Chapter 76: Night Falls—Please Close Your Eyes

Bai Tao stepped forward and asked, “Granny, would you be able to tell us what has happened here on Dream Street?”

“This is a long story. If you don’t mind, come with me to my house and I’ll explain everything in detail. I live close by,” the elderly tiger demon replied, her back hunched.

Bai Tao responded courteously, “Granny, then please lead the way.”

Indeed, the tiger demon grandmother lived nearby. Jiang Yan and his companions followed her through two small alleyways before arriving at her home.

Her house was a simple wooden cottage, with a lush little vegetable garden outside. Under the eaves hung dried meat and strings of chili peppers, lending a unique atmosphere of everyday life.

“Please come in. The house is humble—I hope you won’t mind,” the tiger demon grandmother said, smiling warmly as she invited them inside.

Jiang Yan and his companions took seats around a wide square table, and the grandmother had already brewed fragrant flower tea for each of them.

Bai Tao sipped the tea and asked, “Granny, can you tell us now?”

The tiger demon grandmother slowly sat down, her gaze seeming to pierce the emptiness of the room, her voice tinged with a faint sorrow. “In truth, all the demons of Dream Street bear an unfortunate curse…”

It turned out that the demons living on Dream Street were all abandoned by the upper echelons of their kind. They carried curses, marked by signs upon their bodies.

Among the demon leaders, there were diviners and spellcasters who, through special rituals and arts, could detect which among their kin bore the curse’s mark.

Such curses were often tied to bloodlines, actions, or encounters; once marked, escape was nearly impossible.

Cursed demons were regarded as omens of misfortune by the demon elite. To prevent the spread of the curse, these demons were isolated or even driven from their ancestral lands.

Thus, those who dwelled on Dream Street were a community of the forsaken.

They struggled to survive on this street, which lay beyond the borders of the demon domain.

Dream Street—the name itself suggested an illusory, ephemeral place. Each night at midnight, the cursed demons would fall into a state of confusion. The chime of the bell was meant to warn them that midnight was near.

If they failed to take shelter indoors in time, they might vanish without a trace, lost in their delirium…

Jiang Yan listened to her tale, his heart full of questions. “Granny, since you too are afflicted by the curse, how have you searched for your husband all these years?”

The tiger demon grandmother sighed gently, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. “Ah, on the sea there is no bell to warn me. But I have a Water-Avoiding Pearl, which lets me keep track of the time.

I always carry a rope. If I cannot make it ashore in time, I tie myself to a large stone…”

She paused, as if caught in memory, then continued, “I am old now, but I have some experience. Even before I was born, my parents were already cursed.

I grew up on Dream Street and became quite familiar with the nature of this curse. Over the years, it’s been this experience and my Water-Avoiding Pearl that have allowed me to survive in these waters and continue searching for my missing husband.”

Bai Tao and the others could not help but feel sympathy. Clearly, the tiger demon grandmother had endured much hardship over the years.

The curse laid upon these demons was not only a torment to their bodies, but also a prison for their spirits.

Yet as Jiang Yan listened, his brows only furrowed deeper. He felt the grandmother’s story was riddled with inconsistencies—full of holes!

There was surely something suspicious here!

Her words made him feel as though he were playing a game of “Mafia” in the world of cultivation, where every sentence might be a trap and every gesture could give away a hidden identity.

Jiang Yan quickly composed himself, turned to the grandmother, and said politely, “Thank you for telling us, Granny. We have other matters to attend to and cannot stay long, so we must take our leave.”

The grandmother was momentarily surprised, then replied gently, “No matter, go about your business.”

Jiang Yan gave Bai Tao and the others a meaningful look, then led the way out of the cottage.

The rest also bid farewell and hurried after him.

What they did not know was that, once their figures had faded into the distance, the grandmother’s form slowly began to change, eventually transforming into the appearance of Lady Fox Third.

Lady Fox Third took a gentle sip of flower tea, a sly smile curving her lips. “Hehehe, once you’ve stepped into my Dream Street, how can you leave so easily? If you don’t behave, you’ll be punished…”

Jiang Yan stopped at the mouth of an alley. Bai Tao quickly asked, “Jiang Yan, did you notice something? Why did you suddenly want to leave?”

Jiang Yan countered, “Don’t you find many things in her story don’t make sense?”

Bai Tao scratched his head. “Not make sense?”

The small dragon yawned, “I was distracted and didn’t catch it.”

Qi Yu chimed in, “Second Young Master, perhaps you could explain exactly what seemed so off to you.”

The other disciples all looked confused, their gazes fixed on Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan was speechless. If you go adventuring without using your brains, you’re asking for the whole group to be wiped out!

“First of all, they’re demons. Think about it—a simple house, could it really contain ‘delirious’ demons with magical powers?”

If these were ordinary humans, Jiang Yan might not be so skeptical.

“Obviously not,” Bai Tao replied.

The others nodded in agreement.

Jiang Yan continued, “Since they’re cursed and we aren’t, why did the grandmother insist we enter the Osmanthus Pavilion yesterday?”

Bai Tao pondered, then ventured, “Maybe she was worried we’d be harmed by delirious demons if we stayed outside?”

Jiang Yan’s eyes flashed, his tone deep. “Don’t you think she’s hiding something? Or perhaps, she doesn’t want us to learn the real secret of this street.”

Seeing Bai Tao and the others lost in thought, Jiang Yan dropped another bombshell. “Dream Street, as its name suggests—ephemeral, illusory. Have you considered that this street might not exist in the real world at all?”

Hearing this, Bai Tao shivered, his voice uncertain. “But we’re clearly walking down this street. The demons here are real.”

Jiang Yan patted his shoulder. “Seeing isn’t always believing.”

[Note: Here, ‘midnight’ refers to twelve o’clock at night.]