Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Terrifying Invasion
Four days later, in the dead of night, the moon hung high in the sky.
Xiao Nanfeng listened to the chanting outside his room and slowly drifted into sleep. Practicing martial arts and studying consumed a lot of his energy, making sleep his best form of recovery each day.
But tonight's dream was peculiar. In the dream, Xiao Nanfeng sat by a serene pool in a picturesque valley, surrounded by chirping birds and fragrant flowers, fishing in utter tranquility. Despite fishing for a long time, not a single fish took the bait, yet he was not impatient, content to wait. As time passed, however, the water of the pool gradually turned pitch black.
At first, he didn't think much of it. But then, the fishing line twitched—was there a catch?
His eyes lit up, and he lifted the rod. The black water rippled, and slowly, a ghastly white skull emerged from the pool, drawn up by the line.
"Ah!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out in shock.
He instantly recognized it—it was that cursed skeletal figure!
"This... this is my dream?" His heart sank as the realization dawned on him.
With a loud *bang*, black mist erupted from the lake, engulfing the entire valley in darkness, staining every corner of his dreamscape.
"I'm dreaming? I have to get out, wake up!" Xiao Nanfeng pinched himself hard.
He tried everything he could to wake up, but no matter what, he couldn't escape the dream.
Meanwhile, the skeleton in the lake twisted its head slightly and slowly reached out a bony claw from beneath the water, attempting to crawl out.
"What the hell are you doing in my dream!?" Xiao Nanfeng shouted in panic.
He quickly channeled his soul force into the fishing rod, which glowed a bright blue as he tried to push the skeleton back into the water. But still, the skull continued to rise, bit by bit, out of the pool.
And then, to his horror, the skeleton grinned at him.
That eerie smile sent chills down Xiao Nanfeng's spine, filling him with a sense of impending doom.
"Damned thing! Get out of my dream!"
The skeleton kept climbing out of the water, inching closer to fully entering his dream. Xiao Nanfeng was trapped—unable to flee and unable to wake.
Meanwhile, in the real world, back in Xiao Nanfeng's bedroom.
His body lay motionless on the bed, unaware that the room had been shrouded in thick black mist. At the center of the mist stood that ghastly white skeleton, silently watching Xiao Nanfeng.
The skeleton observed him for a long while, and only when Xiao Nanfeng was deeply asleep did it spread its arms.
*Whoosh!*
The black mist surged all at once, swirling around Xiao Nanfeng's bed in a spiraling vortex, enclosing the space around him like a tornado.
As the black mist spiraled faster and faster, Xiao Nanfeng's body was slowly lifted into the air, still fast asleep.
The skeleton stared at Xiao Nanfeng for a long moment, then took a step forward. With a soft *thud*, the skull touched Xiao Nanfeng's arm, and slowly, it began to sink into his skin, inch by inch.
Xiao Nanfeng's body trembled as his muscles twitched uncontrollably. His face, still locked in sleep, contorted with expressions of fear and struggle, but despite the terror gripping his dream, he couldn't wake. The black mist held him suspended in midair.
Outside, the chanting continued, calm and serene. No one had any idea of the horrors unfolding within the quiet room.
At the same time, over at Reflection Cliff, Ye Dafu was angrily scolding one of his lackeys.
"You're the slowest at memorizing scripture, making us wait this long," Ye Dafu grumbled.
"Boss, I've already done it as fast as I could! Normally, memorizing this book would take me twice the time," the lackey replied, looking aggrieved.
"Forget it, as long as you're done. We can leave anytime now. Do you know what we're doing next?" Ye Dafu's eyes glinted with excitement.
"Of course! We're going to get back at that brat."
"Exactly! I've had enough of him."
"Boss, what's the plan?"
The group buzzed with excitement.
Watching his companions share his hatred, Ye Dafu nodded in satisfaction.
"See that brat's house over there? That window?" Ye Dafu pointed in the distance.
"Is he inside?" one lackey asked curiously.
"Yes, I've scouted it out over the past few days—that room is his bedroom," Ye Dafu said confidently.
"That brat is sleeping? Boss, you're not planning on breaking in and beating him up, are you?"
"There are too many eyes watching, we couldn't pull that off."
"You guys don't know anything. Look at this." Ye Dafu pointed to a pile of rocks at his feet.
"What's this?" the group asked, intrigued.
"These are sharp rocks I've gathered over the past few days. We'll all throw them at his window. I guarantee it'll hurt like hell." Ye Dafu's face twisted into a sinister grin. "Once we've thrown them, we run. No one will ever know it was us."
"Brilliant plan, boss!"
"The window is just papered over. If we throw hard enough, the rocks will go right through and hit his bed. Imagine the pain if one hits him!"
"Head injuries for sure, maybe even bedridden for a year!"
"Boss, this is genius. Once we're done, we leave the Scripture Palace, no one will suspect us."
The group eagerly praised Ye Dafu's devious plan.
"Each of you, grab a rock. When I give the signal, we throw them in and run immediately," Ye Dafu instructed quietly.
"Got it!" the group whispered excitedly, each choosing a stone.
They carefully aimed at Xiao Nanfeng's bedroom window, adjusting for accuracy.
"Now! Throw!" Ye Dafu commanded.
"Let's see you bleed!"
"Break your bones and leave you crippled!"
"Bruise your face and paralyze your body!"
One by one, the eleven stones shot toward Xiao Nanfeng's window, tearing through the paper screen and hurtling toward the bed.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
A series of dull thuds followed as the stones broke through the window. Instantly, people nearby turned their heads toward Xiao Nanfeng's bedroom.
In the dark, the eleven culprits exchanged smug glances.
"Nobody saw us. We're in the clear. Let's get out of here and keep our mouths shut. Ha! Let's go!" Ye Dafu ordered excitedly.
"Let's go!" the group echoed.
Just as they were about to flee, several men in robes appeared behind them.
"Did you just throw stones at Junior Brother Nanfeng's room?"
"Were you sneaking an attack on Senior Brother Nanfeng?"
The men blocked their way, frowning at them in astonishment.
"When did you get behind us?" Ye Dafu's face stiffened in shock. Did they see us throw the rocks?
His lackeys felt their legs go weak. What was happening? We got caught?
"You think this is just anywhere? The Scripture Palace is a sacred site, constantly patrolled. We're tonight's enforcers. We saw you gathering suspiciously earlier. How dare you attack Junior Brother Nanfeng?"
Before long, the surrounding chanters gathered, surrounding Ye Dafu's group.
Ye Dafu and his lackeys looked terrified. What they thought was a foolproof plan had crumbled. What now? How do we explain this?
The lackeys looked desperately at Ye Dafu, whose face was frozen in despair. What are you looking at me for? I didn't know we were being watched!
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed from Xiao Nanfeng's bedroom.
"Could something have happened to Senior Brother Nanfeng? Quick, let's check!" a group of junior disciples rushed toward his room.
At that critical moment, Xiao Nanfeng was indeed in danger. Suspended in midair by the vortex of black mist, the skeleton's head and arms had already partially entered his body, about to fully merge with him and completely take over his dream.
His body twitched uncontrollably as terror and rage twisted his face. But no matter how he struggled, he couldn't wake.
Then, the eleven stones crashed through the window.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The barrage of stones struck the black mist vortex, disrupting its spinning pattern. The spherical vortex trembled violently, then, with a loud *bang*, it shattered and dispersed.
In that instant, Xiao Nanfeng's body lost its support, dropping from midair back onto the bed.
*Thud!*
The moment Xiao Nanfeng hit the bed, he jolted awake, his eyes snapping open.
*Gasp! Gasp!*
Xiao Nanfeng gasped for breath, finally waking up in the nick of time. As he regained consciousness, he saw the black mist slowly dissipating, and the skeleton had vanished without a trace.
Sweating profusely, Xiao Nanfeng sat up in alarm, scanning the room and finding the ground littered with stones.
"Senior Brother Nanfeng, are you alright?" someone called from outside.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Xiao Nanfeng quickly got up and opened the door.
"Senior brother, are you alright? We've already caught the person who stoned you just now." An odd-job disciple immediately stepped forward.
Xiao Nanfeng looked suspiciously at the Ye Dafu and the others who were surrounded by a group of people in the center.
"Nan, Senior Brother Nanfeng? All, it's all a misunderstanding!" Ye Dafu said with embarrassment on his face.
"That's right, misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" A group of followers immediately compensated and laughed.
Doing something bad and being caught in the act, what could one do? One could only smile, damn it, why are we so unlucky?
Xiao Nanfeng looked at Ye Dafu and the others, but ignored them and went straight to Elder Ku 's compound.
"Master, disciple Nanfeng seeks an audience!" Xiao Nanfeng called out to Elder Ku 's great hall.
Not far away, Ye Dafu and the others' faces suddenly changed.
"It's over, this brat has taken a personal vendetta, he's gone to Elder Ku to complain."
"Boss, we're going to be in deep shit, it's gotten big!"
...
A group of people looked anxiously at Ye Dafu.
Ye Dafu also blushed furiously, "He's too gutless too! This, this is as far as looking for Elder Ku?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone