May lifted her tea and savored its delicate flavor. Unfortunately, by her standards, the tea wasn't sweet enough. On Earth, she always had a weakness for sweets, so three teaspoons of sugar would be the minimum for her. Here, however, sugar was a luxury item, imported from abroad. Zu Chen didn't offer it, so May didn't ask for it either.

  She watched Zu Chen, who took care of the details with great grace. Her room was perfectly clean and smelled of some floral aroma. It was quite a contrast to her room and Peng Chen's room.

  May cleaned her room, but certainly not to the point of obsession. As long as it seemed clean, she was fine with it.

  She took another sip of tea and decided to get to the point, realizing that the time for setting the right mood had passed. She broke the calm silence.

  “As I said before, I was wondering what happened that day,” she said with composure. For a moment, she considered telling Zu the truth about her being plagued by nightmares. However, she quickly abandoned the idea. She didn’t trust her.

  Zu Chen put down her cup and asked. “Tell me, May, what do you think dreams are?”

  May grimaced when she heard the question. She didn't particularly feel like playing guessing games at the moment. Especially since Zu's question wasn't an easy one. After all, dreams weren't simple and involved many fields such as biology and psychology.

  “I think dreams are meant to prepare us for difficult situations that we don't experience in reality,” May replied after a moment, remembering something she had heard somewhere before. “That's why they are often so unreal. Our brain wants to prepare us for situations in a safe environment.”

  Zu Chen let out a sound of surprise. She seemed to like the answer, but she clearly had a different one in mind.

  “Hmm... I like your theory,” she replied thoughtfully. “But no. You see, I've also taken an interest in the subject... And according to the book The Magical World of Dream Space by the famous cultivator Ma Wang from ancient Golden Dragon Sect, dreams are a reflection of yourself, in other words, a mirror of our subconscious.”

  She didn't know much about dreams, but she thought it was possible. After all, she didn't know much about dreams.

  “Okay, but what does that have to do with Devil Hole?” she asked. “Although it resembled dreams... it certainly wasn't a dream. In dreams, you wake up immediately after feeling pain... and this was more like a hallucination.”

  “You're partly right and partly wrong. It was a dream, but it was certainly not an ordinary one. It's something much more complicated... Unfortunately, even I don't know the details,” she said. “There are no references to it, it's a secret of the sect.”

  “Is there really no information? Elder An and Leader Xinsu told me that it was a place where some ancient evil died...”

  “Oh, really? But even if they were telling the truth, that doesn't tell us much,” Zu Chen replied with interest. “But I guess it doesn't matter what the reason is, does it? What matters are the results, and that's probably what you're interested in.”

  Zu Chen was wrong. She cared most about the cause, because it was precisely this ancient evil that could torment her with nightmares. However, it seemed that she wouldn't learn anything about it from her either.

  But since I'm already here, I might as well find out more... She seems to have quite a lot of knowledge on the subject.

  “Can I ask why you are so interested in this topic?” May asked, remembering her brother's words. She also seemed to have some unique experience with it.

  “I think it should be me asking you about this... After all, you're the one who approached me with this topic,” she replied. Despite this, she decided to answer May's question. “Do you remember when I told you that dreams are a reflection of our subconscious?”

  “Of course,” May replied. After all, they had talked about it just a moment ago, how could she forget?

  “You see... What I dreamed made me realize something important,” she replied mysteriously. “My nightmare... It began in a dark and cold cell. I felt fear, rats were scurrying around the prison, and the air was filled with the musty smell of urine and feces.”

  May didn't expect to hear about her nightmare. However, she was curious about the differences between her and the others.

  Zu Chen still seemed shaken by the nightmare, despite the passage of time.

  However, she couldn't help wondering about Zu's behavior. Sometimes she was withdrawn, but at other times, like now, she became talkative.

  Did she trust May that much?

  Well, Zu Chen doesn’t seem to have many friends, so it isn’t surprising that she likes talking to someone from time to time.

  However, May did not have any more time to think about Zu's mood swings, as she began to talk about her dream.

  “I was lying there in that underground cell, covered in my own filth and barely wearing any clothes, hungry and thirsty as if I hadn't eaten in weeks,” she said with disgust. “But it ended quickly.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My father entered the cell. He kicked me in the stomach. Well, so far, it wasn't much different from reality. But then he took me to the place of my execution.”

  May stopped drinking her tea.

  “Are you saying your own father killed you there?” May asked quietly, not even wanting to imagine it.

  “Listen further,” she replied, irritated that May had interrupted her story.“He took me to the square in front of our clan's estate. Our whole family was there. They hung me from the wall with chains. And then each of them, every one, children and old people alike, stabbed me with a knife. Dozens of knives. Until I finally died.”

  “Ouch... That must have hurt,” she said, imagining the scene in her head.

  “It hurt like hell. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the realization when I woke up,” she said quietly.

  “Your subconscious told you in your sleep that your family sucks?” May asked. “No offense, but that wasn't exactly new information for you, was it?”

  The girl snorted loudly and pushed her chair back slightly. She seemed to have lost all enthusiasm for talking to May.

  “That's just a general outline, not everything,” she replied, trying to explain. “Before I died, I talked to my executioner... I mean, my father. As for my family, they also told me many interesting things just before they stabbed me with their daggers.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Could something they told her have caused her to change? It's not out of the question; perhaps she learned something and decided to seek revenge, despite her supposed aversion to cultivation and combat.

  “Hmm, but you yourself said that dreams are a fabrication of our subconscious. In other words, they were saying what you thought they would say, not what they would actually say.”

  “Indeed... But I also said it wasn't an ordinary dream.”Zu said. “Why do you think I'm even talking to you about this?”

  May thought about it. Normally, Zu Chen wouldn't even let her in, let alone tell her what happened during her nightmare.

  “I don't know,” May replied honestly.

  “In that case, I'll ask another question. Why did you come to me with this problem?”

  She fell silent, as it was something she didn't feel like answering.

  “I was just curious about what those dreams were... You see, my dream was also quite intense.” She replied quickly, making up an excuse. She had no intention of admitting that she was haunted by nightmares.

  Zu Chen smiled mockingly. She laughed at her as if she had seen through her. May didn't expect her to be able to make such a face. She no longer resembled the indifferent and cold girl she had been until now. Something had really happened.

  “What a bunch of lies, May. Would you really come to me for such a trivial matter? Who are you trying to fool?” she replied. “But don't worry, I know why you're here.”

  “Really?” She frowned, not quite believing her. “Then tell me, why am I here?”

  For a moment, it occurred to her that perhaps the nightmares weren't just her problem. Maybe Zu Chen had the same problem?

  “You met him too, didn't you?” she asked calmly. “That's why you came here.”

  May didn't know what was going on.

  “I've met him? Who are you talking about?” she asked in surprise.

  Zu Chen, on the other hand, seemed confused.

  “Um... I was sure that... Ah, never mind then,” she muttered uncertainly.

  “Since you brought it up, it's important,” May replied angrily. “Speak.”

  Zu Chen laughed softly.

  “I refuse. I was just mistaken, but... He was talking about you, so she was sure he was talking to you too.”

  May was taken aback. It seemed that during her nightmare, Zu Chen had been talking to someone. Something that wasn't a figment of her dream, but rather its cause. It sounded dangerous and could explain the change in her behavior.

  “Did you talk about me?” May was surprised. This didn't look good. “Then I have a right to know.”

  “I'm sorry... It was my mistake. But I'm not going to tell you anything else,” replied the confused girl. “After all, it could have adverse consequences for me.”

  “Are you kidding me?” May was already irritated. You couldn’t just start a topic and suddenly drop it like that!

  Normally, she would have let it go, but the nightmares were haunting her and this could be a matter of life and death. Seeing Zu’s gaze, however, she quickly calmed down. She couldn’t escalate the situation. She decided to approach it calmly, even though inside she was furious.

  “Zu, please tell me who you were talking to in that nightmare of yours,” May said. “It’s true, I didn’t talk to him myself, but let’s say… I’m having some trouble related to it. Any information could be worth its weight in gold for me.”

  Although she didn’t give her the details, she had to reveal a part of the truth. She didn’t like it, but she doubted Zu would say anything otherwise.

  Zu took a slow breath and let out a weary sigh.

  “I don’t like this, but… fine. Hmph, you’ve helped me so many times. I’ll tell you what I know, and then we’ll be even.” She tried very hard to hide it, but there was a faint tremor of fear in her voice. “When I died back then… it was supposed to be the end of the nightmare, but I didn’t wake up. Instead, I became aware.”

  “Oh…?”

  Unlike May, who managed to remain self-aware thanks to Minnie and the system’s support, Zu Chen must have had a completely different reason for retaining her consciousness. And May sensed that whatever the cause was… it was unlikely to be anything good.

  “Then something started talking to me... But don't ask what. It was a bit like a human, but it was impossible to tell its age, gender, or anything else. It was as if... Ugh, it's hard to explain in words. You have to see it with your own eyes.”

  May didn't need words to understand. She was finally convinced that she had met this person herself quite recently... In the rose garden, where it had killed her. She understood Zu's confusion very well.

  “Did you talk?” May inquired.

  What May encountered in her dream was silent. Or at least that was the impression it was giving.

  “Ugh... It's hard to call it a conversation, but... I definitely understood what it was trying to tell me. Again, it's hard to explain. But I just understood. You probably don't believe me, right?”

  On the contrary. Her words only confirmed May's theory that Devil Hole was not as safe as Elder An claimed. Something was definitely still alive there, and for some unknown reason, it was haunting and torturing her in the world of nightmares.

  “I believe you. Zu, listen, it's really important, what were you talking about?”

  Zu Chen wriggled her face. It was a topic she wanted to avoid. May repeated the question. However, the girl did not want to answer, and May did not want to give in. So there was silence, and the question was only who would break it first.

  May began to speculate. Could it be that something had forced her to commit murder? Of course, it is still unclear, but it would explain her reluctance to speak.

  She decided to encourage her a little. To show that no matter what the truth was, she would be on her side anyway.

  “Listen, regardless of what happened there, I promise I'll understand. Even if it's something I don't like. If you need me, I'll help you.”

  Zu Chen didn't respond. She continued to think intensely about something, but she had certainly heard her words. All May could do was wait for her reaction.

  “May... It's an addiction that you already know about, and my family... I made a contract...” She began to speak, but before she could finish her sentence, she fell to the ground.

  “Zu!” May shouted and ran closer, catching her under the head so she wouldn't hit the table legs.

  She was trembling all over and twisting all her limbs in pain. A voice resembling choking came out of her mouth. Not expecting such a sudden turn of events, May was stunned.

  “Zu! Can you hear me?!” she shouted at her, wanting to see if she was conscious. She wanted to scream for help, but something held her back.

  Finally, however, she snapped out of her shock and realized this couldn’t wait any longer. She couldn't help her; she didn't know any healing techniques. She was about to run out into the hallway to seek help.

  But just as she turned to leave, Zu Chen grabbed her arm tightly. May turned back toward her and noticed that the tremors in her body were slowly beginning to subside. Her face, however, was contorted in an unnatural way, and her eyes were wide open and bloodshot.

  May swallowed hard, sensing that something was wrong. Zu Chen wasn't blinking and was staring right at her, the trembling having stopped completely.

  “Zu Chen…” she said her name slowly, hoping she was still in there.

  To her surprise, there was only silence. Zu Chen didn't answer. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it certainly felt like a long while.

  “Ugh! Can you not hear?” she heard a strange, raspy voice. It was Zu’s voice, but the tone, tempo, and volume were all wrong. “Can you hear now?!”

  It was strange. As if someone was trying to speak with a human voice for the very first time. May felt her throat go dry. She coughed a few times and decided to answer the entity currently inhabiting the girl's body.

  “I can hear you. Loud and clear!”

  “But I was speaking to you... Did you not hear? Strange. I do not understand. You speak only this primitive language?” The words were somehow devoid of expression or emotional inflection. Robotic, almost. May felt uneasy.

  “I only hear you now,” May replied uncertainly. “Before, there was only silence between us.”

  Zu Chen growled. Her body contorted strangely.

  “You come from beyond the Wall, yet you do not know...?”

  “Know what?” May asked, confused.

  The thing had likely been trying to communicate with her in a way other than spoken language. Unfortunately, May had no way of knowing that.

  “There is no word for it. You either know, or you do not. Everyone from beyond the Wall communicates this way. Now we are using the primitive method...” Zu replied, still having not blinked once since the conversation began. “You are a strange entity.”

  “Who are you?” May decided to change the subject. That was the most important thing.

  Silence fell between them again. Suddenly, however, Zu Chen moved dangerously close to May.