Chapter 746: A Man Who Doesn’t Dream
Translator: Azza
Editor: Conspiracing
Liu Tao's address was located in the old city. The three of them searched with their mobile phone’s GPS for a long time before they got to the front of a standalone two-story building. Chen Shi went forward and knocked on the door. No one answered the door. He walked a few steps back to look up and say, "Is there anyone?"
Lin Dongxue put her ear to the door to listen. Her eyes suddenly enlarged and she beckoned them over. "Listen to what's going on inside."
When Chen Shi went to listen, there was a faint groan from a man in the room, which seemed to be one derived from pain.
"Could it be that someone had an accident at home?" Lin Dongxue guessed. She had heard of a middle-aged man who fell at home after getting drunk and died suddenly in the afternoon.
Chen Shi thought about it and said, "I'll open the lock."
"Isn’t that not so good?" Gu You asked.
"It's better to be reckless than to sit on the side-lines." As he said this, Chen Shi took out his tools and pried the lock open in the blink of an eye.
Accompanied by a creak, the old wooden door opened. The light in the room was dim and there was a musty smell, characteristic of old houses. When their eyes adjusted to the dimness, the three were surprised to find that the walls were covered with various strange symbols. It felt very eerie.
Gu You went pale and said, "These symbols are the same as those painted by Chen Fengde in the detention center."
"No way!" Lin Dongxue was shocked, "Is this red stuff blood?"
"Find the person first!" Chen Shi reminded them.
The sounds came from the bedroom. When the three of them walked in, they saw a big iron cage with a scrawny man squatting inside. His eyes were big. When he looked at the visitors, his eyes looked as though he was a dog being rescued by a dog lover while getting sent to the slaughterhouse.
This was a kidnapping case! Chen Shi thought immediately and stepped forward to open the cage, but found that the cage wasn’t locked at all. However, he didn’t know how to open it.
"Sir, who kept you here? I’m a police officer!" Lin Dongxue showed her badge.
The man raised his head and looked at Lin Dongxue. His thin neck made people worry that his head would just fall off. Then, he pointed to his mouth.
"He's hungry..." Chen Shi guessed. "I'll get some food."
With that said, Chen Shi went out to buy scallion pancakes and mineral water. The aromatic scallion pancakes were placed in the man's hands. He immediately took a bite as soon as he picked it up, but he only took a single bite. Suddenly, his expression changed and he vomited the food in his mouth. It was also thrown out of the cage.
"Don't like this?" Chen Shi was confused.
"He's on a hunger strike." A girl's voice came from behind them.
The three of them looked back and saw a little girl holding a doll with very clear eyes. She said, "He locked himself up. The cage can be opened from the inside. You don't need to be so nosy."
"Little girl, is this your father?"
"He’s Liu Tao... Yes, he’s really my father in terms of relationship." The little girl's tone was very sophisticated, even though she clearly looked less than ten years old.
"How long has he been like this for?"
"It's already been ten days."
"This could be deadly! No, we’ll call an ambulance!"
The little girl frowned and said "nosy" before leaving. The sound of her going up the stairs came from the outside.
Chen Shi couldn't not save someone who was dying in front of him. He immediately hit 120. The medical staff rushed over, but the man refused to leave the cage, covering his ears and shaking his head like a child refusing to leave.
The doctor said both amused and angrily, "This should be handled by the mental hospital."
"I'm really sorry. Can you just give him an infusion?" Chen Shi asked.
"Looks like he’s indeed malnourished. Let’s try it!"
The doctor immediately took out the IV stand and glucose and put them on the edge of the cage. After Lin Dongxue coaxed him for a long time, the man obediently stretched out his hand to let the doctor insert the tube.
The lanes were narrow, so the ambulance couldn’t stop there for a long time. Furthermore, the doctor was unwilling to spend the whole day on the madman. Chen Shi said, "I will change this bottle, so I won't bother you."
"That's fine then. Please settle the first aid fee."
After the ambulance left, the man in the cage stretched out his hand to grab at the IV tube. Lin Dongxue persuaded, "Don't pick at it. Don't pick at it. If you take it out, you will have to have another needle inserted. It’ll hurt."
The man raised his face, showing a foolish expression.
"This place is weird." Lin Dongxue hugged her shoulders and whispered, "How can you live like this?"
"Would you like to go upstairs and 'have a tour'?" Chen Shi suggested.
"It doesn’t seem right. We came uninvited."
"They don't seem to have driven us away."
"Don't go up!" Gu You said, "We’re here to find Liu Tao. Isn't Liu Tao right here?"
"He’s here, but I don't know where the soul has gone." Chen Shi joked.
Lin Dongxue tried to call his name. Liu Tao with the wandering mind looked up, then lowered his head and scratched at the skin of his feet. The cage was very narrow, but he kept squatting inside. They didn't know how his body could stand it for ten days.
The infusion eventually worked. Gradually, Liu Tao's pale complexion began to flush, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "You... why... are you in my house?!"
"I'm a police officer, I came to find you..."
"Help me... It’s already been a long time... a long time... a long time... since I haven't dreamed." He said in a slow, dreamy tone.
Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi exchanged glances in surprise. Gu You said, "Let me ask."
"Okay."
"Liu Tao, do you remember Chen Fengde?" Gu You asked.
Liu Tao stared at her accidentally-exposed cleavage in a daze and said, "I don't remember."
"Have you been to the deep dream pool?"
When he heard these words, Liu Tao looked as though he was struck by lightning and acted in horror. He said, "Master Dream rejected me! I did bad things to him. He punished me so that I could never go to the deep dream pool again. I can't dream ever again!"
Gu You widened her eyes and stepped back, gasping for a long time. Lin Dongxue stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong with you, Miss Gu?"
"It's true! It's true!" Gu You said in horror. "Look at what he said, then look at these symbols on the wall. It’s true that dreams exchange bodies!"
"No, I don't think so." Chen Shi said, "This can only show that he and Chen Fengde do have a certain connection, but it must be a real connection."
"Hearing these words, are you still not willing to believe it?" Gu You asked.
“I didn’t believe it from the beginning. As long as it’s something that comes out of a human’s mouth, I will always listen with scepticism. It’s impossible for a few words to convince me of something. It’s not uncommon for two people to lie at the same time. I even met a group of people who lied together. Unless I dream tonight, wake up the next day, and become a beautiful Russian white long-legged beauty, then I won’t believe it."
"Your attitude is basically that you won’t cry until you see your coffin?" Gu You smiled to ease the offense of her questioning.
"This is called seeking truth from facts." Chen Shi also smiled.
"How do you think they’re related?"
"I don't know, but I have a guess. Chen Fengde was threatened by someone. This person may be him..." Chen Shi pointed to the person in the cage. "It may also be another behind-the-scenes mastermind. Liu Tao went to pick up Chen Fengde's daughter back then. Why did he do this? Just to prove that the exchange of bodies is real? No, this was a hidden threat. 'Your daughter is in my hands. You must do what I say.' Is this not the most common threat used in dramas?"
Gu You suddenly widened her eyes, then lowered her head, seeming to be caught in a memory...
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