Nightmare

Back at the shop, Chen Miemie sat on the sofa while Qinghua massaged his temples.

“What is all this supposed to mean? Everyone sounds like they’re telling the truth, yet their accounts contradict one another. Before, the problem was that we didn’t have enough information. Now the difficulty is that we have too much, and figuring out what matters is the real challenge.”

Loop understood it perfectly.

“That actually makes it feel more realistic. The world naturally looks different from different perspectives. And it’s not just different people—even if there were a hundred versions of me, we’d still often get into fights over our differing opinions back when we lived in the village.”

“True. Everyone, tell me what you think. Maybe it’ll give me some inspiration.”

Qinghua was the first to make a preliminary summary.

“For now, setting aside the conflicting accounts, let’s extract the points they have in common.

“First, Vice President Yu Ling’s fall to her death was not an accident. We simply haven’t figured out how the killer did it yet.

“Second, although it appears that a year has passed since her death, the various parties have never stopped investigating the incident.

“Third, there really is a mysterious figure behind Li Liang. The hostility toward Miemie doesn’t originate from him or [Cicada], but from the person pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“Fourth, although the Book-Sealing Hall appears calm on the surface, it is actually riddled with hidden conflicts—the theoretical faction versus the practical faction, humans versus witches, the great scholars against one another, and so on.”

Chen Miemie was very pleased. Qinghua really was a thoughtful little cotton-padded jacket. Whenever she organized things, a tangled mess of events became orderly.

Next came Loop.

Loop was not very good at sorting and summarizing. She usually focused on finding suspicious details and unusual points.

“After several conversations over the past two days, I’ve found a few leads we can investigate more deeply.

“First, according to [Silence], when President Yu ordered [Xiumu] to be killed, it was [Stone Speaker] who kept stopping her. Based on our previous investigation, [Stone Speaker] should have wanted to escalate the conflict and drive a wedge between the various factions. That’s very strange.

“Second, we’ve always assumed that the main conflict was between humans and witches. But today I suddenly realized that the two theoretical great scholars who are closest to the witches are [Cicada] and [Xiumu]. Is it possible that the real conflict has shifted back to one between the theoretical and practical factions?

“Third, the original villa murder case began with [Skin-Shedding Clinic] and [Hamburger Workshop]. Why were those two societies chosen? Was it simply because each had a high-ranking witch among its members, or is there something else going on that we don’t know about yet?”

Chen Miemie nodded again.

Loop was a “multiple-personality schizophrenic,” and she always managed to spot anomalies from different perspectives.

Qinghua and Loop finished speaking.

Black Hole was frantic.

It had made up its mind to join the think tank. How could the brilliant anomaly be content to sit at the same table as Bobo every day?

But no matter how anxious it became, there was nothing it could do. Everything it wanted to say had already been covered—and in greater detail than it could have managed. Deeply shaken, it collapsed onto the table.

Before it could force anything else out, the [Forbidden Fruit Bestiary] spoke first.

“Chen Miemie, there’s another book.”

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn away, and they all headed to the study.

This time, the [Forbidden Fruit Bestiary] didn’t need to guide them.

Chen Miemie easily pulled a new book from beside the previous volume, Jin Se.

“Spring Blossoms and Autumn Recollections? Huh, this time the author is directly listed as the Mysterious Shopkeeper. Haha, my second book. Not bad, not bad.”

Everyone was delighted by this tangible gain—everyone except Black Hole, which was still lying facedown on the table.

The discussion came to an end, and evening arrived.

A new Crescent Moon Night began.

The shop door was gently pushed open, and the paper wind chime above it rang out with a pleasant sound.

A young man walked in.

He was one of those flamboyant streetwise types.

He wore a black hoodie two sizes too large for him, along with black harem pants whose legs were ridiculously baggy. Around his neck hung an exaggerated, cheap-looking decorative chain. His hairstyle was equally eye-catching, dyed in three different colors.

He was very outgoing. When he saw Loop, he even took the initiative to ask, “I can’t believe there’s a shop here. Hey, beautiful, what kind of business do you run?”

Despite his flashy, street-style appearance, the young man’s words and manner were not frivolous. His eyes were clear and bright, without a trace of wickedness.

Loop gave him a brief introduction. “This shop helps customers solve their troubles. Only those with the proper connection can find their way here. Please, come in.”

The young man was led into the main hall and seated across from Chen Miemie, who was currently in the form of [Huangyi].

When tea was served, the young man immediately said, “I’m not much of a tea drinker. Could I have plain water instead?”

The moment he said this, the stream of tea pouring from the [Heartless Kettle] became noticeably thicker.

There was nothing unreasonable about someone not liking tea. Chen Miemie gestured for Loop to bring him some purified water.

The young man soon regretted making such a small request.

That was because the shop’s supply of purified water came from a single source.

Loop poured the tea out of his cup, walked over to the fish tank, and scooped up most of a cup of water.

“Please enjoy,” Loop said, placing the cup in front of the young man before stepping back.

Chen Miemie was very enthusiastic. “This is the purest water in the world—completely natural and free of impurities. Go ahead and drink it. There’s plenty more if you need it.”

“Uh… th-thank you. I’ll drink it in a bit.”

“I’m the owner of this place. What’s your name, young man?”

“Hello, Shopkeeper. My name is Xia Chong.”

“Tell me, what kind of help do you need?”

“Shopkeeper, I should warn you in advance—I’m very poor. My wristwatch doesn’t even have a time display.”

“Listen to you. Even if you don’t have time, you still have yourself, don’t you? Don’t worry. My shop is completely fair. Everyone who’s come here has had nothing but good things to say.”

“Uh, all right. I really do have a problem. I’ve been having nightmares lately—the same nightmare every time.”

Chen Miemie became interested. “Tell me about it. What kind of dream is it?”

“Shopkeeper, there’s something about me that’s been different from most people since I was little.

“When I dream, I know that I’m dreaming. But that’s all it is—I only know. Whether it’s a pleasant dream or a nightmare, I can’t control it. In other words, when I’m facing a nightmare, all I can do is endure it. I can’t make it end early.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very pleasant experience.”

Xia Chong glanced around, making sure Loop had already left.

“Well, before this, I actually quite liked having this ability. Nightmares weren’t that common, and I had plenty of sweet dreams… and erotic dreams, too, if you know what I mean.”

Chen Miemie hurriedly shook his head. “I don’t.”

The young man gave him a look that clearly said, Yeah, right, and continued.

“About a year ago, I accidentally developed a new ability. I call it ‘Dream Continuation.’

“I discovered that if I woke up in the middle of a dream and consciously kept the exact same position I’d been sleeping in, then fell asleep again, I could continue the previous dream.

“For me, it was practically a divine skill. When I was having a good dream, I could continue enjoying it. When it was a nightmare, I could simply change my sleeping position and bring it to an end.”

“Let me confirm something first. This ability of yours has nothing to do with your [Mystery], correct?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it. I’ve had this ability since childhood, even before the embryonic form of my [Mystery] appeared. My [Mystery] belongs to an entirely different field.”

“Good. Continue.”

“After I developed ‘Dream Continuation,’ I enjoyed many wonderful nights. They really were beautiful times.

“But the good times didn’t last. About six months ago, something new happened.

It was noon, and I was taking a nap.

I had a nightmare and woke up halfway through. As usual, I changed positions, expecting that to bring the nightmare to an end.

I changed positions.

But the nightmare continued exactly as before.

At first, I thought I hadn’t moved enough and that another adjustment would do the trick.

But that wasn’t it.

I knew I was dreaming, so I was fully aware of what was happening.

I had thought I’d woken up before, but I hadn’t.

That “waking up” had been part of the nightmare too.

For a moment, I was overwhelmed by a profound terror.

Not because of the nightmare itself, but because I realized the dream seemed to know that I was aware of its existence.

It began deliberately deceiving me.