He stepped into the bustling crowd, subconsciously avoiding the vendors on the street targeting young couples with flowers and small gifts. Zhao Douan slipped his hand into his down jacket and suddenly felt something hard.
He was startled, took out his phone from his pocket, and his face became quite a sight as he muttered,
"So real... Such a vast amount of memory, are you sure you can handle it?"
Blinking, he suddenly slapped his forehead and strode through the crowd into a nearby snack street decorated in an ancient style that existed in his memories.
Scan code, make payment.
Before long, Zhao Douan was already carrying several snacks, and he even took the time to try his luck at an automatic lottery machine – no win!
"Consider it charity," Zhao Douan walked on the winter pedestrian street, skewering a box of takoyaki with a toothpick, savoring the real changes on his taste buds, he even found himself hoping that the Demon Path would last a little longer.
Snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky.
Zhao Douan blended into the lively, warm crowd, following the sound of music toward a temporary outdoor music venue. He looked around but still couldn't find a trace of the Demon Path.
"Weren't we supposed to be swallowing dreams? Where did the person run off to..."
On the other end of the CBD district, on a street in the opposite direction from Zhao Douan.
The Gu Huo National Master stood vacantly on the snow-covered ground.
He was still wearing his black and white patchwork monk's robe, his hair done up in a Taoist bun, even the Peach Wood Sword on his back was indistinguishable from the one in reality.
Only the somewhat three-dimensional face no longer bore his usual detached composure, and even the slight wicked smile that often played on his lips had completely disappeared.
The old Taoist had entered this dream world a quarter of an hour earlier.
However, everything he encountered next was completely beyond his expectations.
He first appeared on a street with a jet-black, smooth surface, marked with white lines, and flanked by giant "candlesticks" that emitted no flames but released a strong, dazzling light instead.
Then, the old Taoist heard an ear-piercing roar and was nearly bowled over by a speeding car. After hastily dodging, he attracted the driver's profanity-laden greeting.
Dizzy and disoriented, the old Taoist was eventually dragged out by a traffic officer decked in a strange attire, wearing a yellow vest.
Dazed, he stumbled around for a while in this group of skyscrapers that soared into the clouds, encountering only men and women wrapped in down jackets.
When he followed the peculiarly agitated tune to the center of the commercial street, he couldn't help but gape in astonishment at the incredible sight before him.
He saw that the outdoor stage ahead was surrounded by countless men and women recording with their phones.
Surrounded by lights and sound systems, on a cold winter day, the stage featured a row of scantily clad women with smoky makeup writhing their hips.
"Thump, thump..." The Great Yu Kingdom Preceptor panicked and took two steps back, bumping into a young man.
The latter looked at him dressed as a Taoist with a strange expression and kindly pointed in a direction: "The cosers are over there..."
Then, he left with his petite girlfriend, muttering, "The old man's pretty trendy..."
The Great Yu State Preceptor frowned, looking in the direction the young man had pointed, only to see a long line of cosers leaving the mall after finishing their work.
Their hair was of all colors, some carrying large swords, others wearing plush wings, talking and laughing as if no one else was there.
Seeing the old Taoist, they curiously sized him up, commenting, "That outfit looks expensive..."
What kind of place is this... The complexion of the Great Yu State Preceptor changed, his hands formed a spell, and the Peach Wood Sword flew out from behind him towards the other party:
"Halt, demoness! Taste my sword!"