Dreams, no matter what they are or what they contain, are beyond conscious control, and some dreams can be intensely dramatic.
Dreams within dreams, dreaming of robbers, is a common experience for many and not particularly unusual.
However, Cheng Xiaofan knew very well that what he experienced in his dream last night was real, not fabricated in the slightest.
The 《Shen Family Nuptial Bed Thirty-Six Forms Secret Manual》 that Shen Ruobing obtained was real.
And the robbers she encountered at this moment were also real.
Of course, Shen Ruobing, the robber, and himself were merely spirits that had left their physical bodies and appeared in the dream.
Don't assume that an injury to one's spirit in a dream cannot harm the physical body.
Some people have had their spirits harmed in dreams, and their physical bodies suddenly became corpses.
Cheng Xiaofan could tell at a glance that although the short, plump man was also a spirit appearing in the dream, he possessed the power to kill others with the knife in his hand.
This was a practitioner of ancient martial arts.
Furthermore, his specialized skill was to rob and kill in dreams.
Novel, wasn't it?
Even Cheng Xiaofan found it novel!
If he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, he would never have imagined such a type of practitioner.
The short, plump man advanced step by step towards Shen Ruobing, his fierce eyes glaring, and he let out a sinister cold laugh, saying, "Shen Ruobing, if you don't want to die, hand over the brocade box you're holding to me!"
"Don't even think about it. This is something left behind by my Shen family's ancestors. Why should I give it to you?" Shen Ruobing replied indignantly, her face as cold as frost.
The short, plump man let out a cold chuckle, "It's not up to you. Someone wants it, has taken a fancy to it, and has commissioned me to collect it. If you don't give it to me, I'll have to take your life!"
Shen Ruobing was startled and asked, "Who is your client?"
The short, plump man shook his head, "I can't tell you that. You don't need to know who that person is!"
"Will you hand over the brocade box in your hand or not?"
"I absolutely will not hand it over!" Shen Ruobing declared resolutely.
The short, plump man let out a cold roar, "Shen Ruobing, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the short, plump man raised the gleaming cleaver in his hand and, with a whoosh, swung it down towards Shen Ruobing's head.
"Ah!"
Shen Ruobing let out a pained scream and fainted in fright.
"Hmph!"
Just as the cleaver was about to fall upon her, a clear dragon's roar echoed from the nearby woods.
Accompanying the dragon's roar, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.
Boom!
A deafening thunderclap resonated through the heavens and earth.
While the short, plump man was startled and trembled, Cheng Xiaofan, transformed into a dragon, appeared before him and clamped a dragon claw onto his head.
Crack!
Cheng Xiaofan directly crushed the short, plump man's head.
The dream ended there!
Cheng Xiaofan suddenly opened his eyes and looked out from the cabin. The sky was not yet bright. He took out his phone and saw that it was past three in the morning.
Hoo!
He exhaled a long breath.
Recalling the dream from the night.
And then thinking of the secret manual Shen Ruobing had obtained.
As well as the short, plump man who had died miserably under his dragon claw.
Recollecting every detail of the dream, Cheng Xiaofan suddenly felt a sense of unreality.
Then, thinking of the statue of Shen Yanwang in the Shen family ancestral hall, he couldn't help but smile slightly. This was truly interesting.
Back in college, he had read about Shen Yanwang's life story and his outstanding contributions to the construction of various nuptial beds in a book of unofficial history from the university library.
As the saying goes: A lifetime is spent being human, half a lifetime in bed.
And: Three meals a day, one bed at night.
Since ancient times, nuptial beds have always been valued by people, especially the ancients, whose emphasis on nuptial beds was almost to the point of being pedantic.
Ancient nuptial beds were the result of much effort from craftsmen, with intricate carvings and exquisite paintings. Each bed was truly a work of art.
For a time, Shen Yanwang almost became Cheng Xiaofan's idol, and he even aspired to become a master in manufacturing nuptial beds.
What Cheng Xiaofan never expected was that Shen Yanwang, a master craftsman from the Tang Dynasty, was actually the ancestor of Shen Ruobing, his close friend.
To Cheng Xiaofan's delight, he witnessed Shen Ruobing obtaining the 《Shen Family Nuptial Bed Thirty-Six Forms Secret Manual》 from her ancestor in this dream.
He had seen descriptions of this secret manual in relevant unofficial histories, but it had long been lost, and the world had never seen it.
His ability to enter Shen Ruobing's dream this time was probably a matter of fate.
If he hadn't intervened, that secret manual would likely have fallen into the hands of the short, plump man, and Shen Ruobing would have lost her life.
Thinking that Shen Ruobing might have truly lost her life to the short, plump man, Cheng Xiaofan immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
After all, Shen Ruobing was staying in the bamboo villa by White Python Lake.
Moreover, as early as last night, Cheng Xiaofan had noticed that Shen Ruobing shared a bedroom with Bai Yiling while on the boat.
If Shen Ruobing were lying in bed and was stabbed to death, he and Bai Yiling would have no way to explain themselves, even with a hundred mouths.
Did his easy entry into Shen Ruobing's dream this time mean that he had already foreseen her danger?
Thinking of this, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
Danger was truly everywhere!
A moment of carelessness could lead to disaster!
Just as dawn was breaking, Cheng Xiaofan communicated with the dragon fish using his spiritual sense, asking it to dig up some lotus roots from Lotus Lake and send them over.
In addition, the dragon fish also brought dozens of wild goose eggs.
Cheng Xiaofan had originally planned to just boil a pot of glutinous rice lotus roots with rock sugar and osmanthus, but now there was an additional delicacy: one bowl of three soft-boiled wild goose eggs per person.
Wild goose eggs were highly nutritious and rarely available to ordinary people.
By the time Cheng Xiaofan had prepared all the breakfast, the sky had officially brightened.
He delivered the breakfast to the pavilion on top of the bamboo villa, just as he had done yesterday.
As everyone sat around the table to eat, the gazes the several beautiful women cast at Cheng Xiaofan were completely different from when they first arrived.
They were filled with admiration!
They were all adults, yet the beautiful women looked like underage children, with little stars twinkling in their eyes as they looked at Cheng Xiaofan.
This made Cheng Xiaofan uncomfortable!
"You all eat slowly, I'm going down to walk around!"
Cheng Xiaofan ate his breakfast quickly, filling his stomach, and then leaped down from the top of the villa, right out of the shocked gazes of the women.
After all, the women had already witnessed such small tricks yesterday.
When you've seen something many times, it becomes commonplace!
Ding ding ling!
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Cheng Xiaofan's phone rang.
He took it out and saw that it was Lu Shengming calling him.
"Heh heh, Old Lu, why are you calling so early?" Cheng Xiaofan knew that Lu Shengming's call at this hour meant trouble.
Lu Shengming asked on the phone, "Mr. Cheng, I'd like to inquire about someone. Is there a Shen Ruobing from C City at your place?"
Hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan was slightly taken aback and said, "Yes, she's here. What's wrong?"
Lu Shengming replied, "Something has happened to someone in her family!"