Chapter 47 The Curse of Sleep (11) Death and sleep are twins...
Night, the sky is full of stars.
This is still Fushui Town. The winding Sunrise Avenue is like the main trunk of a tree, branching out into countless intricate paths.
But something is different.
Many windows were lit.
Xie Tan still remembers the first night he arrived here, much earlier than this, but not a single house had its lights on; everything was dark and quiet.
The light from the windows and doors dispelled the terrifying darkness of the town at night, and there were still figures moving about in the light, indicating that people lived there.
The streets were no longer deserted. Although there were few, some townspeople were indeed taking walks at night or heading home after a day's work.
It no longer resembles a decaying, ghost town, but rather an ordinary seaside town.
Xie Tan didn't know if this was the same town he remembered, nor did he know why he was here.
He remembered that he was asleep when he heard singing, right next to his ear.
Has he been kidnapped by a ghost again?
Xie Tan called out to Cat No. 7, but the cat did not respond or appear.
Is it sleeping to recover its strength, or is the system unable to reach this place?
That shouldn't be possible. Since he is a blank slate and the system is bound to him, there's no reason why the system would be blocked by the monsters of this world where he is.
More likely, it was originally sleeping, but sensed that he was trying to harm it, forcibly woke up, stopped him, and then went back to sleep.
He felt a little guilty.
Without the system cat that can travel around him from the center, the roads in Floating Water Town were really difficult for him.
He never thought he was bad at directions before, but after living in Diqiu City for a while, he felt that he was.
The way back to the hotel was easy to find; just follow the coastline.
Along the way, the residents he encountered were all in normal condition, appearing relaxed and cheerful, unlike the town residents he remembered.
When he explored the town, the residents all had somewhat xenophobic and resistant expressions.
If he passes through their line of sight, a significant number of them will stop what they are doing and stare at him silently until he, the outsider, leaves.
Those who can communicate normally and have a better attitude are a very small minority.
But considering the sleeping curse that had spread throughout the town, it wasn't hard to understand; rather, the seemingly normal town before him was not so normal.
Moreover, Xie Tan discovered that all these people were unfamiliar faces.
This statement is somewhat contrary to the Heavenly Gang.
Although the town had a complex network of roads, it wasn't particularly large and had a small population. He visited it twice, trying his best to see everything. He had some impression of the residents he met, because even fewer people were willing to go out and show their faces.
So walking down the street, without seeing a single face he recognized, made him feel inexplicably awkward.
This feeling reached its peak after he arrived at the Fallen Hotel.
Even before entering, you can see the bright lights inside.
The sounds of musical instruments and cheers came from inside the house, indicating that there were many people present.
He pushed open the door and entered. There were indeed many people on the first floor, some wearing distinctive local clothing with patterns, and others dressed in ordinary clothes like him.
They stood or sat, playing music and singing, playing cards and drinking, talking or dancing. The graffiti skull lamps on the long dining table were lit, and there were many snacks on it—a joyful little party.
The wind chimes tinkled, bringing him his new companion. A strange girl drinking by the door saw him, smiled, and offered him a glass of wine, but Xie Tan didn't take it.
He looked around and didn't recognize a single person, but they all greeted him warmly, and the music and singing grew louder, as if welcoming his arrival.
The unfamiliar girl put down her wine glass, boldly took his hand, and led him inside as if dancing.
As her skirt fluttered, the patterns that resembled those on the wallpaper and carpet swirled around her. Xie Tan thought she must be a local.
He couldn't dance, so he ignored the strange girl's suggestive dance moves and simply let her lead him.
People sang songs, and even more people danced.
"Hello, hello, descendant of giants! You were born of the sun, you are blessed by Him!"
"Singing, dancing, the impermanence of fate! Birth is death, death is life, but never forget where you came from!"
"The sun is in the sky, the sun is on the ground, fall, fall, my god!"
"We have only one sun, so enjoy this moment, mock everything! Sleep under the sun! That is your reward!"
The lively music, accompanied by lyrics with folk flavor, made the stranger see through his little trick. She cleverly pulled him along, causing Xie Tan to spin around as well, and everyone laughed good-naturedly.
As he spun, the patterns floated like waves, enveloping him. When he regained his footing, he felt a little dizzy, like he was seasick.
Who designed this interior design?
The unfamiliar young woman had already led him to the front desk, playfully patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "You can ask the boss if you need anything; her wine is better than mine." Then she left.
Xie Tan looked at the hotel owner behind the stage, who was wiping wine glasses.
"What would you like to drink?" the old lady asked kindly as she turned around.
"A glass of ice water."
"I was just thinking, how am I supposed to refuse you if you want a drink? Are you even an adult, kid?"
The old woman's wrinkled hand pushed a glass of ice water across the table, a gold ring adorning her ring finger.
Xie Tan grasped the cold glass and nodded.
The man who had just gone to the dining table to get some snacks passed by the front desk and interjected with a smile: "He's obviously being considerate of your new job as boss, worried that you're too old to understand the different kinds of drinks!"
Another man, who was arm in arm with him, said, "You're an adult now, why are you still drinking plain water? Young man, order whatever you like. Don't be fooled by the fact that Grandma arrived a little earlier than you; she's been running this hotel for half her life, she knows it like the back of her hand!" Then he left.
It was certain that this was neither the original hotel nor the town he was familiar with.
The owner of this abandoned hotel is the old lady in front of us, who is probably the blindfolded old man's wife, who is presumably deceased.
But he arrived only a little earlier than him?
Xie Tan had nothing to do, so the old lady went back to wiping the wine bottles. She wiped them in the opposite direction to the blindfolded old man, from the right side of the cabinet to the left. Perhaps the couple had always divided their work like this.
All the bottles here contain alcohol.
The old man's bottles were all empty because his wife had passed away, and he no longer entertained guests or drank alcohol.
But that doesn't make sense either...
After wiping the lower bottles, the old lady stood on tiptoe and struggled to reach the top bottles. Suddenly, Xie Tan heard a "clattering" sound.
The sound of chains. He had heard it in his half-awake state.
He acted as if he was tired of standing, and when he changed his posture, he leaned forward slightly.
There were no chains visible, but there were indeed traces of chains binding the old woman's ankles.
Then, recalling the original hotel, the sound of chains and other noises seemed to be on a different level; they were real sounds.
So, the old lady was dragging her chain through the dark hotel in the middle of the night... That's a bit scary.
Was she imprisoned by her husband?
He then remembered the old man with the eye patch sealing the doors and windows, which he thought was to prevent the siren's song, but then he thought of the sound of the door next door being opened before he fell into a deep sleep... Xie Tan's gaze wandered around the hotel, and he inadvertently glanced at the word "Fall" on the sign, and an idea flashed through his mind.
Before she reached the door of room 301, she first pushed open the window at the end of the corridor.
She wanted to jump.
Xie Tan looked at the old lady again.
No, she had already jumped, the instant his door closed.
That's why I arrived a little earlier than him.
Is this the afterlife? Xie Tan looked around again. Were these people already dead?
So he also...?
He looked at their happy and relaxed appearance, like looking at the moon by the water or flowers in a mirror. He felt no joy, only a sinister sense of gloom as if they were putting on a show of peace.
Is this what it's like after death? But he wished there were no "after death".
What is the difference between humans and ghosts? If there is heaven and hell, is the human world just a different kind of place?
At the moment of death, there should be nothing left; everything about him should be completely annihilated and cease to exist.
This is the death anxiety of most people, but in his eyes, this is what liberation is.
Religions depict the afterlife in an attempt to soothe such fears. Is the warm paradise before our eyes the same heaven or bliss created by horror comics?
Suddenly, a man approached him with a wine glass and clinked it against his in an ambiguous manner.
It seems that his indifferent attitude towards the beautiful stranger earlier led some people to misunderstand.
But it's not a misunderstanding, is it? If we're talking about gender in this world, from a physiological perspective, he does seem to be more...
The man was still maintaining his composure and talking to him at length. Xie Tan was interrupted and lost his train of thought.
Who says this must be the afterlife? It's most likely a dream.
Although he didn't know why the sea monster, who was supposed to roam the sea, entered his room so easily, Chang Mingai had seen bubble paintings in the town's art gallery in his dream. Given this precedent, he must have come to the town's dream world because he fell asleep to the sound of singing.
The ghost continued to force him to buy things.
So, are all of these people asleep?
But he still believed that the old lady had come here after falling to her death.
He suddenly remembered that when they walked out of the town's art museum, Xue Hongzheng said that according to his investigation, many people in the town were asleep.
Chang Mingai comforted the red-haired boy with this, saying that the missing blue-haired girl might have also fallen asleep after hearing the siren's song, and that they should try to wake her up. She even asked Xia Wujin beside her if that was the case.
But Xia Wujin was thinking about something at the time and didn't realize that this was a situation to comfort someone: "I remember that in ancient Greek mythology, Thanatos, the god of death, and Hypnos, the god of sleep, were twin brothers. This is also reflected in the Greek text. Could death and sleep be seen as two sides of the same coin?"
At that time, even Xie Tan, who was not involved, was drawn to her words.
The momentary silence brought Xia Wujin back to his senses, and he realized that he had said the wrong thing.
Xi Rui changed the subject first, arranging how they would get around, thus saving her from the awkward situation.
"After all this talk, I still don't know your name..."
Xie Tan also came to his senses and stepped back a bit. Just as he was about to send the person away, the person who came to his rescue arrived.
"You're here too!" The freckled girl waved, ran down the stairs, and pulled Xie Tan away. "Did you try the little cakes on the table? They were made by that chef. He used to be a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant."
Following the direction she pointed, Xie Tan saw the uncle setting up the plates. His clothes and appearance suggested he wasn't a local; he was probably one of the tourists who had wandered into the town by mistake.
The freckled girl noticed that he didn't like crowded places, so she took him upstairs.
There were people upstairs, and occasionally someone walked in the corridor. People gathered in each room to chat and play. The originally quiet third floor was more lively than the second floor.
The freckled girl walked briskly: "Everyone is so enthusiastic, right? I was also dragged into a dance just now, but I ran away halfway through, haha."
She turned around, walked backwards, and smiled sincerely: "Thank you for your guidance, and thank you for bringing me the singing. I really like it here."
What guidance? His unhelpful "ignoring" argument?
Xie Tan was a bit slow to realize that this was probably her last attempt to persuade her to give up and go to sleep.
"..."
He was careless; the sleeping curse had been cast, and he casually asked if he was going to sleep or not.
I was probably too sleepy at the time, and my mind wasn't quite clear.
The song that was summoned... was it the lullaby the siren sang when she opened his door, sat down next to him, and tried to force him to buy something? They seemed to be on the upper or lower floors.
The freckled girl fell asleep because of the singing, and the old lady died from falling from a building.
Death and sleep are twins.
So in this town, whether it's death or sleep, the final destination is always here?
The freckled girl observed him and suddenly sighed, "Why don't you stay?"
She could see something in him, and although it made her seem arrogant, she did see something in him that was similar to her.
He should be here.
The freckled girl sincerely suggested, "If you stay, room 301 will be your room. There won't be any pain here; you know that better than I do."
No more pain. Xie Tan had a flash of inspiration: so pain, besides hearing the song, was the second condition for falling asleep?
Negative emotions can allow singing to take advantage of a weakened state.
This is a beautiful dream woven for the desperate.
Xie Tan: "I still have unfinished business."
The freckled girl was taken aback, but not surprised. She had guessed it, which was why she asked first, "Why don't you stay?"
"Then I wish you all your dreams come true."
She smiled, her freckles looking adorable: "I heard them say this place is very auspicious, and the festival is coming soon."
The door to room 201 was pushed open, and her three companions came out. The blue-haired girl was still holding an electric guitar, ready to join the hotel party downstairs.
They spotted the freckled girl and their eyes lit up. The blue-haired girl ran up and put her arm around her shoulder. They playfully teased each other and pulled her downstairs to play.
The freckled girl and her friends laughed and joked, said goodbye to Xie Tan, and went downstairs.
Before leaving, I reminded him: "If anything comes up, please do it as soon as possible. I don't know if it will rain tomorrow. If the rain is loud, the singing won't be able to get in."
Xie Tan watched their retreating figures. On the long staircase, only the freckled girl's shadow remained, as if she were performing a one-woman show.
He walked to the other side of the second floor; the travel agency's rooms were over there.
Therefore, the sound of rain and singing cannot coexist?
It rained the first night they arrived, and indeed no one slept.
Then consider that many buildings in the town are filled with things to block out sound, but inside there are many things that make noise, probably to use noise to cover up the decadent singing.
So, will the sound of rain also disturb the singing?
Songs can lull those in pain into dreams, but what about rainy days without songs?
He remembered that Xue Hong had investigated and found that the prototypes of the legend of the ghost in the rain were all people who disappeared in the rain in despair, just like the freckled girl who was "abandoned".
The ghostly figures in the rain, if traced back to their origin, might be people in Floating Water Town who failed to hear the siren's song and got lost in the rain.
Moreover, those killed by the ghostly figures in the rain all drowned. It's impossible to do that when it rains, but it's possible to fall into the sea, and those people probably all sank into the sea.
Once the spirits of the dead become paintings of demons, they continue to attract people with the same traits.
Entering a dream or entering a painting represents two possible outcomes for people in the small town whose emotions have collapsed.
The houses on this side were all occupied; they must have been former inn guests. Xie Tan glanced over them.
Only the door to room 209 was open, but no one was there.
Xie Tan saw familiar items, entered the room, and picked up the purple cartoon comb on the table.
Chang Mingai has the same comb, but it's blue; she says she has a series of them.
The year Chang Mingai fell into a deep sleep, he dreamt of living here.
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