Ch52 – Bridge
Mayan Cenote (so pretty!!!)
Translated by: DMlations/Zryuu
Edited by: Amelea, FistFullOfDollars and Juurensha
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Evidently, Chen Yekai hadn’t been aware of this, so it came as a sudden shock to him. Zhou Sheng asked, “What else did you talk about in the flower cafe that afternoon?”
Chen Yekai, “That……”
Zhou Sheng, “Has Liang Jinmin been a victim of long-term domestic violence? And she wanted a divorce? So she wanted to collect some evidence, and approached you to expose that sc.u.m?”
Yu Hao, “……”
Zhou Sheng, “A few days after Lin Xun heard your conversation through his monitoring, he continued to beat Liang Jinmin, and on the night of the 30th, he was prepared to kill her so that she wouldn’t be able to reveal anything. That was why he planned a car accident……”
Chen Yekai, “That’s what Huang Ting and I suspected! But we have no evidence!”
Zhou Sheng, “How could Liang Jinmin not use a seat belt?”
“Yeah!” Yu Hao said, “I’ve been in that car, if you don’t fasten your seat belt the alarm will go off!” (…..why did this sound so cute to me l.m.f.a.o)
Zhou Sheng began speaking at the pace of a machine gun, “He most likely struck Liang Jinmin unconscious at home, or drugged her before moving her into the car. After he inserted the seat belt buckle, he got on the expressway, then with one “bang”, the deed was done. Have you seen the CCTV?”
“There’s no surveillance!” Chen Yekai practically shouted, “The building he lives in is located in a new residential area that the college just built; the garages there are all separate!”
“That’s it then.” Zhou Sheng said, “I’m no longer curious about what the two of you talked about. In short, he was afraid that his past actions would get exposed, so he wanted to kill Liang Jinmin in an attempt to silence her. Which means that Liang Jinmin must know quite a lot!”
A deathly still and horrifying silence engulfed the room.
Yu Hao said, “Chen Laoshi, has Lin Xun performed any psychological intervention on you?”
Chen Yekai, “……”
Zhou Sheng swore, then said to Chen Yekai, “It should’ve been quite often ba. During the days you accompanied your Shimu, the two of you didn’t even meet once?”
Chen Yekai said, “I asked him. Afterwards, there was only one time when we actually met and held a conversation, it didn’t even last half an hour. It was the first day of the New Year, that night when the two of you came and left.”
Yu Hao felt so shocked that he couldn’t possibly be stunned any further. That day, they played games with Chen Yekai for a long time in the hospital. Yu Hao had even packed dinner for Chen Yekai after that and saw him kneeling in front of Liang Jinmin’s bed as he wept.
Zhou Sheng murmured, “No ba. Kaikai, I remember you saying that you wanted to introduce us to Lin Laoshi that day?”
Chen Yekai said, “At that time, the two of you were just students, and his psychological manipulation of Ryuusei was just Liang Laoshi’s conjecture, so that was the only thing I could say. Otherwise, how else was I supposed to phrase it? As a matter of fact, after Liang Laoshi and I met up in the cafe, Lin Xun behaved as usual, so I started to doubt whether it was Shimu whose emotions weren’t very stable…… After the two of you left, that night in the ward, I couldn’t help but completely lay everything out on the table to question him. But that day, I still didn’t know that he caused the car accident……no, that still remains unconfirmed.”
“That’s not important.” As soon as Zhou Sheng said that, he apologised, “Sorry, Kaikai, what I meant was, that matter is not our top priority. Right now, what we need to make sure of is whether or not you’re afraid of him, and how we should deal with him if he appears in your dream.”
“Lin Xun?” Chen Yekai laughed bitterly, “I want to kill him, so do you think I’m afraid of him?”
Yu Hao also considered this question. He asked, “What did he say to you that day when you guys were in the hospital?”
Chen Yekai said wearily, “I can’t really remember the details clearly. He has always been very arrogant, as if there is nothing in this world that can affect him. His belief in himself is too strong.”
Zhou Sheng muttered, “I’m beginning to regret telling you so much.”
Yu Hao, “Then……how do we defeat Lin Xun?”
Zhou Sheng, “Shoot him, or just go up to him and beat him up. You can do whatever you want.”
Chen Yekai said, “Now I really just want to kill him, I’m not afraid of him anymore. But you have to understand that ever since I graduated from my undergraduate studies, I’ve always been following Lin Xun. In fact, even now, I still feel very conflicted about all this……”
Zhou Sheng, “Oh my G.o.d, I reeaaally regret our conversation today.”
Of course, Yu Hao understood what Zhou Sheng meant. This conversation provided yet even more reinforcement for Lin Xun in Chen Yekai’s mind that would make the Lin Xun in his dreams even more difficult to fight.
Chen Yekai, “He used to be my most respected……”
“Stop! Stop!” Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao’s expressions changed at the same time.
Yu Hao, “Stop giving yourself any more suggestions!!”
Yu Hao thought, perhaps on that night, Chen Yekai had already summoned up enough courage to set fire to all his bridges, so he no longer feared him anymore.
“It’ll be alright.” Yu Hao said to Zhou Sheng, “I think the most difficult hurdle is still Ryuusei. The gatekeeper won’t be more difficult to deal with than Ryuusei.”
Chen Yekai fell silent again.
After Zhou Sheng scooped out the water in his ears, he said to Chen Yekai, “Now we have to work together to seize back the totem in the depths of your heart.”
“Totem?” Chen Yekai asked.
“Your source of strength in your mental world.” Zhou Sheng said, “The beliefs you’ve built up for yourself and firmly held fast to ever since childhood. What do you think that will be?”
“I……I don’t know.” Chen Yekai muttered, “If there really is such a thing, then I think, it could be the ideal future I once wished for ba.”
“Concrete representation.” Zhou Sheng explained, “Understand it in concrete terms. Everything that appears in your dream has a physical form.”
Chen Yekai became engrossed in his thoughts, and in the end, Zhou Sheng added, “Don’t be anxious, you can look for it while you think. It’s fine as long as we’re clear on how to deal with the enemy. Let’s try our best to deal with the gatekeeper Lin Xun together ba. As for Ryuusei……”
Yu Hao said, “I could already be in front of his totem.”
“Then, wait for the answer to reveal itself.” Zhou Sheng said, “You’re responsible for finding the totem, and you have to remember what we discussed before.”
Yu Hao recalled that letter, then nodded.
Chen Yekai understood, “Okay.”
“We’ll talk about the rest after you wake up.” Zhou Sheng laid on the bed, and Yu Hao instantly tensed up. He turned his head to look sidelong at Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng, “???”
Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng were sleeping in a single bed together, and Zhou Sheng was only wearing a white bathrobe!
Yu Hao, “……”
Zhou Sheng, “What’s wrong?”
It wasn’t the first time Yu Hao had slept with Zhou Sheng in the same bed. When he went to Zhou Sheng’s house during the New Year, the two of them had slept together. But Zhou Sheng had always slept bare chested while wearing a pair of sports shorts, and had never slept like this before.
“Nothing.” Yu Hao took a deep breath and tried to lay flat so that he wouldn’t have any strange reactions.
“Sleep ba.” Zhou Sheng said, “If you have anything to say, we’ll talk in the dream. Yu Hao, take care of yourself, we’ll be there soon.”
“Okay.” Yu Hao was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. But the more tired he was, the more aroused his subconscious s.e.xual urges were. He only wanted to turn around and hug Zhou Sheng, and that was the natural reaction of his parasympathetic nerves after his sympathetic nerves were suppressed. He could feel his own arm draw closer to Zhou Sheng’s chest, and Zhou Sheng’s skin was very smooth and delicate. Fragrance from the shower gel he used wafted from his body, which made Yu Hao’s blood vessels almost rupture for a moment.
The Golden Crow Wheel emitted a scorching light; the place Yu Hao appeared in was the bridge in Zhou Sheng’s dream world that led to the Golden Crow Wheel.
“What’s the matter?” Yu Hao said.
“He hasn’t slept yet.” Zhou Sheng was in much higher spirits now as he explained to Yu Hao, “When he falls asleep later, we’ll get sucked into the Golden Crow Wheel.”
Yu Hao thought, why hasn’t Chen Yekai fallen asleep? Maybe he was too agitated, so perhaps he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for awhile. He tried to flutter his wings open and fly up, “Oh right, aside from us, can other things cross through the Golden Crow Wheel?”
“What?” Zhou Sheng’s mind was enshrouded by fog.
Yu Hao, “The military generals in my dream, and that dragon in yours. Can they leave our respective dreams?”
Zhou Sheng, “Ah? The things from his dream can’t cross over here, but whether or not the things from our dreams can enter his isn’t something I’ve considered before.”
From Zhou Sheng’s reaction, Yu Hao realised that he seemed to have raised a question that Zhou Sheng hadn’t thought of. But this didn’t require a very huge brain in one’s hole, so with Zhou Sheng’s intelligence, why didn’t he think of it before?
Yu Hao spread his wings open and flew above the sea of clouds, searching for the dragon that Zhou Sheng summoned from the clouds that day. Meanwhile, Zhou Sheng remained on the bridge and fell into contemplation. Yu Hao looked left and right; never mind his soldiers, but if the dragon could reach Chichén Itzá, then it could end up playing a very significant role.
“Don’t wander around!” Zhou Sheng snapped out of his trance and shouted at Yu Hao, so Yu Hao flew back.
“To bring the impressions in our conscious world into other people’s dreams.” Zhou Sheng said, “It’s theoretically feasible.”
“But it depends on the dreamscape owner’s impressions of us.” Yu Hao said.
“Yes.” Zhou Sheng stated, “Just like how I made Shi Ni think that I’m Sun Wukong, and that you’re the Archangel, it’s the same principle. Let’s try using my dream first.”
Zhou Sheng let Yu Hao go to the Golden Crow Wheel and said, “Go back to your dreamscape.”
The light within the Golden Crow Wheel projected an image of Yu Hao’s dream, and a portal appeared. When Yu Hao pa.s.sed through the Golden Crow Wheel, Zhou Sheng said, “Imagine a bridge here that leads to the ground.”
Yu Hao tried to imagine it, while Zhou Sheng waited patiently. A bridge appeared in front of Yu Hao; it extended from the Golden Crow Wheel all the way to the sunlight draped capital, but only a very short section of the bridge appeared.
Yu Hao, “I can’t.”
Afterwards, no matter how he tried to imagine it, he couldn’t extend the bridge’s length any longer, so a very short bridge, suspended in mid air, had appeared within the dream’s sun.
“Imagine it.” Zhou Sheng said, “Connect it with reality. What does a bridge symbolise? Stairs are okay too.”
Yu Hao suddenly remembered the bridges and stairs that led to higher ground in the books he read — they symbolised desires that haven’t been satisfied as well as a constant approach towards them, so he glanced at Zhou Sheng. That pa.s.sage came from his supplementary reading materials for the next semester; Zhou Sheng hasn’t read it yet.
Zhou Sheng, “Jiayou.”
Yu Hao remembered that in reality, right now, he was lying on the bed underneath the same blanket with Zhou Sheng, who was only wearing a bathrobe.
I’m not someone with very strong desires……but oh well. Yu Hao took a deep breath, and his face flushed slightly red. This could actually be effective. And sure enough, his fantasy had just begun — by imagining the moment when he turned around to hug Zhou Sheng, then took it a step further by imagining Zhou Sheng’s body under his armour — before the bridge began to extend again towards the ground. (I’M. DEAD.)
“It’s successful!” Zhou Sheng said, “Nice!”
Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao suddenly understood the implications of this. This bridge connected his mental world to Zhou Sheng’s, and was also a metaphor for the progression of their relationship in reality. Perhaps it could be understood as Yu Hao’s desire to take his relationship with Zhou Sheng further.
But this bridge constructed with stairs that led to the sun was just like how Yu Hao understood it — it was very unstable, and there was no support underneath, as if it would collapse at any moment.
“Make it a bit more stable.” Zhou Sheng said, “Add some materials.”
“I can’t, I’ve tried my best.” Yu Hao said a little angrily. (YH: I can’t, our relationship ISN’T stable)
Zhou Sheng said, “Be confident, anything is possible.”
“I’ve really tried my best!” Yu Hao didn’t know if he should cry or laugh. He didn’t want to explain to Zhou Sheng that this bridge only appeared because it was built based on his own s.e.xual fantasies about him.
Zhou Sheng could only let the matter drop and said, “Then summon them over to try ba, and definitely don’t fantasize about this bridge collapsing.”
“I won’t.” Yu Hao held his forehead with one hand, “I think it’ll just exist like this for awhile, it won’t collapse. Unless something else happens in the real world. The bridge symbolises a certain desire.”
“Oh? What desire of yours is this?” Zhou Sheng snapped out of his daze and looked at Yu Hao suspiciously.
“I don’t want to say it!” Yu Hao said, “Don’t ask anymore!”
Zhou Sheng, “???”
Immediately afterwards, the guards in Yu Hao’s dream began to ascend onto this bridge. When they came to the Golden Crow Wheel, Yu Hao said, “Everyone……I have a favour to ask.”
It was quite strange to talk to your own dreamscape; it was like talking to yourself. Zhou Sheng couldn’t bear to watch any longer, “Why are you being so polite to yourself? Children! Follow me!”
Yu Hao, “……”
Zhou Sheng pulled Yu Hao, then turned around and entered the Golden Crow Wheel.
Zhou Sheng’s s.p.a.ce suspended above the sea of clouds that supported the Golden Crow Wheel underwent a remarkable change — similarly, from a bridge, it began extending into a seemingly endless platform that covered an area of several hectares above the sea of clouds. At the centre of the platform was the Golden Crow Wheel that radiated a golden-coloured flare!
Yu Hao turned to survey his surroundings. Zhou Sheng motioned for him to look: the first soldier entered Zhou Sheng’s dream, followed by the second, the third, and the soldiers continued marching out before a.s.sembling on the floating platform in a square-shaped formation.
“We succeeded!” Yu Hao said in surprise.
Zhou Sheng whistled at the clouds. The clouds that had congregated into the shape of a little hill parted. The pitch-black Western dragon spread out its sharp wings, and with some remnant clouds on its wings, it suddenly rushed out! Yu Hao couldn’t help but quietly retreat half a step back upon seeing it again, but Zhou Sheng placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
The last time Yu Hao flew through the sky, he was caught off guard by its sudden appearance, so he hadn’t felt such a strong sense of oppression. Now, he was standing on the square, and the black dragon circled the square several times. When it dove down, all of the soldiers immediately became nervous along with Yu Hao, and they all nocked their arrows on their bowstring and drew it back before pointing it towards the sky — this scene made it seem like a huge battle was imminent!
Zhou Sheng said, “Don’t be afraid of it! It’s a part of me!”
Yu Hao struggled to calm down. Only when the guards began to slowly retreat did the black dragon slowly land on the square. It attentively gazed sideways at Yu Hao.
“What the h.e.l.l does it symbolise for you?” Yu Hao said, “A memory?”
Yu Hao remembered the spiralling black dragon in his dream; it had symbolised the reservoir in his memory, so for Zhou Sheng……
“It’s my beastly nature.” Zhou Sheng casually said, “It might be the concrete form of my impulsiveness and anger ba. You have a protective halo in my dream so what are you afraid of?”
That black dragon steadily gazed at Yu Hao, which made him a little uncomfortable. He tried to avoid the black dragon’s gaze, but he could persistently feel that regardless of the direction that dangerous behemoth faced, its golden eyes never ceased sizing him up.
“Now we need to think about how to bring them into Kaikai’s dream.” Zhou Sheng was unconcerned about the black dragon. He looked up at the scene displayed on the screen in the Golden Crow Wheel.
Yu Hao turned back to look. A huge sacrificial altar had appeared in the square, and in the middle of the altar was the Golden Crow Wheel. That enormous black dragon crouched on the square grounds, while behind it were nearly 2,000 Chinese ancient guards clad in armour, arranged in a square formation. The scene looked quite grand, and it seemed like they were waiting for a mysterious ceremony to begin.
Yu Hao, “But the pa.s.sage will only open after the sun rises, otherwise we won’t be able to find the sun in Kaikai’s world. That pa.s.sage is temporarily sealed off.”
Zhou Sheng raised his hand; the flare from the Golden Crow Wheel covered his armour and became a magnificent, iridescent golden colour. He frowned and murmured, “That’s true, but that would be useless right? If the sun has already risen, then why would we need reinforcements? We only need them in a dark consciousness……yo, it actually is quite an imposing sight ma.” Zhou Sheng turned around and even he was surprised. There were thousands of troops on the square under the altar, yet they soundlessly awaited their orders.
“Ask the Golden Crow Wheel? Does it have a way?” Yu Hao said.
“I’m asking.” Zhou Sheng raised his hand as he communicated with the Golden Crow Wheel, then answered, “I don’t really understand what the Golden Crow Wheel said. It said that we need to establish a pa.s.sage……”
Before he could finish speaking, a scene of Chichén Itzá suddenly appeared on the Golden Crow Wheel. The two of them were caught off guard and shouted at the same time when they got pulled in.
“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d actually fell asleep now?!”
Everything before Yu Hao’s eyes sunk into darkness, all he could hear in the end was Zhou Sheng’s angry shout.
“Weren’t you the one who asked me to sleep?” Chen Yekai was slightly bewildered.
“Never mind, never mind.” Zhou Sheng held his forehead with a hand and didn’t want to explain it any further, “Let’s hurry and go ba.”
The two of them still appeared on the bridge they were on the last time they left the dreamscape. Zhou Sheng carried a jingubang and led the way with a bored expression as they walked traversed Chichén Itzá’s pa.s.sageways. After they entered the dreamscape, they pa.s.sed a stone gate, crossed a bridge over a cliff and encountered a lot of stone men who rushed towards them with flailing fists. But ultimately, they were all easily demolished with a simple sweep of Zhou Sheng’s jingubang.
“How much farther is it?” Zhou Sheng observed his surroundings, “I think we’ve gone the wrong way.”
Zhou Sheng was still in his human form. He held the jingubang in his hands as he surveyed the terrain around them.
“This isn’t the real Chichén Itzá.” Chen Yekai said, “It’s just the impression I have of Chichén Itzá.”
“I understand.” Zhou Sheng and Chen Yekai were confronted with a bottomless abyss. On the opposite side of the cliff stood a gigantic door, which was densely covered with glowing English words and diagrams. When Zhou Sheng raised his head to inspect it, Chen Yekai said, “That’s my graduation thesis.”
“There’s an abyss in the middle.” Zhou Sheng said, “Does it mean you’ll never be able to graduate?”
Chen Yekai, “I think, this symbolises the regret in my heart ba? I had hoped to graduate smoothly, but I didn’t realise that there was an abyss in front of me. And that if I took one step further, I would fall into it.”
Once Chen Yekai comprehended it, he recovered his composure and began to a.n.a.lyse the meaning behind all the representations in his dream. Although it sounds strange to a.n.a.lyse his own symbols, Zhou Sheng couldn’t help but admire Chen Yekai. In his field of expertise, Chen Yekai was someone who was very knowledgeable.
With a loud bang, a bright light flashed before Yu Hao’s eyes, then all the harsh lights faded. He had returned to the central courtyard in Chichén Itzá once again.
But the Nakagawa Ryuusei who was supposed to appear here had disappeared!
Only Yu Hao remained in the cenote. The restraints on him had disappeared as well, and he was still wearing Ryuusei’s white shirt. The silence in his surroundings was so oppressive that it was almost terrifying. The lone golden statue of the Feathered Serpent G.o.d stood in a corner and quietly watched him.
“General?” Yu Hao said as he looked around.
That gun was still on the ground. Yu Hao stooped down and picked it up, then secured it in his back pocket before carefully observing his surroundings.
No one answered. Zhou Sheng should have been transported to the place where they had separated. Yu Hao recalled Zhou Sheng mentioning that from when they last separated, they had left the waterway and entered another s.p.a.cious area.
He approached the well and gazed into its depths. It was pitch-dark inside, something seemed to flash with a multi-coloured, ethereal light at the bottom of the well.
Yu Hao turned around, reaching out with his hand, and tried to grasp something — a long staff appeared in his hand. Chen Yekai’s impression had worked! He tried to spread his wings open again and his wings appeared as well, luminescent with a silver l.u.s.tre.
He could now fly, but across the top of the cenote was a sewer-like metal grate, with water seeping in from outside. He tried to fly, but he couldn’t break through that grate and escape.
—