waiting? Would she...would she come again in the future?

  After that, Shen Bailian managed to slip out of the house several times when his mother was not paying attention, but he never met Ruan Ci again. Every time he came with excitement and left in disappointment. Occasionally, he was scolded by Shen Danqing, which made him even more heartbroken.

  He became more and more worried as he didn't see Ruan Ci. Every day, he would think about it, and at night, he would often have dreams, but they were always short-lived, as his mother's figure would appear out of nowhere, scolding him severely, leaving him with a lingering fear after waking up. Shen Baiyun couldn't help but wonder why every time he had a good dream, his mother would somehow ruin it for him?

  That night, Shen Bailian fell into a deep sleep. In her dream, she saw the lake water was clear and blue, with green willows leaning against each other, it was exactly the woods by the lake.

  After passing by several large trees, he saw Ruan Ci sitting on the big stone with a smile, beckoning him to come over. Shen Baiying was about to go forward when she suddenly thought of her mother and couldn't help but glance around in all directions first.

  Who would have thought that in an instant, Ruan Ci had vanished from sight? Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew over, sending the white mist on the lake into the forest. Before long, Shen Bailian was surrounded by fog, and it was difficult to see anything. He looked around, but after taking only a few steps forward, he realized that something was off. The hard ground beneath his feet was no longer the grassy terrain, and it seemed that he had already left the forest they were in just now.

  After walking a few more steps, a crimson wall appeared faintly in the white mist, behind which stood an apricot tree with lush branches and leaves. The eaves of a roof peeked out from behind the tree's canopy, indicating that they had arrived outside a residence.

  Shen Bailian had never been here before, and he was very surprised in his heart. But seeing that the red walls on both sides were far away and hadn't entered the white fog, and there were no doors or windows on the wall, he became somewhat at a loss.

  Suddenly a long laugh came from within the wall, and someone said: "Haha, it's all come easily! I didn't expect that by chance, I would find the Wind Spirit Pearl here!"

  Then a slightly cramped voice said: "Dao Chang, what...what kind of treasure is this?"

  That man smiled and said, "Mr. Ruan is unaware that this treasure is of no use to ordinary people like you, but it's a rare and precious artifact for us cultivators. According to legend, it was stolen by an evil demon from the southern border and has been lost ever since, I wonder how it ended up in Mr. Ruan's hands?"

  Old Master Ruan said, "This is my only daughter who brought it back from outside the city. I thought she had picked up something that someone else had lost, but she insisted that someone gave it to her... Alas, at such a young age, I don't know where she met friends with such generosity, it's really strange!"

  "That's strange. I've heard that recently, there have been monsters rampaging outside Shouyang City, harming many civilians. How can Master Ruan still let his precious daughter go out of the city as she pleases? In my opinion, it would be better for a young girl like her to stay indoors."

  "Alas, my little daughter has been mischievous since childhood and is difficult to discipline. Where can she be restrained?" Mr. Ruan sighed, apparently very troubled by his daughter. "My wife and I have repeatedly warned her not to play by the lake again, but she refuses to listen..."

  "This is even more strange. Could it be that she has encountered evil spirits or been bewitched? The man said, "The demonic energy outside the city is rampant, and recently I've seen that even fishermen dare not go to the lake shore, yet Miss Qianjin went there without a care in the world. Isn't this strange? In my opinion, the person who gave her the treasure is highly suspicious. Why don't we invite the young lady to ask her about it?"

  Then Old Master Ruan immediately ordered the servant to call for Miss, and soon a rustling sound was heard, a light and quick footsteps entered the courtyard, calling out in a crisp voice: "Father!"

  Shen Bailian was originally standing outside the wall, listening intently, and as soon as he heard this voice, he was greatly shocked. This voice he had heard day after day, was extremely familiar, it was actually Ruan Ci!

  Old Master Ruan asked, "Tell this Taoist priest, where did you get this pearl from?"

  Ruan Ci seemed to hesitate for a moment, saying: "He... he didn't let me tell others, I can't say."

  "That person said in a warm voice: 'Can you tell me where that person lives?'"

  Ruan Ci hesitated for a moment before saying, "He said he lives by the side of Chao Lake, but I've never been to his home." Because Shen Baiying had not forbidden her from discussing these matters, she answered this question with much more ease.

  "That person sneered: 'By the side of Chao Lake? If it were an ordinary person, where would they dare to live by the lake now, let alone meet with a young lady there every day. No need to think more, must be a monster without a doubt.'"

  "Ah!" exclaimed the old master, seemingly terrified. "How can this be? Daozhang, I only have one daughter, I cannot bear to see her harmed by a monster. Please, I beg of you, save her."

  "That person said, 'No harm done, the young lady seems to still be in her right mind. She's probably been deceived by a demon and doesn't realize it yet. After some time passes, she'll come around. The only thing is that this treasure might have been cursed by the demon. I'm not capable of dealing with it, but I should bring it back to my sect for our superiors to take a look.'"

  "Take it away, no need to return. But how can Shouyang City produce such an evil thing? What will happen in the long run?"

  "Master Ruan, there's no need to panic." The man's voice carried a hint of joy as he comforted him, "I've already sent word back to the sect and reported all the strange occurrences in Shouyang City. I think it won't be long before some brothers from the sect arrive, and when they do, we can join forces to eliminate the demon together and restore peace to the city!"

  Ruan Ci stood beside them and only then did she understand what the two were saying. With a huff, she loudly said: "Shen Gege isn't a monster! Don't catch him!"

  The two of them didn't listen, only hearing Old Master Ruan say: "Shut up! You've spoiled her so much that she's been deceived by the demon. Qi Niang, take Miss back to her room immediately! From now on, don't let her out again, and keep a close eye on her!"

  "Miss, don't provoke Master into anger, let's go back quickly!" Jiuniang advised.

  "Shen Gege would never harm anyone—"

  A strong wind rose again, and white fog enveloped everything, covering up Ruan Ci's wails and the mansion.

  "Ah Ci, Ah Ci!" Shen Bai Ling rushed forward a few steps, but in front of him was only empty space, with nothing else there. His heart was both anxious and distressed, a voice shaking uncontrollably within his chest: So it was like this, so it was actually like this! Ah Ci didn't come to see me because she was locked up by her father... She didn't abandon me, not one bit did she despise me for being a demon!

  He ran for half a day in the white fog, and he couldn't touch the red wall from before. Ruan Ci and those two people also didn't know where they went. This dream had turned into reality, it was truly strange to the extreme.

  Shen Bailian was exhausted and had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

  Just then, from the boundless fog all around, came the sound of several strings being plucked.