Several days passed like this, and Sun Baoli showed no further unusual behavior, except that he would wander around the house at night and then rest shortly afterward. Seeing this, Song Hao and Tang Yu were relieved, knowing that this was all thanks to the effects of the acupuncture and medicine.
On the sixth night, just after midnight, Song Hao and Tang Yu in this room heard noises coming from the opposite door. Knowing that Sun Baoli was about to get up and "do something" again, they listened carefully.
However, Sun Baoli suddenly opened the door and came out.
"Oh no! His illness has flared up badly; he's going out for a night stroll." Upon realizing this, Song Hao got up to go out and stop him.
"Song Hao, something's not right. It seems like another person has entered the courtyard, and he's trying to leave because he noticed something." Tang Yu's expression changed slightly as she pulled Song Hao aside and whispered in his ear.
Song Hao was shocked upon hearing this.
Tang Yu gently lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out the window with Song Hao. It was a moonlit night, and everything outside was clearly visible. Sure enough, there was a person standing in the courtyard. The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and it was unclear how he had gotten in. This person was also strange; he stood there blankly, his eyes fixed on the door, seemingly waiting for Sun Baoli to come out.
As soon as the door opened, Sun Baoli walked out, stood in front of the man, and they looked at each other in silence, as if they were old acquaintances. Then an unbelievable scene unfolded: the two turned around, walked to the side of the wall, and suddenly leaped up, both of them bounding over the top of the wall.
"Huh! Another sleepwalker!" Song Hao exclaimed in surprise. What he didn't expect was that the two of them could recognize each other when they were having an episode, as if they were kindred spirits.
The sudden turn of events surprised Song Hao and Tang Yu, who then realized that Sun Baoli indeed had another story. Without time to think further, the two left the house, opened the courtyard gate, and chased after him.
Under the moonlight, two eerie figures walked slowly ahead, their movements stiff and unlike those of ordinary people, resembling zombies roaming at night.
“Sun Baoli once said that he saw someone in his dream. It turns out that it was not a hallucination, but a real person. It was another somnambulism patient. How did they meet in such a dream?” Tang Yu asked in surprise.
“This matter is far more complicated than we anticipated. Let’s go and see what they’re up to,” Song Hao said.
The two then quietly followed him from a distance. Knowing that Sun Baoli, though in a dream, was unusually vigilant, and that he had discovered them last time, they dared not get too close.
That person led Sun Baoli out of the village and into the mountains to the east.
"It's strange. Director Zhang and his men have been lying in ambush in Aken Village for three months, so why haven't they found any trace of this person? Judging from their appearance, they've known each other in their dreams for quite some time now, and they should have come looking for Sun Baoli before," Tang Yu said softly.
“Who knew! It’s strange that people of the same kind could gather together like this. Things are getting weirder and weirder! Look at them now, sneaking around at night. If someone else saw them, they would be terrified. It’s only because you’re here with me that I wouldn’t dare to go with them alone,” Song Hao said.
Tang Yu smiled and said, "You have your moments of cowardice too."
Although the two were speaking softly and were far from Sun Baoli and his group, Sun Baoli seemed to sense something, and he and the other person stopped. Tang Yu was startled and quickly pulled Song Hao to hide behind a large tree.
Sun Baoli and the man turned around at the same time, looked around for a while, and then continued walking forward.
"Don't speak. If they find out, they won't be easy to deal with," Tang Yu whispered in Song Hao's ear.
Song Hao nodded, secretly holding a needle in his hand just in case.
Once inside the mountains, the two men ahead continued on their way with practiced ease. After walking for a while, several stone houses came into view, lights shining from their windows, indicating that people lived there. Sun Baoli and his companion walked towards the stone houses.
As Song Hao and Tang Yu approached, they discovered that the stone house was surrounded by a melon field, clearly indicating that a family who grew melons lived there. At that moment, the man led Sun Baoli into the house, and the door was immediately closed.
"Do patients like them even have gatherings?" Tang Yu asked in surprise.
“If these ‘experts’ get together and start causing trouble, things will get really chaotic. Only the armed forces can handle it. Let’s go check it out,” Song Hao said.
The two crept stealthily towards the stone house and squatted down outside the window. Looking inside through the window, under the oil lamp, besides Sun Baoli and the young man from before, there was now an old man. The old man was speaking, and Song Hao and Tang Yu listened intently, holding their breath.
"You've come!" the old man said.
Sun Baoli and the young man stood there blankly, not responding.
Song Hao thought to himself, "A somnambulism sufferer is just someone who wanders around blindly; it would be strange if he talked to you!"
The old man was indeed talking to himself, pacing around the room. "This can't go on! I heard during the day that the village police have left, leaving only one on duty. It seems they can't do anything about you, so they're making up a story about a leopard to fool people. But if you continue like this, sooner or later you'll start attacking people, and that will cost you your life." The old man couldn't help but feel worried.
Song Hao and Tang Yu, who were outside the window, exchanged surprised glances, realizing that the old man knew everything about Sun Baoli and was a normal, clear-headed, and intelligent person, not one of their kind.
The old man then said, "You haven't made a sound for five or six days. Can you bear not drinking sheep's blood? Has your condition improved? Let me take a look."
As the old man spoke, he stepped forward, took Sun Baoli's wrist, and began to take his pulse.
"Huh!?" the old man exclaimed in surprise, "Your pulse has improved so much! Could it be that you've received divine assistance?"
"You're saved!" the old man exclaimed with delight.
Just then, the lights in the room suddenly dimmed. Tang Yu, realizing they had been discovered, pulled Song Hao to get up and leave. But it was too late; the old man, along with Sun Baoli and the young man, had already blocked their way.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Tell us the truth at once, or not only will the two of you, but even twenty of you won't be able to leave!" the old man said angrily. Sun Baoli and the young man behind him were already furious and agitated, ready to attack.
"Sir, please don't misunderstand. We are Brother Sun's friends. He had a relapse tonight and came out. We were worried about him, so we followed him," Song Hao quickly said.
"You...you know it's him?" The old man was taken aback.
"Yes, may we talk inside?" Song Hao said.
The old man hesitated for a moment, then patted Sun Baoli and the angry young man, comforting them, "It's alright, it's alright, they are good people, they are good people."
Sun Baoli and the young man's volatile emotions finally calmed down.
"Alright, please come inside and talk." The old man said, going inside and lighting the oil lamp again. Song Hao and Tang Yu went inside, while Sun Baoli and the young man stood guard at the door.
Under the lamplight, Sun Baoli saw Song Hao and Tang Yu's faces clearly. The hostility in his eyes subsided, and he tilted his head as if deep in thought, as if he had seen these two people in another dream.
Seeing this, the old man nodded and said, "You do know each other."
“Sir, you just said that Brother Sun’s illness can be cured. It seems that our treatment these past few days has been effective,” Song Hao said.
Upon hearing this, the old man exclaimed in surprise, "So it was you who treated him! To achieve such results in just a few days, you must be a medical master! My apologies for not being more knowledgeable!"
Song Hao said, "It only temporarily alleviates the symptoms; we haven't found a cure yet."
“You have saved this child’s life! Come, sit down and let’s talk,” the old man said.