Chapter 491: Beware the Mirror!

The caregiver finished cleaning up the broken teacup in the room and applied burn ointment to Feng Minglong, leaving only once his condition had stabilized.

"My luck's been nothing but rotten since I met you," Feng Minglong said with a wry smile, clutching his burned hand.

"The feeling is mutual." Feng Minglong's sudden scream when he got burned had interrupted my train of thought, bringing my speculations about Elder Chen to an abrupt halt.

Ignoring Feng Minglong, I dipped a finger into the water left in my cup and drew three lines across the table.

The Dream Realm was divided into the Shallow Dream Layer, the Middle Dream Layer, and the Deep Dream Layer. When I first entered a dream, Huang Xue hadn't been in a coma. She had consciously chosen to sleep, so she never slipped into the Deep Dream Layer, lingering only within the Shallow and Middle Dream Layers. Ye Bing's situation was different. Her current state was essentially vegetative, meaning there was an eighty percent chance her consciousness was lost in the Deep Dream Layer. If I wanted to save her, I had to prepare to enter the Deep Dream Layer.

"The Deep Dream Layer... that's a place even the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends who control the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman refuse to set foot in. If I go in, could I ever make it back out?" I muttered. My understanding of the Dream Realm was still painfully basic. After that live broadcast ended, I hadn't looked into the subject at all. That stream had left a horrifying impression on me. Inside that unlocked room, I had been forced into a life-and-death battle of wits against the ghosts of Guo Junjie's family, racing against the clock just to escape. It was an agonizing memory I had zero desire to revisit.

"The Dream Realm is too bizarre. It's a completely distorted world where logic and deductions are practically useless. More often than not, the only thing that decides whether you live or die is sheer luck." I let out a bitter laugh. Burdened with a hundred thousand karmic obstacles and constantly defying the heavens, my luck was already scraping the bottom of the barrel. It was probably even worse than Feng Minglong's.

"What are you looking at me for?" Feng Minglong was jumpy as a startled bird. Frightened by my sudden glance, he immediately cradled his burned hand and scrambled to sit further away.

"Nothing, I'm just curious. You're hurt pretty badly, so why hasn't your family come to take care of you? Can you really rely entirely on a caregiver? What if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night?" I continued tracing patterns on the table with the water, asking casually just to ease the tense atmosphere in the ward.

"Don't even bring it up." Feng Minglong sighed, clutching his swollen hand. "My parents divorced when I was young, and the court gave custody to my old man. All he does all day is eat, drink, whore, and gamble. Even if I dropped dead outside somewhere, I doubt he'd shed a single tear." He paused. "What about you? Every time I've run into you, you've had cops trailing behind you. Do you not have family either? Or are you some kind of special agent for the police?"

"Family?" I shook my head and turned the TV volume up high. "Just focus on resting and recovering. You and I aren't the same."

"Don't tell me you had a miserable childhood too?" Feng Minglong's interest was suddenly piqued. "We're both fellow sufferers at the ends of the earth. Once we're discharged from this hospital, we definitely need to go out for a few drinks."

"Sure, whatever." I stared at the water traces on the table, tapping my fingers against the surface, my mind entirely consumed by thoughts of the Deep Dream Layer.

If the Shallow Dream Layer and the Middle Dream Layer were still theoretically measurable by modern human technology, then the Deep Dream Layer belonged entirely to another world.

Its existence was known, but it was impossible to explore. Anyone who entered it rarely ever returned.

I pondered in silence for a long time before asking the nurse for my phone. Relying on my exceptional memory, I dialed Onitsuka Ayaka's number.

It rang for over ten seconds before connecting. Through the receiver, I heard blaring heavy metal music and a slightly languid voice asking, "Donata desu ka? Who is this?"

"It's me, Gao Jian," I replied.

"Well, aren't you a rare guest? I was just wondering who could possibly know my private number. What do you need from me right now? Let me guess—were you missing me? Or perhaps you were missing Sakurako?" The teasing lilt in her voice carried through the phone; this mature woman's flirtatious tone was almost too much for me to handle the moment she opened her mouth.

"There are some things regarding the Dream Realm that I need to ask Sakurako about. Is it a good time?" I asked quietly.

"It is. Come on over. We can use the inner room again—it's a bit noisy out here, but quiet in there. Hmm, before we get started, do you want anything to drink? I can arrange something; it might make things a little more romantic." Onitsuka Ayaka's sugary-sweet voice always managed to spark endless fantasies.

"Boss, I don't think I can make it to your place. I'm in the hospital with severe injuries. Would you mind bringing Sakurako over here instead?" My voice grew quieter and quieter; I felt embarrassed even asking.

"The hospital?" Onitsuka Ayaka hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing. "Send me the address. I'll be there in half an hour."

I hung up the phone and let out a long sigh of relief. "That woman really is an absolute succubus."

I picked up my cup and took a few sips of water, suddenly noticing Feng Minglong staring at me in sheer astonishment. "What's wrong with you now?" I asked.

"Japanese? A Japanese woman?"

"Is that so strange?" I continued sketching on the table. If anyone walked in, a simple swipe of my hand would erase the water marks and cover everything up.

Half an hour later, the crisp clacking of high heels echoed down the corridor outside. The steps were sharp, landing like the rhythmic beat of a drum. It was rare to find a woman who could master high heels to such a degree.

The door swung open, and Onitsuka Ayaka strolled in, wearing sky-high heels and a light-colored trench coat. Her outfit today was truly breathtaking.

Her unbuttoned trench coat gave her a sharp, capable look. Underneath, she wore a thin shirt that looked as if it had shrunk in the wash. It clung tightly to her flat stomach and accentuated the magnificent curves of her chest, bringing a single phrase to mind—ready to burst at the seams.

The Blue Tailed Fox Tattoo on her chest seemed to come alive—elegant, beautiful, and laced with a hint of sly cunning.

Following closely behind Onitsuka Ayaka was Sakurako. Carrying herself like a miniature adult, the little girl looked somewhat reluctant to be holding the older woman's hand.

"Gao Jian, what happened to you? How did you end up in this state again?" Onitsuka Ayaka chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. Noticing Feng Minglong staring blankly at her, she deliberately flashed him an incredibly alluring smile.

"Don't ask. Let's get down to business." Knowing full well this fox-like temptress wasn't someone to trifle with, I changed the subject and waved Sakurako over. "Kiddo, tell me. If I were to enter the Deep Dream Layer, is there any chance I could make it back?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the ward plunged into dead silence. Both Onitsuka Ayaka and Sakurako froze, pausing for a full two or three seconds before looking at me.

"Gao Jian?" Onitsuka Ayaka said. "Do you honestly think you're immortal?"

"Don't go. No one can return from the Deep Dream Layer."

Even though Sakurako was Onitsuka Ayaka's daughter, her words were far more reliable. The little girl's eyes were filled with anxiety, desperate to express her thoughts on the matter. Since she wasn't good at expressing herself verbally, I hurriedly asked the nurse for a pen and paper.

"Sakurako, have you never been to the Deep Dream Layer either?" I asked apprehensively. It seemed this Deep Dream Layer was even more terrifying than I'd imagined.

Sakurako shook her head. Stroke by stroke, she carefully wrote out her answer in Chinese characters: "That is another world."

Looking at the words on the paper, I understood exactly what they meant. "I have a treasure that allows me to enter dreams, as well as a mystical artifact that lets me travel freely between the Dream Realm and reality. If I were to enter the Deep Dream Layer, what do you think my chances of coming back would be?"

"Zero. Once you go in, you won't come back." Sakurako wrote the words with absolute seriousness, only giving her answer after careful thought. "The Deep Dream Layer is a bizarre, twisted world. It is inhabited by nightmares and buries every memory humanity has forgotten. It is a dead end, with no doors leading back."

Holding that piece of paper, I fell silent for a long time before asking, "Suppose I only walk along the border between the Middle Dream Layer and the Deep Dream Layer. What are my odds of coming back then?"

"Thirty percent." Sakurako had originally written down ten percent, but after taking a look at me, she changed it to thirty.

"Only thirty percent?" I touched the Buddhist Prayer Beads on my wrist and sighed. "You've experienced a lot of nightmares. Can you tell me about some of the dangers in the Dream Realm so I can avoid them in advance?"

The little girl nodded. Sitting obediently on the hospital bed, she began to write. "There is a definite possibility of encountering nightmares in the Middle Dream Layer. Nightmares can take on various forms, so it's best not to converse with anyone in a dream, and you must never trust anyone easily—not even the people you are most familiar with in your memories."

I committed her words to memory and motioned for Sakurako to continue.

"Some nightmares are exceptionally terrifying and might house very special entities. You must be extremely careful. You must never play games with anyone in a dream, or promise to do something for someone. Do not enter any room where all four walls are covered in posters. Do not touch white walls. Do not wash your hair in a dream—beware of someone standing behind you the moment you lower your head..."

"Alright, I've got it memorized. Is there anything else?" I asked, thoroughly creeped out by what she was saying.

Sakurako put down her pen and stood facing me. "There is one last, most important point. In a dream, you must never look in a mirror!"