Chapter 1546: Dominating the Inner Realm, Life is Like a Dream

The morning sun spilled gently over the earth. The sky was clear, and wisps of feather-like cirrus clouds spread across the firmament. Bathed in the early morning sunlight, they faintly revealed an orange-red glow, looking like a dream from afar.

The sound of dogs barking and the curling smoke from the inn by the post road drifted out, blending into the world. This beautiful scene was tinged with the aura of the mortal world, yet it did not feel out of place, as if it were meant to be.

The few local dogs kept by the innkeeper were playing with each other, running back and forth along the post road. Their tails wagged with their bodies, displaying the vitality of living things on this earth.

But before long, the sound of galloping hooves came from afar. A cloud of dust rose at the end of the road, swirling into a mist. Within the flying dust, several steeds galloped past, carrying large men in brocade robes. They all looked serious as they whistled past.

As they approached, the dogs on the post road whimpered and retreated to the sides, causing the horses to speed away into the wind.

Perhaps the sound of hooves was too hurried; as they passed the front of the inn, the ground trembled, causing the inn by the road to shake along with it.

This inn was very simple and seemed to have weathered many years. As it shook, it emitted creaking sounds as if it could not bear the strain. Amidst these sounds, exclamations came from the guest rooms on the second floor.

"It is no matter, it is no matter. This old man's inn has been here for over a hundred years. Every time fast horses pass, it is like this; it will not collapse." A hoarse voice echoed from within the inn. An old man wearing a coarse shirt sat in the corner of the lobby, holding a pipe. After taking a puff, he spoke leisurely.

Opposite him, the young waiter from the night before curled his lip. He placed a towel over his shoulder, picked up a kettle of boiling water, and climbed up the stairs to deliver hot water to the guests in each room.

At this moment, in the last guest room on the right side of the second floor, a young man lay diagonally on the bed, fully clothed. The entire room was filled with the smell of alcohol.

As the sound of hooves whistled past and the room trembled slightly, the young man slowly opened his bleary eyes. He climbed up, holding his forehead with his right hand, and looked around in a daze.

"Sigh, overindulgence leads to trouble, overindulgence leads to trouble… Why did I drink so much…" The young man appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. He had a slender build, an ordinary appearance, and an air of a scholar.

He wore a bitter smile, his head aching. He held onto the bed frame to stand up, staggered dizzily to the table, and poured a cup of cold tea, drinking it in one gulp. Only then did he feel slightly better.

"It seems I must remember in the future not to get drunk. Last night I was almost unconscious. If I had met evildoers, losing money would be a small matter, but if my life were taken…" The young man sighed and drank a few more cups of cold tea.

Just then, a thumping sound came from outside the door, followed by the waiter's voice.

"Hot water, does the guest want some?"

The young man quickly stood up. Perhaps he rose too quickly, as his head began to spin again. He managed to say, "Come in."

The door creaked open, and the waiter walked in with the kettle. After filling the basin with hot water, he looked back at the young man and laughed.

"I have been a waiter here for three years, and I have never seen anyone drink my rice wine and get this drunk after only two cups. No matter how I pushed you last night, you would not wake up. I had to carry you here to rest. You, young brother, have a poor tolerance for alcohol. You really should practice more. I have heard that the officials in the capital can drink a thousand cups without falling."

The young man's face turned slightly red, and his eyes showed gratitude. He stood up, cupped his fists at the waiter, and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me, brother. I do not know why, but I felt fine after the first cup, yet after the second entered my stomach, I passed out."

The waiter grinned. Before leaving with the kettle, he looked at the young man with a playful expression. "You are a scholar going to the county for the imperial exams, right? Last night, you kept pulling me, saying you had a dream where you became an Immortal. Haha, what you said was quite interesting. Tell me more when you have time; it was fun."

With that, the waiter walked out with a good-natured laugh. The young man's face was flushed, and he shook his head with a bitter smile. After the waiter left, he went to the washbasin and splashed hot water on his face, washing away much of the fatigue and hangover from the previous night.

He pushed open the guest room window. Along with the bright sunlight, a cool breeze drifted in. The wind blowing on his face was very comfortable, making the young man let out a long breath.

"After getting drunk last night, I really did have a dream. This dream was very strange; even after waking up, I have not forgotten a single bit of it…" The young man stood by the window, looking outside, muttering to himself.

"The dream was so real, it was almost impossible to tell the difference… It actually started from three years ago when my Fourth Uncle came, and I joined the Hengyue School… Heh, that is interesting. It is just that the dream did not seem to finish; I only remember joining the Hengyue School, and nothing after that. Hengyue School… How could such a School exist in this world? And where would Immortals come from? We scholars do not believe in the power of ghosts and gods; most of it is just rumors to fool the common people." The young man shook his head, turned to look at the teacup on the table behind him, and suddenly felt a youthful Heart-Nature. He raised his right hand, formed a seal according to his memory, and pointed at the teacup.

"Gravity Spell!" The young man laughed and pointed at it.

The teacup remained motionless, sitting calmly in place. The young man laughed again, muttering to himself, "These Spells and Divine Abilities are quite interesting."

After playing for a while, the young man put away his thoughts and tidied his luggage. The silver, dry rations, clothes, and brushes and books were all there. Afterward, he carefully cleaned the room, waited for the smell of alcohol to dissipate, and changed into a clean set of clothes. Only then did he put the bamboo book box on his back and walk out of the room.

He had been clever since childhood, but his nature was very honest. As a youth who grew up in a mountain village, this was his first time leaving home. Under his parents' loving gaze and their earnest exhortations, he walked out of the mountain village, like a fledgling bird growing up, ready to spread its wings and soar.

Because of him, the room had become messy and smelled of alcohol. He would rather clean it himself than feel embarrassed to let the waiter who had carried him there do it.

In the lobby on the first floor, he ate some simple food, settled his bill, and cupped his fists at the waiter with a smile. Facing the sunlight, he turned and left.

The soft sunlight fell upon him, making the young man seem filled with the aura of sunshine. It gave people a very comfortable feeling, making them unable to help but feel a sense of goodwill toward him.

Especially his clean clothes and neat appearance, which made him radiate vitality. By the side of the post road, he looked at the world ahead, at the invisible place at the end of the road. He could faintly see, in his mind, the distant capital of the State of Zhao in that direction.

"Wang Lin, you can definitely do it! When you make it onto the golden list, you will bring your parents out of the mountain village, serve them in their old age, and let them enjoy their lives." The young man took a deep breath and walked forward step by step.

The spring breeze brushed his face, carrying the fragrance of flowers and grass from unknown places. It blew on Wang Lin's green scholar's robe, causing it to flutter slightly and make a soft rustling sound. Accompanied by his footsteps, he gradually moved further and further away from the inn.

Only the sound of his chanting drifted away in the wind, not knowing where it was sent, swirling around, slowly blurring until it became mere wisps of sound.

At eighteen or nineteen, one often does not know fatigue. Wang Lin walked along the post road, his eyes filled with liveliness as he walked. He would stop from time to time, looking at the surrounding mountains and forests, looking very comfortable.

Daylight passed quickly. With Wang Lin's unhurried pace, walking and looking, the shaded forest ahead became less dense, and a green river slowly revealed itself behind the trees.

The river rushed by, carried by the wind. In the State of Zhao, several post roads ran alongside waterways. The road Wang Lin was walking on now was one of them.

As it was now, to Wang Lin's left were rolling mountains, and not far to his right was the winding, flowing river. Several boats were sailing downstream on it.

Gradually, the sky in the distance darkened. In that darkness, a patch of dark clouds slowly gathered. A rumble of thunder echoed from afar, and lightning crisscrossed the heavens. Looking from afar, it was like a silver snake.

The weather had been clear during the day, but before nightfall had fully descended, it had become filled with dense clouds; it was very changeable. The distant green mountains were shrouded, becoming dark under the clouds. Fortunately, although the color was deep, the dark clouds could not cover them.

Looking from afar, the mountains and clouds were entangled. The green mountains seemed to want to shatter the dark clouds, while the dark clouds wanted to swallow the mountains, like a battle between a Dragon and a tiger—a unique spectacle of mountains and clouds.

At this moment, amidst the peals of thunder, rain poured down. Wang Lin quickly ran to a tree, took out a large oil-paper umbrella from the bamboo frame on his back. This umbrella was crafted by his father's skilled hands; it could be folded for storage and fully opened. Not only did it cover the bamboo frame, but it also shielded his body under the umbrella.

Holding the umbrella in his right hand, Wang Lin looked at the black mountains in the distance that the dark clouds could not cover. He watched the rain pouring down, falling onto the earth, onto the leaves, and onto the river surface beside him, creating ripples while splashing up many water droplets that splattered onto the boats on the water.

"Ancient sayings once went: The black clouds roll like ink, not yet covering the mountains; the white rain jumps like pearls, rushing into the boats… It is truly so." Wang Lin looked at all this, laughed, and recited loudly.

"You scholar, are you a fool? Seeing my family's boat splashed by the rain, and you are still laughing there? It is truly infuriating!" A crisp voice came from a boat on the river that was very close to the bank. A pretty girl holding an umbrella stood at the bow of the boat. She looked annoyed, glaring with her eyes, her jade finger pointing at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin was stunned, his laughter stopped abruptly, and he scratched his head.

Children's Day. Please allow Er Gen to take a half-day off and update one chapter. It has been more than two years. Whether it is the Spring Festival or any other holiday, Er Gen has never taken a day off. But as a father, today I want to accompany my daughter, spend time playing with her, take her out, and let her be happy.

Please understand me, thank you, Fellow Daoists.