Liu Nanfeng confronted his dream self, only to be startled by it.
His dream self’s eyes were indifferent, devoid of any emotion, showing a disregard for life and all things in the world.
Startled, he felt a blur before his eyes and awoke from the dream.
Sitting on the bed, he touched his chest. His heart was still beating wildly.
Liu Nanfeng’s movement naturally woke up Su Huamei beside him.
She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and asked groggily, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just had a nightmare," Liu Nanfeng replied.
His gaze fell upon her. The air-conditioned blanket had slipped down, revealing her delicate collarbones, fair shoulders, and partially exposed breasts. Moonlight shone upon her through the thin gauze window, making her appear like a moon goddess.
"A nightmare? It must be because you stayed here with me, and Sister is angry."
Su Huamei pouted in dissatisfaction, then yawned.
"Jinxiu?"
Liu Nanfeng was a little surprised by her words. The nightmare he had didn't seem like Su Jinxiu's prank.
He could feel a difference in his body. Was the dream bleeding into reality?
"Yes, it must be her. She’s especially petty. You should go back to your own room, or she might drag you back later."
Su Huamei said this and was about to lie down to sleep again. The strenuous activity had also drained a lot of her energy.
Liu Nanfeng thought for a moment, then leaned down and kissed Su Huamei's lips before getting out of bed.
As he moved, he felt his difference more and more acutely.
He had a sense of complete control over every inch of his skin, even every strand of his hair, as if they were his own limbs.
The most direct sensation was that he could bend the first segment of his fingers at a ninety-degree angle, while the second and third segments remained straight. When he was young, he had played a game like this with his classmates and discovered that some people could do it, while others couldn't. He didn't know why then, but he learned as he grew up that it was a recessive genetic trait.
Now, however, he could easily bend all ten of his fingers. Furthermore, by exerting slight pressure on his temples, his entire head of hair instantly stood on end.
Standing before the mirror, he looked at his hairstyle and was reminded of Jiraiya's Senbon needles from Naruto.
Even the few strands of red hair that had transformed from the dragon robe stood erect on his head.
With a mental command, his hair slowly fell, adhering to his head with immense suppleness.
Looking at his reflection, his hair styled like a helmet, he willed his bangs to move. His bangs, as if alive, automatically shifted aside, revealing his smooth forehead.
Liu Nanfeng was now absolutely certain that the dream was no ordinary one, nor was it a prank by Su Jinxiu.
He thought for a moment, then returned to the living room and looked at the table. In the dream, his other self had poured a glass of water, but there was no cup on the table in reality.
He went to the balcony again and stood in the position he had been in during the dream, surveying his surroundings. He found nothing unusual, nor did he see any of his flesh and blood melting and dripping onto the ground, transforming into a monster.
But when he looked up at the window, he was truly surprised. The river under the moonlight was exactly the same as in his dream.
He was so sure because in the dream, there was a boat on the river, and the lights emanating from the fishing boat, separated by the cabin, seemed like three lit lamps.
And in reality, there was a boat moored on the river with three lights shining from it as well.
Could it be a coincidence?
Liu Nanfeng looked up at the upper right corner of the balcony. The other perspective in the dream was from the upper right corner looking down.
Similarly, Liu Nanfeng found nothing out of the ordinary.
He scratched his head, unable to figure anything out, and then turned towards the master bedroom, gently pushing the door open.
Su Jinxiu was sleeping soundly. Liu Nanfeng's entrance did not startle her at all. Of course, the main reason was that she was completely unguarded around Liu Nanfeng.
However, when Liu Nanfeng lifted the blanket and lay down beside her, she still woke up.
Without opening her eyes, Su Jinxiu knew it was him. Her body habitually leaned back, shrinking into Liu Nanfeng's embrace.
Liu Nanfeng also reached out and held her in his arms.
"Why did you come over?" Su Jinxiu asked groggily.
But she still didn't open her eyes.
"I had a dream," Liu Nanfeng said in a deep voice.
"Oh."
Su Jinxiu initially didn't pay much attention, but then she suddenly opened her eyes, turned around, and looked at Liu Nanfeng, asking, "What kind of dream?"
Even though she was groggy from sleep, she could still detect the unusual tone in Liu Nanfeng's voice.
"A very peculiar dream…"
Liu Nanfeng told her the entire sequence of events in his dream, in meticulous detail.
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu sat up and flicked her finger. A stream of ethereal blue light swept across the bedroom like a fan and then extended outside.
Wherever it passed, Liu Nanfeng saw that the entire house was covered in dashed lines, like a three-dimensional model in a computer. However, they disappeared after a fleeting moment.
"What is this?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
"This is a defensive spell I've set up in the house," Su Jinxiu explained.
She then added, "I don't detect anything unusual. Are you sure the dream was real?"
"Of course, look."
As Liu Nanfeng spoke, with a mere thought, the hair on his head immediately coiled like a snake into the shape of a poop.
Although the atmosphere was serious, Su Jinxiu couldn't help but giggle.
Liu Nanfeng relaxed his mind, and his hair returned to its original style.
"I didn't lie to you, did I? And I wanted to ask you, what was that ethereal blue light you shot out earlier?"
"We generally call it spiritual energy, but you can call it yuanqi, neili, or zhenqi, and it's all the same. It's essentially a form of energy, but it's the origin of all things, the root of life, and life's leaps are entirely dependent on it. In short, it's very important and precious."
"Life's leaps? What does that mean?"
"It means the evolution of life to a higher level. For example, our demon race transforming from demons to humans is actually a leap in life, and for humans to evolve to a higher life form, they also need it."
Liu Nanfeng seemed to realize something and said, "The mist I inhaled in my dream just now felt a bit like the spiritual energy you used."
Su Jinxiu heard this, extended a finger, and gently rubbed Liu Nanfeng's nose. A stream of ethereal blue spiritual energy flowed from her fingertips, which Liu Nanfeng inhaled.
"It feels exactly like this, very similar."
"If that's the case, it's very likely. Because you inhaled a large amount of spiritual energy, it cleansed your body and caused your body to evolve."
As Su Jinxiu spoke, she placed her hand on Liu Nanfeng's chest, but she soon frowned.
She couldn't sense any spiritual energy within Liu Nanfeng, yet his body had indeed become stronger. Had he absorbed it completely?
"What's wrong?" Liu Nanfeng asked.
"Nothing," Su Jinxiu replied, shaking her head and lowering her hand.
"In the dream, you absorbed a lot of spiritual energy on the balcony. This is completely impossible. Spiritual energy is very sparse nowadays; it's impossible for it to gather in such exaggerated amounts as you described."
Liu Nanfeng scratched his head, unable to understand for a moment.
So, he put his arm around Su Jinxiu and pulled her onto the bed.
"Let's sleep."
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it. Excessive thinking would only harm his spirit.
Perhaps he would have another dream.