Chapter 27: The Dark Song (Part 1)

  "Xiǎo mèng, xiǎo mèng, xǐng lái ba."...

  Translation: "Wake up from your dream, wake up from your dream, wake up..."

  It's my mom's voice, so warm. My mom is calling out my name one by one, has she come to pick me up? "Mom, Mom." I responded softly, afraid that this was a dream and the sound would drift away. A ray of light, I opened my eyes, and in the daze, I really saw my mom.

  "Great, you're awake, Xi Meng." The voice was still so gentle. I blinked my eyes and it turned out to be Instructor Nian. A flash of disappointment passed by, looks like I still miss home.

  I sat up and looked at Nian with gratitude, saying: "Thank you so much for taking care of me for so long."

  He shook his head and his expression turned serious. "You can't be so reckless in the future, have you thought about the consequences if something goes wrong this time?"

  "I'm sorry, I just wanted to be brave once." I lowered my head, feeling really wronged.

  "Alas, you need to distinguish between bravery and recklessness. You haven't wronged us, but you have truly wronged your family, the elder who sent you here." One of them patted my shoulder with a soothing hand.

  "Do you miss home?" Nian asked. I must have just mistakenly called her mom earlier. I nodded.

  "When I first came, I also missed home, but now I've already forgotten the feeling of having a home, haha." I looked up in confusion, this was the first time I saw Nian with a sad expression, didn't she have a home?

  "Where is your home?"

  "Actually, I am also a Dreamweaver." Her tone was so melancholic.

  "Heavens, you're also a Dream Soul Master, this can't be! The prisoner said that once they reach a certain level, they can return. Could it be that this is the level where one either becomes a Venerable or dies of old age and returns?"

  "Don't get any ideas, I'm staying voluntarily." Nian looked at me with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but laugh.

  "Ah, this... how is this possible? This place and the mortal realm are fundamentally incomparable." It left me even more bewildered.

  "Then I'll tell you about my past, are you willing to listen?" Nian returned to her gentle demeanor and looked at me.

  "Of course I will." I was very curious about what made her willing to stay in this dark world.

  "Do you know, Xi Meng? Not every family has a powerful guardian like the one who sent you here, is he your teacher? But I'm saying that most of the Dream Soul Masters' teachers are human, so when we come here, we can only rely on ourselves, there's no backing, and even less would come to this academy."

  I smiled and continued, "You're really lucky. I remember when I went to a commoner's school, the kids there may not have had anything good, but they were very hardworking. I stood out like a sore thumb, no friends, nothing. But my only luck was meeting him, he was a male ghost who left his family and wandered around, later became our instructor, he saw that I wasn't a ghost at a glance, he's very strong. He took care of me, every time teaching me different things one-on-one, and all my living expenses were paid by him, he's a knowledgeable, elegant ghost. Whoever meets such a unique warmth here wouldn't let go, right? I really like him."

  "What happened next? Did you talk to him?"

  "Don't be in a hurry, listen to me." Nian Hao smiled at me, just about to speak, but suddenly became remorseful. "Of course, I told him, he was shocked, then laughed and said that I'm still young and don't understand what it means to like someone. But I firmly told him that I'm serious, even willing to stay behind. He didn't say anything at the time and just turned around and left. The next day he left, leaving me a letter saying he's going to the wilderness to participate in a war, telling me not to blame myself, and that the reason for his departure wasn't because of me. He also said that when he comes back, he'll give me an answer. If I had known he wouldn't come back, I wouldn't have confessed my feelings at the time. Although he said it wasn't my fault, I understand that our identities are destined to be apart, and I will eventually return to the human world. But what he doesn't know is that I'll stay here for him."

  "Maybe he really likes you, but is afraid that because of him, you'll give up your original world." I comfortingly said.

  "Never mind, he's gone with that war, there's no use saying anything."

  "War? Will there be war here too?"

  "Foolish child, war is everywhere, as long as there is life, there will always be war, no matter where. You know, he said that the happiest thing in his life was to teach students, this was his greatest ideal, so he traveled to many places and went to many academies."

  "So you chose to stay also because of him."

  "Yes, I want to continue fulfilling his ideals, so I stayed. I've been to many places and finally chose to stay here. Since you came, at least I'll take you through this apprentice before leaving."

  "Mentor." I hugged her, she was really a very kind person.

  "If you don't mind, call me sister, unfortunately I've already forgotten my name in the mortal world."

  "Then when we're together I'll call you sister, okay?"

  "Alright."

  I suddenly remembered something, I recall that when I was in the mortal world, I once helped a female ghost find her deceased son. So if I use the Hell's Eye here, will I also be able to find Nian's mentor?

  "What's wrong, what are you thinking about?" Ming said, looking at me dazedly.

  "Sister Nian, if I can arrange for you to see him again, would you want to?"

  "What? You really can?" Nian stared at me with wide eyes, looking incredulous.

  "To be honest, I'm not too sure either..." After telling her about what happened in the human world, Nian fell into thought.

  "This way, your power will be exposed, and when the time comes, there will definitely be many strong people who will discover your true identity, it's very dangerous." Nian said with some disappointment.

  "Or I can take you somewhere and have a strong person set up a barrier to protect you?" Nian said again.

  "But where can I go?" I was at a loss.

  "Have you forgotten your Landa grandfather? He was a powerful and respected elder, and the one I'm talking about is actually the son of Lord Landa, Lang Chen."

  "That's great, let's go."

  "No rush, you've waited this long already. For now, focus on your training, recover your body, and prepare for the upcoming inter-academy matches. Besides, I still need to discuss this matter with Lord Landa."

  "Okay, I'll listen to sister. But there's a problem." I looked at Nian with difficulty.

  "What's wrong?"

  "It's just that I call Lang Da 'grandfather', and you 'sister', but if you like Lang Da's son, then what should I call him later?" After saying this, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Nian also smiled, she waved her hand and said: "It's okay, we don't mind these rules here. Since there is no blood relationship, close relatives can be together. Do as you please, I'll leave first, rest well."

  "Uh, see you later, sister." I said as I watched Nian's back.

  "Right, I almost forgot." Nian walked back again, and I looked at her in confusion.

  "This sister isn't called for nothing, I'll give you a gift, consider it a meeting gift." She smiled at me, then chanted an incantation, and a black book appeared in her hand.

  "Don't refuse, this book was given to me by Lang Chen, but I have too many things in my heart and can't practice it. Moreover, the aura of this book is too heavy, those with weak willpower are likely to be counter-attacked. You have a pure tone, so this book suits you just fine. Even in the underworld, there are few who dare to try it. If you find it's not right, stop immediately and don't force yourself too much, beware of its devouring power. However, if you succeed in practicing it, it will be equivalent to becoming a strong practitioner, and it will greatly help you."

  "Then I'll take it, thank you sister." I reached out and took the book.

  "I'm leaving, I'll come see you again when I have time."

  After putting it down, I hurriedly put down the book, because as soon as I touched the book, I clearly felt a breath of death, very cold, and even thicker than the evil spirit on the wild ghost's body. Just now, the recitation didn't react, what's going on?

  I lowered my head and gazed at the book "A Song of Ice and Fire" with its four blood-red characters stimulating my senses. It seems that this book will be very useful to me.