0p0 Chapter 177 Side Story (Main Story 4: A Dream That Doesn't Look Like Anything)
Chapter 177 Side Story (Main Story 4: A Dream That Doesn't Look Like Anything)
The sun was shining brightly, and the Deer Man Shop was peaceful. A gentle breeze rustled the grass in front of the shop, and Walnut, Fuzai, Tianlu, and Baijie were playing games in the open space.
They circled around the three stools, scrambling to sit down at the start, and the one who didn't get a stool lost.
"Hahaha, silly Pipi stole your chair." Walnut laughed and pulled away the chair that Tianlu wanted to sit on.
Tianlu plopped down on the ground, wincing in pain. Seeing that he was about to lose, he desperately slammed his head into Baijie's stool, sending it flying.
"Ouch!" Bai Jie's bottom slipped and he fell onto Tian Lu, the two brothers tumbling over. Tian Lu was the first to recover and struggled to crawl towards the stool, but Bai Jie was in a better position, stepping on his head and leaping to grab the stool.
When the two were only centimeters apart, Bai Jie's hind paw was grabbed and he was thrown to the ground with a thud. His eyes widened. He was unwillingly dragged back by Tian Lu.
"Walnut, come in and trim your nails!" A claw lifted the curtain, and the four-legged creature poked its head out and called out.
He was watching the two brothers wrestling with great interest when he suddenly paused, then quickly replied, "Oh, I'm coming!" After saying that, he reluctantly looked back and ran into the shop.
……
"It's a... a mess, can I have my own place? I don't want to sleep in the same place as Fu-zai anymore."
Inside the shop, Walnut was having its nails trimmed on the lap of the Four-Faced Beast. After hearing his words, the Four-Faced Beast couldn't help but feel surprised, "Hmm? What's going on? Did you two have another fight?"
"No, isn't it true that men and women shouldn't touch each other? That's what Teacher Xie taught us."
"Oh, Walnut has grown up. It even knows that men and women shouldn't touch each other." The four-legged creature picked up Walnut's other claw and said unexpectedly while trimming it.
"Of course, Walnut goes to school every day..." Walnut felt a pang of guilt as he said this, and a few beads of sweat involuntarily appeared on his forehead. After a moment's hesitation, he weakly added, "Actually... there are other reasons too..."
As the two little ones began sleeping together at night, Walnut's ability to enter dreams increased with his growth, but... it also spiraled out of control...
The two little ones lay in the cardboard box, with drool dripping from Fuzai's mouth and Walnut's face contorted in pain.
In the dream...
Looking out over the endless sea of tofu, Fuzai smiled happily, grabbed a handful of tofu and stuffed it into Walnut's mouth, "Tofu is delicious, Walnut, come and eat, eat more!"
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" Walnut thrashed about in the sea of tofu, his eyes filled with despair, but to no avail. He was still swallowed up by the endless tofu.
……
That night, the four-legged creature carried Walnut to its bed, saying, "You can sleep here until the new nest arrives, and don't kick off the covers."
"No, walnuts are very quiet when they sleep!"
"Okay, then turn off the lights." The four-legged creature raised its paw and pulled the light switch, turning off the last lit window of the deer-man shop.
As night deepened, only the faint sound of the wind could be heard outside the window.
Walnut still couldn't keep his promise to sleep soundly. In his sleep, he tossed and turned a couple of times, kicked off the blanket, and his whole body was exposed. The four-legged creature was also sleeping soundly and didn't notice anything amiss.
Walnut continued to move around in his sleep, rolling onto the four-legged creature one moment and kicking it headfirst in the face the next. After all that fuss, he actually crawled back into bed. This wasn't a peaceful sleeper at night! He was clearly just making a ruckus and then going back to his original position!
Suddenly, Walnut's relaxed expression abruptly changed, and his ability to enter dreams went out of control again, involuntarily entering a dream world that resembled a strange creature.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his brow furrowed, as if he were entering a nightmare.
The scene changes...
A world of ice and snow, the sky gray, a fierce wind sweeping snowflakes across the land. In an open space, a figure suddenly appeared—it was Walnut.
"Huh? Where am I?" He had just entered the dream and hadn't reacted yet. It wasn't until he was on all fours that he suddenly came to his senses. "Could this be a dream of a mythical creature?"
A fierce blizzard swept in his face, snowflakes swirling around him, causing him to lean back. He instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, exclaiming, "What heavy snow!"
The howling wind filled his ears, and Walnut, braving the wind and snow, barely managed to lift his head to look at the gray sky. The next second, he seemed to see something and his eyes widened suddenly.
As the clouds parted, three figures—red, blue, and gold—descended from the sky amidst a fierce battle, their blood staining the heavens. They were clearly the three adult Pixiu brothers.
"Mwah mwah mwah! What's going on?!"
"Roar!!" The three brothers plummeted to the ground like meteors, letting out a furious roar as Bixie kicked Baijie squarely in the abdomen.
Amidst the three intertwined figures, one suddenly shot out, accelerating and crashing into the ground with a deafening boom. The snow-covered ground caved in, and the impact scattered the snow in all directions. Bai Jie coughed up a mouthful of blood, too severely injured to continue, and reverted to his smaller form.
"Bai Jie!!" Tian Lu exclaimed in surprise. In the moment of his distraction, Bi Xie viciously bit down, aiming straight for his throat.
Noticing this scene out of the corner of his eye, Tianlu's pupils contracted sharply, and he twisted his body to avoid a fatal blow, but he still couldn't avoid a heavy blow to his shoulder.
The sharp teeth pierced through the flesh, gushing out thick blood. Tianlu roared in pain and grabbed Bixie's upper and lower jaws.
"Bixie...you get out of here! Wake up!!" With a forceful pull of his claws, Bixie's mouth was forcibly pried open, and Tianlu took the opportunity to kick him out. The entangled brothers suddenly separated and fell to either side before hitting the ground. Despite all that talk, it only took two or three seconds.
The demon-slaying beast crashed to the ground, sending snowflakes flying. Its four claws dug into the ground, and it slid backward a short distance. Blood dripped from the corner of its mouth, and its breath carried the metallic scent of blood. It raised its head, its eyes now completely consumed by crimson.
Tianlu landed directly opposite him. He steadied himself and looked up, startled by what he saw.
Oh no, he's lost himself! Damn it! If we don't leave now, those bastards from Heaven are coming!
"Tian...Tianlu..."
A weak cry came from the snow pit. Tianlu took a step back and warily watched Bixie. At the same time, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Baijie struggling to crawl out of the snow pit. He was covered in wounds and was clearly incapacitated.
"Bai Jie, don't come any closer! I'll handle Pi Xie!"
Bai Jie paused upon hearing the sound, hesitated for a moment, then, feeling his own injuries, decided not to cause trouble for his brother and lay still by the edge of the pit.
Tianlu refocused his attention on the scene before him, "Bixie, calm down! Quickly get the four..."
"Roar!!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a sudden, frenzied roar from Bixie. He charged forward, leaving bloody footprints, and leaped up, slamming down with a swift claw.
Tianlu rolled over, and the spot where he had been standing was dented with a loud thud.
Taking advantage of the fact that the old power of the warding-off had just been exhausted and the new power had not yet been generated, he stomped his foot and rushed back, suddenly pouncing on the other party.
Pixie, tackled and instinctively bit at the claw pressing down on him, missed its target. Tianlu withdrew its claw, and in the instant Pixie missed, grabbed his face and slammed it into the snow, roaring, "Pixie, wake up!!"
But this sound had no effect as before; Bixie remained frantic. With his head constricted, he struggled desperately, his sharp claws lashing out, each strike bringing a splash of blood.
Tianlu gritted his teeth, controlling Bixie's head with one claw. His other claw was insufficient to block the attack, so he had to release it. Bixie suddenly lunged forward, aiming straight for Tianlu's throat. Tianlu almost got bitten, but he slapped Bixie's face away with his claw.
The two beasts fought hand-to-hand. Bixie was pinned beneath them, using both its mouth and claws to deliver deadly blows. Tianlu, though wary, could only barely defend itself. Baijie, watching from afar, was frantic with worry, wanting to help but knowing he would only be a burden. Hetao huddled in the snow, shivering, its paws tightly covering its mouth, not daring to utter a sound.
Mwah! What's going on here? Are those Pipi and Xiaobai?
The battle between the brothers took another turn. Tianlu knew he couldn't hold his own any longer, so he simply leaped backward. Pixie suddenly flipped over and got up. Without pausing, he pounced again. Tianlu ducked and dodged to the side. Pixie landed, kicked up snowflakes, and followed closely behind.
Time ticked by in the midst of the fierce battle. Bai Jie stared intently at the situation, sweat beading on his forehead despite the wind and snow. He glanced at the sky every now and then, finally unable to contain himself, he shouted, "Tianlu, we're running out of time! If we don't leave soon, the Heavenly Court will be here!!"
Tianlu paused, and when faced with Bixie's renewed charge, he steeled himself and did not dodge, letting himself be tackled to the ground.
……
Snowflakes filled the sky, the roaring sound was drowned out by the wind and snow, and the snow was stained with bloodstains.
"Ho ho ho ho!!"
Pi Xie roared, and Tian Lu pressed against his chest to stop the gaping maw from falling.
His sharp white teeth were clearly visible, still stained with his own blood. Tianlu, caught in the stalemate, unconsciously shed tears. "Don't go crazy anymore, calm down... calm down... please... brother..."
"Moo-chi!!"
Ha~ Ha~ Ha~ Ha~
In the dead of night, Walnut suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, panting heavily.
Moonlight streamed into the room through the window. There was no wind or snow, no blood, and no three Pixiu. It was all just a dream… just… a dream…
Walnut's face turned pale. After a long pause, it suddenly turned its head and opened its mouth, "A strange creature, I just... um..."
A paw reached out to stop him from speaking, and in Walnut's wide eyes, the four-legged creature sat up and gave him a long shushing.
Walnut trembled, fear creeping into its eyes.
The four-legged creature lowered its head, the moonlight casting a shadow on its face from behind. "Walnut just had a nightmare. If you don't want to lose the people around you, Walnut didn't see anything, understand?"