It was already 8 o'clock. Looking at the table full of vegetarian dishes, they looked delicious and tasted fresh. The meal was cooked by Frank Niu, but at this moment, I held my chopsticks, yawning nonstop, just wanting to go to sleep as soon as possible.
Even just ten minutes would do. I wanted to close my eyes so badly; at this point, I was so exhausted I couldn't even eat.
"Hurry up and eat, Ethan,"
Vincent Swallow said. I patted my cheeks and started eating. After just a few bites, my appetite returned. Frank Niu's cooking was delicious. I wolfed down the food and finished it off with a big bowl of vegetable soup, then slumped into my chair.
Sleepiness kept washing over me. I touched the three balls I carried with me, bulging against my chest. Granny Nina once said these three balls were precious—she had painstakingly collected them from the villagers here. They were dreams, good dreams.
"Granny Nina, is it time? If it's okay, I'll go to sleep now."
"Sigh, so impatient. Young man, at least get a few things straight. Once you're in the dream, you'll have a better chance of not being swallowed by nightmares."
I nodded. Frank Niu smiled, walked over, and handed me a green chili pepper, already lightly roasted over charcoal.
"Eat it, Ethan. It'll wake you up. Chew it slowly."
I took it. The chili was still warm. As soon as I bit into it, my taste buds burned with sharp pain.
"Remember, once you leave your Core Dream, you probably won't be able to use your own powers. You'll only be able to keep running in his dream, but dreams do have a structure, young man."
"Then what should I do?"
Thinking about this, once I enter the dream, I'll be like a pig waiting to be slaughtered, at Mona Ouyang's mercy.
"After all, your dream has completely entered the world woven by that Ghost Sovereign. So, young man, what is your purpose in going there?"
"To find someone."
"Ethan, once you're inside, don't get fooled by any illusions. Don't act impulsively. Dreams are bizarre and unpredictable—anything can happen. Everything and everyone you've ever known could appear. If you run into trouble, think back to your days in the Forest of Desire."
Vincent Swallow said, and I nodded. Worrying now was pointless.
Then Granny Nina explained to me that every dream has a framework. In every dream, there must be a central consciousness, the origin and extension of the dream. What I need to do is find this consciousness to break the dream.
As for my own Core Dream—the apartment building—Granny Nina said that after I enter, I need to leave my Core Dream quickly. That way, my consciousness won't be in my Core Dream, and Mona Ouyang won't be able to destroy it. Only if I'm in my Core Dream can she devour it and reclaim the Nightmare Stone.
The three dreams Granny Nina gave me are powerful tools for dispelling nightmares, but I only have three chances. She warned me repeatedly not to use them lightly except at the most critical moments—better to run than to waste them.