Memory or Illusion?

Even less than two feet away, the thing remained shrouded in a mass of dark shadows, its outline impossible to discern. There was no telling what kind of monster it was, save for four clusters of red flames flickering within the gloom like eyes. From those four eyes alone, He Lingchuan would never mistake it for anything human. What was more, it thrust out a long, slender leg, plunging it straight into his chest. The strike was so swift that He Lingchuan could not even see what its claws looked like before an agonizing scream tore from his throat. The pain gouged deep into his soul, utterly unbearable. He would not sit and wait for death, of course, but the heavy punches he threw into the shadowy mass seemed to have no effect at all. Right then, a sudden sense of déjà vu washed over him. A few months ago, at Hulu Mountain, the original owner of this body had been tackled off a cliff by a sand leopard, and both had plunged to their deaths! Yes, this was the exact scene. The moment that thought flickered through his mind, his surroundings instantly snapped into focus. Above him stretched an azure sky, fluttering green trees, and the cliff face receding farther and farther from his field of vision. Pinned atop him was that very same light-yellow, spotted sand leopard! The sand leopard had its jaws agape, poised to tear open the carotid artery in his neck. There was no way out. If he wasn't mauled to death, the fall would kill him. He Lingchuan could not help cursing loudly, "Get lost! What the hell does any of this have to do with me?!" This was what the previous host had seen and endured before dying; it had nothing to do with him! With that curse, the scene blurred once more. The blue sky, white clouds, and cliff all vanished. The surrounding light turned bizarre and chaotic, resembling an explosion of points, lines, planes, and a painter's palette. Then, he slammed heavily onto the ground. Concrete pavement. Stars dotted the night sky. It had likely rained earlier, as the surface had not dried, and puddles had gathered in small potholes along the asphalt. He Lingchuan crashed right into a puddle, sending murky water splashing all over the sand leopard's face and head. The beast seemed bewildered as well. It looked around, its grip on its prey instinctively loosening. The aroma of jianbing guozi drifted through the air, leaving He Lingchuan stunned. This intersection looked so damned familiar—wasn't it the route he used to walk home from work every day? Turning his head, he spotted the street-corner pancake cart. A handwritten sign reading "3 Yuan Each" was scrawled in bold marker, the handwriting just as hideous as he remembered. Wait, could it be that night? He turned his head to the left, and sure enough, he saw a little girl in a dress. Her mother was busy buying groceries by the curb, completely oblivious to her daughter chasing a rolling coin right into the middle of the street! Just then, a vehicle came barreling toward her. Such a familiar scene. These were the memories that actually belonged to him. If events unfolded as before, he was supposed to scoop up the girl and dash across the street to spare her from disaster. Yet things were different now: he and the sand leopard were sprawled right between the vehicle and the girl. He lay flat on his back while the sand leopard propped itself up, glancing around in utter confusion. Clearly, this setting was well beyond its reckoning. The very next instant, the vehicle plowed straight over them. To be precise, it drove right over him. As for the sand leopard, it took the full impact of the front bumper before being sucked under the tires with a crisp, sickening crunch. The vehicle swerved wildly across the road until it slammed into a wall and ground to a halt. He Lingchuan scrambled to his feet, panting heavily. He patted himself down all over. Wait, no injuries? A wisp of smoke curled from the pickup truck's hood as its engine died. He Lingchuan scratched his head. In his memory, the vehicle that struck him had been a sedan, yet here it was a high-clearance pickup truck. Had his memory failed him, or had this place gotten it wrong? With an accident in the middle of the street, bystanders began to gather. The little girl picked up her coin, flashed him a smile, and scampered back to her mother's side. He Lingchuan gave his head a shake and walked over to the wall. Looking beneath the truck's wheels, he found no sand leopard at all; there was only the black shadow he had seen from the start. Pinned and unable to move, it stretched out a claw toward He Lingchuan in futile spite. Naturally, he was not stupid enough to let it touch him and took two steps back. Before long, the dark shadow shrank into a tiny wisp and vanished. "What on earth was that?" He Lingchuan muttered. Then he noticed that where the vehicle had smashed through the wall's plaster, a faint cyan-glowing sigil was exposed beneath. Just as he leaned in for a closer look, the world began to spin, and darkness fell over his eyes once more. *** He Lingchuan blinked, his senses still groggy. Something was swelling to monstrous proportions in his field of vision. They looked like four fangs—two above, two below... gigantic fangs? Even in the dim gloom, the sharp teeth seemed to glint. Suddenly, a round object came hurtling through the air, slamming into his abdomen and hurling him over thirty feet away. The colossal maw descending from above snapped shut on empty air, gnashing into the parapet before slowly lifting its head. It was none other than the black flood dragon. Looking up from this angle, the damn thing was absurdly enormous. He Lingchuan pointed at it and cursed, "How can you turn on me so fast and act like nothing happened?! After I just helped you fire... fire the ballistas!" His shouting lacked its usual vigor, as the heavy blow to his torso made him nauseous and faint whenever he drew breath. The black flood dragon paid him no heed, turning its head to pursue the white light darting through the air. Only then did He Lingchuan recall that the object had struck him squarely in the face earlier, and something had likely invaded his mind. Otherwise, where could those bizarre illusions have come from? Zeng Feixiong hurried over, helping him up as he said, "Pardon me, Eldest Young Master! I threw that stone. Are you all right?" "You saved my life... *hic*... I'll reward you handsomely later!" He Lingchuan could see now that the object that sent him flying was a rolling stone from the battlements, only slightly smaller than a millstone. It was meant for the trebuchets, yet Zeng Feixiong had hurled it with his bare hands to save him. Still, the force behind it had been entirely real. Fortunately, He Lingchuan possessed a robust constitution; had He Yue taken such a blow, he likely would have suffered severe internal injuries and been bedridden for weeks. To have to richly reward the man who had just battered him—everything happening here was growing increasingly surreal. Having escaped He Lingchuan, the streak of white light finally remembered to seek out Nian Songyu. It was exceptionally nimble. Though the black flood dragon attempted to intercept it time and again, its colossal bulk worked against it, and the light slipped past every time. Noticing the light's trajectory, Sun Fuping scooped up Nian Songyu and rushed forward to meet it. With a violent sweep of its tail, the black flood dragon sent him flying. Yet Sun Fuping was quick-witted and deft of hand, tossing Nian Songyu toward the white light just beforehand. The two finally collided in midair, and the white light plunged directly into the mouth and nostrils of the unconscious Commandant. Just before the black flood dragon could swallow him whole, Nian Songyu finally opened his eyes. He drew a long, deep breath. A flash of crimson flared in his gaze, and the towering phantom giant materialized behind him once more, its physique swelling to twice its previous size. Correspondingly, the two illusory sabers it wielded lengthened by double, reaching an astonishing eight zhang—over twenty meters! Nian Songyu gripped the great blade, aimed directly at the black flood dragon's abyssal maw, and slashed upward at an angle! To the observers on the wall, it was as if moonlight had burst forth or molten silver had spilled across the earth. The black flood dragon's head was cleaved clean in two, the lower half crashing heavily to the ground. "No way..." Zeng Feixiong gasped in shock. "Is it really that useless? All that size for nothing!" If the black flood dragon was dead, what was to become of them? Were they doomed to be buried alongside it?