Chapter 122: Chapter 120: Entering the Dream
"Captain, I think the key to this matter still lies with those treasures. The mountain villagers were all murdered, but all those treasures have disappeared," Beibei poured herself a cup of hot water from the thermos. The insulation in this guesthouse was subpar; it was somewhat cold at night.
"I think so too, treasures wouldn’t just vanish into thin air. Also, the army that came to suppress the bandits wiped out the villagers without leaving a single survivor for interrogation, which is illogical."
"Silencing them?" Beibei raised an eyebrow.
"Something like that," Yang Xiao recalled what Teacher Zhou had said. "According to the battle reports, these mountain villagers were not adept at warfare. Even with the advantages of terrain and numbers, they were extinct within four days. How could such fighters dare to rob army provisions?"
"What’s even stranger is that they succeeded every time and never left any survivors. I’d imagine that the soldiers sent to escort the army provisions were more than just regular troops," Yang Xiao continued.
"So, what do you think?" Beibei pressed.
Yang Xiao pondered for a moment before speaking, "There’s something very wrong with the records in these ancient books; someone must be lying. If you ask me, there are two possibilities."
"First, it indeed was the work of these mountain villagers, and the treasures from the loot were later found by the official army, but the wealth was too tempting. So the soldiers decided to go all out and killed all the knowledgeable villagers to silence them and then divided the treasures among themselves, telling the Imperial Court they found nothing."
"Second, the mountain villagers have nothing to do with it. Those capable of robbing army provisions wouldn’t be ordinary bandits; it’s very likely that this gang of bandits was local stationed troops in disguise. They robbed the army provisions, attacked passing merchant convoys, and never left survivors for fear of exposure. This is also why the later army didn’t find the lost gold and silver treasures in Xiba Village—it was simply not their doing, and naturally, the treasures were not in the hands of these villagers. I personally lean towards the second possibility."
"That makes sense; a lot of things can be explained this way," Beibei nodded. "But what’s with that headless ghost, the Nine-eyed... Nine-eyed Dromo?"
Yang Xiao analyzed, "According to Yu Shu’s description, the headless ghost’s attire was that of a wronged villager killed unjustly. Given such an unwarranted disaster, it’s understandable that their resentment would not easily subside. Calling them undead resentful corpses in the book is quite appropriate."
"But why did the corpse hold a head with nine eyes? It... surely the person didn’t have nine eyes while alive, right?" The thought of that illustration in the book made Beibei’s scalp tingle; the nine eyes were of various sizes and didn’t look like they belonged to one person at all.
Yang Xiao couldn’t answer this question because he, too, was baffled and could only hope that Teacher Zhou would find the rest of the fragmented scroll.
Regardless, the author of the book was very suspicious; he seemed to know a lot of inside information. Yang Xiao guessed that the person’s identity must not be simple.
Yang Xiao compiled his speculations into a long message and sent it to Yu Shu, who replied with a thank-you and a smiling emoji.
Putting down his phone, Yang Xiao looked at Beibei curiously, "Can’t we stay with Yu Shu? It would make communication easier."
Unexpectedly, Beibei became serious, "No, it can be very dangerous to be with someone who has received the Opera Robe Shadow Garment script at night."
"You mean Yu Shu will attack us?" Yang Xiao was startled.
"No, I mean staying with someone who has received the Opera Robe Shadow Garment script at night might lead to unpredictable consequences."
Seeing Yang Xiao’s curiosity, Beibei didn’t hide anything and spoke in a low voice, "A long time ago, when I had just joined the Patrol Defense Bureau, I saw a video. In the video, a woman claimed she had received the Opera Robe Shadow Garment script, and then several people appeared on camera, binding the woman’s right arm and a man’s left arm tightly together — not just with ropes but also with glue-like substance, sticking two living people together!"
"In the next video clip, still in the same room, the man and the woman had disappeared, and the room was splattered with blood, pieces of flesh stuck to the ceiling. A person wearing a mask then explained that the experiment had failed. The limbs and remains found in the room were mostly the man’s, with only a small part belonging to the woman. They speculated that the woman did not die on the spot, but after waiting several days, when she still hadn’t returned, they concluded she died in the Nightmare World."
This experiment sent chills down Yang Xiao’s spine, and he couldn’t help but recall a story Director Nalan had told him, although this story was clearly more extreme, "We’re official personnel after all; isn’t it inhumane to conduct such experiments privately?"
Beibei was stunned, then quickly explained, "You’ve misunderstood; it wasn’t an experiment from our bureau. We found this after we killed an Evil Cultivator and searched his personal computer. There were many such experiments; these guys are beasts without a shred of humanity!
"Evil Cultivator?" Yang Xiao was taken aback, hearing the term for the first time.
"Yeah... It’s not what you think; they’re similar to us, we’re all Angel Envoys, but we use the power of the Resentful Eye to resolve supernatural incidents in reality, maintaining peace. They’re different; they use the power of the Resentful Eye for evil."
"For example, we’ve come across such an Evil Cultivator, an elderly woman. Her Resentful Eye was an old-fashioned alarm clock; her power allowed her to enter people’s dreams for a brief period. During the duration of her ability, she could do anything she wanted to the victim in the dream, including asking private questions, demanding bank card PINs, or even violating the victim, and upon waking, the victim would think it was just a nightmare."
"That ability is indeed eerie," Yang Xiao’s eyes were opened to a new world.
"But the more bizarre and powerful the ability, the stronger the backlash. She received the Opera Robe Shadow Garment script far more often than an ordinary Angel Envoy, and before we could capture her, she died in the Nightmare World."
Beibei paused for a moment then suddenly asked, "Captain, do you know why we’re called Angel Envoys?"
"Because every one of us who gets involved in the Nightmare World is carrying a mission. We need to find a way to completely end the nightmare in the Nightmare World, otherwise our fate is death—sooner or later," Beibei said with a noticeably serious expression.
Similar words had been spoken by Kuang Hongyi before. He mentioned a method, saying that if one could survive ten nightmare missions and ensure that only they alone survived each time, then the survivor could break free from the Nightmare World forever.
Beibei scoffed at this idea, "That’s just a rumor, I don’t believe it. What we are seeking is a complete end, like severing the connection between the real world and the Nightmare World."
Leaning forward, Beibei’s gaze became determined, "Captain, do you know what Evil Cultivators pursue?"
"They’re crazy. They actually want to use the Resentful Eye, to use the Nightmare World. They believe the Nightmare World is God’s mercy, a gift from God to this world that will grant them eternal spiritual life."
"They look forward to resonating with their own Resentful Eye on a spiritual level. It is said that powerful Evil Cultivators can even, after their own death, leave a trace of their obsession in the Resentful Eye. This way, whoever later obtains this Resentful Eye will be guided by this remnant soul and follow a path similar to theirs."
"Of course, this path is extremely dangerous, but if one can make it through, they will become more and more like the deceased Evil Cultivator. Finally, the two will merge into one, and in some sense, the Evil Cultivator will have achieved immortality."
Yang Xiao listened to these words with cold sweat streaming down his face. How similar this was to his own experiences! He couldn’t help but turn his head; his shoulder bag was placed on the chair next to him, containing the Drama Robe.
Realizing that she might have spoken too heavily, Beibei explained, "But don’t worry, Captain. We’re unlikely to ever get a Resentful Eye of that caliber. The Resentful Eye is also choosy about its owner."
Recalling the scene when he met Master Yan Zhen, every time he tried to mention the big red coffin, he was interrupted by a mysterious force. The invisible hand that suddenly appeared tightened around his heart, scaring him so much that he swallowed his words.
The owner of that hand, and probably the former owner of this Drama Robe, must be an Evil Cultivator, and it surely had something to do with that big red coffin.
Yang Xiao was in a dilemma now. He very much wanted to investigate the origins of this person, but he also feared that his true identity would be discovered, which could lead to people at the Patrol Defense Bureau being harmful to him.
He saw clearly the attitude of Master Yan Zhen at that time. The Bureau wasn’t united as one, and while he was useful everybody was friendly. However, if it was discovered that he could be influenced by an Evil Cultivator, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Yang Xiao quickly made a decision. Unless necessary, he would never talk about any changes in the Opera Robe Shadow Garment, and he couldn’t tell Director Nalan everything. Once he completely mastered this Resentful Eye, even if someone wanted to harm him, they would have to consider whether they were strong enough to do so.
At the moment, he lacked both strength and backing. He needed to keep a low profile and bide his time. Even if the Drama Robe wasn’t left by an Evil Cultivator, it was a valuable item. Master Yan Zhen had warned him, "An innocent man is guilty of the possession of a jade bier," meaning becoming a target of interest could bring trouble.
"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Beibei asked.
Yang Xiao rubbed his nose and sighed softly, "Nothing much, just worried about Yu Shu."
"You should get some rest if you’re tired. It’s only the second day; there should be nothing to worry about," comforted Beibei. "How about this, you sleep first, and I’ll stand watch until midnight. When I get tired, you can take over for me."
Beibei’s kindness couldn’t be refused, and Yang Xiao was indeed tired, especially since they had to climb a mountain the next day to check out Yin Soldiers’ Cave in person.
Lying in bed, the fatigue washed over him like a tide. Suddenly, Yang Xiao felt something was amiss, but his eyelids kept getting heavier beyond his control, and he ultimately drifted into sleep.
The next second, he jolted awake. The light in the room had gone out at some point, and the entire room was shrouded in a dim glow. This feeling was all too familiar to him.
It was that damned ghost dream again!
Looking around, sure enough, Beibei was gone.
Following his instinct, he gently pulled open the room door and stepped into the silent hallway without a sound. He made his way to Yu Shu’s door.
With a light touch, the door swung open.
The scene behind the door startled Yang Xiao. The room was enveloped in strange mist—no, it was no longer the original room—before him was a sparse forest with a gourd-shaped cave entrance at the base of a distant cliff. Over a hundred headless corpses surrounded the entrance, holding various weapons in their hands, with several figures standing at the mouth of the cave.
As he recognized these figures, Yang Xiao’s breathing halted. Blood was still spurting out of the headless trunks; these bodies stood upright, cradling their own heads in their hands.
Just like the poses in the ancient paintings.
