I quietly told the Artisan and the Undertaker about the two people who had come from the dream world of the future. Both of them fell silent, unable to pinpoint the exact location of the Sleeper.
Now, in this nightmare realm, the situation has improved significantly. Both the Artisan and the Sleeper have regained consciousness.
"Let’s go back and take a look."
The Artisan spoke, and we immediately got up and quickly moved to the great pillar. The situation outside had largely stabilized; the devouring walls had retreated far from the city.
We returned to the shop. Heavenly Soul had already withdrawn his power, and he looked unusually exhausted.
"I'm hungry."
As soon as we got back, Sylvia Blue clutched her stomach and spoke to me. Rachel Lan glanced at her.
"Aren’t we in a dream? How can you be hungry?"
Sylvia Blue giggled. I shook my head helplessly, while the Undertaker took a swig from a bottle of wine.
"By the way, Sylvia, has anyone ever talked to you about the Immortality Society before?"
I asked, and Sylvia Blue scratched her head and gave a soft reply.
"So that's why that guy with the golden mask was so strong."
My actions were instantly seen through by that guy.
"That time, I dreamed I was fighting with a masked member of the Immortality Society. We fought until I woke up, and there was still no winner."
I swallowed hard, pressing a hand to my forehead. The reason things are so tricky now is that the golden-masked man born in Sylvia's dream doesn't really exist—he's just a member of the Immortality Society conjured up by the dream, yet his strength is real.
"Where did the Sleeper go?"
The Artisan was still watching at the doorway. No matter what we did, we couldn't find the Sleeper, and nothing attacked us.
"I'm afraid those two you mentioned are hiding him. After all, if you wake him up, it’ll be much harder for them to destroy the consciousness of the darkness."
I listened quietly as they discussed what would happen next. The Wish Balloon I held contained good dreams, but its power wasn’t enough to break this nightmare realm. Even after absorbing the good dreams from the Artisan and the Undertaker, it could only manage this much.
"I heard... I heard people say that creating dreams is actually very simple."
My eyes widened as something occurred to me. Rachel Lan quickly walked over to Sylvia Blue, and the others understood as well.
"How do we do it, little Sylvia?"
Rachel Lan asked urgently. Sylvia Blue giggled and shook her head.
"Then what you said is meaningless."
Heavenly Soul complained with dissatisfaction. Indeed, if we want to break this predicament, we have to use our own consciousness to create good dreams, then use the special dream carrier Mona Ouyang gave me, continuously absorbing and merging good dreams until the power inside is enough to shatter the current crisis.
"Sylvia, come here for a moment. Rachel, help me watch the fire."
I led Sylvia Blue to a street nearby.
"Just now Rachel was here, so you didn’t continue. Can you tell me now? How do you create dreams?"
"All I know is that you’re the only one who can freely travel between past and future, return to the dreams you once had, find the good dreams you made, and then devour them."
My eyes widened.
"If we do that, won’t it cause some problems?"
Sylvia Blue nodded.
"But there’s no other way. If we don’t do this, we can’t get out of here."
"My father used to do this often. I’ve seen many dreams—about your past, about things that happened before. Although most dreams were beautiful, they were tinged with falsehood. But my father wanted me to see the people he spoke of from the past, so I went. Only, I could never see Rachel Lan’s face. No matter the dream, I couldn’t see my mother’s face. That’s why I always returned to the present, to you all."
Then Sylvia Blue caught a whiff of something fragrant and dashed inside. I crouched quietly in the alley. More than once, I’d been warned not to go back. Even if it’s just a dream, returning to past dreams could have unpredictable consequences. But this is our only way out.
And what Sylvia said about not seeing Rachel Lan’s face also made me uneasy, gave me a sense of foreboding.
"Qingyuan."
A voice called out. I looked up to see Rachel Lan walking slowly toward me.
"Is there a way, but you just can’t use it?"
I made a sound of acknowledgment. Rachel Lan understood my thoughts perfectly.
"I’m grateful for this darkness."
I turned in surprise. Rachel Lan lifted her head.
"I remember every moment of the years I’ve spent living in this city, with you. Isn’t this something we can never truly reach?"
"Ah, Rachel really is something we can’t reach now. Living quietly like an ordinary couple, even if life is a bit dull or hard, at least we could be together and happy every day. But..."
I paused, lowered my head, and pressed a hand to my cheek.
"What’s wrong, Qingyuan?"
"The future is unpredictable, and the past is long gone. It’s because of our past that we’re here now. Going back might mean seeing things we once wanted to change, even if it’s just in a dream. I’m afraid I..."
Rachel Lan lifted my head, shook her own, and smiled.
"Save this darkness, Qingyuan. Everyone in this city is real. If we don’t do something, they’ll disappear. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time—you’re too conflicted. You want to act, but you’re always held back by this or that. Past failures aren’t scary, Qingyuan. What’s scary is failing now. If I can help, just say so, Qingyuan. Don’t worry about me. Remember? Our very first meeting."
I smiled and nodded at once. That was when I had accidentally boarded a ghost bus; everyone on it was dead. If Rachel Lan hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened. My mind flashed to John Chou—he must have been watching from the side, saying nothing.