After seeing the two off, Qin Nan returned to the backyard and curiously asked Bai Hao for information.
Qin Nan: "Do you also provide treatment for nightmares?"
Bai Hao: "Ordinary nightmares are not like that, but his are different."
Qin Nan: "What do you mean? Is he being haunted by a ghost?"
Bai Hao: "More than one."
Qin Nan: "Huh?"
Bai Hao: "It was a nightmare prison."
Qin Nan: "Can you speak like a human being?"
Bai Hao: "Why don't you come with me and see for yourself?"
Qin Nan was taken aback and stepped back. "I'm not going!"
Bai Hao smiled, narrowing his eyes. "This is work!"
Qin Nan would find out sooner or later; he couldn't keep running away. Bai Hao looked at Qin Nan's speechless expression and knew he would definitely go.
Because of Qin Nan's personality, he would try his best to avoid things he was afraid of, but he would never shirk his responsibilities.
Qin Nan spent the day in worry, and the next morning, the ride-hailing car arrived at her doorstep.
Bai Hao wore casual pants, a T-shirt, and a trench coat, with a small black waist bag attached to his waist. Qin Nan had bought it for him before. Bai Hao didn't like carrying big bags, nor did he like putting his phone in his pocket, as it was too heavy and cumbersome.
Qin Nan was dressed casually, wearing only a thin sweater and a mid-length black coat. He didn't bring anything except his phone, and he didn't know what else to bring. Bai Hao also looked empty-handed.
Qin Nan followed Bai Hao to the city with a bitter face. Zhou Miao lived in the Neon Community near the commercial district. The road was busy with traffic and there was a long traffic jam. By the time the two arrived near the community, it was almost noon.
Qin Nan took Bai Hao to a nearby snack shop for a quick bite, and then went into the residential area to find apartment 502 in building 11.
Qin Nan curiously looked around the Neon Community. The entrance to the community had a stone wall, a fountain pool, and a cobblestone path. The vegetation was diverse and still lush and green even in autumn. Each building was about twenty-four or twenty-five stories high and seemed to have good natural lighting.
The two found the floor and went to Zhou Miao's house. Zhou Miao was alone when she opened the door. Her roommate was out and hadn't come back.
Qin Nan looked at the clean and tidy room, free of clutter, with everything arranged in an orderly manner, and felt that it was as expected.
Bai Hao did not sit in the living room, but instead asked Zhou Miao to lead him to the bedroom. Zhou Miao had no objection to this, as he was also eager to learn about the matter as soon as possible.
Last night was another nightmare, but this time he started to feel it. Before, he didn't feel any pain when he was hit, but yesterday he seemed to feel something, albeit very slightly, but this was not a good thing.
Zhou Miao's bedroom is sunny, with sunlight shining on the bed, wardrobe, bookshelf, and desk. Bai Hao walked around the room a few times, while Qin Nan and Zhou Miao stood at the door, watching Bai Hao wander around.
Finally, Bai Hao stopped in front of the desk. There was a desk lamp on the desk, shaped like a small house. In front of the small house was a small tree branch, on which hung an exquisite little birdcage.
The birdcage was black, and inside was a small bird. The feathers had lost much of their color, and the birdcage looked quite old.
Zhou Miao looked at the birdcage pendant in Bai Hao's hand. "Is there a problem with this?"
Bai Hao: "Was it a gift from someone else?"
Zhou Miao: "It's a souvenir my friend bought while traveling, and she gave it to me as a gift."
"A tourist souvenir?" Bai Hao chuckled softly. "It's something used to curse people."
Zhou Miao was stunned. "A curse?!"
Qin Nan looked at the birdcage and suddenly remembered what Bai Hao had said about the nightmare cage yesterday. So it was this cage that was causing Zhou Miao's nightmares. And this thing was given to him by someone else. Is this an upgraded version of the kind of person who hates others and then stabbes them in the back?
Previously, the lamp was facing away from the window, so the birdcage wouldn't be exposed to direct sunlight. Now, Bai Hao put the birdcage in the sunlight, then took a lighter from his waist bag and used it to burn the birdcage, but the birdcage didn't change at all.
The birdcage, which looked obviously made of plastic, showed no reaction at all when burned, which was very strange. Moreover, as the sunlight continued to shine on it, the birdcage became darker and darker, as black as charcoal.
Zhou Miao stared at the things before him that were beyond his comprehension and remained silent for a long time.
Bai Hao, holding the birdcage, looked at Zhou Miao and said, "There are two choices: one is to explain the reason for your nightmares, and the other is to destroy this cage and end your nightmares. Both are cures, so choose whichever you prefer."
Zhou Miao looked at the black birdcage in Bai Hao's hand, "Why did he give me this?"
Bai Hao: "Although it's not covered by the contract, I can give it to you for free. Do you know about his past?"
Zhou Miao frowned. "I know."
Bai Hao: "I'm talking about his real past."
Zhou Miao fell silent again upon hearing this. He thought he knew the person who gave him the birdcage very well, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Zhou Miao: "Are the things in dreams all real?"
Bai Hao: "It used to be."
Zhou Miao: "In the past?"
Bai Hao: "It seems you want to know the reason behind the dream?"
Zhou Miao: "I want to know how the child is doing, and who... that woman is?"
Bai Hao: "That woman is the child's mother."
Zhou Miao's face darkened upon hearing this. "How could that be?"
Bai Hao lifted the birdcage. Inside the black cage, the colorful paint on the little bird's body was gradually fading and turning black.
Bai Hao: "That child is dead, and that woman is dead too. Someone used this cage to trap their souls and created this nightmare prison."
This thing harbors too much resentment and will drag those around it into nightmares. Each nightmare is nourishment for it, making it stronger and more powerful.
I think you should have sensed it by now: sooner or later, your soul will be trapped inside forever. Simply put, you'll become a vegetable, without consciousness, just a physical body.
Zhou Miao's face was somewhat pale. Bai Hao was right; his nightmares were indeed becoming more and more detailed and profound, as if he were already experiencing pain in his dreams. He was also frequently in a daze and lacked energy.
Zhou Miao: "Then how are you going to destroy this cage? Burning it won't help."
Bai Hao smiled and said, "Enter the cage, find the true door to the dream illusion, and release the soul within. Then the cage will naturally become ineffective."
"Get into the cage? How do I get in?" Qin Nan looked at Bai Hao with a puzzled expression.
Bai Hao had the two close the door and enter the room. He then drew the curtains, making the room dimly lit. Bai Hao placed the cage on the floor in the middle of the room and then took out a thumb-sized glass bottle from his waist bag, which contained a blue liquid.
Bai Hao dripped a drop of blue liquid onto the birdcage, and then black smoke slowly rose from the birdcage, forming an oval shape, like a vertical mirror, floating in the air.
Bai Hao: "You can go in from here in three minutes. If you want to come out, you can only find the door. I'll go in, and you wait here. If I don't come out in twenty minutes, open the curtains and let the sunlight in."
Qin Nan and Zhou Miao nodded, and then the three of them looked at the clock on the table. Just two and a half minutes had passed when Bai Hao suddenly froze, looked towards the door, and hurried over, but he was still a step too late.
"Click—" The bedroom doorknob was pressed down, and someone opened the door, letting in sunlight. In an instant, black smoke dispersed, and the four people present suddenly disappeared from their spot. Then the black smoke slowly dissipated, leaving only a completely black birdcage in the silent room.
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