Watchmen Chapter 22

When Jiu Jie woke up, he realized that the light of the sunset was s.h.i.+ning through the window. The floor was golden with mottled light and shadows.

And this ends the event chapters for Watchmen. This series will now be going back to regular releases.

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It was a nice day with no clouds and no rain. There was only clear skies with a few white clouds, and a light breeze was blowing within the trees, causing their shadows to dance.

Jiu Jie composed himself, and turned around toward Gu s.h.i.+ Chen beside him, who was sipping coffee.

"You're awake?" Gu s.h.i.+ Chen asked.

Jiu Jie looked at the weather outside the window and asked, "What time is it?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen glanced at her watch and replied, "Two-ten in the afternoon."

"What? So early? Shouldn't it already be nighttime?" Jiu Jie questioned her, shocked.

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen looked at him as if he was an idiot.

Jiu Jie thought about it, then slowly started to realize. He shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Oh, yeah, I'm so stupid. Time in dreamland and time in reality are different. One hour in dreamland is only five minutes in reality. The higher the level you go in dreamland, the bigger the difference in time. Even though we experienced so much in dreamland,in reality, time pa.s.sed by very slowly."
"At least you know. I thought that you became an idiot after diving too deep into dreamland." Gu s.h.i.+ Chen remarked.

At that time, Jiu Jie remembered something. He frantically reached inside his pocket, and realized that the red book was still there, so he released a relieved breath.

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen looked at his anxious face and spat out some words with disdain, "Relax, you're really in reality. Also, your precious red book is still around. The burnt book in dreamland was just a projection restricting your strength."

Jiu Jie held out the red book and opened it up to the first few pages to see if the familiar words were there. He let out a relieved breath, and fell backwards onto the sofa.

He thought about what happened before. It was just like a yellow sorghum (a type of plant used in feed/grain), he felt like it happened a lifetime ago.

"Miss Gu, I…"

"Jiu Jie," Gu s.h.i.+ Chen interrupted, "After going through this predicament, I think we can be considered friends. Next time, don't call me Miss Gu, it's too formal. Just call me s.h.i.+ Chen."

"Okay, Miss Gu, I want to…"

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen glared at him immediately.

Jiu Jie was shocked and immediately corrected himself. "Ah, no, s.h.i.+ Chen, I… I want to meet Uncle Gu. He's here, right?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen looked at him and said, "You're really impatient."

She walked over to the table and picked up her phone. Her voice was cold and calm when she said, "Hey, Old Gu, Jiu Jie wants to meet you… Right…Okay…The situation has been resolved, so you can come over now."

The call wasn't finished for very long before the door suddenly opened. Gu s.h.i.+ Tong walked in, beaming.

Right as he entered, he asked, "s.h.i.+ Chen, the situation is resolved?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Chen nodded expressionlessly.

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong was ecstatic, laughingly saying, "Just as I said, my daughter is the best! As long as you come out, nothing is too difficult to accomplis.h.!.+"

Listening to Gu s.h.i.+ Tong's praises, Gu s.h.i.+ Chen only twitched her lip upward.

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong asked Jiu Jie, who was in front of him,, "How do you feel?"

Jiu Jie shook his head,

his expression rather sluggish and replied, "I feel a bit stupid."

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong slapped him on the shoulder and smiled, "No problem. Everyone's like that when waking up from dreamland. It’ll be just like normal in a while. I heard from s.h.i.+ Chen that you didn't just get rid of your restriction, but you also got a dream alert?"

"Whether I got rid of my restriction is still unclear, but I did get a dream alert, even though it's still only an egg."

"It's fine if its an egg. It'll still hatch in the end. You need to protect it during incubation, okay?"

"What do you mean…?"

"What I mean is, since you have a dream alert, try not to let other Watchmen find out, including Old Luo."

"Why?"

"Why?" Gu s.h.i.+ Tong questioned back. "Why are you so strong in Li Bi Duo, but so slow in entering dreamland? Why is someone trying to place a restriction on your power?"

Jiu Jie understood what he meant, and started to become more and more surprised. "What you're saying is, Uncle Luo, he…"

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong shook his head. "I'm not sure if it's his doing, but without a doubt, he definitely knew about it. Undoubtedly, there is someone in the Watchmen who doesn't want you to get more power, so if you reveal your dream alert in this situation, aren't you looking for trouble?"

Jiu Jie suddenly realized that what he said is very logical.

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong continued, "If you're still suspicious, just open your book and take a look."

"To see what?" Jiu Jie asked.

"Open it and see. You'll definitely discover something."

Jiu Jie did as he asked, casually flipping through a few pages. This was the content he'd already seen countless times and had memorised. The content in the book didn't seem any different.

He flipped to the end of page three and suddenly found out that the fourth page had appeared!

Jiu Jie was shocked and happy at the same time, unable to believe his eyes. So many years had pa.s.sed since the red book had finally shown a new page. In a few seconds, his whole face became red.

"The red book has changed some, right?" Gu s.h.i.+ Tong asked, smiling.

Jiu Jie just nodded his head.

"Don't you feel that it's too coincidental?" Gu s.h.i.+ Tong asked. "Just lifting your restriction and your abilities suddenly improve. This proves my point, right?"

"Progression in the red book should be related to the strength of someone's beliefs," Jiu Jie said, "Since I didn't accept your proposal, didn't lie, and kept myself honest and upright, the red book reacted to that."

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong laughed when he heard that. "Do you really believe that?"

Jiu Jie thought about it. Indeed, even he found the words he said hard to believe, but he was even more unwilling to believe that Uncle Luo had restricted his powers for no reason. He didn't want to ruin the impression he had of him.

Jiu Jie thought for quite a while, then asked, "If what you're saying is true, then why would Uncle Luo do that?"

"I don't know, maybe he has some secret troubles. You need to verify it for yourself. Also," Gu s.h.i.+ Tong said, "Don't think that just because you're a Watchman you're completely safe. You need to know how to protect yourself, how to lay low. Never reveal all your cards, including the progression in your red book and your dream alert."

Jiu Jie nodded his head. "I know. Thanks, but Uncle Luo, why do you understand the Watchmen so well?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong smiled. "Because I was once a Watchman. A very formidable one at that."

Jiu Jie was not surprised by that answer. Regarding what happened, he already had his suspicions.

'You were one? You're not a Watchman anymore then?" Jiu Jie continued asking.

"That's right. I stopped quite a while back." Gu s.h.i.+ Tong said, unhurriedly.

"What?"

"I made a mistake, I betrayed the ethics of a Watchman. My red book became blank and I lost all of the abilities of a Watchman. My career began to open up because of that though."

"So it's like that, no wonder."

Jiu Jie paused for a moment, meeting Gu s.h.i.+ Tong's eyes, and asked lowly, "Uncle Gu, I have a question. Can you answer me honestly?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong couldn't help smiling bitterly. "When you put it like that, you make it sound as if I like to lie. What's your question? Say it."

"We're not related in any way, why did you help me?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong laughed. "Not related? No, you're wrong. Jiu Jie, we have a relations.h.i.+p." (GAY!!!) (Lol)

"What relations.h.i.+p?"

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong pointed at him, and solemnly said, "You're the son of an old friend. That's our relations.h.i.+p."

Jiu Jie found it hard to suppress his excitement after hearing that, and asked anxiously, "You knew my dad, right?"

"Not just know," Gu s.h.i.+ Tong said unhurriedly, "Ming Shan was my truest and most intimate friend."

Gu s.h.i.+ Tong released a breath and said, "It's too bad that heaven is jealous of heroic genius. Such a monstrous talent was gone so early. It's really lamentable. You asked me why I would help you. Seeing the son of my old friend in deep trouble, how can I just stand by and watch?"

Jiu Jie flushed completely, and asked impatiently, "Uncle Gu, what do you know about my dad's death then?"

"What did Old Luo tell you regarding Ming Shan's death?" Gu s.h.i.+ Tong asked.

Jiu Jie replied with annoyance, "He didn't tell me anything."

"Since it's like that, I can't tell you anything as well."

"Why?" Jiu Jie stood up angrily, loudly questioning, "Why are you all the same? What are you hiding from me! How long are you going to hide it for!?"

"Jiu Jie," Gu s.h.i.+ Tong replied heavily, "What we are doing isn't hiding it from you, but protecting you. If not, Ming Shan would have died meaninglessly."

"I've had enough of all these stereotypical answers!"

Jiu Jie said petulantly, his heart roiling with emotions. His face was ashen and his eyes started to redden.

"Jiu Jie, I know that you want to know the whole truth, but the only one who can get it is yourself."

"Myself? I don't understand," Jiu Jie kniited his eyebrows and asked.　　

"Since Old Luo took you away, he won't keep silent forever. There is a condition however for him to tell you everything."

"Uncle Luo mentioned it before, when my red bok reached the seventh page, he would tell me everything."

"That's good," Gu s.h.i.+ Tong replied. "Because of my ident.i.ty, it's not suitable if I explain Ming Shan's situation. It's better for Old Luo to tell you. It's only seven pages, it's not so difficult. I'll help you."

Regarding what Gu s.h.i.+ Tong had done for him, Jiu Jie felt very grateful. He composed himself and replied sincerely, "Thank you Uncle Gu, thank you!"

"You're welcome. You're Ming Shan's kid, it's what I should do. Okay, I can tell that you're tired. I'll tell the driver to send you back. If there is anything else, we can discuss it next time."

After going through these situations, Jiu Jie was tired indeed. He nodded, stood up, and followed Gu s.h.i.+ Tong out of the study room. He boarded Gu s.h.i.+ Tong's car and headed back to his hotel.