Cen Jian has never dreamed for more than 30 years and envied others' dreams. His friend Du Kang took him to Guan Hua Po for help. Through a mysterious ritual, Cen Jian began to dream frequently, but found that he dreamed of a brother with a baby face, who he strangled to death when he was a child. Cen Jian's dreams were full of horror and regret, and he realized the price he paid.
Cen Jian has lived for more than 30 years and has never had the dream of seeing other people die .
Whenever he listened to people around him talking about their dreams, whether they were good dreams or nightmares, Cen Jian only had one feeling.
Feeling of envy.
Since childhood, Cen Jian has seen countless doctors, including Chinese medicine, Western medicine, Miao medicine, Tibetan medicine, and even quack doctors.
The situation has not changed and Cen Jian still hasn't had any dreams.
No one around Cen Jian knew about his problem, except his best friend Du Kang.
That day, Du Kang found Cen Jian and told him mysteriously that he had found someone who could cure Cen Jian's disease, but he didn't know if Cen Jian dared to cure it.
"Stop talking nonsense. What is there that you are afraid to treat? I have seen all kinds of big scenes. As long as it can make me dream, I will accept anything as hell!" Cen Jian urged anxiously.
"As long as you are not afraid of ghosts, this matter will be easy." Du Kang said.
It turned out that Du Kang heard from people that there was a flower-watching lady in the suburbs who had the ability to communicate with ghosts and gods.
Many people who wanted to meet their deceased relatives had their wishes fulfilled in their dreams after visiting her.
If Cen Jian also went to her and said he wanted to see a deceased relative, wouldn't he be able to dream after she performed the ritual?
Cen Jian didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but he really wanted to dream.
With the attitude of trying everything possible, Cen Jian agreed to give it a try.
Du Kang took Cen Jian to find Guanhua Po's home.
The flower lady took Cen Jian to a dark little room and asked him which ancestor he wanted to see.
Of course, when Cen Jian and Du Kang came, they did not tell Guanhua Po their real purpose, for they were afraid that Guanhua Po would not be willing to help them with the ritual.
Cen Jian thought for a long time. His parents were still alive and his wife was still being raised by her mother-in-law. There was really no ancestor he particularly wanted to see.
"I want to see my brother." Cen Jian suddenly remembered that his mother once mentioned that she had a brother who died young.
In the darkness, Cen Jian had no idea what the flower-watching lady did.
When the flower-watching lady brought Cen Jian to the main room, she taught him a hand gesture.
She told Cen Jian: "Before you go to sleep, make this gesture with your hands in front of your chest. Silently recite three times, 'The netherworld, the blue sky, the nine heavens and ten earths, all ghosts and demons, all gods and demons, open the door to convenience'. When you fall asleep, you will dream of the person you want to see."
It was late at night. Cen Jian was lying on the bed. He made the gestures and recited the incantation according to the instructions of the flower-viewing lady.
Cen Jian suddenly remembered that there was something very important that he forgot to ask the flower lady.
That is, what to do if you can’t fall asleep after making the gestures and reciting the mantra.
Cen Jian can't sleep now.
He was feeling frustrated when the cell phone on the bedside table rang.
Cen Jian looked at the number and saw it was Du Kang calling.
"The only way to relieve your worries is to drink Du Kang. You must be unable to sleep again, come out and have a night beer, I'll wait for you downstairs." Du Kang hung up the phone after saying that.
Cen Jian and Du Kang came to the food stall they often visited.
Probably because of the hot weather, it was hard to sleep, so many people were drinking outside to cool off. There were no empty tables in the food stalls.
The boss came over and pointed to a table in the corner where only one person was sitting and said, "Sorry, there are too many people. How about you two go to that table and share it?"
As soon as we sat down, Du Kang said he was going to buy a pack of cigarettes, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The guest who had been sitting at this table had kept his head down. Cen Jian wanted to say something polite, but when he saw that he didn't look up, he gave up the idea.
Cen Jian felt a little regretful and thought that he should find another food stall with empty tables.
The cold beer and cold dishes were soon served. Cen Jian poured a full glass and drank it down.
The ice-cold beer cooled his throat all the way down to his stomach, and Cen Jian felt extremely refreshed.
As he drank, Cen Jian felt something was not right.
He felt the air around him getting cooler.
No, it’s not cool, it should be cold!
He couldn't help but shiver twice.
Now is the hottest time of the year, July or August.
Cen Jian looked at the diners around him and couldn't see anything unusual about anyone else.
Cen Jian turned his head, and the guest who was sitting at this table suddenly raised his head.
Cen Jian was stunned.
He actually saw a baby's face.
An adult's body with a baby's face. It was a very strange scene that needed no further description.
What was even more bizarre was that the baby face actually spoke.
"Don't you want to see me, brother? I'm here, why don't you say anything?"
Cen Jian was so frightened that he just stared at the other person blankly.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk. Even if you don't tell me, I know why you want to see me. I took your dream away. It's too boring down there. Your dream is my most luxurious pastime." The baby-faced man continued.
"Since you want to dream so much, I will give it back to you. However, you pinched my thigh when we were kids, and I want to pinch you back."
After saying that, Babyface ducked under the table…
Cen Jian felt a sharp pain in his thigh and sat up in bed.
When Cen Jian saw the purple pinch marks on his thigh, he remembered the dream he had just had.
Cen Jian was able to dream now, even during his naps, as if he wanted to make up for the dreams he had not had enough of before.
However, Cen Jian never dreamed of his brother with a baby face again.
Cen Jian asked his mother and found out that his brother had the same surname as her, and his name was Zhang Li.
When they were young, the two brothers stayed in the same cradle. Cen Jian once pinched his elder brother’s thigh so hard that it remained bruised for several days.
Not long after, my brother died.
Cen Jian sometimes feels regretful.
Maybe I shouldn't ask my brother to give me my dream back. My brother must be even more bored down there now.
Story evaluation
This story explores the relationship between dreams and reality from a unique perspective. Through Cen Jian's dream experience, it reveals the complexity of human nature and the helplessness of fate. The author cleverly combines ghost legends with modern urban life to show the various difficulties and hopes of real life. In order to realize his dream, Cen Jian seeks help at all costs. This persistence in life is touching. At the same time, the description of dreams in the story is full of mystery and fantasy, which is intoxicating. However, when Cen Jian realized his wish, he found that the dream was not as beautiful as he imagined, but brought a series of troubles. This reversal is thought-provoking and reveals the subtle relationship between reality and dreams. Overall, this story is fascinating and profound, and people can't help but have many feelings about life and destiny during the reading process.