"Five, zero, three."

Jiang Baimian had anticipated various "hints" from the "Advanced Heartless," but she never expected three numbers.

What does this mean? What does it represent? A code within the "Mirage Dragon Cult"? A series of questions flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind.

At this moment, the "Advanced Heartless" who had spoken these three numbers seemed to have finally unloaded the heavy stone pressing on his heart. A clear, deep brown vaguely appeared in his turbid eyes.

The deep brown was instantly swallowed by the turbidity, like a drowning person finally giving up the struggle.

"Heh..." The "Advanced Heartless" made a sound like a beast threatening a human from his throat.

It was hard to believe that he could speak human language just seconds before.

Once he let go of his obsession, he was no different from a normal "Advanced Heartless."

Seeing this, Jiang Baimian raised her right hand, ready to flip the mirror and shine it at the target.

She wouldn't allow such a dangerous being to unleash its abilities without restraint.

Similarly, Zhou Yue, the Abbot of Nanke Temple, had a similar reaction.

Just then, a figure appeared before them.

Shang Jianyao's tall figure.

He walked up to the "Advanced Heartless," calmly and steadily meeting his gaze.

The "Advanced Heartless'" heh-heh sound gradually lowered, and his tense, ready-to-go body relaxed a lot.

"Do you still think of yourself as human?" Shang Jianyao asked.

His back was to Zhou Yue, and his side faced Jiang Baimian. The expression on his face was shrouded in the shadow cast by the "Advanced Heartless," not very clear, but the two ladies present could hear the low tone of his voice.

The "Advanced Heartless" slightly hunched over, his turbid eyes filled with bloodshot.

He did not respond to Shang Jianyao, nor did he leave. He stood there, and the illusion he had created had disappeared without a trace.

Zhou Yue's heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward two steps, standing shoulder to shoulder with Shang Jianyao.

She looked at the "Advanced Heartless" and asked in a gentle voice:

"Are you Protector Fan?"

The old man with gray hair looked at her with the eyes of a beast, with no change in expression, and did not speak.

"I'll take that as a yes." Zhou Yue sighed. "After you disappeared, your wife couldn't find you. She was so worried and anxious that she fell seriously ill and couldn't be cured... Your children and granddaughter never gave up, wandering in the graylands, looking for every place you might have gone... The cult has issued orders to every Taoist temple to pay attention to your whereabouts..."

The "Advanced Heartless" listened quietly, not knowing if he understood.

But the heh-heh sound in his throat had completely disappeared.

After Zhou Yue finished speaking, he suddenly made a whimpering sound, turned around, and ran out of Nanke Temple like a wild ape.

Because of his danger, Jiang Baimian did not stop him.

"Hoo, the information he wanted to convey was actually the numbers 'five,' 'zero,' 'three'..." Jiang Baimian kept an eye on the door, not moving randomly to avoid being affected by the illusion, and muttered to herself, "This represents, represents..."

She hesitated and suddenly had an inspiration:

"Is this the door number representing Jiang Xiaoyue's mental world in the 'Mind Corridor'?"

"Possibly." Zhou Yue nodded slightly. "Each door in the 'Mind Corridor' has a different number, and I don't know where it comes from."

"Electricity, ID number?" Shang Jianyao seemed to want to say electronic card number, but forcibly changed it to something similar from the Old World.

"Not that long." Zhou Yue denied the guess.

Jiang Baimian gave an "Mm" sound:

"So, that 'Advanced Heartless' is reminding the other 'Dream Protectors' of your cult to avoid Room 503 of the 'Mind Corridor'?"

Or concentrate manpower, under the protection of the Governing Star, to do a thorough cleaning.

"Maybe." Zhou Yue didn't know much about this, and could only answer with ambiguous words.

While they were discussing the numbers "five," "zero," and "three," a beast's roar suddenly came from outside Nanke Temple:

"Woo!"

The sound was shrill and hoarse.

The three looked at each other, each holding a mirror, shining it around while walking towards the door.

Just as they passed through the courtyard and came to the street, they saw the "Advanced Heartless" standing on the roof of the building opposite.

Amidst the countless twinkling stars, he leaped forward with force.

His figure fell rapidly, and his gray hair danced wildly.

Splat!

The "Advanced Heartless" landed on the street, smashing like a torn sack.

Bright red blood quickly flowed from under him, as if creating a puddle.

Such a scene was frozen in the eyes of Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and Zhou Yue.

When they arrived, the target was already lifeless, no longer showing any signs of being alive.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian was both horrified to remember the scene of Jiang Xiaoyue jumping off the building, and unable to restrain a sigh.

Zhou Yue stared for a while, sighed silently, half-raised her body, and slightly opened her arms.

Then, she said in an ethereal and solemn tone:

"The New World is outside the dream.

"May you please the gods."

After a brief prayer and blessing, Zhou Yue saw the tall young man from the Qian Bai team walk to the corpse and stare at it quietly for a few seconds.

Then, he took off his dark blue short down jacket, squatted down gently, and covered the dead man's face with the garment, covering the turbid eyes that had lost focus and were staring at the sky.

Hoo... Jiang Baimian sighed again.

…………

Inside Nanke Temple.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao worked together to carry the corpse of the "Advanced Heartless" inside, and in accordance with the teachings of the "Mirage Dragon Cult," used a white towel instead of the short down jacket to cover the dead man's face.

This meant that he would no longer fall into dreams.

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Zhou Yue sat down cross-legged one after another, guarding the corpse, waiting for dawn.

An unspoken silence lasted for a while. Jiang Baimian broke the atmosphere as if chatting:

"Abbot Zhou, do you think he jumped off the building with the last bit of sanity, ending his life as a 'Heartless,' or was he influenced by Jiang Xiaoyue's mental world and repeated the act of jumping off the building?"

Zhou Yue stared at the corpse covered with a white towel, and moved the corner of her mouth without much smile:

"I hope it's the former reason.

"That way, he would be leaving the illusion as a human."

Jiang Baimian was silent for a while, and then asked:

"Abbot Zhou, how did you join the 'Mirage Dragon Cult'?"

Zhou Yue withdrew her gaze, smiled, and said:

"I was an orphan adopted by the 'Mirage Dragon Cult.' I grew up in the cult since I was a child. There is no such thing as joining or not."

"No wonder you follow the teachings of the 'Mirage Dragon Cult' so much, and have integrated it into your daily words and deeds." Jiang Baimian nodded slightly after hearing this.

Shang Jianyao, who was sitting cross-legged beside her, was still staring at the corpse, his eyes calm, not knowing what he was thinking.

Zhou Yue smiled self-deprecatingly and shook her head:

"No, I wasn't like this before."

"Huh?" Jiang Baimian made a questioning sound.

Zhou Yue slightly raised her head, not knowing whether she was looking at the beams of Nanke Temple, or the Governing Star in the void:

"I used to have a very good friend. She was also an orphan adopted by the cult. We lived in the same room for many years.

"We agreed that whoever becomes a 'Dream Weaver,' or even a 'Dream Knight,' would apply to the Taoist temple where they are to bring the other party to be good friends for life.

"Later, one day..."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yue paused, her eyes seeming a little vacant:

"She got 'Heartless Disease.'"

Jiang Baimian opened her mouth, but couldn't find the right words.

Zhou Yue then said:

"After I became an adult, I fell in love with a fellow disciple. He was a very, very good person. He was tall and shy. When he saw a few of us girls, he always stuttered and couldn't say too much.

"He was also very kind. Once, he followed other members of the cult to a wilderness wanderer settlement that had been flooded to help the victims and find children suitable to bring back for training."

When saying these words, Zhou Yue's face had a faint smile, as if she had returned to the beginning.

"Later, later..." Her expression gradually became dazed. "They told me that there was an epidemic in that settlement, and he didn't come back."

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Yue looked at Jiang Baimian and showed her usual smile:

"Everything is a dream, why be serious?"