Jiang Younian stiffly loosened his grip and backed away.
The female ghost with black hair veiling her face was standing right before him. The scene and the people in the carriage were flickering, constantly shifting in form—one moment they were human, the next they turned into the dense, dark trees of the forest.
"Ahh!!"
Jiang Younian let out a loud cry and opened his eyes again. The carriage was still there.
A voice came from beside him: "What’s wrong with you?"
Xie Nanzhou?
Jiang Younian’s mind was in turmoil; he couldn't tell if he was in a dream or in reality. Seeing Xie Nanzhou leaning in, he panicked, grabbed the first thing he could reach, and threw it. "Ahh! Don't come any closer!"
What if this was the female ghost again!
Xie Nanzhou’s head jerked to the side as he was struck, and a bruise began to bloom on his temple.
"What are you bickering about! I’m already in a foul mood, and you’re just making all this noise!"
The gaudily dressed nouveau riche appeared in his field of vision, currently spewing vitriol at Jiang Younian.
Jiang Younian stared at him blankly for a long time before finally breaking into a grin.
Seeing Jiang Younian’s reaction, the nouveau riche was stunned instead.
"Are you stupid? You’re getting cursed at and you're still smiling? Forget it, I won't lower myself to your level."
Able to curse, able to get angry, eyes not vacant—this was a living person. So vivid.
Jiang Younian smiled in relief. It finally wasn't a dream.
Turning his head, he noticed Xie Nanzhou clutching his temple.
Flustered and unsure of what to do, he reached out toward Xie Nanzhou's forehead.
"Oh! Are you alright?"
The careless touch made Xie Nanzhou gasp in pain, and he caught Jiang Younian’s clumsy hand.
"Take it easy."
Hearing this, Xiaoyou lunged over, shoving Jiang Younian’s hand away with a fierce expression. "What do you think you’re doing?!"
Jiang Younian stood to the side, feeling guilty. He hadn't meant to, but he hadn't expected this place to be so strange.
He truly didn't dare to sleep anymore. As soon as he drifted off, that female ghost would immediately enter his dreams.
"What is going on with you?"
Xie Nanzhou frowned, rubbing the bump on his head, and looked at Jiang Younian with concern.
Jiang Younian thought of the female ghost from his two dreams and the deep, dark lake. It seemed inseparable from this Resentment Realm. Just thinking about the dream sent a chill down his spine.
Xie Nanzhou remained silent, his eyes fixed steadily on the pensive Jiang Younian.
"Did you ask me to go find supplies?"
Jiang Younian looked around; there was no black backpack beside him. Yet, he clearly remembered Xie Nanzhou asking him to fetch supplies just a moment ago.
"No."
Receiving a negative answer, Jiang Younian realized that Xie Nanzhou asking him to find supplies must have also been part of the dream.
But what about now? Was this still a dream?
He could no longer distinguish between dreams and reality.
"This is not a dream." A reassuring, low voice soothed him from beside him.
How did he know what he was thinking again?
Jiang Younian didn't know why, but this Xie Nanzhou always seemed to know his thoughts.
"Zzzzt! Zzzzt!"
Static suddenly burst from the broadcast system. With a screeching sound of grinding metal, the train ground to a halt.
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to a geological disaster—a mudslide—ahead, the train will be unable to arrive at its destination on time. Please collect your belongings and exit the train in an orderly fashion."
The moment the woman's voice on the broadcast ceased, Jiang Younian recalled that in his first dream, Xie Nanzhou had told him to read the newspaper, and then the static had started, followed by the train wreck.
So, the things in the dream were real? The train had indeed stopped now.
And the clues Xie Nanzhou had mentioned in the dream—they should still be on the train.
"What kind of transport company is this? In the middle of nowhere? Telling us to get off makes no sense! I’m going to report them!"
It was Chen Dan, the female college student who had arrived at the same time as Jiang Younian; she was so obsessed with dieting that she was practically just skin and bones.
Hearing this, Xie Nanzhou curled his lips into a smile, his eyes showing a touch of mockery. "Yellow Springs Passenger Transport. Go ahead, file your complaint."
"I..." Chen Dan was stunned into silence. She seemed to have finally remembered that she was in Yellow Springs and sat down quietly, not daring to act out again.
"Everyone, pack your things and get off."
At Xie Nanzhou’s command, everyone began to pack. Even the boisterous nouveau riche didn't dare say another word.
"Get ready to disembark."
Xie Nanzhou’s tone toward Jiang Younian remained gentle, a stark contrast to his earlier severity.
Jiang Younian felt it was best to retrieve the items that had appeared in the dream; they might be useful. "Wait for me."
He hurried to the service desk and, sure enough, found a black backpack.
Opening it, he found some basic supplies and a newspaper.
It seemed everything in the dream was connected to reality. This newspaper must contain important information.
Xie Nanzhou glanced at the bag Jiang Younian had retrieved, a flash of approval in his eyes.
After everyone gathered on the platform, a train attendant with mechanical movements walked down.
"Passengers, the train is stranded and signals are blocked. We hope you can proceed to Mocun Village on our behalf to seek help."
"Screw that! How can you expect the passengers to go seek help? What are you attendants even for?"
A man in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses cursed loudly.
"This is the map. Please ensure you arrive at Mocun Village before sunset."
There was not a trace of anger on the attendant's face, despite the man’s insults—there was no emotion at all. The smile on his face looked as if it had been fixed there permanently.
"Understood, thank you." Xie Nanzhou reached out, took the map, and gave the attendant a polite smile.
"Why is that attendant so weird?"
Jiang Younian had an intuition that Xie Nanzhou knew why.
"Because they are all puppets. Their task is to deliver us here."
"Huh?"
As Xie Nanzhou finished speaking, Jiang Younian swallowed hard, feeling uneasy. No wonder the attendant had such an eerie appearance.
"Zhao Ming, you’d better watch your tongue. We’re dealing with puppets now, but that might not be the case later."
Xie Nanzhou’s gaze swept over the man in the suit who had stirred up trouble, the warning clear.
Jiang Younian found Xie Nanzhou to be a fascinating person. At first, he seemed as gentle as jade, but now he was showing the imposing authority of a leader.
"Brother Nan, don't worry. Kong Que and Brother Tai are both listening to you."
The nouveau riche fawned over him, pulling the tall man beside him to show loyalty.
Kong Que? Brother Tai? Jiang Younian looked at the nouveau riche's gaudy attire; the name was certainly fitting. He then glanced at the muscular man, who clearly acted as the peacock's bodyguard. That build certainly deserved the name 'Brother Tai', though saying it aloud felt a bit festive—like a scene from a children's cartoon.
The whole way, his mind was filled with thoughts of grassy plains and sheep. As Xie Nanzhou led the way with the map and Jiang Younian followed, watching his focused expression, he couldn't help but think he looked like the smart sheep, while he himself was... no, he wasn't strong enough to be the athletic one. The lazy one? But he didn't feel lazy.
What about... the beauty sheep?
Jiang Younian was startled by the image of himself sporting pink sheep horns in his mind.
"Watch your step."
The person in front stopped and reached out a hand.
Jiang Younian came to his senses and saw a steep slope ahead. He would have to climb it.
Looking at the incline, he knew he couldn't step up as effortlessly as Xie Nanzhou. Resigned, he placed his hand in Xie Nanzhou’s, relying on the steady strength offered to find his footing.
Behind them, Chen Dan and the gaudy peacock began to complain, demanding to rest.
Xie Nanzhou had no intention of indulging them and continued to climb.
"Hey! Xie Nanzhou, are you going to ignore us? You're so selfish, just taking the map and walking off!"
Chen Dan, thin as a skeleton, saw Xie Nanzhou was unmoved and shouted in a shrill voice from the bottom of the slope.
Xie Nanzhou stood on the slope like a king at the end of the world, looking down at the weary group with an aloofness that held no regard for the masses, then let out a cold laugh.
"Take care of you? Do you really think you're worth it? I only care about one person's life: Jiang Younian's."