ng stopped her: "Today, let's dispense with all the formalities. There is no Emperor or Prince; only White Phoenix and several gentlemen.""Yes." Better to comply than to argue. Qilin walked over witho...Chapter 49: A Long Dream - Exclusively on 17K

The night was still the same, but now it came with thunderstorms and lightning.

This place was a bus stop in an old town located in the suburbs of Shanghai. To preserve the ancient appearance of the town, the bus stop had been specially constructed to resemble an old pavilion.

However, under the accompaniment of the thunderstorm, the aged red paint on it appeared even more eerie and frightening.

Above the pavilion, possibly due to dampness, a hanging incandescent lamp was sputtering with a hissing sound.

Beneath the lamp was an LCD computer screen of 14 inches, displaying rows upon rows of numbers.

Opposite the screen sat a neat and tidy woman in her twenties—this was Qi Lin, who seemed to be exhausted and had dozed off.

"Rumble."

"Ah!" Qi Lin suddenly snapped open her eyes, fear flickering across them. She moved her stiff neck and realized she seemed to have been here before.

Emperor, empress, imperial palace, Feng Changqing, Bai Qianye—this series of people and events flashed through her mind but was shattered the next second by a clap of thunder outside.

The rain wetting the earth splashed on her legs, bringing Qi Lin back to her senses. She looked at the computer in front of her and slowly sorted out her thoughts. It seemed she had traveled somewhere—somewhere unfamiliar.

"Ding-dong-dong." The specific ringtone for an iPhone sounded, catching Qi Lin's attention.

She fumbled around to find her phone and stared blankly at it for ten seconds before she could clearly see who was calling.

"What is it" After a few moments of silence following the call, Qi Lin spoke softly, but her voice sounded hoarse. Perhaps sitting here without drinking water for five hours would explain her scratchy throat.

Thinking about this, Qi Lin instinctively touched her throat, but this did not upset her. Instead, she felt that the phone call seemed somewhat unreal.

"Lin, you forgot to take your jade pendant with you. Do you know This is a very important thing; how could you be so careless Did anything happen today" A voice full of worry came through the phone, followed by a bout of panting after these words were spoken. After pausing briefly, it continued, "Lin, tomorrow will be your 25th birthday. Remember what you need to do."

"Mom" Qi Lin tentatively called out, summoning all her courage as she trembled and clutched the phone tightly, trying to calm her racing heart. She then called again softly, "Mom."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed unprepared for Qilin's words, hesitating momentarily. Even their breath, which had become somewhat rapid due to excitement, could be heard through the phone.

After a while, it appeared that the person on the other end had only just realized what they should say next. However, the excited voice came out in stammers: "Ah, yes Yes, heh, I understand. Uh, I've put the food on the table; remember to eat when you get back."

Hearing this, Qilin's hand tightened and then loosened again. A barely noticeable flicker flashed across her dark eyes.

“Crash”

A loud thunderclap brought Qilin back to reality. Looking up at the wildly thrashing trees ahead and the ominous downpour, she realized that she was already drenched in a thin layer of mist.

This sense of reality made Qilin excited; she wanted to return home quickly, eat some warm food, and suddenly felt an urge to look for the person on the phone to confirm this was real. She continued her call with simple words: "I'll be right back."

After uttering these five words, Qilin curled up the corner of her mouth but couldn't help feeling excited inside. Suddenly, she remembered something else; opening her phone, she looked at her haggard appearance on its dim screen, where her lip gloss had worn off to reveal slightly pale lips that seemed surreal in this night.

When did she become so suspicious A bitter smile instantly replaced the previous joy. Qilin swiftly saved all data from her computer and packed it into her bag before stretching out her limbs.

"Gurgle"

Frustrated, this movement only awakened her appetite; having gone without food for half a day, her stomach couldn't take it anymore.

Feeling her belly, Qilin became excited once again. They say you don’t feel hungry when dreaming, but she wasn't dreaming. Yet the scene felt familiar.

Picking up the bag beside her, she rummaged through it and remembered what she had bought a week ago and placed inside.

Indeed, after some searching, Qilin found an Oreo pack that was crushed and a carton of milk whose origin in her bag was unclear. But these insignificant matters were not worth pondering over; Qilin briskly opened the Oreo package.

The strength she used caused many pieces to fall out due to their already broken state inside. She picked up one somewhat intact cookie and placed it into her mouth, surveying her surroundings. Although this was just a suburb area, there was an air of nature that cities lacked, even if the current scene seemed more fitting for a horror movie.

Suddenly, Qilin froze; wasn't this exactly how things looked before she made her transition As soon as this thought struck her heart, she nearly couldn’t catch her breath.

Occasionally, blue lightning would streak across the sky, illuminating the area with a strange glow that cast grotesque shadows from the gnarled branches around. Coupled with the torrential rain, it was likely that even buses wouldn't stop here.

Qilin subconsciously took out a box of milk from her pocket and numbly sucked it into her mouth, repeatedly calling out "Bü Yao" in her heart.

"Erm." A cold stream of milk flowed into her mouth, sliding down her esophagus to her parched stomach. It should have been extremely comfortable if not for the strange taste.

"Puh"

Unable to bear that odd taste, Qilin spat out the leftover milk in her mouth and unceremoniously threw the box of milk away. She brushed back her damp bangs with her hand but inadvertently caught sight of her bare wrist.

That's right; she remembered now.

"Lín, do you know that your jade pendant is at home How could you be so careless"

So it was the jade that fell. It must have fallen back home, no wonder she had felt uneasy in her heart these past few days.

She still remembered how the jade pendant had been given to her by a fortune-teller when she turned twelve years old, saying that she was naturally endowed with the ability to tame animals imbued with spiritual energy. But this gift would also make her an object of envy for a hundred ghosts, and she needed to wear the jade until she turned twenty-five; it was said to have been prayed for at China's most spiritually potent temple.

She admitted that the quality of the jade was indeed excellent, its body translucent and crystal clear. A layer of light halo could be seen surrounding it under sunlight, and when held in her palm, it felt like holding a thousand-year-old piece of ice – cold to the bone. She had worn it for nearly thirteen years without taking it off even during baths.

Now that she realized it wasn't with her, she actually felt a moment of unease.

Hah! Qilin gave a cold laugh; even her thoughts were exactly the same as before.

The thunderstorm wouldn’t last long. The rain had already become less intense than earlier.

There was an earthy smell in the air, and Qilin took a deep breath to dissipate the previous stuffiness. Using the faint light from the pavilion, she could see thin mist rising from the ground, making it look like the Lost Woods in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Out of nowhere, a long blue bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the land below.

The duration was short, yet during that moment Qilin saw an image that left her astonished. Directly opposite her stood a white wolf on grassy ground where mist was rising, its sapphire eyes fixed intently upon her. It felt as if electricity shot up to her forehead and something inside her mind seemed ready to burst forth.

Qilin wanted to take another look but she did not have that chance for long.

The lightning had disappeared, followed by an exceptionally loud clap of thunder. Qilin even felt the ground tremble; yet her intuition told her that opposite her, a creature resembling a wolf was definitely watching her.

Could it be Little White Her heart was racing faster and faster. Qi Lin let go of her laptop, which she never parted with, dropping it on the ground as she couldn't help but take a step forward. Ignoring the rain pelting down, Qi Lin had already walked to the middle of the road. The rain quickly drenched her through, streaming down from her hair.

She could feel his breathing and even his heartbeat, along with an aura of suppressed majesty. Qi Lin slightly raised her left hand as if she just needed to move forward a bit more to touch him.

A little further forward. Qi Lin screamed inside her heart.

"Snap"

A blue lightning bolt revealed its winding form in the sky, like a domineering snake descending from above and finally striking three meters away from Qi Lin. But it didn't scare Qi Lin; instead, it allowed her to clearly see the figure ahead of her. It was indeed a snow wolf taller than half her height. Not only did she now get a clear look at its appearance, but she also felt something amiss.

That was Little White, yet there wasn't any rain around it; this was extremely inconsistent with the surroundings. However, before Qi Lin could see more clearly, the lightning had already passed, leaving behind the smell of burnt earth that masked the snow wolf's scent.

"Wait a moment." Suddenly, Qi Lin covered her mouth—what was she saying But she couldn't stop herself.

Her body started moving forward. Yet just as she took that step, an extremely bright light shone from the side, and Qi Lin used her hand to shield it.

Only when a honking sound reached her ears did the thought of 'car' suddenly flash through her mind. But it seemed too late for evading. Qi Lin felt a violent impact, followed by an extremely realistic sense of weightlessness.

However, something was strange; there wasn't any pain at all. Was she dreaming Yet, the wind on her face and raindrops hitting her body were so real.

The bright light soon faded, and Qi Lin opened her blurry eyes to see a white cat with glaring eyes and its tongue hanging out, looking as if it had been strangled to death.

The image of the cat flashed before her eyes quickly.

She expected to feel the pain of hitting the ground, but Qi Lin only felt the space around her warping. Her body also twisted, and there seemed to be constant changes happening within her. She even saw herself turning into particles that were slowly dispersing.

She recalled it; she had crossed over here. The one speeding away should have been Bu Yao. Qi Lin let out a slight sigh—she hadn't expected to experience the crossover again.

This time, however, numerous scenes appeared around her, all events after her crossover and some experiences Bai Qianye mentioned. It was like reviewing her entire life just before dying.

Then, an unfamiliar scene suddenly flashed before her eyes. A woman in a red dress leapt off the cliff; wanting to see it more clearly, she felt extremely exhausted all of a sudden and closed her eyes, letting herself fall. may come from words."Green Bamboo prostrated herself and thanked her: "Thank Young Miss for your teachings."Nodding to let Green Bamboo rise, Qi Lin continued soaking in the water, only then realizin...