Chapter 174 Bo Qi Eats Dreams

Wei Yuan looked at the celestial maiden in astonishment, repeating the girl's words:

"Sleep now? Here?"

The celestial maiden nodded and said, "If it's a spell or incantation, then falling asleep now might allow you to perceive some clues. Only then can we confirm where this dream originates and whether it's connected to that Mountain Lord."

Since the girl had said so, Wei Yuan had no choice but to lie on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. The sofa wasn't long enough for him to stretch out completely, and his calves dangled off the edge. The celestial maiden, dressed in a long dress and shirt, in modern attire, sat on a rattan chair less than half a meter away from him.

The girl lowered her head, looking at the book on her lap.

Flowers surrounded them, and the rustling sound of fingers brushing against paper filled the air.

White steam rose from the spout of the teapot.

Whoosh…

It felt a bit like being at his grandmother's house when he was little.

Wei Yuan's heart gradually calmed down, and then he drifted off to sleep.

…………

The vision in the dream was still the dim sky and earth. The Taoist temple was enveloped in a thick fog that couldn't be discerned with the naked eye. Wei Yuan stood inside the Taoist temple. The interior of such buildings was always spacious and tall, appearing extremely gloomy. The stone statue of a god, draped in gold and red cloth, sat high above, overlooking him with a faint, almost surprised smile.

Perhaps it hadn't expected this person to return after breaking free from the dream.

Wei Yuan noticed that he seemed to be closer to the statue this time.

Accompanied by the low roar of a fierce tiger, the entire Taoist temple transformed again into the ferocious head of a tiger, ready to bite down hard. Wei Yuan raised his hand, and the familiar eight-sided Han sword appeared in his grasp. He raised it and slashed horizontally with all his might, but looking at his long sword, which was no bigger than the tiger's fangs, he felt a pang of despair.

But at this moment, Wei Yuan heard a light and subtle sound.

It was the rustling sound of fingers brushing against paper.

The dream instantly froze. The ferocious giant tiger, the icy teeth, all seemed to lose their color. The entire world turned gray. Wei Yuan drew his sword and looked around, his face blank. Then he saw the celestial maiden holding a book appear in his dream.

The celestial maiden walked to Wei Yuan's side, looked at this real dream, and waved her hand. The dream instantly turned into ashes, leaving only a dark-ink talisman with blood-like patterns. After this talisman was taken out, the dream shattered.

Wei Yuan slowly opened his eyes and saw the ceiling of the flower shop.

Beside him, the water in the teapot had just begun to boil.

The celestial maiden held a talisman in her hand. The talisman seemed to be a living creature with its own spirituality, constantly lunging left and right, trying to fly away, but no matter what, it couldn't break free from the girl's grasp. Finally, it slowly lost its magic power and spirituality and disappeared.

She looked at Wei Yuan. "It's Bo Qi."

"There are still remnants of great demons from that era."

Wei Yuan asked in confusion, "Bo Qi?"

The celestial maiden thought for a moment and said:

"Bo Qi eats dreams."

"During the Qin and Han dynasties, there were often grand Nuo sacrifices in winter. Among them were children singing the Twelve Beasts Eating Ghosts Song. The one responsible for eating dreams was Bo Qi. Since it's a great demon that feeds on dreams, then controlling dreams and creating illusions is also a common ability."

"When did you form such a deadly feud with Bo Qi that it left a mark on you?"

Wei Yuan was about to shake his head, but he thought of the other lamp-holding maiden under the Mountain Lord in the Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters scroll. His expression froze, and he told the celestial maiden about it. The girl pondered and said:

"If that's the case, then it's very possible. Bo Qi is an entire demon race that was once subdued by humans to devour evil ghosts in dreams. The Mountain Lord was bestowed the title during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, so it's normal for a Bo Qi to be a subordinate of the Mountain Lord."

"Perhaps it's because she had a deep affection for the Painted Skin Jin Yu Bird that you killed, so she wants to kill you with dreams. Or perhaps you unconsciously left behind a contingency when you killed the Mountain Lord's physical body. The Mountain Lord instructed her to let you die unknowingly in a dream."

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, realizing once again the meticulous methods of these ancient demons. He said with a bitter smile:

"If I were devoured by that tiger in the dream…"

The celestial maiden said, "Dreams are related to the soul. If you die repeatedly in the dream, it will lead to the dissipation of your three souls and seven spirits. The soul dies while the body is still alive. Many spells in the pre-Qin period targeted the soul rather than the body, because it's not easy to be tracked down for revenge."

"This mark has already been removed by me, but you are probably being targeted."

"If that Mountain Lord descends into the world, she should directly find you. In addition, artificially manipulating dreams is a two-way spell. That Bo Qi has just broken free from the seal, and its cultivation should not have recovered too much. The Taoist temple you saw may indicate that the Mountain Lord and Bo Qi are hiding in a Taoist temple."

"Moreover, the distance shouldn't be too far."

"Otherwise, her current magic power shouldn't be able to cast spells in dreams."

The celestial maiden's voice was gentle and calm, explaining those things that Wei Yuan didn't know. The origin, reason, and hidden dangers of that ominous dream were all explained clearly. Wei Yuan calmed down and raised the sword in his hand again. Another wisp of blood appeared on the sword. He asked curiously, "Then this sword is…"

The celestial maiden reached out her finger and gently flicked the sword, saying:

"This sword should have killed quite a few demons and ghosts in a short period of time, right?"

Wei Yuan nodded, following his memory, counting one by one:

"Painted Skin, Five Chang Ghost Generals, evil Taoist sorcerers, the Ghost King of the Ghost Realm, and the Mountain Lord's original body. I relied on this sword to get through it all."

The celestial maiden revealed a hint of a smile, her tone light and gentle, "Then that's normal."

"In ancient times, there were stories of famous swords that were spiritual and gave warnings. The material and craftsmanship of your sword are very good, and it has followed you in killing these demons and great demons. The sword has absorbed the evil aura and blood of demons and ghosts, and it should have developed its own spirituality. There should be sword-making methods in the Crouching Tiger inheritance. You can find a way to recast this sword."

"During the pre-Qin period, there were disputes between various countries, and the style of wandering knights was very popular during the Qin and Han dynasties. In addition to sword techniques for fighting each other, there were also methods of 'remotely striking with a sword and hitting the target.' Lu Goujian was the best at this, and Lei Bei, a guest of the King of Huainan during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, was also an outstanding figure. You can try to cultivate it."

"Also, this broken sword of yours seems to be the place where a Yin spirit resides?"

Wei Yuan nodded, drew out the broken sword, and explained in detail about the soul of the Qi Family Army soldier. The celestial maiden thought for a moment and said, "Then you can transfer his place of residence to the soul-nurturing wood in your house. That way, if the broken sword is damaged in future battles, he won't be injured."

Wei Yuan naturally nodded in agreement and asked if the Crouching Tiger inheritance also had such a spell. The celestial maiden casually put down the book and walked towards the museum, saying, "This is just a very simple spell. I once saw the Chancellor of Ji Han. He was studying the technique of soul continuation at that time. I observed it, so I know a thing or two about this method. It's just a small effort, I'll help you solve it."

Wei Yuan asked curiously, "The Chancellor of Ji Han, Zhuge Liang?"

"What kind of person was he?"

The celestial maiden thought for a moment and replied:

"He liked to laugh when he was young, and his smile was very calm. Music, writing, chess, mechanics, Qimen Dunjia, celestial phenomena, earthly fiends, even farming, raising flowers, cooking, and pleasing his wife, there seemed to be nothing he couldn't do. He was called a genius who, if he entered the path of immortality, might not be weaker than Zhang Daoling."

"But after the age of forty, he rarely smiled again. I once saw him in Nanyang, listening to him sing with a few friends, but after returning to the mountain for a period of time, when I came back to the human world, he could no longer play the qin and chant like he used to."

"It seems because a man named Liu Bei died."

The celestial maiden easily placed the soul of the Qi Family Army soldier in the soul-nurturing wood, and then said:

"For us, emotions between humans are sometimes not so easy to understand."

Wei Yuan nodded, sensing from the girl in front of him a heavy feeling of time that was different from her appearance. Just like just now, she could easily see the origins of some problems that were difficult for him to solve, and give him guidance on cultivation.

And for himself, people or events that were just historical symbols were, for the girl, truly old friends who had met and known each other, and then departed after saying goodbye.

At this time, the appliance repairman whom Wei Yuan had booked earlier arrived on a small motorcycle.

Looking at the refrigerator, the repairman's calmness slowly disappeared.

He put a cigarette in his mouth and looked at the refrigerator door, which seemed to be taunting his career. The hand holding the cigarette trembled a little. Careless? How much force would it take to accidentally chop such a crack with a kitchen knife? He looked at the gentle celestial maiden and the seemingly normal Wei Yuan. The repairman left a sentence, "Just replace it, can't be fixed," and left on his motorcycle, wondering on the way whether he should call the police.

If this was domestic violence, and the two of them fought, wouldn't that girl be too pitiful?

Wei Yuan glanced at the few dead ghosts staring at him:

"It can't be fixed."

The water ghost lay on the ground, grinning.

Wei Yuan sighed, "I'll go buy one."

So the water ghost stood up again, full of energy.

The celestial maiden looked at the refrigerator, somewhat curiously, "What is this?"

Wei Yuan was stunned for a moment and said, "Didn't the Tianshi Mansion explain it to you?"

Seeing the celestial maiden shake her head, Wei Yuan had no choice but to explain the use of the refrigerator. After thinking about it, he said:

"I'm going to the appliance market. Jue, do you want to come along? We can go outside and take a look while we're at it?"

[Read books and get cash] Follow the vx public account [Book Friends Base Camp] to read books and get cash!

The celestial maiden pondered slightly and nodded happily.

After some discussion, they decided to take the bus.

Because the celestial maiden seemed very curious about this modern carriage that could carry many people and wanted to try it herself.

While waiting for the bus, Wei Yuan couldn't help but whisper, "Jue, you know how to take the bus, right…"

The girl naturally and calmly nodded.

Wei Yuan felt relieved.

He got on the bus first and turned back.

He saw the girl stepping onto the steps, taking out a piece of silver from her sleeve, and naturally putting it in the place for money. The silver shone with the unique luster of precious metals, but it made the driver vigilant. Wei Yuan's eyes twitched. Almost instinctively, he raised his hand and grabbed the silver in his hand, then took out his bus card and swiped it, giving the impatient driver a dry laugh:

"I swiped it for her."

Then he winked at the celestial maiden and sat down at the back of the bus.

After thinking about it, Wei Yuan let the celestial maiden sit by the window, and he sat next to her, opening his hand and looking at the heavy piece of silver in his palm. The corner of his mouth twitched.

It was real.

The girl frowned, tilted her head, looked at Wei Yuan, and silently opened and closed her mouth:

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You have to pay to take the bus, that shouldn't be wrong."

Wei Yuan also opened his mouth silently, "You have to pay, but, this thing can't be used to take the bus."

"Why?"

The bus slowly started, driving through the old district with gentle slopes. Pale pink elm blossom petals fell with the wind, and the sunlight hit the celestial maiden's cheeks. She looked at Wei Yuan curiously, seemingly a little confused, emphasizing:

"How is silver not money?!"

Wei Yuan: "…………"

ps: Some easing daily life plus promotion of the main line, should be coming to an end soon, just a transition ~

Daily life is really damn hard to write, slamming the table