"Coaxing a child? If that were the case, have you ever thought about why, after being captured by you, I can still be here?"
As he spoke these words, the Nightmare Sage suddenly opened his eyes. They were a pair of eyes filled with confusion, devoid of pupils, and utterly murky.
At that moment, I was filled with dread and dared not approach, only able to stare at him in horror.
"You deliberately brought me here? You want to confuse me? You planted a trigger beneath me before, and now, no matter where you are, you can make me have the same dream? Right?"
"Good! Good! Detective He, you are indeed clever. That's right, but even if you discovered this detail, what can you do to me? Do you have a way to remove this trigger? Huh! Hahaha! I'll tell you, it's rooted deep within your soul. Don't even think about getting rid of me in this lifetime!"
"You..." This was the first time I had been rendered speechless by a helpless criminal.
The Nightmare Sage before me was extremely smug, as if he had me cornered. I clenched my fists, wishing I could punch him hard, even in this dream!
"Come on! If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"
The Nightmare Sage scornfully replied, "Didn't you say this was a dream? What difference can a one-on-one make?"
"No matter what difference it makes, I'm going to beat you!" Ignoring the Nightmare Sage's hesitation, I charged forward, throwing my fastest punch. The Nightmare Sage didn't evade. My punch sent his disgusting face lopsided to the east. Then, I threw another punch, making his face lopsided to the other side. This guy seemed to have very poor stamina. Being hit back and forth like this, he had no power to fight back.
However, just as I was preparing to throw a third punch, a tentacle from his body actually wrapped around my arm. This guy was like a real monster, able to control his tentacles. But this was a nightmare, so anything could happen.
As I was pulled like this, I seemed to lose all control. Then, more tentacles bound me, restraining my entire body. The Nightmare Sage laughed maniacally, "Detective He, you are too naive. In reality, perhaps I can't defeat you, but this is a dream. You are no match for me, because this is my world!"
"Damn it! I won't let you succeed!" I said this, but the Nightmare Sage was right. In dreams, everything was dictated by him.
All I could do now was wake up quickly. I struggled, constantly trying to wake myself up, but the more I did, the deeper I seemed to fall asleep. It was like a person having a nightmare in bed, struggling constantly but unable to wake up, experiencing sleep paralysis.
I didn't know how long I was held captive. Anyway, the Nightmare Sage lifted me up, turned around, and took a few steps, arriving at the hospital on the rooftop. He suspended me outside.
"What are you doing? Trying to throw me off? This is a dream. Even if you do this, it's meaningless!"
"You are wrong, Detective He. If you die in a dream, your soul will cease to exist in reality!"
"Nonsense! Do you really believe in souls?"
"Haha, ignorant mortal, of course, they exist. Doesn't the human body lose 21 grams of weight after death? That's the weight of the soul!"
"You're truly superstitious. Those 21 grams are actually the weight of water or some nutrient. When a person dies, their bodily functions cease. The reserve nutrients stored in the body are immediately released, which is why the weight decreases by 21 grams!"
"Hmph, mortal knowledge is indeed crude. Let me tell you, Detective He, what 21 grams means. One gram is tolerance, one gram is acceptance, one gram is support, one gram is confession..."
I had heard such explanations before, but they were always intentionally expressed by people with ulterior motives. There was no scientific proof. I suddenly thought of something and said to the Nightmare Sage, "Have you read Journey to the West?"
"Yes, why?"
"Sun Wukong was crushed under Five Finger Mountain for 500 years. You might say he didn't die because he cultivated immortal arts and had fruits to eat. In fact, many people don't know that because Sun Wukong was born from a rock, his body was composed of calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide, substances similar to the mountain's composition. Since mountains are mostly made of soil and rocks, how could two things of the same composition dissolve or erode each other? In that place, he not only wouldn't starve, but he would also be supplied with the nutrients he needed by the countless calcium carbonates and silicon dioxides. That's the real reason Sun Wukong never died!"
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is very simple. Many so-called mysterious arts, or rather, mystical phenomena, can actually be explained by science, but human cognition is unclear. I can give you another example: Fiery Eyes of Gold. That's not immortal art at all. For the same reason, Sun Wukong's body is made of calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide. Under the special materials and high temperature of the alchemy furnace, what happens to these substances when heated? Have you seen how a metal factory operates? What happens to these substances after heating?"
The Nightmare Sage looked at me in astonishment, and his mouth involuntarily replied, "They will escape the reaction system in the form of CO2 gas due to the high temperature, and then ultimately produce more chemical reactions, equivalent to producing volatile acids from non-volatile acids..."
"Exactly. Calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide that have been refined become purer. Imagine, if the impurities in your eyes are removed, your ability will certainly be higher than before!"
The Nightmare Sage seemed enlightened at that moment, staring at me with immense surprise. At that moment, I deliberately struggled again, but soon I heard a familiar voice in my ear: "Brother! What are you doing? Get up immediately!"
"Could it be him again?"
"I won't let anything happen to you!"
He Qing's voice kept echoing. I struggled and finally opened my eyes, only to find myself standing on the hospital room window ledge. Behind me, He Qing was desperately holding my legs.
At this moment, I carefully turned around. He Qing helped me down. I calmly told him, "That guy probably won't dare to bother me again!"
"Bastard, it's my fault. I didn't notice such a detail!"
"It's okay. He said he implanted a trigger in me. Wherever he is, as long as he wants me to enter a dream, he can make it happen!"
"That's right. It seems I need to hypnotize you again!"
"Do you have a way to completely remove that trigger?"
"Of course, I will do my best!"
Hypnosis was not convenient to perform in the hospital, but my condition was not severe. I was discharged the next day. Before leaving, I visited Liu Yuning again, said some heartfelt words, and then returned to his psychological hospital with He Qing.