“How did you learn of these things?” Old Man Yu gently flicked open the lid of the teacup and asked somewhat casually.

Qin Ye smiled, “I’m an orphan, and I’ve been wandering the world since I was a kid. I was born with the Yin-Yang Eyes[1], and I’ve seen many things in my travels. The term ‘nightmare spirit’ is something that I’ve come up with, because… the spirit is just like a nightmare - pervasive and formless.”

He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes as though he were recalling a distant memory, “I once lived in an air-raid shelter where the homeless and vagabonds gathered. I was very young back then, and I was too afraid to fall into a deep slumber. It was there that I discovered… that there was someone else who had trouble sleeping. In fact, he kept having recurring nightmares.”

“Every time he woke up, he would always yell at the top of his voice, ‘There’s a ghost… a ghost is coming to kill me!’ This man began to grow visibly emaciated. You might not know this, but vagabonds live from hand to mouth, and nobody has the capacity to care for others at all. In fact, the life of a vagabond is dictated by the doctrine of every man for himself, and one would even need to keep an eye out for others snatching food from them. That’s why… I hid myself extremely well - so well that few people could uncover my location.”

Old Man Yu looked at him thoughtfully, “Was that how you thought about the air-raid shelter this time?”

“This air-raid shelter was built a long time ago. They’re not even recorded in our building plans from thirty...