Chapter Thirty-One: Mainly Wanting to Temper Myself

My little sister… I killed her.

As Su Jiuming finished speaking, the atmosphere instantly sank into an eerie, chilling silence.

Squatting on the bar counter, Luo Luo, who had just been delighted to have new company, stiffly turned her head toward Su Jiuming. An uncanny smile spread across her face, her lips curling slightly, and her tongue, lined with barbs, slowly extended.

Du Fang: "…"

“This… I really don’t know what to say now,” Du Fang said, a little awkward.

Su Jiuming poured herself another glass of vodka, raised it, and clinked glasses with Du Fang.

A clear “ding~” sounded.

Su Jiuming gazed at Du Fang’s frozen expression and smiled enchantingly. “My little sister was parasitized and taken over by a Nightmare Demon. I had no choice but to kill her…”

With this explanation, Du Fang felt somewhat relieved.

Even Luo Luo, dejected, retracted her barbed tongue.

No more playmates.

“My condolences,” Du Fang said softly, raising his glass in response.

Su Jiuming… must have suffered deeply.

“No need to comfort me. I’ve long since healed the wounds in my heart. Xiao Du, do you know why I’m telling you all this?” Su Jiuming looked at Du Fang.

“Because we’re the same. We’ve both survived high-grade Nightmare Catastrophes.”

“My sister and I survived a grade-seven Eerie Nightmare Catastrophe, and both awakened special abilities…”

“And that was the true beginning of the disaster.”

Su Jiuming turned around, leaning against the bar, and continued, “Xiao Du, do you know the purpose behind the existence of Dreamwalkers?”

Du Fang took a sip of fruit wine, pondered, and replied, “To maintain world peace?”

Su Jiuming: “…”

A bit too noble.

Still, Su Jiuming chuckled softly. “That’s not entirely wrong. The Dreamwalkers’ Association doesn’t just exist to subdue Nightmare Catastrophes; it’s also meant to restrain the Nightmare Demons that emerge from them—those that possess and usurp human bodies…”

“The emergence of Nightmare Catastrophes dates back a hundred years. Back then, people lacked awareness and effective prevention or containment, leading to many catastrophes spiraling out of control, causing countless deaths.”

“At the same time, many wills from within these catastrophes transformed into Nightmare Demons, slipped out, and parasitized humans, scattering across the world… They survive among us with human faces and must change bodies every so often.”

“These Nightmare Demons have even formed organizations. They control financial groups and major corporations, their influence enveloping the globe like an enormous net.”

“They wear human skins, pretending to be refined gentlemen and noble aristocrats, selecting their preferred hosts with greedy eyes.”

“The more exceptional the body, the more likely it is to be coveted by them.”

Su Jiuming spoke calmly, but Du Fang sensed an undercurrent of deep, seething hatred.

“My sister, like me, survived a grade-seven Eerie Nightmare Catastrophe and awakened special abilities. In the eyes of Nightmare Demons, she was the perfect vessel.”

“She was targeted by one of them, and then…”

“She was parasitized and her body was completely taken over.”

Su Jiuming took a sip of wine and said calmly, “So, I chose to kill her. I couldn’t allow that beast to defile my sister’s body.”

Du Fang listened quietly, but his heart was anything but calm.

Luo Luo squatted on the bar counter, tilting her head, her large eyes shining black as ink, fixed on Su Jiuming.

His wife Yaya’s hand rested on Du Fang’s shoulder, her index finger tapping rhythmically.

“That’s why you and your daughter need to be careful. Until you’re strong enough… you could easily become nothing more than a Nightmare Demon’s skin suit hanging in their wardrobe.”

Su Jiuming looked at Du Fang as he spoke.

Du Fang exhaled slowly.

He glanced at Luo Luo, squatting on the bar counter, her head tilted with an angelic, flawless innocence.

The thought of such a lovely Luo Luo falling victim to such horror sent a chill through his heart.

Should anyone ever lay a hand on Luo Luo,

Du Fang would go all out to destroy them!

That was a promise sealed with his soul and blood.

“All right, enough of this heavy talk. Let’s lighten the mood—I’ll tell you a bit about Taboo Artifacts. That’s what you should be focusing on, since your Dreamwalker certification is based on a Taboo Artifact.”

Su Jiuming batted her eyes, her charming demeanor returning.

Du Fang sat up, attentive.

“You should know what Taboo Artifacts are. Simply put, they’re manifestations of obsessions left behind in Nightmare Catastrophes, weapons that can channel dream energy to unleash special powers.”

“Taboo Artifacts are categorized according to the disaster’s danger level, since their power usually corresponds to the grade of the Nightmare Catastrophe.”

“For example, your grade-three Eerie Taboo Artifact came from a grade-three Eerie Nightmare Catastrophe.”

“When a Nightmare Catastrophe reaches a high grade, it becomes extremely dangerous; similarly, Taboo Artifacts born from these are known as High-Grade Taboo Artifacts.”

“From grade-nine Eerie Nightmare Catastrophes and above, the artifacts that emerge are called Sequence Taboo Artifacts.”

“There are even higher grades above the Sequence Taboo Artifacts, but you don’t need to know about those for now.”

“Each Sequence Taboo Artifact is a priceless treasure that can greatly enhance a Dreamwalker’s power and, in Nightmare Catastrophes, can sometimes turn the tide of battle.”

Su Jiuming explained.

Du Fang listened, deeply shaken. This was the first time he’d systematically learned about Taboo Artifacts.

Before, all he knew was that Taboo Artifacts sold for a lot of money.

“Brother Su, how many Sequence Taboo Artifacts are there in the world right now?” Du Fang asked curiously.

Su Jiuming sipped her drink and chuckled, “Not many. A total of 108.”

“Our Captain Zhang actually owns one—Sequence 098!”

“Captain Zhang… that impressive?” Du Fang exclaimed in surprise.

“Little Lin isn’t simple. I’ve coveted that Sequence 098 for a long time,” Su Jiuming licked her lips, then glanced at Du Fang.

With a seductive smile.

“In fact…”

“I even considered selling my body for it.”

Du Fang: “…?”

…

…

After chatting leisurely for a while, Su Jiuming showed Du Fang around the sixteenth floor, Wildfire’s office level. With that, there wasn’t much else to do.

“Oh, there’s one more thing.”

Just as Du Fang was about to leave the Dreamwalker Tower, Su Jiuming thought of something, called him back, and led him into Zhang Changlin’s captain’s office. With practiced ease, she pulled a book called “Young ×× Jie” from the third row, second position on the shelf, and shook out a key.

The key opened a drawer, from which she took a silver badge and a letter.

“Here, Captain Zhang asked me to give you this before he went into seclusion.”

“This is the squad emblem—bronze for bronze-level teams, silver for silver-level teams, and gold for gold-level teams…”

“From now on, wear the silver badge and you’ll have free access to the Dreamwalker Tower.”

“And this letter is an invitation to a competition.”

Su Jiuming handed over the silver badge and the letter. Du Fang stared at the envelope in surprise. “A competition invitation?”

“This year’s Rookie Dreamwalker Invitational. Don’t worry, you’re not going alone—Chen Xi is also a rookie and will compete with you.”

“It’s a competition organized by the Dreamwalker Association, giving every registered rookie team a chance to grow. Gold, silver, and bronze Dreamwalker teams from every province, city, and town will send one or two rookies to compete.”

“If you make it to the finals, you’ll need to go to the capital, and there are unexpected rewards to be won,” Su Jiuming said with a smile.

Du Fang’s expression grew troubled at the mention of traveling to the capital.

“Brother Su, do I have to go?”

“The capital’s so far away.”

Du Fang asked.

“Why are you worried about how far the capital is? You only go if you reach the finals—is that really what you should be worrying about right now?” Su Jiuming raised an eyebrow, amused.

“But if you win the championship, the million-yuan prize is just a bonus. The main thing is that you can get a high-grade Taboo Artifact without risking a Nightmare Catastrophe. Now that’s what really matters…”

Just as Su Jiuming finished speaking,

Du Fang had already tucked the invitation into his pocket.

“Prize money doesn’t matter to me,” Du Fang said. “As a fresh-faced rookie Dreamwalker, I mainly want to temper myself.”

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