Li Wei was ushered into the castle by the paper cutout guards, feeling utterly bewildered.
They told him that Princess Alice had been carried off by an Evil Dragon, and they needed a Hero to vanquish the beast and rescue her.
Whoever could rescue the Princess would receive the King’s most generous reward.
Now, the guard was leading Li Wei to see the King.
When he saw what the King looked like, Li Wei showed a hint of surprise, though he also felt it was to be expected.
The King and Queen also looked like playing cards.
The Big and Little Jokers.
’The things in dreams are truly bizarre.’
Li Wei was now afraid that the Princess Alice he was looking for would also be a paper cutout.
The King spoke. "Brave outsider, can you help find my beloved Princess?"
"In return, I will give you the Kingdom’s most precious reward!"
Li Wei readily agreed. "Where is the Evil Dragon’s lair?"
The King sent Old Q to guide Li Wei.
Old Q was the guard who had led Li Wei to the King and Queen.
Old Q said, "Leave the guiding to . Please follow , Great Hero."
Led by Old Q, Li Wei left the castle, trekking over mountains and across ridges toward the Evil Dragon’s lair.
"We’re here. The Evil Dragon’s lair is just ahead."
Old Q said, pointing to a cave high on a distant mountain.
"I can only take you this far. It’s dangerous to get any closer."
"The rest is up to you, Hero. I hope you can bring Her Highness the Princess back."
"Right. Leave it to ."
Li Wei walked toward the Evil Dragon’s lair high on the mountain.
He reached the entrance of the Evil Dragon’s lair.
He peered inside and shouted, "Is anyone in there?"
A mont later, a deafening roar echoed from within.
An Evil Dragon spewing fire from the corners of its mouth erged from the cave.
The Evil Dragon looked down on Li Wei, its gaze as if he were a re ant.
"Where did you co from, human? How dare you trespass on my territory?"
The Evil Dragon spoke in a human tongue.
Li Wei wasn’t surprised.
’Anything was possible in a dream.’
He looked at the Evil Dragon and said, "I’m looking for Her Highness Princess Alice."
The Evil Dragon lowered its head, bringing its face close to Li Wei.
"She is my treasure. No one can take her from ."
With that, the Evil Dragon opened its great maw, and Dragon Fla surged forth, engulfing Li Wei.
The searing Dragon Fla destroyed everything.
Li Wei transford into the Fla Lord.
In the dream, he beca a majestic Fla Lord, standing dozens of ters tall.
Before him, the Evil Dragon looked like a tiny lizard.
Li Wei snatched the Evil Dragon. It struggled in his palm before the flas burned it to ashes.
After returning to his normal form, Li Wei walked into the Evil Dragon’s lair.
He began his search for Alice.
"Her Highness Princess Alice, where are you?"
Li Wei called out loudly as he walked into the Evil Dragon’s lair.
There was no reply.
He walked to the deepest part of the cave but saw no one.
There was no princess in the Evil Dragon’s lair.
Li Wei left the Evil Dragon’s lair and returned to the castle.
"Hero, why have you returned? Where is the Princess?" the King asked.
Li Wei shook his head. "Her Highness the Princess isn’t in the Evil Dragon’s lair."
The King looked puzzled. "Then where is my daughter?"
Li Wei looked at the Queen and said, "The act is over, Alice."
The Queen looked shocked. "What are you talking about? I don’t understand."
"What are you hiding from?" Li Wei asked.
The Queen fell silent for a mont.
The playing card King shattered, disappearing from his throne.
The Queen ripped open, like a sheet of paper being torn through.
Alice stepped out from within the Queen and sat on the King’s throne.
"When did you figure it out?"
Alice asked.
Li Wei replied, "I knew the mont I entered this dream."
’He hadn’t exposed Alice’s identity simply because he wanted to see what exactly she was hiding from.’
’Or, perhaps, from an enemy within the dream.’
’That was why he had played the role of the Hero and gone to vanquish the Evil Dragon.’
’He had thought the Evil Dragon was Alice’s enemy.’
’But it turned out the Evil Dragon was rely a Dream Creation.’
’Since Dream Creations were made by Alice, they obviously couldn’t be her enemy.’
’The enemy in the dream had to be sothing from the outside.’
’Invaders like Sleepwalkers or Nightmares.’
’A simple Dream Creation could never pose a threat to the master of the dream.’
Li Wei looked at Alice and asked, "What are you afraid of?"
"Since you’re clearly aware this is a dream, you should be able to leave."
’Based on the situation, it was highly likely that Alice was also a Sleepwalker.’
’Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to remain lucid in a dream and create Dream Creations.’
Alice said, "I can’t leave this place."
"A Nightmare Curse ensures that the mont I leave this place, I’ll be attacked by countless Nightmares."
Alice raised her hand, parting the ceiling and clouds above to reveal the scene outside the Dream Bubble.
Outside the Dream Bubble, countless tiny, grayish-black specks were gathered in clusters.
Alice’s Dream Bubble looked like a ball of dough covered in fuzzy mold.
Those specks of mold were all Nightmares.
The Nightmares were lurking, watching this Dream Bubble.
Normally, Nightmares wouldn’t dare get too close to a Sleepwalker’s Dream Bubble.
Alice was afflicted by a Nightmare Curse from the Black Cultists.
She couldn’t use the power of her dream to deal with Nightmares that entered it.
She had lost her ho-field advantage.
Under the assault of endless Nightmares, no matter how strong she was, Alice would eventually be worn down and killed.
The only thing she could do was completely seal her Dream Bubble.
This way, the Nightmares couldn’t enter the Dream Bubble.
And she couldn’t leave it either.
With another wave of her hand, Alice made the horrifying scene outside the sky vanish.
The ground cracked open, revealing the curse buried deep beneath.
The black curse had already corroded the dream’s core; black water flowed deep within the earth.
Li Wei looked down and sensed a profound gaze coming from below.
Alice said, "I’ve concentrated all of the curse down here. I can only temporarily suppress it; I can’t eliminate it."
Li Wei nodded. "I’ll go down and take a look."
"Wait a minute," Alice called out.
She looked at the True Dharma Ring on Li Wei’s right hand.
Alice asked, "What is your relationship with him? Why do you have his ring?"
Li Wei looked at Alice and asked, "Who are you talking about?"
Alice said, "You don’t know him? Then why did you co looking for ?"
Li Wei said, "I ca to find you at Evelyn’s request."
"Besides," Li Wei retorted, "weren’t you the one who sent the letter and the Crystal Flower? Why are you asking why I’m here? Isn’t this what you wanted?"
Alice looked at him, sowhat surprised. "So Evelyn was the one who sent you."
"You still haven’t told how you got that ring," Alice pressed.
Li Wei said, "My teacher gave it to ."
’A new thought occurred to him.’
’Torresta hadn’t necessarily given him the True Dharma Ring because he thought Li Wei would have a use for it.’
’It was more likely ant for Alice to see.’
’Judging by Alice’s reaction, Li Wei was now ninety percent sure who the Dream Weaver of Maple City was.’
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