That overwhelming sense of pressure coming straight at him, and the bone-chilling shudder, left him paralyzed at the last moment—he couldn’t even scream.

William Clark instinctively reached up to touch his neck, slowly sat up in bed, and leaned back against the headboard.

There was no wound on his neck, but for some reason, he just felt a bit of pain there.

Fortunately, the pain was gradually subsiding, fading at a pace he could actually feel.

“What was that dream… what on earth was it…?” William Clark recalled that crazed, approaching figure, and a chill ran down his spine.

Chapter 13

“Damn it!”

William Clark rolled out of bed, sat on the edge, and ran his hands through his hair, feeling sweat all over his palms.

“I’ve died in nightmares before, but that feeling… it was nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced!”

William Clark gasped for breath, trying to shake off the shock of dying in his dream.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a while, and after his emotions settled a bit, he got up and sat at his desk, turned on the lamp, and flipped through the book he’d previously translated.

“The most essential part of that swordsmanship notebook is these five diagrams. The rest is mostly stories and experiences; the real swordsmanship explanations are just on these few pages.” He muttered to himself, eyes fixed on the translated material.

“What exactly… was that figure!? And are these materials actually usable?”

“If the stuff in the dream—the swordsmanship in the dream—was just something my brain made up, if I practice it wrong, it could cause irreversible harm to my body.”

William Clark had heard before that people practicing acrobatics or martial arts could end up disabled if their basics were wrong or their posture was off.

He was a bit worried that this so-called swordsmanship notebook from his dream was actually just a mess of knowledge his mind had conjured up.

Sitting silently on the edge of the bed, William Clark’s thoughts churned endlessly, unable to calm down.

It was a long time before he finally lay back down and closed his eyes, but this time, no matter what, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, the pain of being killed in the dream would come flooding back.

This state lasted until dawn.

As soon as the sky began to lighten, he had no choice but to get up, cook some noodles with yesterday’s leftovers, and eat quickly. Then he changed into his school uniform, grabbed his backpack, and headed straight to school.

Originally, William Clark thought being killed was just a dream.

But all day long, he felt a dull ache in his heart, and a lingering sting at his neck.

He muddled through his classes, and after school, he politely declined Grace Sullivan’s invitation to go browse the cassette shop, and staggered home alone.

He didn’t even eat dinner—William Clark just collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

This state lasted for two days before his spirits gradually recovered.

And during those two days, he didn’t dream at all. It was as if the previous nightmare had just been an illusion.

During that time, his father Edward Clark thought he was sick and brought a thermometer to check his temperature, but everything was normal.

In the end, he could only tell him to rest more and not overexert himself. The college entrance exam was important, but if his health broke down, nothing else would matter.

After two days without dreams, William Clark felt much better.

After dinner, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence.

If it weren’t for the notebook he’d translated still sitting in his desk drawer, he really would have thought it was all just a dream.

Ring ring ring.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

His mother Julia Parker walked into the living room to answer it.

“Chenchen, your sister wants to talk to you.”

William Clark was slightly taken aback, then rolled out of bed, quickly left his room, and went to the living room to take the receiver from his mother.

“You should at least put on a jacket when you get out of bed.” Julia Parker worriedly touched William Clark’s hand, found it a bit cold, and hurried to the bedroom to fetch him a jacket.

William Clark smiled at her, put on the jacket, and sat on the sofa with the phone.

His sister didn’t say anything at first, just listened to the sounds on his end, with only faint breathing audible.

William Clark paused, then switched the phone to his other hand.

“Jie, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I just heard from Mom and Dad that you haven’t been doing so well lately. Don’t push yourself too hard, and don’t overdo it. Getting into a good university is important, but your health matters more.” His sister Alice Clark said with concern.

“It’s nothing, I know, don’t worry, Jie.” William Clark did a quick mental calculation. “There’s still more than four months until the college entrance exam. I’m not that stressed yet. I’ve just been having nightmares lately, so I haven’t been feeling great.”

“Have you been reading too many random books?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t done anything except study, have I?” William Clark played dumb.

“Is it… are you short on money?” Alice Clark suddenly lowered her voice.

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really, I’m fine.” William Clark replied firmly.

“Don’t try to tough it out. I’ll transfer you some money. Remember to pick it up later. You’re getting older, and there are some expenses you can’t avoid.” Alice Clark said seriously.

“I don’t need it, really, Jie, you have your own expenses…”

“I have enough here, don’t worry. That’s all for now, just remember to get the money.” Alice Clark didn’t say any more.

He could faintly hear a woman’s voice calling her in the background, as if asking her to help move something.