Mu Ran lay on the bed, her eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed, unconsciously gripping the quilt.
She was trapped in a nightmare, unable to escape.
In the dream, she saw many cultivators holding magical treasures and weapons, saying things like "Kill this little demon spawn."
Her husband was gravely injured. Just as a longsword was about to pierce his chest, she threw herself in front of it, blocking the sword and dying a gruesome death.
"Husband, you must live on well."
With these final words, she breathed her last.
In his overwhelming grief, her husband tore off one of his own arms, activated a forbidden art, and managed to capture a tiny fragment of her soul before it scattered completely between heaven and earth.
Amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the bloodied man held her cold body, lowered his eyes, and whispered softly, "I won't let you leave me."
For some reason, the pain in the dream felt exceptionally intense. Mu Ran suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She gasped for breath, calming herself for a good while before realizing she was covered in a cold sweat.
Upon waking, the details of the dream gradually blurred, but she knew she had had a nightmare and still remembered that heart-palpitating fear that seemed to come from her very soul.
Feeling somewhat panicked, Mu Ran fumbled for a small silver bell placed on the bedside table. Disregarding the fact it was the middle of the night, she infused it with a weak stream of spiritual energy. The bell glimmered with specks of silver light, and soon, a familiar voice came through.
"Ran Ran, what's wrong?"
Mu Ran sniffled, her voice low and hoarse. "I had a nightmare."
"Don't be afraid. Dreams are the opposite of reality."
In the candlelit room, Mu Ran curled her body into a ball, looking utterly pitiful.
When she was a child, she had the misfortune of being captured by a demonic cultivator who intended to use her for alchemy. Fortunately, her rescuers arrived in time, and she wasn't thrown into the cauldron to become a pill. However, from hitting her head, she lost a portion of her memories.
It was also from that time that she developed a fear of the dark, needing a small lamp lit at night.
Cangshu Bai had specifically stayed with her until she fell asleep before leaving to attend to his business. He hadn't expected her to wake up in the middle of the night. Luckily, Mu Ran often had whimsical ideas and liked tinkering with little gadgets in her spare time.
This pair of communication bells was her creation—one for her, one for Cangshu Bai—making it quite convenient to stay in touch.
Mu Ran hugged her knees, staring at the little bell, her tone clingy. "Jinzhi, when will you be finished and come back?"
Jinzhi was Cangshu Bai's courtesy name.
Cangshu Bai replied, "Very soon."
Both Mu Ran and Cangshu Bai were low-level cultivators. Mu Ran occasionally took on work at a workshop in town, while Cangshu Bai was a physician at the town's medical clinic, sometimes needing to gather herbs in the mountains late at night.
From the other side of the bell came faint, indistinct "whooshing" noises.
Mu Ran asked with concern, "Jinzhi, is everything alright on your end? You haven't encountered any demonic beasts, have you?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"I think I heard other voices over there."
"It's just Boss Hu talking. We found a rather good medicinal herb, and he's quite pleased."
Mu Ran mumbled, "Alright then. It's so dark outside, and I heard there have been demonic cultivators killing people randomly lately. You need to be careful."
He chuckled softly. "Mmm. If you're scared, take out the talismans I left in the cabinet and use them."
"No, those talismans are so expensive. I should only use them in critical situations."
After leaving her family clan, without their support, they naturally didn't have much money. She didn't know where Cangshu Bai had bought that large stash of top-grade life-preserving talismans, but she couldn't bear to use them unless it was a matter of life and death.
Mu Ran forced a light tone. "Alright, I'm fine now. You're right, nightmares are the opposite of reality. I'm not scared. Jinzhi, I'm going back to sleep. You be careful out there."
Cangshu Bai said gently, "Alright."
The bell returned to its dull, lusterless state. Mu Ran put it back, then heard the wind pick up outside the window. Branches knocked against the windowpane, creating quite a racket.
The shadows of the trees swayed like beasts baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
Mu Ran pulled the quilt over her head, covering herself completely, and shivered.
In the mansion at night, the wind howled.
Amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the wind, tainted with the smell of blood, carried a biting chill. Frost rapidly spread, freezing everything in its surroundings.
The man in green robes held the now-silent bell in his hand, the warmth in his eyes slowly fading away.
He stepped on an unidentified corpse that had turned into an ice sculpture, lowered his dark red eyes, looked at the middle-aged man with broken leg bones lying ahead, and asked calmly, "Where is the Primordial Chaos Glazed Lamp?"
The middle-aged man endured the pain and said, "The Primordial Chaos Glazed Lamp is the treasure of the Cangshu family! How could we possibly hand it over to a clan-traitor like you, a demonic fiend!"
Suddenly, the corpse under his foot shattered, turning into icy mist and vanishing completely.
"Eldest Son!" The middle-aged man watched his firstborn son's remains disappear without a trace, heartbroken with grief.
In just a short time, the Cangshu family estate had become a scene of carnage. No one could have imagined that the one they once regarded as useless trash, someone they could bully at will, would return one day.
Over the years, no one knew what fortuitous encounters he had, but his power had reached terrifying heights. Probably only the family's ancestral patriarch could suppress him now.
The world of cultivation was one where the strong preyed on the weak. If one's strength was inferior, sects and families could be annihilated overnight.
"I'll ask one more time. Where is the Primordial Chaos Glazed Lamp?"
At that moment, another young man lying on the ground cried out—his arm had been severed, the wound bleeding profusely.
The middle-aged man shouted, "Second Son!"
That foot then stepped on Second Son's head. Second Son's face scraped against the ground, soon becoming a bloody mess on one side.
"You should understand, I'm in a hurry to get home. My patience is limited."
The middle-aged man pleaded, "Cangshu Bai, you are also of the Cangshu family! Why must you exterminate us all?"
"Is that so?" Cangshu Bai's expression was indifferent. "When my parents were afflicted by backlash from raising demonic beasts for the Cangshu family and needed spirit stones for treatment, did the Cangshu family contribute a single coin? When my mother was critically ill, she knelt and begged you to take me in for the sake of our shared Cangshu blood. You did keep me, but only to use me as fodder for the beasts."
Cangshu Bai continued, "Back then, my skills were inferior, so being bullied was to be expected. Now that I have the power to exact blood for blood, you suffering is also to be expected."
The middle-aged man was Cangshu Yuan, the head of the Cangshu family. Once, he had been immensely powerful; a single word from him could decide the fate of the "useless" members of the clan. He never imagined the day would come when the one he deemed "trash" would bring about the family's destruction.
Second Son lay on the ground, weeping and wailing. "Father, save me..."
With corpses piled like mountains all around, Cangshu Yuan now only had Second Son as his remaining bloodline.
Cangshu Yuan knew escape was impossible. Gnashing his teeth, he said, "I can give you the Primordial Chaos Glazed Lamp, but you must promise to let Second Son go!"
Cangshu Bai lifted his foot. "Agreed."
Second Son breathed a sigh of relief.
Cangshu Yuan sacrificed his divine soul, summoning forth a snow-white lotus-shaped lantern. With his dying breath, he said, "Cangshu Bai, with all the deities as witness, you promised to spare Second Son. You must not... break your word..."
His body fell, eyes wide open, devoid of life.
The lantern's light was gentle, dispelling all malevolent spirits wherever it shone. Moreover, its greatest function was to nourish souls, helping one solidify their foundation. With this Glazed Lamp present, cultivation time could be halved, and breakthroughs became effortless.
Second Son shot a hateful glance at the man in green robes, scrambled up from the ground in a panic, and fled into the distance.
Cangshu Bai lowered his gaze to look at the lamp in his hand, fairly satisfied. Then, he lifted his eyes slightly.
An icy chill, like a swimming fish, abruptly materialized, silently seeping into Second Son's flesh, freezing him to the very marrow.
Second Son's fleeing steps suddenly froze in place. Before a single scream could escape his throat, his entire body transformed into a frost-covered ice sculpture. He struggled to say, "Cangshu Bai... you go back on your word..."
"I did promise I would spare you. But I never promised that other things would spare you."
The fish, formed of frost and snow, swam back and disappeared into its master's sleeve.
Cangshu Bai turned around. The night wind was bleak and cold, his robes fluttering. The dark ends of his hair swayed lightly with his steps, outlining his broad shoulders and narrow waist—a fine figure like the clear breeze and bright moon, visible yet unattainable.
A faint crack sounded. The frozen figure began to shatter inch by inch from the fingertips, eventually scattering into a pile of cold dust, blown away without a trace by the wind.
Wind slipped through the window crack and extinguished the candle flame.
Mu Ran lay on the bed, curled into a ball under the quilt, her eyes wide and miserable, unable to sleep.
She quietly lifted a corner of the quilt. Complete darkness. Her heart grew even more troubled, debating whether to get up and relight the lamp.
Suddenly, points of light spilled into the room once more.
Mu Ran, quilt and all, was scooped up into an embrace.
"I'm back."
It was a familiar voice.
Mu Ran peeked her head out from the quilt. Seeing the familiar face, her eyes curved into crescents, a radiant smile spreading across her features. "Jinzhi!"
Reassured, she wriggled out of the covers, opened her arms, and threw herself against his chest.
Cangshu Bai was considerably taller. The motion of his hand gently patting her back almost encircled her entirely in his arm, shutting out even the chill of the deep night.
"The wind was quite strong tonight. My apologies, I shouldn't have gone out this evening."
Mu Ran shook her head, lifting her face, her eyes sparkling. "Jinzhi went out to earn money for our family. I understand. It's not your fault. I'm just timid, and I couldn't help disturbing you while you were busy."
"It's not a disturbance." He lifted her chin, placing a soft kiss on the corner of her lips, reluctant to part, murmuring against them, "Whenever you seek me, I am always glad."
Mu Ran raised her arms to circle his neck. Her long hair cascaded down. Without a trace of makeup, her smile as she looked at him was still as bright and dazzling as ever.
Involuntarily, the corners of Cangshu Bai's mouth lifted in response. He stroked the long hair at the back of her head, its soft texture like touching a cloud.
Mu Ran noticed the new glazed lamp on the table. She pursed her lips. "You bought something unnecessary again."
"This is a lamp I bought from a traveling merchant. It's enchanted to brighten or dim according to its owner's will."
Wasn't that similar to a voice-activated lamp?
Huh?
Mu Ran frowned slightly. What was a voice-activated lamp? Why did such a strange term come to mind?
She snapped back to reality and took Cangshu Bai's hand. "But this must have been expensive."
Cangshu Bai shook his head. "It's merely a lamp that lasts a bit longer than ordinary ones. Not very useful. It only cost half a spirit stone."
Mu Ran crawled over, fetched her money pouch, opened his large hand, and placed five spirit stones in his palm.
"You're always buying things for the house. Your pocket money must be running low. If you go out for social occasions, you can't lose face by having no money for meals."
Cangshu Bai gave a light chuckle. "Mm, thank you for your generosity, my lady."
The financial authority in their household lay with her. Cangshu Bai never kept secret funds; whatever he earned, he handed over in full.
Mu Ran leaned against his chest, covering her mouth as she yawned.
Cangshu Bai removed his outer garments, lay down holding her, and as soon as the quilt covered them, she naturally snuggled into his embrace.
"Goodnight, Jinzhi."
Cangshu Bai lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair. "Goodnight."
Mu Ran closed her eyes contentedly, drifting into a beautiful dream.
How wonderful. Today was yet another peaceful, happy day.
