Chapter 25

After bringing Jim to the adjacent room, Perila first took out a bottle of calming potion.

Jim refused. “I just drank some, drinking more won’t help.”

Xia Xifeng brought out some mini fruit jam cakes. “Try these. They also have a calming effect and can stack with the calming potion.”

Perila quietly watched Xia Xifeng.

Xia Xifeng simply brought out a large platter of assorted mini cakes—all half-hearted variations of the Honey Mini Cakes topped with jam, cream, or fruit.

The cake base was the same; only the toppings differed, and so did their effects.

Xia Xifeng also brought out fruit juice and tea, all products from leveling his Cooking skill that provided minor buffs.

The buffs weren’t important; taste was the priority.

Actually, both Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang felt the taste of these foods wasn’t as good as the specialty foods bought in Green Sand City, but their friends insisted it was the best food they’d ever eaten, craving it every day.

Jim had recently lost his appetite and sense of taste, but due to their enthusiastic urging, he tried a bite.

His mind told him the cake was sweet, yet his heart felt no satisfaction; he didn’t find it delicious.

However, his body indeed felt much better, and his mood became less irritable.

Jim said, “Thank you, much better. May I purchase these foods?”

Xia Xifeng said, “I made them myself; they’re not for sale. But if you want to eat them, I can give you some.”

Jim insisted, “Better to go by market price. Dwarves don’t refuse money, but we also won’t take money for nothing.”

Xia Xifeng blinked, then smiled. “Alright. How about trading work for them? I’d like to exchange forging techniques with you. In return, I’ll provide you with daily snacks.”

Jim nodded. “Good.”

After the snacks bridged the gap between them, Jim relaxed, lying flat on the sofa, letting Perila examine him.

Xia Xifeng asked about his physical discomfort and the content of his nightmares, essentially providing talk therapy.

Perila lit specially formulated incense. Jim’s expression grew somewhat dazed, entering a half-asleep, half-awake state.

“It was after arriving at Green Sand City. The nightmares suddenly started.”

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something, constantly searching for something. But a voice in my heart keeps telling me: don’t search, you mustn’t search.”

“In my dreams, I hack and slash at endless monsters, searching fruitlessly. Whenever I’m about to find it, my steps halt involuntarily; I can’t push open that door.”

“I haven’t slept well; I’m too exhausted. Even hallucinations appear in reality now.”

“I can no longer sleep normally. Only alcohol grants me temporary peace.”

“But the nightmares still won’t stop…”

Jim’s voice grew fainter and fainter, his speech slowing down.

He closed his eyes, his lips moving slightly, as if murmuring in his sleep.

Perila was about to bring his staff closer to Jim’s forehead when Jim suddenly snapped his eyes wide open. An axe appeared in his hand, and a red light flared around him.

Perila had long been prepared. All the sword-like aura was completely blocked. Xia Xifeng didn’t even need to use the weapon he’d prepared with its protective shield skill.

Jim abruptly went berserk, shouting and yelling continuously.

But his eyes were unfocused, his pupils not focusing, as if he were sleepwalking.

Perila first cast a Silence Spell, then a Sleep Spell.

Xia Xifeng immediately poured a Drowsiness Potion down Jim’s throat.

Jim instinctively swallowed the potion and collapsed back onto the sofa. The great axe left his hand and automatically returned to his backpack.

Perila breathed a sigh of relief. “That was truly dangerous. Good thing we were prepared… Feng, what’s wrong?”

Xia Xifeng tucked his trembling hands into his sleeves. “Nothing, just a little startled.”

The red whirlwind move Jim had just used was very familiar.

Puppets couldn’t perfectly replicate a real person’s appearance, and adult male Dwarves always tended to dress similarly.

But when the blade-like red whirlwind appeared, Xia Xifeng could confirm which “actor” from the puppet play in the dungeon Jim was.

A Dwarf had gone on a drunken rampage in Sunflower Valley and brutally killed Roxie, who “happened” to be pushed in front of him.

This was the trigger for all the tragedies.

Xia Xifeng suppressed the anger rising in his heart.

His anger shouldn’t be directed at Jim. It wasn’t just that Jim hadn’t done the deed yet; it was that Jim was completely unconscious of it.

Just like now, he might be trapped in a nightmare, unable to distinguish reality.

After that, Jim disappeared. When Perila led the Halflings to the Dwarf Kingdom seeking justice, Jim never reappeared.

Everyone believed the Dwarf King had shielded Jim. The Dwarf King himself probably thought Jim had gone into hiding. And so, for dirty political purposes, he refused to help the Halflings find the murderer, trying to provoke Amuruo into tearing up the peace treaty first.

Jim’s eyes were tightly shut, his body twitching slightly, his forehead already soaked with sweat.

He had fallen asleep and was imprisoned within a nightmare.

Perila said, “Perhaps we can obtain information from his nightmare. But it would be very dangerous. If one’s mental power isn’t stronger than his, they’d be devoured by his nightmare. I should be able to manage it.”

Although Perila was confident in his own strength, the monsters’ true nature was still unclear; there might be traps.

He decided to notify Amuruo first and let Amuruo decide what to do and whether they should enter the dream now.

At that moment, Xia Xifeng’s form was enveloped in a soft light.

【Sudden Quest: Prerequisite “Rescue Lana” achieved. You have gained Jim’s trust; he invites you into his dream. Invitation automatically accepted.】

【The player enters the dream with their true body. When HP is depleted, the player returns to reality with no risk of death, only a certain amount of mental energy consumed. Please prepare yourself, player, and enjoy the game with peace of mind.】

Before Xia Xifeng could react, he lost consciousness.

When he fainted, the light vanished, and his body also disappeared from the room.

Perila was so startled he plopped down onto the floor.

He scrambled up frantically, preparing to contact Amuruo again, when Qin Lang, his face grim, pushed open the door and entered.

“Lang, Feng he…” Perila was utterly bewildered, completely clueless about what had happened.

“He entered the dream. I’m going after him immediately. Help us find an excuse to cover for us.” Qin Lang finished speaking, activated the quest teleport, and his form also vanished.

Perila’s mouth hung slightly open.

Ju-just disappeared like that?

What mysterious identities did my two friends truly have?

Had their auras suddenly vanishing in the bedroom last time been like this too?

Perila’s mind became a chaotic mess.

“What happened? Lang suddenly dropped his pen and ran.” Leo walked through the door. “I racked my brains to think of an excuse to calm the frightened Dwarf.”

Just as Leo asked, Amuruo also connected to the communication.

“What happened?” Amuruo said. “Did the Dwarf go berserk? Has the monster finally shown itself?”

Perila shook his head, slapped his own face firmly, and forced himself to calm down. “Feng and Lang… just suddenly disappeared.”

He detailed the events of his and Xia Xifeng diagnosing Jim to Amuruo. Leo listened beside him, his brow furrowed tightly.

Amuruo’s expression was serious at first, but when he heard that Qin Lang had chosen to “disappear” of his own accord, his tense expression abruptly relaxed.

“They’re fine. They’ve probably entered the Dwarf’s nightmare. It’s their Divine Favor ability.” Amuruo said, “Cover for them. Just say I suddenly assigned them a mission. I’ll dispatch other Pioneer Knights to clear the contamination points in the forest and desert immediately.”

“Yes, City Lord.” Perila was still very worried. “Are they truly alright? They really entered the dream? But ordinary people’s dreams only allow the spirit to enter; their entire bodies disappeared.”

Amuruo said, “Either the Dwarf’s dream is peculiar, or it’s due to their own abilities. Rest assured, I’m very familiar with the God who protects them. Something this minor won’t harm them.”

Amuruo thought to himself: It seems this pair of juniors are far too beloved by the Heavenly Father. He’s pressuring them even harder than he pressured Suer and me back then.

When Suer and I were doing missions in reality, our strength was already very high. Even without the Heavenly Father’s protection, there were few “mortals” in the world who could harm us.

And these two little juniors, so weak, are already doing world-saving missions in reality? Ah, pity them.

Entering a dream with the true body—Amuruo had experienced it himself, so upon hearing the situation described, he immediately understood.

However, time and space in dreams were chaotic. Qin Lang and Xia Xifeng hadn’t entered simultaneously and would likely be separated upon entry.

He hoped Qin Lang wouldn’t be too irritable. Dreams couldn’t be broken by brute force alone. If Qin Lang killed too much, it would only provoke the dream’s resistance, making it harder to resolve.

Amuruo knew this from deep personal experience; he was a veteran of such matters.

“As for how to deceive the Dwarves, Leo, I trust I don’t need to teach you.” Amuruo instructed, “Continue helping Qin Lang and Xia Xifeng manage the Knight’s Domain… I might as well give you formal appointments. You’ll probably have to act as their deputies often in the future.”

Leo had a headache. “Will they frequently disappear suddenly?”

Amuruo said, “Who knows.”

Leo believed the teacher definitely knew, but since the teacher wasn’t willing to say, he could only stop asking.

Amuruo cut off the communication and hurriedly went to cover for Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang.

Leo said weakly, “Perila, do you think they’ll come back and hug us while wailing again?”

“Lang never cried, only Feng cries.” Perila shook his head. “Probably not? We already died tragic deaths once. Can we die in a new, different, tragic way?”

Leo laughed despite himself. “Fair point.”

He looked down at the sleeping Jim. “Lana appeared right in front of Jim, but he acted as if he didn’t see her. The other Dwarves also seemed not to recognize Lana.”

He shuddered, recalling that scene.

He’d asked Jim if he had a daughter, and Jim had denied it.

All members of the Dwarf Merchant Caravan didn’t recognize Lana. It was as if something had erased her from their memories.

The Dwarf King had already sent people to Jim’s hometown. The people there still remembered Lana.

Jim and Lana’s family were still waiting for their return.

The monsters hadn’t yet spread their corruption there. Was that not a blessing in misfortune?

Leo couldn’t understand what these monsters were trying to do.

The monsters’ goal didn’t seem to be killing more people. Their impersonation of the Dwarves wasn’t even very cautious.

Lana had already appeared, clearly showing the monsters’ scheme had failed. Yet, they hadn’t retreated either.

Could it be the monsters lacked self-awareness? Were they merely being controlled? Had the one controlling them already abandoned them?

If so, why not make them “disappear” to destroy the evidence?

Whoever was behind them seemed utterly unconcerned about their conspiracy being exposed, or about them being captured and studied.

This series of actions gave Leo a sense of profound, lofty arrogance.

Was that even possible? Setting aside how formidable his teacher was, he and Perila also had the favor of the Twin Suns behind them.

Leo took a deep breath and said to Perila, “Don’t panic. Let’s just do what we can.”

Perila complained, “You’re always saying, ‘let’s do what we can.'”

Leo smiled. “Because that’s all we can do.”

Perila pursed his lips and nodded sullenly.