"This is a dream, you're not real," I said to the lady.
The madame's face broke into a sneer. "Really? "Those who can walk out are called dreams. Those who can't walk out become your life."
Then she gave me a shove and I tumbled down the hill. Then I lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I felt like I was lying on someone's back. I didn't open my eyes, and even if I didn't, I knew perfectly well that this was a paper man.
This time, I didn't resist. I lay on my stomach, resigned to fate, and let the paper man lead me forward.
I heard the crying again, and I didn't look any more curiously.
The paper man walked for a long time and finally took me to a small village. Then he swung his body and threw me off his back.
I staggered, barely able to stand. The paper man turned and shone the lantern back and forth.
He was using the lantern light to look at my face, and I was also using the lantern light to look at his face.
The paper man's face was obviously painted on, but this time, the painting was very exquisite, and also had a certain charm, I am sure that this is my foster-grandpa.
I knew that he was a fake, but I still couldn't help but call out, "foster-grandpa."
The paper man seemed not to have heard him, as he turned around and walked forward with the lantern in his hand.
I followed the paper man, thinking as I walked: What's going on? In my dream, how did foster-grandpa become a paper man? Could it be that because foster-grandpa died, I imagined him as a paper man?
I see our village, Hu Village. I also see a child sitting at the entrance of the village playing.
The child was no more than two or three years old. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes. When he saw the paper man, he called out, "Third Grandpa."
The paper man did not speak, but walked past him with the lantern in his hand.
I suddenly realised that this child looked very much like Hu Dali. Could this be the Hu Dali of his childhood? He looked pretty smart. He didn't look like an idiot at all.
I asked the child, "What's your name?"
The child replied, "My name is Hu Dali."
Surprised and happy, I took his hand and said, "Where are your parents?"
Before I could finish my words, I suddenly felt something was wrong with my hand. I looked down and immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. This Hu Dali was also made out of paper.
The child giggled and said, "My parents are sleeping over there."
I followed the direction of the child's finger and saw that he was referring to the ancestral grave of our village.
I nodded, turned around, and followed my foster-grandpa.
When I walked into the village, I found that everything in the village was made of paper. They included the house, the yard, the well at the village entrance, and the mules and horses tied to the pillars.
My foster-grandpa walked straight to his own Inside the house, then scooped out a bowl of soup, dark and steaming. A sign for me to drink.
I smelled it, and it made me dizzy. I shook my head and put the bowl down. Even if I'm dreaming, I can't drink anything.
foster-grandpa looked at me with a little displeasure. He once again picked up the bowl, grabbed my neck with one hand and forced me to drink with the other. I struggled with all my might, but no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't break free. I was forced to swallow a mouthful.
Then I heard a bell ringing in the distance.
Startled, I turned my head that way. A trace of light appeared in the dark sky.
To the south, the clouds were gathering, forming a giant hand in the moonlight. Taking advantage of foster-grandpa's stupefaction, I struggled to break free from his control and ran out of the courtyard.
I ran toward the clouds, and as I ran, I could feel the hand searching for me. I shouted as I ran, and the hand seemed to hear my voice and come for me.
I could feel its suction, thousands of feet away, trying to grab me in my hands and leave this damned place.
However, halfway through my run, I heard footsteps in front of me. Her voice was neat and melodious, causing one's soul to tremble. It was a Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon. A Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon had just passed by.
I dropped to my knees and covered my eyes and ears with my hands.
This posture was very humiliating, forcing people to pretend that they were deaf and dumb. However, in this world, didn't one have to be able to bend and submit? If he survived, he would still have a chance to make a comeback. If he died, he would have nothing left.
I can't keep up with the bell this time, so I'll have to wait for the next time. The hand grabbed in the air once, missed me, and soon dispersed.
The Heavenly Soldiers are coming my way, but they're not here to deal with me. They're just passing by me.
I cover my eyes, but I can't help my curiosity. I want to know what the Sky Soldiers are doing here.
I opened my eyes quietly and looked out between my fingers.
As I watched, I thought to myself: This is just a dream after all. It doesn't matter if I'm discovered, right?
Those heavenly soldiers still looked exactly the same. I did not see the palanquin when the paper men passed by. Instead, I saw a rope, a long rope, and finally a man tied to it. He was covered in blood and exhausted, but I recognized him at a glance.
I was so shocked that I didn't even notice when I took my hand from my eyes.
When Xia Xin saw me, her face lit up with surprise. Obviously, she knew who I was.
My heart warmed. Without much time to think, I jumped up from the ground. I rushed to Xia Xin's side and frantically tried to untie the rope for her.
But this rope is not so easy to untie. Just as I let the knot loosen a little, the Sky Soldiers gather around us.
I didn't have time to waste, so I carried Xia Xin on my back and shouted, "Let's go."
The troops of celestial soldiers were chasing after us, their voices rumbling like a train rolling over us.
Trembling with fear, I fled into the village with Xia Xin behind my back. There were many houses in the village, and he hoped to avoid the soldiers.
Sometimes, people were like this. Even when they were running, they subconsciously liked to go to the most familiar places. I ran to a house and slammed the door. Then I found out that I was in my own house.
I don't know where foster-grandpa went, but I looked around and didn't see him. I opened the drawer and took out the incense and matches.
I lit the incense and stuck it in the corner.
This was something I learned from the couple at the canteen. Although they tricked us with their bewitching souls, I don't think that it was wrong for them to light incense to avoid the soldiers.
After the incense was lit, I found the scissors and untied Xia Xin's rope.
Xia Xin looked at me for a while before saying, "You know me?"
"Of course I know you."
There was no joy on Xia Xin's face and instead became more serious, "How do you know me? So this is not a dream? "
I laughed. "This is a dream, but I am also in your dream. The three of us are bewitched, so we see each other in our dreams and we dream of what we fear most. "
Xia Xin thoughtfully nodded, then asked curiously, "Three? Aren't there four of us? "
I said, "My second uncle doesn't know what's going on. He didn't fall for it."
Hearing this, Xia Xin immediately said to me: "Hu Chujiu, you still don't suspect him? All three of us fell for it, but why is he the only one fine? "
I helplessly said, "At such a time, you still have the mood to doubt him?" As for why my second uncle is fine, I think it's because he's practiced in the past. Didn't they say that there are experts who can lie in coffins and wait without breathing for days and nights? "
Xia Xin shook her head and said, "I've never heard of anyone who can avoid a bewitched soul. This kind of thing is very weird, it's not something that you can defend against just by not breathing. "
I was about to say something when I heard footsteps outside. The soldier was already outside the door.
Xia Xin and I looked at each other, deep worry in our eyes.
Fortunately, they did not push the door open and come in.
Just as we were relieved, we heard the sound of a door opening and closing in the distance. The sound came from all directions and gradually came closer and closer to us.
I bitterly said to Xia Xin, "They're searching from the outermost house in the village. I'm afraid we won't be able to escape today."
Xia Xin started to tremble again.
I asked her, "Why were you captured by the Heaven-grade weapon?"
Xia Xin whispered, "Because I …" Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly shut her mouth.
I said, "We're about to die. What other secrets do we have to keep?"
Xia Xin raised her head, looked at me, and suddenly smiled, "Stop lying to me. We're dreaming right now. How is it that we're about to die?"
I thought regretfully, "If I had known earlier, I would have lied to her and told her that we were in reality."
In the end, the heavenly soldiers managed to search our home. They rammed against each other, broke the door, and opened the gate. A group of paper men walked in.
Xia Xin and I were in the yard, and we didn't hide.
We couldn't escape our fate of being caught in the house, and we were even more bedraggled. We stood in the courtyard, our backs straight as we waited for the celestial soldiers. Of course, it would be even more perfect if our legs didn't tremble.
Actually, I was a little surprised at this moment. I was afraid of the Heaven-grade weapon, mainly because I was afraid of something strange. What was Xia Xin afraid of? She clearly knew that this was a dream, so why was she so afraid?
Later on, I realized that the Heavenly Soldiers had already left a lot of fear in Xia Xin's heart.
After the soldiers came in, they did not seem to expect us to resist at all.
I picked up a wooden stick from the side and threw it towards a paper man.
The paper man tilted his head and dodged, then kicked me in the chest.
I've never seen a paper man so fast, so powerful. I was kicked away and fell in the corner. For a moment I couldn't breathe.
When I recovered, I found that the paper men had tied up Xia Xin.