Hui circulated his qi deliberately, killing it to the level of soone whod just stepped onto the first stage of Qi Gathering. With this, the illusory array should take more lightly, if theres sothing intelligent controlling it. I have no evidence one way or another, but its good to take precautions.
Well? What are you waiting for? Go on, boy!
Bowing, Hui went. As he walked, servants glared at him, muttering under their breath. In the periphery of his vision, they changed from servants into pale-faced demons, faces twisted in hideous, shadowy grins.
Those dreams he has
So strange. Is he really human? Maybe hes a demon.
Doesnt he know hes only hurting the lord? Every ti he sees the boy, he sees his dead wife. But the boys insane!
If only hed keep his mouth shut about those dreams!
They arent dreams. Theyre real, the boy muttered under his breath, speaking with Huis mouth.
Around the back, another kid leaped at him. Younger by a year or two, this boys cheeks glead with life, his limbs pudgy. He shoved Hui down and laughed, spittle flying in his face. Used to it, Hui laid there, but the boy whose body he was in fought back, struggling under the kid.
A pudgy fist landed on his cheek. Pain burst down Huis cheekbones. The healthy boy smirked, leaning out of the way of the skinny boys feeble scratches and swipes. Punch , try it! Dont you know what father will do once he sees a mark on my skin? Dont you rember last ti?
At that, the skinny boy joined Hui in lying there lifelessly. Hui nodded. Ah, see? Play dead, play dead. They dont hit as hard if you dont fight back! Its not interesting.
Usually, anyways. The bitter mory of his limp body getting kicked around by Chang Bolin replayed in his head, and Hui let out a heavy sigh.
Finally, the younger boy climbed off him. Turning his head, he spat derisively at the boy. Thats what you get! Scum.
All these people and their uncreative insults. Hui shook his head.
The younger boy scurried off. A few minutes passed, and the skinny boy sat up. He rubbed his face and sniffled, then climbed to his feet and stumbled off.
Stuck in the kids body, unable to do much, Hui watched him go about his day. No matter what he did, he was t with anger and derision. As he walked, the servants would whisper. If he sat, theyd find a chamber pot for him to clean. If he ate, theyd steal the most of his al. The servants abused him, his sibling abused him, even the donkeys bit when he got too close. Despairing, Hui sighed at the kid. At least animals like . What did this kid do in a previous life to get this kind of treatnt?
In summary, the kid was the first son of the lord here. Wife dies, lord remarries, next wife bullies the kid. And it looks like this ti everyone gets in on it. So, if I had to guess, the real villain is
Crouching in a corner, the kid hunkered over so rice. Stuffing it into his mouth with his bare hands, he looked around nervously, ready to run.
Hui nodded approvingly. Protect your food. Food is life!
Excuse , why is there trash in my courtyard?
Mistress, my apologies! A servant rushed over. She shooed the boy out of the corner. He stood abruptly, spilling rice out of his bowl.
Frowning, Hui pursed his lips. That servant! The ultimate rudeness!
Before the servant could rush the boy out of sight, the woman raised a hand. Once attractive, her beauty had faded with age. An overly thick perfu clung to her body. Her robes flowed with every step, made of the finest silk. She gestured the boy closer.
Hesitant, the boy clung tight to his bowl of rice. All at once, he stooped and shoveled the rice into his mouth, then stepped forward, chewing, rice stuck to his cheek.
She lowered her eyes, long lashes hiding her dark eyes. A smile touched her lips, but not the rest of her face. Do you still have those dreams?
They arent dreams. Theyre real, the boy muttered stubbornly.
Gleaming silver towers. Strange tal shuttles. Immortals piling into steel birds to fly. Not a dream? Do you think you were an immortal in a past life? She lood over the boy, that strange smile on her lips.
The boy backed away. He clutched tighter to his bowl. Its not that strange. Immortals already fly. They already live in mountains. Its not
Her hand flashed out. Faster than the boy could see, it whipped his cheek. Shut your mouth. Theres rumors about our family thanks to you. What if my children end up as outcasts because of your stupid dreams?
He narrowed his eyes at the ground, but said nothing.
You shouldve died with your mother.
The boy scread and ran at the woman, hands clawed. A servant rushed in and held him back before he could lay a hand on the woman. Apologies, apologies
Bored, Hui circulated his qi a little faster, drawing in the qi around him. The death qi moved sluggishly, distant, but slowly stretched out to reach him. He drew it in for lack of anything else to do. Im stuck to this boy. I cant do anything to interfere. Whats the point of this illusion?
Hmm, wait. Hes getting beaten ah! Again! Hui blinked dully, watching the servant beat the boy. Forced to take the place of the boy, it felt as if he was the one bent over the servants knee and spanked. The pain sparked on his butt, but very used to getting beaten, the whole affair barely bothered him. He put a hand on his chin, thoughtful. Maybe let think. Lets say I was Lan Taijian, so high-and-mighty cultivator whos never been stomped in the dirt. If Lan Taijian was treated like this, hed get so angry and humiliated I wonder if thats what the illusion wants? Once he gets angry and humiliated, maybe he lashes out, uses his qi and then maybe that feeds the illusion? Or maybe it eats people who get too drawn into it?
Mmm, Ive already lived one lifeti of this. I dont need to live another. Lets see if I can break the illusion.
Abruptly, Huis arm moved away from his chin. The servant kicked the boy away, and Hui belatedly realized he briefly had control of the boys movents. Eh, wait. Are there is this like a quick-ti event? When things beco too unjust, I can act?
I wonder is that the illusions trap? Allowing you to act but only at specific monts. Hmm
The boy continued his life. He went to sleep in the stables, shivering pitifully on a pile of hay. Night passed in a blink, and he stood, then jumped away, narrowly avoiding a kick from the donkey. At that, he paused, and Hui took a step backward. The donkey bared its teeth at him, almost laughing at him, daring him to lash out.
The second Hui moved, qi flowed out of his body. All around him, the illusion beca more solid. Shadows and details filled in. The servants faces failed to shift when they passed the corners of his vision.
Hui froze, refusing to act. The qi stopped flowing out of him, and a second later, the boy took over again, living out his life. Aware of the qi drain now, Hui felt it continuously drain out of his body, though at a lower rate than when hed moved.
Now I understand. Soone drawn into the illusion is forced to live out the boys life. If they act to defend themselves or prevent harm to the boy, the illusion drains their qi. An ordinary cultivator with high pride would never be able to withstand this humiliation and degradation.
Luckily, Im not a regular cultivator! I have no pride, no sha! Although the boys life is pitiful, its only an illusion. Even if I act, it changes nothing about what happened to the boy. Therefore, the right choice is to not act! Instead if I allow the boy to autopilot his life, then I can use my ti figuring out how to break the illusion!
So decided, Hui retreated into his head. ntally, he assud the lotus position and began to circulate his qi cautiously. He watched the qi around him, searching for any sign of a change from his actions.
Nothing happened. The qi drain continued, but at a low enough level that Huis qi would take days to run out. Hopefully Ill figure out the illusion before then.
That boys dreams. Silver towers, strange shuttles, tal birds. Doesnt that sound suspiciously like Earth?
If he was dreaming of Earth is he from Earth, like ? Another transmigrator? But I ca here with all my mories. I didnt dream of Earth, I rembered it. And the way the woman described it maybe the boy chose words that these people would understand, but wouldnt he likely call them cars and airplanes, not shuttles and tal birds? Even by accident, even if he wanted to use words theyd understand. The second wife wouldnt let him off, using strange words like that its almost like hes an ordinary person from this world, who sohow managed to dream of Earth.
What is the connection between this world and Earth?
Taking a deep breath, Hui put the matter out of his mind. First, I need to break out of this illusion. Then I can figure out whats going on with this boy!
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