Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 3 Lucid Dream

In fact, deep down, Ren Yuan hoped that he was overthinking it.

Since it is true that people turn into sheep, then it is probably true that locusts eat people. Such a world is too dangerous. In any case, this Zhuangzi is at least a safe haven for me. It is better not to leave before I can protect myself.

But the prerequisite for staying is that the people in the village have no ill will towards you.

After much thought, he decided to go back into his dream to find out what was going on.

Ren Yuan had long discovered that he had remained awake and able to move independently in this repetitive nightmare.

It's like what's called lucid dreaming.

Before, it only made him feel the pain more clearly, over and over again.

Now, it can finally come in handy.

~~
After falling asleep again, he really turned into a sheep again.

Everything was the same as before, with a collar around his neck and tied to a stake with an iron chain along with another white goat.

And this was the sheepfold he had just visited before going to bed. But after careful observation, Ren Yuan still found something unusual.

That is, on the wooden stake where he was tied, there was a piece of red paper with the words "May the six domestic animals be safe" pasted on it, and the date of the inscription was the year of Guimao. The paper was bright red, and the ink was clear, which showed that it had been pasted there not long ago.

In reality, it is already the Yi Si Year two years later. So what I dreamed about might be a scene that actually happened two years ago.

My cousin and uncle both said that they were brought to the village two years ago...

He wanted to explore further, but there was still an iron chain around his neck.

This is a bit strange, because animals are not normally tied up in the pen.

In fact, the other animals in the shed were not tied up with ropes. Only their two sheep were tied up, and the chains were even locked.

Therefore, this Aries is most likely suffering from the same problem as me, and is also a transformed human.

Ren Yuan tried to communicate.

"What..."

"Bah ah..."

"BAA Baa baa……"

Two sheep, one black and one white, stared at each other, neither of them understood what the other meant.

Ren Yuan then wrote on the ground with his hoof. The sheep looked at him blankly, not knowing what the big black sheep was scratching on the ground.

After various attempts failed, Ren Yuan gave up communication and waited for fate to come.

On the penultimate night in the dream, my uncle Xie Deng and another unknown man came to the sheepfold as expected and took away the white sheep.

On the last night, at midnight, the two men arrived as expected and dragged Ren Yuan out...

Ren Yuan followed the two quietly, but his eyes were darting around as he carefully observed his surroundings - familiar buildings, flower beds, water tanks, grape racks, the sneaky tabby cat on the wall, his cousin's coughing at night... all of them could be matched with the inner courtyard of the real manor.

The two of them led him to the old lady's door. Ren Yuan turned into a sheep, and his ears were very sensitive. He heard the voice of his grandmother inside, saying: "I can't bear it anymore..."

"Mom." There was a knock on the door and grandma stopped talking.

The door opened, and there was no one else inside, only the beautiful bird, resting with its eyes closed in the cage.

Grandma’s appearance hasn’t changed much, but her eyes are sharp and her expression is gloomy, completely different from the kind old lady in real life.

The two men led in Ren Yuanbian's black sheep, pressed it firmly on the table, and tied its four hooves to the four table legs with ropes, pulling it tightly to the ground.

Then, the strange man held his two horns, and my uncle held a sharp knife and skinned him alive.

Grandma watched this scene expressionlessly, her lips moving slightly, as if she was chanting some sutra or swallowing her saliva.

There was a large cut on Ren Yuanhou's back, and he screamed in pain. As the cut got longer, his screams suddenly turned into human language: "It hurts so much..."

~~
"A Yuan, A Yuan."

Hearing his cousin's call, Ren Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and found himself back in bed.

After a night, my cousin was smiling again and asked with concern, "Are you having a nightmare again?"

"Yeah." Ren Yuan calmed down, raised his arm and looked at his hand, then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I toss and turn, and always have a very absurd dream." But his cousin said, "I really envy you."

"what?"

"At least you can still dream, but I can't even dream," replied my cousin.

"How could that be?" Ren Yuan was surprised.

"Why not? Anyway, I never remember having a dream." My cousin sighed and said, "I really want to try it."

"Is this also related to big brother's illness?" Ren Yuan asked softly.

"That's not the case." My cousin shook his head and said, "As far as I know, other people don't dream either."

"Then how do you know there is such a thing as dreams?"

"That's because the older generation still dreamed when they were young, but they haven't done so in the past twenty years or so," replied my cousin.

"Is there such a thing?" Ren Yuanxin said. It seems that there is a lot behind the dream.

"There are many things in the world that are incomprehensible. So what if you can't dream?" The cousin patted his shoulder and said, "Okay, no more small talk. Get up and practice."

~~
When practicing today, Ren Yuan was obviously more devoted than yesterday, and Master Ma kept praising him for finally taking it seriously.

Ren Yuan couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. When a sheep enters a tiger's mouth, how can he not work hard?

During the break, he asked Master Ma, "What is our Kung Fu called? Is it awesome?"

"It's just a set of physical exercises, it doesn't have a name." Master Ma said with a simple smile, "But the young master has already got the hang of it, and ordinary people like us can't resist any of his punches."

Ren Yuan thought he was complimenting him. Just when he wanted to show Master Ma his skills and learn from him, the old lady and the third young master came out.

The old lady looked much better than yesterday. Her legs and feet were much more flexible and she could even carry the bird cage by herself.

I don't know what species the bird in the cage is, it's very beautiful, with a slender and graceful body, emerald green feathers, a blue crest on its head, and a long colorful tail behind it. Even Ren Yuan couldn't help but take a second look at it every time, no wonder the old lady took it with her wherever she went.

Ren Yuan greeted the old lady as usual, and the old lady was as kind as ever, smiling and saying, "Hurry up and have dinner. Your uncle left for the county early, and we have already eaten with him."

"Yes." Ren Yuan responded respectfully, washed up and entered the hall.

My cousin pointed at the plate full of snacks and said, "You are in for a treat today. We have grilled lamb chops, boiled lamb, and braised lamb trotters. It's a pity that I am sick and cannot enjoy the feast with you..."

Ren Yuan turned pale and tried hard not to vomit on the spot.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that he looked troubled and didn't move his chopsticks, his cousin asked with concern, "Can't you smell the mutton?"

"Yes." Ren Yuan quickly said, "I can't stand the smell of sheep."

"Oh, you've changed so much." My cousin sighed, "Okay, I won't let you eat sheep anymore."

"That couldn't be better." Ren Yuan let out a long breath.

~~
After barely having a vegan breakfast, Ren Yuan strolled around the manor.

My cousin has to read, write, take medicine or go to bed during the day, so no one will bother him.

He didn't have to study. He could practice when he wanted to, and wait for dinner when he didn't want to. If it weren't for those terrible doubts, Ren Yuan's life in Xiejiazhuang could be described as leisurely.

Just like the sheep in the dream...

But although he seemed relaxed, his mind was constantly on the move and he would not let go of anything suspicious.

For example, he had discovered that his back teeth were severely worn, which indicated that he had been eating unground whole grains as his staple food. With his refined diet these days, this would not have happened.

In addition, the deep and shallow old marks on his back and buttocks proved that he had been whipped repeatedly, which was inconsistent with his identity as a pampered young master.

In fact, these things that are wrong are all obvious, but he usually ignores them intentionally or unintentionally.

While daydreaming, Ren Yuan came to the familiar sheepfold. The talisman paper with the words "May All Livestock Be Safe" from the Guimao Year had turned white, and its original color was almost unrecognizable.

As expected, the sheep with red spots on its face did not come back.

He opened the gate and walked in, arriving at the place he had been in his dream. There really was a stake there for tying up animals, exactly the same as in his dream...

Ren Yuan finally couldn't bear it anymore, and he held onto the pole and vomited violently.

(End of this chapter)