Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 189 A Dream Within a Dream, A Scheme Within a Scheme

Liu Mang slowly opened his eyes, his face ashen.

It was a dream!
He is no stranger.

He also created a similar dream on the first floor of the study in the Liu family mansion.

The biggest trap of this dream is that it can generate a perfect ideal world through a person's subconscious memories.

Just as he suspected, Lin Zhiqing copied his methods and recreated the dream he had just experienced.

Even knowing it was just a dream, Liu Mang was still quite angry.

The scenes in his dream were like knives stabbing him in the heart.

He came from a farming family and was formerly known as Liu Wuliang.

As the name suggests, there was no food left in the family when his mother gave birth to him.

He also suffered a lot of ridicule because of his name.

After he became successful, he quickly changed his name.

Liu Mang.

Because he met that benefactor in a place called Mangshan in Zhongzhou.

This is one of them.

Secondly, the name Liu Mang is quite unique, which can lower other people's guard against him and make it easier for him to do certain things.

After he changed his name to Liu Mang, the name Liu Wuliang was never heard again.

Just now, that dream pulled Liu Mang back to his less-than-pleasant memories from the past.

His father died early, and his mother toiled in the fields all her life, which is why she sent him to school for a few years.

He was extremely talented and achieved first place in the provincial examination.

However, he performed terribly in the imperial examination, while a fellow villager who was ignorant and incompetent passed.

That fellow villager was the nephew of a centurion under the Marquis of Changning, and he was very respected in their hometown.

Liu Mang knew there must be something wrong, but he had no money and nowhere to seek justice.

In addition, my mother is getting old and her health is not good.

To make a living, he had no choice but to become a teacher at the county academy.

This job was considered respectable in the countryside, and with the help of a matchmaker, Liu Mang became engaged to a woman named Yulan.

Everything was starting to look up, but things took a sharp turn for the worse after that fellow villager returned home in glory and became the county magistrate.

Yulan disliked his impoverished home and became involved with the county magistrate.

Liu Mang's mother witnessed this shameful affair and was so angered that she died.

He wanted revenge, but instead lost his job and was humiliated by Magistrate Yulan every day.

It was during this period that Liu Mang deciphered the secret technique.

After he used secret techniques to eliminate Yulan, who had betrayed him, and the incompetent county magistrate, he aroused the suspicion of the government.

He fled all the way to Zhongzhou, where he was almost dead.

In this situation, he met that benefactor, who simply waved his hand, and all the charges against him vanished.

From then on, he began to study the ways of being an official.

Because he realized that only by becoming an official could one gain power and control a person's life and death.

Just like now, he has shed the name Liu Wuliang and the low-class life, and transformed into one of the most noble people in the world.

Thinking about this, his emotions gradually calmed down.

It was just a dream. The dead are far less frightening than the living.

He tried to wake up the others.

However, the results were not optimistic; of the other six people besides him, only four were awakened.

There are two more that stubbornly refuse to leave the dream.

Such an outcome would mean death. Fearing they would waste time, Liu Mang decisively abandoned the two men by the roadside and then led the others onward.

This approach was incredibly cruel, but no one dared to say anything.

Quickly pass through the residential area of ​​Xishi, then cross Xuanwu Gate, and after walking a short distance, you will arrive at the entrance of the market.

Inside the carriage, Liu Mang silently planned the route in his mind.

He knew the road ahead would be anything but smooth.

Amidst this skepticism, they soon arrived at the residential area of ​​the West Market. The streets here were very narrow, just wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through.

Perhaps because it had been a long time since anyone had witnessed such a grand event as a beheading, everyone had gone to watch the spectacle, leaving very few people here.

The further you go in, the more you are enveloped by the damp smell that is unique to the local people.

Liu Mang couldn't help but cover his nose.

He was familiar with the smell because he used to smell it himself.

He couldn't explain what it tasted like.

If I had to find a word to describe it, it would be—the taste of poverty.

The dampness of sweat mixed with the dryness of the sun pulled Liu Mang back to his memories of his time before he became an official.

He has finally shed the damp, gloomy smell of poverty, and now that he's in this high position, he doesn't want to leave.

With this in mind, his gaze became even more resolute.

"Search everywhere first, and kill anyone you encounter!" His voice was very clear.

The surrounding guards immediately dispersed.

Soon, the area was thrown into chaos.

As the guards continued their investigation, the tips of their noses were tinged with that dark, damp smell.

As Liu Mang sat inside the carriage, he could feel the smell growing stronger.

Soon, the two guards returned one after the other: "Reporting to you, sir, we found nothing unusual."

Upon hearing this, Liu Mang frowned even more deeply.

The greatest danger is the absence of danger.

He didn't believe Lin Zhiqing would miss such a perfect opportunity to set a trap for him.

"Be on high alert at all times, and kill anyone who is suspicious immediately." Liu Mang's eyes were sinister.

The coachman swallowed hard: "If any commoners happen to pass by..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a sharp gaze.

Sensing the adult's anger, the coachman immediately shut up.

The others answered in unison, "Yes!"

However, the coachman's worries were clearly unnecessary.

As the carriage went further in, the fewer residents there were around.

When they reached the center, there was no one left.

This is obviously abnormal.

Liu Mang quickly ordered his men to stop.

He had realized something was wrong.

The group observed their surroundings, a sense of unease creeping into their hearts.

"My lord, this is..." The guard looked bewildered.

Liu Mang quickly got out of the carriage and began to look around.

But no matter how you look at it, the house is still the same house, without any change.

However, there wasn't a single person in sight.

The Lin family clearly didn't have the ability to attract everyone in the West Market away.

There was only one possibility before them, and that was... Liu Mang narrowed his eyes; they had fallen for a secret technique again.

Yes.

Only secret techniques can cause hallucinations, so there must be people in this area, but Liu Mang and his group can't see them.

But when exactly did they fall victim to the secret technique?

Liu Mang was somewhat puzzled. After what had just happened, he had been very careful along the way and had not given Lin Zhiqing and the others a chance to make a move.

But now the facts are clear: where exactly did things go wrong?

What images can cause people to fall into a hallucination?
Flowers, trees, and landscape paintings.

If used properly, everything can become an expression of the secret art.

Liu Mang had no clue, so he asked the guards, "Did you see, hear, or smell anything else on your way here?"

The others immediately started answering all at once.