# Chapter 618: Entering the Dream
"Xia, open the door."
Yu Nian'an said.
Hearing the faint knocking, Qi Xia felt his hair stand on end and his heart about to leap out of his throat.
He had no idea what was waiting for him behind that door.
"Xia, open the door."
Yu Nian'an said again.
"No... impossible..."
*Knock knock knock.*
The knocking continued behind Qi Xia's back, and he felt surrounded by an unknown terror.
Before him stood Yu Nian'an with no facial features; behind him, the relentless knocking went on.
*Knock knock knock.*
"Xia, open the door."
Qi Xia struggled to calm himself, then asked, "First tell me... who's outside the door...?"
Upon hearing this, the faceless Yu Nian'an's flat face twitched.
Though she had no features, Qi Xia could sense she was smiling.
It was an especially eerie smile.
"Xia, it's me outside the door," Yu Nian'an said as she spread her arms, making an embracing gesture. "Open the door, let me see you."
"It's you outside the door..." Qi Xia felt himself on the verge of breaking down again. "If it's you outside, then what are you?"
"I am me," Yu Nian'an said. "I'm outside the door too. Let us reunite, let me into your heart."
*Knock knock knock.*
"You lunatics..." Qi Xia gritted his teeth. "Because you know this is my only weakness... that's why you keep playing Yu Nian'an to fool me..."
"How could I be your weakness?" Yu Nian'an stepped closer to Qi Xia, one step at a time. "No one is playing me. I am me. If you won't open the door, I can open it myself. Xia, it's okay, don't be afraid."
"What do you people even want?!"
Qi Xia felt the thoughts he had just gathered beginning to scatter again. This space seemed strange—it was blocking his mind.
"What do I want?" Yu Nian'an's face twitched again, her smile seeming even more sinister than before. "Xia, I don't want anything. I want you to be happy."
"Stop messing with me..." Qi Xia began to tremble all over. "You say you want me to be 'happy,' but every time I see you, I fall apart... What's your ultimate goal? Just to torture me for the sake of it?"
*Knock knock knock.*
"Xia, open the door. Let him talk to you," Yu Nian'an laughed. "Don't you want to find the real me?"
"The real you...?" Qi Xia was taken aback.
"Yes. Open the door and find the real me."
Qi Xia slowly turned around, staring at the old door, his pupils flickering.
*Knock knock knock.*
That person kept knocking, patiently.
"Open it," Yu Nian'an said. "Greet our guest."
"Our... guest?" Qi Xia frowned slightly. "I don't have any friends... How could I have a guest?"
"But he's here," Yu Nian'an's voice gradually twisted. "He saw you. He's come for you."
Qi Xia's hand slowly rose and rested on the doorknob.
He felt he had no other choice.
Home was not home; people were not people. If he wanted to understand any of this, he had to open this door.
What had happened?
He turned the knob gently and pulled the door open. What first met his eyes was endless darkness, then a silhouette.
The figure wore an old robe, hair reaching his waist, a red cinnabar dot on his forehead—yet clearly a man.
Like Yu Nian'an behind him, he too had no facial features.
"Long time no see, Bai Yang."
His voice was a blend of male and female, as if two people were speaking at once.
The pitch-black space around them swirled like countless vortexes.
"You..." Qi Xia felt a splitting headache. Some memories seemed on the verge of awakening, yet were locked tight by something invisible.
"Easy, we have plenty of time," the man said. "Won't you invite me in? We can have a good talk."
Qi Xia stared at the boundles darkness outside the door, lost in thought. Where exactly was that outside?
"It took some effort to open this door inside your heart," the man took a step forward.
"The door inside my heart?"
"I've found you, Bai Yang."
The man's face twitched, and suddenly a fierce gale swept through, blowing the door wide open. Qi Xia was staggered backward as the man stepped over the threshold.
An unusually thick, rotting stench spread through the entire room. Qi Xia collected himself and looked—before him were two people, both without facial features.
An indescribable eeriness emanated from them.
"Why have you locked your mindscape so tightly?"
A voice sounded from between the two. Since neither had mouths, Qi Xia couldn't even tell who was speaking.
"This room is already so dilapidated. What are you still holding on to? Didn't you open the door last time?"
"I..."
"Why don't you dare lie down and relax? What are you afraid of? Just sleep comfortably, have a nice dream—wouldn't that be wonderful?"
They asked again.
"I can't relax... I can't sleep..."
"But you're too tired. It's time to rest. What are you going to do now? Is there still someone around to wake you up?"
"You..." Qi Xia seemed to recall something. "Tian Long...?"
"The humble one," the man shook his head. "Is the Lord of Peach Blossom Land."
"You entered my dream...?"
"How could that be?"
The man walked lightly to the single-person dining table and sat down. He waved his hand, and the table transformed into a large square table, with chairs arranged around it.
Qi Xia looked more closely and saw that Yu Nian'an had disappeared.
"It's incredibly difficult to have a chat with you," Tian Long chuckled, then reached up to touch his own face. "What do I look like in your dream?"
"You're an impossibly hideous monster..." Qi Xia said.
"Is that so?" Tian Long responded softly. "I thought I'd have a ferocious face."
"Tian Long, are you scared?"
"Me? Scared?"
"Why did you come into my dream?" Qi Xia pressed on. "Could it be that something I'm doing now is making you nervous?"
"Ha, haha." Tian Long's face kept writhing, but Qi Xia couldn't see any expression. "How interesting, Bai Yang. You, who haven't lain down to sleep for seven consecutive years, say that I'm afraid?"
"Then why not face me openly?" Qi Xia asked. "What do you want by entering my dream?"
"Just relax... Bai Yang." Tian Long lowered his head slightly. "Why are you on guard against me?"
After speaking, he beckoned to Qi Xia: "Every nerve in your body is tense. Relax. Come, sit down."
"Say what you have to say directly," Qi Xia said. "I'm not going to drop my guard against you."
"No rush." Tian Long's face twitched again. "I told you, we have plenty of time. Bai Yang, I've already entered your dream. If no one wakes you, you're never getting out."