Chapter 367: Am I Dreaming?

"Then... then, ah... Midu..."

Wei Chengye kept muttering strange whispers in his mouth. After waking up with a start, he felt as if his mouth and vocal tract were not his own. He murmured a few more times, and only stopped after regaining control over his mouth.

He sat up straight and looked around, panting heavily. Everything before his eyes was hazy and indistinct, and his head ached terribly. He gasped, his hand involuntarily reaching toward the back of his head. When he felt the slight depression of the wound through the gauze wrapped around his head, the pain made him tear up on the spot.

He glanced at the hand that had just touched the wound; his fingers were stained with a mixture of dark green medicinal liquid and blood, which emitted a strange odor.

Perhaps the pain stimulated his mind, as Wei Chengye's consciousness cleared slightly. Only then did he finally recognize his surroundings.

He had actually returned to his maternal grandparents' house, to the room where he was currently staying.

Hearing the movement in the room, the old people rushed inside. Seeing her grandson wake from his coma, the elderly grandmother's sagging, loose eyelids lit up, and her eyes grew moist. She reached out, walked to the bedside, and grabbed Wei Chengye's hand.

Feeling the warmth from the old woman's rough hands, Wei Chengye heard his grandmother say, "My dear grandson, what kind of trouble did you get into? A medicinal herb farmer in the village found you lying downstream along the Sanxi River with your head bleeding. When he carried you back, the sight of you nearly scared your grandfather and me to death."

When he heard the word "river," Wei Chengye felt a certain place deep in his brain being stimulated. His whole body trembled, and he felt fragmented scenes of horror rushing into his mind like edited clips.

"Oh, my grandson." Seeing this, the grandmother felt it was a sign that Wei Chengye was terrified. Heartbroken, she pulled him into her embrace and kept stroking his back.

Just as Wei Chengye was receiving and digesting the memory fragments in his mind while listening to his grandmother's meticulous care, the other old person in the house arrived. He was limping, carrying a bowl of black, steaming medicinal soup.

That bowl must have been very hot. Wei Chengye saw his grandfather constantly switching the bowl from his left hand to his right, and then from his right back to his left. Although he walked unsteadily and kept switching hands, he didn't spill a single drop.

Only after placing the medicinal soup on the nightstand by Wei Chengye's bed did his grandfather start blowing on his swollen, red hands, rubbing his fingers together.

It took a long time for Wei Chengye to come back to his senses, and he gradually realized the fact that his grandfather had burned his hands for his sake. He immediately said to his grandfather, who was full of concern, with deep apology: "I'm sorry, Grandfather. Are your hands alright?"

"I've been working for years, so my hands were already rough and calloused. It's just dead skin, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt." His grandfather waved his hand dismissively and then asked with concern, "How is it? Do you feel better now?"

"A little better." Wei Chengye left his grandmother's embrace. His eyes were slightly red, and he hesitated to speak.

"Don't be afraid. If there's anything you want to say, just say it." His grandfather patted his chest and declared, "Your grandfather will definitely help you."

Wei Chengye finally voiced the question he wanted to ask; he wanted to know if anyone had found Shougou, Sanmao, and the others.

But who would have thought that when Wei Chengye mentioned those names, both his grandfather and grandmother would have a look of confusion flash across their eyes, their expressions turning strange.

The grandmother put on a worried look, but the grandfather noticed what she wanted to say and stopped her in time, patting her shoulder.

The grandmother and grandfather had lived together for decades; she could understand the deep meaning behind every one of his grandfather's actions. She realized that her old partner did not want her to lie to their dear grandson, so she signaled that she would go out and let him talk to the grandson.

After the grandmother left, only the grandfather and grandson remained in the room in silence.

Wei Chengye looked at his grandfather without moving, feeling that every heartbeat was deafening, while his grandfather remained silent.

After letting his emotions brew for a long time, the grandfather finally spoke: "We haven't heard of the names you mentioned. There are no such children in the village. However, you did mention these names quite a bit while you were in a coma. Did you have some kind of nightmare?"

The grandfather's words hit Wei Chengye's brain like a thunderbolt. His consciousness was hazy, and the ringing in his ears from the mental shock left him no time to listen to what his grandfather said next.

"What do you mean there aren't any... how could there not be..." Wei Chengye whispered to himself. He found it hard to believe. Could it be that he had been dreaming ever since he arrived in this village?

He felt it couldn't be a dream. Were the companions he met in the village, Shougou, Sanmao, and the others, and the time he spent with them all just illusory bubbles of his own imagination?

Wei Chengye would not give up. He continued to press: "Then what about Dabao and Erbao?"

"Are you talking about the two brothers, Dabao and Erbao?" The grandfather actually had some impression of these nicknames. As if suddenly realizing something, he slapped his palm and said, "Haven't you been playing with those two brothers quite often these days?"

Playing?

Speaking of playing, Wei Chengye remembered the incident of stealing sweet potatoes from the bachelor's house that day. Ignoring his physical exhaustion, he got out of bed.

He was a young and strong man after all. His grandfather, an old man, couldn't catch Wei Chengye. Even though his grandson had a head injury and had been in a coma for two days, his agility was still far greater than that of an old, sickly person.

"Dear grandson, where are you going?" Seeing Wei Chengye rush out the door without looking back, his grandfather chased after him in a panic.

The grandmother outside the room couldn't catch Wei Chengye either. The two old people could only watch helplessly as Wei Chengye, despite the injury on his head, ran out of the house.

Following his impression of the village routes, he found the home of Dabao and Erbao and shouted for them outside their house.

Before long, the two teenagers, who didn't know what they were playing with inside the room, came to the window to peek out. They soon saw the haggard-looking Wei Chengye, and the brothers immediately ran out to find him.

"What's going on, Manzi? Who bashed your head? Don't tell me it was those bastards Ergouzi and Pangliuzi who did it." Dabao widened his eyes. Seeing Wei Chengye's cracked lips, Erbao immediately said he would go back to get him a cup of water, then rushed back into the room.

Wei Chengye shook his head, ignoring this, and asked Dabao the same question he had asked his grandfather. When Erbao returned with the water, he asked him as well, but both brothers had the exact same expression as his grandparents, having no impression of those names at all.

"Didn't we go to steal sweet potatoes before?" Wei Chengye gritted his teeth; he felt he was going crazy.

Dabao nodded: "Yeah, that damn Ergouzi and Pangliuzi even scared us, and in the end, we didn't get to eat any. Oh, right, did you end up eating any? Where did you eat it?"

"The sweet potatoes must have been very sweet." Erbao licked his lips, feeling a bit envious.

Wei Chengye kept his head down, unable to describe his feelings, and only answered Dabao's last question in a low voice: "I wanted to eat some, so I went to the Old Crow House."

Upon hearing this, the brothers Dabao and Erbao stared at Wei Chengye in sheer terror.