Ring! Ring! Ring!
The third alarm rang at half past twelve, waking Zhou Yexin from her slumber. She yawned and reached out to turn off the shrill alarm vibrating under her pillow.
Sunlight streamed in from the window. It was already noon.
What’s the matter? I actually slept for twelve hours… but I’m still exhausted.
Zhou Yexin tried her best to perk up, quickly washed up, and set off. It was almost two o’clock when she arrived at the Dream Whisperer. When she went upstairs, she vaguely felt that something was off. It seemed exceptionally lively upstairs today.
“Dr. Gu, thank you… thank you so much…” A middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes held Gu Shen’s hand with a grateful expression. “You’re incredible… I haven’t slept for days… I transferred ten thousand yuan as a token of my gratitude. It’s just a small thank-you gift. Please accept it.”
In addition to this man, there were several… customers in the rooms on the second floor.
Three people were lying motionlessly on their stomachs, while two were sleeping on their backs, snoring thunderously.
Zhou Yexin was dumbfounded and even suspected she had come to the wrong place. What’s going on?
“Excuse me. Make way, please.” A voice urged from behind. A wealthy lady carrying a bag and lifting her skirt quickly climbed up the narrow stairs to the second floor in high heels. The moment she saw Gu Shen, her face lit up with a radiant smile.
She took out a bright red scroll from her bag and unfolded it with a flourish.
“Dr. Gu, this is the banner I ordered last night… I came to deliver it today.” Jiang Wan smiled. “How is it? Is it okay to hang it here?”
Zhou Yexin’s jaws dropped.
When almost everyone was gone, Gu Shen pulled Sister Xin to a relatively quiet environment and explained the situation, “After you left last night, a patient came to the clinic… Then a few more came this morning. I didn’t expect you to oversleep today, so I received themt… That’s basically what happened.”
Zhou Yexin was stunned for a full minute.
It took her a long time to process what Gu Shen said. Then she looked at him with a complicated expression.
“You’re saying that several insomnia patients suddenly came…” Sister Xin said strangely. “They hadn’t slept for a few days… but you cured them all… Do you know hypnosis?”
“Uhh… I guess so…” Gu Shen thought to himself, It’s just that my hypnosis isn’t the same as the psychological hypnosis you understand.
“In short, their problems were resolved.”
He didn’t tell Sister Xin about the mass insomnia incident.
Gu Shen didn’t know that… in Zhou Yexin’s eyes, he was already a monster-level newcomer.
Zhou Yexin held her forehead, complaining silently to herself. Is he really an intern?
If he opened a psychiatric clinic next door, wouldn’t he steal all my business?
Just one night, and someone brought a banner.
“That’s great, really great…” Zhou Yexin smiled. “I’ve picked up a treasure.”
Although her feelings were a bit complicated, she was overall quite pleased.
She went to the main room, looked at the banner, and adjusted it. “Tsk tsk. Dr. Gu, miracle healing hands. This banner’s message is short, but it seems to carry a deep meaning…”
Only then did Gu Shen take note of the banner that Jiang Wan had brought.
He was stunned, his expression becoming strange. I helped Jiang Wan retrieve her lost dreams… If this is miracle healing hands…
“Hmm.” Gu Shen suddenly frowned. He stared at Sister Xin’s back, and his eyes became increasingly solemn.
His mental power just showed signs of trembling.
Sister Xin had the same transcendental aura as those insomniacs…
“Sis,” Gu Shen asked, “did you go back with Qu Shui last night?”
“Yes.” Zhou Yexin was puzzled. “She lives nearby, so I sent her back.”
“Did you encounter anyone strange on the way?” Gu Shen gestured. “Someone dressed in black, wearing a hat, tall, thin, hunchbacked.”
“Hiss…” Zhou Yexin rubbed her temples and smiled wryly. “Now that you mention it, I think I did see someone like that. But there are so many people in Dadu that dress like that. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m not sure if my memory is accurate.”
Gu Shen already had a rough guess in his mind.
Last night, Sister Xin didn’t suffer from insomnia, but she didn’t sleep well… It was most likely because the pocket watch she carried had resisted the effects of the Solemn Stone Sculpture.
However, she was still an ordinary person. Encountering a sealed object had already left an imprint on her.
“Why are you asking this?” Zhou Yexin turned to look at Gu Shen and complained softly, “Being asked like that is pretty scary…”
The moment she turned around, she saw a blazing shadow appear between Gu Shen’s eyebrows.
“This is…” Zhou Yexin’s eyes grew a little dazed. Her pocket watch let out a soft tick, and the dazedness in her eyes began to dissipate.
After treating several insomnia patients, Gu Shen encountered resistance for the first time during the hypnosis. Sister Xin’s mental power was clearly stronger than the others, and this sealed object seemed to be protecting her.
“Relax and fall into the dream. I’m not a bad person,” Gu Shen said softly. This time, his voice contained his mental power and had a hypnotic effect.
Instead of saying it to Sister Xin, it was more like he was saying it to the pocket watch.
Tick.
The pocket watch stopped resisting.
Zhou Yexin closed her eyes. With Gu Shen’s help, she sat on a chair and fell asleep.
Remove the nightmare and remove the imprint.
And absorbing… a strand of the sealed object’s transcendental essence.
Gu Shen could do this series of actions smoothly. After absorbing several strands of transcendental essence from the Solemn Stone Sculpture, Gu Shen felt that the power of the Blazing Fire had increased by nearly ten percent.
Although it was only as thin as a strand of hair, it was still a gratifying improvement.
Sister Xin probably needs a bit more sleep.
After finishing, Gu Shen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to rest, there was a knock on the door.
“Another insomnia patient…” Gu Shen opened the door and was stunned.
A gentle and frail young girl stood before him, looking pitiful with a pale complexion and dark circles under her eyes.
“Qu Shui?” He didn’t expect her to come back so soon.
“Dr. Gu… I’m… here for treatment again…” Qu Shui’s voice was trembling, and she had tears in her eyes. “After the last treatment, my condition didn’t improve… I couldn’t sleep last night… Can you help me take a look?”
Gu Shen looked at the girl for a few seconds and then sighed. “Come in.”
The girl was like a timid little animal afraid of being abandoned and hesitantly entered.
Just as Gu Shen was about to close the door…
A thin but powerful hand suddenly stretched out from the gap of the door and grabbed the edge.
A hoarse voice came. “Can you… help me too?”
Qu Shui hid behind Gu Shen and pinched the corner of his clothes. She looked at the doorway, and her face instantly turned pale.
At some point, a thin, hunchbacked man stood outside the door.
He was clad entirely in black, with a low-brimmed hat that made it impossible to see his face clearly.
His voice was dry and raspy as it squeezed out bit by bit from his chest. “I… can’t sleep either…”