"Heh~ I think so too." Hoshimi chuckled lightly, turning to Yukino and Kotoko with a smile, "Yukino, Kotoko, I'm sorry, but could you wait for me downstairs? I'll be down shortly."
Yukino remained silent, staring fixedly at Hoshimi.
Kotoko tilted her head slightly, wearing an awkward but polite smile.
Neither of them left, and their eyes conveyed the same message.
You handle it!
"Master, please follow me."
Just as Hoshimi was contemplating how to persuade them to leave, the armored Hoshimi spoke solemnly.
"Hmm?"
Hoshimi turned to look at his armored self, who had drawn the Daxia Longque knife from his waist and made a horizontal slash, creating a bizarre tear in the space.
Hoshimi raised an eyebrow in surprise, "No wonder I didn't notice you earlier; it turns out you were hiding in another space."
The armored Hoshimi shook his head, "It's not another space but a deeper layer of the dream. Please follow me, Master, and you will understand everything."
"Alright." Hoshimi turned to Yukino and Kotoko, "I'll be back soon. Feel free to wander around, and I'll come find you later."
With that, Hoshimi turned and followed his armored self into the deeper layer of the dream, leaving Yukino and Kotoko feeling perplexed in the wind.
The two exchanged glances, showing their displeasure, and then turned away.
Yukino went to check other rooms on the fourth floor, while Kotoko went downstairs to explore other peculiarities within Hoshimi's dream.
...
Deeper Layer of the Dream.
Following his armored self, Hoshimi curiously surveyed his surroundings.
Unlike the dream environments he was accustomed to, the general setting of this deeper layer was a bamboo forest with a strong martial arts atmosphere, filled with chopped bamboo and various weapons stuck in the ground.
He glanced around and saw weapons such as the Fangtian Huaji (a type of halberd), the Overlord Spear, the Tang Dao (a type of saber), and double-edged swords, all randomly planted in the ground.
"Master, please follow me."
"Hmm?"
Hearing his armored self's voice, Hoshimi instinctively looked over and found that the armored self had unknowingly created another bizarre tear in the air.
"There's an even deeper layer of the dream?" Hoshimi asked in surprise.
"Master will understand when he arrives. He will explain everything to you." The armored Hoshimi respectfully stood by the entrance to the next layer.
"He? Who is he?"
"The Confucian scholar."
Hoshimi realized that the Confucian scholar mentioned was the one in the light blue Confucian robe that Siesta had seen.
He thought for a moment and followed the armored self into the deeper layer of the dream.
Passing through the entrance, Hoshimi looked around and saw a different environment. This place was a small pavilion on a mountaintop, surrounded by vast and magnificent mountain scenery.
Upon closer inspection, it was almost certainly Mount Hua.
"Master?"
A gentle and refined male voice came from behind. Hoshimi turned around to see a version of himself wearing a white jade crown and a light blue Confucian robe, looking at him in surprise.
"Are you the Confucian scholar?" Hoshimi asked.
The Confucian scholar glanced at the armored Hoshimi and smiled helplessly, "Since Master calls me the Confucian scholar, then I suppose I am the Confucian scholar."
He then raised his hand, pointing to the armored Hoshimi, "Master, I am the Confucian scholar, and he is the Martial Artist."
"Hmm, got it. I'll remember." Hoshimi nodded, walked into the pavilion, and sat down at the stone table, gesturing for the two to come over.
"Confucian scholar, Martial Artist, come, tell me what's going on."
""Yes, Master.""
The two bowed and then entered the pavilion, each taking a seat.
The Martial Artist stood in a corner of the pavilion, closing his eyes in meditation, taking on the demeanor of a skilled warrior.
The Confucian scholar sat down opposite Hoshimi and inquired, "Master, what would you like to know?"
Hoshimi conjured a pot of tea, poured a cup for himself, another for the Confucian scholar, and also one for the Martial Artist who was meditating nearby.
He placed the tea in the appropriate positions and then sipped his own tea contentedly.
"Just speak freely. If there's something I don't know, just tell me."
"Master, this is really..." The Confucian scholar shook his head and smiled helplessly.
Hoshimi smiled without speaking, continuing to sip his tea and waiting for the Confucian scholar to share something interesting.
"Since Master requests it, I will start from the beginning."
The Confucian scholar organized his thoughts and began to explain.
"After the creation of Master's dream, we came into existence."
"We are your thoughts, your dreams, and your countless possibilities."
"For example, I am the embodiment of your desire for 'self-cultivation, family management, ruling the country, and bringing peace to the world,' representing your yearning for ancient scholars and Confucian scholars."
"And the Martial Artist represents your aspiration for the way of the chivalrous warrior and martial arts."
"Since we were born from Master, we naturally serve you, following your commands. Our lives and well-being are entirely dependent on you."
"If you want us to live, we will live; if you want us to die, we cannot live."
"Moreover, if you were to die, we would cease to exist as well. Thus, our primary duty is to do everything we can to protect your life."
"On this basis, let's talk about the deeper layer of your dream."
"As soon as you enter sleep, your dream expands, but the expanding part is not the surface dream you are in, but the deeper layer of the dream where we exist."
"At first, the deeper layer of the dream expanded disorderly, even showing tendencies to invade reality and the surface dream."
"At this point, your subconscious sensed that this might lead to major troubles, even endangering your own life and safety."
"So, for self-preservation, your subconscious materialized us to guard the deeper layer of the dream."
"But that was not enough. The deeper layer of the dream had chaotic time and disorderly expansion. Although we, as dream creations, have some powers, we are still inferior compared to the dream itself."
"Thus, your subconscious devised a better plan, slicing the deeper dream into layers based on time flow, with each person suppressing one layer, layer by layer, until the chaotic deeper dream is completely contained."
"Currently, the Martial Artist suppresses the double-speed dream, I suppress the triple-speed dream, and there are many of us like this suppressing higher-speed dreams below."
"This is the current state of your deeper dream."
"And the reason your subconscious initially didn't want you to explore the dream was also for your safety. If you were to fall into the deeper dream and couldn't find your way back, it could be quite troublesome…"
"However, the situation has improved significantly. With us guarding it, you can come and go freely without worrying about being unable to return after delving into the deeper dream."
Hoshimi sipped his tea and squinted, "That sounds quite interesting. By the way, with such troublesome deeper dreams, isn't there any benefit at all?"
"There is, but..." The Confucian scholar hesitated, unsure how to phrase it.
"Hmm? What are you concerned about?" Hoshimi asked with a smile.
"Sigh~" The Confucian scholar sighed lightly and continued, "There are benefits, for example, you can actually achieve immortality now."
"Oh?" Hoshimi's eyes widened slightly, "Elaborate."
"Yes, Master…"
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