Chapter 10: Blood

Out the front door, Lu Mi felt as if he had entered another world.

Before him was no longer the familiar village of Kerdou, but dark red peaks surrounded by concentric rings of collapsed buildings, together forming a bizarre ruin.

Thick, ghastly white mist filled the high sky, blocking out the light; the ground was shattered and littered with rubble. Lu Mi advanced cautiously, axe in hand, finding no place along the way to hide his form.

No grass grew here; no trees existed.

Lu Mi walked with growing dread, hunching his back to reassure himself—at least if any danger truly lurked here, it would be plainly visible, allowing him to spot it early.

Finally, he reached the ruin and stood before a building half-collapsed by fire.

After observing for a while, Lu Mi preliminarily confirmed no other life dwelled inside, then stepped in carefully, avoiding the charred timbers Suishi ready to fall from above, and began his search.

His gaze swept across and caught a glimmer of gold inside a shattered clay jar in the corner of the room.

Lu Mi approached slowly and realized it was a gold coin.

So realistic? Even the ruins in my dream contain treasure? He muttered as he picked up the coin and wiped it on his clothes.

The patterns on the coin’s surface emerged.

Its obverse bore the carved portrait of a man—thin-faced, hair parted three-seven, mustachioed, gaze resolute; the reverse showed a cluster of iris flowers surrounding the number “20.”

Lu Mi recognized the man—he was Levanques, the first president of the Intis Republic.

“It’s actually a Louis…” Lu Mi was astonished.

First, he hadn’t expected the strange dream-realm to contain currency from the real Intis Republic; second, the thing he’d casually picked up was a Louis—a coin of considerable value.

The Intis Republic’s current legal tender consists of Ferkins and Copes, with 1 Ferkin equal to 100 Copes.

Copes exist in both copper and silver forms: copper coins come in 1, 5, and 10 Cope denominations; silver coins in 20 and 50 Copes.

Ferkins can be copper, silver, or banknotes: silver coins are issued in 1, 5, and 10 Ferkin denominations; gold coins in 5, 10, 20, 40, and 50 Ferkins.

Banknotes come in even more varied denominations: 5, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 Ferkins.

In daily life, Intis citizens still commonly use old monetary units—for example, they call the most widely used 5-Cope copper coin a Rik.

Similarly, the 20-Ferkin gold coin is called a Louis.

Of course, in the old monetary system, this coin was originally called a Louis-Rosel; after the Republic’s founding, to erase the influence of Emperor Rosel, it was renamed Louis.

According to Lu Mi’s knowledge, although impossible to cash in the city, in a backwater like Kerdou Village, one Louis could allow a poor family with land to live comfortably for a full month.

Had Aurora not earned a decent income, he might never have seen what a Louis looked like; in all of Kerdou, only his sister and him, the parish priest’s family, and the administrative officer’s family had ever seen or owned one.

To any villager, this Louis was a treasure worth cherishing.

“Too bad… it’s just a dream…” Lu Mi sighed inwardly, slightly disappointed.

This wasn’t a supernatural object—it probably couldn’t be “brought” out of the dream.

Still, Lu Mi carefully tucked the Louis away; his past life as a vagrant had made him cherish every Cope.

One Louis equaled 2000 Copes—roughly equivalent to one pound sterling of the Ruin Kingdom, though slightly less; according to newspapers, 24 Ferkins exchanged for one pound.

Lu Mi resumed his search.

He hoped to find written records to confirm the ruin’s specifics—whether it corresponded to a real location, whether it was some Intis Republic village entirely “moved” into the dream—the appearance of the Louis had planted this suspicion in his mind.

As he moved step by step, Lu Mi noticed faint dark red stains along the edge of what had once been a stove.

“Blood?” His pupils dilated; he quickly formed a hypothesis.

He immediately judged:

The blood wasn’t fresh, but neither was it old—it hadn’t blackened, appearing as if it had dripped only two or three days ago.

Perhaps even less!

His heart tightened, and at once, the surrounding light dimmed.

It was as if something had silently crept onto the half-collapsed roof, blocking the scant light piercing through the thick mist!

His past experiences of ambush while wandering flooded his mind like a tidal wave, triggering an instinctive reaction.

He lunged forward, curled his body midair, and rolled upon landing.

Thud!

Something heavy landed behind him.

Lu Mi rolled to the left of the broken stove, gripped a stone, and used it to pivot his body.

He raised his axe and saw a figure standing where he had just been.

In the dim light, Lu Mi couldn’t tell if it was human or a humanoid creature.

“It” hunched over, naked and barefoot, its skin peeled away to reveal crimson muscle, blood vessels, and yellowish fascia; thick fluids oozed across its surface yet never dripped to the ground.

This was a monster.

“Its” eyes—mostly white, faintly blue—seemed embedded in its face; its mouth stretched wide, teeth uneven, saliva dangling in long, sticky threads.

Over the years, Lu Mi had crafted many ghost stories—never imagining he’d encounter something so truly demonic.

Hush!

A gust of bloody wind struck him; heavy, wheezing breaths filled his ears.

Lu Mi instinctively sidestepped, avoiding the crimson monster’s lunge.

Had he not regularly trained under Aurora’s guidance, had he not spent years learning combat and brawling in the streets, his body and mind might have frozen in shock.

Regaining his composure, Lu Mi stepped forward one pace past the overextended monster, raised his axe, and slashed hard at its spine.

Crash!

The monster, turning to face him, was felled; pus and blood splattered everywhere.

Without hesitation, Lu Mi dropped to one knee and raised his axe again.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He swung repeatedly; each blow sank deep into flesh, carving wide, gaping wounds that mangled the monster’s occiput, neck, and back.

Finally, the monster ceased struggling and lay motionless.

“Phew… you’re not as terrifying as you look…” Lu Mi exhaled, muttering half in mockery.

He wiped his face with his left hand, smearing blood across his palm.

“Could this monster’s fluids be poisonous? No burning or corroding pain yet…” Lu Mi began worrying about another problem.

Just as he mustered courage to search the monster’s body, the skinless crimson creature pushed itself up with both hands and surged back to its feet!

It’s still alive?

After being hacked to pieces like that, it’s still alive?

Lu Mi was stunned and terrified.

He had to admit—he was afraid. He was cowardly.

If he’d faced a normal human, beast, or monster—even if he couldn’t win—he wouldn’t have felt such dread; but this thing seemed utterly indestructible, his every effort useless!

Seizing the moment the monster seemed dazed and unable to locate its foe, Lu Mi acted decisively: he pushed off with both feet, drove his knees hard, and sprinted.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He ran at his absolute best—but a steady stream of breath still hissed behind his neck; his ears rang with heavy, labored gasps.

The monster chased him relentlessly.

Lu Mi gritted his teeth and felt fear suddenly grant him extra strength.

He ran faster than ever before.

To his relief, the distance between him and the monster no longer shrank.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Lu Mi finally reached his own two-story, partially sunken house.

He yanked open the unlocked door and dashed inside.

Bang!

He slammed the door shut behind him.

Without pausing to rest, Lu Mi rushed to the stove and grabbed the steel fork leaning against the wall.

Then he fixed his gaze on the door.

The monster’s footsteps vanished nearby—but after ten seconds, it made no attempt to break in.

“Does it know I’m lying in wait?” Lu Mi couldn’t believe the monster possessed such high intelligence.

He inched slowly toward the window near the door and peered out cautiously.

A face suddenly appeared on the glass!

No skin, raw flesh, uneven teeth!

Lu Mi’s heart nearly stopped; his body froze.

Yet the monster didn’t smash the glass or attack—it simply stared back at Lu Mi.

Lu Mi snapped out of it, quickly retreated, and raised the long fork with both hands.

The monster immediately moved away from the window.

Lu Mi remained on high alert, watching carefully.

He saw the monster wander for a long while in the faint gray mist, then leave his house and slowly return to the ruin.

“…“ Lu Mi was utterly bewildered.

He had prepared to trap the monster and escape the dream—but it just walked away…

After thinking for a while, he considered a possibility:

“Does the monster dare not enter my home?

“Yes—the house shows no sign of damage…

“In this dream, is this place an absolute sanctuary?”

With his suspicion confirmed, Lu Mi felt considerably more at ease.

The next moment, he felt intense exhaustion.

Such a brief chase had tired him more than a whole afternoon of martial training.

Carrying his trident and axe, Lu Mi went upstairs to his bedroom and tried to sleep.

…………

Half-asleep, Lu Mi opened his eyes.

Outside the curtains, it was still dark; the room remained dim.

Had there not been no faint gray mist, had he not already changed into his nightclothes, Lu Mi could not have told whether this was reality or dream.

“Startled awake too early?” He instinctively patted his nightclothes’ pocket—no gold louis there.

This disappointed him, confirming once again a fact:

Money truly cannot be brought out of the dream!

Gathering his thoughts, Lu Mi began to ponder a serious question:

How should he deal with that immortal monster?

Though he could avoid that area and sneak deeper, he still had to consider the possibility of encountering similar monsters later—he must prepare properly and not gamble with his life.

PS: Thank you, Young Master Lang, for the Bai Yin Alliance tip.

(End of Chapter)