Chapter 211

Chapter 211: The Most Precious Ring

If the previous "dream" about Ajin and Saroya was still something he attributed to Black Egg's influence, then this time...

Black Egg was clearly upstairs, sleeping with Grandfather.

As of today, Ji Huan finally began to suspect that it was him who unintentionally trespassed into other people's dreams.

It wasn't difficult to comprehend.

As a native-born, pure-blooded human, he had watched some cartoons about superpowers during his childhood but never yearned for such abilities like other boys his age.

Ji Huan had always been an unusually grounded child.

Even after arriving in a world vastly different from where he used to live, witnessing the fantastical abilities of the locals, and living alongside three monstrous creatures, Ji Huan firmly believed that he was still just a human with slightly enhanced strength, vision, and hearing.

Until today.

Perhaps... It was him who entered Ajin's dream... This realization struck Ji Huan as he was cutting meat with a kitchen knife.

The first person to enter Hei Dan's dreams... might have been himself...

Even earlier than that, on the night when his sister passed away, he had dreamed of receiving hints from her... But that might not be related to "entering dreams" at all.

Once someone starts to realize something, they often uncover many overlooked events by retracing their steps through history.

Ji Huan had pondered over the reason, but didn't dwell on it too much.

He simply analyzed this ability: initially, he could only attach himself to a dreamer, like Hei Dan, and appear in their dreams.

Later on, he could observe some of their dreams or memories as an outsider.

Last night, he reached the third stage: he was seen by Ajin within Ajin's dream. Not only that, they even conversed.

Hei Dan's hairstyle confirmed that both of them were aware of this occurrence.

Aside from Hei Dan and Ajin, Ji Huan had never entered a third person's dream.

Or... perhaps not entirely so. There were some bizarre dreams he had in his childhood that, looking back now, might have been his grandfather's dreams.

Ji Huan hadn't given much thought to the newfound "superpower" he might possess, which had suddenly revealed itself to him.

His mind was more preoccupied with Ajin.

It wasn't until he encountered Lulin, with his silver hair, who spoke those words to him, followed by the encounter with the red-haired demon, that things started to fall into place.

Without a doubt, the red-haired demon was one of the demons that had ambushed Ajin and left a lasting impression on him during that ambush. The reason for capturing and torturing the demon...

The phrase "torture to extract a confession" flashed through Ji Huan's mind, linking it with Lulin's words. It wasn't difficult to speculate that this assumption was likely accurate.

Ajin wanted the red-haired demon to reveal something that happened in the past, but the demon was bound by an oath not to speak of it.

If he did, his young demon companion would die.

Yet, if he remained silent, Ajin would...

Standing before the red-haired demon, Ji Huan's face was devoid of emotion, yet his mind was filled with the tragic image of Ajin from his dream.

That was why, during his first "cleaning" session, he had attacked the red-haired demon with a trash can.

Not purely out of anger, but primarily because Ji Huan wished to knock the creature unconscious.

In that instant, Ji Huan suddenly recalled his neglected ability to "dream."

Could he... perhaps see what Ajin wanted to know through dreams, if the other party was unable to speak?

Ji Huan didn't overthink it; he just wanted to help Ajin.

Realizing that knocking the creature out proved impossible, Ji Huan left with the trash can and contacted Sahad. For the first time, he asked Sahad to do something unrelated to work: to acquire a potent sedative.

While cooking, he sprinkled the powder into the flour in another pot and used it to steam a batch of steamed buns.

Ji Huan had pondered the conditions for entering someone's dream. The first condition was straightforward: the person had to be asleep.

Since he couldn't knock the creature out, he had to resort to the sedative.

It must be said that Ji Huan's mental resilience and execution skills were formidable. The moment he decided to attempt entering the creature's dream, he swiftly formulated a plan and began executing it.

Despite never having drugged anyone before, his act of sprinkling the powder into the flour appeared no different from when he normally added flour to a bowl.

During this time, Hei Dan even made a trip to the kitchen.

"Don't touch the flour in this basin, alright?" Ji Huan instructed Hei Dan just as he usually would, without even lifting an eyelid.

He was too composed.

Carrying the steamed buns, he calmly re-entered Ajin's "private room." Along the way, Ji Huan pondered over the conditions for "Inception."

Unconsciousness was certainly one of them; distance was another factor.

For instance, he had never entered Ah Ye's dreams after they had separate bedrooms. Taking into account his successful experiences with "Inception," Ji Huan cautiously estimated that the distance should be within one meter.

Then, there was the requirement of the other person opening up to him.

Long ago, he had been close to Ajin before, but Ajin… Well, it couldn't be guaranteed that Ajin was asleep back then, and he definitely wasn't as close to Ji Huan as he was now. Under those circumstances, Ji Huan had never entered Ajin's dreams.

It was Black Egg's dreams that provided him with a clue.

A considerable level of intimacy and vulnerability was required to enter another's dreams.

Apparently, that condition wasn't met between him and the red-haired monster.

Thus, Ji Huan decided to knock him out.

The guard of an unconscious person should be relatively low.

With exceptional agility, Ji Huan laid down amidst the blood as soon as he rendered the creature unconscious.

He usually fell asleep quickly, so he assumed it would be no different this time. However, he had overestimated himself.

He couldn't possibly sleep beside an unfamiliar monster! Moreover... the sticky sensation beneath his fingers continuously reminded him that he was lying on something, not to mention the pungent smell of blood constantly invading his nostrils...

With no other choice, Ji Huan turned his head away and picked up the last steamed bun from the plate. It turned out that Sahad's sedative was incredibly effective; after just one bite, he "fell asleep."

When he regained consciousness, darkness surrounded him, and the red-haired monster still dangled behind him. Ji Huan supposed his plan had failed.

However, when he reached for the plate to return and devise another strategy, he found it missing.

With renewed vigor, Ji Huan suddenly realized:

He had probably succeeded.

Then, the door ahead opened, and the monster that entered was Ajin.

It was an Ajin he had never seen before, with a tangible aura of malevolence like a black fog surrounding him. With an unusually cruel expression, he strode in his direction, only to...

Pass by him and seize the head of the red-haired monster behind.

Ji Huan witnessed everything before him with keen interest.

However, this scene didn't last long. Soon, he found himself standing on an icy tundra.

There, he encountered a small, silver-haired monster, clad in thick furs, who greeted him with a delightful smile.

In the subsequent moments, Lulin's presence entirely enveloped the red-haired monster's dreamscape.

For the red-haired monster, it was a profoundly enchanting dream. He was almost reluctant to awaken from it.

It couldn't go on like this. If the first attempt didn't succeed, there was no guarantee that he could put the other back to sleep and enter his dream again.

Driven by an almost primal instinct, Ji Huan picked up the silver-haired imp who was playing with the red-haired one.

First, it was the young red-haired monster chasing him, then swiftly transformed into its adult counterpart.

Lulin's abduction accidentally dovetailed with reality, and the red-haired monster finally awoke from his sweet dream. Due to the persistent interrogation by the black-haired monster over the past few days, he instinctively linked Lulin's plight with the incident "back then." With the silver-haired imp in his grasp, Ji Huan found himself once more plunged into that dark night.

This time, Ajin was the prey, and Ji Huan was the pursuer.

As one of the more capable monsters during that period, the red-haired monster had been quite close to Ajin during the hunt. Unlike Ajin, who hadn't been able to see much of his attackers due to constant fleeing and overwhelming pain, the red-haired monster's memories were vivid. Following behind the red-haired monster, Ji Huan could clearly see how the monsters chased after Ajin. They were highly organized, not acting individually but as part of a planned ambush.

While three monsters held Ajin captive, another suddenly leaped from behind the red-haired monster, slicing off Ajin's hair with a single blow!

The red-haired monster had sharp eyes, and in his dream, Ji Huan could discern the back of that monster!

Unfortunately, he could see no more. The red-haired monster seemed to have awakened, and Ji Huan felt a powerful repulsion! His brows knitted together as darkness returned to his vision.

"What did he do to me? What about Lulin?! What happened to Lulin?!!!" The red-haired monster asked the black-haired monster at the door with a fierce expression upon awakening from the dream.

He struggled once more, the chains clanking loudly.

Something had felt off when he saw that black-haired youth in his dream. He fought desperately to break free and found himself staring at the same black-haired youth sleeping in front of him, as well as—

Felzahar at the entrance.

Behind him, Lulin's figure could be vaguely seen, his head hanging low as he stood motionless, seemingly...

A horrifying howl erupted from the red-haired monster's mouth.

Instinctively, he realized that his pact had been somehow observed by the black-haired monster's envoy. Did that mean the pact was already broken? Heaven knew that his binding object wasn't Bulfarrette but Lulin!

The black-haired monster looked at him for a moment before turning around to free Lulin from the other room. He threw Lulin beside Dufay, who only calmed down after confirming that Lulin was merely unconscious.

Then, he watched helplessly as the black-haired monster crouched down and lifted the unconscious black-haired youth on the ground.

Before leaving, he even picked up the empty plate on the floor.

Ji Huan woke up on the bed, still wearing his bloodstained clothes, with a splitting headache and dizziness. It was unclear if it was due to the red-haired monster's resistance or the aftermath of the drug. Ji Huan frowned and raised his head, immediately spotting Ajin sitting beside him.

"I saw the appearances of many monsters involved in that ambush, as well as the back of the one who cut your hair," Ji Huan said, disregarding his headache and hastily jumping out of bed. He grabbed the notebook by the bedside, attempting to sketch the creatures' appearances.

This was likely a small habit that Black Egg had unconsciously passed on to him.

Whenever Black Egg saw something he wanted to show Jiujiu, Ji Huan would encourage him to try drawing it. After doing this so often, whenever Ji Huan himself saw something, his first instinct became to draw it.

Unfortunately...

Ajin, unnoticed, had also gotten out of bed. Seeing Ji Huan's frozen pen halfway through his drawing, he suddenly chuckled softly.

Taking the notebook from under Ji Huan's hand, he commented, "Black Egg has surpassed his master."

It was a very familiar Chinese phrase.

Ji Huan's lips twitched.

"Over the years, I've purchased many rings." The subject shifted, and for some reason, the black-haired monster began talking about rings.

"That particular ring was the only one that left me utterly penniless," the creature said, then fell silent.

Resuming his place by the bed, he gathered up the bloodstained sheets and, with the soiled fabric in his arms, passed by Ji Huan, heading outside.

Leaving Ji Huan behind...

It was only when he saw the ring on his left ring finger that Ji Huan finally understood the meaning behind those inexplicable words earlier.

That ring had been purchased by the young demon Zhen when he first discovered the nucleus embedded within it.

And it was now the sole remaining one.

He hadn't been wrong; back then, the young demon had indeed emptied his pockets to buy these rings.

The ring was slightly loose, wobbling on his finger.

A smile suddenly curved at the corner of Ji Huan's lips.