Chapter 132: Dream

Across from No. 15 Mingsike Jie, Lei Kedun's silhouette carrying a birdcage was swiftly outlined.

Wu Ya Anu, looking as if he had returned to a safe zone, flapped his wings rapidly and flew onto the rack he often stays on.

"You don't even tell me the address—are you sure I can find him, or are you sure I won't look for him?"

Lei Kedun tossed the birdcage from his hands, muttered to himself while lounging on the sofa, then turned his gaze to the now‑recovered Wu Ya Anu:

"What did you see before? Or what did you feel?"

"I don't know either; suddenly I felt a terrifying gaze upon me, I couldn't move a muscle, and the will to resist wouldn't arise."

Recalling the earlier sensation, Wu Ya Anu couldn't help but shiver again.

Lei Kedun nodded, not particularly surprised; the tobacco merchant who called himself Pu La Ke·Ai Ge Si should be a high‑sequence extraordinary of the Death God Path.

As for why he was interested in a crow, the other party had already made it clear.

Recalling that Wu Ya Anu, upon his recent promotion, said he saw a gigantic bird, Lei Kedun guessed that Anu's unusual lineage referred to a phoenix.

With that in mind, Lei Kedun turned his head again toward the crow on the rack:

"Do you still remember the huge bird you saw when you were promoted?"

"I remember—black feathers, enormous; no matter how I looked, I could only see the feathers."

Wu Ya Anu nodded and described once more the scene he had seen.

"If you ever see a related vision again, remember to tell me, whether it's from a promotion or a dream while sleeping."

After reminding Wu Ya Anu, Lei Kedun returned to his second‑floor bedroom to prepare for sleep.

In the quiet deep night, Lei Kedun felt himself, in a half‑dazed state, see an endless river; he was on a small wooden boat holding a lantern, and ahead a boatman clad in tattered coarse black robes was ferrying.

Thick gray‑white mist spread in every direction, making it impossible to discern direction or even know where one was.

The boatman ahead gave Lei Kedun a very familiar feeling; with curiosity bubbling inside, Lei Kedun brought his lantern closer, hoping the dim light would reveal the boatman's features.

The ferryman, as if sensing something, slowly turned his body; in the lantern's dim glow, Lei Kedun saw a paper‑like body, rust‑stained, beneath the tattered black robe.

The next moment, the paper figure was torn apart from within, and one by one, eyes glowing blue‑purple emerged, all pupils fixed on Lei Kedun holding the lantern.

The scene shattered with a boom, and Lei Kedun jolted upright from the bed, gasping heavily.

In that instant of seeing the paper figure, an uncontrollable thought rose that this was himself, and Lei Kedun even felt he should look like that.

"How bizarre—what on earth is this?"

Lei Kedun muttered to himself.

After several minutes, once his emotions settled, Lei Kedun began to attempt interpreting his recent dream:

"The endless river, the small boat, and the ferryman—does this point to a Sequence Three Ferryman of the Death God Path?"

"For some reason the gray‑white mist reminds me of the Celestial Lord's seal on the Western Continent."

"The strangest part is the paper ferryman; the eyes sprouting from his body fit the hermit's image, yet why a paper figure, and why rust‑stained?"

"Is this dream a portent, or a revelation about my own condition?"

Because his sage traits continuously merge with himself, Lei Kedun has no doubt the dream is an alternative revelation or foresight.

Yet he has little clue for interpreting the dream.

"Perhaps I could find someone skilled at dream interpretation."

Lei Kedun murmured, then mentally listed acquaintances, eliminating each one.

The Insomniac Path's nightmare specialists are better at dream reading, but he only knows one nightmare, Lun Na De, who is likely still training at the Black Night Church headquarters, making a meeting inconvenient.

Disturbed by the strange dream, Lei Kedun felt no sleepiness; he got out of bed, pulled a chair, and sat by the window.

The Crimson Moon emerged faintly from the heavy clouds, its scarlet glow hazy and dim.

Lei Kedun stared at the night outside, further analyzing the dream:

"I recently happened to meet Pu La Ke·Ai Ge Si, a Death God descendant; his sequence isn't low, perhaps he is a Sequence Three ferryman."

"So, part of my dream points to him?"

"A ferryman often signifies coordination or mediation; what does it coordinate in the dream? Between whom does it mediate?"

"Between me and that paper ferryman?"

"The gray‑white mist may not only correspond to an external trait but also reflect my own state of confusion."

"Perhaps I could ask Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan; he is the symbol of astrology and should have insights on such prophetic dreams."

Lei Kedun always felt his dream interpretation was missing or inaccurate; while pondering the dream's qualities and corresponding symbols, he thought of Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan.

The association might itself be a spiritual hint, and Lei Kedun acted immediately.

In his room he fetched ritual candles, various essential oils, materials, and the matching gemstone 'Emerald'. He swiftly set up the ritual, brushed his fingertip over the candle twice, and, through the friction and resonance of his own spirit, lit the candle.

He dropped a drop of essential oil into the flame, and the bedroom instantly filled with the scent of licorice.

Lei Kedun quickly rose, stepped back a pace, and began to chant:

"Everlasting light of the spirit realm, embodiment of infinite knowledge, the Yellow of reason and adaptation."

The candle flame flickered violently, the room's temperature dropped slightly, and intangible ripples radiated from the All‑Knowing Eye at the ritual's center, even blocking the Crimson Moonlight streaming through the window.

A gaunt old man in a lemon‑yellow robe with a long white beard materialized amid the herb powder swirling in the unseen wind.

"Good evening! Respected Mr. Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan!"

Lei Kedun greeted him with practiced ease.

"Good evening, Sir 'Knowledge''s devotee, what brings you to see me this time?"

Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan, as if expecting it, after the greeting directly asked about Lei Kedun's query.

Lei Kedun was not surprised; Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan is the symbol of astrology, and prophecy is his forte.

He organized his words a bit, relayed his prior dream and his conjectures and analyses to Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan, seeking his opinion.

Huang Guang Wei Ni Tan pondered for a moment before carefully speaking:

"As you suspect, this dream is linked to the Death God descendant who called himself a tobacco merchant, but that is not the main cause; it is merely a prelude."

A prelude?

Lei Kedun asked curiously.

Yes.

Your act of carrying that crow and playing the gravedigger infused you with a hint of the Necrotic Spirit Realm's aura; later, when you met that death god's descendant, you absorbed some of their aura, and you also inherited the phoenix lineage from that crow.

When these conditions combined, they produced a marvelous reaction that happened to be captured by your own spirit.

This triggered certain traits within you—prophetic traits—forming this rather uncanny dream.

Huang Guangweitan explained in detail the reason he had this dream.

Lei Kedun nodded thoughtfully; the traits within him should point to the Sage attribute of Sequence Two.

He then raised a question about the ferryman:

In my dream, the ferryman's scene and image appear; does that mean that Mr. Pu La Ke Ai Ge Si is a death‑god pathway Sequence Three ferryman?

Yes.

This scene should also carry another layer of meaning: the gray‑white mist enveloping the surroundings acts as a barrier, and the ferryman, symbolizing a medium, stands at the mist's edge, where something closely related to you lies.

That boatman, beyond symbolizing the ferryman, also points this way: the eyes represent spying, and the paper figure represents a substitute.

This dream may hold further symbolism, but you must decipher it yourself.

This is my premonition about it!

Huang Guangweitan's final premonition, Lei Kedun leaned more toward viewing it as a prophecy concerning this matter.

After pondering Huang Guangweitan's words, Lei Kedun politely expressed his thanks to the other party and then concluded the exchange.

Having cleared the remnants of the ritual, Lei Kedun lay back on the bed, and, with some time before dawn, slipped back into sleep.

(End of chapter)