"I am you."
Suddenly, my eyes widened as I stared at the figure in white standing on the frozen surface of the Snowridge River—a perfect copy of myself, grinning at me with a strange and unsettling smile.
Something shifted at my shoulder. I instantly widened my eyes, breathing hard as I glanced to the side. My father was smiling, his hand pressing gently on my shoulder.
"Are you alright, Roxie? Did you have a nightmare?"
I pressed my hand to my forehead and checked the time—it was just after ten. I was still on the plane. I drew in a sharp breath, a chill running through me.
"Dad, what's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"
My voice rose as I stared, and several people around us turned to look. Felix Fan took off his headphones, turned to me, and smiled.
"I had a nightmare. And it was a dream within a dream."
I started telling my dad and Felix Fan what happened. Both of them looked puzzled. I pressed my forehead, wiped away some sweat, and wondered what was really going on. It didn't feel like an endless time loop—it was a dream, but I didn't know why I felt so deeply inside it, like a dream within a dream.
"If that's really the case, you need to be careful, daughter."
My father spoke gravely. I nodded, and Felix Fan looked at me, puzzled.
"The number nine—you heard me and Martin Lane mention it in your dream, but have you ever asked us in the dream what the different things you saw might mean or represent?"
I shook my head.
"Whenever you two arrive, you're playing chess. No matter how I ask, you won't leave, and you even tell me not to touch the chessboard or anything like that."
Felix Fan looked at me, baffled, and my father shook his head too.
"We didn't bring the chessboard."
Eventually, the plane landed, and at 11:11 we left the airport. The Underworld Agent who came to pick us up was someone new—a short, chubby man with a flattering smile. He immediately told us he'd reserved seats at a barbecue restaurant in Snowridge Springs, and we could eat as soon as we arrived.
When I asked about Snowridge Springs, I learned it was packed. We only managed to book a hotel because the chubby agent had connections. I glanced at my father, and he nodded.
I stared intently out the car window. Many vehicles sped past, and it was lively outside. For the third time, I looked down at Snowridge Springs from afar and was surprised by the sight. There were many lights along the shore, but the river itself was pitch black—different from my last two dreams. I could vaguely see the ice under the bright moonlight. Now, lifting my head, I was sure this wasn't a dream, but reality, because in the previous two dreams, there was no moon. On this clear snowy night, the moonlight was bright, and at this hour, you could see it shining on the ice. It was a whole new scene. After getting out of the car, I walked onto the riverbank, where most of the road was filled with tables and chairs and bustling crowds. At that moment, I saw the couple from my first dream—the quirky girl snuggling into her boyfriend's arms.
While the agent went to order food, Felix Fan called me into the house. My father lay back comfortably on the wide bed.
"This spell might be connected to dreams. Dreams have been studied by the Nether Syndicate since the second generation of sect leaders. Although most dreams are controlled by the Nightmare Ghost Sovereign, there are still some gaps—places even that Ghost Sovereign doesn't know about. I remember that couple once helped Ethan Zhang enter a dream, right?"
I nodded. Ethan Zhang had entered many dreams before to fight Mona Ouyang. I always wondered how people from the Nether Syndicate could do it, since I'm a practitioner myself and never heard of any sect with dream-entering spells—only the Nether Syndicate could do it.
I still suspected I was dreaming, so I pinched Felix Fan's shoulder, then my father's foot.
"It's fine, this probably isn't a dream. After all, we've finally come to a place like this. If I still had to use my brain to play chess, do you think that's possible given my personality?"
My dad said this, and I nodded. He really loves to have fun. When I was little and didn't know much about Underworld matters, I'd see other parents working while mine always played with me, took me to eat good food and go to fun places. He never seemed to work, and I always wondered where his income came from.
"You just mentioned a spell related to dreams—what exactly is it?"
"Dreams are elusive and ethereal. Only dreams are the best place to seal and hide things, because if you can't find the man-made entrance to a dream, you can't enter it. You know that, right?"
I nodded. Earlier at Golden Temple, I was pulled into a nightmare by an evil spirit, and it took Mona Ouyang a lot of effort to finally enter the dream and find me.
"Didn't you come here before to perform a sealing? How come you don't know the spell used to seal the Blood Jade here?"
Felix Fan shook his head.
"I have been here, but that was centuries ago. The situation was different then. This spell is powerful because it contains variables, and you should know that—the Yin-Yang Nine Changes."
"The Yin-Yang Nine Changes?"
"Yes. The spell used to seal the Blood Jade in Snowridge Springs is based on the Yin-Yang Nine Changes. To break it, you must find the variable—the person who can change the outcome."
"So, who is the variable?"
Felix Fan, my father, and I all looked at each other. For a moment, no one spoke.
"The variable... might be a ghostworm."
I instantly frowned. "Ghostworm?"
"Yes. The ghostworm is a reincarnated monk who mastered supernatural insects and became a ghost. His knowledge of the Buddha Relic's whereabouts is crucial."
I nodded. "So, we need to find the ghostworm."
"That's right. Only the ghostworm can break the seal and reveal the location of the Blood Jade fragment."
I took a deep breath and looked out the window. Snowridge Springs was bustling tonight, but beneath the surface, a supernatural crisis was brewing.
"So, where do we start looking for the ghostworm?"
Felix Fan thought for a moment. "The Renegade Monks might know. After all, the ghostworm used to be one of them."
I nodded. "Then let's go to the Renegade Monks' temple tomorrow."
My father smiled. "Good idea. It's said that the Renegade Monks are predicted to be eliminated soon from the chess game. If we want to find the ghostworm, we should hurry."
Felix Fan laughed. "Don't worry, Roxie. With us here, nothing will go wrong."
I smiled, feeling a little more at ease.
That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. My mind kept replaying the scene of the dream within a dream, and the mysterious figure in white standing on the ice.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me from the darkness.
Suddenly, I heard a faint whisper in my ear: "I am you."
I bolted upright, heart pounding, and looked around. The room was empty.
I got out of bed, walked to the window, and gazed at the moonlit river. Snowridge Springs lay silent beneath the night sky.
Just then, I saw a shadow move across the ice. The figure in white appeared again, standing motionless, staring directly at me.
My breath caught. I knew, deep down, that the nightmare was far from over.
I closed the curtains, lay back down, and tried to sleep. But the whisper echoed in my mind: "I am you."
Outside, the moon shone cold and bright over Snowridge Springs, illuminating the silent river and the shadow that refused to leave.
The nightmare had only just begun.