The Dimension of Love

PROLOGUE

Streaks of lightning flashed across the clear dark skies, followed by rumbles of thundering. Xue Rufeng remained calm and unmoved. Just a few more moments and the demon would appear.

This malicious demon threatened the very lives of the residents of Tuyi Village and she persevered to rid the village of its pestilence. How the demon had come to arrive at the village and pester the residents, she didn't know. What she had in mind was just how she could put in her utmost effort in protecting and defending the village by utilising the skills she had been taught since she was very young.

She was in fact, a third-generation demon-catcher, and the last of her kind, since the earlier generations of demon catchers had been exterminated in a skirmish on the battlefield while she was a teenager. She had been their last hope, and at seventeen, she realized her duty as protector of the village. Now that the village was threatened by evil, she couldn't sit back and do nothing.

The bells bound to her waist suddenly jingled, and she knew an imminent danger was approaching. The demon audaciously made his appearance, descending from the sky in a dark red cloak, deafening her with his heinous laughter. She maintained her composure and assumed a fighting stance.

The demon was fast, but she wouldn't go down easily without a fight, and they continued to block each other's moves efficiently. The brawl went on for rounds without either emerging the victor, until their attacks were disrupted by the sudden occurrence of countless lights of multiple colours flashing before their eyes.

Rufeng blinked hard, and when she opened her eyes again, she was bedazzled by the sight before her.

She was standing in a strange room, so narrow and heaty that she could hardly breathe!

And at that point, a shrill scream filled the air...

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Since young, Xue Rufeng had undergone rigorous training and guidance by her grandparents and guardians. Apart from being imparted with skills in exorcism, she trained on the ways of the sword, and she was an excellent fighter. She also learned with the sage Shang Xiu for several years, prevailing as one of his top students in just a meagre amount of time. But today, she witnessed an illogical scene before her eyes; one which made no sense, considering the theories that she had learned as a student in the past! In her seventeen years, she had never heard of such a thing in her life!

Xue Rufeng rubbed her eyes vigorously and attempted to recall what had just happened. Just some hours ago, she had successfully lured the Demon into engaging in a one-to-one battle with her. Still, suddenly, with the flashing lights, everything before her was gone, and replaced with a different scenario! The room she was in was also warm and stuffy. Squares containing a strange design adorned the plain-looking walls of the room.

She briefly recalled that before she had come to this strange room, the skies had been dark, and it was nighttime. But now, it appeared to be the daytime, as the sunlight was shining brightly through the glass windows.

How could it even be possible? Was this a trick by the Demon?

Her head was slightly throbbing with pain, and she could not fathom a single bit of how she travelled to this peculiar place. She unsheathed her sword and leapt valiantly at the shower curtain, cutting it down with a single strike. Was the Demon hiding behind the curtain?

To her astonishment, a man was standing behind the curtain, with the most alluring eyes she had ever seen. The man immediately grabbed a towel hanging on the rack beside him, and hastily wrapped his lower body in it. Upon noticing the peculiar girl in the bathroom wielding a sword, he screamed vehemently and dashed out of the room.

The girl let out a piercing cry. "Demon, I shall have your head! Reveal yourself!"

Shaojun breathed a sigh of relief as he closed and locked the bathroom door behind him. For a twenty-year-old university student, to notice a madwoman in strange clothing enter the bathroom out of the blue while he was taking a shower was ultimately shocking to him! Furthermore, she possessed a sword, and the only way for him to escape with his life was definitely to call the police for help!

He noticed that the girl had not followed after him, suggesting that she was still in the bathroom and without wasting any time, he frantically grabbed his smartphone. He swiftly unlocked it with his thumbprint, before dialling the police hotline from his quick contacts.

"This is Yang Shaojun, and my address is 14-200, Austerity Heights, located at Bamberly Avenue in Wisteria Street. An intruder armed with a sword is in my flat. Please send someone over!"

The policewoman on the other side of the phone provided him with clear instructions to handle the situation. She also informed him to calm down and exit the flat for his safety. Immediately, the police sent a squad to Austerity Heights for assistance, and subdued the 'madwoman' subsequently in ten minutes.

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Shaojun was reading a book in the library when Nan Xi approached.

"Just finished your class with Madam Ambrosia?" Shaojun teased him with a sneer.

"Yes," Nan Xi grumbled. "Guess what, two hours of torture in her class, and she just gave me a B for the assignment I burnt the midnight oil on!"

Shaojun threw his head back and laughed. The two of them had a friendship that went a long way back, and a few misunderstandings had led them to develop a close bond formally. In short, it had been about seven years that they were friends. They had also been schoolmates since secondary school, and they were currently housemates and went to the same university. Shaojun majored in computing, while Nan Xi majored in historical studies.

"I heard that some woman entered the bathroom while you were showering and almost killed you."

Shaojun gave Nan Xi a cold stare. In comparison to Shaojun, Nan Xi had a childish look and was a playboy, popular among females. Shaojun, on the other hand, was much more good-looking, but every date he had gone on had not been successful, as he tended to be too shy with the females! He would probably need Nan Xi's assistance in the future to get him associated with more ladies for dates.

"How did you know?"

"The police called the flat earlier to update us on the situation. They said your phone was off, so they reached me instead. You don't have to hide things like this from me, brother."

Shaojun shrugged, and a few girls smiled at them as they passed their table in the library. "I hope that she won't escape this time."

"The police also said that she's just a homeless woman, just a little confused, and so far, nobody has come to pick her up. It's been a few days."

"But she had a weapon, wasn't she?"

"According to the police, she didn't have a sword on her," Nan Xi said, and Shaojun's eyes gaped wide unbelievingly.

"But she cut down the curtain-" he exclaimed and then stopped. Nan Xi batted his eyebrows and teased Shaojun, "So, did she see anything worth the attention when the curtain fell?"

Shaojun almost choked at his friend's words. "No, no! I covered everything worth covering with a towel!"

It was Nan Xi's turn to laugh. "Just look at you, panicking so badly!"

As they left the library, Shaojun saw a girl wave to him from afar, and Nan Xi returned her wave fervidly. It was the smartest female student in university and Shaojun's primary school classmate Xin Li, the university belle and coincidentally, Nan Xi's idol, whom he worshipped like a goddess. While walking, he recollected the events that had transpired in his bathroom five days ago, and he was cocksure that she had a sword with her when she had miraculously entered his bathroom.

"Perhaps we can clarify things with the police," Nan Xi suggested. Shaojun knew what was on his mind and shook his head.

"You are just curious about the girl, aren't you?"

Nan Xi smiled sheepishly. "Brother, you know too much for your good. But please, maybe we could go and take a look on my behalf? I want to see how she looks. She probably can't be a threat to us at the police station. Please, please, pretty please?"

"Fine, consider I'm afraid of you then. We'll go, but just for the sake of you to take a look at the girl!" Shaojun stated warmly. He understood that when Nan Xi had his mindset on something, he would not stop pestering him until he achieved it!

But how could it be that the police found no sword? The question repeatedly popped up in his mind as the two men headed towards Shaojun's Honda.