Chapter 60

The "Noodle Man" danced again.

Lu Mian used this to confirm that this mysterious dance could indeed prevent the black thorn symbol on his chest from fully triggering—meaning the pattern would appear, but the accompanying terrifying sound was almost non-existent, existing only as a faint, indistinct whisper.

This was a huge benefit for him to utilize the "special" of the dream.

But at the same time, he discovered two problems:

First, the dance movements of the "Noodle Man" were extremely difficult, some even violating human anatomy; only a monster like it, whose flexibility was so exaggerated that it seemed to have no bones or fascia, could complete them. Although Lu Mian was a Beyonder and a "Hunter" with a significantly enhanced body, he had no confidence in himself, feeling that if he were to dance a full circle like that, he would either tear a ligament or strain a muscle, and perhaps even suffer a fracture.

Second, this mysterious dance seemed to truly be able to leverage the surrounding natural forces, carrying a supernatural charm, to the point that after Lu Mian memorized it for a while, he found his spirituality consumption to be immense.

"I have to go back and rest after watching this one more time." Lu Mian looked at the "Noodle Man" dancing the "Mysterious Dance" for the third time and sighed silently.

The spirituality of a "Hunter" really isn't enough!

And after today's incident, he could almost confirm that the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol was closely related to this dream ruin.

This place had both the black mark found on the parish priest and the dancing monster that could trigger the thorn symbol; it would be surprising if it had nothing to do with that hidden existence!

Thinking of the similar symbol on the parish priest's chest and thinking of how the dream ruins restarted along with reality, falling into a cycle, Lu Mian became increasingly convinced of Aurora's speculation:

The key to breaking the cycle might be hidden deep within this place; even if it wasn't the whole thing, it should be a very important part.

So, that mysterious lady has been hinting for me to uncover the secrets of the dream ruins? The more Lu Mian thought about it, the more hateful he felt. He raised his left hand, which wasn't holding the axe, and made an obscene "f*** you" gesture at the black thorn symbol on his chest.

He wasn't worried about whether he would enrage the other party; putting aside whether that hidden existence could sense it or see it, just the fact that he was already trapped in the time cycle brought by Him, and that the people around him were one stranger and more dangerous than the next, made Lu Mian feel that the problem couldn't get any worse.

After watching the dance for the third time, Lu Mian rubbed his somewhat empty head and, bearing the slight heat in his chest, left the ruins the same way he came and returned to his home on the other side of the wasteland.

Before leaving the dream, he tried to consolidate the part of the dance movements he had memorized and nearly threw out his back, snapped a ligament in his knee, and tore a muscle in his inner calf.

"Shit, this isn't something a normal human can complete!" Lu Mian cursed and lay down on the bed.

Because his spirituality consumption was immense and his fatigue level was deep, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

…………

When Lu Mian woke up, the sky was just beginning to brighten, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the red moon had lost its luster.

He sat up slowly, feeling a sense of satisfaction after a deep sleep, and his consumed spirituality had been perfectly replenished.

Walking to the window, Lu Mian pulled back the curtain, letting the morning light outside shine into the room.

The next second, his gaze froze.

That creature, a size larger than an ordinary owl, had appeared again on the elm tree not far away, looking at him from a condescending posture.

Lu Mian quickly regained his senses and opened his mouth:

"Aurora! Aurora!"

Hurry, the suspect is here!

Follow it!

Hearing the shout, the owl spread its wings and flew toward the edge of the village.

It flew lower and lower, soon disappearing into the woods at the edge of Cordu Village.

After a few seconds, Aurora, in a white silk nightgown, entered Lu Mian's bedroom.

She asked with an annoyed face:

"Is it that owl?"

"Yes." Lu Mian looked out the window. "Did 'White Paper' follow it?"

Aurora pulled at her long golden hair and said hatefully:

"Why does it always choose to appear at such ungodly hours?

"I was just sleeping soundly, and after being woken up by your shouting, I didn't have time to release 'White Paper' before it flew away."

"Didn't you say you couldn't sleep soundly because you had things on your mind?" Lu Mian instinctively retorted.

Aurora rolled her eyes at him:

"Always sleeping poorly will affect one's mental state and lead to signs of losing control.

"People, you know, are always nervous, uneasy, and fearful at the beginning, but once you get used to it, you become numb. Only by sleeping well can you maintain clarity and reason."

"Can only wait for next time..." Lu Mian felt very regretful.

Aurora thought for a moment:

"Let's summarize the pattern of its appearance. We can't just keep guarding a tree stump waiting for a rabbit to crash into it, and besides, we still need to rest; we can't guard it every moment."

Lu Mian recalled the previous few times:

"It's always been in the period from the second half of the night to the morning..."

"Then why is it this period?" Aurora asked further. "This can only count as a manifestation, not a pattern. Think carefully, during the nights corresponding to the times it appeared, or rather, the first half of the night, what did you do? Did you repeat the same behavior?"

"I was exploring in the dream ruins..." Lu Mian didn't hide anything from his sister and began to recall. "Before it appeared the first time, I killed the first monster in the dream. Before it appeared the second time, I should have triggered the symbol on my chest through meditation and found the 'special' aspect of myself. The third time, I consumed the potion in the dream and became a 'Hunter.' The fourth time, which is today, I... I discovered a way to trigger the dream's 'special' to a certain extent with less damage."

"What way?" Aurora asked bluntly.

Lu Mian told her everything about the "Noodle Man," its dance, and his own attempts.

Aurora listened while thinking about the owl. After her brother finished speaking, she deliberated and said:

"That owl coming to see you seems to be related to you making significant progress in your dream exploration..."

Uh... Lu Mian recalled, his eyes gradually brightening:

"Indeed!

"The first time I killed a monster, the first time I displayed the 'special,' the first time I consumed a potion and stepped onto the path of the supernatural, the first time I found a way to utilize that 'special'...

"Similar significant progress also has a certain reaction in reality, and that owl noticed it and came to make a certain observation? Heh, it smelled something."

Aurora said "Hmm":

"Afterward, we can consciously create similar opportunities to see if we can ambush that owl."

"I think the next time it appears should be after I master that mysterious dance and can truly utilize the 'special' brought by the symbol on my chest in the dream." Lu Mian thought about it and revealed a malicious smile. "When that time comes, I'll tell you before I try entering the dream, and you be prepared."

Aurora thought for a moment and nodded:

"I hope we can initially figure out which entity the owl is associated with and what role it plays in the anomalies of Cordu..."

Lu Mian asked along the way:

"Aurora, uh, sister, do you have any understanding of that kind of dance?

"You know, I'm still just an illiterate in the field of mysticism."

Aurora pulled over the chair in front of Lu Mian's wooden table, sat down, and pondered for a while before saying:

"There are a few notes that mention that in ancient times, that is, the early Fifth Era and the entire Fourth Era, there were some large-scale ritual magics.

"In those ritual magics, not only were there a large number of offerings, but there were also many participants who used special dances to please the target existence in exchange for a response.

"Actually, as far as sacrifices and rituals themselves are concerned, dance was widely considered from the beginning to be able to influence nature and communicate with gods, with a function close to a combination of supernatural language and items like herbs and essential oils."

In the world where Aurora and Lu Mian live, history is divided into five eras. The First Era is the Chaos Era, the Second Era is called the Dark Era, and the Third Era is called the Cataclysm Era, but Aurora heard from a pen pal that it is also called the Glorious Era.

The Fourth Era is the Era of Gods or the Age of Gods, and the Fifth Era is the present, starting 1,358 years ago, called the Iron Age.

Among them, the history of the first three eras can no longer be verified, leaving only myths and legends. For the Fourth Era, there are occasionally documents, materials, notes, ruins, tombs, ancient cities, etc., but the overall history seems to be shrouded in mist, with only a faint outline, and this is thanks to the theological classics of the Seven Churches often mentioning some stories of the Fourth Era.

After listening to his sister's explanation, Lu Mian suddenly had a guess:

"Is that 'Noodle Man' using dancing to please the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol, hoping to obtain a response or a gift?

"Is its ritual missing a large part, so the effect is extremely poor? Or did the problem with the dream ruins themselves lead to failure, only able to trigger a little bit of the power contained in the symbol in my body?

"Heh, this makes it look like I am that god, because I saw the 'Noodle Man's' dance and was pleased by it, so I decided to highlight the symbol and give a certain response."

However, this was actually completely out of Lu Mian's control and belonged to the spontaneous reaction of that thorn symbol.

Aurora smiled:

"You are more like the carrier of that symbol, a tool in a certain sense."

She paused and said thoughtfully:

"I suspect that dance was specifically 'invented' to please or communicate with the hidden existence corresponding to the thorn symbol; otherwise, it wouldn't have caused even a symbol to react...

"And, according to your description, this isn't something a normal person can dance; it must be a Beyonder with special enhancements to complete it.

"But I know what the Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 corresponding to the twenty-two paths are called, and I have a certain understanding of them; none of them can dance that kind of dance, and the performance of the 'Noodle Man' doesn't look like a higher sequence, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to escape at all."

"Perhaps it's not within the twenty-two paths, but belongs to a gift from some hidden existence?" Lu Mian thought of the mysterious lady's words.

Aurora looked out the window and pursed her lips:

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the 'Ring-in-the-Middle,' equivalent to the power of Sequence 9 or Sequence 8?"

"Should be." Lu Mian suddenly laughed. "Let me name it: the Sequence 9 corresponding to the 'Ring-in-the-Middle,' the 'Noodle Man'!"

Aurora couldn't help but look up at the ceiling.

The siblings chatted for a while and went downstairs to have breakfast.

After studying Hermes until past ten o'clock, Lu Mian took his important tools and went out.

PS: Asking for monthly votes~

(End of chapter)