Chapter 674: Entering a Dream?
"What do you mean?" Chen Junnan keenly sensed that Xiao Cheng's words carried hidden meaning. "What's the big deal about where he slept?"
"Ah, no..." Xiao Cheng glanced anxiously at Qi Xia, then shook his head. "It's nothing."
"You know something...?" Tian Tian asked suspiciously.
"I..." Xiao Cheng seemed to hesitate, as if he had a head full of questions himself that needed answering.
"To be honest... I think I've seen Brother Qi in this state before, but I can't be completely sure." Xiao Cheng said seriously. "To tell you the truth, I once drove someone... to this state before."
"'Drove'... what do you mean?" Chen Junnan didn't quite understand. "Damn, kid, were you dealing drugs or something?"
"No, no, no..." Xiao Cheng quickly shook his head. "Brother Chen, that's way too scary. It's got nothing to do with that. But it does have something to do with my 'Echo'..."
"I haven't asked yet," Chen Junnan said. "That bell sound from outside earlier—was that your 'Echo'?"
"Yes, my ability is called 'Dream Entry.' It's actually pretty useless..." Xiao Cheng shook his head ruefully. "Most of the time, I can influence someone's dream in advance, letting them dream about what they want to dream about..."
"'Most of the time'?" Chen Junnan furrowed his brow. "What about the rest of the time?"
"I..." Xiao Cheng looked like he was having trouble saying it. His eyes darted around for a moment before he spoke. "There was once this old man in my room who kept targeting me. I had a feeling he wanted to kill me, so while he was sleeping one night... I 'invaded' his dream."
"Invaded...?"
The word felt fresh to everyone. A person's 'dream' could actually be 'invaded'?
"Damn..." Chen Junnan cursed in disbelief. "You're a baku or something?"
Tian Tian nodded from the side. "That sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie..."
"It's not at all what you're thinking..." Xiao Cheng shook his head. "I don't know if it's a limitation of my ability or if it's just how the ability is designed... Even if I 'invade' someone else's dream, I can barely affect the dream at all."
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone has a 'psychological defense,'" Xiao Cheng said. "And to any dream world, I'm an outsider. Everything in the dream rejects my presence. My ability to influence the dream is extremely limited—I can't even pull up a single blade of grass from the ground."
"That's actually pretty interesting..." Chen Junnan scratched his head. "So what's the point of your 'invasion'?"
"That day... I exhausted all my strength in that old man's dream. I ground my hands bloody before I finally managed to crack one blade of grass on the ground..."
When Xiao Cheng said this, his expression was visibly uncomfortable, as if he was hiding something.
"You went into that guy's dream to weed?" Chen Junnan asked.
"It's not that simple..." Xiao Cheng said. "After he woke up, he showed a state similar to Brother Qi's. He didn't lose consciousness, but he was in a daze the whole time, and eventually died in a game. It was like some kind of 'rejection reaction' happened inside his body."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing Xiao Cheng's words.
After a long pause, Tian Tian spoke up. "So you did this to Qi Xia..."
"No, no, no..." Xiao Cheng hurriedly waved his hands. "Elder brothers and sisters, don't misunderstand. I never knew Brother Qi before. I'm just saying his current state looks similar to what I caused before—but I'm not saying I caused this!"
"It can't be him." Qiao Jiajin nodded too. "If this guy really did that to the liar, why would he tell us?"
"Yeah."
"So then...?" Chen Junnan frowned. "Kid, can you be sure that Old Qi's current state is because his 'dream' was invaded?"
"I can't say for sure." Xiao Cheng answered seriously. "I'm just saying it feels similar, but I can't be certain. After all, I'm the one with 'Dream Entry.' No one else should be able to cause this state..."
Everyone looked at each other. After a moment of thought, Chen Junnan spoke up again.
"Xiao Chen, how about you take a look?"
"I... My surname is Cheng..." Xiao Cheng said awkwardly.
"Oh, I thought we were from the same clan." Chen Junnan patted Xiao Cheng on the shoulder. "Xiao Cheng, since you've got this skill, you should take a peek while Old Qi is dreaming. If any grass was pulled up, you can plant it back."
"This..." Xiao Cheng looked troubled.
But Qiao Jiajin thought the idea was ill-advised.
"Jun Nan Zai..." He pulled Chen Junnan aside and lowered his voice. "Honestly, we don't really know this guy. And he said himself that 'invading' a dream could damage the other person's mind. Should we really let him into the liar's dream?"
"What's there to fear?" Chen Junnan smirked at Xiao Cheng. "Aren't we two sitting right here? It's not like he can just kill Old Qi outright."
There was a hint of a joke in Chen Junnan's words, but also a threat.
"Everyone... you might think I'm being selfish," Xiao Cheng said quietly. "But I'm really exhausted today. I really can't enter Brother Qi's dream... Maybe we could try another method...?"
By now, Zheng Yingxiong, who had stopped his nosebleed, pulled the cloth out of his nostrils. His pale face twitched slightly as he spoke. "But brother, you're afraid."
Xiao Cheng froze, then turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong.
"Brother, I can smell the 'fear' on you," Zheng Yingxiong said.
Hearing that, everyone turned to look at Xiao Cheng again. He still seemed suspicious. If what he said was true, why would he be afraid?
"I..." Xiao Cheng sighed softly. "Alright, I suppose there's no point hiding it anymore. Ever since I found out I had the ability to damage others' minds, I've tried to 'kill' a few times. But my 'Dream Entry' has a huge drawback..."
"What drawback?" Chen Junnan asked.
"If I encounter something unexpected in the dream, I'll die in reality," Xiao Cheng replied. "If the dream Brother Qi is having right now is a nightmare, I might be implicated directly. That's why I rarely use this ability anymore."
Seeing that everyone didn't quite understand, Xiao Cheng explained further. "His psychological defense is like the 'white blood cells' in his body. They'll devour all invading 'viruses.' There's a chance I'd get devoured. And if I get devoured, I'd lose my life force in the real world instantly."
Only then did everyone understand the pure nature of Xiao Cheng's 'fear'—he was afraid of death.
If he chose to enter Qi Xia's dream, there was a chance he'd be killed by that dream.
"I see..." Chen Junnan lowered his head in thought for a moment, then spoke slowly. "Alright, forget it then. I suspect Old Qi's psychological defense is incredibly strong. Even if all five of us go in together, we might not make it out. This wasn't caused by you anyway. No need to put yourself at risk."
Tian Tian and Qiao Jiajin sighed too. Naturally, they knew Qi Xia's ability. As far as they'd seen, Qi Xia had been walking through the 'Land of the End' for this long without ever truly losing to any 'Zodiac.' His psychological defense was far beyond normal. If Xiao Cheng went in with his mental level, it would be suicide.
While they were hesitating, the Earth Monkey not far away seemed to notice something. He slowly stood up and walked over to the group.