Chapter 2: The Chi Dream_1

Anyone could see that a storm was brewing, ready to burst from the mouth of the heavens.

The wind slipped between clenched teeth; the old jujube tree in the courtyard began to tilt and groan. Pei Ye carried all the tables, stools, and baskets into the house. Shortly after, the downpour came crashing down.

It was a blindingly grim, an upheaval of heaven and earth. Even during the most turbulent summers of years past, such torrential rain was rare. Pei Ye looked up with a hint of concern. If this went on for too long, there would be a risk of flooding.

"You should go to bed early. Lamp oil is quite expensive," the old man croaked.

Pei Ye closed the door, leaving the sound of rain outside. He picked up the old man and laid him back on the bed, then went to rest on the other side.

Feeling a faint stir in his chest and abdomen, Pei Ye frowned and placed the wine and medicine at the bedside. He suspected a tough night lay ahead.

Finally, he fell asleep amidst the downpour.

The densely packed raindrops battered the roof, the jujube tree, the stone slabs. An assortment of indistinguishable noises blend together. In his dreams, Pei Ye was transported back to the bustling martial arts hall of two years previous.

That was when Pei Ye felt the most satisfied and fulfilled. He sweat and sparred with other boys his age, pondering over boxing techniques. He could feel himself growing stronger bit by bit. He proudly claimed the championship at the Mid-autumn Martial Arts Competition two years in a row.

However, everything fell apart when the Seed in his Dantian split and the implantation failed.

The first step to becoming a top martial arts practitioner is to make the Seed in the Dantian "sprout". Objectively, this step is not very risky.

But in a large forest, there are bound to be unlucky birds.

The Seed in the Dantian burst, and the out-of-control True Qi injured Pei Ye's organs. The injury was not life-threatening, just painful, as if hundreds of icy needles were stirring in his chest and abdomen. It didn't completely block his path to cultivation. Maybe in five or ten years, the Seed in the Dantian might even heal on its own.

But the treatment did eat up all the wealth his parents left behind. He even had to sell his house to make ends meet. As he struggled to support himself and afford the medicine, he grew thin and worn down. His ties with his companions at the martial arts hall grew distant, and he finally became a marginal figure in the city, just like Old Xiangzi.

Due to illness and fatigue, Pei Ye often found it difficult to sleep soundly. His nightmares were erratic and dazzling, but tonight's dream was continuous and stable.

The people in the martial arts hall were the same. The masters were as strict and caring as ever, and the atmosphere was as lively as before. It seemed like this wonderful dream would last until he woke up.

But suddenly, everything disappeared.

All that was left in the dream was empty space.

Pei Ye's consciousness plummeted, devoid of dreams and self-awareness.

A vast and distant voice rose from somewhere, like a call or a chant.

It was like a parent calling a child, an emperor summoning a minister, a deity blessing a believer. No call was more powerful.

In the quiet, profound darkness, Pei Ye abruptly sat upright and opened his lifeless eyes.

He left the bed like a sleepwalking corpse, mumbling incoherently, removed the door bolt, and walked out through the door.

The storm raged on.

He stepped barefoot into the mud. The wet, cold rain splashed onto his skin, dissipating the warmth he'd brought from bed in an instant. He was soaked through in a heartbeat.

Pei Ye was seemingly oblivious, staring blankly ahead as he headed for the gate, stepped out into the chilling, deserted alleyway.

As he left the alley and entered the street, Pei Ye quickened his pace. An irrational fervor rose in his empty eyes, as if he was a devotee embarked on a pilgrimage.

It's... just ahead…

Suddenly, he stiffly raised his left hand. His little finger was raised, thumb squeezing the lower joint of his middle finger, forming a devout yet strange hand sign under his chin.

And so he walked on like a moving corpse, while ahead, two figures in white robes turned around and waited for him in silence.

...

Pei Ye was oblivious to the outside world. In the deepest corner of his consciousness, he was still lost in that sweet dream, still in the martial arts hall, surrounded by boys of his age calling out and sparring.

But a terrifying roar suddenly echoed through the dream, a bloody storm surged towards him, the floor and walls of the martial arts hall were shattered. Shadows draped down as if night had fallen suddenly, Pei Ye lifted his head in fright. An inexplicably large, blood-red mouth engulfed them all — its massive, sharp teeth were thicker than columns.

Just as the colossal jaws were about to close, a Black Chi appeared beneath him just in the nick of time, ushering him away from the voracious maw and up into the clouds.

In surprise, Pei Ye looked down. In a dream where all else was abstract and blurry, this Black Chi was exquisitely vivid.. so real that it seemed to belong to another world.

Its massive body offered a reassuring sense of solidity. His palms felt an icy, hard yet smooth sensation. Each scale was like pitch-black glass, with the long hair on its neck fluttering about. Countless strong yet soft strands brushed Pei Ye's cheeks.

'If I were to pluck one, it'd make a fine bowstring,' Pei Ye thought inexplicably.

"It's right behind us," the Black Chi suddenly spoke.

"What?" Pei Ye asked, confused.

"Turn around and look."

Pei Ye turned around and couldn't help screaming out in shock as the enormous, blood-agape mouth was practically on his face, with the Black Chi's tail already in its throat.

"Can you hold it off?" The Black Chi asked.

Me?!

Me?!

Pei Ye looked at himself. He held no divine sword capable of cleaving mountains, nor did he don any spiritual armor shrouded in sacred light.

He was wearing only a pair of shorts.

His dream tonight was ludicrous.

"Think of a solution," the Black Chi said.

A solution? What kind of solution? What sort of solution could I possibly come up with?

Pei Ye looked at his empty hands then turned to look at the increasingly close blood-gaping mouth. Hesitantly, he reached out and firmly grasped the long hair on the Black Chi's neck, exclaiming, "Go!"

"..."

"..."

"I've done all I can do. Now, this is your battlefield," the Black Chi still spoke calmly. "If one thrives, all thrive. If one suffers, all suffer. I help you, then you help me, okay?"

"...Okay."

"Good. I will help you negate this 'divine favor' for tonight. In return, the 'Quail Head' fruit will be accessible to you for twenty-four hours. It can combat against 'Immortal Lord's Spirit Call'. You need to figure out a way to use it. Everything else is up to you."

"Quail Head? What's that?" Pei Ye asked dumbfoundedly. These two words had somehow flashed across his mind. "Where do I find a way to use it?"

"Let fate decide," the Black Chi responded vaguely.

With this final statement, the dream shattered dramatically.

Pei Ye woke up and felt disoriented.

One moment, he was dozing off in a warm comforter, and the next, he found himself in pitch darkness, battered by a violent storm.

Initially, he thought the rain had collapsed his house and attempted to jump up to correct the situation. It was not until a moment later that he realized he had been standing all along, further compounding his suspicion that he was still dreaming.

Upon overcoming the shock of this memory lapse, Pei Ye finally grasped what had happened.

He must've been sleepwalking.

But… were the two men beside him sleepwalking as well?

Two men, clad in white gowns and holding blue candles, were walking on either side of Pei Ye. Unaffected by the wind or rain, their flames were burning gently and slowly, existing in a different dimension.

The moment he saw these flames, Pei Ye realized that the situation might not be as straightforward as he thought.