Chapter 21: Dreaming Early.
Behind him, Maren’s humming turned into faint snoring.
Carey thought for a moment, then carefully stepped out of the Tear Oasis.
It should be that direction… What is this feeling, like someone is probing me? Is it all just an illusion…
Carey stood on a large rock, hand over his chest, staring at the undulating mountain shadows on the southern horizon, utterly puzzled.
A few minutes later, Carey gave up exploring the strange sensation.
He identified the offset angle of the giant moon’s position, silently estimating the time—unwittingly, he had been away from the camp for over five hours.
Since the Drunken Soul Flower powder was in hand, he had to return.
“Asleep?” Carey returned to the Tear Oasis, crouched down, and gently patted the girl’s back.
“Maren, we need to go.”
But after patting several times, Maren showed no reaction, still motionless.
Carey’s heart tightened.
He quickly reached out and turned the girl’s body over.
Only then did he notice Maren’s face was flushed, her eyes dazed and unfocused, lips slightly moving, murmuring meaningless, dream-like whispers.
Carey swiftly scanned the surroundings.
As expected, he spotted a fish that slipped through the net—a Drunken Soul Flower concealed by snow needle grass.
Its blooming bud was less than half a meter from Maren, perfectly aligned with the girl’s uncovered mouth and nose.
Damn it, Maren had inhaled the Drunken Soul Flower pollen and entered the dream early!
Carey’s heart sank to the bottom.
He quickly tied the bag filled with Drunken Soul Flower buds to his waist, then without hesitation abandoned the several large bags of exotic plants Maren had painstakingly collected.
This sudden turn meant Maren had to complete the final step of the Lantern Bearer trial ritual before waking from her first dream—finding the Corrupt Blood Marsh Pool and immersing her body in it.
If missed, all prior efforts would be in vain.
Hoisting the unconscious girl onto his back, Carey sprinted toward the temporary camp.
…
…
In the temporary camp, Rich frowned deeply, constantly glancing northeast.
Linnea, with Lis’s help, was sorting the spoils from this outing—several pieces of unknown ore with a metallic sheen, some oddly colored plant fruits, stems, and leaves.
“May the Holy Lord bless them; Mr. Carey and Miss Maren should be back soon.” Watching Rich’s back, Lis said cautiously.
“I heard Madam Renata taught them about the Black Domain long ago.”
Einar leaned against a rotten tree stump, twirling a dagger between his fingers, and actually chuckled.
“Hey, maybe they encountered the most active Mist Howl Stone Spiders this season, got torn to pieces, melted into pus…”
“Enough, Einar!” Linnea stood up, walked over, and kicked the black-haired youth’s calf—not lightly, not heavily.
“No need to say such vicious things to two children. I don’t believe you’d harbor such deep malice toward people you’ve only met once.”
“Children? Lucky black hair will make him a Lantern Bearer soon enough; then he won’t be a child anymore. Just like me back then, always confidently thinking the Lantern Bearer’s power was within easy reach. I know that ease and confidence all too well.”
As he spoke, Einar lifted his cloak and loosened his tightly bound collar.
His shirt opened, revealing a gaunt, scar-riddled chest.
Crisscrossing it were over a dozen twisted, centipede-like scars of varying ages.
At the center of his chest was embedded a dark red hexagonal gem, as if grown from the flesh, tightly fused with the surrounding skin.
Seeing her companion’s near-self-abusive display, Linnea’s eyes dimmed; she turned her head slightly, lips pressed tight, saying no more.
Einar was a life-system Lantern Bearer, a fourth-tier Pain Merchant.
To him, what was once enviable, symbolizing divine favor—his black hair—now seemed more like an unsolvable life curse.
His verbal malice toward Carey was also self-mockery.
“They’re back.” Rich, who had been silently watching the northeast, suddenly turned, glancing at his companions.
“Check equipment; we might get busy.”
As if confirming his words, a faint golden halo emerged in the distant darkness, gradually enlarging into the outline of a boy sprinting.
Carey, carrying the unconscious Maren, was gasping for breath, sweat mixed with black dust sliding from his forehead, his chest heaving like a broken bellows.
When he rushed to the bottom of the hill camp, his strength completely gave out.
His legs buckled; he knelt directly on the ground, panting heavily, hoarsely shouting in broken bursts: “Quick… Mr. Rich… Maren entered the dream… time… time is running out…”
Rich and the others’ faces changed drastically.
Lis reacted fastest, rushing down the slope first, deftly helping Carey unload the unconscious Maren from his back.
Linnea, arriving right after, unhesitatingly tore open the sleeve on Maren’s arm.
The moment she saw the arm, her face turned extremely grim.
Beneath the girl’s fair skin, black lines twisted and spread like veins.
Where the black lines intersected, the skin weirdly bulged into a small lump, wriggling slightly in rhythm.
Those who entered the dream via Drunken Soul Flower powder had greatly reduced resistance to Black Domain corruption, but it was also the optimal state for bearing the various mysterious curses of the Corrupt Blood Marsh Pool—this was the step Atos had experienced back then.
With a “puchi” soft sound, the lump burst.
A bizarre eyeball covered in blood threads, spinning wildly, forcibly squeezed out from the ruptured flesh!
At the same time, Maren’s dream murmurs became more urgent and chaotic; her originally flushed cheeks darkened further, as if scorched by high heat.
Without a moment’s hesitation, a chill flashed on Linnea’s hand.
A spurt of warm blood splashed onto her chin.
Linnea used her dagger to gouge out the Chaos Eye that had emerged on Maren’s arm, then stomped it viciously into the black corrupt soil beneath her foot.
“May the Holy Lord bless her; her corruption resistance isn’t as high as you think!” Linnea’s expression was unprecedentedly grave.
“Entering the dream early is too dangerous; the chaos curses and corruption are accumulating in her body. Rich, we must take her to the Corrupt Blood Marsh Pool immediately!”
Saying that, Linnea turned her head and glared fiercely at Carey.
“Carey, didn’t Renata warn you?! Even if you find the Drunken Soul Flower, you must inhale the pollen only after reaching the Corrupt Blood Marsh Pool and preparing!”
“I’m sorry… Miss Linnea…”
Carey lowered his head deeply, wiping sweat, offering no excuses.