Devour 3 of 1104

oes it take to achieve *zuò wàng*" I mumbled.As soon as I looked up, Bai Qijie was gone. Panicking, I turned around to see Jiang Qiyun leaning against the door, staring at me silently.“.....Why didn't...Mu Wanchen carried me back to the bed and took off his outer garment before getting into the blanket with me.

He lay beside me, lifting his arm for me to rest my head on, the other hand resting gently on my stomach.

The little pearl-like shape in the lower abdomen, at the dantian point, remained still and steady as ever. It was unusually quiet, neither agitated nor giving any instructions recently.

The female worm is like a parasite living on me.

Among all things in heaven and earth, humans are the most noble among spirits.

Attached to the body of the most suitable person, its spiritual power will grow rapidly, absorbing nutrients from the host to fully awaken.

Every time Mu Wanchen's fingertips touch here, I can't help but tense up.

" … Are you still afraid The female Gu won't harm you, it recognizes you, it will only protect you." Mu Wanchen said softly above my head.

"It's not fear...it's just a little unaccustomed. I always feel like something extra has appeared, and it feels a bit awkward." I rubbed his chin.

I drifted off to sleep in his breath and kisses, but my dreams were restless.

There was a head, drifting like smoke, and twisted features huddled together, as if laughing and crying at the same time.

I trembled, goosebumps rising all over my body. Mu Wanchen held me in his arms, almost completely encasing me. I was still half-dreaming, struggling in a nightmare.

"Little Lu'er" Mu Wanchen's voice came closer and closer, beating against my eardrums.

I feel like I'm being sleep paralyzed. My mind is awake, but my limbs are completely unresponsive. I can't even open my eyelids, and I can only make a few unintelligible whimpers.

Mu Wanchen hugged me close.

"Don't worry, I'm here." He gently stroked my back, easing the tension in my body.

This seems like a good idea. I'm not really going to be able to calm down just by being anxious, so maybe relaxing is the way to go. Besides, I'm not alone in the room. Lying in his arms doesn't seem like anything to be afraid of.

After a while, I don't know what nerve jumped, I suddenly came to my senses and opened my eyes to sit up.

The bedside lamp was on, casting a warm glow in the room.

Through the paper screens, it was dim outside. It wasn't dawn yet, and snow continued to fall. A low wind could be heard whistling outside the window.

Everything was silent, the room showed no signs of disturbance.

Mu Wanchen blocked the bedside, propping his head up with one hand, his voice carrying a hint of sleepiness.

"You're too tense... What did you dream about"

"I dreamt of that disembodied head... but the expression was a little off," I mused, furrowing my brow.

Just now in my dream, when that person's head was dissipating, their facial features were all squeezed together, looking particularly strange.

"I think I've seen this somewhere before..." I rubbed my tingling scalp.

"You're the kind of person who has a broad mind; if it's been a while, you won't remember. If you feel like you've met before, then you probably saw each other recently somewhere. Think about it carefully." Mu Wanchen said with a smile.

Are you implying that I have a bad memory

I was racking my brain, trying to place those twisted features... Where had I seen them before What kind of normal person would have such crooked eyes and a nose that looked like it was squished together like that—

Shifty eyes

A light bulb suddenly went off in my head!

"Hey... that yellow-skinned little messenger, the old lady said it hasn't gone back yet. The ones who came to get us were also from that den of little yellow skins. Do you think something happened to it on its way back" I nudged Mu Wanchen's arm.

Mu Wanchen sat up, slightly frowning and saying: "The Dream Realm is vast, and for those with spiritual power, dreams themselves are a kind of guidance. If you now experience strange dreams, it definitely means something unusual has happened."

"After that yellow-skinned one left us, did he go straight back Could he have run into hunters or mages on the way and been captured" I speculated about this possibility.

Mu Wanchen shook his head and said, “A cunning yellow-skinned person who doesn't harm others is just doing good deeds. The possibility of being caught is very small... I'll let Gu Ling look for it, there must be some clues.”

He got dressed and went outside. He turned on the light and put five teacups on the table. Then he opened the door and called out to Liang Xiaoger, asking him to fetch some water.

Liang Xiaoger was very diligent and responsible. He simply spread the pillows and bedding at the foot of the stairs and slept on the corridor to guard it—with two buckets of cucumber-flavored potato chips and several locally drawn comics he had bought beside his pillow.

Those pirated wuxia comics displayed on the street stall, he was very interested in them. He often couldn't understand the simplified Chinese characters and would come to ask me. After reading for a while, he would snore loudly and fall asleep soundly, even keeping watch... Sleeping deeper than I did.

Liang Xiaoge quickly brought some clean water. Seeing Mu Wanchen arrange five cups according to the cardinal directions (east, west, south, north), he poured the water into the cups and pressed down on five talismanic paper slips.

Wu Fu lowered his talisman slightly over the edge of the table. He pinched a tactic to summon Gu spirits, using his fingertips to twirl water and lightly tap, whispering: "Go, within five hundred li, return swiftly."

For a Guiling that could travel with the wind, this distance wasn't too far nor too close. Mu Wanchen said it might take two hours for a return, so he told me to go to sleep first.

"Could I sleep here" I gestured to the couch.

I want to wait for the news. What if I sleep through the night and miss the first-hand information

Mu Wanchen shook his head helplessly, turned around and went back to the room to get me a blanket: "Alright... go to sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens."

I curled up on the couch, watching his silhouette. He stood by the table, his eyes fixed on several water glasses.

He's really nice... I closed my eyes dazedly, feeling a slight warmth in my heart. Mu Wanchen is so kind and easygoing; he practically fulfills every request and caters to everything. He can be said to be very gentle.

Plop plop....

Something like the flapping of wings suddenly broke the silence.

I wasn't asleep yet, but the sound woke me up seven or eight points.

Everything in the house was normal, but Mu Wanchen's expression was very serious. He stared intently at the glass of water on the north side.

Under the water cup, the talisman paper being pressed down seemed to want to "break free," with the part hanging over the table surface "fluttering" and jumping around!dragonfly's wings, gently pressing the monstrous worm onto the ground.The giant worm lay on the ground, resembling a dying, mutated mosquito, its long legs trembling slightly but unable to move any lo...