Chapter Sixty-Nine: Within the Illusory Realm

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Standing before the red lacquered door, Qin Xiaomo finally realized that everything she had just experienced was nothing but an illusion. Even the scene where Jiang Lang was caught with three girlfriends at the amusement park—something she had subconsciously longed for over the years—was merely a fabrication of her own mind. Her heart felt truly at ease, light as air. Since she could come to the red carved wooden door, perhaps her departure just now was the passage through, and what lay ahead was likely another illusion. As long as she remembered that none of it was real, she would be fine.

The little white dumpling said, “Master~ Fortune is your master.”

The little white dumpling and Fortune, her two pets, ran to Qin Xiaomo’s feet and looked up at her expectantly, but she acted as if she couldn’t see them at all.

“Why isn’t the master paying attention to us?” the little white dumpling wondered.

“It seems she can’t see us,” Fortune replied.

Qin Xiaomo pushed open the red lacquered door, stepped inside, and vanished into the darkness beyond.

“Master!” Fortune called.

Fortune tried to follow in Qin Xiaomo’s footsteps, only to find itself passing straight through the door, still remaining out on the plaza.

“This door seems to be an illusion—we can’t get in,” said the little white dumpling.

“Let’s wait at the door for the master to come out,” Fortune suggested.

So, a cat and a rabbit sat motionless at either side of the door, like guardian beasts.

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After stepping through the door, Qin Xiaomo discovered that the world inside was not as frightening as she had imagined. It was simply a black forest, bright moonlight above, and occasionally two fireflies drifting past. It was rather pleasant. Since this was all an illusion, how could there be any real danger?

Just as she was thinking this, she heard a rustling not far away, as if something was struggling across the grass. Qin Xiaomo quickly hid behind a tree, and as soon as she did, the sound stopped.

“Where did it go?” she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, a chilling, eerie voice came from above her head: “Are you looking for me?”

Qin Xiaomo froze, slowly raising her head. She saw a figure with tangled long hair, eye sockets devoid of any whites, mouth torn at the corners, its head twisted as if turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees, a tongue flicking out like a snake’s, dressed in a white gown, apparently limbless, the hem revealing a serpentine tail, coiled around the tree in a grotesque and distorted way.

“Aaah!” She bolted in terror. If she could swear, she would have asked, “What the hell is this thing!”

“Don’t go~ My delicious prey~” The distorted voice was neither male nor female, painfully slow and piercingly shrill.

Isn’t this all an illusion? Then this thing must be an illusion too. Running wasn’t a solution—she needed a way out. Just then, a rat scurried past her feet, colliding head-on with the monster. The creature didn’t slow at all; with a flick of its tongue, it rolled the rat into its mouth. Qin Xiaomo couldn’t help but glance back. The monster, five steps away, bit down hard on the rat—one sharp squeak, and it was silent. Blood and bits of flesh splattered onto Qin Xiaomo’s hand. She wiped it off, her skin crawling. For an exam illusion, did it have to be this realistic?

Suddenly—thud!—her feet tangled in a vine and she crashed heavily to the ground, unable to get up after several attempts. The monster lunged, jaws wide, aiming for her neck. Qin Xiaomo squeezed her eyes shut and thought, Enough, I give up—if I fail, I fail. Maybe one bite and I’ll wake up. With that, she waited, oddly at peace.

But the monster didn’t bite. After a long while, Qin Xiaomo squinted her eyes open. The creature’s face was still just two feet away, struggling to get closer, its tongue almost touching her. Tilting her head, she saw that what had tripped her was not a vine at all, but a two-meter-long, mop-handle-thick, pitch-black arm with four thick, stubby fingers, its skin rough as a yam, gripping the monster’s tail and dragging it toward the ground. The monster fought desperately, turning its head to bite at the black arm, nearly breaking free.

At that moment, Qin Xiaomo scrambled to her feet and fled. As she ran, something hard in her pocket struck her hand, making her wince in pain. Reaching in, she was delighted to find the pair of peanut-sized stone shoes Liu Bansian had given her. She remembered Liu Bansian’s instructions: throw the shoes on the ground, walk three steps east, and neither gods nor spirits would see you—though she wasn’t sure if monsters were included.

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She looked up to find the North Star hanging in the sky, quickly threw the shoes down, and ran three steps to the east. She had no idea if it would work, but as she ran, glancing back, she saw a figure identical to herself standing where she’d cast the shoes. The fake was being bitten on the neck by the monster, struggling desperately. If she hadn’t witnessed it herself, she’d never have believed that such magic was possible. She made a mental note to learn more from Liu Bansian when she returned to the real world.

Qin Xiaomo thought she was safe for the moment and hurried away. After running a long distance and confirming she was out of danger, she finally stopped. She realized she had no idea where to go, nor how to get out. Just then, she faintly heard the sound of running water, and feeling a bit thirsty, decided to find the source first.

Following the sound, it grew louder, until she came upon a thicket of extraordinarily tall and dense trees, their leaves and branches so thick from top to bottom that there was no gap to pass through. Taking out the Xuanli Blade, she chopped at the longest branch before her. The branch seemed almost alive, snapping back with a swish, opening a narrow black gap just big enough to crawl through. Unsure how long the passage was, but seeing light faintly within, Qin Xiaomo gritted her teeth and squeezed in.

Inside, it was indeed cramped; the branches seemed intent on swallowing her, constantly sprouting new shoots to block her way. Fortunately, with the Xuanli Blade, she managed to hack through and advance. The farther she went, the brighter the light grew. She had no idea how long she struggled, but at last she emerged from the black passage, stepping into a wide-open space.

Before her sprawled a meadow dotted with blue flowers, tulip-sized, some in bud, some in bloom. Every petal glowed with a violet-blue light, and even the pollen, carried by the breeze, shimmered with yellow fluorescence. The blue blossoms stretched all the way to a lakeshore not far off, blanketing the entire bank. The nearby stream finally emptied into this lake, but the lake itself was strange; though the water flowed in ceaselessly, it never filled the basin, as if it were a dead lake.

Qin Xiaomo walked toward the shore. Suddenly, she heard a noise from the water. Still wary from her earlier fright, she quickly hid behind a tree, peeking out. The lake shimmered silver in the moonlight, and in its center was a man with hair black as ink. He turned in profile, a lock of hair falling across his pale cheek, his phoenix eyes and high nose bridge set off by a faint, enigmatic smile. His jade-like hand gently stroked his wet hair, only half a shoulder visible, but at his chest she glimpsed a black bird-shaped tattoo.

Suddenly, as if startled, he called out, “Who’s there?!” A red robe floated to him from nowhere; in an instant, he was dressed and standing on the shore. If not for the droplets still clinging to his hair, one would never know he had just been in the lake.