Chapter 3

"Who?"

The sudden figure that leaped in made Ning Wuxie tense up. He moved his body backward, staring at the dark silhouette standing opposite him, his eyes wide open, trying to make out the features of the person.

Unfortunately, although his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, it was still difficult to discern the person's face. He could only vaguely make out that the person was tall, about 1.9 meters, and very robust, standing there like a black tower. The person had long, disheveled hair, which was quite frightening in the darkness.

"Zhong... Mama... Hehe..."

Hearing Ning Wuxie's voice, the person took a few steps over to the hay pile, speaking with joy and quickly pulled out a black, dirty object from his short hemp shirt, stuffing it into Ning Wuxie's arms.

Then, the person squatted to one side, looking at Ning Wuxie expectantly, grinning and saying, "Zhong... Cake... Hehe..."

The voice of the dark figure was not stuttering, but it sounded very labored and the pronunciation was very unclear. However, to Ning Wuxie, it felt familiar, a kind of familial affection he had never experienced before.

"Bo Wu, Brother..."

Ning Wuxie blurted out the words. Although he couldn't see the person's face clearly, the familiarity made him instantly recognize who it was.

After he said these words, he was startled. When did he have a brother?

"Could it be, that dream..."

Ning Wuxie's mind was suddenly in turmoil. What was going on? Was he the Ning Wuxie from the first dream, or the Ning Wuxie from the second dream?

The scenes from both dreams kept replaying in his mind. Suddenly, a thought lingered in his heart. Both Ning Wuxies in the dreams were dead; the first one died physically, and the second one died spiritually. He was Ning Wuxie, and Ning Wuxie was him—a new beginning!

"Hehe..."

Seeing Ning Wuxie in a daze, the dark figure called out urgently.

Was this the foolish brother from the second dream? Ning Wuxie realized that he was no longer in his original world. Here, he had family—a mother and a foolish brother. How fortunate he was. What reason did he have not to cherish this?

Coming back to his senses, Ning Wuxie silently picked up the black, dirty cake in his arms and put it in his mouth. Although his hands were tied, they were tied in front of him, not behind. He held the black cake with his fingers, and a foul, sour smell filled his nose.

"Eat..."

Looking at the cake in Ning Wuxie's hand, the dark figure urged him, his stomach rumbling, making him scratch his head and grin foolishly.

His stomach churned, and Ning Wuxie took a bite of the sour, black cake, mixing it with tears and blood from his mouth, and swallowed it along with the hard, tooth-breaking crust.

Halfway through, Ning Wuxie handed the cake to the dark figure, Ning Bowu, and said, "Brother, you eat..."

Ning Bowu waved his hands quickly, grinning foolishly, and pointed to his stomach, saying, "Full... already..."

Gurgle...

As soon as he said that, his stomach growled again, and Ning Bowu scratched his head, grinning foolishly.

Ning Wuxie felt a lump in his throat, tears welling up in his eyes. He handed the half-eaten black cake to Ning Bowu and pointed to his own stomach, saying, "I'm full, you eat..."

Seeing Ning Wuxie's gesture, Ning Bowu quickly picked up the cake and ate most of the dry, hard, sour cake in a few bites. He carefully put the small remaining piece into his short hemp shirt, grinning and saying, "Mama... eat..."

Seeing this, Ning Wuxie couldn't hold back his tears. A man doesn't cry easily, but this was a heart-wrenching moment. Although Ning Bowu was foolish, his every action made Ning Wuxie feel deeply moved.

What is happiness? Ning Wuxie felt it at that moment.

Ning Bowu didn't stay long. He seemed to have sneaked in, and when he left, he did so quietly. Ning Wuxie didn't ask why he was tied up, as Ning Bowu was naturally foolish, and asking would be pointless.

The black cake, though not very filling, at least left him half-satisfied. Already feeling weak, Ning Wuxie lay down in the hay pile and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In his sleep, Ning Wuxie had another dream.

It was a small, idyllic village, where the villagers were simple and honest. Ning Wuxie was the son of a hunter, attending the village school, and his family of four relied on hunting for a living.

A year ago, the hunter died of a fever, and his old, sickly mother, foolish brother, and young self left the family without a source of income, relying on the villagers' charity to survive.

The young boy was smart and wise, the smartest student in the village school. At twelve, he passed the county examination and became the village's pride. Now, at sixteen, he had the qualifications to take the examination for a scholar.

Therefore, the schoolmaster gave Ning Wuxie the courtesy name Zhongyuan and also gave his foolish brother the courtesy name Bowu. Otherwise, ordinary villagers wouldn't have names.

The dream recounted Ning Wuxie's growth, and Ning Wuxie watched it like a movie, seeing his life up to the 15th day of the first month of his sixteenth year, the Lantern Festival. At that moment, the dream turned bloody and chaotic.

In the blood, there were piercing screams, curses, and the villagers were in a panic, fleeing in all directions. After that, Ning Wuxie could no longer see clearly, only hearing the chaotic shouts.

"Monster..."

"Kill this monster..."

"Monster..."

"Zhongyuan... Zhongyuan... Zhongyuan..."

The old mother's desperate calls echoed, cutting through Ning Wuxie's heart like a knife, causing him immense pain as he reached out to grab the blood.

Just as he touched the blood, suddenly, countless blood-red lights flickered, forming strange, blood-red characters that floated in Ning Wuxie's dream. There were thousands of them, resembling tadpoles but more complex, not like seal script, but somewhat similar to oracle bone script, yet not quite.

Ning Wuxie stared in amazement at these blood-red characters. Each one exuded a mysterious aura, shimmering with a blood-red glow, floating and trembling before connecting one by one to form a chain of characters, as if alive, rushing toward Ning Wuxie.

"Ah..."

Faced with such a bizarre situation, even the usually calm Ning Wuxie was startled. He raised his hands instinctively to defend himself, letting out a loud cry, sitting up abruptly from the hay pile, breathing heavily, and sweating profusely.

"Phew... Fortunately, it was just a nightmare."

Taking a deep breath, Ning Wuxie looked around. The room was no longer as dark as before. It was a square room, about ten square meters, with a wooden door opposite him, through which Ning Bowu had entered last night.

The room was built of bamboo, with a pile of firewood by the door and a hay pile behind him. Strands of light filtered through the gaps between the bamboo slats, and the roof was covered with thatch.

What left Ning Wuxie speechless was the yellow paper talisman with messy lines pasted on the wooden door. Was it for warding off evil?

"Master, the monster is inside. Last night, we were fortunate to have Master capture the monster..." An elderly voice, filled with flattery, came from outside the room.

"Exorcising demons and protecting the righteous is our duty. The village chief is too kind."

The cold, sinister laugh sent shivers down Ning Wuxie's spine, a sense of unprecedented danger lingering in his heart, refusing to dissipate.