I dug up the magical girl's corpse.

Chapter 22 The Vanishing Flower

"No, it shouldn't be a dream."

Chen Mu quickly dismissed the idea.

He spent several days in that mental hospital, such a long time, yet only one night had passed in reality—it seemed very mismatched in terms of time. Although dreams can sometimes involve a long period of time that turns out to be just one night upon waking, Chen Mu felt this time was different.

This time it felt exceptionally real.

Dreams are usually very real when you have them, but they feel very unreal when you wake up. Then, as time goes by, you quickly forget the details and eventually forget them all.

But after Chen Mu woke up this time, he could still clearly remember everything that happened in the mental hospital, including every word the doctors, nurses, and Xiao Ying said to him. He didn't forget even the smell and temperature of the ward, or the map and structure he had painstakingly memorized; it was all as if it were right before his eyes.

Moreover, she had tried pinching herself to force herself awake before, but it didn't work. If it were just a simple dream, it should have worked by now.

"I suddenly returned to reality after taking the pill. Does that mean the condition for my return was that pill?"

Chen Mu pondered, "But how did I get to this parallel world? Was it because I wanted to kiss Chao Jing before going to sleep?"

After hesitating for a moment, he tried again.

This time he successfully kissed her, but nothing happened. He remained in his room and did not travel through time.

We know how to "come back", but the triggering conditions for "the past" are still unclear.

"There are still many things I don't understand..."

Chen Mu sighed, stood up, and looked at his wife on the bed: "Ever since I dug you out, all sorts of strange things have started happening around me, and they're getting more and more frequent."

He had a deep feeling that this dream was definitely not meaningless.

Just like the previous "memories".

"If used properly, it might allow me to master special powers."

Chen Mu washed his face, looked in the mirror, and made sure that there was nothing wrong with his appearance. In the mirror, water droplets slid down the man's cheeks, and his eyes were very firm.

He walked out of the bathroom and looked towards the children's room on the second floor:

"There's another way that can help me prove it..."

...

"What? Did you do anything unusual while you were sleeping last night?"

When Lin Yongxi was asked this question, she looked completely bewildered: "Why are you asking me this? I wasn't in your room, how could I have seen it?"

When I knocked on the door, she was sitting on the baby's crib in the room.

Chen Mu thought about it and agreed, so he changed his question: "Did you hear any strange noises next door?"

"Strange sound? Have you done something wrong...?"

Lin Yongxi gave a sly smile. Suddenly, she remembered that her sister's body seemed to be in that bedroom too: "Could it be?"

However, unlike the girl's wicked smile, Chen Mu stared at her with a serious expression.

After staring for several dozen seconds, she also got bored, shrugged, and said:

"Okay, no, no. I don't know if it's because the soundproofing is so good, it's so quiet. Anyway, there's not even a snoring sound."

"Understood."

After receiving this testimony, Chen Mu nodded.

So, it really is just a dream world. What happens in a dream doesn't actually reflect in reality, like saying strange things or making strange movements. That's a good thing, unlike a parallel self in a dream who might be arrested as a mental patient; if you accidentally bump into a wall or hurt someone, the consequences would be much more serious.

"I just don't know what will happen if I talk to Lin Yongxi now, or what will happen in the mental hospital. Will he start to go crazy?"

Chen Mu was still thinking when suddenly, the girl in front of him stood up and walked over.

She smiled mysteriously and said:

"Hey brother-in-law, I made a major breakthrough last night!"

"Stop keeping me in suspense," Chen Mu said calmly, swatting her hand away.

He didn't want to appear too crazy in the mental hospital, so he decided to maintain a more aloof demeanor in real life.

Although it was a bit of a downer, Lin Yongxi was perhaps too happy to care, and still proudly put her hands on her hips and said:

"Heh heh, I successfully awakened [Heart Flower] last night, you know?"

"real?"

This time, Chen Mu was surprised. He had awakened the [Heart Flower] after only one night?

Chen Mu couldn't help but become serious:

"let me see?"

"good!"

Lin Yongxi immediately began to prepare. She sat down properly, placed her hands in front of her with her palms facing up, as if she were holding something.

This is the most basic "magic," but it doesn't really qualify as magic; it's just a simple trick.

It doesn't have any substantial effect; it's just projecting one's own "heart's flower." It's a test of the basic skills of manipulating magic and reflecting reality.

If the Heart Flower has not yet awakened, even this basic magic cannot be used; only the special magical artifacts of the Magic Academy can be used to help with the testing.

But once you awaken to your own potential, you won't need that kind of thing anymore.

"Well……"

Strangely, despite Lin Yongxi's long efforts, there was still no progress.

Her hands were stiff and her face was flushed, as if she were constipated.

Unfortunately, there were still no signs on those hands.

Empty.

"Huh? Huh? What's going on... I succeeded before!"

The scene remained frozen for a few minutes before she finally began to panic, sweat beading on her forehead.

No matter how hard she tried to summon her magic, she couldn't recreate the flower from last night; the memory grew increasingly blurry, as if it were about to disappear at any moment.

Chen Mu couldn't help but ask, "You didn't dream about it last night, did you?"

"No, I wasn't lying!"

Lin Yongxi panicked and quickly said, "It's true! I only felt safe to sleep after seeing it with my own eyes! Something must be wrong!"

Judging from her anxious reaction, it didn't seem fake; she was even trying to describe the shape of the flower:

"It was white... These petals were so beautiful, I remember them so clearly... Impossible..."

Chen Mu sighed and said:

"It's not that I don't trust you, but it's normal for magic to have ups and downs, especially since you're a beginner. Why don't you have breakfast first and take it slow?"

However, Lin Yongxi shook her head, stubbornly biting her lip: "No, I won't eat it until I find out!"

Chen Mu said no more and got up to leave.

Could a fleeting feeling appear and then disappear? At least, from his recollection, such a thing had never happened.

It's important to know that the Heart Flower is the source of a magical girl's own magic power; it's a conceptualized embodiment that will always accompany the magical girl and become inseparable once awakened.

Therefore, I don't know what Lin Yongxi really meant; that last sentence was just a consolation.

White flowers are everywhere in the world; they can't be used as evidence.

Could it be that I'm just too obsessed and it's just a hallucination?

Wait, a hallucination?

Chen Mu suddenly stopped going downstairs.

His experience in the mental hospital taught him that people who are considered crazy by others may also have their own unique worldview.

Their firm belief is not necessarily false.

"Flowers...white flowers, could it be?"