Chapter Thirty-Two: The Ringing Sound

  （1）

  Aunt Zhen returned home when the sky was already dark, in northern winters the sun sets very early, it's already dark by four o'clock in the afternoon, now it's more than seven o'clock and outside is completely dark.

  "Mom, you're back?" Zhen Tianqi walked out of the bedroom and took Zhen's coat to hang it on the clothes rack. "How was it?"

  "The old man has completely entered the dream I set for him." Zhen's aunt half-reclined on the sofa, putting her legs on the coffee table, and narrowed her eyes, "We're almost done with our great achievement."

  Zhen Tianqi smiled and said, "Uh-huh, yes, mom."

  She glanced at the wall clock, it was time.

  "Mom, I want to go out for a bit. I didn't have time during the day, so I was thinking of going out around here tonight."

  Madam Zhen didn't react much, she just slightly nodded her head. Zhen Tianqi saw that her mother had agreed, so she put on her coat, wrapped a scarf high around her neck, covering half of her face, only revealing her big black eyes.

  Zhen Tianqi's eyes are very beautiful, big and round, and purely black. Everyone who makes eye contact with her will have a feeling of being drawn in. Her eyes are like bottomless lakes, occasionally with a slight ripple on the surface, all thoughts and secrets hidden at the bottom, no one can touch them.

  "I'm leaving," she said.

  The lamps in the compound have a rather classical shape, with a faintly dim yellow light that is not very bright. The shadows on the ground do not have a clear outline but are blurry and indistinct.

  There are many pedestrians on the street. It's now the time when middle-aged and elderly people have finished dinner and come out for a walk, while young people start their nightlife by going out of their homes.

  Zhen Tianqi pulled the scarf up again, covering herself tightly, and her hair had grown a bit longer. When she lowered her head, a shadow covered her eyes. She looked at the passing pedestrians' relaxed and joyful expressions and let out a soft sigh. Originally, she should have been an ordinary but happy girl, hand in hand with someone, laughing and walking along the street.

  "Is he still asleep?" She dialed a number.

  "What did he say?" Zhen Tianqi smiled and said, "I'm here now." Then she lowered her head and hid herself in a patch of shade.

  The window was slightly ajar, and several pots of artificial flowers were placed on the balcony, still so full of life in the cold wind. But after all, fake is fake, Zhen Tianqi looked at them dazedly, thinking that they were like the dreams that their ancestors had been proud of for generations, no matter how close they were to reality, they were just a fleeting splendor, and would eventually shatter.

  "It's all arranged, miss," someone pushed open the door, "You can start now."

  Zhen Tianqi hung her coat and scarf on the headboard, a pair of dark eyes like midnight looked at the old man lying in bed, his face was pale to the point where he seemed like some kind of nocturnal creature. She gently closed her eyes, her arm slowly rose, her index finger slightly curved.

  "I'll go first." Wang, the housekeeper, bowed respectfully and glanced at Master Yu, who had fallen asleep on the bed, before exiting the room.

  A dreamy yet illusory world, prosperous but fleeting. People struggle and waste their years there, unaware of the distance from reality and the passage of time. There is no concept of seconds there; all time can be compressed or extended without limit. There are joys and sorrows, but they will not last forever. There is love and affection, but it will not be permanent. That is the dream world implanted in people by the Dreamweaver.

  The wind blew in through the gap of the floor-to-ceiling window that was not fully closed, lifting the tassels at the bottom of the curtains. In the moonlight, it had a floating and drifting feeling. The air seemed to be filled with some flickering light points, responding to the girl's outstretched arm, as if carrying a certain mysterious melody and rhythm, performing an ancient mystical ritual from afar.

  The nimble fingers parted and merged, curved and stretched, like the ancient sacrificial music dance, and the chanting of the evil cult's blood oath, sacred but mysterious.

  After more than ten minutes, the girl's eyes slowly opened, her fingertips paused in mid-air, and a rest note was drawn at the end of the dream she had woven, pure darkness returned to this space again.

  It's over. Another dream implantation.

  "Miss, you've had a hard time." Wang Guan Jia opened the door for Zhen Tian Qi.

  Zhen Tianqi's lips moved slightly, and after a while, they formed into a smile.

  The night is still so dark, but in a few hours it will be dawn.

  （2）

  Zhen Tianqi returned home after eleven o'clock, and the house was still dark as usual. After all, all the Dreamwalkers had gotten used to surviving in the darkness of night. This race was forever entwined with the darkness and dreams.

  Having lived in the dark night since childhood, she has cultivated a pair of eyes that can still see everything clearly in the dark night, as if it were a product born out of coexistence with the darkness.

  It's almost midnight. She glanced at the wall clock again and could still sleep for a while.

  The room was quiet, except for the sound of the living room clock hanging on the wall, there was no other movement, giving people a sense of death.

  Drip drip drip drip drip.

  Drip drip drip drip drip.

  11:59

  Zero point.

  The phone rang suddenly, like a sharp sword tearing through the original quiet of midnight and directly inserting itself into the heart of the sleeping person. Zhen Ayi sat up abruptly on the bed, panting heavily.

  "Who's calling in the middle of the night? Can't you let people rest?! " Zhen Yi sat for over ten seconds before finally reacting, storming into the living room in a rage, just as Zhen Tianqi was stumbling out with bleary eyes.

  The phone is still ringing.

  "Could it be a wrong number?" asked Zhen Tianqi, "Not many people know our home phone number."

  "It's really hateful in the middle of the night." Zhen Yi said as she walked towards the phone, but before she took a few steps, the ringing stopped.

  "It's probably just a mistake," said Zhen Tianqi.

  Auntie Zhen furrowed her brow, "Hmmm... maybe it's like that."

  "Go back to sleep, it's still early in the morning."

  Zhen Yi thought for a moment, indeed only a few people knew this phone number, and those who knew it wouldn't take the initiative to contact her, so someone must have dialed the wrong number.

  Tomorrow, there is still a lot of things to do. Yu Chen's case should be closing soon, and also Xiao Yu's case. I heard that the Public Security Bureau has mobilized a large number of people, but so far, no body has been found. Hopefully, the body was just washed away and not due to any accident. She has prepared for so long to reach today's situation, really don't want anything to go wrong.

  Just as I closed my eyes again, drowsiness came back and the phone rang sharply once more.

  Zhen's aunt suddenly sat up in bed again and quickly walked into the living room.

  "Who?" Zhen's aunt held her breath, her heart beating a little faster. This was the second time, it shouldn't be a wrong number, had something gone wrong?

  "Zhen Xiu." A strange voice came from the receiver, with a mechanical stiffness.

  "I am." Zhen's aunt felt her heart beating faster.

  The person on the other end of the phone burst out laughing, a mechanical metallic laughter that sent chills down one's spine and made their scalp feel like it was crawling.

  "Ge Tianyu is here with me." he said.