茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Xiang Kun was quite familiar with this monster—it was the mental projection of the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving in Old Xia’s dream. It was a bit hazy and indistinct but the mysterious and powerful aura were very much compatible with the whole dream style. He knew, however, that this eight-armed, eight-eyed monster was simply the avatar of Old Xia’s in the dream, not the true dream manifestation of the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving, and had no special ability to induce deep-seated fear.

After the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster conjured by Old Xia appeared, it extended two of its arms. One hand grabbed the “Vampire Patient” by the head, the other grabbed the handsome “Blood Clan” by the head and broke them apart, as one might do with a pair of rag dolls.

Immediately after, the monster casually flung the “Blood Clan” into a wall, who vanished into it and disappeared entirely.

Turning to the “Vampire Patient” it clasped, the monster spoke, using the coin-rubbing voice it had mocked “Mr. Liang” with in Mi Qiao’s dream, “You dimwit, you’ve allowed yourself to be used by that worthless parasite! The likes of his scum dare to call themselves Blood Clan? Your blood… has been tainted.”

If Xiang Kun in the dream could have made a face, he would have worn an expression of utter astonishment. Could he truly have such a strong-willed presence in someone else’s dream without startling them awake?

However, he also knew that Old Xia must have had good reasons for all she did. He can not help but laugh when he thinks about the overly dramatic lines Old Xia came up with.

Then, in Old Xia’s dream, the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster lashed out at the “Vampire Patient” with a stormy tirade, transforming her originally amorous dream into a nightmarish visitation by a demon king.

But after the monster’s tirade, the “Vampire Patient” fell to her knees and started to cry and admit her mistake at the monster’s feet.

Then, at the nearly commanding tone of the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster, she started to recall how the “Blood Clan”, or rather, what had been a “worthless parasite” and a “violator of her blood” according to her new understanding, “transformed” her into what she was now.

Feeling the surroundings begin to change and sensing the “Vampire Patient” starting to “reminisce” at Old Xia’s command, Xiang Kun realized that Old Xia’s method of “communication” was indeed very effective.

It is generally the case that when one communicates and leads within the “dream within a dream” of another, it is done according to the cognitive logic in their dream. But it appears to him that the monstrous presence and words conjured by Old Xia did to some extent fit with the “Vampire Patient”‘s cognitive logic. Instead of complying with the “Vampire Patient’s” desires, it used her worship and desire for the “Blood Clan” to create a new monster that overpowered the “Blood Clan” image in her perception. It is clear that Old Xia is much more in tune with the “Vampire Patient’s” “condition” than Xiang Kun, so she accurately grasped methods to control her subconscious mind.

The surrounding environment shifted from a very fake-looking castle to a forested area. The tall “Vampire Patient” was washing her feet by a small stream.

As she washed, it seemed like she had stepped on a sharp stone. She cried out in pain and clutching her right foot, she rolled over onto the grassland by the stream.

Blood flowed profusely from her wound. It was a pitiful sight, as if someone had cut her with a knife, even possibly severing an artery.

At this moment, a man wearing a western suit walked over. He was very handsome and bore a strong resemblance to the handsome “Blood Clan” figure in her dream.

He didn’t say anything, but reached down to move the “Vampire Patient’s” hand from her wound, and pressed his own hand against it instead.

Quickly, the blood flow stopped and the pain on the “Vampire Patient’s” face lessened. She stared at the handsome man and asked, “Who are you?”

The handsome man’s voice was pleasant to the ear, and carried a deep, masculine magnetism. “Do you want to live forever? To be eternally beautiful and undying? Would you… become a member of the Blood Clan?” he asked.

Xiang Kun, watching the scene unfold, couldn’t help but want to chuckle. He even wanted to stand in for the “Vampire Patient” slumped in the “handsome man’s” arms and ask, “So, what’s the catch?”

This “plot” was getting just a tad too much like a soap opera, wasn’t it?

In turn, the “Vampire Patient” responded with equally melodramatic flair: “I am willing.”

After that, the handsome man, or rather the handsome “Blood Clan”, bit into her neck, and shortly afterward she began convulsing, her eyes rolling back, the surrounding environment became blurry, and the figure of the handsome “Blood Clan” disappeared.

People quickly arrived upon hearing the commotion, the scene cleared up, and the “Vampire Patient” sat up, assuring everyone she was fine. Nonchalantly, she put on her shoes and left. The wound on her foot seemed to have vanished.

The scene changed again, the “Vampire Patient” was now standing in front of a mirror in a room, looking at her beautiful, pale face reflected in the mirror, a satisfied smile lighted up her face.

The scenery changed again, she was in the kitchen, crouched down, killing a chicken. After slashing its neck, she bent towards it and began to drink from its wound.

After she finished drinking the chicken’s blood, she flopped onto the kitchen floor with a satisfied expression on her face. The “handsome Blood Clan” appeared again, lying side by side with her, murmuring with his low voice, “Savor the changes that the blood brings you, enjoy the feeling of eternal life, don’t go anywhere for the next few hours…”

The scene changed yet again. The “Vampire patient” was sitting in the kitchen with a freshly killed chicken in front of her. The “handsome Blood Clan” was in front of her, looking down at her from above with a stern expression. “The energy from the chicken blood isn’t enough, as a member of the Blood Clan, you need human blood. Go, I’ll watch over you, help you…” he commands.

Once again, the environment changed to a bustling city street, deep into the night. “Vampire Patient” and three young men tried to kidnap a seemingly drunken middle-aged man from a minivan. The man, however, resisted vehemently and cried out loud, drawing the attention of the scattered passerby and the local residents.

However, the “Vampire Patient” and her three accomplices did not give up their attempts to drag the man into the van, the end result being that they didn’t get far before the police pulled them over and arrested all four of them.

When the “Vampire Patient” was being dragged away from the van, Xiang Kun noticed the handsome “Blood Clan” also sitting inside. He was shaking his head regretfully, watching her. He stepped out of the car and walked away unhurriedly, completely ignoring her cries and pleas for help.

The policemen by the side, including the three young men with her, didn’t pay the “handsome blood clan” any attention, as if he didn’t exist.

Using this memory of a scene, the “vampire patient” demonstrated to Old Xia and Xiang Kun her complete “transformation” into a “blood clan” member.

In fact, Xiang Kun knew from the start at the creek that the “handsome blood clan” and the handsome man from the “vampire patient’s” multiple dream scenarios were figments of her imagination, and likely didn’t exist at all.

The way she behaved after drinking chicken blood was clearly not in the state of a “mutant”.

But where was the person who induced her illusion and such perception?

From the intuitions he had previously, to the judgments made in the “super sensory state”, Xiang Kun believed that the “vampire patient” indeed had contact with real “mutants”, and her current state should be related to the influence of “mutants”.

But how did the “mutations” cause such influences?

In the dreamland, the “vampire patient” sat in the middle of her sick room. She looked at the eight-armed, eight-eyed monster that nearly filled up half of the room and reached out her arms, begging desperately, “Please take me with you, great one. Please, purify the filth in me; let me become a true blood clan. I will pledge my loyalty to you…”

Xiang Kun thought that Old Xia would further probe through the eight-armed monster and find out who or what caused these illusions in the “vampire patient”. However, the eight-armed monster’s voice suddenly became gentle and started guiding the “vampire patient” to recall the initial memory by the creek.

So, the dreamland shifted back to the creek side. The eight-armed, eight-eyed monster created by Old Xia was squatting beside her, who was washing her feet by the creek, and its voice gently whispered, “You’ve forgotten who you are, your consciousness has left, your body has gained freedom. Now, you are pure flesh, acting upon instinct. Tell me, how do you feel…”

The surrounding light began to darken, but the “vampire patient” and her surroundings started to brighten. Suddenly, she let out a scream, lifted her foot from the creek, and fell onto the grass.

This time Xiang Kun noticed, the right foot she was holding had a relatively small wound, but blood was gushing out. More dreadfully, a shuttle-like parasite was trying to get into the wound. Half of it was already inside, and the other half was squirming.

The “vampire patient” tried to cover her wound with both hands, only to find out her hands stiffened, fingers bent awkwardly, unable to control at all, let alone reaching the wound.

When the parasite completely burrowed into the wound, the bleeding stopped. She then started convulsing on the ground and everything around her, including herself, became blurry. Obviously, she had completely lost her consciousness, and this part of her experience could not be accurately recalled.

Then, she was standing in front of a mirror. Her face in the reflection was extremely pale, with heavy dark circles and a terrifying sinister sense, unlike the previous beautiful woman in the mirror.

She was lying on the kitchen floor, without any handsome man accompanying her, just alone. Her skin was covered with blood spots and bruises, looking as if she was seriously ill.

In the van, the three young men bewitched by her had been controlled by the police and were out of the car. The drunkard who was forced into the car had been rescued. She was left alone in the car, cutting her own calf with a fruit knife originally meant to threaten the drunkard. As the wound was cut open, a parasite crawled out. It fell to the car floor mixed with blood, and then she was subdued by the police and taken to the hospital.

The voice of the eight-armed monster rang out again, instructing the “vampire patient” to prostrate on the ground and forget about the “truth” just presented. It commanded her in a tone, telling her she was not eligible to drink blood and that she could only eat white and green food. She needed to eat more rice, drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise more. Once her weight reached a certain level and when she could do twenty pushups, another opportunity would be given to her.

Xiang Kun knew that Old Xia was conducting “treatment” on the “vampire patient”, though the method was very strange and unconventional.

It was uncertain if upon awakening, the “vampire patient” would still have impressions about the subconscious memory recollection just conducted by Old Xia. If she remembered, would those images trigger her real memory, causing her to realize what the truth behind everything that happened over the past year was.

If she abruptly found out the reality, she would very likely collapse and unable to accept it.

So like what he did to Mijoe, Old Xia let her forget part of the dream content. Through deep subconscious hypnosis, he tried to gradually change her mindset and cognition.

After leaving the dreamland perception, Xiang Kun, in his computer chair, furrowed his brows. He never expected that this exploration into the “vampire patient’s” dreamland through Old Xia’s “dream in a dream” method would yield so much information, shocking ones at that.

He initially thought that the “vampire patient” must have encountered a human “vampire” like Guo Tianxiang and became a tool to help the “vampire” collect “prey” after being influenced by hypnotism-like abilities.

But what he hadn’t expected was, he only guessed the motive correctly and got it wrong on the form of “vampire”.

If the deep memory that Old Xia made the “vampire patient” exhibit in the dream was entirely real, then could the “mutant” that caused her craving for blood and physical changes be that parasite?!

In addition, from the memory she exhibited, that parasite could not only influence human consciousness, leading to certain cognitive illusions but also distinguish harmful environments for itself based on human emotions or sensory information and control the host to expel it.

In other words, this thing already has wisdom and can establish connections with humans.

Xiang Kun had observed the “vampire patient’s” body recognition information in the “super sensory state”, so he knew that the mutant parasite was indeed not in her body now, but where did it go?

Would it continue to control other humans and make them hunting machines?