Chapter 610: The Field of Jisang Like a Grave (3)

The night stretched long beneath the icy veil, where whispers of frost clung to the earth, weaving tales of longing and shadows intertwined with the fading light, each breath a reminder of what had been lost and what might yet be reclaimed, while distant voices murmured secrets only the wind could carry, and in the hush between heartbeats, a silent pact was forged, binding the unseen to the seen, binding the fleeting to the eternal, a tapestry woven not by hands but by the quiet pulse of time itself, where even the stars seem to hold their breath, awaiting the moment when the veil would thin, and the truth would spill forth like a tide, unseen yet inevitable, as if the earth itself had been holding its breath, waiting for the moment when the past would finally meet the light.

It was not a spontaneous development of the dream, but rather as if someone had deliberately set it up, so that upon arriving before the Golden Hall it would trigger on its own, preventing me from walking into a trap.

Who would do such a thing? Naturally only Zhao Mengze.

Yet Zou Jiujiu felt no relief at having escaped a calamity; instead, his brows furrowed inexplicably.

Because in this dream, it is the Wuci who is the dreamweaver.

For Zhao Mengze to forcibly plant these foreshadowings, the price he would have to pay is likely horrendous.

“Jiujiu, run!”

A sharp, urgent whisper echoed in his heart.

It was Shouyu's voice, and Zou Jiujiu recognized it instantly.

She had actually not been expelled from the dream?!

Zou Jiujiu startled, and before he could reply, he noticed the street had suddenly fallen silent.

In an instant, the passersby who had each been going about their own business stopped their chatter and their tasks, standing in the swirling snow, all turning their heads in unison to look at Zou Jiujiu standing beneath the eaves.

Upon this encounter, Zou Jiujiu's hairs stood on end all over his body; before him, these people hardly retained any semblance of humanity.

Some revealed grotesque deathly visages, some were withered like corpses, others were draped with excess organs and flesh, no different from demons.

The agricultural beasts widened their blood‑red eyes, their ferocious, greedy gazes falling upon every part of Zou Jiujiu's body.

Zou Jiujiu belatedly realized, with a sudden flash of insight, that the Wuci's greatest advantage was not 'harmony among people' but 'heavenly timing'.

The opponent had entered this dream earlier than I, and had already cultivated an astonishing number of these agricultural beasts!

“Zou Jiujiu, Zhao Mengze places such high hopes on you, believing you can save his life. Too bad his judgment is poor; you are nothing more than that.”

Zou Jiujiu followed the sound and saw, amidst the tide‑like throng of agricultural beasts, a figure in white robes, bearing a cold, aloof demeanor—Winter of the Wuci.

Moreover, beside her stood two individuals whose only difference was the color of their clothing, yet their faces were identical.

Indeed, they were the summer and autumn personalities who had previously perished!

“What the hell are these agricultural entities, anyway?”

Zou Jiujiu's gaze hardened, and he couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.

It seemed that those who had failed in the dream had not truly died.

Or perhaps, as long as their original selves still clung to life, they could replenish their existence by some means.

“Mountains and rivers may change, but the four seasons endure.”

The Wuci Winter seemed to see the shock in Zou Jiujiu's eyes, and spoke with contempt: “You Yin‑Yang adherents pride yourselves on following destiny and moving with heaven; what power do you have to contend with my eternal, unchanging seasons?”

The famished beasts circled but did not press forward, as if their master still had something to say.

“Zou Jiujiu, do you realize that the time I wasted playing with you all along was merely to use you and Zhao Mengze to confirm two things?”

“Just spit it out; stop pretending to ask questions. I don’t want to hear it—are you not going to speak?”

Zou Jiujiu scoffed: “Now the knife is in your hand; if you want to humiliate me to regain face, go ahead—bring it on, I’ll take it.”

The Wuci Winter's eyes narrowed, his icy expression unmoved by Zou Jiujiu's arrogant attitude.

“First, I know how you managed to stay alive while escaping the earth‑bound dream, so I want to use your hand to see whether the Eastern Imperial Palace has tampered with me in the same way.”

The Wuci Winter said lightly: “It appears they still lack the gall for that.”

This is seeing that I lost so easily in this dream, thus I am convinced that my techniques contain no ‘secret gate’ of the Eastern Imperial Palace?

You bastard, using Grandpa Zou as a test subject, huh!

“Second, I want to see what hidden trump card Zhao Mengze still holds.”

The Wuci Winter paused, then continued: “Or rather, I want to understand what gives him the audacity to stake so heavily on you. Now that both points are settled, Zhao Mengze is truly at the end of his rope, left only with the blood‑courage of a desperate fight, with nothing else worth fearing.”

The woman raised her finger and pointed at Zou Jiujiu: “And you, without his stewardship of the dream and its many advantages, are nothing.”

“Finished? Speaking frankly, your insults are feeble—utterly painless.”

Zou Jiujiu lifted his chin: “This round I’ve lost, but next time I’ll show you what it really means to strike someone and slap their face.”

“Do you think you’ll have another round?”

The woman’s expression turned scornful: “Even if you do, Zhao Mengze’s desperate struggle to gain these advantages for you cannot alter your miserable defeat; on what grounds do you believe you’ll win next time?”

“Surely there will be; how could I die so easily? And next time I will certainly slay her four lives in one fell swoop.”

Zou Jiujiu spoke with absolute certainty, yet it was clear he was not addressing the Wuci Winter.

“So, Shouyu, you have nothing to worry about; I am merely temporarily at a disadvantage, and she may not necessarily encircle and kill me—who will win remains uncertain.”

Zou Jiujiu muttered to himself: “But this vicious woman dragged you in here, surely just to use you as leverage against me; we can’t fall for it! I’ll first think of a way to get you out of the dream—by no means let her succeed.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a head of flame‑like red hair suddenly emerged amidst the swirling snow.

“Zou Jiujiu, are you blind, old lady? You’re just a Yin‑Yang Sequence Eight, you can’t even hold a blade steady—what do you think you’ll charge out with?”

Shouyu stood beside Zou Jiujiu, his tall stature actually exceeding Zou’s by a bit.

“So don’t go trading life for life; I, Shouyu, don’t need that.”

“Even at this point you’re still worrying about love and affection; in the usually selfish Yin‑Yang Sequence, having a lovesick fool like you, Zou Jiujiu, is truly rare.”

The Wuci Winter retained his usual disdainful, arrogant demeanor.

“Zou Jiujiu, I can tell you plainly: in this gamble Zhao Mengze must die, but you still have a path to survive.”

“Enough, shut your mouth. You just want me to betray Li Jun? You thought you could come up with some new trick, but all you did was spew a mouthful of filth.”

Zou Jiujiu loudly interrupted: “If you want me to help you undermine those Eastern Imperial Palace folk, perhaps we could sit and talk. But if you want me to betray my own people, sorry, Grandpa Zou has no interest in that.”

“Hey, Zou, I advise you not to be ungrateful—do you think Li Jun’s situation is what now?”

This time it was the summer aspect, face fierce and brutal, who spoke.

“Don’t jump around in front of me like a startled cat—what situation could it be? If you had the ability to kill Old Li, you wouldn’t be here wasting my time with chatter.”

Zou Jiujiu gave a cold snort: “I’ll advise you too—best to scram now while you can. If Li Jun that brute goes berserk, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, he’ll hunt you down and cut you to pieces—believe it or not?”

“Indeed, the ignorant are fearless. After all our years of scheming for the state, he thinks a lone wolf can break the deadlock with force? Absurd. He’s merely one of the targets, after all!”

Winter said: “Originally I only wanted you to add a few flourishes. Since you’re obstinate and dull‑witted, it’s time to end this boring game.”

Since the talks bore no fruit, naturally the next step is to move in and kill.

The long‑restless agricultural beasts unleashed a blood‑thirsty howl, surrounding from all sides.

“Shouyu, I’ll hold them off for a moment—you seize the chance to break out and keep charging toward the city’s outskirts.”

Zou Jiujiu stared ahead, his voice low: “Such a tug‑of‑war dream cannot be woven into an endless expanse; this dream’s backdrop is set in Chongqing Prefecture, so if we put as much distance as possible between us and this place, we may forcefully break free. Once you burst out, go find Old Li.”

“What are you running for? Zou Jiujiu, are you even a man? Fight them!”

A sudden, icy tirade made Zou Jiujiu start, and he instinctively turned his head toward his side.

At that moment, Shouyu had somehow coiled his full head of red hair atop his head, the hem of his long robe bound at his waist, each hand gripping a short blade of arm‑length, pulled from who‑knows‑where.

Shouyu, his face murderous, noticed Zou Jiujiu’s shocked gaze and shot him a cold, sidelong look.

“What, you dislike my ferocity? Zou Jiujiu, I tell you, if you regret it now you still have time. Rest assured, I, Shouyu, am magnanimous; from now on we’ll still be brothers.”

Zou Siu Jiu widened his eyes, slowly stretched his mouth into a grin, and beamed with unbridled joy.

These coarse words of his seemed to pour a pot of fiery liquor straight into his lungs.

Though the air was bitterly cold, the wind sharp as a blade, Zou Siu Jiu felt a heat surging through his veins, his heartbeat quickening.

"Nonsense, why on earth would I find you lacking? I've got plenty of brothers who'd love to take you as a son, and now we're just missing a daughter-in-law to play mother to them all."

"Then stop fidgeting like that, you're making a mess of things. Stand up straight like a proper fellow and show some backbone!"

Shao Yu took a step forward, placing himself squarely in front of Zou Siu Jiu.

His twin blades rose parallel to each other, pointing straight at the horde of beasts.

"Stay close, and today I'll lead you right out of here!"