spiritual scholar

Ward

"Waking up! They’re waking up!"

In a daze, Su Xiao opened his eyes and immediately heard a voice of surprise next to him.

Su Xiao sat up straight and found himself in a hospital room, with beds around him occupied by people connected to various sensors. Nurses and doctors in full protective gear were bustling around.

Su Xiao quickly checked his physical condition.

His head hurt slightly, his throat felt parched, and he was thirsty, possibly from being in the sun for a while. He felt hungry, suggesting it might already be noon.

Using his divine sense, Su Xiao confirmed that the environmental information was very complex and that this was not a dream but the real world.

The ward had twenty-four beds and no windows, but it did have air supply cabinets and a full set of filtration devices. The medical staff were all dressed in full protective suits.

Su Xiao deduced that this was a negative pressure ward, and such protection was necessary because the Nightmare Infection Virus could be transmitted via the respiratory system, with airborne transmission capability up to level II. As long as a person kept breathing, there was a risk of spreading the virus.

Su Xiao’s augmented reality glasses and phone had been taken away, likely for disinfection, but the hospital still had the necessary equipment to provide Su Xiao with protective spells like the Tranquil Heart Mantra.

"Mom! Look, it’s the Cultivator Brother!"

A little girl’s tender voice rang out, her excitement visible even through her mask, as she spoke to her mother on the adjacent bed, her tone cheerful.

"He killed those monsters and saved us!"

The people on the beds who had just woken up and were still a bit dazed all looked at Su Xiao.

Some of them recognized Su Xiao, as he was the one confronting the Nightmare creature in the dream.

In an instant, grateful looks filled the entire ward. Some people even wanted to get out of bed to take a closer look.

They had all witnessed the nightmarish scene where countless terrifying creatures from the deepest nightmares were materialized! Even though these people were protected by the Tranquil Heart Mantra and wouldn’t feel real pain or be truly injured, being attacked by those creatures would undoubtedly leave a deep psychological scar.

Su Xiao had summoned a battleship and directly annihilated those creatures!

"Please, everyone, do not leave your beds or hastily remove your sensors and the Tranquil Heart Mantra interfaces..."

"Wait until the rescue team’s cultivators confirm that you are out of danger. After passing the examination, you can then leave here..."

"It’s all for everyone’s safety."

A doctor spoke to maintain order, and everyone in the ward complied with the doctor’s instructions. Even those with urgent matters didn’t act out or insist on leaving immediately.

Su Xiao picked up a bottle of “cool boiled water” mineral water from the cabinet next to his bed, unscrewed the cap, and poured it into his mouth. The cool water soothed his parched throat. Next to the mineral water, there were also some pomelos.

Pomelos, with the homophonic meaning of “blessing,” were placed there not out of superstition but as a symbol of good wishes. These pomelos were typically donated by volunteers, with the peels inscribed with various blessings, poems, and cute doodles.

On Su Xiao’s pomelo was written a poem in bold black handwriting, appearing gentle and elegant, small yet imbued with deep emotion: At this moment, who somewhere in the world is crying, crying without reason, crying for me.

At this moment, who somewhere in the world is laughing, laughing without reason, laughing for me.

At this moment, who somewhere in the world is walking, walking without reason, walking towards me.

At this moment, who somewhere in the world is dying, dying without reason, dying while looking at me.

(Note 1)

Looking at the cute pomelo and the lovely people around him, Su Xiao felt a sense of peace within.

After receiving thanks, Su Xiao peeled the pomelo, ate a segment himself, and asked the nurse to help distribute the rest to the little girl next to him.

The milky white flesh of the pomelo, sour and sweet, was very tasty.

As Su Xiao ate the fruit, he contemplated his situation.

"I could materialize such a large battleship in the dream... even though it was done in an excited state, does this mean my mental strength has reached the Zhaojing state?"

"Materializing objects in a dream and shaping the dream, according to the theory of spiritual energy, requires mental strength and control over one’s inner self... Generally, creatures of nightmares hold an advantage over humans in dreams, but it seemed quite weak, for a higher-level creature, it was easily defeated by me. This one was quite fragile."

"Human thoughts are erratic and diffuse, which is why nightmare creatures have an advantage in dreams—they can highly concentrate and materialize whatever they want in dreams, whereas humans find it difficult... But I managed to do it."

Su Xiao didn’t underestimate himself, but he also didn’t think he could defy objective laws.

"The main differences between me and the average person are, first, I have a better grasp of the theory of spiritual energy, but theory is theory, practice requires a lot of experience and skill."

"The second difference is the Puppet!"

Su Xiao suspected that the mysterious and eerie puppet in his sea of thoughts not only increased his ability to observe his surroundings from an almost divine perspective but also enhanced his control over himself! "If that's the case... that's really impressive." Su Xiao marveled inwardly.

"But it might not necessarily be the case. The things I materialized were battleships that others in the dream were also very familiar with. Recently, in a public military exercise, Guangning’s video of quickly collapsing a mountain with kinetic weapons was quite popular online... It might have resonated with other dreamers around me, making it so powerful and quick to form?"

Su Xiao pondered for a moment and then entered a meditative state.

In no time, Su Xiao saw in the boundless darkness of his thought sea, a delicate and transparent humanoid puppet sitting in the same posture as Su Xiao, among countless thought particles.

But this thought sea was different from what Su Xiao had seen in the subway during meditation.

In the thought sea, a small piece of purple, dreamlike shattered crystal floated in front of the puppet, with refracted light from the crystal revealing the shadow of that Nightmare creature.

As Su Xiao’s thoughts brushed past this purple shattered crystal, a strange sound swept through his mind.

This sound was sometimes like a gust of wind on a moonlit night, sometimes as deep as a black hole, with a bizarre allure.

"Kcu kwu lisa lama oi limasa..."

This low murmur echoed in the boundless darkness of the thought sea, strange and dreamlike.

Accompanied by this whisper, many thought particles suddenly rose and revolved around the purple shattered crystal.

This is... the Nightmare language?

Su Xiao discerned it slightly and was extremely surprised.

(Note 1: Adapted from Rilke’s Heavy Hours)