Chapter 11: Nightmare

The inpatient building of the First People's Hospital by the river was enveloped in silence. On the fifteenth floor, the nurse on duty at the station was dozing off, warming herself by the electric heater.

In Room Six, Xu Baoguo was once again trapped in a nightmare.

He dreamt of his deceased former wife, and a fleeting suspicion from the past grew monstrous within his dream.

He “saw” his wife in an affair with another man and pregnant with an illegitimate child—Xu Bao’er.

“Baoguo, wake up,” Zhang Huixiang said gently, sitting at the bedside.

Xu Baoguo opened his eyes, but his gaze was strange and vacant.

“Huixiang, call the lawyer. I want to change my will,” Xu Baoguo said coldly.

Zhang Huixiang gestured behind her, and Zhang Hanshan entered the room with a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase.

“Lawyer Xu, I want to change my will. Cancel Xu Bao’er’s right of inheritance and transfer all my assets and shares to my wife, Zhang Huixiang, effective immediately,” Xu Baoguo declared through gritted teeth.

“Very well, Mr. Xu. As per procedure, may I confirm you are of sound mind and acting of your own free will?” the lawyer asked, businesslike.

“I am clear-headed and acting voluntarily,” Xu Baoguo replied.

“Mr. Xu, please sign this document.” The lawyer handed him the papers.

Xu Baoguo signed without hesitation.

Next, the lawyer produced a voice recorder. “Mr. Xu, the final step—please recite your voice-print phrase. After verification, your will shall take effect.”

Xu Baoguo took the recorder, pressed the button, and began to recite: “One cannot see the Tathagata in form... All phenomena are illusions...”

Suddenly, Xu Baoguo’s face contorted, black shadows swirling in his eyes.

No one could have expected that the voice-print phrase would be a passage from the Diamond Sutra.

As he recited the scripture, the words began to affect the ghostly spirit that controlled his dream.

At that moment, the ward door was kicked open.

Xu Bao’er and I rushed in—I floored Zhang Hanshan with a single kick, then knocked out the lawyer with a punch.

Xu Bao’er was formidable as well, pinning Zhang Huixiang beneath her, clawing and scratching at her face.

I made for Xu Baoguo, but a gust of ghostly wind swept through the room and a thick fog instantly enveloped the ward.

Suddenly, I found myself in a forest shrouded in mist. For a brief moment my mind was clouded, but I quickly regained clarity.

This was an illusion conjured by Xu Baoguo’s vengeful spirit—I realized that, but awareness alone didn’t free me, proof of the spirit’s power.

“Sss... sss...” Strange noises echoed all around me. I looked about—poisonous snakes by the thousands slithered from the grass and trees, closing in.

It’s not real, I told myself, but still felt a chill run down my spine. The scene was too horrifying.

When the first snake sprang toward me with fangs bared, a surge of danger made my pupils contract, and the Eye of the Nether Dragon at my chest burned, a warning.

At the last instant, I dodged aside.

This can’t be real, so why does it feel so dangerous? With thousands of snakes surrounding me, where could I hide?

My heart hammered, cold sweat trickling down my brow.

If this were merely a ghost’s illusion, I shouldn’t be trapped while awake.

What could it be?

I racked my brain, recalling the teachings of the Great Nether Yin-Yang Art. Suddenly, my mind cleared—I understood what kind of ghost this was.

By now, the snakes had completely encircled me, hundreds launching themselves at me from all directions.

I sat cross-legged, pressed my fingers to my brow.

In an instant, as the snakes reached me, they dissolved into black motes of light.

The entire mist-shrouded forest shattered.

I found myself back in the hospital ward. Xu Bao’er, Zhang Hanshan, and Zhang Huixiang were all unconscious on the floor.

“You have nowhere left to run, Nightmare. Without the power to create dreams, you are nothing,” I sneered at Xu Baoguo, who was now trapped within the nightmare.

Xu Baoguo grinned stiffly and hissed, “Medddler! You’ll die with your corpse left for the crows.”

“Oh? I rather look forward to it,” I replied, stepping closer. I struck his forehead with my palm.

A thin wisp of black smoke floated up from his crown and twisted into a snarling ghostly face.

I was about to destroy it when the Eye of the Nether Dragon at my chest exerted a powerful suction, drawing the ghost face in.

...

Morning had broken. The atmosphere in Room Six was heavy and oppressive.

Xu Baoguo looked much improved, though his face remained cold and stern. Several burly bodyguards stood nearby.

At the bedside, Zhang Huixiang, Zhang Hanshan, and the lawyer were tightly bound.

Just then, Xu Baoguo received a phone call. He listened in silence, then said, “I understand,” and hung up.

“Baoguo, even a single night as husband and wife should not be forgotten...” Zhang Huixiang began, her voice plaintive.

“Shut up! Cough—cough— Well done, Zhang family, well done! So it was fifteen years ago that your family schemed to latch onto me. My poor wife must have been a victim of your tricks!” Xu Baoguo shouted, tears of remorse in his eyes.

Drawing a deep breath, he declared, “From today on, the Zhang family is no more. Take them away.”

I sat at the windowsill, munching on a steamed bun and sipping soy milk, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

Afterward, Xu Baoguo dismissed his bodyguards and, with Xu Bao’er’s support, stepped out of bed and made to kneel before me.

“Don’t, President Xu. That’s not necessary,” I said, quickly stopping him.

“Had it not been for your intervention, my family would have been destroyed by that venomous woman’s schemes. Such a great favor, I can never repay,” Xu Baoguo said gratefully.

I chuckled. “No need for thanks, President Xu. Helping you is helping myself.”

Xu Baoguo understood at once and gripped my hand firmly.

Indeed, I had risked my life for his family; I deserved proper compensation.

Cultivating the Great Nether Yin-Yang Art was a costly endeavor—many techniques required rare tools and materials. For example, the commonly used cinnabar: the rarest, ten-thousand-year-old cinnabar, was a hundred times more effective than the ordinary kind, but a single tael cost tens of thousands—a true money pit.

Xu Baoguo was a good man, wealthy and trustworthy—a worthy ally.

“I’ll be taking Zhang Hanshan for interrogation first, if you don’t mind,” I said to Xu Baoguo.

“Of course not,” Xu Baoguo replied immediately.

As I left, Xu Baoguo turned to Xu Bao’er. “Bao’er, what do you think of Dr. Qin?”

“Huh? What’s he got to do with me?” Xu Bao’er turned away, her cheeks slowly flushing red.

“He’s a remarkable man. With his protection, our family will prosper for generations. But business ties alone are fragile. If there’s affection as well, it would be unshakeable,” Xu Baoguo said.

Xu Bao’er pressed her lips together. “Dad, I know what you mean, but don’t tie my feelings to your business interests.”

Xu Baoguo laughed. “Alright then—putting aside all interests, do you think Dr. Qin would make a good boyfriend?”

“I... I don’t know,” Xu Bao’er muttered, head lowered, and quickly slipped out of the room.

“Silly girl. Sometimes feelings and interests aren’t at odds,” Xu Baoguo murmured to himself.

...

In a dim room, Zhang Hanshan hung by iron chains, his face deathly pale, barely conscious—obviously, he had received special treatment.

Just then, the door opened.

I pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing my legs, a cigarette dangling from my lips.

Zhang Hanshan, his eyes swollen, looked at me.

“Heh... Whatever you do to me, I’ll pay you back a hundredfold,” Zhang Hanshan spat defiantly, certain we wouldn’t dare go further than a beating.

I exhaled a stream of smoke, stood, forced his mouth open, and pressed the burning end of the cigarette to his tongue.

“Aaah—!” Zhang Hanshan writhed in agony, his screams animal-like.

I stuffed the cigarette in his mouth and slapped him hard across the face.

“He Wenjing. Do you know her?” I asked coldly.

At the name, Zhang Hanshan’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.