Chapter Fifty-Four: The Soul's Illusory Realm—Su Qing

At this moment, in Bill’s home.

Jera looked at Andy and Catherine, both sunk in a deep, unyielding sleep, and asked Bill, “How long will it take for them to wake up?”

“I don’t know. Generally speaking, thought is the fastest thing in time. So it’s possible they’ll spend a hundred years in the soul illusion, while only a second passes for us in reality.” Bill replied with a serious tone, acting as Diga’s mouthpiece.

“So why aren’t they waking up yet?”

“Thought is hard to define. It’s possible that for every day they spend in the illusion, a day passes in reality. Anyway, the longest recorded time anyone has spent in a soul illusion is twenty-seven years. Others either managed to advance or failed and suffered mental damage within that time.”

“Does Andy have a good chance of rescuing Catherine?”

“In most soul illusions, the simpler the mind, the easier it is to pass through. The more complicated and obsessed, the harder. Actually, if Catherine weren’t undergoing a massive change in her perception, her chances of getting through the soul illusion would be greater than any of ours. As for Andy… that’s hard to say.”

Hearing Bill’s analysis, Jera frowned.

“You mean Andy’s soul illusion is very difficult? Yet you still let him go rescue Catherine.”

“It’s just that his own soul illusion, when he advances as a wizard, will be difficult,” Bill’s expression grew faintly gleeful. “He’s entered Catherine’s soul illusion, so while he’ll influence its content, Catherine is still the main focus—the difficulty drops a lot.”

…

The master of the illusion, Catherine, had no idea how she’d ended up in a forest. She tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.

But that didn’t matter.

She knew two things: she was a cat, and she could catch butterflies.

So Catherine was happy. Later, she made new friends—the small animals of the forest came to play with her. There was a squirrel, a monkey, a woodpecker. Catherine played with them all day long.

When night fell, the animals went home to find their mothers.

Left alone, Catherine began to feel lost. Where was her home? Who was her mother?

Catherine wandered the forest in solitude, uncertain where to go.

Until she saw a faint light ahead. She hurried toward it.

When she got closer, she found someone had built a house in the forest.

Curious, Catherine leapt to the window and peered inside. There was a bald man arranging some beautiful blue stones.

“Who’s there!” The man heard a sound and grabbed a tool, hurling it at the window.

It was an axe!

The spinning axe hurtled toward Catherine.

Hearing the sharp whistle through the air, Catherine thought, “Will I die if I get hit?”

The thought of “death” seemed to activate some mysterious factor within her mind. She forgot to dodge.

Her thoughts felt glued—her mind was filled only with things about dying.

Will I die… will I die… will I die…

Will die… will die… will die…

Die… die… die…

The axe crashed down mercilessly!

At that moment, the world suddenly froze.

Outside Catherine’s sight, beyond the forest, a steel city rose abruptly from the earth.

As skyscrapers sprang up, then came the traffic, then the noisy crowds. Then appeared a university, and in a student dormitory lay Andy…

“Bang!”

A gunshot rang out. The bullet struck the axe, altering its path so it skimmed above Catherine’s fur and flew off into the distance.

The bald man lowered his smoking shotgun and, seeing Catherine bristling at the window, muttered softly, “So it’s a stray cat!”

He put on what he thought was a friendly smile and beckoned, “Kitty, come here!”

“Meow!” Catherine cried, bolting away.

She fled through the forest, instinctively heading toward the light.

The farther she ran, the brighter it became, until she reached the edge of the forest and saw a vast, brilliantly lit city ahead.

Catherine entered the city—and grew even more confused.

She dodged countless strange vehicles speeding toward her.

She found that many people hid inside their cars. Those walking outside hurried along, as if rushing somewhere.

Some people glanced at her curiously, others ignored her and hurried past.

A child shouted, trying to catch her, but before Catherine could run, the child’s parents pulled him away.

As Catherine encountered more and more people, she longed to return to the forest.

But she was lost—she could no longer find the forest she’d come from.

Night deepened, fewer people moved about. When the coldest hour arrived, almost no one was left outside. They’d all retreated into their box-like homes.

Catherine wished for a box of her own.

But after repeatedly checking that a certain house seemed empty, she couldn’t find its entrance.

Tired from running all day, Catherine curled up in a warm, sheltered corner at the stairwell and fell asleep.

A pair of warm hands lifted Catherine, waking her.

It was a woman—beautiful, slender, with a clean face. The slight sorrow at the corners of her eyes made her even more endearing.

“Da Yong, there’s a kitten here. So cute! Can we keep it?”

The man with her frowned, “I’ve heard it’s bad for pregnant women to keep cats.” But seeing her displeased expression, he quickly relented, “Alright, as long as you like it.”

The woman smiled at his answer. Turning back, she said, “Da Yong, you’re so good to me. You indulge me in everything. Meeting you in this life is my fortune.”

The man gently wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered, “I’ll indulge you forever, as long as you don’t mind my lack of ability. Right now, it’s my fault—I’ve brought you back to this sad place. I’ll work hard, earn more, and now the manager appreciates me. Soon we’ll move to a bigger home and leave here!”

The woman said nothing, holding Catherine and opening the door with her key—the very house Catherine had tried to enter.

Seeing the familiar furnishings inside, the woman’s tears flowed as memories of her heartbreak returned.

Her name was Su Qing. Back at Qing University, she was acknowledged as the campus beauty. After graduation, she married a tall, handsome, wealthy man.

Her husband was the president of a company. Though it was small and a branch of her father-in-law’s corporation, when she shared her situation with friends, she always received envious, jealous, admiring looks.

Soon, they had a lovely daughter, whom they called Xiao Ai. After her daughter was born, Su Qing stopped working as her husband’s assistant and became a happy, full-time mother.

But happiness was fleeting. When Xiao Ai was three, Su Qing was feeding her walnuts and playing with her, when the child suddenly suffered a violent coughing fit…

Su Qing didn’t know Xiao Ai’s airway was blocked by walnut fragments; she thought the child was simply choking and patted her back hard to help pass the food. Only when Xiao Ai lost consciousness did she frantically call emergency services.

It was too late! Seeing her daughter’s cold body, her usually gentle husband roared at her. Her in-laws, arriving later, also blamed her fiercely.

Afterward, she lived like a walking corpse. Her husband left her almost nothing in the divorce, dumping the marital home on her as if it were bad luck.

She didn’t want to stay in that sad place, so she moved out and rented elsewhere. At night, she always felt Xiao Ai was somewhere in the room, calling her “Mom.”

Forced by life, she sought work again, and met her university classmate Nie Yong. She knew Nie Yong had liked her in college, and they’d gotten along well before she cut contact after marriage.

When they met again, after reminiscing, Su Qing realized Nie Yong had always paid attention to her, and had gotten drunk when he heard of her marriage.

She was deeply touched. When Nie Yong learned what had happened to her, he comforted her, bringing a ray of light into her dark life. Eventually, they naturally came together.

Then Su Qing gave up her rental and moved in with Nie Yong. Both worked during the day, spent their evenings together—though the wealth and glamour were gone, Su Qing felt a long-lost steadiness and peace.

She became pregnant again, to Nie Yong’s delight. But a hospital check revealed the fetus was in an abnormal position and required protection.

Now Su Qing could no longer work, and with only Nie Yong’s salary to cover rent and their expenses, things grew tight, especially with the added nutrition and frequent checkups needed.

Seeing Nie Yong come home exhausted after his second job, Su Qing suggested they give up the rented place and move into her own house.

Knowing Su Qing’s situation, Nie Yong said nothing—neither agreeing nor refusing.

So they appeared together at this house.

Seeing the kitten, Su Qing was moved.

She thought, Da Yong worked late, leaving her alone at home—lonely and afraid. If only she had a little animal to keep her company.

Thus, she decided to adopt Catherine.