Volume One: Entering the City for the First Time Chapter Sixty: Aftermath

Watching the man in black vanish like smoke before him, Lu Yi silently mused, "Once you become a boss-level existence, you probably won't make such mistakes again."

"Lu Yi, I..." Xu Anxuan began to speak, but at that moment, the dream collapsed.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the strange energy that had been emanating from Xu Anxuan abruptly ceased, though the last few wisps continued to drift slowly toward a certain spot in the hospital, just as they had before.

Lu Yi sat up abruptly and looked around. It was still the familiar hospital room, and Li Xinran was staring at the door.

"I'm back," Lu Yi said, patting Li Xinran on the shoulder.

Li Xinran shuddered and turned to look at him. "Are you alright? How is Xu Anxuan?"

"She's fine," Lu Yi waved his hand. "I've already dealt with the monster causing trouble in her dream."

He hesitated for a moment, glancing at Xu Anxuan, then continued, "Whether eliminating the monster will bring her back, I can't say for certain."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Xu Anxuan coughed a few times, her eyelids fluttered, and she twisted her neck, mumbling indistinctly.

"Wonderful, Anxuan has woken up!" Li Xinran's face lit up with delight. She nudged Lu Yi, "Go call the doctor! Or are you planning to stay with her?"

After Lu Yi left, Li Xinran sat beside Xu Anxuan. "Anxuan, Anxuan, how are you feeling?"

Staring at the white ceiling, Xu Anxuan blinked, still a little groggy. "Xinran, what's happened to me? Where am I?"

Li Xinran grasped her hand excitedly. "Anxuan, don't you remember? We nearly drowned in the shopping mall, and you've been unconscious for over a day."

"Yes, that's right. I'm up now; I did nearly drown." Xu Anxuan frowned. "I think I just had a strange dream."

"Yes, this hospital seems haunted. Something here makes people have bizarre dreams; I've experienced it myself," Li Xinran nodded.

Seeing Xu Anxuan gazing at the scars on her arm, Li Xinran hurried to reassure her, "It's alright, nothing life-threatening. I have some too. But that dream was truly unsettling. Thankfully, Lu Yi was here—he just rescued you again."

---

"Lu Yi," Xu Anxuan repeated the name, a peculiar look flickering in her eyes.

But she didn't mention it. Instead, she smiled, "Xinran, since you know this place is haunted, why are you staying? Back in Shanel, I saw you with Lu Yi. Are you two...?"

"Huh? No, not at all," Li Xinran quickly denied for reasons she herself couldn't explain. "Anyway, what was your dream about?" She changed the subject.

"Really not?" Xu Anxuan smiled mischievously at Li Xinran, then continued, "If that's the case, then I'll have to make a move. My dream, looking back, felt almost like fate tying me and Lu Yi together across three lifetimes."

"What?" Li Xinran's expression fell.

Xu Anxuan burst out laughing. "Still won't admit it? Look at your face! Honestly, I was just teasing you. In my dream, I was attacked all the way, and Lu Yi appeared to save me."

Li Xinran relaxed, her color returning. "Well, Lu Yi does seem reliable. No wonder you'd choose to stay in such a spooky hospital."

Xu Anxuan touched her watch as if checking for some reminder.

"Anxuan, I feel like you've changed," Li Xinran said uncertainly.

"Really? I think you've changed. You and Lu Yi must have gained a lot, and you don't share anything with us sisters," Xu Anxuan replied, gently poking Li Xinran's flushed cheek.

Seeing Xu Anxuan's playful demeanor, Li Xinran realized she was being teased. "Oh, Anxuan, you're so bad." She sat beside Xu Anxuan, and the two started to play and laugh.

The doctor soon arrived, examined Xu Anxuan, and informed Li Xinran that although Xu Anxuan was awake, she would need to be observed for a few more days, which suited Lu Yi perfectly.

After the doctor left, Li Xinran chased Lu Yi out, saying she wanted to have a private chat with Xu Anxuan.

Standing outside the door, Lu Yi shrugged, reached to touch his chest where he’d been wounded in the dream, but found no mark.

He was surprised; Li Xinran and Xu Anxuan bore scars from their dreams, and even Lu Yi’s first foray into the dream left traces where he’d been strangled—so why was this time different?

Unable to figure it out, Lu Yi shook his head. Something else puzzled him: what was the purpose of these dreams?

---

Through Xu Anxuan’s dream, Lu Yi learned that being killed in the dream led to deeper layers and attached negative attributes. But where was the real danger? Xu Anxuan had died at least twice in the dream, but her real injuries were never fatal.

So what was the purpose behind arranging such a dream? Suddenly, Lu Yi remembered something else: he needed to replenish his supplies. The purification solution he’d bought from the Helian family was completely used up.

Though he’d recently met Helian Xun and her group, at that time his imagined adversary was still the Reaper, so he hadn’t thought to prepare for this kind of threat.

But things had taken a sudden turn—the Reaper was merely a disguise for something else, and as the difficulty increased, Lu Yi was forced onto another mission path.

With this in mind, Lu Yi pulled out his phone and dialed Helian Xun, but no one answered. He frowned and called Helian Ying, but again, there was no response.

This was odd. Lu Yi scrolled through his contacts and found Katrina’s number. The phone rang several times. “Is it my darling? Missing me already? Too bad, I’m busy with something urgent right now. I’ll find you later.” Before Lu Yi could reply, the call was cut off.

Lu Yi forced a dry smile. That counted as a message, he supposed.

Then he slapped his forehead: to deal with these things, light attributes weren’t strictly necessary.

So he tried calling Cedric, but even after several attempts, there was no answer. Lu Yi frowned, sensing that something serious was happening, but he had no idea what.

Cedric stood silently, staring at Master Cui’s corpse—the master who had once refused Lu Yi’s visit, and later saved Dong Xingten. Now his eyes were wide open, as if he could not believe what had happened even in death.

Cedric looked at the weapon lying beside Master Cui, then at the other demon hunters and sorcerers who had fallen. He surveyed the chaotic scene, the traces left by various rituals and magical tools.

Finally, his gaze settled on the only ordinary person present—or rather, on the corpse of an ordinary person: Dong Xingten.