Conan Moslin

Lucid dreaming means being awake while dreaming.

In the state of lucid dreaming, the dreamer can have the thinking and memory abilities when awake in the dream. Some people can even make the feeling in their dreams as real as the real world, but they know that they are in a dream.

The hardcover books that had never been kept here, the white jade bookmarks that had been inexplicably moved, and the strange white pigeon in the dovecote made Li An realize clearly that everything before his eyes was just an illusion.

The key to distinguishing between hallucinations and lucid dreams lies in whether the pain can be felt "completely" and "truly".

Obviously, according to the current pain standards, Li An was in a fantasy.

There are three normal ways to escape from an illusion.

Find the creator and ask him to remove it through normal and abnormal means.

This method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and you may not be able to find it at all.

Because he or she may never have existed in any corner of the fantasy world.

Another way is to find the medium that triggers the illusion and completely destroy it.

This method is easier than finding someone, but Li quickly arranged for them to be eliminated.

The reason is the same as above.

In addition to these two serious methods, there is also a bad way.

and so on.

When people can no longer hold on, the illusion will naturally disappear.

However, during the period before the illusion was removed, if this person had any intention of making any arrangements, Li An would have no way of knowing.

In addition to these three methods, there is also a simplest and most brutal way that can allow Li An to quickly escape from the illusion. It does not require finding a medium or the illusionist himself, and it does not waste time.

That is death.

In the illusion that was not created by her, only death can allow her to glimpse the truth and look for the shadow of another possible illusionist at the moment of escape.

This was what Kong Mu Chong taught her.

This method is quick and has no delays.

But few people can do it.

Because people who die in the illusion will suffer a great mental shock and fall into a death nightmare for a period of time.

Only those with extremely strong wills can withstand such shocks and recover quickly.

She was able to accomplish this, probably... because she died once more than others?

Li An held his injured neck tightly, raised his hand to pull out the "sharp weapon" that obviously should not be used here, staggered back a few steps, and leaned his entire body weight on the edge of the balcony.

Blood dripped down her arm to the ground, flowed through the gap in the balcony into the small garden of "Trojan Manor", and seeped into the lush flowers and plants.

The moment she hit the balcony, she saw the second-floor balcony above her head and the blue sky in the gap. The strange white dove spread its wings and flew away from this place, without any attachment to it.

And…she found it!

Through the half-drawn thick curtains, what was reflected in the glass was not her, but a strange yet familiar, old and kind face.

Her silver hair was combed neatly and delicately, but the piled-up wrinkles could not hide her former glamour.

It’s…Kaoru Soragi.

She was holding a white feather bookmark as if she were holding a pen, and writing something in the book.

Li An didn't have time to be dazed, because everything around her had begun to fade and disappear, and she was about to leave.

She raised her hand with some effort, held up the blood-stained bookmark, and followed the movements of the phantom in the mirror.

Stroke by stroke, outline the shape of a line of special text.

……

Ho-ho-ho

Li An finally came to consciousness. She pushed away the seat, curled up her body, and covered her neck for a long time before she felt that she had truly left that place.

She waited until the aftereffects of death in the illusion almost disappeared before she finally focused her eyes.

As soon as she regained her consciousness, she pulled out a pen and paper from the drawer and wrote down everything she had just seen.

She once studied sketching for a period of time and was able to capture the expressions and movements of characters in great detail.

Although it was difficult to concentrate on the situation at that time, she was still determined to mark the symbols of that time in the corner of the sketch she had just completed.

The last message left by Soramu Kaoru may need to be deciphered with a password.

The password… She only read part of it at that time, and the rest was still at Kong Mu’s house.

Of course, the sketch only contains illusions, not herself.

…She doesn’t have the habit of recording such scenes.

After finishing sketching and recording, she looked around.

The bedroom was exactly the same as usual, with almost no changes.

The book that she knocked to the ground was still there. Although the jade bookmark that was originally stuck inside did not break, the tip was stained with a faint red.

This is what triggered the illusion.

Li An was not upset about escaping through death, because she knew that with her personality, even if she knew that the medium was it, she would not be able to break it immediately.

You could say she was nostalgic or indecisive, but she was reluctant to destroy items that carried memories and stories.

Besides, this bookmark is very expensive!

Putting aside the issue of the media, Li An was just upset that he hadn't thought of this earlier.

She had thought the information was hidden in the book, but it turned out to be hidden in the bookmark.

How could she possibly know such a thing...

Li An carefully picked up the bookmark, wrapped it in cloth, put it in the drawer, and then walked to where he had just stood.

Everything that just happened had long disappeared, including the phantom that she hadn't seen for a long time.

In this illusion, she couldn't find the caster at all.

Because the main practitioner has passed away.

In this case, it was she herself who wasted energy in creating the illusion.

If she really waited for the illusion to end, the aftereffects would definitely allow her to rest for more than half a month.

By the way, I think Yuko said before... that she would come today.

Li An sent a message to Yuko, then sat back in his chair in silence, lost in thought, until the clock struck twelve noon.

She...really needs to rest a little longer.

Since the bookmark has been used up, then after this break——

She won't be sleepy anymore...

……

At three o'clock, when Yuko Soragi came to visit the patient, she found that Kuriyasu Kuroba was sitting on the sofa in a daze.

This guy's condition seemed to be worse than the last time she saw him.

Seeing that she was right in front of him, Li An seemed to come to his senses and waved his hand weakly as a greeting.

She drew several exclamation marks on the paper to show that she felt pretty good, but Yuko felt that she was even more half-dead than after the last illusion she had when she went to Moon Shadow Island.

Even so, her eyes sparkled frighteningly when she saw the code that Yuko brought.

"Sister Li An...are you...ok?"

Li An shook his head and showed her the sketch in his hand.

Although Yuko Soraki was not very familiar with this kind of code puzzle, she recognized some of these special characters.

After solving a few words first, she suddenly became angry.

"Kuroba Kurian! What the hell are you looking for a password for!"

"Give it to me, now, immediately, right now!"

"Go to the hospital for a check-up!"