In her dream, Xiao Chuxia found herself standing in a vast, empty space, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She was completely still, lost in the nothingness.
Out of nowhere, Fang Xiu appeared. He took in the void around him, then looked at Xiao Chuxia, who stood there in a daze. He quickly figured out what was happening.
"This must be what it's like when someone isn't actively dreaming," he thought.
There was nothing around him—no scenery, no colors. His mind was just as blank.
With a snap of his fingers, Fang Xiu broke the silence. Xiao Chuxia suddenly came to life, her big eyes slowly regaining their spark. She hadn't even realized she was dreaming since Fang Xiu had knocked her out earlier.
"Where are we? Fang Xiu, where did you take me?" Xiao Chuxia asked, fear creeping into her voice as she glanced around the strange, empty space.
"This is your dream," Fang Xiu replied calmly.
"My dream?" Xiao Chuxia looked around, still not fully believing him. It made sense, though—most people don't realize they're dreaming.
"I remember now," she said, her voice growing sharper. "You knocked me out, and now we're in this weird place. What's your game?"
Before Fang Xiu could answer, the emptiness around them began to shift. The space transformed into a room straight out of a romantic hotel—pink lights, a waterbed, a bathroom with glass walls, and rose petals scattered everywhere.
Xiao Chuxia gasped in shock, her eyes wide with panic like a startled deer. "What's happening? Don't you dare try anything!"
As her fear grew, the room filled with things like whips, handcuffs, candles, and uniforms, making the scene even more unsettling.
Fang Xiu's expression darkened. "Enough!" he commanded.
With that, the room disappeared in an instant, leaving them back in the empty space.
Xiao Chuxia froze, something clicking in her mind.
"This is your dream," Fang Xiu explained sternly. "Everything changes based on what you're thinking. Stop letting your imagination run wild."
Her cheeks turned red, but she wasn't ready to admit anything. "No way! You must've done that on purpose!"
Even as she denied it, doubt crept in.'No way, that couldn't be me. Am I really that kind of person? The type who says no but secretly wants it? There's no way I'd want to be in a romantic hotel with Fang Xiu! It's just because I've read too many romance novels. Yeah, blame it on the Internet.'
Fang Xiu simply watched her, not bothering to argue. "I brought you here to test your abilities," he said plainly. "Soon, we'll enter other people's dreams. You'll see if you can deceive them, and maybe even gain the power of lies."
Xiao Chuxia eyed him suspiciously. "So you knocked me out just for an experiment?"
"Of course," Fang Xiu replied, his tone matter-of-fact.
Xiao Chuxia pouted but kept quiet.
But all her thoughts spilled into the dream. The scene around them shifted again, becoming misty with a soft, otherworldly fog.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by peach trees, their branches heavy with ripe fruit. Among the trees were seven beautiful women, dressed in ancient, flowing robes, picking peaches with delicate hands. Just then, a monkey appeared out of nowhere.
"Freeze!"
With that command, the seven women were instantly paralyzed, unable to move a muscle.
The monkey, barely giving the women a glance, strutted over to the peach trees, proudly picking the juiciest fruits.*
Fang Xiu watched the scene with a detached expression, then turned his gaze to Xiao Chuxia.
Xiao Chuxia felt a wave of embarrassment crash over her. She quickly stared down at her toes, wishing the ground would swallow her up.
"Let's go," Fang Xiu said, breaking the silence.
With that, they entered a different scene—the dream of another psychic, who was inside the hotel.
The dreamer was a young man who looked completely ordinary, the kind of person who could easily disappear into a crowd. His dream was as cliched as they come: he fantasized about awakening countless powers, showing off at headquarters, rising through the ranks to become the Chief Captain, with women in both arms, living the high life.
"Go deceive him," Fang Xiu instructed, pointing at the young man.
Xiao Chuxia blinked, caught off guard. "How am I supposed to deceive him?"
Fang Xiu rolled his eyes. "You've been deceiving people for years, and you need me to teach you how to do it?"
"Hmph, you're awful at giving compliments. I didn't deceive people on purpose. It was all for my growth!" she snapped back.
With that, Xiao Chuxia started walking toward the young man.
As she approached, her body began to glow with a golden light. She slowly rose into the air, her figure now floating high above, standing atop a dome.
She looked down solemnly, now seated on a sacred golden lotus, resembling Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva of Compassion) in her divine form.
Fang Xiu had given her partial control of the dream, allowing her to reshape and manipulate it at will.
"Ye Tian," she called out, her voice booming as if a million voices were speaking in unison.
The young man's head snapped up, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of Xiao Chuxia, now appearing like the Bodhisattva herself. He was completely stunned.
"Bodhisattva!"
"Ye Tian," she continued, her voice echoing with authority, "you are chosen by the heavens. The world is in chaos, and it is your destiny to save it."
"The chosen one!" Ye Tian gasped, his excitement reaching a fever pitch. "I knew it! Don't worry, Bodhisattva, I'll save the world!"
Xiao Chuxia waved her hand gracefully, sending a golden light that flowed into Ye Tian's body.
"Ye Tian, this golden light of infinite merit will greatly enhance your potential, elevating you to level-five power. Remember your promise."
With those final words, Xiao Chuxia's image began to fade, leaving Ye Tian in a state of wild euphoria. He kept muttering to himself, "Level Five! Level Five! Haha, I'm going to be the world's first Level Five powerhouse!"
When she returned, Fang Xiu asked, "How did it go?"
A wide grin spread across Xiao Chuxia's face. "Hehe, it was amazing! He actually called me Bodhisattva. I realized that in dreams, people don't question anything. No matter how ridiculous it is, they believe it completely. It's way easier to deceive people in dreams than in real life."
"I was asking how much power of lies you gained," Fang Xiu said, cutting through her excitement.
He already knew the truth—deceiving people in dreams is like shooting fish in a barrel. In the dream world, no matter how absurd things get, people believe them, losing the ability to tell truth from lies.
Xiao Chuxia briefly focused inward, sensing the new power she had gained. The excitement on her face slowly dimmed as she processed the result.
"What? It is only one-tenth of what I get in reality?"
Disappointment tinged her voice. She had expected more. But Fang Xiu, on the other hand, looked quite satisfied—his experiment had worked.
"It's more than I expected," he replied calmly.
"That's what you call 'more'? You're easily pleased, aren't you? If it's only one-tenth, then deceiving ten people in a dream is just the same as deceiving one person in real life."
Fang Xiu gave her a cool, measured look.
"And how many people can you deceive in reality in a single day?"