Chapter 1 Monday

Seven thirty in the morning. Most commuters had just left home; it was the most crowded time on the subway, and everyone was still on their way.

Although the capital was prosperous, most businesses in the commercial streets didn't start until nine o'clock, so at this time, there were usually only scattered pedestrians on the streets, and it wasn't crowded because most shops hadn't opened yet.

However, today, a small queue had already formed in front of a certain shop on Lipu Street.

Zhou Yexin was shocked when she arrived at Somniloquist at eight o'clock. She confirmed it twice... these people were queuing up in front of her shop, and they came as a group; a minibus was parked not far away.

"Everyone, please line up in order."

A woman earnestly urged beside the queue, "No cutting in line, okay?"

The people in line looked sleepy, tired, and numb, but were unexpectedly obedient.

Zhou Yexin frowned. She thought this woman looked a bit familiar...

She remembered!

It was the wealthy woman who came to give Gu Shen a brocade banner before. Now she had changed her outfit, a khaki trench coat over a dress, and now she looked several years younger, only about twenty-four or five.

If she remembered correctly... this woman was called Jiang Wan?

"Dr. Zhou, good morning. Is Dr. Gu about to start work?"

Jiang Wan said with a smile, "We've been waiting here for almost half an hour."

Here to see Gu Shen?

Zhou Yexin was stunned and quickly opened the door.

After Jiang Wan waved her hand, the people in line slowly entered.

"These are... brought by you?"

"For work reasons, I can come into contact with some patients." Jiang Wan nodded and smiled, "Dr. Gu's medical skills are excellent, so I thought about introducing him to some clients to earn some extra money... By the way, do you settle accounts based on commission?"

Introducing clients?

Zhou Yexin looked at Jiang Wan suspiciously, and the more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong...

She felt that this woman's motives were not pure.

"Don't misunderstand, I just purely admire Dr. Gu's abilities." Jiang Wan sighed and said with a helpless smile, "I'm a whole cycle older than Dr. Gu, what bad intentions could I have?"

…

…

When Gu Shen arrived, he looked in surprise at the clinic filled with patients.

This business was a bit... better than he imagined.

"Xiao Gu."

Sister Xiaoxin pulled Gu Shen aside and whispered, "These people were all introduced by Jiang Wan. I suspect she's interested in you, so you need to be careful."

Hearing this, Gu Shen was stunned.

Sure enough, he saw a familiar face among these people.

It was Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan looked at him with a smile... Being reminded by Sister Xiaoxin like this, this kind of gaze made Gu Shen feel a little scared.

The last person who looked at him with this kind of gaze was Qu Shui.

However, Gu Shen had personally examined Jiang Wan's dream.

She was just an ordinary person without extraordinary abilities... No need to worry about her being the second Jiangtan murderer.

"These people are not quite right... There seems to be something wrong with their spirits."

Gu Shen glanced at the patients in the clinic again. These seven or eight patients were all dressed in old clothes and looked listless, but this listlessness was not caused by sleeplessness.

His expression became serious, and he whispered to Sister Xiaoxin, "No matter what... let's start work first."

He took the youngest child into the separate room.

This child looked dazed, his face full of confusion. After sitting down in the separate room, no matter what he was asked, he didn't say a word, as dull as a piece of wood... Seeing this situation, Gu Shen directly summoned Chihuo.

Second layer of the Deep Sea, Minor Hypnosis.

Gu Shen directly entered the child's dream.

It was a pity that Tang Qingquan was not present, otherwise he would definitely sigh deeply... Mr. Shu, that old thing, was old but had sharp eyes.

He was too accurate in judging people.

In terms of extraordinary abilities, Gu Shen was a player who could not be judged by common sense.

His Chihuo was not one of those high-risk abilities born with amazing power... but its growth space was extremely large, and its growth speed was extremely fast. Of course, this was related to Gu Shen's own comprehension.

Different babies learn to walk at different times.

And Gu Shen was definitely one of the fastest.

Now, Chihuo was only a wisp, and could only wander in the spiritual space, but in Gu Shen's hands, it could already sweep through most dreams.

"Awakened."

This immersion was extremely fast.

Gu Shen regained consciousness in an instant. He looked at the surrounding illusionary mist. In this child's dream, there seemed to be an invisible wall blocking it. All the scenery was shrouded in a layer of smoke, and the visibility was extremely thin.

"This is... fog?"

Invisible.

This dream was extremely silent... like ten thousand miles in the deep sea, where all sounds had died.

The moment Gu Shen raised his hand, the silence was broken.

"Swish--"

The fog shattered like a mirror.

Chihuo turned into a lantern, suspended above the dream, illuminating this dream that had been spiritually invaded by a sealed item.

"These streets, old alleys, are a bit familiar..."

Gu Shen stared at the mottled walls, which were painted with graffiti of children running, as well as balloons, birds, and cloud patterns. The walls surrounded like a maze, and courtyard walls enclosed one house after another. This kind of old building would not appear in the new urban area of the capital.

"This is the old urban area."

He understood the child's identity.

He also understood why these patients were all dressed in old clothes.

These people should all be residents of the old urban area...

After the fog was illuminated, there was still an area in the mist. Gu Shen manipulated the body in the dream, wanting to go deeper, but this dream seemed to be blocked by an invisible air barrier.

"Here... is the end. I can't go any further."

Gu Shen stopped and murmured, holding the lantern, "This time, the spiritual imprint left behind... is more powerful than the Su Mu stone sculpture."

Forcibly removing it was not a problem.

After all, it was just a wisp of imprint.

But what really caught Gu Shen's attention... was the foggy area on the other side of the air barrier.

"In this child's dream... there is a hundred times thicker fog there, which can only be explained by a sealed item. But if this scene is real, it is impossible not to attract the attention of the Tribunal..." Gu Shen pondered, "At least it is the power of a B-level sealed item, right?"

"First remove the spiritual imprint of this child, and then take a look at the dreams of others."

With this thought settled.

Gu Shen flicked his finger and gently tapped on the surface of the lantern. The lantern floating in the air was sent flying by the tap, turning into thousands of strands of flowing light, and crashed spectacularly into all directions of this misty dream... As Gu Shen guessed, every direction here was blocked by an air wall, and the child's dream space was limited.

Wherever Chihuo passed, the fog quickly dissipated.

This process of removing the imprint was actually a kind of cultivation for Gu Shen.

Although the extraordinary source was thin, swallowing it could also enhance it!

After a few breaths, all the dream fog within the air barrier was completely devoured.

Gu Shen withdrew from the dream.

The dazed child slowly faded the numbness in his eyes. The pupils that were originally like a layer of mist had finally shown a glimmer of light... but it was quickly replaced by fatigue.

Gu Shen pushed open the door and left the separate room.

"How is it?" Jiang Wan saw Gu Shen come out and quickly stood up, looking a little nervous. Seeing the child sleeping soundly at the table inside, she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had been cured.

Gu Shen saw this reaction in his eyes.

"These people... were all brought by you?" He said softly, "Take the child to the car."

Jiang Wan quickly agreed.

Just then, the other door of the separate room was also pushed open, and Zhou Yexin looked distressed and said, "This person is also very strange, like a piece of wood... there is no reaction no matter what..."

It seemed that she was helpless.

Indeed.

The hypnosis ability of the pocket watch was limited.

It was only born to protect Zhou Yexin, and the last wisp of extraordinary power could only guarantee the safety of the owner.

"Leave it to me. Sister Xiaoxin, just be busy with your own work."

Gu Shen smiled, using Chihuo's hypnotic power in these words, and said in a low voice, "The rest of you... come with me."

There were still seven people left. After hearing this, they all slowly got up and came to Gu Shen's separate room.

"The second layer of the Deep Sea is Minor Hypnosis, hypnotizing individuals."

"The third layer... is Major Hypnosis, spreading the spirit and radiating it to an area."

Gu Shen closed the door of the separate room, looking at the patients standing in a row. He recalled the scene of Han Dang hypnotizing himself.

The Domain of Truth.

In that spiritual domain, no matter how many people entered, they could only become fish on Han Dang's chopping board... Gu Shen already felt that when the mental power was strong enough to condense and release, it would form a "domain."

Minor Hypnosis was mastering the hypnotic power inherent in Chihuo itself.

Major Hypnosis was to release mental power and spread it towards the direction of the domain.

"Let me try... hypnotizing multiple people at once."

Taking a light breath.

Gu Shen released Chihuo. Half of Qu Shui's extraordinary source had been digested, and Chihuo was more than twice as strong as when it was first born, but the light that spread out could barely cover the room.

"Enter the dream."

"Enter the dream."

"Enter the dream."

A voice echoed in the ears of these people at the same time.

Chihuo solidified, gathering a room of brilliance.

Gu Shen came to a dream built by his own mental power. He successfully performed Major Hypnosis and came to the misty dream of the old urban area. This time, he walked a long way with the lantern. The dreams of these people were like puzzle pieces, each representing a piece of unlocked area. After connecting, there was still an air barrier, but the range of movement was much larger.

"Fulin Alley."

"Lion Alley."

"Ruian Hutong."

Gu Shen walked, stopping and going, carrying the lantern to dispel the mist. He identified the scenery in the dream all the way, and finally recognized several streets and alleys in the old urban area... A specific map immediately appeared in his mind. Through these clearly displayed streets and alleys, he determined his location.

Then, he looked towards the depths of the dream shrouded in the distant mist...

He reached out his hand.

An invisible and solid wall blocked his progress.

The deepest fog.

Insurmountable, inaccessible, untouchable.