Awakening to the morning accompanied by bird songs, the mountain valley thrived in the dawn light. North rinsed his mouth with saltwater, poured some fresh water into a new bamboo tube, and placed it on the fire with last night's roasted mountain chicken. With the still-burning campfire, he added new firewood to rekindle it, and breakfast was a warm spring egg with clear chicken soup.
The experiences from last night felt too real to be a dream. Hand on his chest, he sensed that familiar dizziness for a moment. There was no campfire, no medicine basket, and no signs of any birds or other creatures. The surroundings were eerily quiet, almost haunting, with a gentle breeze and misty rain falling slowly. In the distance, the white fog still shrouded everything. This was definitely not a dream, but where did the campfire go? Just a fleeting thought, and North was back at the campfire site! His hand never left his chest, and a vague speculation arose – the cave? The campfire? Cave! Campfire! Going back and forth, North was certain: this was the legendary personal space! The passage was the water and mountain mark on his chest, and the space was a parallel world with real environments, where he could reach any place he wanted with a thought, but still ended up where he started after coming out.
Sitting by the fire pit, North gazed into the space, observing the vibrant, seemingly holographic 3D satellite map. Excitedly controlling his consciousness, he picked interesting things as he scanned the lively space – a Lingzhi mushroom here, a jasmine there. Strangely, there were no shadows of living beings; no fish swimming, birds flying or chirping, not even a bee or butterfly. Unexplained fatigue hit him again, and he fell softly to the ground, slipping into a deep sleep. When he woke up, the sun was high in the sky. Did he sleep through the night? Tired and hungry, he disregarded appearance and quickly finished the remaining mountain chicken and bird eggs. Tongue in cheek, North no longer dared to touch this seemingly miraculous space.
Deceptive! Engaging with this space, sustained by a powerful mental force, he enjoyed good food and rest, but it didn't last long before he would collapse again. He knew the drill: it's just — oh well, sky pies aren't that delicious. Better figure out how to get out on his own.