Chapter 149 - 148: Bluffing

Chapter 149: Chapter 148: Bluffing

Gu Qingyin, who had been watching the fight intently, let out a small sound of surprise, her eyes fixed on Dongfang Ran. "That is..."

Huo Yunjing cast a Spell, conjuring a flock of strange, two-meter-long flying birds. The dark mass swarmed toward Dongfang Ran.

Dongfang Ran struggled to fend them off, the black-red glow in the depths of her eyes intensifying.

Finally, as several birds bit into her arms and shoulders, Dongfang Ran erupted!

A wave of evil energy shot toward the sky, instantly scattering the flock of birds.

Huo Yunjing’s brow furrowed. Ghost energy rose from beneath his feet, forming a protective barrier that blocked the evil energy.

Gu Qingyin was also startled. Forgetting about lecturing her son, she strode to Huo Yunjing’s side. "Send Xingchen out first."

Huo Yunjing glanced back and waved his hand, and Huo Xingchen was sent out of the Dream Space.

Huo Xingchen was already worried. Being suddenly ejected, he woke with a jolt. When he tried to get up, his vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

Fortunately, someone beside him caught him. He took a couple of seconds to recover, then looked up to see Huo Xingye.

"Big Bro!" Huo Xingchen grabbed Huo Xingye’s hand. "Where’s Dongfang Ran?"

A glint flashed in Huo Xingye’s eyes. "In the next room."

Everyone in the castle had awoken from the dream.

Many people had been partying when they were pulled into the dream, so they sensed something was wrong the moment they woke up. Unwilling to linger, they left in a hurry.

Even those who had already gone back to their rooms to sleep were dragged along by friends or family.

They all vaguely remembered the wedding in the dream and guessed the incident had something to do with Huo Yunjing and Gu Qingyin, but no one dared to ask what was going on.

Humans have an innate awe of ghosts and gods. Even if the ghost soul was the Huo Family’s former Family Head, they were still afraid. To put it bluntly, they were afraid of dying.

By now, most had driven away. The only ones left in the castle were the long-term staff, who, of course, hadn’t been pulled into the dream and were still in a sweet slumber.

They would probably be shocked when they woke up the next morning to find that so many people had left overnight.

At this point, besides the staff who hadn’t entered the dream, only the three Huo brothers and Gugu remained in the old castle. Even Old Madam Huo had left with Huo Xingjie.

Other than them, only the unconscious Gu Qingyin and Dongfang Ran were left. As a precaution, Huo Xingye and Huo Xinghai had already placed them in the same room, with Huo Xingchen sleeping in the one next door.

As luck would have it, Huo Xingye had just come to check on him when he woke up.

"What happened?"

After they went into the next room, Huo Xingye asked.

Hearing this, Huo Xinghai also looked over in confusion. "How come you’re out? Isn’t Mom awake yet?"

Huo Xingchen first looked at Gu Qingyin. Seeing her rosy complexion and no other strange signs, he breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze then shifted to Dongfang Ran, and his eyes suddenly turned sharp.

"This woman... she tried to kill Dad!"

The expressions of Huo Xingye and Huo Xinghai changed drastically, and they both glared grimly at Dongfang Ran.

"Dad was getting the upper hand, but then Dongfang Ran suddenly erupted with waves of evil energy. Then Mom had Dad send me out."

"Don’t worry," Huo Xingye said calmly. "Mom probably thought you’d just get in the way, so she had you sent out first."

Huo Xingchen was speechless. All he could think was that his brother had a good point.

Huo Xinghai couldn’t help but laugh. "Have faith in Mom. She’s not likely to lose a one-on-one, and with Dad there too, there’s no way she’ll lose."

Huo Xingye nodded in agreement. "Just wait patiently."

Huo Xingchen didn’t say anything. He thought his two brothers had a point, but he couldn’t help but worry. He had to do something.

After a moment of thought, he ran back to his room, dug two Thunder Talismans out of his backpack, and quickly ran back. He stuck one on Dongfang Ran’s forehead and the other over her heart.

"This way, we don’t have to worry about her running away." Huo Xingchen brought a stool over, sat down next to Dongfang Ran, and stared at her, planning to activate the Thunder Talismans the moment she woke up!

He wasn’t afraid of killing her. That brief glimpse in the dream had already convinced him that this woman was no good. If he really did manage to kill her, he would consider it a public service.

With that thought, Huo Xingchen looked at his two brothers. "You should carry Mom to the next room, so I don’t accidentally hurt her when I activate the talismans."

Huo Xinghai tilted his head in confusion. "Are you that powerful now? You could even accidentally hurt Mom?"

Huo Xingchen rolled his eyes. "I’m afraid of accidentally hurting *you*!"

Huo Xinghai: ...’I was just asking to be insulted.’

Huo Xingye coughed lightly, stepped forward to pick up Gu Qingyin, and headed for the next room. "Be careful," he advised. "Don’t overdo it." Internally, he was secretly relieved. ’Good thing my mouth isn’t as fast as Second Brother’s.’

Huo Xinghai sighed and followed, shaking his head as he walked. "Little brothers... they really get less cute the older they get."

Huo Xingchen pretended not to hear, his eyes locked on Dongfang Ran, not missing the slightest change in her expression.

Meanwhile, developments in the Dream Space were the complete opposite of what Huo Xingchen feared.

Gu Qingyin had no intention of fighting Dongfang Ran at all. After sending Huo Xingchen away, she simply summoned the Soul Mirror. A beam of light shot out from it, freezing Dongfang Ran in place.

The Soul Mirror... as its name implies, its greatest power is restraining a soul body.

Dongfang Ran had forcibly entered another’s dream with just her soul, leaving her physical body unprotected. Trapping her couldn’t have been easier.

The moment she was trapped, the evil energy around Dongfang Ran instantly receded. It was clear she had become lucid again.

Her expression shifted several times as she stared daggers at Gu Qingyin, but she didn’t say a word.

She knew that words were useless now. Her only chance to escape was in the split second her soul returned to her body.

Gu Qingyin slowly walked up to Dongfang Ran, circled her, and observed her for a good while before finally speaking. "To be honest, you’ve really surprised me."

"For someone with your old-fashioned, scholarly ways to actually use unorthodox methods to increase your power... Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Gu Qingyin sounded quite incredulous. "Are you still Dongfang Ran?"

She suddenly leaned in close, staring suspiciously into Dongfang Ran’s eyes. "Have you been possessed?"

Dongfang Ran’s face grew darker. "No," she gritted out through clenched teeth.

Gu Qingyin blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Then why?"

Dongfang Ran closed her eyes and fell silent, adopting an air of indifference, as if it didn’t matter whether she was killed or tortured.

"Tsk," Gu Qingyin muttered. "So uncooperative. In that case, I’ll see if the Soul Mirror can probe memories..."

A muscle in Dongfang Ran’s brow twitched, but she remained motionless.

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. "Ah, it really can. I just don’t know if searching the memories causes any damage to the soul."

Watching from the side, Huo Yunjing couldn’t hold back a smile. She hadn’t looked at anything at all; she was purely bluffing. And by the looks of it, her tactic was working.

Gu Qingyin paused for a second, then sighed with feigned regret. "Well then, let’s begin..."

"Wait!" Dongfang Ran’s eyes flew open. She glared viciously at Gu Qingyin and snapped, "What do you want to know? Ask!"