mountains and rivers dream

"Don't overthink it. What you see and feel is real, but not all of it is real," the old ghost explained wearily.

Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, and only after carefully settling Qin Lin next to Big Gray did she breathe a sigh of relief. She suddenly looked up and realized something.

"Were we... just under an illusion?" she asked the old ghost tentatively.

Old Ghost chuckled softly, remaining silent for a long time. Only when everyone was exchanging bewildered glances did Old Ghost finally speak.

But his dark eyes swept over the group: "I think you all must have sensed it, especially this kid from the Yin family. Aren't you the son of the head of Giant Spirit Peak?"

Old Ghost's gaze was fixed on Yin Rui, as if he were forcing the other party to answer his question. At the same time, his figure seemed to sway imperceptibly, as if he were unsteady.

At this moment, Yin Rui was covered in a cold sweat, not only because of the old ghost's strange gaze, but also because of the look that the One-Eyed Yama had given him before leaving.

That one glance was like an invisible nail, piercing his soul in an instant. It wasn't particularly painful, but it was chilling.

It was clearly Qin Lin's body just now, but the extremely cold killing intent emanating from him was so strong that if Old Ghost hadn't stopped them in time, the three of them probably wouldn't be standing here unscathed, sweating profusely.

Seeing Yin Rui in a daze, the old ghost wasn't angry; instead, he laughed.
"Hehe, it seems I wasn't wrong. I felt you looked familiar the first time I saw you, but you're much more mature than your father. It's a pity you didn't inherit your mother's true skills. Otherwise, none of you would have been so exhausted and seriously injured, and you wouldn't have fallen victim to that old man's spell..."

"As expected..."

"really?"

Almost simultaneously, Xiao Yu and Yin Rui called out "colleague" to each other.

After discovering that the other person shared the same thought, the two exchanged a slightly awkward glance. Yin Rui seemed quite pleasantly surprised, but Xiao Yu frowned, quickly glanced to the side, and awkwardly reached into her clothes.

However, after all that commotion, the Thousand Insect Pill on his body was nowhere to be found; it seemed to have been lost along with the damage to his clothes.

Yin Rui keenly sensed that Xiao Yu seemed to be looking for something, and with his quick wit, he immediately guessed what it was. He quickly pulled a small silver medicine bottle from his pocket.

He hesitated for a moment, but still spoke: "Although this Silver Sprout Dew cannot compare to my mother's Dragon Grass Heart-Fulfilling Pill, it is still a very rare and excellent medicine that can enhance cultivation and heal injuries and relieve pain..."

Before he could finish speaking, a pink figure rushed over and snatched the pill in the blink of an eye.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You made my master worry for nothing!" Wei Chengshuang held the medicine bottle in her hand, glaring at Yin Rui with a reproachful look, while skillfully pouring out a handful of silver pills from the bottle and squatting down to feed them to Qin Lin.

"and many more!"

"and many more!"

This time, Xiao Yu and Yin Rui shouted simultaneously again, stopping Wei Chengshuang's reckless behavior. The little girl looked at the small handful of pills in her palm, about twenty or so, and suddenly her eyes lit up. She suddenly remembered, "Oh right! I can't feed her so many, so how many should I give her?"

Yin Rui swallowed hard, watching his mother's precious pills being squandered like candy. He felt bad, but with someone seriously injured, what could he say?

He sighed, "Five at most, it won't be any better if you eat more."

Upon hearing this, Wei Chengshuang lightly scoffed, counted five pills, and then prepared to feed the medicine.

"Wait, let me do it." Xiao Yu said, taking the medicine directly from Wei Chengshuang's hand, gently prying open Qin Lin's mouth to feed him the medicine in one smooth motion, and then Ang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Ghost, is it an illusion?" She returned to the topic that had been accidentally interrupted by Wei Chengshuang earlier, gently stood up, and asked wearily, but after asking, she suddenly became unsure.

"Yes and no," the old ghost replied calmly.

The tone didn't sound like it was being deliberately mysterious; it was a very sincere answer.

“It really isn’t…” Xiao Yu said, as if talking to herself.

Because of his deeply troubled expression, he swallowed hard, as if gathering his courage. Finally, he mustered his courage, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to the old ghost, saying:
"Senior, please don't blame me for being suspicious, but that person just now... seemed to be somewhat hostile towards me. For a moment, I really felt like I was about to die..."

As Yin Rui spoke, he shook his head, doubting whether he had misjudged the situation and was being overly suspicious.

He carefully observed the changes in the old ghost's expression, and when he saw a wicked smile suddenly appear on the old ghost's cold face and he nodded, he even breathed a sigh of relief.

Even after receiving confirmation that he had just been nearly killed.

"What?!" Zhao Yishen and Cheng Hao both let out sharp cries behind Yin Rui. Their faces were filled with lingering fear, and they even began to carefully search left and right. Their spiritual energy became chaotic in that instant.

"You two, calm down! That senior is gone. If he were still here, we wouldn't have had the chance to be scared here at all." Seeing the two behind him looking too terrified, Yin Rui frowned and whispered his advice.

However, he himself was already soaked in sweat, with cold sweat dripping down his body and forehead.

But the pursuit of truth is the principle that Yin Rui, as the head of the Giant Spirit Peak, has always adhered to. So he bowed to the old ghost again, hoping that the other party could give him some advice.

"Heh, you're quite polite, much more composed than your mischievous mother. Fine, if you really die here today, I won't be able to do anything in the Oasis Realm anymore." The old ghost chuckled, forcefully flicking his wide, ethereal sleeves behind him, causing the air to crackle.

The sound was like a thunderclap in the dark night, startling Xiao Yu, who was intently listening.

Clearly, the old ghost's ghostly aura had been momentarily exposed, and in the blink of an eye, Xiao Yu saw a small barrier formed around them, just large enough to envelop everyone present. (End of Chapter)