The Doll That Appeared on the Nightstand

Shock, disbelief, incredulity!

Everyone in the room was stunned, rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren’t seeing things.

The Jiang family... had been beaten?!

Jiang Xueqi looked at Jiang Lingyun, who was lying on the ground, twitching and with a disfigured face.

Her face turned pale, and she took two steps back, her voice trembling as she said, "Ling... Lingyun brother?"

"Cough... cough..."

Jiang Lingyun didn’t respond, his eyes rolling back as green blood foamed from his mouth.

Everyone: "!!"

Everything happened so fast that no one could react.

Gasps of shock filled the air.

What... just happened?

Su Muwan was equally bewildered.

She looked up at the figure standing in front of her, clad in a black trench coat.

Even though she couldn’t see his face, the voice and the silhouette were unmistakable.

"Qin Luo??"

Su Muwan called out his name in disbelief.

Qin Luo shook his wrist and turned to look behind him.

Oh, she’s so small.

He glanced down and saw the tiny Su Muwan tugging at his pant leg, her eyes flickering nervously.

Qin Luo teased her with a grin, "Miss, even in this tiny form, you’re quite adorable."

"You!"

Su Muwan’s initial look of surprise vanished, replaced by a mix of embarrassment and anger as she glared at Qin Luo. "Who asked for your opinion!"

After her outburst, Su Muwan couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Why are you here too?"

"What do you mean, ‘here too’..."

Qin Luo’s mouth twitched as he gestured around. "This is all just a dream, isn’t it?"

Su Muwan froze, her soul seemingly struck by a profound question. "A dream??"

She pointed at herself, then at Qin Luo, and finally at the stunned Jiang Xueqi and the others. "Are we all in a dream??"

Qin Luo looked at her in surprise and chuckled, "Miss, didn’t you know? This is the effect of the Bronze Cauldron."

At first, Qin Luo had been just as shocked, but after consulting the system, he understood.

[Master, the Bronze Cauldron is known as the "Dream of Fate Cauldron." It allows the user to enter a dream state for cultivation. Ten years in the dream is equivalent to one day in reality.]

[Additionally, the Dream of Fate Cauldron can voluntarily enter the dreams of others, and those who enter will also benefit from its cultivation effects.]

[Note: The Dream of Fate Cauldron has a chance to trigger a true dream.]

Ten years in a dream, one day in reality.

Voluntarily entering dreams...

Although Qin Luo didn’t fully understand the system’s rambling explanation, one thing was clear: they were currently inside a dream!

And this dream...

Qin Luo turned his gaze to the crowd of shocked men, women, and children in front of him.

His eyes narrowed.

This dream belonged to Su Muwan.

Su Muwan had once mentioned that as a child, Jiang Xueqi had stolen her doll, which had driven her to pursue martial arts.

Who would have thought that after all these years, Su Muwan still dreamed about this incident every night.

Well, well, well.

If the past couldn’t be changed, then in this dream,

he would change it!

The Bronze Cauldron?

Oh!

Su Muwan suddenly remembered. Her original plan had been to use the Bronze Cauldron to enter Qin Luo’s dream and tease him mercilessly.

But...

Hadn’t she forgotten to use it?

Or had she accidentally triggered it?

Whatever.

Since this was a dream,

why should she hold back?

With that thought, Su Muwan stepped out from behind Qin Luo. She pointed at Jiang Xueqi, whose face had turned pale, and shouted, "You little wench! What nonsense are you spouting? That doll belongs to me!"

"Since when did you steal it from me?!"

As soon as she finished speaking,

"Eek—!"

"You! You’re insulting me again?"

Jiang Xueqi staggered back, her face pale as she hid behind her brothers, trembling. "Brothers, help me..."

In the dream, Jiang Tianlin still had that righteous air about him. He wasn’t yet the future "Dog Marshal," but he was already a devoted brother.

He immediately stepped forward and barked at Qin Luo, "Who do you think you are? How dare you lay a hand on the Jiang family—"

*Slap!!*

"Ugh—!"

Before he could finish,

Qin Luo had already teleported in front of him and delivered a resounding slap.

*Thud!*

Jiang Tianlin collapsed to the ground, clutching his face, his eyes wide with shock.

His mind went blank.

Only the stinging pain on his cheek reminded him of the truth...

What...

I’ve been slapped?

Before he could process it,

*Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!*

Qin Luo teleported again, delivering a rapid series of slaps.

"Ugh—!"

"Ah!"

Shadows flickered, and screams echoed.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

In moments, all of Jiang Xueqi’s brothers were lying on the ground.

*Clap! Clap!*

Qin Luo dusted off his hands and turned his malicious gaze to the last person standing—Jiang Xueqi.

He sneered, "So, Jiang Xueqi, you dared to steal my lady’s doll..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand. "Do you want a taste of this too?"

"Eek!"

Jiang Xueqi, terrified, collapsed to the ground.

Tears streamed down her face as she wailed uncontrollably.

"Wahhhh!!"

"Brother Tianlin! You’ve all disappointed me so much!!"

"There’s only one opponent, and you couldn’t even handle him!"

"Wahhhh!!"

Qin Luo smirked, and Su Muwan rolled her eyes in exasperation.

She stepped forward and reached out to Jiang Xueqi.

The latter, still crying, noticed Su Muwan’s outstretched hand.

Just as she thought Su Muwan was going to help her up,

Su Muwan grabbed a small yellow duck and shouted, "You think crying will solve anything, you little wench?!"

"Take this duck slap!"

*Slap!*

"Ugh—!"

Jiang Xueqi fell to the ground, clutching her face, her tears stopping abruptly.

She was too stunned to cry.

I... I’ve been slapped too?

"Phew!"

After delivering the slap, Su Muwan let out a long breath of relief.

Even though she knew this was just a dream,

it felt so good to finally get her revenge!

She looked up at Qin Luo with a playful smile. "Qin Luo, let’s go!"

Qin Luo chuckled, then bent down and scooped her up onto his shoulders.

"Hey! I’m not a child!"

Su Muwan grabbed Qin Luo’s hair, protesting loudly.

Qin Luo held her firmly, amused. "The tiny version of the young miss is a rare sight. Once we leave the dream, we won’t see this again."

"Pervert!"

"Huh?!"

Under the stunned gazes of everyone,

Qin Luo and Su Muwan left the banquet hall.

Jiang Xueqi, watching the two depart with such ease, was so angry that her eyes turned red with tears.

How dare they act so arrogantly!!

If only my Zixuan brother weren’t busy preparing for his promotion to Tiger Marshal, I’d make you two pay!

As Qin Luo and Su Muwan stepped out of the banquet hall,

a flash of white light engulfed them.

*Buzz—!*

In an instant, they lost consciousness.

...

...

*Chirp! Chirp!~*

"Ha~~"

Su Muwan groggily opened her eyes and sat up, looking around at the familiar surroundings.

Ah, her bedroom.

Wait.

Where’s Qin Luo?!

Just as she thought this, Qin Luo’s voice came from the doorway.

"Miss, are you up? Breakfast is ready."

Su Muwan breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Oh!"

Then she added, "By the way, did you and I really slap people at a banquet hall last night?"

After a brief pause,

Qin Luo’s voice came back, "Miss, you should really put that Bronze Cauldron away! Otherwise, you’ll keep having these strange dreams! You know I don’t enjoy slapping people!"

"Hmph! What’s so strange about that!"

Su Muwan smirked, at least reassured that it had indeed been a dream.

"Mmm~"

She stretched and got out of bed, about to change her clothes when

her eyes caught something on the nightstand.

She froze, her gaze locking onto the object.

There,

on the nightstand, was a... worn-out doll.

No!

Su Muwan’s expression stiffened.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she let out a piercing scream:

"QIN LUO!!! SOMETHING’S WRONG!!!"