And then... it moved,
The compass needle started spinning smoothly.
"Huh? Why did my compass suddenly fix itself? Grand Master, my compass has recovered!"
Hearing Zhao Wuya’s excited shout, Yun Ziliang was puzzled and asked Zhou Xuan, "How did you know the compass was fixed? Did you use some trick?"
"A scaredy-cat? There’s only one way to make it less scared—find someone to give it courage. Gu Ling is standing next to me now."
Yun Ziliang was stunned to hear that the compass needed Gu Ling to "give it courage," and that it actually worked. He sighed, "What a disgrace, what a disgrace!"
Zhou Xuan, unlike Yun Ziliang, wasn’t one for long sighs. He wasn’t the Dragon Seeking Ancestor Master, after all. Whether Zhao Wuya’s compass was embarrassing or not had nothing to do with him.
He only cared about whether they could find the Dragon-locking Cave,
As long as they could find it, who cared if the compass needed "courage"? What’s the problem?
A black cat or a white cat—if it catches mice, it’s a good cat.
"Lao Yun, let’s get down to business. You can relax now. ’Hunger’ and ’Liu God’ have already appeared on Yangfeng Road."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Never doubt a ’scaredy-cat’s’ keen instinct."
Unlike many who looked down on ’cowards,’ Zhou Xuan appreciated true ’cowards.’
Someone with strong reverence, who’s constantly on edge, always alert—that kind of person tends to have heightened sensitivity,
And when that sensitivity is reflected in a Dragon Seeking Compass, Zhou Xuan considered it more capable of perceiving genuine danger than other compasses.
There’s no danger in searching for the Dragon-locking Cave, but if the compass senses danger, then it proves—danger has truly come.
The danger on Yangfeng Road is very likely tied to the appearance of ’Liu God’ and ’Life God.’
"Lao Yun, hang up the line. We’re going to capture the Evil God."
Zhou Xuan ended the call, grabbed Zhao Wuya’s compass—which had returned to normal—and gently stroked it, saying, "The Mingjiang Prefecture Night Patrol God will always accompany us, and besides, Bone Elder Association’s foremost Divine Office can descend upon us anytime.
So don’t be afraid, just focus on identifying the danger.
Others think you’re a scaredy-cat, but I don’t. I think you’re wise—a true hero who understands the times!"
The compass, after Zhou Xuan’s PUA-style pep talk, quivered slightly, like a reluctant figure forced onto the stage, lacking confidence, yet still raising its fist to muster a quiet "Go for it."
"Find the path." Sensing the compass’s response, Zhou Xuan tossed it back to Zhao Wuya.
On the phone, only the "beep beep" busy tone remained, but Yun Ziliang didn’t place the receiver back. Instead, he clutched it tightly in his hand.
As he recalled Zhou Xuan’s earlier words, he found them to be quite reasonable.
"If I consider the compass from Xiao Zhou’s perspective, this compass does indeed have unparalleled advantages. It may not be ideal for ’acupoint detection,’ but it’s definitely suited for our ’perception’ faction’s Dragon Seeking Heavenly Masters."
Yun Ziliang reflected on the sensory methods of his own perception-based faction. ’Perception’ relies heavily on the intuition of Dragon Seeking Heavenly Masters,
But imagine if a perception-based Dragon Seeking Heavenly Master had an extraordinarily sensitive compass to aid their craft?
Wouldn’t that be like a hero paired with a legendary blade?
In that brief moment, influenced by the unconventional minds of Zhou Xuan and Zhao Wuya, Yun Ziliang’s own thoughts opened up.
The compass, thoroughly "motivated," performed spectacularly. Its needle responded with incredible precision, leading Zhou Xuan, Zhao Wuya, and Gu Ling through winding streets and alleys,
In front of the Yanglou Brick Factory, the compass needle tipped upward. Zhao Wuya gazed toward the factory and whispered into Zhou Xuan’s ear, "The Dragon-locking Cave is inside this brick factory."
"Let’s go in." Zhou Xuan clasped his hands behind his back and stepped into the factory.
The Yanglou Brick Factory featured three tiled houses,
A vast yard piled high with yellow clay bricks,
Several ox carts parked inside, while a dozen workers were using iron clamps to load bricks onto the carts.
The gatekeeper grandpa spotted Zhou Xuan’s group entering the factory and moved to the doorway, asking, "Here to buy bricks?"
"Yeah, heard your bricks are sturdy, wanted to take a look." Zhou Xuan walked up to the grandpa and tilted his head to examine him, then said, "I’m building an inn, need a lot of bricks. Can you show us around?"
"Those bricks are all right there, take a look..." The grandpa gestured toward the yard with the brick piles.
"Not those ones—I want to see the freshly baked bricks."
"I have no idea where they bake the bricks," the grandpa grumbled while retreating toward his room.
"You don’t even know where the bricks are baked—what kind of gatekeeper are you?" Zhou Xuan grabbed the grandpa’s wrist.
The grandpa jerked his hand away forcefully but froze as his left hand was abruptly chopped off by a sharp white bone tooth.
His arm was severed, yet his face showed not a trace of pain.
In Zhou Xuan’s hand was the severed hand of the grandpa, but the stump revealed no flesh or blood—instead, it was stuffed with straw.
Soon after, Zhou Xuan gently kneaded the skin of the severed hand with his fingers, noticing how wrinkles appeared wherever he touched.
"It’s not skin; it’s paper."
Zhou Xuan tossed the severed hand to Gu Ling.
Gu Ling immediately chanted the Dao Yan Divine Spell, igniting a blazing fire that engulfed the Paperman grandpa.
The commotion drew the attention of workers in the yard loading bricks.
They turned their heads toward Zhou Xuan’s group, their gazes venomous and hateful.
Gu Ling directed the flames toward the workers with a forceful blow.
The fire spread intensely, soaring toward the workers like a blazing cloud close to the ground.
Just like the gatekeeper grandpa, the workers were mere papermen. As flames engulfed them, they instantly disintegrated into ashes.
"How did you know they were fake people?" Gu Ling asked Zhou Xuan after disposing of the workers and the grandpa.
Zhou Xuan flicked a finger against Gu Ling’s forehead and replied, "Simple-minded. This factory wouldn’t operate at night."
The Yanglou Brick Factory wasn’t large, its bricks were transported by ox carts—clearly only serving residents near Yangfeng Road.
Zhou Xuan had strolled around Yangfeng Road, and there weren’t any midnight construction projects.
"People nearby don’t build houses or repair walls at night; why would they come out late to buy bricks?"
"And it’s not just one buyer. Judging by the number of ox carts, there’d have to be several clients."
"So, if no one’s buying bricks at night, but the factory is bustling with people—how could these people be real?" Zhou Xuan continued.
"Therefore, they’re all fake."
"And not just them—everything around us is fake." Zhou Xuan concluded, "We’ve entered a dream."
The entire brick factory was just a dreamscape...