Even mortals like Xiao Du and Xiao Ling who knew nothing about the way of cultivation could sense the weirdness of the lights after seeing the previous causes and consequences. Xiao Ling didn't quite understand the reason, but just felt something was wrong, but Xiao Du suddenly realized that this was not a reward for the other party, but clearly harming the old turtle!
Although the two were in a dream at the moment, they were as confused as many people's dreams and could not tell whether it was real or not. They hid themselves behind the grass for fear that they would be discovered by the soldiers. Even Xiao Ling, who knew martial arts, was very cautious.
After waiting for a long time, when all the lanterns had been lit and put down in the river, the riders mounted their horses and rode back the way they had come.
The sound of horse hooves faded away. Without knowing each other, Xiao Du and Xiao Ling dared to stand up quietly and look into the distance at the river. The lights had already drifted away downstream.
I don’t know how much time had passed, maybe a few hours, maybe a few days, but suddenly the river in the distance was covered with huge waves.
"Boom..."
A huge hole exploded in the middle of the river, and huge waves crashed towards both banks, with the waves rising like heavy rain.
"Boom..."
At some point, dark clouds began to gather in the sky, with thunder and lightning. The dark leaden clouds were pressing down, and lightning kept jumping in the clouds. The pressure brought by the dark clouds and lightning in the sky made Xiao Du and Xiao Ling feel depressed.
"Boom..."
The thunderbolt struck the river surface, and the lightning in the river illuminated a large area of water waves...
"Ahh..."
A fierce roar was heard in the river. Xiao Du and Xiao Ling could even see a giant turtle rolling in the thunder in the middle of the river in the distance. In the storm, waves of roars like those of ancient beasts came from the river.
"Xiao Jing, you will die a miserable death, roo-"
The terrifying demonic energy mixed with the evil spirit rushed towards the two banks along with the huge waves in the river. Xiao Du and Xiao Ling could hardly breathe and could even feel a kind of suffocation pain.
In this kind of pain, the body's endurance reached its limit, and a huge blood-red wave, like a high wall, came towards the two at this moment, with the hideous face of a giant turtle and flashing thunder in it.
"ah… "
Xiao Ling sat up from the bed, gasping heavily.
"Ho…ho ho ho…"
"Husband? What's wrong with you, husband?"
Duan Muwan beside her also sat up and found that her husband was pale and lifeless, with sweat all over his face and body. She stretched out her sleeve to wipe Xiao Ling's face, and the latter looked at her with a bit of confusion, and then his eyes gradually regained clarity from his trance.
"Husband, are you having a nightmare?"
"Oh...oh...yeah, I had a nightmare, a very real nightmare..."
Xiao Ling calmed his breathing, and the scenes from his previous dream kept flashing in his mind. However, compared to the lucid yet dazed state in the dream, his thoughts were much clearer now, and he even felt that the name Xiao Jing sounded familiar.
In Xiao Du's study, Xiao Du also woke up from his dream and even fell off the couch.
"ah… "
"Bang~"
"Ouch, ah... someone come, someone come..."
Xiao Du cried out in panic and looked around with a suspicious expression. The scenery in front of him gradually changed from the river in his dream to his study.
A servant who was on night watch came in to serve and saw a look of panic on his master's face that he had never seen before, as well as sweat that had wet his hair.
"Master, Master, what's wrong with you?"
The servant rushed forward, helped Xiao Du up, and let him sit on the couch. Then he took a towel from the shelf next to him and wiped Xiao Du's face. The latter had been breathing slightly rapidly, and it took a while for him to calm down. The servant beside him quickly handed him tea.
"Master, drink some tea to moisten your throat and calm your nerves."
Xiao Du calmed his slightly trembling breathing, and his hands were shaking slightly as he took the teacup. After drinking a few sips of tea, he barely recovered a little and handed the teacup back to the servant. However, he did not hold it firmly and the teacup almost fell. Fortunately, the servant was quick-witted and caught the teacup quickly.
"Master, are you having a nightmare?"
"Nightmare? Yes, yes, give me the towel and you can leave first."
"Yes, sir, if you need anything, please call me anytime. I will be waiting in the side room."
"Um."
After the servants left, Xiao Du wiped his face with a cloth and subconsciously looked at the light in the study. He stood up and picked up the lampshade on the lampstand on the table in front of him, revealing the slightly flickering candlelight inside.
Unlike Xiao Ling, Xiao Du knew very clearly who Xiao Jing was. After all, he read the family tree more diligently than Xiao Ling. He was a little dazed in his dream, but as soon as he woke up, Xiao Du already remembered that Xiao Jing was his ancestor.
"Why did I have this dream? Why did I dream about these things?"
Just as I was thinking this, I heard footsteps outside, which were particularly obvious in the quiet night.
"Father, are you still in the study?"
"come in."
Xiao Ling walked into the study and closed the door to prevent the heat from escaping. When he looked at his father, he found that he looked a little embarrassed.
"Dad, what's wrong with you?"
Xiao Du waved his hand and spoke in a slightly tired tone.
"It's okay. I just had a very real nightmare. I'm still a little frightened and sweating all over."
Xiao Ling was startled when he heard this, and instinctively felt that something was wrong. He immediately took a few steps closer and asked in a low voice.
"Dad, did you dream of a broad river, a scholar named Xiao Jing, and an old turtle in the river?"
Xiao Du's body trembled violently and he looked at his son with horror.
"Did you dream about it too?"
Xiao Ling nodded with a grim expression.
"I also dreamed about it. The old turtle helped the scholar Xiao Jing to obtain wealth and honor. The latter returned the lights to his family. However, there was something wrong with the lights. Soon, thunder struck the river. The old turtle even cursed Xiao Jing in the storm..."
Xiao Ling said this, looking at Xiao Du, who also had an extremely ugly expression, and asked carefully.
"Dad, this Xiao Jing, could he be our Xiao family's ancestor?"
Xiao Du nodded, subconsciously looked towards the study window and the door, and lowered his voice.
"Xiao Jing is the ancestor of my Xiao family when they were just starting to prosper. The lanterns in the river... If my father is right, they are not the lights of a kind family, but, gulu..."
Xiao Du swallowed and lowered his voice even more.
"In his later years, Emperor Zhen Taizu massacred the founding heroes. Many old ministers had their three clans or even nine clans exterminated, killing them so that there were no loyal ministers left in the court... Those candles must have been taken from those homes where rivers of blood flowed... "
Xiao Ling also swallowed subconsciously, feeling both shocked and afraid. Even though he didn't understand cultivation, he knew that this was definitely an extremely sinister thing, and the sound of thunder and lightning that followed seemed to confirm this.
"Dad, what else do you know?"
"Huh... This is an old story from who knows how many generations ago. How could Dad know it so clearly? If it weren't for this dream, Dad wouldn't even know that our Xiao family's ancestors had contact with monsters... But I did hear your great-grandfather say that there is an ancestral precept in the family that the descendants of the Xiao family in Kyoto should not get close to the Chunmu River, saying that the river conflicts with our family, but he didn't say it was that serious..."
"Chun Mujiang... Father, why did we have the same dream? This dream..."
Without Xiao Ling's explanation, Xiao Du also felt that this dream might be true. The fact that the father and son had the same dream must mean something, and it was probably not a good thing.
While the father and son of the Xiao family were suspicious, in the Xiao Mansion, Ji Yuan and the old turtle's spiritual thoughts were looking towards the study, but because of the dream, the old turtle's shadow was a little unstable.
Ji Yuan turned his gaze to the old turtle.
"Mr. Ji, I..."
The evil aura of the old turtle in the dream just now was actually a little bit "beyond history". It was precisely because the old turtle's mind was affected by his own resentment and revealed this in front of Ji Yuan, which made the old turtle feel uneasy.
"If it were me, I might not be able to let go of this past. It would be unfair if you were not allowed to feel resentful after being played with such an evil-doer."
Hearing what Ji Yuan said, the old turtle breathed a sigh of relief, but was still a little confused about why Mr. Ji brought him here.
"Now that the Xiao family is facing a major change, it is time for you to settle this karma with the Xiao family."
"But, but Xiao Jing has already died, and will be punished in the underworld. Now the Xiao family and I..."
The old turtle said these few words hesitantly, and then Ji Yuan smiled when he heard it.
"I am only asking you to resolve this issue. As for how to do it, it is up to you. The gods and ghosts of Jingji Prefecture and Tongtian River will give me some face and will not restrict you."
Having said that, Ji Yuan looked towards the direction of Xiao's study again, and after a long time, he said lightly.
"If you have figured it out, just let it go. Don't be too concerned with worldly views. Just make yourself feel at ease. It's getting late. I should rest."
After saying this, Ji Yuan's figure slowly disappeared in front of the old turtle. After the latter was stunned for a moment, he continued to cast his gaze towards Xiao's study, until this wisp of spiritual consciousness could no longer be maintained and dissipated in the yard by itself.
…
On the morning of the second day, in a room of another guest house in Yin Mansion on Rong'an Street, Du Changsheng finally woke up. He opened his heavy eyelids and saw the ceiling of the guest room in Yin Mansion. He was not seriously injured. He just felt Ji Yuan's artistic conception the deepest and exerted too much force, causing his soul to be immersed in the artistic conception. In the end, he fell into his own artistic conception, causing his body to lose the control of his soul. He looked like a dying man.
Du Changsheng’s biggest problem now is that his mental energy is over-exhausted. After resting for a period of time, the situation has eased a lot.
When Du Changsheng woke up, an imperial physician came for a routine check. Seeing that he had opened his eyes, he hurried over.
"Master Du, are you awake? How do you feel?"
Du Changsheng had just come back to his senses and grabbed the imperial physician's hand and asked nervously.
"Is it done? Is it done?"
He had no idea what was going to happen after he fainted, and he was afraid that he would mess it up.
"It's done! The Heavenly Master is truly powerful. Prime Minister Yin is recovering!"
"Oh... it's good that it's done, it's good that it's done..."
Du Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of performance made the imperial physician stand in awe. This was the demeanor of a master!
... ...
PS: PY recommends "Pokemon Master" by Qingquan Liuxiang, which can be regarded as a dream come true in childhood memories of Pokémon.