Long Siye was taken by surprise. He rubbed his temples and said, “I had too much to drink last night.”
In all honesty, he did not remember much about what happened. He recalled that he was with Gu Xijiu and Li Mengxia at the restaurant. He then got really drunk, and so did Li Mengxia. Gu Xijiu had to carry her out so that she could puke. Then, it was a total blank. He roughly remembered that Gu Xijiu was going to a hotel with Li Mengxia, so he followed them.
However, he could not recall much about his stay; it was as if a thin layer of mist clouded his memory. He could barely remember the details, but he could somehow recall an indistinct shape in the gloom. It was, however, surreal.
Di Fuyi watched him fixedly. “Don’t you remember anything?”
“I was drunk. Am I supposed to remember anything? Don’t worry; nothing could possibly happen to her.” Answered Long Siye, icily. He swept his eyes across his surroundings to make sure he was in a hotel room right now. “She should be here, too.”
Di Fuyi continued, “You were drunk, weren’t you? Why don’t you reek of alcohol?”
Long Siye hesitated before responding, “What do you mean? My Kung Fu allows me to sober up as soon as I am awake.” Recently, he seemed to have acquired a unique ability. He would instantly sober up when he woke up, no matter how drunk he was the night before, even without the tiniest reek of alcohol.
Di Fuyi was amused. “Good Kung Fu! I am fond of drinking, too, so I would certainly like to learn that sort of Kung Fu. Why don’t you teach me?”
Long Siye answered calmly, “I have no obligation to do so.”
Di Fuyi fixed his eyes on him. Shortly after, he interrupted abruptly. “Long Siye, you are sick!”
Long Siye returned his gaze, silently judging Di Fuyi as if he was the one who was sick. Di Fuyi sized him up and studied his complexion carefully. “Recently, as in the past two years, have you been waking up in a totally different place from where you stayed the night before? Have you been able to sober up immediately, no matter how drunk you were the night before? Have you not been able to recall the sequence of the events the night before, only misty memories?”
Long Siye’s expression changed as he listened closely. Di Fuyi was absolutely right.
He knew that Di Fuyi was a very knowledgeable man in medicine who refused to offer his services conveniently. The cures that he provided would always work wonders.
Even though Di Fuyi was right about his symptoms, he was not very bothered. He thought that stress was the reason behind his recent habit of sleepwalking. He was mentally weighed down by work. He did try reading his own pulse to observe his condition, only to realize that his physical condition was not at all affected. On the contrary, his powers grew stronger. Therefore, he was not worried about anything.
He turned to meet Di Fuyi’s eyes and realized that he could no longer keep him in the dark. “So what? I have only been sleepwalking,” Answered Long Siye.
Di Fuyi laughed. “Sleepwalking is good, it seems. I assume you do not require my medical assistance. You better not regret the decision later.”
Long Siye was a little convinced. Bewildered, he responded, “There is nothing to regret. Sleepwalking has nothing to be worried about.”
Di Fuyi continued calmly, “If the habit persists, you will eventually become another person.”
Long Siye was startled. “What do you mean?”
Di Fuyi sighed. “Illusory, Zhuang Sheng dreamed of becoming a beautiful butterfly in his reverie. Who knew which state was true, the dream or the reality? He would keep his identity as a man during the day and dreamed of becoming a butterfly at night. What if the dream took over his mind completely, making him feel more like a butterfly instead of a man? Did he actually choose it as his reality?”
There were some overtones in his words, but Long Siye understood. He remained silent for a while before responding, “Are you saying that if I let it go on, one day it will take over my life completely?”