419: 8.19 Sleepwalk?

8.19 Sleepwalk?

Because the curfew was arriving soon and they did not want to risk offending the Knox Family on the very first day, everyone chose to disperse for the meantime and leave everything to tomorrow. That left Lu Yizhou finally alone in his big bedroom with a vengeful ghost, who might or might not be courageous enough to badger him after what had transpired previously.  1

Recalling what Baines had said about not allowing any noises past 9 pm, Lu Yizhou tried to have a shower to wash away the dust and grime for the day. But then when he recalled how he had to strip and run his hands all over this unfamiliar body… he lost all the will to clean himself up. It wasn't like he had not gone through special circumstances where he couldn't bathe for a few days before. In the end, he merely splashed some water on his face and called it done.

Lu Yizhou knew he was prolonging the inevitable. He knew it very well. He… He only needed some time to adjust. It had not even been twenty four hours since he officially became a woman — and would be until an unknown period of time. Surely, he was allowed some time to be panicked, right?

Tomorrow, Lu Yizhou tried to tell himself. Tomorrow, he would wake up and try again.

Lu Yizhou noted that the stock of firewood in the room was enough to get him through the night so he started to light up the fireplace, illuminating the room in a soft golden glow. 

With a sigh, he plopped himself down to the bed and stared up to the ceiling. He lifted his wrist to his eye to inspect the red mark that his lover had left behind. Twice… Ji Yan and the woman ghost had proven that the mark would be triggered if someone got too close to him. Did it mean that with this mark, she would be able to stay with him all the time? So if Lu Yizhou called her… would she appear? 

He decided to test it out. Stroking the mark on his wrist, she said softly, "Milady." 

There was no reaction.

"Milady, are you there? Can you hear me?"

Still no answer. Lu Yizhou let out a sigh. Maybe this was not how it worked.

He closed his eyes and tried to have a short rest. Maybe because he was in a different body, he actually felt like his stamina was dwindling down. Only running around for half a day was enough to make him exhausted. Lu Yizhou focused on the rhythm of his own heartbeat and before he knew it, he had dozed off. 

.

Something — no, someone was touching him. 

Cold fingers were trailing down his jaw, caressing the line of his body. It was clammy, unfamiliar, as though a poisonous snake was slithering around his body. It sent a surge of acrid bitterness up his throat. The urge to fight soared within him but almost in an instant, the flame was doused by a cold sensation that was running through his veins. He felt like he was floating on clouds, soft and weightless. His head was blissfully empty. If he could, he wanted to stay like this forever, buoyed within the comfortable darkness and never woke up again…

He seemed to have forgotten something important. Something he had to achieve at all cost… 

But what was it again? He did not know. He could no longer remember…

'Wake up!' A faint voice cried out in his mind, sounding so far away that he almost thought he had misheard. But it was persistent. Familiar. The call tugged Lu Yizhou up to the surface of his consciousness with a force he could no longer ignore. 'Wake up, you have to wake up!!'

'DADDYYYY—!!!' 

Lu Yizhou's eyes snapped open when sharp claws grazed against his arm. His head was ringing and he felt mildly nauseous. It took him a while to realize that he was actually standing on his two feet! His eyes flew open in shock. The last time he remembered was falling asleep on the bed, so how…?!

'Daddy!!!' Ozzie threw herself into his chest and clung to his dress like her life depended on it. "Goodness, Daddy, that was so scary! You suddenly sat up and started to walk with your eyes blank. No matter how hard I called for you, you wouldn't wake up meow!'

'I…' Lu Yizhou supported her with one arm while the other reached up to massage his aching temple. He looked around to see that he had actually walked across the room and arrived at the front door! Just now… he clearly remembered that his hand was reaching for the handle. What the fuck was he doing? Was he sleepwalking?!

No, Lu Yizhou did not know he could sleepwalk. He had lived for so long and such a phenomenon had never happened before either! He glanced at the mirror and saw that it was only half an hour past nine, forty five minutes since he was asleep. So why did he feel even more tired than before?

'No, Daddy," Ozzie was stressed out. 'Rather than sleepwalking, I'd say that you are possessed meow!'

Lu Yizhou patted her head absentmindedly and returned back to the room. If Ozzie did not wake him up, who knew what had happened now? He would have already walked out of this room and announced his presence to the Knox Family, broke the rules and then… got punished. Goddamnit, he had known that the game would someday become a trap but he did not expect it to happen on the very first day and in such a bold manner too!

He looked at the bathroom door that was still closed. No sound was coming from inside. Lu Yizhou frowned. 'Is it that woman again?' He swore, if it was her who came up with this shenanigans, he would try to break her limbs one by one and see what would happen!

'That… I am not sure meow~ When I opened my eyes, I suddenly saw Daddy sitting up and walking to the door and I was too flustered to wake you up to notice anything… and I am sorry for scratching you. I don't know any other method to bring you back meow…'

'It's okay,' Lu Yizhou reassured her. It was only some shallow scratches and would definitely scab over tomorrow. It was a lesser price to pay compared to his life. 'You have done a very good job, Ozzie. Without you, I would be done by now.'

Lu Yizhou suddenly frowned when he recalled the sensation that was plaguing him when he was asleep. He asked Ozzie, 'Did you see anyone other than me when you showed up? Not even your Mommy?'

'No?' Ozzie tilted her head, bright red eyes blinking in confusion.

'Hmm…' Lu Yizhou sat down on the bed and massaged his temple. Could he be hallucinating about the earlier sensation? Moreover, he had thought that maybe… maybe his lover would visit him once again. After all, they would be all alone this time without anyone to disturb them and knowing his lover's temperament, that was just the moment she would be waiting for. But she disappeared ever since the incident in the bathroom and never showed herself again after that…

A guess popped up in his mind. Was it because of the curfew? After 9 pm, the game's danger would undoubtedly increase by a few folds. Could that be connected with his lover suddenly being unreachable? She had told Lu Yizhou that she had everything she needed here, but exactly what did she need…? 

Going by his mission to save the villain, could his lover be the mastermind behind the terror that was happening in this mansion? What was his role and how should he save her?

Questions were swirling in Lu Yizhou's mind, making him dizzier by each second. Something must have shown on his face because Ozzie nuzzled against his chin, purring softly in her throat. 'Daddy, are you okay? You don't look so good… 666, that cowardly system, is MIA again! How could it faint just because of a ghost? Psssh, how weak meow!'

Lu Yizhou shook his head. Perhaps there was just something in the dinner earlier because he felt as if he was going to puke if he opened his mouth. Understanding that he was truly uncomfortable, Ozzie said again, softly this time almost as if she was cajoling him, 'Daddy, how about you drink your health potion? I am sure it's used in a situation like this.' 

That's right. He had forgotten that he had gained potions as a reward. Scratching Ozzie's ears as thanks, Lu Yizhou closed his eyes and summoned the storage in his mind. The next moment, a small vial appeared in his palm. It was a dubious, purple color liquid. He stared at it in suspicion. 'Health potion…?'

'Yeah! Try it out!'

Well, it was not like he had anything to lose. If worse came to worst, then he only needed to puke everything out. 

He brought the vial to his lips and threw his head back to swallow it in one gulp. The liquid flowed smoothly down his throat. A little sweet, tinged with the flavour of blueberry. The effect was almost instantaneous. A cooling sensation spread across his chest down to his churning belly, loosening the coil that twisted there. His fatigue was alleviated and it was as if he was injected with chicken blood, making him energetic all over. Right now, he felt like he could fight a horde of ghosts. 

'This is good stuff.' His eyes brightened. It was better than he expected. 

The vial instantly disappeared as soon as Lu Yizhou was done. Come to think of it, Lu Yizhou had never explored the system interface of this world. Would there be points and stores where he could buy temporary skills, just like in the simulator? And what exactly happened to his permanent skill? Now that 666 couldn't even perform its basic function, could he still access them?

This world's system's display was simpler. There were only buttons for profile, inbox, quest details, and storage. Lu Yizhou had become familiar with the last three so he clicked on his profile. 

The woman that was staring back at him instantly rendered Lu Yizhou speechless.

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