Dreaming Without a Trace

Shen Lian was shocked by what he saw next – the will of a spirit. It was giving off a pinkish aura, similar to that of peach blossoms.

The spirit's will that Shen Lian saw was coming from the room. Unlike Shen Qingsan who could not see it, Shen Lian saw everything clearly.

Shen Lian moved slightly and caught the pinkish spirit will. Like a ball of powder, it melted into him in a matter of seconds. He could feel a strong surge of emotions welling up in him, the emotions of a young lady.

After calming his spirit and dismissing the hint of spring in the pink spirit's will, Shen Lian realized that the power of his spirit got stronger. However, he noticed that he was no longer void of emotions; he could feel some ups and downs.

As the saying goes, "Practice goes deeper than theoretic knowledge". Through this, Shen Lian realized that he could absorb someone else's will of spirit to strengthen his own when he was having an out of body experience. As he had training from The Mastery of Senses, his power of the spirit was pure, and his heart free of desires. However, he did realize that the absorption of someone else's will could corrupt the purity of his power of the spirit, subsequently leading him onto a path of evil.

There were more, the spirit's will. There was another dwelling on the left and drifted in and out of the room. 

He ignored Shen Qingsan and his wife, Chen, and went right across the door leading to the room.

The was still lit in the room. A young female servant was resting near the bed. Underneath the exquisite layer of mosquito net, a young lady was lying on the bed. Pale and sound asleep, she was the one, giving off spirit's will now and then.

It went without saying that the spirit's will that Shen Lian caught, came from his cousin who was sound asleep, Shen Ruoxi.

A human's spirit would be tied to his or her body; the will of the spirit would only be dispersed unconsciously when its owner was dreaming in deep sleep.

This was why people would occasionally see themselves in third person when they were asleep.

As they dreamt, the will of their spirit left their body.

The aforementioned process was significantly different from Shen Lian's out of body experience. In Shen Lian's version, his mind was independent and complete. Everything that he saw or heard was felt clearly, and he could make clear and rational decisions. On the other hand, the aforementioned process was just one's spirit being peeled off one's body, and the spirit lacked independent consciousness.

Any practitioners like Shen Lian could strengthen oneself by absorbing the spirit's wills that were all adrift during this period of time; when all slept.

There were similarities and differences as to what the spirit and the naked eyes of a mortal would see.

To Shen Lian's eyes, not only that Shen Ruoxi looked pale, there was also a fine green line extended from between her brows into nothingness. Shen Lian could not tell where the source of the line was.

"After all, I share a biological bond with her. Let me see what evilness is behind this," Shen Lian thought.

Shen Lian hovered over Shen Ruoxi. He focused his thoughts and cut the green line away as though he was using a newly forged blade. At the same time, his spiritual body went into her thoughts from between the brows.

It was said that Shen Ruoxi had not been feeling herself ever since she got back from a day trip. She was extremely fatigued, which subsequently led her to being bedridden.

A girl in her prime had become a fading autumn leaf. That night, she had even fallen into a deep slumber.

Curiously, it was as though she had shed away her mortal body through this sleep. She felt refreshed.

Shen Ruoxi opened her eyes and noticed that there was no one in her chamber. Sunlight was streaming into her room.

She did not bother summoning the servants. After being bedridden for a couple of days, she felt as though moss could grow on her. Hurriedly, she got out of her bed.

What she did not realize was, she had put her clothes on through sheer will.

As soon as she stepped out of her chamber, she noticed the flying birds and butterflies.

Feeling playful, she trailed after a butterfly and tried to catch it.

The butterfly was surprisingly alert; it got out of Shen Ruoxi's hands a couple of times.

Shen Ruoxi ended up in a garden without noticing.

She felt like she had stumbled upon heaven on earth. There was a gallery up ahead. It was dotted with sparkles and glimmering in the sunlight.

Next to it was a pool, which was surrounded by moss-covered rocks. Everything was brimming with life.

Shen Ruoxi noticed how soft the patch of grass that she was standing on was.

She could not help but wonder, why had she not noticed this marvelous spot in her own home.

The beautiful scenery and the wonderful time that she was having had led her to lower her guards.

With all there was to see, she had no time to worry about anything else.

After walking past numerous pavilions, Shen Ruoxi felt melancholic. Surrounded by the endless beautiful scenery, but here she was, utterly alone.

"I must have stumbled upon someone else's garden by mistake. How do I get back now?" she thought.

Shen Ruoxi was not aware of the whereabouts of the family who was living there.

She started panicking.

Up ahead was a willow tree, its branches and leaves draped casually, forming waves of green.

There was a handsome scholar standing behind the willow. His eyes were black and deep, his features sharp and sculpted.

The scholar looked at ease. As he took off, he broke a branch off the willow tree.

However, before he could leave, someone held him by his shoulders. He was surprised to find a fine young man standing beside him. The young man exuded an air of calmness and was staring at him intently. The scholar was fixated to right where he was standing and he did not dare to move an inch.

The young man was of course, Shen Lian. As the spirit was capable of changing according to one's will, Shen Lian appeared taller than he actually was.

The scholar smiled eerily before turning into a gust of black air and dashed right into Shen Lian's body.

Shen Lian felt a rush of complex emotions; there were joy, anger, grief, happiness, shocked, fear, all rolled up in one. His spirit was crushed by a great tide of emotions.

He pictured the deity-like he always had and the impact of these emotion tides became nothing to Shen Lian. He was unmoved, just as the reefs that were unaffected by the rising and falling of tides.

The black gust of air dispersed when it realized that it could not harm Shen Lian.

Somewhere in the State Capital of Qing, there was a small yet functional temple situated in one of the courtyards.

There were five deity statues in the temple. Sacrificial offerings could be found on the altar. The statues were all dressed in red robes, and they looked heinous.

One of the statues on the left was making sounds out of nowhere. It sounded like the screaming of horses as they were whipped and lashed.

Any knowledgeable person would realize that this temple was one of the secrets and perverse worship practices.

Shen Lian was not familiar with the ways of spiritual attacks, but he protected himself without a single flaw in his defense, and that did its job. The evilness was chased away.

The evilness that turned itself into a handsome scholar was definitely up to no good sneaking into Shen Ruoxi's dream.

Fortunately, Shen Lian arrived in the nick of time and stopped it from having its way.

As the evilness was dispersed, Shen Ruoxi walked over. "Shen Lian!" she yelped in surprise.

The moment that the dream world shattered, the beautiful scenery crumbled into dust.

Consequently, Shen Lian was liberated from Shen Ruoxi's dream.

Shen Ruoxi squealed as she woke up from her dream. Her forehead was covered in sweat; it was as though she had just woken up from a serious illness, and her body was drained of energy.

The young female servant was overjoyed when she saw Shen Ruoxi sitting up on her bed. She found it weird that Shen Ruoxi was saying Shen Lian's name, and wondered if her ears played tricks on her.

Could it be that the Young Lady, Shen Ruoxi, dreamt about Young Master Shen Lian? Regardless, she had to inform the Master and Mistress that the Young Lady had woken up.

Before she managed to do that, Shen Qingsan and Chen rushed in.

Shen Ruoxi was really weak, but she was aware of her surroundings. "Mother, I am famished," she whispered as she saw her parents.

"Qingsan, Ruoxi is hungry!" Chen was overcome with joy, and she exclaimed in happiness.

Seeing this, Shen Lian's spirit which was supposed to be void of emotions, felt joy from his actual contentment. He smiled.

"Shen Lian." Shen Ruoxi murmured as she caught him smiling. 

Shen Lian was amazed that she saw him, but he crossed through the walls and left without staying further.