Li Zhiyuan sat on the terrace, staying there until late at night.
Finally, the snoring from the Grandmaster's room ceased, and his breathing beca rapid.
Li Zhiyuan stood up, opened the door, and went in.
On the bed, the Grandmaster's hands were upright, his legs kicking the bed, with cold sweat flowing from his body.
The Grandmaster ntioned during the day that this dream occurs every few days, but having dreamt it last night and again tonight, either the Grandmaster lied or things have beco more dire.
Although the Grandmaster is still in good health and can endure it, if this dream continues for long, even the healthiest person can't withstand it.
If I go on another journey like last ti, being away for so long, what will happen to matters at ho...?
Indeed, with Elder Mrs. Liu and Aunt Liu around, they can be of great help, but Li Zhiyuan knows he is the one directly involved in this matter.
It can't be delayed any longer; I must resolve this issue before my next journey, at the very least, significantly reduce the frequency of these dreams.
The first thing to do is to enter the Grandmaster's dream.
But forcibly entering could harm the Grandmaster's spirit.
Li Zhiyuan quickly thought of a new thod. When the cat-faced old lady ca to their house, a zombie erged from the Grandmaster's dream, fighting with the cat-faced old lady in the illusion.
Since that zombie could co out then, as long as I simulate the key elents of that environnt, I can find an opportunity to get in.
However, the cat-faced old lady is a deadman. I need to find an evil spirit to trigger it.
If Tan Wenbin were here, his two foster sons could serve as errands boys.
Li Zhiyuan walked out of the house, went to Big Beard's house, and knocked on the window of the west-side bedroom on the first floor.
Soon, a cold face appeared behind the window.
Li Zhiyuan pointed outside.
Before long, the door opened, and Xiao Yingying ca out. She was wearing a white nightgown, her black hair draping over her shoulders.
"Co with , lend a hand."
Xiao Yingying went back inside, brought out Beng Beng, carried the child to the second-floor bedroom door, and then ca back down.
Li Zhiyuan only then realized that Xiong Shan and his wife even let their son sleep with Xiao Yingying at night, truly treating a deadman as a nanny.
In the second-floor bedroom.
Lihua gently nudged her husband: "Listening to the footsteps, it's Brother Xiao Yuan. Should we go down and see?"
Xiong Shan shook his head: "Since he hasn't called us, let's pretend we don't know. Go bring our son in, he's by our door."
Lihua: "Let's not, she'll bring him back to sleep when she returns, saving us the trouble."
Li Zhiyuan brought Xiao Yingying back ho.
Run Sheng, asleep in the coffin, was woken by Li Zhiyuan.
"Xiao Yuan, what's up?"
"Brother Runsheng, go to the West Room now, and no matter what happens next, neither of you should co out."
"Okay."
Run Sheng didn't ask why and just left the coffin for the West Room.
He had to first caution his partners, who might act out of concern for his safety, while the elder on the other side understood discretion and wouldn't interfere lightly.
Li Zhiyuan walked up to Xiao Yingying and said, "Let's start. Reveal your body, let the deadman aura flow."
Xiao Yingying lifted her head, her black hair becoming wet, starting to drip water down, her already pale skin turning ghostly white, the aura on her body changing from cold to chilling.
At this mont, she seed to transform back to the Little Huang Ying who once walked underwater.
However, Li Zhiyuan also noticed that she controlled her deadman aura more deftly now.
It seems over the past year, utilizing the power of the one under the peach tree, living as a "human" in the world, she has greatly benefitted.
"Sing a song, make it 'lively'.
When the cat-faced old lady was here, she made it quite festive.
Little Huang Ying began to sing, her voice lodious and ethereal, not exactly on key, yet possessing a unique charm.
To further recreate the atmosphere of that night, Li Zhiyuan glanced at the stockpile of papern on the first floor.
The young man ford a seal with his hands, employing the Nuo Puppetry Technique.
Papern are not bodies, easier to control but lacking combat power, though now, they're just to fill the "crowd".
Soon, all the papern beca animated, moving tables, shifting chairs, so bustling forward playfully.
The cat-faced old lady hosted a longevity feast here that night; Li Zhiyuan is hosting Little Huang Ying's concert today.
In the East Room.
Alii was already asleep.
The elderly Liu Yui, being of an age with light sleep, was accustod to speaking a bit to the tablets before falling asleep to pass the ti.
The old lady turned her head, glanced out the window, and murmured, "What is Xiao Yuan up to?"
As if realizing sothing, she turned toward the bed where Alii was sleeping soundly.
"Ah..." The old lady smiled, sipping tea, "Go have fun, go have fun; you young ones know how to enjoy yourselves better."
...
When the atmosphere was just right, Li Zhiyuan controlled a paperman to take the stage, holding paper flowers to present to Little Huang Ying and receiving a hug in return.
After the hug, the paperman's color deepened, tainted with a deadman aura.
Li Zhiyuan initiated Walking Yin.
As the youth prepared to control the paperman to head upstairs to the Grandmaster's room, he turned his head and saw Alii, also in the Walking Yin state, standing at the door.
That evening, Alii was there, and this evening, she had also co.
Li Zhiyuan did not specifically knock on the East Room's door to call out, as there existed a tacit understanding between the two; he knew the girl would erge.
The youth went over, taking the girl's hand.
The paperman began to ascend the stairs, with Li Zhiyuan and Alii following behind.
Reaching the second floor, the paperman pushed open the Grandmaster's door and moved to the bedside.
Seemingly influenced by the montum in reality, more cold sweat covered the Grandmaster, and the dream turned more intense and vivid.
The paperman extended a hand, grasping the Grandmaster's wrist.
In an instant, Li Zhiyuan observed a fusion between the "dream" he crafted and the one the Grandmaster was experiencing, leading to an opening ahead.
Li Zhiyuan glanced at the girl beside him, and she nodded.
The next mont, Li Zhiyuan and Alii together stepped into this opening.
The surroundings transford drastically, and Li Zhiyuan successfully entered the Grandmaster's dream peacefully.
The red palace walls, imposing gates, white steps, and the vast square.
This is The Forbidden City, a place he knows well, because, for a while in childhood, Li Lan worked here, and he would be brought along.
Back then, the gates of The Forbidden City weren't strict. Many palaces were accessible for close viewing, unlike now, with barriers at the entrances due to increased tourist numbers.
However, lowering his gaze, Li Zhiyuan saw an orange cat, lazily sprawled in the corner.
The orange cat saw Li Zhiyuan too; it rose gracefully, slowly approaching the youth, lovingly rubbing its face against his calf.
Clearly, it recognized the youth.
Li Zhiyuan recognized it too.
Many afternoons were spent here, with it in his arms, stroking its fur while watching tourists stream in through the palace gates.
Li Zhiyuan bent down, picking up the orange cat, making eye contact with it.
"Why are you in my Grandmaster's dream?"
The orange cat yawned, extending its tongue to lick its lips.
At that mont, Li Zhiyuan realized.
"No, it's the Grandmaster, in my dream!"
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