Chapter 213: I Just Like This Kind of Bad Girl
"You're awake!"
Just as Xu Yi opened his eyes, he heard Carlyle's voice expressing surprised delight.
"What happened to me?" Xu Yi's head felt heavy and foggy, and whenever he tried to concentrate, his temples would throb with pain.
He began to recall the previous events.
Rushing against time, he had finally managed to transcribe all the books from the Thoth Library into the Palace of Memory before the deadline.
Then, utterly exhausted, he returned to his room and fell straight into sleep.
"Not long after you fell asleep, you developed a high fever. I used a wet towel to cover your forehead and the fever subsided; otherwise, I would have had to take you to the hospital."
Carlyle brought over a cup of warm water, "Are you thirsty? Drink some water quickly!"
A fever? Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, as he hadn't experienced a fever since coming to this world.
As his body grew stronger, he hadn't even suffered minor ailments like headaches, so why would he suddenly have a high fever?
Was it an after-effect of the Palace of Memory, or was there another reason?
In just over two days, "copying" tens of thousands of books on Mysticism would certainly strain him, even though it only required a glance from his eyes.
"Thank you!" Xu Yi was indeed thirsty and took the warm water to drink.
As the warm water entered his stomach, Xu Yi felt significantly reinvigorated. His robust constitution, granted by Hyper Accelerated Regeneration, allowed him to recover swiftly.
As he "inspected" the Palace of Memory in his mind, looking at the neatly arranged books on the shelves, a sense of satisfaction naturally arose within him.
"Isn't this the same as carrying a library with me?"
Transcribing books into the Palace of Memory didn't mean he had mastered the knowledge inside, but he could access it anytime, anywhere.
"I've heard the church has even more Mysticism books. I wonder if I'll have a chance to see them?"
Xu Yi had already begun to consider targeting the church.
Suddenly, Carlyle yawned mightily, and it was only then that Xu Yi noticed the faint dark circles under Carlyle's eyes.
"Haven't you been resting?" Xu Yi felt a bit guilty.
Carlyle shook his head, "Don't get me wrong, it's not just from looking after you. These days, I've been sleeping restlessly, constantly having nightmares."
"Can you describe your nightmares?" Xu Yi asked.
Carlyle detailed his nightmares, leaving Xu Yi somewhat puzzled afterward.
Usually, recurring nightmares stem from either sudden major upheavals or being plagued by something like an Evil Spirit.
The former could be ruled out, as Carlyle had been living luxuriously at the Fein Manor these days, hardly seeming like he had suffered major setbacks.
The latter also seemed unlikely; an Evil Spirit would have a hard time escaping his notice, and if one were strong enough to do so, it would do more than just give Carlyle nightmares.
"Let's do a psychological diagnosis," Xu Yi finally decided to give it a try.
"What do I need to do?" Carlyle accepted without hesitation.
"Lie on the bed, and just relax," Xu Yi took out an old-fashioned pocket watch. With his ability, he didn't need any tool, but using the pocket watch was about looking professional.
The pocket watch swayed rhythmically in front of Carlyle.
"Follow the pocket watch with your eyes and imagine yourself lying on a soft cloud, your body relaxing..." Xu Yi began to guide Carlyle.
"Are you trying to hypnotize me? When I was little, I saw a psychiatrist who also tried to hypnotize me, but unfortunately, they were never able to..."
Carlyle had not finished speaking when he heard Xu Yi snap his fingers, then he drifted into a deep sleep.
"I'm not your ordinary psychiatrist," Xu Yi murmured softly.
After acquiring the "Hypnotism" entry, Xu Yi was using it for the first time. Combined with the scent of the Sleeping Flower, the hypnotic effect was exceptional, and rare were those who could not be hypnotized. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire
"You are now returning to that nightmare once more; we need to ascertain the source of this nightmare..." Xu Yi started to guide Carlyle's subconscious, "What do you see?"
"I... I see a gigantic shadow," Carlyle's body subconsciously trembled slightly.
"Don't be afraid, you are absolutely safe, and I'm standing right beside you..."
Xu Yi kept comforting him, "Slowly lift your head and gradually make out what's inside the shadow, now tell me, what is it?"
Carlyle calmed down and quietly narrated, "I see a huge black snake. The snake has no eyes, only a mouth, and double wings growing on its back... I also see a person standing on the snake's head, with blood-red inverted crosses in their pupils."
Blood-red inverted cross? Evil Deity!
Xu Yi was startled. How could Carlyle dream of an Evil Deity when there should've been no contact between them?
"The monster is swimming towards me!" Carlyle's body started trembling violently.
Seeing that the hypnosis was about to fail, Xu Yi quickly induced again, "Don't be scared! The thing you trust the most, that makes you feel safe, is right by your side. Just turn your head, and you'll see it!"
"Mhm, I see it. There's Xu Yi and... a unicorn!" Carlyle's face was no longer pale.
A unicorn? How could there be a unicorn!
Xu Yi was even more astonished. Unicorns were a hundred times rarer than werewolves or vampires, and it was uncertain if any living unicorns still existed.
"Have you ever seen a unicorn?" Xu Yi asked softly, meanwhile browsing through the books in the Palace of Memory.
About unicorns, he knew very little. The only thing he had ever encountered related to them was the blood of a unicorn, which could sustain the life of a dying person for a short period of time.
Having a library with him at all times had its advantages, and now it was showing. He quickly found records related to unicorns.
"It was probably when I was six years old. I got tricked by a classmate into a dense forest. It got dark, and I was so scared; there were wolves in the forest! Then I saw a very beautiful white horse. It had snow-white fur untouched by any dirt, with a colorful horn on its head."
Xu Yi was so surprised he couldn't speak. Not just ordinary people, even slightly weaker exorcists would have a hard time surviving an encounter with a unicorn.
Unicorns may look pure, but they are extremely bloodthirsty and aggressive creatures that attack humans on sight. Yet, it had spared Carlyle?
According to ancient tomes, if a person faced a unicorn and wasn't attacked, they would receive the unicorn's blessing.
What the blessing entailed was unknown because there were so few cases.
Xu Yi suddenly remembered something. The abnormal reaction from Ryan's flesh when it came close to Carlyle the other day, could it have something to do with the unicorn's blessing?
But what about this strange dream?
Xu Yi continued his research and eventually discovered a clue. The strongest ability of a unicorn was its power to predict the future.
Could it be a premonition dream? Xu Yi thought it over and could only come up with one possibility.
Otherwise, there was no explaining why Carlyle, who had never seen an Evil Deity, would dream about it.
Xu Yi asked a series of questions but didn't get much useful information. He lifted the hypnosis, and Carlyle slowly awakened.
After waking up, Carlyle looked down at himself. His clothes were neatly on, and he found no suspicious stains.
People who have been hypnotized can't remember the questions they were asked during the session.
"What are you looking for?" Xu Yi asked, puzzled.
"Nothing!" Carlyle's cheeks were slightly red.
If it's nothing, then it must be something! Xu Yi recalled Carlyle's recent actions and looked at him incredulously, "You wouldn't happen to like reading some strange or unusual books, would you?"
Since technology wasn't so advanced yet, it was likely only "comic books."
"What strange or unusual books?" Carlyle covered his body with a blanket, his legs entwined.
Xu Yi moved closer to Carlyle, his breath falling on the other's face, making Carlyle's face even redder.
"I remember you saying you had a female roommate from Japan and that your Japanese is pretty good. You usually read those Japanese language learning materials, right?" Xu Yi "interrogated."
"Just... just ordinary Japanese learning materials," Carlyle sounded flustered.
Xu Yi's gaze shifted to Carlyle's suitcase. It was always locked, and now it seemed there might indeed be some "private items" inside.
"Are we good friends?" Xu Yi looked into Carlyle's eyes, which were evasive.
Moments later, Carlyle was curled up under the covers, covering his face and not daring to look at Xu Yi. Xu Yi, meanwhile, ended up with a few books in his hand. He flipped through them, disappointed.
"Why are there only words, no pictures?"
And it was all in Japanese, which he couldn't understand with his current level of proficiency.
"Do you think I'm a... bad girl?" Carlyle's voice trembled slightly.
"Bad girl?" Xu Yi returned to the bedside and lifted the blanket from Carlyle's face, staring into his eyes, "This is just normal learning. How could it make you a bad girl?"
Xu Yi touched Carlyle's burning face with his hand, "Besides, I like this kind of 'bad girl' too!"
Carlyle's face turned so red it looked like it might start smoking.
Xu Yi threw back the covers and crawled in as well, "We don't have time to waste! Teacher Carlyle, teach me Japanese fast!"