The Third Morning at the Yokai Inn
The air carried a faint scent of osmanthus blossoms.
Lan Xi sat cross-legged on the tatami, meditating with his eyes closed, preparing to adjust the flow of dream crystals at the core of the barrier—his specialty. His power relied on the "stability of human dreams," which made the barrier more flexible and resistant to negative emotions.
But just as he began connecting to the dream realm—
BRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!
An abrupt, ear-piercing school bell erupted from the nearby campus, sharp as a needle, shattering Lan Xi’s focus.
His eye twitched, his ears flicking. "…What was that??"
Jin San, munching on candied hawthorns, mumbled, "Oh, that’s the new school bell. They switched to an electronic one—something called ‘Dynamic Firewheel’ or whatever."
The tiger yokai grimaced. "It’s been going off since yesterday—ding-dong, bang-bang—I almost thought our barrier was under artillery fire."
Lan Xi’s tail bristled. "This is bad. The sound is disrupting the dream crystals. The children’s dreams are getting… weird."
Jin San perked up. "Weird how? Did someone dream of me running around naked?"
Lan Xi: "…Worse. You were running around naked with a megaphone, shouting, ‘Yokai shouldn’t take naps!’"
A brief silence fell over the hall—then erupted into laughter.
Once the laughter died down, Lu Ban tapped his cane. "Ahem. This is serious. That bell isn’t just noise—it’s destabilizing our barrier. If the dream layers fracture, the chaotic spirits sealed underground might break free."
The yokai stiffened.
"So, I propose… we send someone to infiltrate the school. Find out why they changed the bell—and eliminate the interference."
Lan Xi raised his hand. "I’ll go."
The tiger scoffed. "You? You don’t sleepwalk halfway there?"
Lan Xi rolled his eyes, flicking his tail. "At least I don’t accidentally roar like a lion when I yawn."
And so, the mission to infiltrate the human school began.
Lan Xi shapeshifted into a slender white cat, slipping through the school gates unnoticed.
But the moment he stepped inside, the janitor nearly swatted him away with a broom. "You troublemaker! Back for more lunchbox theft?!"
Lan Xi, offended: "I’m here to monitor dream frequencies, not steal food!"
A nearby student paled. "Uh… did that cat just talk?"
His friend grabbed his arm. "No! You’re just hungry—eat your sandwich!"
Luckily, the bell rang again, and Lan Xi slipped into the broadcasting room—only to discover the culprit: the student council VP, an electronic music fanatic who insisted on "EDM aesthetics" to "energize students’ souls."
"These beats make me feel alive!" he declared.
Lan Xi paused. Yokai relied on dreams to sustain their world. Humans relied on music to regulate emotions. Maybe the two weren’t so different?
That night, back at the inn, Lan Xi reported his findings.
"The EDM can’t be stopped—but we can recalibrate the barrier’s ‘dream frequency conversion rate.’ If I stabilize the emotional resonance of those beats, I can transform them into gentle dream waves."
The tiger yokai nodded. "Then let’s call this move—‘EDM Dreamflow!’"
Jin San groaned. "That’s so cringe."
But the barrier… began to stabilize.
Under the osmanthus tree, Lan Xi meditated, dream mist swirling around him. For the first time, he sensed a strange connection with humans.
Dreams were bridging the gap.
And perhaps the real enemy wasn’t human fear—but the distance neither side had tried to cross.
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