The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

As Wang Long spoke, he stood up and walked towards the women, his steps casual and unhurried.

He walked over to one of them and naturally put his arm around the other's waist. The person smiled and leaned their head on his shoulder, as if they were already used to such intimacy.

The others laughed along, someone handed him a cup of tea, and someone else reached out to straighten his collar. The scene looked warm and natural, without anything abrupt.

Several women were unusually close to Wang Long.

Ye Niannu stood there, watching Wang Long walk further and further away, as if he were being swallowed up by layer upon layer of warm light.

She wanted to call out to him, but the sound was stuck in her throat and she couldn't make it out.

She tried to take a step, but found that her legs felt like they were filled with lead, so heavy that she couldn't lift them at all.

"My lord..."

Ye Niannu cried out.

"Do you... really not want me anymore?"

……

In reality, Wang Long frowned even more deeply when he saw Ye Niannu's pained expression.

Ye Niannu's face gradually turned pale from its initial calm, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her lips moved slightly.

It emitted intermittent murmurs, the content of which was indistinct, yet they carried an obvious sense of pain and struggle.

He reached out and gently took Ye Niannu's hand, which was hanging by her knees. His palm was warm, and he covered her slightly cool fingertips.

Wang Long's voice was very low, with an almost cautious gentleness.

"Niannu, I'm here, so don't be afraid of anything."

But Ye Niannu did not respond.

Her brows furrowed more and more, her body began to tremble slightly, and her murmurs became more rapid and indistinct, as if she were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war with something unseen.

The surrounding cultivators had already noticed the unusual situation, and someone whispered something.

"Has she gone mad? Can illusions really trap people so easily?"

"It's hard to say. Some people encounter more dangerous illusions when their mental strength breaks through than usual. The one struggling so fiercely is probably because her inner demons have been triggered."

"If you can't get out, your spirit might disintegrate. Even if you wake up, you'll just be a walking corpse with nothing left."

Hearing these discussions, Wang Long's heart jumped into his throat, and he gripped Ye Niannu's hand tightly.

He forced himself not to be distracted by looking in any direction.

His gaze remained fixed on Ye Niannu's pale and pained face. He could feel her fingers gripping his hand tighter and tighter, as if she were grabbing the only piece of driftwood while drowning, but she was still sinking deeper and deeper.

"Niannu, can you hear my voice?"

Wang Long's voice sounded somewhat urgent.

"Hold on, I'll find a way, I'll make sure nothing happens to you!"

But he knew that there was only so much he could do right now.

These illusions represent a mental struggle, and external forces can offer very little help. Unless one can penetrate from within and directly find the root cause of her predicament, she can only break free from the nightmares that haunt her on her own.

Wang Long probed the Immortal Palace mark on the back of his hand with his divine sense, but it was like throwing a mud ox into the sea, receiving no response whatsoever.

The celestial palace seemed to be isolated by an invisible barrier in this spiritual realm, and Xiao Xian'er's voice did not come. The mark simply remained quietly on the surface of his skin without making any noise.

He closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain.

Seeing Ye Niannu in danger and being powerless to help, he hated his own incompetence!

Just as Wang Long was at his wit's end, a gentle voice, tinged with weariness, suddenly rang out from the depths of his consciousness.

"She is trapped in the deepest part of the nightmare, and she cannot wake up on her own."

Wang Long's gaze suddenly sharpened, then brightened slightly.

"Xi Ning? You're awake?"

"Yeah, it won't last long."

Xi Ning's voice still carried a hint of drowsiness and laziness from just waking up, but it was more serious than usual.

"I can feel the fluctuations in her mind. Those nightmares are like living things, reinforcing their bindings on her layer by layer. She can't wake up on her own."

Wang Long pressed him for an answer.

"Do you have a way to help her?"

"I can send your spiritual body into her sea of ​​consciousness."

Xi Ning paused slightly before adding a sentence.

"But I can't guarantee you can get her out safely. Nightmare is alive; the longer someone is trapped inside, the stronger it becomes."

"Once you go in, you will also be pulled into the illusion, and you may be trapped inside."

"Send this old man inside!"

Wang Long spoke without hesitation, his voice calm yet resolute.

Xi Ning paused for a moment, as if confirming his determination.

A moment later, the gentle voice rang out again, with a tone of helplessness but not surprise.

"it is good."

"Next, I will guide your spirit into her sea of ​​consciousness. You may feel a moment of weightlessness and dizziness. Do not resist, just go with the flow."

Wang Long responded, gripped Ye Niannu's fingers even tighter, and whispered.

"Niannu, I've arrived."

As soon as Wang Long finished speaking, Xi Ning's voice murmured something deep within his mind. The words were vague and ancient, like some kind of guiding incantation.

Wang Long felt his consciousness suddenly sink, as if countless warm threads were drawn from between his eyebrows, wrapping around his spirit and rapidly sliding down in another direction.

The light blue light surrounding Ye Niannu trembled slightly at this moment, like a door being gently pushed open a crack from the outside, and then closing again.

Wang Long's spiritual form transformed into an invisible stream of light and entered Ye Niannu's brow.

Within a few breaths, Wang Long's vision cleared again, and he found himself standing in a thick, grayish-white fog.

The ground beneath my feet felt damp, cold, and soft, like stepping on a muddy swamp, with a damp and oppressive atmosphere all around.

In the distance, blurry figures could be seen moving about. Some were weeping softly, while others were muttering something incoherently. The sounds mingled together, buzzing like countless flies swirling around one's ears.

He heard a familiar voice, intermittent and with a suppressed tremor, faintly echoing in the depths of the thick fog.

"Don't go...don't...don't leave me..."

Wang Long's heart tightened suddenly. Without hesitation, he followed the direction of the sound and stepped into the depths of the thick fog.

The phantoms around him scattered as he passed by, as if they were afraid of the solid spiritual energy around him, or as if they were dispelled from within by something.

He passed through a distorted courtyard afterimage, then around a withering spirit peach tree, and finally saw Ye Niannu in the center of an even thicker fog.

Ye Niannu was kneeling on a gray-white ground, her hands supporting her on the ground, her head bowed, her long hair falling over her shoulders and covering most of her face, her body trembling slightly.

Her voice had become hoarse and broken, repeating that murmur over and over again, as if pleading with someone unseen, or as if trying to convince herself.

Wang Long strode over, knelt down in front of her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. The touch of his palm was warm and real, and he could feel the slight trembling of her body, like leaves in a cold wind.

"Niannu, I've arrived."