The next morning, Jack Young woke up to find that Sophie Soo had already made breakfast. Since when did this sleepyhead turn so domestic? Could it be that one good cry transformed her into a model housewife overnight?
"Old Geng, you finally woke up." Tsk, she’s calling me Old Geng again—so not cute... But what do you mean, "finally woke up"? Did I sleep that long? Jack checked the clock on the wall and was surprised to see he’d slept past nine.
Ever since I mastered my kung fu, this has never happened. Was it because I was just too relaxed? Puzzled, Jack headed to the table, sniffed, and praised, "Not bad, Little Geng. Didn’t expect your cooking to be this legit. Where’d you learn it?"
Sophie looked over in surprise and laughed, "Old Geng, you taught me yourself!"
"Me?" Jack pointed at his own nose in surprise. "When did I do that?"
Sophie put down what she was doing, looking incredulous. "Just last night! At three in the morning I woke up hungry, went to call you, and you got up and cooked a whole meal—super tasty, too. I asked how you did it, and you taught me everything right then and there."
"Huh?!" Jack’s eyes went wide. "But I don’t remember any of that!" With his memory these days, every detail is crystal clear—how could he forget something like this?
Wait a sec—something Old Tang said flashed through his mind like lightning. Jack sucked in a breath. "Don’t tell me... I really am... sleepwalking?"
An hour later, Jack found himself in Ethan Zhuo’s office. When you’ve got a professional problem, you see a professional. Just met this hypnosis master yesterday, and today he’s already consulting him. Sophie, worried, tagged along, but had to wait outside sipping coffee and watching TV, thanks to patient confidentiality. Since Jack was coming in as a patient, Ethan Zhuo listened and took notes with a serious face, looking every bit the part.
After hearing Jack’s story, Ethan Zhuo went out to chat with Sophie and get her side of things. Then he returned to the office and nodded at Jack. "That’s right. Based on both your accounts, it’s confirmed—you really do have sleepwalking episodes."
Jack sighed. So it’s true—Old Tang wasn’t lying. He really is a sleepwalker.
"Just to clear things up," Ethan Zhuo started, "sleepwalking isn’t some kind of split personality disorder. It’s actually a common natural state." He pulled out a diagram of the brain. "Physiologically, if this part of the brain stays a bit active during sleep, sleepwalking can happen. One third of people sleepwalk as kids, but as we age, the brain’s inhibition mechanism gets stronger and usually wipes it out. Your case is pretty special."
Jack smirked. "Sounds just like, ‘Everyone wet the bed as a kid, but you’re still doing it as an adult? That’s embarrassing.’"
Ethan Zhuo burst out laughing, totally owning up. "Pretty much! But when I say special, I don’t mean that. It’s about what you do while sleepwalking. Most people just sit up, take a couple steps, then go right back to sleep. That’s why most folks don’t even know they sleepwalk. But you’re different—if Sophie’s description is accurate, you cooked a whole meal in your sleep and even chatted with her like nothing was weird. According to her, you had your eyes half open, no expression, looking kind of dull—like someone with low blood pressure who just woke up. Other than that, you were totally normal, even cleaned up the kitchen afterward."
Heh... Jack’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Let me translate that—so, not only do I wet the bed, but I manage to pee in the shape of a world map. That makes me a real oddball, huh? Is that what you mean?"
"Applause for your divine translation!" Ethan Zhuo clapped enthusiastically. "And a thumbs up for your relentless self-roasting spirit!"
Smack! Jack slapped his forehead—seriously, why am I roasting myself so hard? How deep am I gonna dig this hole?
"But you really do care about Sophie, you know."
"Huh?" Where did that come from?
"From a hypnosis perspective, sleepwalking is the deepest state—pure subconscious. In that state, everything is direct, vivid, and your true nature shines through. There are no emotions, no thoughts, no social rules holding you back. That’s why sleepwalkers can do things they’d never manage while awake."
There was once a skinny little girl in elementary school who, while sleepwalking, managed to rip the bedroom door right off its hinges—a classic example.
"Sleepwalking isn’t just talking in your sleep. People who talk in their sleep are in light sleep—their cortex is active. Sleepwalkers, on the other hand, are in the deepest sleep. Despite the name, there are no dreams at all, so they don’t really react to outside voices. Because it’s all deep subconscious, only the people you truly trust and accept—those you believe in at a subconscious level—can influence you while you’re sleepwalking."
"Really?" Jack asked, puzzled. "But I’ve seen videos where psychology professors hypnotize a student in class, then make them do all sorts of things—even lie across two chairs like a bridge. That professor can’t be someone the student deeply trusts, right?"
"Haha, you’ve got it wrong," Ethan Zhuo explained. "Those ‘human bridge’ experiments aren’t sleepwalking—they’re trance states. They look similar but are totally different. It’s complicated, but basically: only the very best hypnotists, under perfect conditions, can hypnotize someone deep enough for sleepwalking. And only the most advanced hypnotists can give orders to someone in that state. So for you to cook for Sophie and chat with her while sleepwalking—if Sophie knew psychology, she’d be moved to tears."
This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading!
"So I don’t need to worry about accidentally hurting someone in my sleep, then." With Jack’s abilities now, if he went all out, the damage could be terrifying. Maybe even more than Jill—Young Family Internal Boxing is a deadly art, after all, and he didn’t want to wake up surrounded by cops or on the most-wanted list.
"Haha, no need to worry. No one’s ever attacked anyone while sleepwalking—unless they’re actually being attacked, and that instinct is ingrained to the bone. Otherwise, you could be stabbed and not even fight back."
"Alright." That’s one less thing to worry about. Then Jack asked the key question: "So, can sleepwalking be cured?"
Ethan Zhuo shook his head. "Mainstream theory says sleepwalking comes from an underdeveloped inhibition mechanism in the brain, and can be treated with medication. But personally, I don’t think yours is caused by any defect—it’s not an illness. And if it’s not an illness, it can’t be cured."
"Oh?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you think I’m sleepwalking?"
"I think the reason you sleepwalk is because your mind is just too energized," Ethan Zhuo said, dropping a bombshell. "From what I’ve observed, you’re highly sensitive to your surroundings. You notice everything and adjust yourself accordingly. People like you are usually easy to hypnotize, but I’ve already tried three different hypnosis techniques, and none of them worked on you."
"You already tried three times?" Jack was surprised—he hadn’t felt anything special, yet he’d already been ‘attacked’ three times. Or maybe he’d noticed Ethan’s moves, but since he didn’t know hypnosis, he had no idea those were attempts.
Hypnosis really is impossible to guard against.
"There’s no scientific proof, but I believe humans have a kind of mental power. Some people’s is so strong it goes beyond the body’s limits, showing all kinds of mysterious abilities." Ethan Zhuo pointed at Jack. "You’re definitely one of those people—your mental power is so strong it blocks my hypnosis and causes your sleepwalking."
Hmm... Thinking back, Old Tang said when I sleepwalked, my Insight Technique was almost at level two, while my Dragon Elephant Extraction Method wasn’t even at level one. This time, Insight Technique was past level four, and Dragon Elephant was only at level three. It really only happens when Insight is way ahead of Dragon Elephant. And as for Jill, she’s never sleepwalked—at least, no one’s ever mentioned it.
Looks like Ethan Zhuo was right—it’s my rapid progress in mental power that’s causing this. Maybe there’s more to it, but the breakthroughs in my Wheel Pulse Technique and the leaps in Insight Technique are definitely the main reasons. Once my spiritual power settles down in a couple days, it should be fine.
Just hope this sleepwalking thing doesn’t mess with my life going forward.