Reality or Dream

Chapter 7: Reality or Dream?

One hour later, node space.

The Old Mage leaned on his staff, looking at Cheng Yun with satisfaction. "The harvest from this past hour is greater than what I gained in a month staying by the node! Thank you, Cheng Yun!"

"I should be thanking you too," Cheng Yun felt increasingly fatigued. "Without you, I don't know how long I would have fumbled around to discover these functions, or if I would have even realized they were possible."

"There's still much to explore, perhaps even things I haven't considered," the Old Mage said. "Let's call it a day. I can see you're exhausted. Don't worry, I'll ensure you sleep soundly without dreams until tomorrow morning. Tonight, when no one is around, I'll set up the magic circle, which will make your rest much smoother in the future. I believe I have an item with similar functions; I'll look for it and give it to you tomorrow. That way, you can sleep peacefully even when you're not at the hotel."

"Thank you," Cheng Yun was quite touched.

"Consider it living expenses I'm leaving with you," the Old Mage said. "The cooking at noon today was delicious."

"Uh, sorry!" Cheng Yun just remembered the Old Mage hadn't eaten dinner yet. "I've been too unsettled lately, it's easy to make mistakes. I'll order you takeout right away."

"Actually, I won't starve if I don't eat," the Old Mage shook his head awkwardly. "I'm definitely not begging you for food..."

After Cheng Yun ordered takeout for the Old Mage, he realized the Anju Hotel couldn't be found on the map. He downloaded a few more common map applications and registered his location. Then, he went down to tell Cheng Yan to be careful while on duty that night and not to stay up too late. Finally, amidst Cheng Yan's constant complaints, he went back upstairs to his room.

The Old Mage cast a spell on him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Magnificent and peculiar karst landforms, vibrant highland scenery, boundless seas churning with waves, endless sand dunes stretching to the horizon in the desert, the bamboo forest exuding a clear fragrance as the wind blew through it, a salt lake like a mirror on the earth reflecting the sky and clouds... Scene after scene unfolded in Cheng Yun's dream, each frame a picture of silent beauty presented before him, leaving him confused and bewildered.

People often say that what you think about during the day will appear in your dreams at night. Cheng Yun was indeed a person who loved natural landscapes, yet he hadn't had the time to think about them these past few days, nor had he ever seen such scenery.

He was troubled in his dream—

While maintaining clear thinking, he couldn't feel his own existence, nor could he control his movements. He couldn't even perform a simple action like lowering his head to look at himself, nor could he influence the dream scenes in any way. It was as if someone had tied him up, put on virtual glasses that couldn't be moved, and forcibly displayed these scenes before him, yet he couldn't even close his eyes.

He resisted it strongly, even feeling a sense of fear.

The next morning, he woke up feeling groggy, as if he hadn't slept at all, and even more mentally exhausted.

"The Old Mage is such a scammer!"

He still had some faint impressions of the dream from last night, but only scattered fragments, and they had become very blurry. He vaguely remembered how real the dream had felt, how the magnificent scenery could only be created by the divine craftsmanship of nature, far beyond his imagination. Yet now, he struggled to recall the clear outlines, and as he sat on the bed for a while, it seemed to fade even further—

Most dreams are like this; you forget them as soon as you wake up.

So, Cheng Yun quickly rolled out of bed and ran outside in his shorts, without even putting on a shirt.

As a qualified 'research subject,' he naturally had to report his condition to the expert promptly! In his heart, that expert was likely the most capable person in the world to solve these strange troubles for him!

Ten minutes later, the Old Mage finished listening to his description.

"This situation is quite rare," the Old Mage narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him. "I've already cast Wei's Sleep Induction Technique on you, medical grade. You shouldn't be dreaming naturally anymore! This is clearly the influence of the node space, no doubt about it."

"Is it troublesome?" Cheng Yun asked nervously. If that was the case, even sleeping pills wouldn't help!

"Troublesome! I can tell your brain's rest time last night was less than two hours. If your dreams were truly as real as you say, and not just illusions created by the dream. It's highly likely your brain didn't rest at all while dreaming; the brain cells were activated just as they are when you're awake," the Old Mage said. "An ordinary person's body is neither as fragile nor as strong as you might think. If you can't rest, you won't last long!"

"Then what should I do?" Cheng Yun was stunned.

"First, describe in detail your feelings during the dream, the situation within it, everything. I need to determine why you are dreaming," the Old Mage said calmly, with a slight smile. "Don't be too nervous. As long as we can find the cause, I doubt there's anything about you that could stump me."

"Alright."

Cheng Yun could only exclaim "The expert is mighty!" in his heart.

"I remember my consciousness was very clear, but I couldn't move or change anything... I can't recall those scenes clearly anymore, but I still remember parts of them. I feel it's definitely related to that node space; it showed me the scenery of another world..." Cheng Yun spoke in detail, bit by bit, then looked expectantly at the Old Mage.

The Old Mage refuted each point: "Firstly, after you wake up, you can't guarantee whether you were conscious in your dream. In other words, everything you felt in the dream could be an illusion created by the dream! Including your feeling of being very clear, knowing you were dreaming, and so on."

"Secondly..."

"The last point also has a flaw. If you simply felt the dream scenes were incredibly real and beautiful and now can't recall them clearly, it's possible that you only felt they were real and beautiful in the dream, and the dream gave you a false perception. The reality might be different," the Old Mage said. "It's very easy for a person to deceive their own perception."

"No!" Cheng Yun frowned. "I clearly remember some of the scenes. Those could never have been created by my own dreams! Because they were too peculiar, too beautiful, completely beyond my imagination!"

The Old Mage smiled dismissively. Ordinary people actually have difficulty understanding themselves because they cannot concretize their concepts; everything stems from perception.

And ordinary people's perceptual abilities, strength of consciousness, and ability to discern truth from falsehood are too fragile.

But he didn't argue.

Cheng Yun pondered for a moment, then continued, "I remember at least two scenes. One was an endless mountain forest. Because it was so precipitous and magnificent, I was incredibly awestruck while looking at it, like sharp spikes standing tall on the earth, ferocious and majestic! But in reality, each mountain was tens of thousands of feet high, and each had its own unique characteristics. Every detail, from the ecological environment to the surrounding humanistic environment, was incredibly clear! I think if these were all imagined scenery, my brain would have fried."

The Old Mage's expression changed, and his face suddenly became solemn. "And the other one?"

"The other was a salt lake, a mirror of the sky," Cheng Yun said, pausing. "Because... before my parents died, they said we would travel to the West Sea together this summer. I really wanted to see the Chaka Salt Lake, but in the end... we couldn't go. So, I have a deep impression of that lake. I remember from a high-altitude view, the lake was shaped like a duck. A majestic and grand castle was built at the duck's throat, with a few houses at the tail, and the rest were salt mines..."

The Old Mage pursed his lips in silence, thinking rapidly. After a long while, he directly concluded, "You indeed saw the scenery of another world, clearly caused by the node space. However, I didn't expect my own circumstances to be involved."

"Your circumstances?" Cheng Yun was surprised.

"The Ten Thousand Mountains Forbidden Zone was once the settlement of the Gaos of Yingda Prefecture. The ancients called them demons and were in constant conflict with mortals. I myself am from the shores of Yan Lake, which is indeed beautiful; we called it the Realm of the Gods," the Old Mage said calmly, then looked up at Cheng Yun. "You saw the scenery of my world, and if I'm not mistaken, you saw it through my perspective."

"Did your family have such a large castle?" Cheng Yun was incredibly surprised. He still clearly remembered the scene of the Old Mage mending his clothes in the twilight!

"...I don't know what to say to you. Isn't this something you should be focusing on now?" the Old Mage said with some helplessness. "As far as I recall, that castle was the military outpost of the Wolves of the North family of the Jia Nuo Kingdom on the shores of Yan Lake a thousand years ago. My family was one of the households at the tail. I come from a salt worker's family."

"Oh," Cheng Yun nodded. "You said those landscapes were from your perspective?"

"Yes!"

"How did you reach that conclusion?" Cheng Yun found it too absurd, even more absurd than the node space forcibly showing him a slideshow.

"First, after you woke up, you couldn't guarantee if you were conscious in your dream. That is to say, everything you felt in the dream could be an illusion created by the dream! Including your feeling of being very clear, knowing you were dreaming, and so on. Second... The last point also has a flaw. If you simply felt the dream scenes were incredibly real and beautiful and now can't recall them clearly, it's possible that you only felt they were real and beautiful in the dream, and the dream gave you a false perception. The reality might be different," the Old Mage said. "It's very easy for a person to deceive their own perception. Third, that castle disappeared completely along with the fall of the Jia Nuo Kingdom a thousand years ago; second, Yan Lake was turned into a tourist attraction after the Iron Horse Kingdom expanded, and it no longer produced salt; third, many towns were built around Yan Lake later, and before I left, Yan Lake had been designated as a spaceport. Therefore, it's impossible for you to see a castle, a few houses, and salt mines. The scene you saw was at least a thousand years old."

Cheng Yun was stunned.

Then, the Old Mage chuckled calmly, "A thousand years ago, the Jia Nuo Kingdom designated Yan Lake as a military exclusion zone. Anyone flying overhead would be considered a provocation and would be met with aerial attacks from the Wolves of the North."

Cheng Yun stammered, "You... you've lived for over a thousand years!"

"..."

"Then... how did you fly up there?"

The Old Mage gave a knowing smile and shook his head, not answering. Instead, he said, "Dealing with this is more complicated than I imagined. The complexity of the temporal node is beyond my comprehension, and I still don't know the reason. But we can start with you. We'll improve your mental strength and resistance to handle this situation."

He then took out a card the size of an ID card. "This is what I told you I'd give you last night. It's quite old, but I haven't used it much, and its functions are still well-preserved. It's an item mages use to aid meditation, allowing one to quickly calm their mind and clear distractions. It can also help ordinary people sleep better. However, this seems insufficient to handle your current situation."

Cheng Yun dazedly took the card. It was very thin, thinner than an ID card or a bank card, about the size of a playing card, but very hard and entirely brass-colored.

"The magic array I set up in the hotel last night clearly didn't work on you either," the Old Mage shook his head. "Next, I will teach you a meditation technique. It can increase your mental strength, make your brain more powerful and resilient, and allow you to quickly recover a better mental state during meditation. It can also increase your resistance to external invading forces. And this card will help you enter a meditative state more effectively."

"No problem!" Cheng Yun nodded with solemn seriousness, then looked directly at the Old Mage. "Thank you so much!"

He felt this meditation technique was definitely not simple!

Perhaps it held the secret to becoming a god! It might even be the inheritance of some great emperor from ancient times!

Thus, he began the process of learning the meditation technique.

This was also his first contact with magical civilization, not counting the Old Mage's spellcasting earlier.

The meditation technique was unexpectedly simple, but Cheng Yun felt it perfectly embodied the truth that the greatest truths are the simplest. He didn't underestimate it because of its simplicity; instead, he studied it with exceptional seriousness. His learning speed even surpassed the Old Mage's expectations.

Just as he was attempting the first step of the meditation technique for the first time and was close to succeeding, he suddenly heard a knock on the door from across the hall.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Then came Cheng Yan's clear, cold voice: "Cheng Yun, get up! Don't tell me you're still in bed!"

"Uh." Cheng Yun was embarrassed. "Are normal single rooms this poorly soundproofed...?"

He glanced at the Old Mage, who was also looking at him.

Should he go out?

At that moment, he heard Cheng Yan's voice again: "Cheng Yun, open the door! Are you pretending not to hear me? It's already ten o'clock. If you don't open it, I'm coming in myself!!"

It was actually quite quiet, barely disturbing anyone, but the hotel was extremely quiet in the morning.

"..." Cheng Yun was helpless.

When he opened the door and left the Old Mage's room, he saw Cheng Yan holding a universal card, ready to swipe it to open his room door. She was also carrying a bag of steamed buns and a tube of soy milk.

Instantly, Cheng Yan froze.

The two stared at each other.

One was wearing sports shorts and a white t-shirt, with sweat clinging his hair to his forehead and his cheeks slightly flushed, clearly just back from a morning run.

The other was wearing baggy shorts, bare-chested, flip-flops, his hair a mess, with dark circles deeper than yesterday, looking even more dejected and exhausted than before he'd rested last night, clearly... having just had his essence drained by the female ghost from the Lanruo Temple.

Cheng Yan subconsciously took a step back, looked at the room number above their heads, then at the one next to it.

It was correct!

They looked at each other in silence.

After a long moment, Cheng Yun broke the silence, sheepishly saying, "Just... just got back from a run?"

Cheng Yan stared at him blankly, not answering at all. When she came to her senses, her first action was to stand on her tiptoes, tilt her head, and look directly past Cheng Yun into the room—

An old man with white hair!

Her expression shifted from blankness to astonishment. She stared fixedly at Cheng Yun, and after a long while, she shoved the buns and soy milk into his hands, saying, "Breakfast I brought for you..."

Before Cheng Yun could explain, she turned and left!

After walking two steps, she turned back. "Oh, right. The buns and soy milk are seven-fifty. Plus what I ate... that's thirty-eight fifty in total. Send it via WeChat!"

With that, she quickened her pace.

Cheng Yun opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. Her figure had already disappeared at the end of the corridor.