Jiang Qingshu looked toward the direction War God was staring at, but she saw nothing.
Yet she knew that animals possessed senses far sharper than humans. The tiger cub must have detected danger, otherwise it would never behave so abnormally.
She climbed over the sleeping Linbao and Jiang Luoyou, determined to investigate further.
Just as she reached for the tent flap, the corner of her eye suddenly caught sight of a nest of venomous scorpions clustered near the bedding.
“Xiao Wu, wake up!” Ignoring her fear, she immediately shook Jiang Luoyou awake—the girl was sleeping right beside the scorpion nest.
“Big Sister… is it morning already?” Jiang Luoyou sat up groggily.
“There are poisonous scorpions!”
“Ahhh—!”
The moment Jiang Luoyou looked in the direction Jiang Qingshu pointed, she instantly sobered in terror.
“Heh heh… hahaha…”
Just as Jiang Qingshu scooped up Linbao and grabbed War God, preparing to escape through the other tent entrance, an eerie laugh suddenly drifted in from outside.
The sisters jerked their heads upward simultaneously—and nearly leapt in fright.
What the hell?!
A shriveled, grotesque smiling face was plastered against the roof of the tent.
“Hahahahaha~”
The voice sounded hollow and distant, wicked and shrill enough to make their scalps crawl.
“Who’s talking?” Jiang Luoyou trembled violently in fear.
But Jiang Qingshu suddenly realized something even more alarming.
Third Brother should have been outside keeping watch.
And with such a commotion, why was there no reaction at all from the family sleeping in the neighboring tents?
Had something happened to them?
If so, then whoever was outside was certainly no ordinary enemy.
Just as Jiang Qingshu sensed danger, the poisonous scorpions inside the tent suddenly seemed to receive some invisible command and began swarming toward them.
“Get outside first!”
She shouted loudly and immediately burst through the tent flap.
The moon emerged faintly through cracks in the clouds as blood-red mist spread across the hills.
Suddenly, beneath the moonlight, two figures descended—one black, one white.
Standing side by side, their faces could not be clearly seen, yet their skeletal outlines were terrifyingly visible.
Black and White Impermanence?
“Big Sister… are they humans or ghosts?” Jiang Luoyou clung tightly to her, shaking uncontrollably.
Ghosts? There were no ghosts in this world.
Though Jiang Qingshu knew they could not truly be ghosts, she still felt a chilling cold sink deep into her bones.
“Heh heh… hahaha…”
A bizarre laugh formed from overlapping male and female voices echoed through the air.
“Die—!”
The sinister voices suddenly sharpened with killing intent.
In the next instant, the two figures transformed into streaking afterimages rushing toward them.
Jiang Qingshu immediately grabbed Linbao and Jiang Luoyou, activating her teleportation to evade.
But her feet suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
That brief hesitation was fatal.
In the very next moment, a claw pierced straight through her chest.
“No—!”
She screamed and jolted upright in the tent.
Breathing heavily, she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
After several panicked moments, she finally let out a shaky breath.
It was only a dream.
Linbao suddenly threw himself into her arms and lifted his tiny face worriedly.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
Recalling the terrifying scene from the dream, Jiang Qingshu reached out and gently squeezed his round little cheeks.
“Nothing. I just had a dream I didn’t like very much.”
She secretly took out her watch and checked the time.
Five o’clock in the morning.
The wind outside had already stopped, though the sky remained dark.
Unable to fall back asleep, she noticed Jiang Chengyu was outside alone warming himself by the fire. So she quietly dressed and stepped out of the tent.
But the moment she turned around, she froze.
The exact same eerie red mist from her dream was spreading around the tents.
What was going on?
Her heart instantly tightened.
“It’s still early. Why are you up?”
Jiang Chengyu’s Dragon Cry Soulbreaker Spear stood planted beside him. He sat cross-legged before the fire with his arms folded, eyes closed in rest.
Even without looking, he could identify who approached purely from their footsteps.
“Red mist? Third Brother, why is there red mist?” Jiang Qingshu hurried over anxiously.
“What red mist?” Jiang Chengyu opened his eyes but saw nothing.
Jiang Qingshu was just about to describe it, but when she turned back again, the crimson fog had already vanished.
Had she imagined it?
“Did you have a nightmare?” Jiang Chengyu reached out and affectionately pinched the tip of her nose.
Jiang Qingshu stared at him blankly for a moment.
Back when the original owner had still been mentally impaired, the person who spoiled her the most and treated her like a child had always been Third Brother.
Perhaps because they were closest in age, he had also been the closest to her throughout childhood.
Now that she had regained a normal mind, strangely enough, the distance between them seemed to have grown instead.
“Shu’er is completely different now. You no longer follow behind me demanding piggyback rides or hugs. You can even protect yourself now. That’s wonderful.”
Jiang Chengyu’s smiling eyes overflowed with tenderness and affection.
In her previous world, Jiang Qingshu had been an only child.
To experience the love of an older brother here filled her with indescribable warmth.
Yet she still could not let go of the terrifying realism of that nightmare.
“Third Brother, how did you know I had a nightmare?”
“I heard you shouting. What did you dream about that scared you so badly?”
Jiang Qingshu absentmindedly wrapped a strand of hair around her fingertip.
“Rather than a dream… it felt real. Those two figures in black and white were especially vivid.”
“Could it be you dreamed about the Black and White Fiends?” At that moment, Jiang Fengyu also walked over.
Jiang Qingshu frowned.
“The Black and White Fiends?”
“In one of the three great empires—the Xingyue Empire—there’s a subordinate kingdom called Wutuo. Within it exists an ancient and mysterious clan that specializes in cultivating poisonous creatures. The Black and White Fiends use toxins to create hallucinations, allowing them to kill people silently within their dreams.”
Hearing this, Jiang Qingshu’s nerves involuntarily tightened.
Poisonous creatures?
Like the scorpions in her dream?
Had she truly dreamed of two people she had never heard of before—yet who actually existed?
“I remember the national preceptor of the Xingyue Empire comes from the Kingdom of Wutuo,” Jiang Chengyu added. “The Xingyue Empire rose rapidly to rival the Tianqi Empire largely because of that preceptor.”
“That’s right,” Jiang Fengyu continued. “The Black and White Fiends are treasure hunters under that national preceptor, specifically tasked with gathering rare treasures from across the world.”
“Have either of you actually seen the Black and White Fiends?” Jiang Qingshu asked.
She had no interest in the imperial preceptor right now.
She wanted answers about those two figures.
“Haha! Of course not. Even if they truly exist, they’re in a kingdom thousands of miles away. Unless one day the three great empires erupt into war, we’d never encounter them.”
“Are their poisons really as terrifying as dark magic?”
“In truth, so-called dark arts are merely illusions created through hallucinogenic poisons combined with deception.”
“Exactly,” Jiang Fengyu agreed. “When people hear ‘dark arts,’ they always think of ghosts and spirits. But it has nothing to do with such things. It’s just evil-minded people using tricks to harm others.”
“You probably heard Father talk about the Black and White Fiends before, so remnants of those memories surfaced in your dream. Don’t overthink it.”
Jiang Qingshu remained unconvinced.
Could it truly be leftover memories from the original owner?
Jiang Chengyu reached out and patted her head reassuringly.
“You should remember—even if you’re in danger inside a dream, Third Brother would still come save you.”
Hearing that, Jiang Qingshu could not help laughing.
At the same time, her heart eased considerably.
As dawn gradually brightened the sky, she rose and returned to the tent, intending to sleep a little longer.
But when she glanced uneasily toward the tent entrance near Jiang Luoyou’s side, her expression suddenly froze.
One corner of the tent had clearly been damaged.
The nerves she had only just relaxed instantly tightened once more.
Could it be…
“Who’s there?!”
Outside, Jiang Chengyu suddenly shouted.
Immediately afterward, a cold spear shot forward like lightning.
The powerful force carved a deep trench across the ground—
—and pierced straight through a bat with protruding fangs.