Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Fifty-eight: The First Dream

After a brief moment of confusion, Lu Yi regained his senses and glanced at the alley, darker than the previous two layers of dreams. Without hesitation, he ran in the direction from which the scent of blood wafted.

Thinking back now, this dreamline wasn't as impossibly difficult as he'd first imagined. Dying within the dream wouldn't lead to death in reality; instead, it meant sinking into a deeper layer of the dream, which also provided an opportunity for others to offer help.

Lu Yi quickly reached the source of the smell. The place was pitch-black, but recalling his previous experiences, he fired a burst into the darkness. As expected, he heard the metallic clang of bullets striking steel—he knew he'd hit the dagger of the man in black.

Lu Yi rushed forward in a few strides. Sure enough, a person was lying on the ground. "Xu Anxuan, are you alright?" Lu Yi crouched defensively beside her and asked.

"It hurts," Xu Anxuan replied weakly.

"Don’t be afraid. This is just a dream; the injuries you’ve suffered aren’t as serious as you think. Besides, I’m here now. I’ll get you out," Lu Yi reassured her.

"Really?" Xu Anxuan’s words carried a glimmer of hope. At that moment, a nearby streetlamp flickered a few times before casting a dim orange glow.

"How did it become like this here?" Xu Anxuan, crouched behind Lu Yi, exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Yi started. The other Xu Anxuan, in her younger form, had said something similar. He sensed there might be a clue hidden in her words, so he quickly asked, "What was it like here before? What did you experience?"

"At the time, I suddenly found myself in an alley. I saw the man in black standing beneath a streetlamp, smirking at me with a dagger in hand. I turned and ran. Outside was a lively street full of pedestrians, and I shouted for help."

As she spoke, Xu Anxuan grabbed Lu Yi's clothes, her hand trembling.

"But everyone ignored me. I grabbed someone, but that person was wearing the same mask as the man in black. I kept running. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer people, and the lights from the shops disappeared."

As Xu Anxuan spoke, Lu Yi faintly heard a rush of wind. Instantly, he shoved Xu Anxuan aside and leapt toward the source of the sound, kicking out. A leg swept through the spot where his head had just been, while his own kick landed squarely on his opponent’s chest.

Though he struck the man, his opponent did not budge. Instead, Lu Yi stumbled backwards several steps after landing. He forced himself to stop, rolled forward, and slashed with his blade toward where the man in black had been—only to find his strike had missed.

"Keep talking. Your memories may help us," Lu Yi said without turning, for he couldn’t be sure where Xu Anxuan was now.

"Are you alright? Where was I just now?" Xu Anxuan asked nervously.

"The shop lights were fading."

Her voice echoed again in the darkness. "Shops… Oh, I ran a bit farther, and somehow ended up in an alley again. No matter how I ran—even retracing my steps—I couldn’t leave the alley."

"What do you mean by 'different'?" Lu Yi pressed, puzzled by the sudden halt in attacks.

"Before, the alley was lit by many streetlamps—it was basically bright. Now, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face." Xu Anxuan found her way back to Lu Yi and grabbed him again.

A man's cold laugh suddenly echoed to Lu Yi's side. "Have you forgotten, little girl? We've met before."

"No, stop!" Xu Anxuan shrieked.

"You were just a child then, walking through an alley as dark as this one. I even held you for a moment. What a pity—if not for those meddlesome passersby..." the man's voice was vicious.

"Ah! Stop, I don’t want to hear it!" Xu Anxuan cried. The streetlamp, which had only just cast its light, now flickered violently and faded to black. Lu Yi’s expression darkened.

"The fault lies with those meddlesome passersby—just like the one beside you," the man in black added, his tone tinged with irritation.

"So what are you, then? Nothing but a despicable, lingering wraith trapped in a dream," Lu Yi retorted, flicking his blade toward the voice.

A chilling laugh replied. Then, Lu Yi heard footsteps. His eyes narrowed. At that critical moment, with the help of the Demon Eye, he finally glimpsed the outline of the man in black.

Lu Yi pivoted and swung his blade at the man’s neck. The man in black didn’t dodge. As the blade drew near, Lu Yi felt a mix of excitement and puzzlement—just as the man turned to a wisp of black smoke and drifted away before his eyes.

His blade struck nothing. Lu Yi watched grimly as the man in black reformed a short distance away.

In the next instant, the outline of the man in black flickered. Lu Yi sensed danger, but before he could react, the man was upon him—a barrage of metallic clashes sounded.

A force like a tidal wave surged through Lu Yi’s chainmail and struck his chest.

The blow sent him flying several meters, tumbling heavily to the ground. Fragments of metal clattered musically across the ground, a sound that chilled Lu Yi to the bone. He reached for his wounded chest; his palm was instantly slick with blood. He was injured.

To appear before him in an instant, to slash several times in a second, cut through chainmail, and send him flying—this man in black was far stronger than those in the previous layers.

"Don’t… don’t touch me." In Lu Yi’s eyes, the man in black seized Xu Anxuan. He stared at Lu Yi. "But times have changed. In the end, you still couldn’t slip from my grasp."

He tossed Xu Anxuan aside. Amidst her soft sobbing, he continued, "Do you know why I didn’t bother to stop you from talking?"

The moment he finished, the man vanished again. Lu Yi sensed movement—a shadow flickered. He swung his blade, but was met with a heavy kick to his back. He crashed into the wall, his blade flying from his hand.

The man in black pressed a foot to Lu Yi’s back. "You think you can win as before? No," he tutted, "this time, you’ve lost. I’ll make sure you never forget it."

With a twist of his wrist, Lu Yi conjured a pistol, turning it on the man. Instantly, the man moved his foot away. Lu Yi brushed his ring, spun, and punched the man's face. Only then did the man vanish from Lu Yi’s sight.

Does he need to stand still to teleport? Lu Yi caught a vital detail, a glimmer of hope in the darkness. "You talk too much," he said coldly, wiping blood from his face and staring at the man in black.

The man in black twisted his neck and touched his face, feeling the painful burn left by the ring. He flew into a rage. "Next time, I’ll take your head."