Chu Yin was surprised to find that he had “taken a night off.”
There was still so much he didn’t understand about that mysterious dream, and he wasn’t even sure if he could return to it and keep boosting his Witch Aunt’s affection.
But inwardly, Chu Yin was calm, not overly anxious about gains or losses.
Wasn’t this also an opportunity to sort out his thoughts and let his heart settle?
“The real world is what’s real—dreams are just where I gain power. My family is all here. If I start to focus more on the dream, I’m messing up my priorities.”
Having figured this out, Chu Yin didn’t dwell on the dream for now; instead, he examined his current self.
Chu Yin lay on his bed, formed a sword gesture with his fingers, and with a thought, a pen on the desk floated up and danced as he pleased, fast or slow at his will.
“With this telekinesis, can I turn the manual ‘Saint Grail’ into automatic?”
“It’s been a while since I used [Cloudwater · Flying Sword Technique]. The lethality hasn’t weakened at all, excellent!”
Even if he could never enter his Witch Aunt’s dream again, as long as he retained the skills he learned from his Master’s Wife, he’d still have ways to deal with emergencies.
And this ability didn’t leave any trace of supernatural aura, extremely discreet, able to catch others off guard.
You could say this was Chu Yin’s bottom line right now. With it, he always had a safety net.
“I wonder, after I got killed in Luoshui City, will the dream continue to play out? How is Master’s Wife doing…”
Forget it.
The dream of marrying Master’s Wife was over in the end, but Aunt Wen was still living well by his side, and that was enough.
Chu Yin began checking the effects of the magic potions he’d been taking these days.
The potions given by the Snow Ash Witch were all highly targeted.
The first batch he drank enhanced his physical fitness, making him tougher and able to withstand the bad luck that brought all sorts of bumps and bruises.
Later, the focus shifted from physical qualities to things like magic circuits and Special Vision.
“Sigh, how am I supposed to test magic circuits? I don’t even know magic, and my knight’s sword skills aren’t up to par…”
According to Spider Sis, Chu Yin’s magic circuits had been activated by the potions, but he lacked the ability to utilize them. If he couldn’t control them in the dream, there was even less hope in reality.
Skip it, pretend it doesn’t exist.
“Special Vision, now that’s really useful.”
Chu Yin focused his mind on his field of vision, and everything slowed down. From a single drop of water falling from a cup, he could see every detailed movement as it dropped.
If a superpowered person challenged him in the future, this Special Vision would give him a lot more time to react.
Nice, another bottom line.
“How am I supposed to test ‘defense’? I can’t just stab myself, right?”
He needed at least a rough idea of his defense, but had no way to test it.
He paced back and forth in the room, rummaged through drawers for a long time, hesitated about kicking the table leg with his toe again, but gave up.
He had to admit he was a softie when it came to this—after suffering a few times, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
In the end, he found a nail clipper.
He simulated “accidentally clipping flesh while cutting nails,” braced himself, and clipped his middle finger’s nail. Instantly, he sucked in a sharp breath and clenched his lips to avoid yelling.
His finger, which should have been bleeding, was unscathed.
It hurt, but no injury.
His finger felt as if it had been pinched hard by tweezers.
“Maybe I should keep testing, see what it takes to actually break the skin? Forget it, I’ll stop torturing myself—unless I find a way to reduce the pain someday.”
Chu Yin didn’t make things harder on himself. He sat at his desk, opened up his e-book, and started studying Astrology.
“[Da Liu Ren], what do you think of this Astrology?”
“No comment.”
Oh? Acting all high and mighty?
Unlike the usual “cannot be divined” situations, [Da Liu Ren]’s reply this time had a clear tone of disdain, showing its rejection of unorthodox schools.
But out of good manners, it didn’t go for a more aggressive critique.
“Then if you were to recommend something, what should I be studying now?”
“‘Qimen Dunjia’, ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’.”
Chu Yin had always wanted to delve into ‘Qimen Dunjia’, but couldn’t find reliable books. He’d scoured the library before, but everything was just hackwork toilet-paper literature published by amateurs.
But the ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’ should be worth looking up.
Astrology, whatever the case, was about the stars. Everyone studies the same sky, so using the wisdom from ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’ to understand Astrology seemed reasonable.
Maybe the Star Oracle Witch didn’t think much of Chu’s magical talent, but might look at him differently if he brought out the ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’?
Of course, that assumed he could ever return to his aunt’s dream.
“‘Gan Shi Star Classic’, I wonder if the Electronic Library has it… Wait, don’t tell me it’s lost, too!”
Chu Yin was dumbfounded. How was he supposed to study now! Everything was lost!
But it seemed this ancient classic was cited in other works; when other ancients wrote books about stargazing, they always had to quote the ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’—it was unavoidable.
Just like citing a big-name’s work when publishing an SCI paper to boost your academic credibility.
With so many citations, in a roundabout way, fragments of the ‘Gan Shi Star Classic’ had been preserved.
In the evening, his two beautiful elders returned home from work one after another.
Chu Yin didn’t just stay in his room reading; his guardians had worked hard all day, so he had to go out and keep them company.
Aunt Yan Dongnuan brought back a stack of books, and seeing this, Chu Yin quickly ran over to help her carry them.
He glanced at the titles—most were about cutting-edge applications in superpower technology.
The emergence of superpowers hadn’t just created a swarm of powered individuals.
In some supernatural phenomena, special spaces would appear, like “game dungeons,” and the things produced in these spaces had given rise to whole new industries.
Including, but not limited to, medicines, supplements, weapons, and equipment.
The company Yan Dongnuan managed was focused on superpower pharmaceuticals.
“Auntie, why’d you bring so many books back?” Chu Yin asked.
“Regular study. If I stop for too long, I’ll get lazy and never want to try new things again.”
“E-books are so much easier—you don’t have to lug them around.” Chu Yin played the porter, carrying the books to her room.
“Real books have more of a feeling to them, plus they’re a good excuse to ignore other people’s messages.”
As expected of his aunt—she never slacked off when it came to self-discipline.
Auntie was strict and self-driven, but never put pressure on the kids; she was too busy improving herself to worry about whether the children were disciplined or not.
Chu Yin thought of the Witch Aunt in his dreams—she, too, could handle loneliness, but deep down probably didn’t really like being alone, and actually enjoyed a lively atmosphere.
Otherwise, after all the commotion he caused, the Witch Aunt would’ve kicked him out long ago.
“Auntie, when you’re studying tonight, can I join you in your room to read too?”
“As you like.”
Yan Dongnuan didn’t know what this casual permission would lead to.
That night, Chu Yin really did come to her bedroom with his tablet. Yan Dongnuan gave him the desk, and sat against the bed to read herself.
After a while at the desk, Chu Yin grew restless, moved to the bedside, and, summoning his courage, asked:
“Auntie, can I trouble you with something?”
“No need to say ‘trouble.’ Just tell me what it is. There’s no need for formality between family.” Auntie replied with her usual cool composure.
Her words, paired with her indifferent expression, made it feel as though she was explaining rules to a subordinate.
All these years, Chu Yin had always been cowed by her attitude. This time, he had to be brave.
“Ahem… The chair’s too tiring. I want to be the emperor on the bed and rest my head on your lap while I read!”
“?”