He didn’t know the principle behind it. In fact, after ending up in such a bizarre, fantastical world, only a fool would bother trying to figure out the underlying principles.

Shen Bai scanned his surroundings.

He was in a wide, open space. The ground was paved with clean, tidy bluestone bricks.

And not far ahead stood an exceptionally luxurious opera stage.

Below the stage, chairs were arranged one after another.

There were even soft cushions placed on the chairs.

Exquisite, beautiful silks were draped all over the surrounding walls.

The scene was one of extreme extravagance.

Shen Bai took a quick look and knew where he was.

’Isn’t this just an opera house?’

Shen Bai stroked his chin.

As he was thinking this, people wearing the official robes of the Observatory appeared one by one.

These people were all members of the Jia Division, led by Zhou Mao and Li Cong, the two who had been speaking with Shen Bai just a short while ago.

"What’s going on? Did you guys also enter that boundless Space?" Shen Bai asked.

He asked because he saw these Jia Division members appear later than he did.

Zhou Mao and Li Cong glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"No, we just felt a bit dazed for a moment, and then we were here."

Shen Bai stroked his chin, wondering, ’Why didn’t they experience the same thing I did?’

He found it rather strange, since they had all entered together.

But now, it seemed only he had encountered that special scene.

However, this didn’t seem to be the time to dwell on such things.

Because just as everyone had appeared, the opera stage finally began to change.

The curtain at the entrance was pulled open, and guests in various attires walked in one after another.

As if they couldn’t see Shen Bai and the others, they each found a seat and sat down.

On the tables were various snacks and melon seeds.

These guests seemed very familiar with the place, each grabbing a handful of melon seeds and starting to snack in their seats.

Shen Bai turned his head and said, "Something’s not right. They don’t have any eerie Qi about them."

Even when he spoke, the people who had suddenly appeared to watch the opera seemed not to hear him.

Zhou Mao nodded and said, "Everything in a dream straddles the line between rational and irrational. Let’s keep watching and see what’s different about Landlord Long’s dream."

Li Cong looked around for a moment, then suddenly glanced toward the stage. "Everyone, be quiet. I think I hear something."

Everyone followed his gaze and saw humanoid creatures walking out from both sides of the stage.

They were described as humanoid creatures because these things couldn’t be called human; they were paper effigies, folded from sheets of paper.

The paper figures held musical instruments used in operas and sat on stools on either side of the stage.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, the paper figures began to play.

The paper figures’ faces were painted with rosy blush, their features drawn to be remarkably three-dimensional and lifelike.

But combined with their paper bodies, the sight was utterly bone-chilling.

The music was not festive, but a mournful dirge.

It swirled endlessly through the opera house.

As the dirge played, the curtain at the very center of the stage stirred, though there was no wind.

A piercing operatic note rang out.

The curtain was drawn open, and the voice suddenly filled the opera house, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.

Hearing the operatic voice, Shen Bai’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Eerie Qi."

It wasn’t just him; the members of the Jia Division also tightened their grips on their Weapons.

There was an eerie Qi behind that curtain. The identity of its source was self-evident.

From behind the curtain, a wave of darkness and chilling Qi washed out. A curvaceous beauty in an opera costume, holding a Flower Spear, slowly stepped forward.

Upon seeing this person, Shen Bai and all the Observatory members present widened their eyes in shock.

"Landlord Long?"

The beauty before them was none other than Long Yan.

At this moment, although Long Yan’s face was painted in the style of an opera mask, her distinct features still revealed her identity.

Long Yan seemed not to see Shen Bai and the others, completely engrossed in her performance on the stage.

A chilling Qi swirled around Long Yan, but it didn’t invade her body, merely lingering around her.

"I have to say, Landlord Long’s performance is actually quite good," Shen Bai remarked after watching for a moment.

Zhou Mao’s mouth twitched slightly. "We’re in Landlord Long’s Dream Realm right now. We should be focusing on the mission. Otherwise, when Landlord Long wakes up and remembers what you said in her dream, you’ll probably end up strung up from a tree."

Appearing in her dream to complete Liu Wufeng’s mission was one thing, but Zhou Mao and Li Cong felt they couldn’t just say whatever they wanted here. Otherwise, when Landlord Long woke up, she would surely make things difficult for all of them.

Shen Bai, however, wasn’t bothered in the slightest.

He continued to observe her closely.

It was a rare sight. At least, to someone like Shen Bai who didn’t care for opera, Long Yan’s every move was captivating.

Of course, watching was one thing, but Shen Bai hadn’t forgotten the mission.

In the curtained-off area behind Long Yan, there was a patch of utter darkness.

From within the darkness, the chilling Qi was gradually intensifying. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Let’s go," Shen Bai said slowly, drawing Cold Moon from his waist.

"Let’s go pay this Nightmare a visit."

They were here to investigate. Now that their investigation had turned up a lead, it was time to press forward.

But just as Shen Bai said this, he noticed something was wrong.

Shen Bai turned and looked at the Jia Division members beside him.

He saw that all of the Jia Division members had dazed expressions, including Zhou Mao and Li Cong.

Not only that, but directly above the group of Jia Division members, a black face hovered, its expression both chilling and mocking, as if it were watching everything unfold.

On the stage, Long Yan’s movements ceased. She brought her hand up in an elegant orchid-finger gesture.

A line of opera verse slowly spilled from Long Yan’s rosy lips.

"In dreams, I know not that I dream. Awake, I know that I am I. A dream within a dream..."

The moment her voice faded, the Jia Division members all drew their Weapons, and every single one was pointed directly at Shen Bai.