Chapter 17: When the Dream Wakes

Yunluo Li, November 29, 9998.

At dusk, Aikesi had just returned from cultivating at Hou Shan when he saw Yelu standing at the dormitory door with a solemn expression.

"What's wrong?" Aikesi asked.

Yelu lowered his voice: "The fourth one just went out, looking unwell. Reynolds followed secretly and came back to say the fourth one was on Xiangxie Dadao... and saw."

Aikesi's heart sank.

"Saw what?"

"Ailisi and that man," Yelu said, "walking hand in hand."

Aikesi fell silent for a moment: "Where are they now?"

"At Hou Shan," Yelu said. "Reynolds said the fourth one went to Hou Shan alone, his face pale enough to be terrifying."

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"Third brother!" Yelu called out to him, "Let him be alone for a while."

Aikesi stopped and turned to look at him.

Yelu sighed: "In matters like this, outsiders can't help. What he needs now is to be alone and quiet, not our comfort."

Aikesi thought for a moment, then nodded: "Then we'll wait in the dormitory."

The two returned to the courtyard; Qiaozhi was already waiting. Reynolds squatted in the corner, silent. None of the four spoke; they just sat there.

The sky gradually darkened.

No one ate dinner. The night wind blew, carrying the chill of early winter. The moon rose, round and bright, casting a silver-white glow over the courtyard.

Aikesi stood up: "I'll go check Hou Shan."

The night at Hou Shan was very quiet.

Aikesi walked forward along the familiar path. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. After walking for about the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, he saw Linlei.

Linlei stood before a huge boulder, motionless.

That boulder was huge, fully two meters high and three or four meters long, the common bluish-gray rock found at Hou Shan. Moonlight shone upon it, reflecting a cold light.

Aikesi made no sound, standing far away.

He saw Linlei's back—that figure, usually always held straight, now appeared somewhat desolate. His shoulders slumped slightly, his head bowed, as if weighed down by something.

After a long time, Linlei moved.

He took a flat blade from his chest and gripped it in his hand. In the moonlight, the blade's edge gleamed with a cold light.

Then he began to carve.

Without hesitation, without pause, the flat blade seemed like an extension of his arm, dancing upon the boulder. Stone chips flew, like fine snowflakes in the moonlight. His movements were fast, so fast that Aikesi could only see a blur of blade shadows.

But strangely, there was no sound.

The flat blade shaved against the stone, which should have produced a grating friction sound, yet Aikesi heard nothing. It was as if those stone chips vanished into thin air, and those patterns formed naturally.

He stood there, watching Linlei.

Watching him, stroke by stroke, shave away the excess stone. Watching his back shift from desolation to determination, from exhaustion to focus. Watching him become completely immersed in another world, forgetting time, forgetting pain, forgetting everything.

The moonlight slowly shifted.

Aikesi neither left nor approached. He simply stood far away, watching that youth carving stone.

At dawn, Reynolds arrived.

"Third brother," he lowered his voice, "why didn't you return..."

He stopped halfway, saw Linlei in the distance, and closed his mouth.

The two stood side by side, watching that figure under the moonlight.

As dawn approached, Qiaozhi and Yelu also arrived.

The four stood at the edge of the forest, watching Linlei from afar. No one spoke, no one left. Occasionally the wind blew, bringing the coolness of early winter, but no one moved.

One day passed.

Two days passed.

Three days passed.

Linlei was still carving. He had not stopped once, eating or drinking nothing, sleeping or resting never. The flat blade in his hand seemed to come alive; every swing was precise to the extreme, every stroke falling just right.

The boulder was slowly changing. The outline became clearer, the patterns more distinct. Vaguely, five human figures could be seen, each lifelike.

The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day.

Aikesi and the others took turns guarding. During the day, someone brought food and drink—though Linlei did not touch a single bite. At night, someone lit a fire to keep the area warm. They did not know what Linlei was carving, but they all knew that at this time, he must not be disturbed.

The seventh day, the eighth day, the ninth day.

Linlei's movements grew slower. Not from fatigue, but because every stroke was more cautious. Sometimes he would stand before the stone for a long time, motionless, then suddenly strike with a blade. Sometimes he would walk several circles around the boulder, carefully examining every pattern, then continue.

The tenth day.

At dusk, Aikesi came as usual for the shift change. He walked to the edge of the forest, saw Linlei still standing before the stone, and was about to sit down when he suddenly felt something.

"This is..." Yelu's mouth gaped open.

"Jingshenli Yehuahua," Aikesi said softly.

The mark of a Level 7 Mage—spiritual power transforming from gaseous to liquid, a qualitative change occurring. This is the threshold from Level 6 to Level 7, where countless Mages have been stuck for ten years or even decades.

Linlei broke through while carving.

Linlei stood in place, motionless.

Then he moved.

The final stroke.

The flat blade gently fell, shaving away the last stone chip. Then he stepped back one pace, looking at the boulder before him.

Under the moonlight, the true form of the stone sculpture finally revealed itself.

Five women, five postures, five distinct essences.

The first bowed her head, evoking pity. The second turned her face sideways, cute and mischievous. The third blushed, shy and captivating. The fourth tilted her head upward, delicate and passionate. The fifth faced away, cold and resolute.

Lifelike, as if truly alive.

"Wake up," Linlei whispered.

Then he turned and looked toward the edge of the forest.

Four people stood there, all watching him.

Aikesi walked over and handed him a waterskin. Linlei took it, drank a few sips. His face was pale, but his eyes shone unusually bright.

"Eleven days," Aikesi said.

Linlei nodded.

Leinuo stepped closer, gazing at the stone carving, as if to speak, then swallowed his words. Yelu clapped Linlei on the shoulder, saying nothing. Qiaozhi stood beside them, his eyes slightly red.

"Let's go," Aikesi said. "Back to eat."

Linlei nodded and followed them back.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turning back to glance at the stone carving. Under the moonlight, the five women stood silently, as if seeing him off, or saying farewell.

"Let's go," Aikesi said.

Linlei pulled his gaze away and followed.

In the dormitory, Yelu arranged a full table of food. Leinuo ran back and forth; Qiaozhi helped set out bowls and chopsticks. Aikesi sat beside Linlei and poured him a cup of water.

"Drink some water first, warm your stomach," he said. "Eleven days without food—you can't eat greasy things all at once."

Linlei nodded and took the cup.

The dishes arrived, all light and plain. Linlei ate slowly; the others said nothing, simply staying with him.

Halfway through the meal, Linlei put down his chopsticks.

All four stopped and looked at him.

Linlei stared at the food on the table, his voice calm: "I met her last year. She said she liked me, and I believed her. She said we'd be together forever, and I believed her. I thought… I thought it was real."

He paused.

"Today I saw her walking with someone else. His name is Kalan, the heir of the Debusi Family. They've known each other since childhood, childhood sweethearts."

Leinuo opened his mouth to speak, but Yelu silenced him with a glance.

Linlei continued: "There were signs all along. She always said she was busy, always made excuses. I thought it was because of her studies… I never imagined…"

He didn't finish, lifting the water cup to drink.

Aikesi watched him, suddenly remembering how he'd felt reading the original novel before his transmigration. Back then, it was just a story—he pitied Linlei. Now, watching it unfold before his eyes, seeing this brother walk through it step by step, the feeling was entirely different.

"Brother Four," he said.

Linlei looked at him.

Aikesi picked up the wine flask, poured him a cup, then poured one for himself. He raised his cup: "Drink."

Linlei stared at the cup, silent for a moment, then lifted it and drank it in one gulp.

The wine was strong; it made him cough.

Aikesi didn't laugh, only poured him another cup.

"Want another?"

Linlei looked at the cup, then smiled. Not a happy smile—but one impossible to name.

"One more."

He lifted the cup and drank it down again.

This time, he didn't choke.

Aikesi poured again. Linlei drank again. Cup after cup, until the flask was empty.

Linlei leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Brother Four," Yelu spoke. "What are your plans now?"

Linlei fell silent for a long time.

"Keep cultivating," he said. "Grow stronger."

"That's all?"

Linlei thought: "Put the stone carving somewhere no one will ever find."

Aikesi knew he meant "Dream Awakened." It was what he had forged with eleven days of heart and soul, and what he had traded for a relationship.

"I'll find you a place," Yelu said. "My family's merchant guild has a secret chamber—safe."

Linlei nodded.

"Thanks."

That night, the five of them drank until late.

Leinuo got drunk, hugging Qiaozhi's arm and shouting, "Brother Four, don't cry." Qiaozhi pushed him away; he turned and hugged Yelu. Yelu couldn't escape, pinned beneath his grip as Leinuo mumbled nonsense.

Aikesi wasn't drunk. Linlei wasn't drunk.

The two sat in the courtyard, gazing at the moon.

"Brother Three," Linlei suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Did you know all along?"

Aikesi fell silent for a moment: "I saw her once. Late October, on Xiangxie Dadao."

Linlei nodded, asking no further why he hadn't spoken sooner.

"You were afraid I wouldn't believe you?" he asked.

Aikesi nodded.

Linlei smiled: "Perhaps he truly doesn't believe it."

The two fell silent for a moment.