It was unexpected that Cheng Xiaofan, upon entering the land of dreams, would encounter not his ideal goddess Bai Yiling, but Shen Ruobing.
On the outskirts of City C, the Shen family ancestral hall.
In the center of the hall sat Shen Yanwang, an ancestor of the Shen family.
Shen Yanwang was a master carpenter of the Tang Dynasty, renowned for his skill in crafting wedding beds.
At that time, affluent families would book their wedding beds with Shen Yanwang months in advance for their nuptials; any later, and they wouldn't secure a spot.
Why was it essential to commission Shen Yanwang for wedding beds?
Legend had it that newlywed couples who slept on a wedding bed crafted by Shen Yanwang would be immune to illness, bear healthy and lively children, and would absolutely not perish easily before reaching adulthood.
For couples suffering from infertility, sleeping on a custom-made wedding bed by Shen Yanwang would, within half a year, enable the woman to conceive.
Even more remarkably, after bringing home Shen Yanwang's wedding bed, if a newlywed couple wished to have a son or a daughter, they only needed to kneel before the bed in the bridal chamber and silently pray, and their wish would be granted.
This might sound too fantastical, but ancient texts related to craftsmen describe similar accounts of Shen Yanwang's wedding beds.
Later, dedicated research revealed that Shen Yanwang was the most famous artisan-cultivator of his time.
Alas, due to his upright nature, Shen Yanwang offended a high-ranking official in the imperial court, who fabricated various charges against him and had him imprisoned.
The gravest charge was using his craft as a guise to secretly recruit soldiers and plot rebellion.
Within half a month of being thrown into prison, he was executed.
After Shen Yanwang's death, his secret artisan-cultivation technique for making wedding beds vanished with him.
After countless years, descendants of the Shen family, through generations of effort, all attempted to revive the artisan-cultivation technique of their ancestor Shen Yanwang for crafting wedding beds.
However, each time they achieved minor success, they would hit a bottleneck, unable to break through, and in some cases, their lives were cut short in their prime.
In his dream, Cheng Xiaofan had not expected to find himself in the ancestral hall of the Shen family.
At this moment, Shen Ruobing was kneeling before the statue of Shen Yanwang, her voice choked with emotion, saying, "Ancestor, your unworthy descendant Ruobing comes to pay homage!"
"Ancestor, you once appeared to me in a dream, stating that to achieve a breakthrough in artisan-cultivation, I could only cross this threshold with the help of a noble person."
"Unexpectedly, today, after coming to Zhuxi Village in Nan Province with some sisters, I finally achieved a breakthrough in artisan-cultivation with the help of a young man!"
"Ancestor, this young man's name is Cheng Xiaofan. Can you tell me, is he the destined noble person in my life?"
To her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, the statue of Shen Yanwang spoke.
"Ruobing, you are indeed very fortunate. Judging by your complexion, you have indeed achieved a breakthrough in artisan-cultivation!"
Shen Yanwang said with a smile, "The Cheng Xiaofan you mentioned is definitely your noble person."
"With this noble person, do not give up. Stay by his side, and with his help, you will surely make rapid progress in artisan-cultivation techniques. Not only will you be able to revive my Shen Yanwang's unparalleled wedding beds, but you will also achieve world-renowned achievements in the field of furniture."
"..." Hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but feel speechless.
This Shen Yanwang was not being fair!
He already had his goddess Bai, and now he was instigating his descendant Shen Ruobing to stay by his side. What was the meaning of this?
No matter how one looked at it, whether standing, sitting, or lying down, it felt out of place!
As Cheng Xiaofan was silently grumbling, he heard Shen Ruobing say, "Ancestor, Cheng Xiaofan already has a girlfriend. It might not be appropriate for me to stay by his side all the time."
Shen Yanwang chuckled and said, "I'm not asking you to stay by Cheng Xiaofan's side to become his woman!"
"As for how to maintain a close relationship with him, that depends on your own efforts. I shouldn't need to teach you that!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Ruobing quickly replied, "Ancestor, I know what I need to do!"
Shen Yanwang nodded with great satisfaction and smiled, "Child, hidden beneath the base of my statue is a brocade box. Inside it is my 'Thirty-Six Forms of Shen Family Wedding Beds Secret Manual'."
"Take it out. When you make significant progress in artisan-cultivation in the future, you will be able to restore the wedding beds I made back then according to my diagrams!"
"At the same time, you will be able to draw parallels and apply the secret techniques for making wedding beds to other furniture!"
Shen Ruobing exclaimed in surprise, "Thank you, Ancestor!"
There had long been rumors in the folk about the 'Thirty-Six Forms of Shen Family Wedding Beds Secret Manual' drawn by Ancestor Shen Yanwang, but the descendants of the Shen family had never seen it.
Shen Ruobing immediately went behind the ancestor's statue and looked at the base. She gently tapped it a few times.
With a creak, a crack appeared beneath the base.
Shen Ruobing rummaged in the crack and flipped open a cover.
Immediately, she retrieved a bronze brocade box from within.
The box was slightly heavy. Shen Ruobing opened the brocade box and took out a piece of yellow silk.
When she spread the yellow silk on the ground, she saw thirty-six beds depicted on it, each marked with various runes.
However, she couldn't understand any of these runes.
Shen Ruobing carefully folded the yellow silk and placed it back into the brocade box.
She went to the front of Shen Yanwang's statue and knelt again, "Thank you for your bestowed gift, Ancestor. Ruobing, a descendant of the Shen family, accepts the secret manual!"
Shen Yanwang narrowed his eyes and smiled, "It's getting late. You should leave quickly and get some rest!"
"Remember, you must stay close to Cheng Xiaofan in the future. Since he is your noble person, if you wish to excel on the path of artisan-cultivation, you can only achieve it with his guidance!"
"Yes, Ruobing understands!" Shen Ruobing stood up, bowed deeply to the statue of Shen Yanwang, and then exited the ancestral hall.
Just as Shen Ruobing was leaving the Shen family ancestral hall, Cheng Xiaofan, to avoid being discovered, quickly dodged and hid behind a flowerbed.
This was truly awkward!
How could even his dreams feel like he was acting like a thief?
Fortunately, Shen Ruobing hadn't noticed him, or it would have been even more embarrassing.
She was dreaming, yet she encountered him following her and spying on her within her dream. What would she think of that?
"Stop!"
At this moment, a short, plump man dressed in black, with a black cloth covering his face revealing only his eyes, blocked Shen Ruobing's path.
The man held a cleaver in his hand, and his eyes were filled with ferocity.
"Ah, what do you want?" Shen Ruobing shrieked, stumbling backward several steps.
After all, she was just an artisan-cultivator with no martial arts skills. Being suddenly accosted by such a person, she was naturally frightened.
The short, plump man let out a sinister chuckle, "Hand over the brocade box you're holding, and I won't harm you!"
"If you refuse—"
He brandished the cleaver in his hand towards Shen Ruobing, threatening viciously, "You might lose your life here tonight!"
Seeing this, Cheng Xiaofan thought, This is interesting. Even in a dream, there are robbers who want to take someone's life. Would anyone believe this if it were told?