The Ming Dynasty: I Fabricated Dreams for Zhu Di 6

Chapter 6: My Turf, My Rules

Just as Zhu Di was about to catch up to Zhu Biao to apologize, his feet felt like they were cemented to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift his legs even an inch. At the same time, the bright palace and the azure sky were slowly being consumed by darkness. His vision gradually blurred, and Zhu Di panicked.

Was he waking up?

He recalled Zhuang Mu’s words: he would awaken after a quarter of an hour. But this quarter of an hour felt far too short. He hadn’t seen his mother, his father, or Miao Yun—the people he wanted to see. He hadn’t apologized to his elder brother, whom he had just offended. How could he wake up now?

Zhu Di struggled, but found himself powerless, only able to watch helplessly as he slowly drifted away from the dream. The sun hung high in the sky, yet it emitted not a single ray of light.

…

Meanwhile, inside the tavern, time was gradually approaching the quarter-hour mark, but Zhu Di showed no signs of waking up. The Brocade Guards placed their hands on their embroidered spring knives (a type of Chinese sword), their fierce gazes fixed on Zhuang Mu. These gazes were truly unsettling.

With no other choice, he turned to the old monk and asked, “Old Monk, if this old gentleman doesn’t wake up in a quarter of an hour, these people aren’t really going to attack me, are they?”

Yao Guangxiao swirled the glass of liquor in his hand, his expression calm. He chuckled softly, “Perhaps.”

“If my old friend truly doesn’t wake up, the two of us will likely be chopped into mincemeat.”

Zhuang Mu was slightly surprised. No exceptions?

“Aren’t you friends with this old gentleman?”

“They’ll even kill you?”

Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly. These Brocade Guards were fiercely loyal to the emperor and obeyed only him. If the emperor suffered an accident, even he wouldn’t escape. Impartiality and unquestioning obedience were the tenets of the Brocade Guard. If they showed mercy, they wouldn’t be Brocade Guards. Their job required ruthlessness.

“What? Are you scared?”

Yao Guangxiao’s brow was kind and peaceful, as he smiled slightly.

In response, Zhuang Mu beckoned Yao Guangxiao closer with a crook of his finger. Then, Zhuang Mu leaned close to Yao Guangxiao’s ear and whispered, “I’m not afraid. I have ways to protect myself.”

“But you don’t.”

Methods of self-preservation… it seemed Zhuang Mu wasn’t as simple as he appeared. Yao Guangxiao’s already furrowed brow deepened with several more wrinkles. To be able to protect oneself from the Brocade Guard’s blades—how many in the world could do that? He was curious about how Zhuang Mu would ensure his safety.

“They’re not easy to deal with. Are you sure you can survive them?”

The power of dreams could be strong or weak. Perhaps in those fantasy worlds, it was insignificant, but in the world of ordinary mortals, it could be considered a kind of immortal technique.

Zhuang Mu muttered softly, “Old Monk, you’re my regular customer. In my tavern, I won’t let anything happen to you. But outside the tavern, I can’t guarantee anything.”

As Zhuang Mu finished speaking, the quarter-hour was roughly up. Zhu Di hadn’t woken up. Instantly, the Brocade Guards in the tavern drew their swords, pointing them at Zhuang Mu, coldly saying, “The quarter-hour is up.”

Looking at the still-unconscious Zhu Di, Zhuang Mu couldn’t help but ponder. Something was wrong. Normally, the old gentleman should have woken up by now. This situation meant either he hadn’t controlled the dosage properly, leading to a deviation, or the person himself didn’t want to wake up, also leading to a deviation. But his ability to control the power of dreams was already perfected. Therefore, it must be that the old gentleman himself didn’t want to wake up, hence the delay.

“He’ll wake up in a moment,” Zhuang Mu explained.

Hearing this, Yao Guangxiao simply sat quietly, watching the tense atmosphere in the tavern like a bystander. He knew Zhuang Mu wouldn’t harm anyone. Before, when he had been dreaming, there had indeed been deviations in his waking time. It wasn’t a major issue if he didn’t wake up on time. But Zhu Di was the emperor; his high status meant that not waking up on time was a serious problem. These Brocade Guards were merciless. Especially Zhu Wei, the leader.

Although his official rank wasn’t high within the Brocade Guard, Zhu Wei was Zhu Di’s personal bodyguard and the commander of the Brocade Guard. He was known for being dim-witted, stubborn, and only listening to Zhu Di. He never showed mercy and never listened to explanations. Under Zhu Wei’s protection, Zhu Di had survived countless assassination attempts unharmed.

“It seems I’ll have to teach you a lesson,” Zhu Wei’s eyes flashed with cold light as he prepared to let Zhuang Mu experience the threat of death. He raised his knife, ready to sever Zhuang Mu’s limbs before interrogating him.

Seeing this situation, Zhuang Mu sighed, and snapped his fingers. Zhu Wei immediately felt a huge threat and quickly raised his knife to defend himself, but found that the finger snap seemed to have no killing power. Yao Guangxiao was also slightly stunned.

“Kid, these guys are incredibly stubborn. They really will kill you. Should I help you?”

Zhuang Mu shook his head. “They can’t kill me.”

Seeing this, Zhu Wei pounced on Zhuang Mu like a tiger, with incredible speed. After pinning Zhuang Mu down, he pressed the knife to his throat and roared, “I give you a quarter of an hour to wake my master; otherwise, you’ll experience what it means to suffer.”

Yao Guangxiao felt helpless. He had clearly overestimated Zhuang Mu. It seemed he had to intervene; otherwise, Zhuang Mu really would have his limbs severed and be thrown into the Brocade Guard’s prison.

Just as Yao Guangxiao was about to intervene, he heard a voice in his ear: “Old Monk, wake up.”

In the blink of an eye, the scene vanished. Zhuang Mu stood unharmed behind the counter; Zhu Wei stood motionless, his eyes glazed over. The other Brocade Guards also stood motionless, their eyes blank.

Yao Guangxiao was shocked at this sight. What was that?!

“What just happened?”

Zhuang Mu smiled and explained, “It’s nothing. I just let them have a nice dream. They’ll wake up in a bit. I can’t say anything else, but on my turf, no one can touch me.”

Yao Guangxiao swallowed hard, exclaiming, “It truly is like immortal magic, able to put people to sleep in an instant. Even I was fooled. But such power is best used sparingly. Becoming a respected immortal or a despised outcast often happens in an instant.”

Whether Zhuang Mu became an immortal or an outcast depended on whether he had the means to protect himself. Based on his understanding of dreams, Zhuang Mu’s abilities leaned more towards becoming a despised outcast. After all, beautiful dreams were easy to become addicted to. If everyone indulged in beautiful dreams, the world would be on the brink of destruction. The court wouldn’t stand idly by. Diligent hands were the foundation of the people’s survival, and dreams ultimately couldn’t affect reality; they would eventually be discovered. It had its advantages and disadvantages.

Yao Guangxiao merely offered his advice to Zhuang Mu.

To the old monk’s advice, Zhuang Mu laughed, “Don’t worry, I won’t use it unless absolutely necessary. Besides, I only use this ability in my tavern.”

Zhuang Mu didn’t want to be an immortal. He knew very well that his dream power was very limited. When there was too much dream energy, it would overflow and cause side effects: excessive sleepiness. When there was too little dream energy, it would damage his internal energy, causing side effects: insomnia. Prolonged insomnia would lead to physical and mental exhaustion, ultimately resulting in madness.

(End of Chapter)

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