"As the saying goes, 'A penny can bring down even the bravest hero.' This last Crown Chakra Petal is really a pain to deal with." In the Dream World, Jill Young looked around and clicked her tongue in wonder. "But no matter how you slice it, being able to whip up something like this in your mind is pretty damn impressive."
In this Dream World, the moon was still the moon, and the ice lake was still the ice lake, but everything else had changed dramatically. The distant mountains and the frosty blanket over the flowers and grass had all melted away. When Jill Young appeared near these plants and focused her attention, her gaze could even pierce through the surface of leaves and veins, seeing the thoughts and meanings these things represented in the Mindscape World.
Overall, the forested hills and waterfalls around the lake now looked just like a regular moonlit jungle: sparse shadows, tranquil, beautiful.
"So you mean just missing one layer of Prajna Skill makes this much of a difference? Your mental strength is seriously something else—this Mindscape World, I couldn’t put together even if I tried." As Jill Young stared, she could see a thousand petals covering the entire Mindscape World. Nine hundred ninety-nine of them radiated powerful mental energy, maintaining the world’s existence. Honestly, if we’re just talking raw mental power, Jack Young is no weaker than someone at the seventh layer of Prajna Skill. In fact, thanks to the Supreme Spiritual Emotion Path, he might even have more.
But the last petal represents the absolute peak, perfection. That tiny difference is the key. And that petal—the Queen shifted her gaze toward the depths of the ice lake—was locked away right there.
At the center of the ice lake, Jack Young stood with his eyes closed atop the water. Closing your eyes in your own Mindscape World is like dreaming about sleeping in a dream—it sounds pointless. But he calmed his breath, stretched out his hands, and countless twinkling lights from every corner of the Mindscape World flew toward him, as if summoned by the Creator, pouring into Jack Young’s palms.
After a moment, Jack Young sighed and opened his eyes. "Okay, most of my memories are back. I even remembered a bunch of stuff I’d forgotten. But sure enough, there’s still something missing—not much, but some bits are always fuzzy in the normal linear memory." He looked off into the distance. Even if there were mountains and rivers between them, Jack Young could easily chat with The Queen: "Let’s call it a day. If you don’t get out soon, you’ll turn into a little gremlin again."
See, a man with a plan is the backbone of the household. When he timed his exit from the Mindscape World, his mental strength was pretty drained and he was groggy with exhaustion, but it was way better than at the very start. At least when Jack Young looked at The Queen, he could breathe a sigh of relief—she could still maintain some level of intelligence.
"Look at you, sighing like you just ran a marathon. What, taking care of me is that much of a pain? Fine, fine, I’ll keep watch tonight, you sleep!" How dare you underestimate me? I can handle things on my own, thank you very much!
"You? Keep watch?" Jack Young chuckled. "It’s been over a month, and every single night I’m the one keeping watch. You think you can do it?"
"Enough with the yapping! I said sleep, so sleep—or I'll knock you out!" The Queen raised her fist, then plopped down cross-legged, eyes wide and ears perked, on high alert.
Jack Young couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. He knew all too well: the more his mental energy was drained, the more childish The Queen got. She hadn’t turned into a full-on little gremlin this time, but right now she was like a rebellious teen—tough talk, soft heart, but still trustworthy.
"Alright, I’m sleeping, you keep watch." He wouldn’t bother with politeness—especially not with her. It had been ages since he’d slept. For over a month, he’d relied on her deep sleep to restore his mental energy. Energy-wise, it was fine, but psychologically, he was still tired. So Jack Young closed his eyes and quickly drifted into deep sleep.
With his current cultivation level, even when sleeping he’d instinctively leave a bit of awareness on guard. The upside: hard to ambush. The downside: never really deep sleep. But as long as he felt completely safe, it took almost no time to go from awake to out cold. Nobody in the world made him feel safer than The Queen, so once Jack Young shut his eyes, within a few breaths he was out like a light. All his senses were basically shut down.
But once Jack Young was out, The Queen’s eyes flashed with a thoughtful look. Whenever Jack’s mental activity dropped, her intelligence would rise. Like two connected pools—one goes down, the other goes up, always in balance. Once Teacher Yang was in deep sleep, The Queen’s presence returned, showing a bit of her usual regal flair.
"Inner Demon…" She looked at Teacher Yang and thought for a moment, then suddenly picked him up and carried him off. The Queen’s touch and movement didn’t trigger any reaction from Teacher Yang—like carrying a Sleeping Beauty under a witch’s spell, she easily brought him to their pre-chosen safehouse.
It was hidden, dry, and out of sight—the perfect spot to rest. The Queen placed Teacher Yang on the ground, grabbed his left hand with her right, and intertwined their fingers. She leaned down, forehead to forehead. Her platinum hair draped like a curtain, and for the first time, The Queen initiated a mental link from her side. "This has to be done while you’re in deep sleep."
Golden light began to shine.
In a flash, Jill Young was back in the Mindscape World, standing atop the ice lake. Her first time here "alone," and it felt different from when they’d come together. The mountains were still mountains, the trees still trees, but if their last visit was midnight under a full moon, this time, with Jill Young alone, the sky was tinged with rose—like dawn before sunrise. The world was waking up.
Everything in the Mindscape World was a reflection of the mind, so Jill Young wasn’t too puzzled. She just stood on the still-frozen lake, staring at the tightly closed elevator doors, deep in thought. Ever since she learned about Jack Young’s Inner Demon and memory loss, no one cared more than The Queen. She might act carefree, but when her intelligence was up, she’d really put her mind to it.
At first, The Queen thought Jack Young’s Inner Demon was no big deal. She had all her memories and no Inner Demon, so she figured she could just copy her memories over and call it a day. But after several trips in and out of the Mindscape World, her opinion changed. Jack Young’s Inner Demon wasn’t that easy to break.
Asking a person with amnesia, "What did you forget?" is pretty dumb—of course they don’t know what they’ve forgotten. And after all those mental links, Jill Young realized Jack Young’s case was trickier than regular amnesia.
His logic wasn’t broken, and his mental strength was more than enough to handle normal—and even way above normal—thinking. Even if someone said, "Don’t you remember so-and-so? That’s your such-and-such," Jack Young would just treat it as new info, decide whether it was true or not, and store it somewhere new.
But that still couldn’t help him recover what was lost.
Actually, calling it ‘lost’ isn’t quite right. Look at that tightly shut door—it means the memory isn’t lost, it’s locked away. If you lose a treasure, you might find it again. But if it’s locked up tight, you’ll need to break the lock and open the door.
Jill Young came here today for one last shot—to see if she could help Jack Young unlock the treasure hunt.
"This door…" Jill Young stood before the elevator doors. She didn’t bother with the keypad to enter a code, but reached straight for the door, eyes steady. "I remember, clear as day—this was the elevator in my old apartment."
Whoosh—without entering any code, the elevator doors suddenly slid open. A sliver of white light shone through, growing brighter as the doors opened wider. Finally, the doors were fully open, and Jill Young stood at the entrance, her face flickering with complicated emotions. "So that’s it… That’s how it happened. Never thought all these twists and turns would end up as an Inner Demon."
She shook her head and sighed, then stepped forward with resolve. "Whatever happens, I’ll give it a shot."
Whoosh—she walked through the door, vanishing into the hazy white light beyond. With Jack Young in deep sleep, only Jill Young could enter those tightly locked memories and search for a sliver of hope.
So many autumns in a dream—no worries while asleep.
When Jack Young woke from his dreamless deep sleep, his strong sense of time told him he’d slept way longer than expected. Someone was weighing him down. He opened his eyes and found The Queen hugging his neck, snoozing in his arms like he was her mattress.
"Hey! I told you to keep watch, not slack off!" Jack Young was about to laugh, but his head spun—a sign of burning too much mental energy for too long. Even freshly awake, he still felt groggy.
The Queen’s eyelids fluttered and she woke up, too. Their eyes met, and her gaze was complicated. Finally, she shook her head and sighed: "I’m out of ideas. I tried everything, and in the end, it’s up to you. Even if I spell it out for you, it won’t mean a thing."
The Queen’s words were all over the place—any normal person would be confused. But Jack Young got it instantly, shrugged, and smiled: "No worries. I’ve always had a hunch. This is my… Well, not ‘my’ exactly. More like ‘Jack Young’s’ tribulation. It’s something only ‘Jack Young’ can face."
Calling yourself by your own name is weird, but for twins, it’s the only way to make sense. The Queen nodded, then raised an eyebrow: "But after all that effort, coming back empty-handed would be embarrassing, right? So it’s not a total loss."
"What did you get?"
"I found the password to open the door."