Luo Binghe was stunned: "My..." He took a step back and looked at the boundless and desolate heaven and earth and murmured: "My dream realm, it's actually...like this?"
The mindset framed how the world was seen. Though at such a young age, he had experienced many feelings.
Shen Qingqiu dully said: "This isn't a normal dream realm. I'm afraid you were interfered with by someone while unaware. The spirit power inside this dream realm is strong and unstable. This master was unknowingly pulled in by you."
Luo Binghe's face showed a guilty expression: "This disciple is useless and involved Shizun." He thought: "Who would interfere with my dream realm?"
Shen Qingqiu fully experienced what it was like to spoil someone else's fun and straightforwardly got to the point: "You don't need to think further. There is demonic energy around the edges of the dream realm. This kind of move must be from a demon."
Luo Binghe heard this and wasn't excited. Instead, it aroused his hatred towards demons. He said: "Demon realm people are truly poisonous at heart."
He really didn't know what kind of expression Luo Binghe would have after discovering his own mixed demon blood heritage and thinking back to these words that he himself had said...
Shen Qingqiu smiled and said: "Poisonous and shameless; it could be that others have an opposite feeling."
From Shen Qingqiu's godly point of view, his words are directed towards the person who interfered with Luo Binghe's dream realm, that very Sha Hualing.
Of course, there were thoughts of harming others. But what there were more thoughts of, everyone knew – naturally it's a young girl's secretly moved heart.
Why else would she not harm others and only harm him? In the eyes of this demon girl, the person she likes should be brought over and viciously bullied ╮(￣▽￣」)╭ . However, this was only in the beginning; wait for her to be brought into the harem by Luo Binghe. She could only be submissive and docile then.
Luo Binghe didn't understand the meaning of these words he said, but he smiled and thought it was profound. It was flighty and slightly frivolous but was also able to make people feel a bit of adventurousness.
"This dream realm isn't simple. An ordinary nightmare wouldn't be able to stop me and changing my belief would be able to break through this dream. But this dream realm was made very exquisitely. I'm afraid destroying the core of the illusion would cause no one to be able to get out."
"That is to say, we'll be forever trapped inside this dream realm?" Luo Binghe apologized: "It's all this disciple's fault."
Shen Qingqiu said: "For things to have reached this stage, words are of no use. It's better to act early and break through the enchantment as soon as possible."
Luo Binghe silently nodded and followed behind Shen Qingqiu, walking towards the edge of the dream.
Shen Qingqiu's external appearance looked serene, but inside his brain there were great tempestuous waves as he conversed with the system.
System: [System warning: You are currently entering an important plot branch: Dream Demon Enchantment. Please ensure that during this plot branch you support Luo Binghe so he attains victory over the Dream Demon's illusion. Otherwise, you will be deducted 1000 coolness points. ]
It came again. It's deducting coolness points again. Every time there was this kind of number that let people get a heart attack. I industriously and conscientiously work hard for some points of coolness and you deduct 1000 at one go, is this really good?! As a person... no, as a system you shouldn't be so extreme!
However, this wasn't the key point. The key point was – the plot was a mess.
The premise of this section in the original book was that Luo Binghe was pulled into the Dream Demon's attack range. Before getting attacked, as an unconscious measure of self-protection, he instinctively pulled the person he trusted most with him into the enchantment.
Shen Qingqiu urgently hit the system: 'Great one, baby, great god! Are you sure there isn't a Bug? This part is supposed to be Luo Binghe steeping with a sister [1]. Also, the sister is responsible for helping him unravel the tangles in his heart and using love to help him overcome heart demons [2]. How come I'm given this role?! What about the good emotions and spiritual communion leading to acceptance into the harem scene? What about the little apprentice-sister intending to never abandon him in either life or death?!'
System: [Self-inspection did not reveal a Bug. The system is running normally. ]
No Bug. That is to say, this scene is do right or die.
Shen Qingqiu experienced the power of the butterfly effect for the first time.
In the original work, the one pulled into the dream alongside Luo Binghe was Ning Yingying. At this early stage, she was recently the person he trusted the most on Qing Jing Peak. This checkpoint + increasing intimacy task plainly should have fallen to her.
What was going on now?
'The most trustworthy' and most trusted person, how did this hat inexplicably get buckled onto Shen Qingqiu's head?
Shen Qingqiu was extremely flattered by this unexpected favor but he didn't want to wear this hat at all!
Luo Binghe saw Shen Qingqiu's unfathomable expression and asked concernedly: "Shizun, what's the matter?"
Shen Qingqiu immediately recovered and calmly said: "Nothing. This master is thinking, dream monsters usually attack the weakest part of a person's heart. You should make preparations."
Luo Binghe nodded. With a decisive expression, he said: "This disciple won't let Shifu be implicated again."
Too bitterly forced. Not only was he immersed in a dangerous scene, he was also afraid that if he didn't guess wrong, he would need to take on the sister's responsibilities.
Shen Qingqiu didn't at all want to block knife and gun for the protagonist and follow him through mountains and seas to face fearful heart demons and dream demons and other big things, ah QAQ!
What kind of muddled luck was it to reach this level...
Earlier he'd complained about this world's god. Thinking it over, God was also very innocent. Wasn't the person who created this world Airplane Towards The Sky? As a red-blooded stallion novel writer, he definitely wouldn't be willing for this kind of situation to occur in his writing. A perfectly good sister was switched to a scum villain, how bad is that.
The two people walked forward for a while. Above their heads, the clouds in the sky and the scenery around them was like a kaleidoscope. Sometimes it stretched and twisted, sometimes it broke into many pieces, unpredictable. Walking in this realm, it was like they were drawn by Da Vinci and the background by Piccasso. The styles were completely different and the sense of disharmony was very strong.
Suddenly, a city appeared from the black clouds in front of them.
Shen Qingqiu solemnly said: "Counter soldiers with arms, water with earth [3]. Enter."
Walking to the city gate, Luo Binghe raised his head and revealed a slightly confused expression.
Shen Qingqiu knew it. He thought this city looked very familiar.
Of course it's familiar, this was the city that Luo Binghe wandered as a beggar in his childhood.
Naturally, the city gate didn't have guards and they slowly opened it themselves. Shen Qingqiu led him inside.
This dream was truly terrible, so abstract it was a muddle of colored blocks and there was no delineation between time and reality. The road inside the city, the market, and the houses were all undoubtedly intricately crafted. The lights brightly lit with people coming and going, they watched the people bustle in the crowd from far away. But after walking closer for a better look, even if Shen Qingqiu had prepared himself better, his heart would still have received a shock.
These bustling 'people,' none of them had a face.
Their faces were just vague, unclear impressions. There wasn't any sound either. They weren't like living people at all, but still busily walked around in the city as silent as the dead, giving rise to a kind of strange feeling.
Luo Binghe had never encountered this kind of horrifying scene before. He was scared but said: "Shizun, what are these?"
Shen Qingqiu was a little panicked but still took the responsibility of explaining like a little Baike [encyclopedia]. [4]
"This is a city built by using dreams. Houses and such are made from dead things and can be created like this in a dream. Live people cannot be created and at most can only be made into these strange and indescribable things without noses or faces. However, someone with the ability to immediately create a city on such a large scale – I'm afraid there's only one person."
Luo Binghe humbly asked: "Which person?"
Shen Qingqiu: "Dream Demon."
The Dream Demon was this dream's BOSS.
The Dream Demon was a famous and powerful demon Elder. Some hundreds of years ago, the demon had its fleshly body destroyed in a battle in the Heavenly Realm. Its powerful soul was able to remain intact and parasite on people's dreams, relying on receiving spiritual power and refined energy to survive.
At the same time, it was also the protagonist's number one shifu.
It was the one who in typical cliché fashion took a liking to the protagonist Luo Binghe after he broke through the enchantment. It took all its body's worth of lost knowledge and passed it into his hands, also coming out with a plan from time to time to give him a hand.
Luo Binghe's experience was not deep, so of course he didn't understand this person had come. He was still thinking about asking some more questions when his eyes swept across the crowd and he froze.
Shen Qingqiu asked despite already knowing the answer: "What's the matter?"
Luo Binghe said: "Shizun, I don't know whether I saw wrong. Earlier, I think I saw people with faces in the crowd."
Shen Qingqiu shook his sleeves and walked towards the direction he pointed, concisely said: "Chase."
The two people blended into the crowd, taking seven turns and eight bends [5] before finally stopping in front of a small alley.
There are five people with faces in total. All their faces are clear rather than a vague mess. They looked like they were still in their teens. Four of them stood and held the advantage while one sat on the ground. The sound of cursing was unceasing, some "small mixed-breed" and "bastard" flying around. They were so absorbed in cursing that they didn't notice the two people arriving behind them.
Luo Binghe said: "They don't seem like they can see us."
He looked at Shen Qingqiu as though asking, didn't you say the Dream Demon has no way of creating people with facial features?
It was time to explain again.
Shen Qingqiu sighed in his heart. He said: "The Dream Demon truly cannot use the dream to create people, but these people weren't created by it. Luo Binghe, look closer at these people."
Luo Binghe slowly moved his gaze towards them and looked for a while before suddenly receiving a shock.
Shen Qingqiu said: "These aren't illusions created by the Dream Demon. They are actually projections of real people existing in your memories. The Dream Demon is only using a small trick to take these images sleeping in the depths of your heart and wake them up."
It was as though Luo Binghe was already unable to hear his words, raising his hands and holding it to his temples, nerves spasming.
Shen Qingqiu knew that Luo Binghe's heart demon had already come.
These four slimy teenagers surrounded a boy sitting on the ground who looked to be around fifteen years old, punching and kicking him. That shabbily-dressed child whose hands were holding his head, curled up on the ground, silently getting beaten; it really let people worry that such a small child would be beaten to death by them!
"This mixed-breed kid who hasn't grown eyes dares to come to this brother's turf to get a job!"
"Tired of living!"
"Step on him to death. Isn't he pitiful, doesn't he have nothing to eat and is hungry? If he's beaten to death he won't have nothing to eat anymore!"
Luo Binghe's head hurt as though it would split. It seemed he could only see the tragic and weak little figure on the ground. That was the him in years past, from the loose and messy hair to the face full of blood that revealed two eyes like stars. Like two sharp swords, those eyes met his.
Luo Binghe couldn't move his gaze at all.
Shen Qingqiu whispered: "Binghe, this is only an illusion."
—End Chapter 16—
[1] Steeping with a sister: Actual word used is pao (泡). Basically 'steeping' or soaking with a sister/babe like a tea bag. LOL.
[2] Heart demons: Pinyin is xin mo (心魔) just like the name of Binghe's future, endgame sword. I'm using the literal translation instead of the more common term 'internal demons' because I think it fits better with this story. Heart demons are negative emotions and other mental barriers that hinder practitioners in their cultivation or training. They can attack a cultivator from the inside and cause them to suffer harm and/or qi deviation. If you've played Kingdom Hearts, it's like the darkness in your heart. *is whacked by a Keyblade*
[3] Counter soldiers with arms, water with earth (兵來將擋,水來土掩): A saying meaning to adopt measures appropriate for the situation.
[4] Baike (百科): A reference to Baidu Baike/Baike Baidu which is like an online encyclopedia made by the Chinese equivalent of Google, Baidu.
[5]Taking seven turns and eight bends: Meaning to take a convoluted path.