Chapter 109: Ch 109. The Secret of The Dream
"Sigh~" Kotoko sighed, feeling helpless, "Hoshimi, you've already mentioned everything that Siesta and I discovered, speculated, and guessed. What's left are just trivial details. You should be able to figure them out yourself. I have nothing more to say."
"Hmm? Do you think I believe that?" Hoshimi raised an eyebrow, smiling as he leaned close to Kotoko's face.
"Kotoko, I know you very well. If I had said everything, you'd be fuming and poking my side with your elbow by now."
"Since you haven't done that, it means you're still hiding something unexpected."
Kotoko looked at Hoshimi with unusual seriousness and said, "Hoshimi, you should consider becoming a detective. I feel like you're even better at reasoning than Siesta."
"No, no, no. My reasoning isn't that great. I only made the above judgments based on what I know about you."
Hoshimi pinched Kotoko's shoulder, "So, stop beating around the bush and quickly tell me what interesting things you discovered."
"Mm~" After hesitating for a moment, Kotoko said in a low voice, "Hoshimi, Siesta and I found two 'yous' in one place."
"Oh?" Hoshimi's eyes narrowed slightly, showing a bit of interest. "Go on. Be more detailed."
"Hmm, Siesta and I encountered the other 'you' in an old single-apartment."
"The apartment was about ten square meters, with one room, one living area, and one bathroom. It was sparsely furnished and somewhat desolate."
A strange look flashed across Hoshimi's eyes. He already knew where Kotoko and Siesta had gone.
"Initially, it was Siesta who discovered it. She told me that when she was about to touch a book on a wooden table, one 'you' appeared."
"That 'you' was dressed in a modified light blue Confucian robe, with long hair, and holding a feather fan, looking as if they had come from ancient times."
"That was what Siesta saw. When I went the next day and was about to touch the single sofa in the room, another 'you' appeared."
"Different from the one Siesta encountered, the 'you' I saw was dressed in black armor, with a sword and a knife at their waist, looking like a swordsman."
"I remembered the appearance of the sword and knife and found that the knife was a Daxia Longque knife, and the sword was an Eight-Sided Han sword, both from the Han Dynasty of China."
Hoshimi's eyelids twitched. The Daxia Longque knife and the Eight-Sided Han sword were styles of weapons he liked...
And that so-called modified light blue Confucian robe...
Hoshimi thought for a moment and asked with a subtle expression, "Kotoko, was the modified light blue Confucian robe not a fabric cap, but a white jade crown?"
"..." Kotoko looked at Hoshimi in surprise, her eyes full of "how did you know?"
Hoshimi's eye twitched. He seemed to have guessed the truth of the matter.
He let go of Yukino and Kotoko's shoulders, stood up, and asked in a peculiar tone, "I'm going to see them in that single-apartment. Do you want to come along?"
Yukino wordlessly stood up and linked her arm with Hoshimi's right arm.
"Of course, I want to go." Kotoko followed suit, holding Hoshimi's left arm.
"Alright, then let's go together." Hoshimi thought, and the three of them instantly arrived at a bumpy uphill road.
The uneven road was lined with empty storefronts, and there were occasional food carts casually parked by the roadside.
"Hoshimi, it's this way." Kotoko pointed to an old four-story building on the right side of the uphill road.
The building looked somewhat odd. The side facing the uphill road had been painted and looked quite new, but the other sides were unpainted, showing a yellowed exterior indicating many years of age.
Additionally, the building had an external staircase, meaning the steel-structured stairs were on the side facing the uphill road.
The steel staircase was somewhat rusty and worn, and since it was suspended outside the building with a significant slope below, it looked quite dangerous.
"Let's go. We'll check it out." Without needing Kotoko's reminder, Hoshimi led the way to the staircase.
Since the staircase was narrow and couldn't accommodate three people walking side by side, they separated, with Hoshimi leading the way, Kotoko in the middle, and Yukino bringing up the rear.
The three of them climbed the steel staircase, and their somewhat chaotic footsteps echoed far away.
When they reached the seventh step of the second floor, Hoshimi suddenly warned, "Be careful, there's water here. Walk slowly."
Upon hearing Hoshimi's warning, Yukino looked down and noticed that only this step had water on it; the other steps were dry.
She frowned but didn't ask questions.
Kotoko, who had also noticed the unusual step, remained silent and followed Hoshimi without speaking.
She and Siesta had already noticed this step's peculiarity.
According to their judgment, Hoshimi might have fallen here before, which is why he remembered the water on this step so clearly and even marked it specifically in the dream.
In fact, Siesta and Kotoko's judgment was correct. Hoshimi had indeed fallen here in his previous life, breaking his arm in the process and subsequently meeting the boss's daughter in the hospital.
As a turning point in Hoshimi's previous life, this step was indeed worthy of special marking.
"Ding ding dong dong—"
After the crisp sound of footsteps, the three arrived on the fourth floor.
Without needing Kotoko's reminder, Hoshimi turned right, heading toward room 403.
He pushed open the door and looked at the cold and small room with a hint of nostalgia.
This was the single apartment he lived in after graduating in his previous life, where he stayed for many years before moving in with the boss's daughter.
He didn't like this apartment, but it had carried many years of hard memories, inevitably rooted in his mind.
"Kotoko, when you were moving things in the room, 'I' appeared, right?"
Hoshimi asked Kotoko, who was standing at the door.
"Mm, that's indeed the case."
"I understand." Hoshimi entered the room and casually reached for the hook on the wall next to the door.
At that moment, a 'Hoshimi' dressed in black armor with a sword and knife at their waist appeared.
He looked at Hoshimi, hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said in a muffled tone, "Master, you're here."
"As expected..." Hearing the title, Hoshimi realized that his guess was almost certainly true.
The dream version of himself...
I once dreamed of roaming the world with a sword...
I once dreamed of cultivating myself, managing my family, ruling the country, and bringing peace to the world...
Unable to achieve it in reality, has it come true in the dream?
How... marvelous...
"When were you created?" Hoshimi asked with interest.
"..." The armored Hoshimi remained silent. He raised his head and looked past Hoshimi at Yukino and Kotoko.
"Hmm? Don't want them to know?" Hoshimi grew more curious about the version of himself in front of him.
"Mm." The armored Hoshimi nodded slightly, "Knowing too much isn't a good thing."
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