Unaware in Dreams That One Is a Stranger (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader You Meng Zhi Yu 1)

Even the next morning, as he sat on the bus back to Citong City, Xiang Kun was still thinking about the feedback he received the night before when he sensed the wooden carving.

At that moment, Xiang Kun not only felt a fear that was clearly not from himself, but also saw some unclear images.

In those images, he was lying on a hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, with various medical equipment around him. It clearly looked like a hospital room, and a very expensive one at that.

There was a guy in a white coat in the ward, but he looked...

Standing over two meters tall, with eight arms and eight eyes, wasn't this the monster Xiang Kun had imagined under Guo Tianxiang's ability to "Self-Fear Projection"?

Moreover, this is the original monster image that Xiang Kun himself "saw with his own eyes," covered in disgusting lumps and bulges, with even more explosive and ferocious muscles, unlike the wooden carving that had been "artistically" retouched.

Among those blurry images, the monster's appearance was the clearest.

Xiang Kun was a little confused at the time. Why did he have to see his fantasy monster in this way?

Then he realized that this wasn't what he "saw," but what he saw from the perspective of the person lying in the hospital bed.

Even the fear he felt, that dread and slight panic, didn't seem to stem from the eight-armed monster in the white coat, but rather from the patient's anxiety about his own condition.

Then Xiang Kun immediately understood that this was an old man who was worried about his health.

The camera panned to reveal the automatically opened hospital room door, where several people were pacing back and forth, appearing anxious.

The faces of those people were not very clear, but judging from their figures and clothing, one of them seemed to be Tang Baona?

Xiang Kun didn't get to see these images for long before they disappeared completely. Then, his connection with the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving returned to simply being able to sense its presence, without any other feedback.

Xiang Kun spent the entire night pondering what those things he felt and saw really were. They certainly weren't real, because many details in the ward looked hazy and blurry, and even the parts that were clearly visible revealed something strange and distorted.

This must be a scene imagined by someone.

Why can I see these things by sensing the wood carving?

Thinking of the figure outside the ward that resembled Tang Baona, Xiang Kun had a rough guess. So, on his way back to Citong City the next day, assuming Tang Baona was already up and on her way to work, he sent her a WeChat: "By the way, that buyer of the wood carving you mentioned before, could it be your grandfather?"

A moment later, Tang Baona sent a blank emoji. "How did you know? Did I say that?"

Xiang Kun thought to himself, "As expected," and then replied, "Didn't you say in the group chat that your grandfather wanted to see me? I figured he wouldn't suddenly want to see me without a reason, so I'm guessing you probably forced that wood carving on him. He wants to see who's trying to fool his granddaughter..."

Tang Baona sent a surprised and trembling Minion emoji. "Wow, Detective Xiang! But my grandpa really likes your wood carvings! He said your knife skills are excellent. These days, there aren't many young people willing to put in the time and effort to hone these crafts, so he wanted to see you, probably to chat with you about wood carving or something."

Judging from what Tang Baona said, Xiang Kun felt that her grandfather did not seem to be in poor health and needed to be hospitalized for a long time. Moreover, judging from her tone, it did not seem like he had been suddenly hospitalized last night.

Were those scenes she saw last night just her grandfather's imagination? Or were they not her grandfather? No, if the figure outside the ward was Tang Baona, then it was most likely her grandfather.

Could it be... a dream?

That eight-armed, eight-eyed monster was the form Xiang Kun feared he would become.

Could the scene he saw last night, which he sensed from the wooden carving, be Tang Baona's grandfather's fear of becoming what he was supposed to look like?

Yes, what are the elderly most afraid of? Isn't it illness and death? The hospital ward is their place of fear.

To confirm some of his guesses, Xiang Kun replied on WeChat: "Sure, I'd also like to hear your grandfather's evaluation and guidance. The old man definitely has more insights into carving and calligraphy than we young people do."

Tang Baona immediately replied, "Okay, okay, then let's arrange a time after you get back! By the way, did you see Lao Xia in Citong City?"

"Not yet. She WeChat me asking me to treat her to dinner, but I haven't replied yet. I'm thinking, what if I sneak over and then sneak away, and she gets angry if I don't see her?" Xiang Kun sent a laughing emoji, though of course he wouldn't actually do that.

"Lao Xia looks angry? To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to it... Why don't you give it a try?" Tang Baona replied.

They chatted idly on WeChat until almost 11 o'clock, Xiang Kun took a bus back to Citong City.

Instead of going home immediately, he went to the supermarket and bought some meat, vegetables, and seasonings.

He plans to go home and cook for his parents at noon today. Although the hastily prepared dinner the night before last didn't turn out very well, it at least gave him some insight into his parents' tastes.

He had already planned the menu on the way here—in fact, he had made the plan the night before last after dinner.

After paying the bill, Xiang Kun was carrying several bags and about to head straight home when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

I initially thought it might be my mom calling, but when I picked it up, it was an unfamiliar phone number.

Xiang Kun frowned slightly. His first thought was that it was an advertisement or a scam, but after thinking for a moment, he answered the call anyway.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Xiang. Xiang?"

Hearing the voice with Copperstone accent, Xiang Kun immediately knew who it was. "Yes, I'm Xiang Kun. Are you Director Liu?"

"Haha, it's me, Liu Caifu! I came to town today, but I didn't expect Mr. Xiang to leave so soon!"

"Oh, I was only planning to stay for two or three days after coming back. Did Director Liu need something?" Xiang Kun thought Liu Caifu sounded rather enthusiastic.

"It's like this, after you left yesterday, I thought about it all night. There are still many problems with the plan you mentioned..."

"It's good that there's a problem," Xiang Kun immediately said. "Yes, I was a bit careless before and made some boastful remarks, haha. I'm sorry Director Liu had to laugh at me. Actually, I did think about it after I came back, and that farm really isn't..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Director Liu interjected, "Mr. Xiang, after thinking about it all night, I have a suggestion, albeit a tentative one. What do you think?"

Thanks to the new leader "I have heard that a sage's heart has seven orifices", and thanks to readers Xu Jing Zhenren, Cui Yiba, Shan Heng Moyu Yunwen Shuanglipei, 20190911191115349, Lianyun, Zidan Feilong, Yun Shen Buzhichu Xun, 160915235305291, I have heard that a sage's heart has seven orifices, and Di Dao Wujiang for their donations.