The moment the burn mark appeared, the road outside the window unexpectedly began to reconstruct itself.
One by one, the collapsed buildings rapidly restored themselves along the street.
This sight made Tianlong pause for a brief moment.
Naturally, he found it puzzling—how could someone deeply immersed in a dream wake up in reality?
“Tianlong, what a shame,” Qi Xia murmured, staring at his wrist. “You were just one step away. Maybe just one step.”
“Is that so…? White Goat, as expected of you.”
Tianlong chuckled softly before turning his gaze to the swiftly rebuilding structures outside the window. Then, he glanced at the sun slowly turning its back in the sky and shook his head helplessly.
“You should know,” Qi Xia lifted his head and continued, “after this, you won’t be able to enter my dreams again. I’ll be on full alert—I won’t allow this to happen a second time.”
“I believe you can do it,” Tianlong nodded. “That’s the real you.”
Qi Xia examined his wrist again before a faint smile crept onto his lips.
“I remember now…” he muttered.
“Hmm?”
“Dreams are truly… a mysterious thing,” Qi Xia slowly raised his head. “When awake, people often forget their dreams, and in dreams, they forget where they came from. But I remember now.”
Tianlong clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the sun in the sky. “How terrifying… White Goat, did you deliberately lure me out?”
“Lure you out…? No…” Qi Xia shook his head. “To be precise, I had no idea what I’d summon. I just wanted to understand why I’ve been resisting sleep all this time.”
“You truly are a madman,” Tianlong nodded. “Using yourself as bait to draw me in—weren’t you afraid?”
“We’re the same, aren’t we?” Qi Xia stared at Tianlong, whose features had vanished again, leaving only a smooth, blank face. “You were gambling too, weren’t you?”
“May the thin ice beneath your feet remain as solid as it is today.”
“Then I hope no one’s dreams are ever haunted by a monster like you.”
“May both our wishes come true.” Tianlong stood with his hands behind his back, staring blankly out the window.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia felt his surroundings grow increasingly hazy, the walls around him receding at the speed of light.
He sensed himself waking up.
“Hah—!!”
Qi Xia gasped sharply, his eyes snapping open.
Endless darkness and the stench of rot greeted him.
Yet, for the first time in a while, everything felt undeniably real.
After a few seconds of recollection, Qi Xia realized this must be Earth Tiger’s game site.
Beyond the decay in the air, there was also a faint scent of something burnt.
He touched his wrist—now marked by a searing ring of burns, throbbing with pain.
He was relieved that the black threads from the “Pegasus Hour” were indeed hair. As the strands retreated, some had tangled and snapped. For insurance, he had deliberately kept one.
Hair was naturally flammable, and after hardening and thickening, it became even more durable—the perfect fuse.
And that fuse had saved his life at the critical moment.
“It seems a dream invaded by ‘Tianlong’ is different from ordinary ones. Only external interference can break it.”
Qi Xia slowly stood up, groping in the darkness until he found a chair and sat down.
While the details of the dream still lingered in his mind, he quickly reviewed everything Tianlong had said.
Most of it aligned with his expectations, but what was the deal with the “sun”?
Before even three minutes had passed, Qi Xia pressed a hand to his forehead.
Something felt off.
His mind was still chaotic, much like in the dream.
This wasn’t good…
Was he still dreaming?
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
No… that shouldn’t be possible.
He had never once dreamed of being in the “Land of the End.” The few dreams he’d had always took place in his own home.
And every time, Yu Nian’an was there.
The current dilemma was tricky—even if he assumed he wasn’t dreaming now, how could he prove it?
Or was there another possibility…
This wasn’t a dream, but his brain and mental state had genuinely suffered damage?
Had Tianlong’s intrusion caused real harm to his subconscious, leaving his mind clogged?
A wave of dread washed over Qi Xia. If Tianlong had continued acting in his dream, he might have been reduced to a mindless fool by now.
He massaged his temples, forcing himself to stay calm, then recalled the bizarre sun.
“The sun… is Yu Nian’an?”
Wasn’t that answer too absurd?
Who had turned her into the sun? When had it happened? And why?
“Her eyes were ‘gigantified’… then ‘suspended’?”
He was certain this was Tianlong’s doing—likely to target him.
But there was another possibility…
Tianlong had lied.
After all, everything had happened in a dream, and Tianlong seemed capable of controlling dreams.
Could everything have been an illusion?
The faceless Yu Nian’an, the colossal eye in the sky, the collapsing and instantly rebuilding streets—had Tianlong fabricated it all to destabilize his mind and push him to complete collapse?
Qi Xia meticulously retraced every memory he had, including the strange phenomena and the sun in the sky. Since he had never considered this angle before, the process consumed a great deal of time.
Whether his intellect had sharply declined or the matter was simply too bizarre, no matter how hard he thought, Qi Xia couldn’t find evidence linking Yu Nian’an to the “sun,” nor could he deduce Tianlong’s true motive.
He stood up and stretched, sensing that the days ahead would be rough.
If he wanted to fully guard against Tianlong, he couldn’t afford to sleep again—ever.
Even dozing off while sitting might not be safe.
According to Tianlong, he had once gone seven years without lying down to sleep. He had assumed it referred to seven years in reality, but upon reflection, Tianlong likely meant the seven years he had served as “White Goat.”
As an Earth-level Zodiac, his body could endure prolonged sleeplessness, but now he was just an ordinary person.
An ordinary person deprived of sleep for too long would inevitably suffer side effects, but there was no choice. To escape this hellish place, he had already pushed himself beyond recognition—this was just one more step.
“I hope this ends soon…”
The night stretched endlessly as Qi Xia sank into deep thought, the faint chirping of insects outside the only accompaniment.
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