Chapter 25: Interaction “Upgrade”
“Your Hypothesis Two should have already been realized, right?”
Seeing Jiang Xue’s continued silence, Xie Xitong changed the subject. “This incident was an accident. The servant Shizhu sent a distress message, and you, thinking ‘it’s worth a shot,’ ended up proving that you can interfere with events on the Third Princess’s side through dreams.”
“…You mean, the interaction has upgraded again?” Jiang Xue looked at her in astonishment.
“Yes, otherwise, no matter how deeply you slept, you wouldn’t have been able to reach the place where she lives, let alone bring her back inside from the courtyard.” Xie Xitong nodded. “The previous dreams weren’t real-time. They were either replays of past events or scenes from your imagination.”
“Compared to those, your dream this time wasn’t just an ‘upgrade,’ it was a major update!”
Jiang Xue fell into deep thought.
“Actually, my sister just speculated about the development of the hypotheses.”
After a long while, she finally spoke. “If we can find the connection between us, and the key factor that determines the connection, the Third Princess might be able to travel through time and space and come to our world.”
“However, for now, we both believe that this key factor depends on the Third Princess, but there are no examples or evidence yet.”
“This incident might be a starting point. But as you just said, if Shizhu hadn’t bravely asked for our help, the Third Princess might have silently frozen to death last night!”
Thinking about this, Jiang Xue felt a wave of fear.
When she was resolving the situation, she hadn’t been afraid, her mind focused entirely on “saving the princess” and “helping the princess get revenge on the Crown Prince.” Afterwards, she had become apprehensive, trying not to think too much, telling herself “at least I saved her.”
Now that her friend had brought it up again, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“That’s why the interaction upgrade is a good thing,” Xie Xitong said slowly, bringing the topic back. “This time, you could only receive information through external forces. Maybe next time, she will pull you into the dream?”
Seeing Jiang Xue lower her head and remain silent, Xie Xitong put an arm around her and patted her shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself, you’ve already done a great job. You don’t have magic to remotely install a radar on her. When she didn’t reply to the diary, besides entering a dream to check on her, there was nothing else you could do!”
Jiang Xue finally looked up, giving her friend a pointed look. “You know how to comfort people.”
“In short, just do what you can within your abilities.” Xie Xitong tactfully let go of her. “Or, why don’t you discuss it with the Third Princess and ask her to leave a message every one or two hours to report her safety?”
“That’s a bit much!” Although she said this, Jiang Xue actually wanted the Third Princess to do just that.
If it became a habit, if anything unexpected happened again, she could immediately enter the dream to check on the situation as soon as she noticed the Third Princess hadn’t sent a message, without needing external help to relay information, minimizing the delay.
Even during major exams at school, she could check the diary during breaks. Even if she couldn’t go there herself, Shizhu, with her experience, would be waiting by the diary for supplies and solutions.
Watching Xie Xitong return to her seat and continue studying, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but bring this up with the Third Princess, asking for her opinion.
She also included a record of her dream experience this time.
It contained both the details of the events in the dream and her own analysis.
【This dream was very special, but it should still be a one-sided interaction from me to you.】
【When I entered the dream, you were unconscious and unable to communicate, and the event that caused me to leave the dream was your awakening.】
【In this dream, I could interact with you and also manipulate objects in that world, such as touching bottles and jars. But no one except you could see or hear me, let alone interact with me.】
【If Your Highness can recall anything, I hope you can tell me how you felt at the time. Even if your consciousness was lost during that period and you didn’t feel anything, please tell me!】
To quickly find the “connection” between them and the pattern that triggered the dreams, Jiang Xue specifically mentioned the mysterious red fox.
【Special circumstance this time: a red fox.】
【A beautiful, crimson fox, suspected to be the guide of the dream. With its help, I was able to reach you.】
【But the red fox never spoke. I tried to communicate with it, and it only wagged its tail at me.】
Heeding her older sister’s advice, Jiang Xue didn’t ask any further questions about the red fox, only emphasizing its existence.
When Xiao Luohan was checking the latest message, Shizhu had just brought her medicine and was preparing to feed it to her.
“No rush, let it cool down a bit before drinking.” She gently shook her head and gestured for Shizhu to grind ink for her.
She had no objections to regularly reporting her safety, but the timekeeping devices here weren’t as accurate and convenient as those in that world. She couldn’t have Jiang Xue constantly worrying about her because of such inaccuracies.
She needed a timekeeping device, and also… to respond to Jiang Xue’s “dream.”
Whether it was a dream or not, Xiao Luohan couldn’t judge with common sense anymore. She could only truthfully describe her feelings and leave it to the knowledgeable Jiang Xue to deduce the truth.
【When you saved me, my perception of my body was very vague, but I could “see” some of your actions through the dream.】
【However, the dream was intermittent, and during the “breaks,” only vague impressions remained.】
She paused, her brush hovering over the paper.
In those “vague impressions,” she had hugged the large white cat that had snuggled against her, burying her face in its soft, warm fur.
Now that the white cat had been confirmed to be Jiang Xue, the more she thought about her actions, the more ashamed she felt.
【I inadvertently acted presumptuously. It was my fault. Since you risked your life to save me, from now on, no matter what requests you make, I will do my utmost to fulfill them!】
When Shizhu came over, Xiao Luohan also said softly, “If you hadn’t informed the ghost or spirit, I would probably have frozen to death under the tree yesterday. If you have any requests…”
“I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare say such things!” Shizhu knew what she was going to say and hurriedly knelt down. “It’s already a great fortune for me to serve you, Your Highness!”
Seeing Xiao Luohan’s confusion, she explained with a wry smile, “I was originally going to be sent out of the palace, and I didn’t know what would happen next, or if my life would be in danger. It was only because you arrived that I was assigned to Wangmei Pavilion.”
She was very grateful for the arrival of this foreign princess, so she had brought the plum blossom branch for her and taken good care of her. Others saw the princess sent for marriage alliance as a harbinger of misfortune and avoided her, but she didn’t care at all.
Xiao Luohan paused, and after careful consideration, voiced the worry that had been on her mind for a long time: “But you have witnessed His Highness the Crown Prince’s dislike for me. Why would you still help and save me? If the marriage falls apart, I will surely meet a bad end, and you will naturally be implicated.”
She hadn’t forgotten the reason her mother had insisted on sending her away.
Beiliao, having lost its great general, her elder sister, was already demoralized. Coupled with the widespread corruption within the country, if Daying provoked another war, Beiliao’s demise wouldn’t be far off.
By then, the so-called “marriage alliance” between the two countries would surely cease to exist, and how long she, the princess sent for marriage, could live would depend on the whims of those in power.
“I’m old. I couldn’t protect my daughter in this life, and I can’t stay in the palace for much longer either. Facing obstacles everywhere, I wonder what sins I committed in my past life, what karmic debts I owe…” Shizhu sighed. “Now, I just want to accumulate more merit, so that in the next life, my daughter and I can be reborn into a wealthy family.”
Seeing Xiao Luohan put down her brush, she held up the medicine bowl, a kind smile on her face. “You should drink it now, Your Highness. It’s cold in winter, and if you wait any longer, it will be completely cold and upset your stomach!”
Xiao Luohan didn’t know how to comfort her, so she obediently finished the medicine.
Just then, she saw a small white object roll off the booklet. Picking it up, she saw square Arabic numerals on it, along with a still-warm printed sheet of paper.
【This is a portable digital watch. I’ve already set the time. I’ll show you the correspondence between the numbers and shichen with a picture!】
【I don’t have any other clocks or watches on hand. I just placed an order. Make do with this for now!】
“Are you going to continue talking to the ghost or spirit, Your Highness?” As Xiao Luohan examined the watch, Shizhu volunteered, “I’ll secure the door for you!”
She seemed to regard this as a great honor.
“No need! You should rest.” Xiao Luohan hurriedly stopped her. “The ghost or spirit has already manifested. No one will dare to cause trouble for me anytime soon. There’s no need to guard the door.”
Last night, Shizhu had given her fever-reducing pills according to Jiang Xue’s instructions and had been wiping her down. Her quick recovery was all thanks to Shizhu’s meticulous care.
Loyal servants were rare, and she didn’t want Shizhu to exhaust herself.
After finally persuading Shizhu to lie down on the edge of her bed for a while, Xiao Luohan calmed down and focused on the words “red fox.”
Not to mention Jiang Xue, even she hadn’t expected that her elder sister not only hadn’t left, but was also helping her in times of need.
But her elder sister was neither human nor ghost now. Even if she knew she would appear in her dreams, she had no way of seeing her again—she had been unconscious the entire time the red fox appeared.
Should she tell Jiang Xue? Ask her to relay a message to her elder sister?
However, she already owed Jiang Xue so much. Moreover, the red fox might not appear in every dream. Knowing Jiang Xue’s nature, if she promised, she would constantly worry about it.
Jiang Xue had important studies, and she couldn’t burden her any further.
So she wrote:
【I also saw the red fox in my dream, but I couldn’t interact with it this time.】
【If I have such a special dream again, I will pay attention to the red fox.】
Jiang Xue was still placing orders online.
She had not only bought a new watch but also a bunch of “self-defense gadgets”—pepper spray, anti-wolf spray, and even a portable stun gun, all for the Third Princess!
This way, when she wasn’t in the dream, the Third Princess could use these things to feign “ghostly powers” and teach that dog of a Crown Prince a lesson!
When Jiang Mei finished her work and came to check on her, she was just about to make the payment.
“…Let me see what you bought.” Jiang Mei frowned, sensing the large amount.
“They’re all practical tools!” Jiang Xue handed over her phone like she was presenting a treasure.
She saw her older sister’s frown deepen, and then watched as she quickly tapped on the screen. “I’ve removed some unnecessary items. To deter that kind of person, you can’t leave behind obvious evidence.”
The only thing that remained was a dark red self-defense stun gun shaped like a pen.
Purchasing such items required real-name registration. Jiang Mei had her sister fill in her own information and consulted with customer service for a long time before finalizing the order.
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