Chapter 50. Sleepwalking.
Jiang Huaisu discovered that she had become increasingly sleepy lately.
As long as she stays still, her eyelids start to droop on their own. If she calculates carefully, she spends nearly half of her day sleeping, but she still feels like she hasn't rested enough.
She began to feel dazed and confused, and several times she nearly stuck her chopsticks up her nose while eating. She suspected that the tonic was too potent for her body to absorb, causing these side effects.
Nezha also noticed her unusual behavior, and after discussing it, they decided to stop the medication for now. He had indeed been a bit too hasty in his efforts to improve Jiang Huaisu's physique. She was still too young; you can't expect to become fat overnight.
However, Jiang Huaisu's excessive sleepiness persisted. Before, Nezha wanted to keep her confined to her room and prevent her from going out, but now the situation had reversed. Nezha wanted to drag her out for a walk, but she was always too lazy to get out of bed.
Only when Nezha shared his fresh experiences in Heaven with her would she become unusually energetic, listening attentively and eating gossip with great interest.
Listening to the gossip of gods and immortals is so interesting. Those figures who used to only exist in temples and Taoist monasteries are now living right next to us. It's a really wonderful feeling.
However, he gained very little inspiration from these experiences, which did not provide much help to his matchmaking career. Most of the time, he still had to rely on the marriage registry to assess the depth of a couple's fate before deciding whether to match them up.
Jiang Huaisu held reservations about this. Can love bought in bulk truly be called love? Even if the God of Love invests 100% of his energy in every relationship, even caring for the other person in their old age and death, it's still just role-playing. The god in charge of love seems to have a somewhat one-sided understanding of love.
However, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Jiang Huaisu boldly speculated: "If we continue to play around like this, the God of Marriage might really fall into it one day. But because of his status, he can't be with the other person for eternity. In the end, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?"
“No way,” Nezha said dismissively. “Even if he really falls in love with a mortal, and his love is so deep that he can’t extricate himself, he will only limit this relationship to one lifetime. He will grow old with her, send her to her grave, and then watch her reincarnate. Oh, at most, he will do some good deeds for her, hoping that she will be born into a wealthy family in her next life, where she will have no worries about food and clothing and live a smooth life.”
How did you know?
“Because that’s how he treated his previous wife.” Nezha recalled, “After that, he never went down to the mortal realm again, and stayed in the Yue Lao’s Palace every day fiddling with those red threads.”
I understand now. This god is obsessed with his career. And since his career is inextricably linked to love, he's caught in a dilemma.
"Being a god isn't easy either," Jiang Huaisu sighed. "There are always too many things we can't control."
"That's just Cupid being stubborn. Even though they're clearly in love, he's still acting like he's letting go. If it were me, I'd stay by someone's side even if it meant death."
"But the other party is a mortal."
"So what if we're just mortals? If we can be with each other for one lifetime, we can be with each other for a second. If that doesn't work, we can send her to heaven. It's that simple, what's there to agonize over? If you can let go, it just means you didn't love her enough."
Although she felt there was something wrong with the statement, Jiang Huaisu couldn't find any evidence to refute it. Ironically, Nezha himself had never been in a relationship, yet he seemed to know a lot about these things.
At the other extreme, opposite to the Matchmaker, is Pigsy (Zhu Bajie), who, while drunk, harassed Chang'e, angrily losing his position in Heaven—truly, his lustful audacity outweighed his ambition. He gave up his post as Marshal Tianpeng, was banished from the Terrace of Exile, and reincarnated as a pig.
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Huaisu understood; one of the members of the pilgrimage team was already in place. In a few days, Sun Wukong would also be going to stay under the Five Fingers Mountain.
Nezha wasn't too concerned about this, as he wasn't close to Tianpeng.
The only person he cared about now was the one in front of him. Jiang Huaisu looked really strange; the weariness between her brows was impossible to hide.
Seeing that it was getting late and the gossip session was over, Nezha stared at her for a while and suddenly said, "If you're still this listless tomorrow, I'll take you to see the Heavenly Physician."
Jiang Huaisu naturally had no objections; if there really was a problem with her health, it would be better to resolve it sooner rather than later.
These past few days, her condition has gone beyond just excessive sleepiness; even her memory has been affected. For example, she clearly remembers falling asleep in bed, but wakes up slumped over the table. And she closes the door before going to sleep, only to find it wide open when she wakes up.
Could the tonics I drank before have damaged my brain? Jiang Huaisu felt uneasy.
Before going to bed tonight, she made a point of memorizing the layout details of the room, so that her memory wouldn't be inconsistent when she woke up tomorrow. If anything had changed, she could only guess that she was sleepwalking.
After confirming that the door was locked, she leisurely sat down at the table and took a sip of tea. She glanced down at the teapot's location; she needed to remember that too.
Drinking tea might cause insomnia, but she doesn't have that concern now. Lately, she falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, completely disregarding the stimulating effects of tea.
She swirled the teacup in her hand and saw her own distorted and twisted face reflected in the clear tea.
That feeling of mental fog and confusion returned, and once she felt this way, she would fall asleep within half a minute.
Jiang Huaisu tried hard to stay awake, but everything before her eyes became increasingly blurry. The teacup slipped from her limp hand, shattering on the floor with a crisp sound.
She slumped onto the table, weakly raising her fingers, still thinking of picking up the broken pieces of porcelain. But sleepiness ultimately prevailed; her eyelashes fluttered slightly, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and soon she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Nezha's situation was the complete opposite of hers; he tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. He was the type with high energy, often going ten days or half a month without sleep—after all, he was born with a divine constitution, and no one had ever heard of a deity dying from being trapped.
It's so boring to just sit here doing nothing. Why would anyone like to sleep? He doesn't understand.
But recalling that time during a lunch break when I was on a recliner with Jiang Huaisu, I slept quite well. Holding someone in my arms felt comfortable and reassuring. I wish Jiang Huaisu were sleeping next to me right now; I'd want to hold her again.
As dawn approached, heavenly soldiers came to report from outside Lianxin Residence that there was a demonic disturbance in the mortal realm that required the Third Prince to deal with.
After ascertaining the details, Nezha estimated that the round trip would take at most 15 minutes, and Jiang Huaisu would definitely not be up by the time he returned, so it wouldn't delay his visit to the Heavenly Physician. Therefore, he told the heavenly soldiers to go and form ranks first, and he would follow shortly.
Since I can't sleep anyway, I might as well go and slay a few monsters to vent my pent-up energy.
After getting dressed, Nezha pushed open the door.
Caught off guard, he nearly bumped into someone outside. His eyelids twitched, and he took a half-step back.
The girl's pale face came into his view, her long eyelashes drooping, giving her a somewhat sorrowful appearance. Nezha leaned down and tilted his head to look at her, asking with some surprise, "What's wrong?"
Why was she loitering in front of his door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Had her excessive sleepiness been cured? Was she now experiencing insomnia? Various guesses popped into his mind as he observed the girl's expression.
However, Jiang Huaisu's expression was so calm that he couldn't decipher it, and her eyes were unfocused, as if she was simply spacing out.
He tentatively snapped his fingers in front of her face: "I'm going out now, want to come along?"
Hearing this, the girl did not answer, but slowly raised her hand, wrapped it around his neck, took a step forward, and stiffly rested her head on his chest.
Nezha was a little confused by the sudden hug, so he patted her head and asked, "What are you doing? Did you have a nightmare?"
She couldn't possibly be afraid of sleeping alone and come here looking for him, could she? That would be quite strange, as he remembered Jiang Huaisu as being quite brave.
However, if she really wanted to sleep together, he wouldn't mind... Oh, not now, he's on a mission and has to go out and kill a few demons first.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and reached out to try to push her away: "Why don't you come to my room for a while? I'll be back soon."
The force used was too weak, and Jiang Huaisu did not budge; in fact, she pressed herself even tighter.
Nezha: "..." It's really hard to refuse in this situation.
Sensing the girl trembling and her breathing becoming rapid, he sighed helplessly and reached out to hug her: "No way. You really had a nightmare?"
She let out a muffled murmur, as if in response.
Nezha's chin rested firmly on the top of her head, his arms tightening around her, his thoughts drifting. Undeniably, he found the girl's completely dependent posture incredibly pleasing. Her soft, warm body nestled motionless in his arms—so cozy, so...adorable.
Lost in thought, he wondered if she might also have some feelings for him. But he wouldn't ask her until he was absolutely sure; it was best to just keep it to himself.
Unfortunately, the hug didn't last long, because he felt a sharp pain in his back. Jiang Huaisu seemed to be holding something sharp, and her hand felt uncomfortable against his back.
He held her shoulders and pulled away from her a little.
What are you holding in your hand?
He gently pinched Jiang Huaisu's wrist, pried open her palm, and saw a sharp, blood-stained shard of porcelain.
He frowned, roughly tossed aside the porcelain shards, and examined the injury on her hand, discovering that the sharp edge of the fragments had caused a rather deep cut.
At the same time, Jiang Huaisu let out a soft "ah," and with a look of awakening from a dream, looked up at Nezha, her eyes filled with confusion.
"What's going on now?" Jiang Huaisu was full of questions.
Nezha asked inexplicably, "I also want to ask you something. Where did this shard of porcelain come from? Why are you holding this thing?"
"I just remember I was drinking tea..."
While Jiang Huaisu was speaking, Nezha was not idle either. He pulled her into the room, pressed her down on his bed with a stern face, found some medicinal powder and sprinkled it on her wounds, and then took a clean strip of cloth to bandage them.
The miraculous medicine was indeed extraordinary; in just a short while, the bleeding had stopped, and she felt that bandaging was unnecessary.
"I lost my grip and dropped the cup, breaking it... After that, I just fell asleep on the table." After explaining what happened, Jiang Huaisu asked Nezha, "So why am I here?"
She had no idea what happened in between; even blacking out from drinking wasn't this outrageous, as if that memory had been completely erased.
Nezha seemed clueless as well: "You were already standing at the door when I came out."
Recalling the situation at the time, he continued, "The heavenly soldiers came to report that there was a demonic disturbance in the mortal realm that I needed to quell. At that time, you weren't even in front of my house. I originally guessed that you came over here because you were awakened by the heavenly soldiers' voices."
"Maybe that's true, but I don't remember it." Feeling that she had a restless sleep, Jiang Huaisu rubbed her temples and sighed, "It's like my brain hadn't woken up yet, but my body started moving on its own."
Looking back, she could even see her own footprints in the yard. All signs indicated that she had indeed come here on her own, and had even taken a shortcut, passing directly through the middle of the flowerbed.
Having confirmed that this was a spontaneous act performed unconsciously, Jiang Huaisu pondered for a moment and felt that the only reasonable explanation was that she was sleepwalking.
After discussing it with Nezha, the two agreed that this was the most likely possibility, as the symptoms were basically consistent. However, they still needed to consult the Heavenly Physician to confirm the specifics.
Nezha couldn't wait and immediately wanted to take her to see a doctor.
"Now?" Jiang Huaisu was pulled a few steps outside by him, but she didn't lose her composure and reminded him, "Your subordinates should still be waiting for you outside, right?"
"..." He almost forgot about that.
Although her mind was in turmoil, Jiang Huaisu still pushed Nezha away, saying, "Let's go when you get back. Important business is more important."
"Your matter is also a serious matter."
“Alright. Even if it’s all important business, there’s an order to things. It’s only a few minutes, I can wait.” She waved her hand and urged, “A day in heaven is a year on earth, matters in the mortal realm can’t be delayed, or things might change.”
That made perfect sense, and Nezha knew she was right. If the demon scourge wasn't quelled soon, the people would suffer. It was his duty to descend to the mortal realm and deal with the demons, but he couldn't rest easy about Jiang Huaisu's situation.
Feeling a bit anxious, he scratched his head, thinking that maybe he should move to the mortal realm. Time passed more slowly there, and life was much more leisurely, unlike in Heaven where he was constantly on missions. This pace of life used to be just right for him, but now he felt like there wasn't enough time.
After a moment's thought, he took off the Qiankun Ring and put it on Jiang Huaisu's wrist.
"In that case, try not to sleep and wait for me in the room. If you really can't resist the drowsiness, use the Qiankun Ring to lock yourself in advance."
After saying that, he taught Jiang Huaisu the incantation for controlling the weapon.
The incantation wasn't difficult; Jiang Huaisu memorized it after hearing it once. She was somewhat surprised that the authentication process for this magical artifact was so simple. In comparison, even logging into a game account was more complicated, requiring both a password and a verification code.
"So this will allow you to control the Universe Ring?"
“Yes. Not only the Universe Ring, but also the Chaos Ribbon.” Nezha explained, “If others want to use my personal magic weapon at will, they must meet two prerequisites: first, learn the control incantation I give them, and second, bind the weapon with their soul.” It’s equivalent to double authentication.
"With the soul what?"
"You've already finished this, so don't worry about it."
Jiang Huaisu looked bewildered. When was it completed? How come she didn't know?
A hint of unease flashed across Nezha's face. He hadn't intended to bother explaining, but seeing Jiang Huaisu's expression, he knew she would definitely press him for answers when she got the chance. If he didn't explain now, it would seem like he was deliberately hiding something, as if it were something shameful.
"When you were tricked into unconsciousness by the lizard demon, I sent you back to Qitian Mansion and settled you in a room to wait for Sun Wukong to return. While I was idly waiting, I suddenly had a brilliant idea and made the magic artifact recognize your original soul light... That's how it was."
Therefore, even before she learned the incantation for controlling the artifact, his magical treasures would spontaneously become close to her and protect her.
Jiang Huaisu was taken aback, not expecting it to have happened around that time. Why didn't he say so sooner? Doing good deeds anonymously?
“At the time, I just thought you were too weak and might die one day. After the magical artifact recognized your soul light, it became a medium between us. If your soul leaves your body, I can sense it.”
After quickly explaining the situation, before she could even respond, Nezha strode out, not even giving her a chance to say thank you.
Considering the urgency of the situation and the urgent matters of the lower realm, Jiang Huaisu took a couple of steps after him before reluctantly sitting back down. "Alright, we'll talk about the rest when he gets back."
Although Nezha secretly allowed the magical artifact to recognize her soul without her consent, it didn't matter. No matter how you looked at it, it was purely beneficial, entirely advantageous to her... This feeling was quite strange. Unbeknownst to her, someone had always kept her safety in mind.
Glancing sideways at the bronze mirror beside her, Jiang Huaisu was startled to find that the corners of her mouth were turned up, as if she were smiling at thin air, which looked rather eerie. She quickly pursed her lips and returned to her expressionless state.
Let's get down to business, business.
My immediate priority is to resolve my sleepwalking disorder and stay awake as much as possible until Nezha returns.
I once read in a popular science book somewhere that sleepwalking is related to some kind of brain activity. Surely it can't be something wrong with my brain? But this symptom shouldn't be life-threatening; the only possible danger is sleepwalking into a lotus pond and drowning. Now that I have the Qiankun Ring, that possibility has been nipped in the bud.
Feeling the cool touch of the Qiankun Ring on her wrist, she felt inexplicably at peace and breathed a sigh of relief. With this magical artifact, how could she worry about losing control while sleepwalking?
According to Nezha, he would be back in half an hour at most. Jiang Huaisu silently timed it in her mind, thinking how great it would be if she had a cell phone right now; half an hour was only the length of a game.
Waiting like this makes time feel like it's passing too slowly.
She had only been sitting for a short while when she started to feel sleepy again, so she quickly got up to stretch.
The Qiankun Ring was securely fastened to her wrist. Whenever she approached the doorway, the ring would heat up and exert an inward pulling force, as if reminding her not to step out of the room.
Looking at it this way, it's obvious that Nezha teaching her the incantation to control the weapon was unnecessary. The Universe Ring has excellent self-management capabilities and doesn't need her to control it at all.
She paced around the room a few times, her steps becoming unsteady. She had thought she could manage half an hour without sleeping, but now it seemed she had overestimated herself.
To avoid falling headfirst onto the floor later, she wanted to go back to bed, but then she remembered that this was Nezha's sleeping area, and it was inappropriate to crawl into someone's bed without permission. So she sat down at the desk, found a comfortable position to rest her head on her arm, and recited the incantation to fix the Qiankun Ring.
I'm all ready to go to sleep now, so everything should be fine from here on out.
This drowsiness was indeed something she couldn't resist; within moments, her consciousness had already drifted into a hazy state.
Half-asleep, Jiang Huaisu saw someone walking towards her through the mist ahead. The person was tall with animal-ear-like features on their head and was waving a huge claw at her, seemingly greeting her.
She squinted, trying to see more clearly, but then it dawned on her that she was in Nezha's room. Where did this thick fog come from?
In a moment of clarity, her thoughts became exceptionally clear, and she realized that this was not reality.
Looking around, it was pitch black, without any light. It was like a small world shrouded in darkness, with the entire background a uniform dark color, and the thick fog being the only embellishment.
She couldn't estimate the size of the space, nor could she find a way out.
Was this a dream? Thinking this, Jiang Huaisu wasn't too panicked. She'd had lucid dreams before; she could just wait quietly to wake up.
The person with animal ears drew closer and closer to her, until he was only a few steps away. She finally saw his face clearly. It wasn't a beautiful face, covered in fur and sharp teeth, with round eyes that gleamed with a cold, eerie light, as if he were some kind of nocturnal feline. He didn't look like someone to mess with.
She looked at it a couple more times and recognized the face. If she remembered correctly, it was the one who used to live in Hydrangea, the one named White Tooth.
She couldn't understand why she would dream about this person. She had only exchanged a few words with him.
Bai Ya had already sat down next to her, but Jiang Huaisu still ignored him. She regarded him as a product of her imagination, a product of her dreams, and wondered if dreaming of a dead person was unlucky.
"Long time no see." White Fang seemed to be in a good mood and greeted her with a smile.
Jiang Huaisu gave him a strange look, thinking to herself that her imagination was quite rich, even able to conjure up details of the conversation. She'd already dreamt about him, so why not a handsome man? Looking at his white teeth, she felt absolutely no desire to communicate; she even wanted to close her eyes.
"You're ignoring me again," White Fang complained, "It was the same last time."
Jiang Huaisu rested her chin on her hand, observing the texture of his skin. Wow, even the pores were clearly visible, and each tiger hair was distinct. This level of detail in the virtual creation—was it really something she created herself? Dreams are truly amazing.
"..." Seemingly guessing what she was thinking, White Tooth's face showed helplessness. "I really mean it."
Seeing that Jiang Huaisu did not react, he continued, "Strictly speaking, this is your consciousness domain. The reason you can see me is because I reside in your body. I have been hiding my aura for the past few days and have not communicated with you. I'm really sorry."
The "I'm sorry" was said so casually, clearly not out of genuine apology. Jiang Huaisu's mind went blank for a moment, then she was horrified to discover that it actually sounded quite logical.
But this was too horrifying for her to accept that such a filthy thing lived inside her body. After some thought, she still leaned towards the idea that it was an overly realistic nightmare. White Teeth was fake, and White Teeth's words were fake too.
She firmly stated, "I don't believe it."
“No, you believed me.” White Fang laughed. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking to me.”
"..." Jiang Huaisu shut her mouth and remained silent.
"Then let me tell you something you don't know," White Fang said unhurriedly. "You've been very tired lately because one body can't support two souls. If it weren't for those elixirs and medicines that boosted your physique, I probably wouldn't be alive today. It was a close call."
Jiang Huaisu became increasingly alarmed as she listened, unable to find any loopholes in his words, but she resisted accepting this terrible reality.
She secretly pinched her thigh, wincing in pain, but the so-called "dream" remained completely unaffected. Could it be, as he said, that this was her own consciousness?
Noticing her little movements, White Fang advised, "Save your energy, you won't wake up."
"Why?"
"Because I'm controlling your body now. Oh, what you call 'sleepwalking'. In fact, you've never sleepwalked; it's just me using your body to move around."
He winked at her slyly, and his smug look made Jiang Huaisu's fists harden.
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