Li Ang looked around. It was a narrow alley lined with tall walls. Over the walls, he could see branches of trees full of flowers and a blood-red sky, giving an ominous premonition.
Li Ang glanced down at himself. He was still wearing the clothes from the daytime. At the end of the thin leather cord on his waist hung a decorative small dagger and that dark-colored Jade Pendant.
It doesn’t seem like a dream...
Li Ang stretched out his hand to touch the alley’s wall. The sensation of rough brick and tile felt so real and clear, nothing like a dream.
He rarely dreamt, and it was even less possible for him to experience such a realistic dream. Moreover, the teaching material of the Academic Palace had never mentioned that Qi Sensing cultivation could cause an experience similar to a "Qingming Dream."
Could this be caused by an Alien?
Silently, Li Ang touched the dark-colored Jade Pendant.
The talisman inside, written by the Mountain Master, was said to withstand a deadly attack once.
With the Mountain Master’s realm, no demon or specter should be able to harm him, but the dark-colored Jade Pendant showed no reaction.
He didn’t know if it was because of the Alien or because there was no immediate danger to his life.
Li Ang activated his Spirit Vein, and Spiritual Energy flowed through his body. Mo Si slightly pricked through the skin of his palm, spreading out, ready to cover both the palm and back of his hand if necessary.
At the same time, he drew the dagger from his waist.
The dagger was unsheathed, its patterns clearly visible. Under the shine of the blood-red Sun, the blade’s tip reflected a bizarre light.
Li Ang gripped the dagger, bent his body slightly, stuck close to the wall, and silently walked out of the alley onto the street.
What appeared before him was indeed Chang’an West Market.
Taverns, restaurants, inns, pawnshops, rice shops, jewelry stores, porcelain shops—a complete range was present.
Colorful flags bearing the shops’ names fluttered in the wind.
But there was a deadly silence. Not a single person, animal, or even a stray cat or dog was visible on the street. Even the sounds of insects and birds were absent.
If this is a Qingming Dream of my own that I can control, then let a Belaz-75601 open-pit mining truck with a 3,500 horsepower Cummins QSK78 mining engine appear here.
Li Ang imagined something that could never exist in Yu Country.
The truck did not appear. Instead, a tall young man wearing an Academic Palace uniform appeared.
Li Ang stared in surprise at the young man across the street. His surname was Li, and his given name was Wei. He was a recommended student from the Ministry of War, a native of Lingzhou, and by age, he was about the same as Li Ang.
However, his physique was exceptionally strong, making him appear somewhat more mature than his years.
"Risheng, what are you doing here?"
Li Wei approached, deliberately revealing the sword hidden under his sleeve, ready to be drawn at any moment.
"I have the same question."
Li Ang also walked forward, but halfway there, he suddenly realized something, stopped, and said, "Mr. Li, this place is strange. Why don’t you first mention something we both know, and then tell me something you know but I don’t?"
Mr. Li paused briefly before quickly realizing that Li Ang was acting according to the guidelines for dealing with Aliens as suggested in the Hundred Beasts Studies. After pondering for a moment, he said, "The first thing: during my final exam at the Academic Palace, I smashed that wooden box so hard the back of my hand bled.
The second thing: I lived on campus at the Academic Palace, and the pattern on my bedspread was a red peony—my mother wove it for me."
Li Ang also said, "The first thing: during my final exam at the Academic Palace, I compared answers with He Fanshuang.
The second thing: today, I went to the Academic Palace Patent Office to register a patent with Dr. Su Feng."
After verifying each other’s identities, they both relaxed.
Li Ang scanned the deathly quiet street and asked, "Mr. Li, are you alone here? When did you realize you had come to this place? What is your last memory before arriving here?"
"My last memory was drinking with my comrades from the Ministry of War at a tavern in Yankang Square. After getting drunk, I slept at the Yuelai Inn in Yankang Square."
Li Wei reminisced and said, "Those comrades from the Ministry of War were soldiers and officers from the Border Guard Army. They returned to Chang’an to report for duty and, at the same time, to celebrate my admission to the Academic Palace. We vowed not to leave until we were drunk."
"My memory is of going home and lying down to sleep. It seems we both ended up here while dreaming."
Li Ang pondered for a moment, scanned the surroundings, and was just about to say something when Li Wei’s expression suddenly changed. With a CLANG, he drew his sword, looked toward the street corner, and shouted sternly, "Show yourself!"
"Don’t attack, Mr. Li, it’s me."
Yang Yu’s voice came from the street corner. He stepped out from the corner onto the street and approached Li Ang and Li Wei with a rueful smile, clasping his hands in a salute. "Sorry, I just came out of an alley and hid in the corner when I heard voices."
"Qilang, you’re here too?"
Li Ang frowned slightly and said, "Tell us one thing we both know, and one thing that you know but I don’t."
"Uh, something we both know... I failed the Yu Law exam today?
As for something I know that you don’t..."
Yang Yu paused, then said embarrassedly, "When I was a child, I was too fond of mischief. During a family ancestral worship gathering, I slipped some croton beans into the meal. It made several of my uncles so ill they couldn’t control their bowels in front of our ancestral tablets.
My father thought someone had poisoned us and even reported it to Chang’an County. Eventually, a fine dog sniffed me out as the culprit. That was the closest I ever came to death."
Well, that’s one way to make an impression. Couldn’t hold in your ’filial duty,’ huh?
After verifying their identities, the three of them stood together to discuss. They found commonalities: their similar ages, their status as new students at the Academic Palace, and the fact that all of them had gone to sleep around the Hai Zheng hour (ten o’clock at night). Additionally, all three had watched a play by the Jianyue Theater Troupe during the day.
Li Wei had gone yesterday morning, while Li Ang and Yang Yu had gone in the afternoon.
"Could it be caused by the Jianyue Theater Troupe? That shouldn’t be possible. Even if citizens of Yu Country want to enter Chang’an, they have to pass an inspection by the City Gate Guard, be sniffed by fine dogs, and undergo the city gate’s array examination."
Yang Yu frowned and said, "What’s more, the Jianyue Theater Troupe is an organization that tours Various Countries. To rent a theater in Chang’an, they would certainly have to go through an even more rigorous screening.
Logically, no dangerous Aliens should have been able to sneak in."
That might not be the case, Li Ang thought. The Mo Si in his body hadn’t been detected by the arrays at Chang’an City’s Mingde Gate, the Imperial City’s Vermilion Bird Gate, the inner gate of the Imperial City, or even the main gate of the Academic Palace.
Even Candle Cloud Realm Cultivators like Chen Danqiu or Xi Yangyu hadn’t detected anything unusual.
Li Wei pursed his lips and said, "The urgent matter now is to figure out the situation here. Too many people have seen the Jianyue Theater Troupe’s performance recently. It’s unreasonable that only a few of us were chosen, unless this anomaly is targeted towards Academic Palace Disciples..."
An extremely pitiful human scream arose in the distance. The expressions of all three changed drastically, and they looked toward the direction of the sound.
That was... the West Market Drainage.