Chapter 15: Other Shore Flower Blooms—A Dream? Or Reality?
Tick-tock—
Water droplets struck the surface and rippled outward in circles.
Fan Chen's consciousness gradually resurfaced. When he opened his eyes, he instinctively swept his gaze around.
But the scene before him was utterly unfamiliar.
"Where… am I?"
Faced with a completely unknown environment, Fan Chen's instincts tightened in alarm.
He pushed himself up from the ground and began cautiously inspecting his surroundings.
The dim light only allowed him to see a few meters around him—nothing beyond.
"Xiao Bai."
Fan Chen called out to Xiao Bai inwardly, yet no response came.
He attempted to mobilize his soul power, only to find—shockingly—that he couldn't sense even a trace of it. It felt as if it had completely vanished.
"What's going on…?"
A strange fear quietly crept into his heart.
And at that very moment, the light above him abruptly brightened—yet the color was wrong.
It wasn't the warm orange of sunlight, nor the pure white of moonlight, but a disturbingly sinister crimson.
Fan Chen lifted his head.
A blood-red moon hung overhead, its light spilling down like flowing scarlet.
The blood moon was vivid as fresh blood, like a crimson gem suspended in the sky.
Under its eerie illumination, the once-hidden world around him gradually came into view.
Fan Chen now realized he was standing in a vast sea of flowers—an endless ocean of crimson Other Shore Flowers blooming all around.
A gentle breeze swept through, and the scarlet blossoms swayed softly with it… as if he were standing within a sea of blood.
Amid this ocean of blood-red blossoms stood a colossal black structure, rising from the flower field like a massive obsidian sword piercing the earth itself.
And beneath that enormous black sword, a lone figure sat.
Because the distance was too great, Fan Chen couldn't see that person's face. But based on the person's silhouette, he could tell she was a woman.
She sat upon a throne beneath the black sword, eyes closed as if resting—or perhaps asleep.
Just as Fan Chen hesitated, debating whether to approach her, the woman slowly opened her eyes.
Her crimson pupils glimmered with strange, demonic light. She gazed at Fan Chen from afar, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"It has been a long time since anyone has set foot here. I didn't expect the next visitor to be such an amusing little thing."
Her voice was cold and clear—Fan Chen couldn't detect even a hint of emotion.
But some instinct in him screamed: this woman was strong. Far stronger than anyone he had ever seen—even Qian Daoliu.
"But this is not a place you should be right now."
As her words fell, her slender, jade-like arm lifted. A single finger tapped lightly upon the throne.
A crisp sound rang out—followed by a wave of pure force.
The shockwave slammed into Fan Chen, sending him flying back at terrifying speed.
The woman grew smaller and smaller in his vision until she vanished entirely.
Before Fan Chen could react, his consciousness was swallowed by darkness once again.
"Hah!"
On his bed, Fan Chen jolted upright, a bead of cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
He gasped for breath, chest heaving as though he had just escaped some nightmare.
"You finally woke up. Kid, you sure slept long enough."
Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice came from beside him. Fan Chen turned toward it.
The old man was sitting at his bedside, staring at him.
"Where am I…?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo frowned. Fan Chen's expression was clearly off.
"Did your brain get scrambled? You're in your room. Did you forget what happened before…?"
After the elder explained everything that had happened prior to Fan Chen collapsing, Fan Chen finally came back to himself.
'So it was… a dream? But why did it feel so real?'
Everything had been too real—sight, touch, hearing, even smell.
Fan Chen could still feel the faint floral scent of the Other Shore Flowers lingering in his nose.
He shook his head, trying to shake away the vivid image of that crimson flower sea.
But the effect was minimal; the image remained etched in his mind like a nail.
The more he tried to forget it, the clearer it became.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Xiao Bai's soft voice tugged him from the oppressive memory.
His soul mark lit up, and Xiao Bai emerged from it, appearing right before him.
"It's nothing. Probably just a nightmare. My head's still a little fuzzy."
Seeing Xiao Bai's anxious face, Fan Chen forced a reassuring smile.
"It's good you're fine. I thought you'd gotten a brain injury from the beating."
Fan Chen's hand froze mid-pat, and his mouth twitched.
"Master, can't you say something encouraging for once? How does something like that even come out of your mouth…?"
He was speechless. Yes, this was indeed Golden Crocodile Douluo showing concern—but why did it have to sound so unpleasant?
"You want encouragement? Then stop causing trouble! It's only been two days, and how many disasters have you stirred up? Each is worse than the last!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo grabbed his ear, making Fan Chen howl in pain.
"Master! Let go! My ear is going to come off!"
"Now you know pain? Should've thought of that earlier!"
The old man grew angrier the more he spoke. The next second—smack, smack!—he flipped Fan Chen over and delivered two hard slaps to his backside.
"Are you fated to clash with the entire Qian family? You've managed to offend every single one of them!"
During Fan Chen's unconscious state, he had learned everything from Qian Renxue.
Even if none of it was intentional… the root of all the chaos still pointed at this brat.
Golden Crocodile Douluo truly felt defeated. Every time, this kid managed to stir up trouble without even trying.
He was lucky to be alive. Next time, he might not be.
Thinking back to the scene, even Golden Crocodile Douluo felt a cold sweat run down his back.
If he had been a moment slower, Bibi Dong might've taken Fan Chen's head clean off.
"Master, I was wrong! I won't do it again!"
Fan Chen begged for mercy repeatedly. Golden Crocodile Douluo hadn't hit hard, but with Fan Chen's current fragile body, the pain was intense.
At this moment, his backside barely felt like it was still attached.
"Hmph. I'll let you off this time. Do it again, and I'll break your legs."
"I won't! I definitely won't! Never again!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo let out a cold snort and released him.
Xiao Bai trembled in fear at the sight, terrified that the old man would come after him next.
When Golden Crocodile Douluo's gaze landed on him, Xiao Bai instantly shrank back and said timidly:
"You can't hit me after hitting Brother… okay?"
"…"
"…"
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Fan Chen were both speechless.
Where did this thing learn such disloyal behavior?
Fan Chen was just about to give Xiao Bai a moral lecture when—
A powerful surge of energy erupted from somewhere in the distance.
The trio immediately turned toward the window.
"What is… that…?"
—
End of Chapter