Volume 6, Chapter 344 – Is This Really Just a Dream?

Though Cheng Ling was filled with unease, she knew now was not the time to dwell on it. So she continued controlling the human skin mask as it stumbled and staggered its way into the distance.

‘The farther, the better. If she catches me, I might never get out again.’

Cheng Ling knew her main body’s temperament all too well. Drifting through the forest, she rested when exhausted and resumed her flight once her divine sense recovered. Though her speed was agonizingly slow, her determination was unshakable. The mere thought of the fifteen years she had spent trapped in that lightless “prison” sent a chill through her.

After drifting for about an hour, Cheng Ling collapsed again from divine sense exhaustion, and once more, she fell into a dream.

When Qi Huang regained consciousness, she found herself transformed back into that little girl named “Yao Yao”. This time, she was helping her parents shuck corn in the yard.

“Our Yao Yao is so well-behaved. So young, yet already helping her parents with chores.”

The young mother beside her praised warmly. Though years of labor had roughened her skin, a trace of youthful innocence still lingered on her face, she couldn’t have been older than twenty.

“Indeed! Yuan Yuan, the greatest pride of my life is marrying you and having such a precious daughter.”

The equally young father sighed with emotion. He didn’t look much older than his wife, perhaps by no more than two years.

“Look at you! How embarrassing!”

The wife, Yuan Yuan, blushed and playfully chided him.

“Sigh… My greatest wish now is for our precious daughter to grow up quickly, marry into a good family, and never have to suffer with us again.”

The young father reached out a calloused hand to gently pinch his daughter’s soft, rosy cheek.

“Hua dear… would you really be able to let her go?”

Yuan Yuan asked hesitantly in a low voice.

“How could I bear it? But as the saying goes, one must sacrifice to gain. I can’t selfishly keep her here to suffer with us.”

Hua’s voice was heavy with sorrow, his eyes filled with reluctance—but even more so, guilt and desolation.

“But marriages are about matching social status. Will she really be able to marry well?”

Yuan Yuan couldn’t help but worry.

“It’s fine. Right now, there isn’t a single family in the entire county poorer than us.”

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Ah Hua laughed bitterly at his own words.

Hearing this, a shadow of sorrow flickered in Yuan Yuan’s eyes.

“Besides, our precious daughter is so adorable. When she grows up, she’ll definitely be a beauty just like you. How could she not marry well?”

Realizing his misstep, Hua-ge quickly changed the subject.

“Old married couple like us, still being so sappy—I can’t take it.”

Only then did Yuan Yuan’s expression soften slightly.

“The sun’s about to set. Why hasn’t Mother returned from the market yet?”

Ah Hua glanced at the sky, his face creased with worry.

“I don’t know.”

Yuan Yuan shook her head before reproaching him gently, “You really should have gone with Mother to town to get her medicine. She’s already ill, and the road is long. How could you, as her son, not worry?”

“What else could I do? The debts from Father’s treatment two years ago are due tonight. If we don’t shuck and sell this corn, how else can we repay them?”

Hua’s smile was strained.

“I could have managed alone.”

Yuan Yuan bit her lip.

“As the head of this family, how could I dump all the burden on you? Don’t worry, Mother went with a few neighbors. Nothing will happen.”

Ah Hua reassured her.

Before long, Ah Hua loaded the three bags of shucked corn onto a wheelbarrow and pushed them off to sell. He soon returned with a small pouch of copper coins, likely a few hundred in total.

“Sigh… I’d originally planned to buy new clothes for you and our daughter with this money.”

Ah Hua sighed as he weighed the pouch in his hand.

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But no sooner had he spoken than the debt collectors arrived at their door. With no choice, Hua-ge handed over the pouch. Feeling the lingering warmth of the coins in his palm, he forced a bitter smile.

“It’s alright, husband. Things will get better.”

Yuan Yuan, ever understanding, comforted him gently.

“Yes. Heaven never seals off all exits. I refuse to believe I’ll be unlucky forever.”

Ah Hua took a deep breath, his face regaining some determination.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, stars began to twinkle in the sky.

Qi Huang glanced up absentmindedly and noticed that their arrangement was completely different from that of the cultivation world. But she didn’t dwell on it, after all, this was just a dream.

Just then, Yao Yao’s grandmother finally returned, a cloth bundle slung over her shoulder.

“Mother, you’re back! Was the journey smooth?”

Ah Hua hurried over to ask, his wife following close behind.

“Don’t worry, I’m still strong. What’s a little distance to me?”

The grandmother chuckled lightly before walking over to her granddaughter and opening the bundle. She pulled out a gleaming stick of candied hawthorns.

“Here, granddaughter! Grandma promised you tanghulu ¹ Tanghulu (糖葫芦, táng hú lu) is a traditional Chinese snack made of candied fruit on a stick , didn’t she?”

“Aww—!”

Yao Yao excitedly grabbed the treat and immediately tried to stuff it into her tiny mouth, only to find it far too big to fit.

“Slow down! No one’s fighting you for it!”

The grandmother patted her granddaughter’s head affectionately.

“Yao Yao, what did Daddy teach you? Say ‘thank you, Grandma!’”

Hua-ge quickly reminded her.

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“Fank oo, Gwamma!”

Yao Yao mumbled around a mouthful of tanghulu.

“Since when does family need thanks?”

The grandmother stroked the little girl’s head again, her eyes tender. “My poor granddaughter, this is her first time eating tanghulu at such an age. It’s all because Grandma is useless.”

“Mother, don’t say that. The fault is mine.”

Ah Hua quickly took the blame.

The grandmother said nothing more. Instead, she pulled out a small red floral-patterned jacket from the bundle.

“Granddaughter, Grandma bought this for you. Try it on, see if it fits!”

Hua-ge and his wife exchanged a puzzled glance, unsure where the old woman had gotten the money.

“Wow! New clothes!”

Yao Yao jumped for joy after slipping into the jacket.

Next, the grandmother retrieved a slightly larger floral-patterned padded coat and handed it to her daughter-in-law.

“Yuan Yuan, this is for you.”

“Mother… where did you get the money?”

Yuan Yuan couldn’t help but ask.

“From what you gave me, of course.”

The grandmother replied offhandedly.

“What? Then… what about your medicine?”

Ah Hua pressed urgently.

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“I didn’t get any.”

The grandmother answered simply.

“How could you not? If you’re sick, you need medicine! How can we, your children, rest easy otherwise?”

Hua’s voice grew more agitated.

The grandmother turned and gazed quietly at her son. After a long pause, she spoke softly.

“Son, I know you’re filial. And I know my own condition. Since it’s incurable, why waste the money? Spend it where it matters—take care of them, mother and daughter. That way, even if I die, I can close my eyes in peace.”

Hua-ge froze. Then, his eyes squeezed shut in anguish, while his wife burst into quiet sobs.

The dream ended there.

As Cheng Ling awoke, Qi Huang regained consciousness as well. The scenes from the dream-within-a-dream left her heart unsettled for a long time.

“Why this dream again?”

After an indeterminable amount of time, Cheng Ling suddenly muttered inwardly, then added in bafflement, “And the two dreams were actually continuous? How bizarre!”

Though she found it eerie, Cheng Ling could make no sense of it. So she resumed controlling the skin mask’s escape.

But Qi Huang’s heart was in turmoil.

This “dream” sequence was uncannily similar to what she was witnessing now.

“Was that really just a dream… or someone’s memories?”

The thought took root in her mind.

Before Cheng Ling could drift much farther, she noticed that the dark red blotch on the skin mask had expanded yet again, now the size of a copper coin, and its color had faded slightly further.

“If it keeps spreading like this, it’ll cover my entire face sooner or later. I just hope the color fades completely by then. Otherwise… how ugly.”

Cheng Ling couldn’t help but fret. After all, she was still a girl, even if her current “body” was just a piece of skin, it had to be clean and pretty.