I looked at the newcomers, surprised as I watched them. The mention of Lord Ouyang immediately brought someone to mind—Nathan Ouyang, the kind-hearted prison guard from before. I quickly stepped forward and asked.
"Excuse me, is the Lord Ouyang you mentioned Nathan Ouyang?"
The leader glanced at me without a word, then suddenly drew the long sword at his waist and pointed it at me.
"You must be new here. Think carefully—if you want to keep living, come to the city. Don't get involved with these Dreamborn, or you'll regret it when it's too late."
With that, the group rode off on their bizarre horses, turning and leaving without a second glance.
"What were they here for?" I couldn't help but mutter. At that moment, I noticed that every villager here looked grave, their faces filled with anger.
Especially Nolan—his teeth were grinding audibly, and he had already drawn his strange knife from his belt.
I was completely at a loss. Watching the villagers, I saw an old man step forward and sigh deeply.
"Sigh, let's do this. Everyone, bring out whatever you have left from this year's stores. Gather it together, and tonight, let the young people of the village go out and try to get a bit more."
Then I saw the villagers carrying large sacks from their homes, each one bulging, piling them up at the village entrance while the old man checked them off.
I returned to Nolan's house. Sister Ming had just finished at home too. I saw her carrying out three large sacks from the corner, and as Nolan's face burned with anger, I asked him:
"Nolan, tell me—what exactly is going on here? What's the deal with the Dreamborn and the Settlers?"
Nolan looked up in surprise, glanced at me, then shouted angrily.
"Don't call me Nolan—call me Master!"
I smiled and sighed.
"Master, please tell your apprentice—what exactly is happening here?"
Nolan burst out laughing—a bright, innocent smile, just as a child should have.
It was only then that I learned: this dream world had always existed within dreams. The Dreamborn were born from dreams, and from time to time, they would leave through dream passages, enter people's dreams, fill in for missing characters, and sometimes bring food back from human dreams.
"No way, seriously?"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment. All of this was utterly shocking to me.
Nolan told me that originally, Dreamborn were just the nonexistent people created in human dreams. By chance, they gained consciousness and gradually built their own dream kingdom.
For Dreamborn born here, their only source of food comes from human dreams. Whenever people dream of food or tools, Dreamborn take them directly from those dreams.
"This..."
I've dreamed of eating delicious food before, but after waking, I almost always had to eat it in real life. Even if not the next day, eventually I'd crave it. It's a strange feeling.
"Basically, when you humans dream of food, we usually only take a portion. If we're greedy, we take it all. That person will wake up starving and need to eat what was taken in the dream to feel at ease, and then they might dream of food again."
I listened, half-understanding.
Nolan explained that dreams and reality complement each other. The same applies to other situations. But everything changed when, at some unknown point, ghosts appeared in the dream realm—the so-called Dream Wraiths.
These wraiths preyed on Dreamborn. In the beginning, there were many Dreamborn scattered throughout this world, each gathering in different places, with all sorts of things from different eras, developing their own forms.
But with the arrival of Dream Wraiths, daily life was thrown into chaos. Some Dream Wraiths would emerge from the dream realm, invade Dreamborn settlements, wreak havoc, devour people, and destroy everything. Eventually, Dreamborn fought back, but against high-level Dream Wraiths, they stood no chance.
Dreamborn were constantly eaten by Dream Wraiths. Once consumed, a Dreamborn would become a Dream Wraith. The more they devoured, the stronger the wraiths grew. To survive, Dreamborn could only keep running, opening up new settlements within the dream realm.
Things only started to improve when someone named Nathan Ouyang arrived. Nathan could wield some of the Dream Wraiths' power—even tame them.
This brought new hope to the Dreamborn. However, as more people became trapped in the dream realm and couldn't escape, those who weren't devoured ended up here. Gradually, Dreamborn became subordinates to the Settlers of the dream realm.
"Looks like I guessed right."
It really was Nathan Ouyang. Thinking it through, he's probably the only one capable of this in the dream realm.
"Apprentice, there's one big difference between us Dreamborn and the Settlers who enter the dream realm from the human world."
"What's the difference?"
Nolan lifted his head, looked at me, and said each word slowly.
"Our lifespans are like humans—we age, get sick, and die. But Settlers, except when devoured and turned into Dream Wraiths, have no end to their lives. Occasionally, some strong ones, like you, come in from outside. They're much stronger than us Dreamborn. Their only goal is to escape the dream realm. Also, they can't have children."
I looked at Nolan and nodded, finally understanding everything about this world.
"Alright, apprentice, come with your master—let's go hunt some Dream Wraiths."
I let out an 'oh.' Nolan got up, grabbed a few sacks from a spot in the house, and I followed him outside. They said if you head north, there's a forest where plenty of Dream Wraiths lurk.
The villagers had gathered about a dozen people, but according to the village chief, they were still short by sixty-three, so they had to hurry.
"What happens if we don't deliver?"
Nolan glanced at me.
"You can choose not to, but if Dream Wraiths attack, the Settlers from the city won't help us."
I sighed. No matter where you go, it's the same—where there are people, there's exploitation and oppression.
"Why not go into the dream itself?" I asked directly. Many villagers turned to look at me, their faces full of disbelief.
"Most of the Dream Wraiths in dreams are high-level—we can't fight them. We can only hunt in the forest at the edge of the dream realm. Hopefully, the other villages have enough, so we don't have to compete."
Looking at the villagers, sighing and worried, I couldn't help but think—if I could recover my power, I don't know how many Gray Wraiths I could kill.
I went with the villagers. On the way, Nolan told me that Dream Wraiths are ranked by rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. He said that once, a Red Wraith appeared—Nathan Ouyang and the others lost tens of thousands of lives just to drive it away.
The lowest level is the Gray Wraith.
"I'd love to try a Green or Red Wraith—they must taste amazing."
Just thinking about Dream Wraiths, I had absolutely no appetite.
Night fell quickly, as if darkness had truly arrived. Here, day and night exist, but there's no sun or moon.
I asked again about all the bizarre things here—especially those horses people rode. Nolan told me that because the dream realm is illusory, most things here are taken from dreams and are incomplete. Only a handful of people can bring over complex things from dreams intact.
Even their clothes—the multicolored garments—when brought over, are mostly incomplete. They have to patch them together with other colors, like making a quilt, just so they can be worn.
On the grassland, a cold wind blew. I couldn't help but sneeze. The sensations—the wind, the air, the scent of grass, even my stomach—all felt stronger, and I started to feel tired.
But compared to the Forest of Desire, this place is much better.
I asked Nolan how I could use my original powers again. He told me I had to fully fall into the dream realm—unable to change the dream, but aware that everything in the dream is real.
Once you reach that point and can basically control the direction of the dream, it's fine. But to control dreams, you need great power. Dreamborn like them struggle even against a few Gray Wraiths, so they can't change the dream realm.
As we spoke, we arrived at a spacious forest. By now, it was completely dark—but not black, just gray, like it was about to rain. The brightness wasn't too low; except for the distance, visibility was still good.
Every villager gripped their weapon tightly, visibly afraid, tiptoeing as they walked.
Thinking about it, I didn't need to be so scared. These low-level Gray Wraiths die with a poke—they shouldn't be too hard. What I was really pondering was Nathan Ouyang—what are they really after? Their human bodies must be dead, maybe even their souls, with only a fragment of consciousness left in this illusory dream realm. What would they do if they got out?
I followed Nolan and the villagers, slowly entering the open woods. With every step, they were cautious. Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound to the left.
"Everyone, on guard—get ready."
One of the older villagers shouted.