Chapter 23 We can't let him out!

The sound of shattering gradually faded into the wind, as if it had never existed.

Only the hollow Death-Abandonment Kiln remained, along with several gnawed skeletons on the ground.

Finally resolved. Chen Mu sheathed his sword, and the eight figures merged into one.

Despite having achieved victory, the worry between his brows did not diminish.

He felt that something was not quite right, as if something was missing. This cat demon was so powerful, and the Lifespan that could be plundered...

Lifespan!

Chen Mu suddenly looked up. No, that was not right!

He had slain such a powerful cat demon old woman, yet the cold, mechanical voice of the System in his mind had not sounded. He had not plundered any Lifespan.

This did not conform to the rules of the System at all, unless...

Unless the demon he had just slain was not the true form of the monster, or this whole thing was not real in the first place, but an illusion!

That was it!

He was currently in a dream!

Chen Mu felt a secret shock in his heart.

The scene just now had been truly too realistic; he had actually forgotten that he was still in a dream.

Before he could feel frustrated for long, his head spun dizzily, and the scene before his eyes began to twist and change. The dilapidated kiln, the desolate grave mounds, the eerie white bones, including himself—everything became blurred and distorted.

Chen Mu clutched his head, his consciousness struggling incessantly, and his vision gradually turned pitch black.

...

His eyes snapped open, and his vision shifted from blurry to clear.

He was still sitting cross-legged on the earthen bed in the side room of Blind Li's house. Beneath him was a damp and sticky straw mat, and the cold moonlight shone through a hole in the roof.

He was back.

Chen Mu steadied his mind and immediately reached out to his side. The cold touch of the long sword against his fingertips gave him a slight sense of relief.

It was a dream, but not a simple one.

The exhaustion after the duel, the numbness in his fingertips, and the mental drain all proved that everything just now was not an illusion.

He immediately looked to his side. Liu Ziming was lying on his side clutching his saber, seemingly fast asleep, but his state was extremely wrong!

His eyes were tightly shut, his brows were furrowed, his forehead was black, his lips were twitching unconsciously, his body was trembling slightly, and his muscles were spasming uncontrollably.

What made Chen Mu even more uneasy was that black fur was growing on Liu Ziming's exposed arms, thickening and hardening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Chen Mu grabbed his hand to look; his fingernails were also growing rapidly, becoming sharp and pointed, displaying an ominous, pitch-black color.

Demonization!

Liu Ziming was becoming demonized, just like the villagers in Sangye Village who had lost their minds!

That place was simply too evil. Not only could it make people fall into such a realistic dream, but it could also affect their physical bodies in reality due to the events within the dream.

Or was it that this was simply the means by which that monster demonized the villagers?!

Alarm bells rang in Chen Mu's heart. He instantly sprang up from the bed and grabbed Liu Ziming's body, shaking it violently.

"Liu Ziming! Wake up!"

Chen Mu shouted in a low voice, channeling three parts of his internal energy into his speech, hoping to wake the other person through sound.

Liu Ziming showed no reaction. His body shook even more violently, and the mutation on his hands continued, gradually spreading toward his arms.

Chen Mu swung his hand violently and slapped Liu Ziming across the cheek, which immediately turned red.

"Liu Ziming! Wake up! Look at me!"

Slap after slap followed. Liu Ziming's head swayed back and forth with Chen Mu's strikes, his eyelids fluttering, but he could not open them completely. Low, beast-like whimpers emerged from his throat.

Seeing that calling out and slapping were ineffective and the signs of demonization were becoming more severe, Chen Mu felt a jolt in his heart and abruptly pulled Liu Ziming up from the bed.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Liu Ziming's body suddenly seemed to be pulled by something, and he began to walk toward the door, stumbling step by step.

It was as if something outside was summoning and attracting him.

His eyes remained tightly closed, and even more terrifyingly, the closer he got to the door, the faster the demonization on his body progressed.

In just a few steps, his neck had already turned a dark, bruised color, and the muscles on his cheeks were twitching slightly; he was on the verge of being completely demonized.

"Come back!"

Chen Mu roared, then grabbed Liu Ziming's shoulders and dragged him backward with all his might.

Who would have thought that Liu Ziming's body would be impossibly heavy, his feet seemingly rooted to the ground? No matter how hard he tried, he remained unmoved.

There were only three steps left to the door.

Veins bulged on Chen Mu's hands. He channeled his Taibao Horizontal Training, took a firm stance, and blocked in front of Liu Ziming to stop him from advancing.

But this had no effect; instead, he took another step.

Liu Ziming's fingernails had grown to over an inch long, pitch-black, sharp, and hooked, and his neck was covered in thick black fur.

Another step!

In desperation, Chen Mu released one hand, formed his palm into a blade, and chopped down toward Liu Ziming's neck, intending to knock him unconscious. However, fearing that he might truly injure or kill him, he held back three parts of his strength.

With a muffled groan, Liu Ziming's body shook but did not collapse. Instead, he used even greater force to break free from Chen Mu's restraint. He was one last step away, and his hand had even reached the doorframe!

"Bang!"

A fierce look flashed in Chen Mu's eyes. He abruptly lifted his leg and kicked hard at the back of Liu Ziming's knee, using his full ten parts of strength!

"Crack!" A bone-chilling sound of bone fracturing rang out. Liu Ziming's body tilted and he fell to his knees, his hand loosening from the doorframe.

It worked!

Chen Mu did not hesitate any longer. He stepped forward and kicked repeatedly, striking his lower legs and sweeping his ankles, combining soft and hard techniques to kick the man back into the room and away from the door.

Liu Ziming was kicked, rolling incessantly. His clothes were covered in dust, and he looked utterly wretched.

Chen Mu did not soften his heart. Kick after kick followed, the sound of his boots striking flesh was exceptionally distinct, and the entire room was filled with "thumping" sounds.

Just as Chen Mu was about to land another kick, Liu Ziming, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut and was completely unaware, actually squeezed a weak human voice from his throat.

Hoarse, but clear.

"Chen Mu... Chen Mu... It hurts... It hurts so much... Stop kicking..."

Chen Mu forcefully pulled back his foot, which was about to land, in mid-air.

Liu Ziming curled up on the ground in pain, trembling all over, holding his injured leg, and groaning incessantly.

Chen Mu crouched down to look at him, but he felt little guilt.

In these chaotic times, merely preserving one's own life was difficult enough. Everything he had just done was to prevent Liu Ziming from becoming further demonized.

Although the methods were a bit violent, they had ultimately achieved the goal. The fact that he had not truly broken his leg bone was out of consideration for their camaraderie.

It was just that Liu Ziming's current state was truly somewhat eerie.

His eyes were still tightly closed, his body was thick with black fur, his fingernails were sharp as hooks and pitch-black, and while his facial features were basically normal, they were slightly shifted.

Although the demonization had stopped, he had not returned to his original human form.

He could hold his injured leg and cry out in pain, and even call Chen Mu's name, which showed that he had regained consciousness, yet he was still unable to escape from the dream.

"Liu Ziming, can you hear me clearly? Do you know where you are now?"

Chen Mu crouched beside Liu Ziming and asked in a deep voice.

"I... I know... Sangye Village... Blind Li's house."

Liu Ziming's voice was intermittent and tearful, and he then begged.

"Chen Mu... quickly... save me... I can't hold on anymore."