At the foot of one quiet hill, nestled beside a still pond faintly lit by stars, stood a small house—worn but warm. Smoke, earth, and family clung to its old beams like memories refusing to fade.
Inside, a boy twisted beneath a faded quilt.
Lin Yuan, twelve years old, bright-eyed and slight, breathed unevenly. Sweat soaked the pillow beneath his head.
He rarely dreamed. And when he did, the dreams were always full of voices—familiar, comforting, or cruel. But the faces? Always blurred, shifting, ungraspable.
He suffered from **face-blindness**, unable to remember appearances. To him, people were vague silhouettes… with the exception of his family.
His mother's warm hands.
His second mother's commanding voice.
His little brother's giggles.
His sister's teasing.
His third mother's sly wisdom.
His fourth mother's silent presence, who could vanish from a room like a spirit.
He couldn't see their faces clearly, but he knew them by heart.
But tonight's dream was different.
---
He stood barefoot in a field of glowing grass. The sky shimmered above like liquid light. White petals drifted like whispers.
And there—standing ahead of him—was a girl.
Cloaked in veil and mist, wet clothes clinging to her like the memory of rain, she said nothing. Yet she did not blur or vanish.
**He could feel her. Remember her.** As if she were part of his very soul.
She reached out.
Their fingers touched.
Warmth bloomed in his chest, spilling down his belly—and lower. His knees weakened. Breath caught. His heart thundered.
She embraced him.
The world grew too bright.
Then—
A shadow appeared at the edge of the field.
Smiling.
Faceless.
**Terror.**
Lin Yuan woke with a gasp.
---
His back was drenched. The quilt tangled around his legs. His shirt clung to his skin—and worse, something wet, sticky, unfamiliar had seeped beneath the blanket.
"What… what is this?" he whispered, trembling.
Shame welled inside him.
**Was I cursed? Poisoned? Was it the dream?**
The house was dark and silent, lit only by the last orange glow of dying coals. He tiptoed across the floor, heart still racing, and knelt beside his sleeping mother.
"Ma…" he whispered. "Are you awake?"
Her eyes opened gently, instantly recognizing him.
"Yuan'er?" she murmured, reaching out. "What's wrong?"
"I… had a strange dream. And something happened. I don't understand."
She didn't scold. She opened her arms.
"Come here."
He crawled into her embrace, burying his face in her shoulder.
"It scared me. It felt like something inside me changed. I thought… I was broken."
Her hand stroked his hair, soft and sure.
"You're not broken, Yuan'er. You're growing."
"…Growing?"
She nodded. "What happened tonight—it's part of becoming a man. It's natural."
He hesitated.
"There was a girl in the dream. I remember her clearly. I never remember faces. But… hers—hers I do."
His mother smiled gently.
"Maybe she's part of you. Or maybe she hasn't arrived yet."
"Am I cursed?" he asked, voice breaking. "Because I can't see faces?"
"No," she said, her arms tightening. "You read hearts. And that's enough."
A rooster crowed in the distance.
"Feel better?"
"…Yeah. I think I do."
"Then go wash up. A new day is waiting."
---
The sun crept gently over the eastern hills, painting the courtyard in gold. The scent of **millet cakes**, roasted roots, and sweet **hawthorn sour soup** filled the air.
At the round table beneath the peach tree, Lin Yuan sat quietly with his little half-brother, **Xiao Hu**, who giggled between sticky bites.
Opposite them sat **Lady Mingyan**, his second mother.
Lin Yuan didn't look directly at her—not out of fear, but reverence.
Midnight-black hair fell in waves down her back. Her white and crimson robes shimmered in the light, faint tiger-gold markings flickering across her skin. Graceful and deadly, she felt like a mountain draped in silk.
Even wild Xiao Hu stilled when she spoke.
"You smell weird today!" Xiao Hu announced suddenly, sniffing Lin Yuan's arm. "Like fire!"
"Xiao Hu," Mingyan said, one eyebrow raised. "How many times must I tell you not to bite your brother?"
"He tastes funny!"
Mingyan turned to Lin Yuan, her gaze sharp and amused.
"Hmph. You had your first dream, didn't you?"
Lin Yuan stiffened. "Y-you can tell?"
"Of course. You're leaking yang essence like a cracked furnace."
She circled him slowly, her steps silent, her eyes gleaming with feline amusement.
"Do you know what such dreams mean in the demon clans?"
"Um… that I'm growing up?"
She purred a low chuckle.
"Yes—but more than that. It means your **soul is opening to the dream realm**. You might be haunted—not by ghosts, but truths."
"…Haunted?"
She tapped his chest with a clawed finger. "Dreams are the first battlefield of a cultivator's heart. Let me show you how to **hunt them**."
"Hunt dreams?"
"It's called **Soul Pursuit Art**. In our clan, we chase nightmares, bind desires, and tame illusions."
The tiger cub beside them chirped proudly. "Mama taught me to dream-bite a fox spirit!"
"You bit *my* leg," Lin Yuan muttered.
"Wrong target," Mingyan said with a shrug. "But a fine bite."
She flicked his forehead. "Now go wait by the training ring."
---
Deep in a grove of whispering trees, an old platform waited—moss-covered stone, encircled by glowing blue spirit lanterns.
Lin Yuan stood at its edge, breathing slowly.
When she arrived, he didn't need to look—he *felt* her.
"Sit across from me," she said. "Close your eyes. Breathe."
Mist curled around them.
"Tell me about the dream."
"There was a girl in a veil. She reached for me. Then a shadow came. Something I didn't want to see."
"Desire and fear wear the same mask," she said. "To master haunting, name your ghosts."
Runes beneath the stone flared faintly.
Lin Yuan trembled.
"I feel something. It's… pressing on me. I can't move—"
"Don't run," she whispered. "Anchor yourself."
His breath hitched. His body froze.
"It's me," he gasped. "The part that fears being weak…"
"Speak it."
"I… don't want to be useless."
Suddenly, the pressure vanished. His knees gave out. Sweat trickled down his back.
Mingyan knelt beside him, warm hands wiping his brow.
"You did well. Most boys would run. You stood."
"I was scared…"
"Courage is not the absence of fear, Yuan'er. It's standing, even when your legs tremble."
---
The **Soul Tree** shimmered in silver starlight, leaves glowing like crystal feathers. Four women gathered beneath its sacred branches.
Lady Mingyan cradled Lin Yuan in her lap. Lady An, his human mother, sat quietly beside her. **Lady Fengyan**, the golden bird demoness, arrived with her daughter **Qingxue**. Moments later, **Lady Baihua**, the Heavenly Python, appeared in a misty projection.
They gazed at the sleeping boy.
"He touched the dream realm," Baihua said softly. "He's awakening."
"He'll draw attention from the demon clans," said Fengyan.
Lady An offered a bold solution: send Lin Yuan to a **human sect**.
"There, he'll be safer. He can grow without suspicion."
The plan was formed—he would enter **Flowing Sky Pavilion**. The others would disguise themselves, hide their auras, or remain connected to his soul token.
If danger approached, they would strike from the shadows.
"He will not walk alone," Mingyan whispered. "No matter the name he bears or the robes he wears… he is our son."
---