Chapter 20: Parting Ways

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The master and apprentice finished selecting their rewards just as the sky began to break with the dawn. Wu Que looked at the mission interface before him, his brow furrowed.

Important locations unlocked: 4/4 (Brothel, Chuma Street, Old Residence, New Residence).
Dream fragments collected: 2/3.
Nightmare demons defeated: 3/5.
Nightmare clearance progress: 50%.

Today was the fourth day of entering the dream. Once this day ended, the passage would close forever. They still had two points of corruption left to break: the treacherous brothel and the chaotic, spirit-infested Chuma Street.

Wu Que felt the pressure mounting. Beside him, Hong Lei stood with his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised, exuding an aura of ethereal, immortal grace. "The nightmare world is indeed perilous, but having traversed so many terrifying dreams, your master has surely already formed a plan."

At this thought, Wu Que felt a sense of relief. He looked up at the now immensely powerful Hong Lei and asked, "Master, where to next?"

"Heh." Hong Lei stroked his chin, letting out a lecherous chuckle.

"Well?"

"This master goes wherever he pleases."

Wu Que lowered his head in silence. Seeming to reach a decision, he shouldered his black blade and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey, don't go just yet, my beloved apprentice!" Seeing him walk away, Hong Lei flew over in two strides and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Walking is such a hassle. Your master has a much faster way to travel."

"What, are we going to flag down another rickshaw to go out and 'sell ourselves' again? Given how we're dressed, that might be a bit of a stretch," Wu Que retorted. Currently, the master and apprentice looked like seasoned spirit-mediums: one with a face painted in garish colors, the other clad in battle-damaged, blood-stained robes.

Hong Lei just chuckled. Suddenly, he rose into the air, exerting force from his hands to create a powerful suction that lifted Wu Que off the ground. Seeing their feet dangling in mid-air, a dark premonition washed over Wu Que.

"Could it be..."

Before he could react, a rushing sound filled his ears as the two shot straight toward the door.

"You old geezer! I'm afraid of heights!"

***

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Flying was indeed much faster than walking. In an instant, they arrived at the exit of the brothel warehouse—the very spot they had crawled out of in such a pathetic state previously. Looking up at the towering structure, Wu Que felt a tightness in his chest.

"Mama Xin... is she alright?"

In this perilous dream world, malice was everywhere. While some people tried to get close to him because he bore the face of Xu Jiabai, their ultimate goals were nothing more than money and carnal desire. Only Mama Xin had shown him genuine sincerity, offering a flicker of warmth like a mother toward her child.

Seeming to sense his apprentice's thoughts, Hong Lei picked up a thick, long piece of wood from a pile of firewood on the ground. A spiral of energy formed in his hand, and with a harsh, grinding friction, it made contact with the wood, instantly fashioning a makeshift torch. He handed it to Wu Que with a smile. "Time is tight. Let us split up; be careful."

Without waiting for a reply, he took flight, heading straight for the main entrance of the brothel. Wu Que looked at the torch in his hand, feeling a surge of gratitude. Though Hong Lei was often improper, he was an undeniably capable guide who had saved him from fire and water multiple times. Having been through so much, their relationship had long since transcended mere words of master and apprentice.

"Master, please forgive this disciple for acting on impulse." He glanced at the direction his master had taken, then looked at the pitch-black warehouse before him. Taking a deep breath, he raised the torch and stepped inside.

The warehouse remained as it had been: dark, damp, and sticky. With his previous experience, Wu Que moved with relative ease, navigating through the clutter and the various jars of snakes based on his memory. Passing through the deep warehouse and pushing open the heavy door, he returned to the familiar hallway of the etiquette room.

The corridor was deserted, the acrid stench of ammonia as pungent as ever, if not more so. As he walked down the hall, he noticed the yellow light still spilling from the etiquette room. Wu Que followed the source, his heart giving a violent thud. A head of hair, peppered with grey, poked out from the door crack, only to be yanked back in a flash.

"Mama Xin!"

***

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Hong Lei pushed open the heavy doors of the brothel. Despite the passing of time and the townspeople struggling to find their next meal, the brothel was packed to the rafters, a scene of decadence and debauchery. He shoved aside a man and woman entangled in the crowd and took flight, heading straight for the reception room.

Inside, he found only Mama and a young maid, a pot of tea, and a table with three chairs. The red chair was empty; it seemed Hong Xing was not in the room. Mama sat upright on the black chair, the white chair placed directly opposite her, as if she had been waiting for a long time. She clutched a teacup and smiled at Hong Lei.

"Jiabai, have you returned because you seek work here again?"

"I've come to kill you," Hong Lei replied expressionlessly.

Mama chuckled. "I am no match for you. If you wish to kill me, then do it." She paused, then added, "To be honest, I have realized my errors. Soon, I will shut down this brothel and use all the money for disaster relief."

Hearing this, Hong Lei became interested. He brushed off his robes and sat down opposite her. The maid hurried to take the teapot from the stove and poured him a cup of tea. Blowing away the wisps of steam and taking a small sip, Hong Lei praised with a smile, "Light, refined, and lingering on the tongue. Good tea, truly good tea!"

Seeing his approval, Mama beamed. She signaled to the maid, who immediately understood and picked up the teapot to refill Hong Lei's cup. But Hong Lei covered his cup with his hand. Ignoring the maid standing awkwardly by, he continued to ask with a smile, "Mama knows exactly why I've come, yet you can still play music and serve tea. You possess such elegance."

Mama did not answer. Instead, she looked at the maid with a cold, mirthless smile. "Your Sister Bai said she didn't want any, yet you still stopped pouring? After all these years of learning here, how can you still be so ignorant of manners?"

Hong Lei smiled, his hand still firmly covering the cup. "Mama, you aren't without a temper, are you? You won't confront me directly, but you certainly know how to make things difficult for your juniors."

The smile on Mama's face stiffened. She grabbed a handful of pork cracklings from her side and began to chew them loudly. "Sister Bai, don't try to change the subject. With so many girls under my charge, how could I not tell who is clever and who is foolish?"

"Back when you first arrived at this place, you were so good at reading people. You were quite sharp."

The maid was caught in the middle, clearly distressed. She hung her head, gripping the teapot so tightly that her hands began to blister from the scalding heat. Hong Lei covered his mouth, feigning amusement. "I thought when I saw your celestial demeanor, Sister, that you had shed your attachment to fame and transcended the mundane world. I never expected that, just like before, you still cannot suppress your own malice."

With a flick of his wrist, a swirl of wind manifested, carrying the base of the teacup toward Mama. As the cup reached her, the wind vanished instantly. The boiling tea splashed out, and the cup shattered on the floor.