Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 46 Dream Forest
"Am I not dreaming?"

Feng Xiuhu asked.

Feng Xiaohu nodded, then shook his head: "It was a dream, yes, but not a dream in the normal sense."

"Most people's dreams are just fantasies in their minds after falling asleep. They have nothing to do with the spiritual world."

"But you are now in the Dream Forest—a place that pulls dreaming spirits into the spirit world."

He suddenly stopped and pointed forward.

Feng Xiuhu raised his head and looked in the direction Feng Xiaohu was pointing.

Not far ahead, the forest path came to an end, and soft warm light shone through the shadows of the trees.

Feng Xiuhu was curious. He walked quickly to the edge and looked inside. It turned out to be a vast clearing in the forest.

The source of light was the moon in the sky. The full moon hung in the night sky as big as a millstone, casting a huge golden beam of light, illuminating the center of the open space.

In the soft glow, a crowd gathered, not only humans, but also some owl people. They gathered together to sing and dance, and everyone had a sweet smile on their face, as if they were holding a cheerful dance party.

Feng Xiuhu excitedly took off his coat and prepared to join in.

Feng Xiaohu came behind him at some point and grabbed him.

"Take a closer look."

Feng Xiuhu glared at Feng Xiaohu, thinking that he was deliberately ruining his good fortune, but after observing again, he found a clue - in the peaceful and lively scene, all these people had their eyes closed.

Feng Xiuhu frowned, feeling that something was wrong: "Is he going to kill someone?"

Feng Xiaohu explained helplessly: "They are dreaming."

Feng Xiuhu questioned: "I don't believe it. There's something wrong with your statement. I'll test you tonight."

Ignoring him, Feng Xiaohu looked at the peaceful scene in the open space, a little dazed. "They were dragged into the Dream Forest while they were asleep, just like you are now. They came to the spirit world in this way. When they wake up, these spirits will return to the human world."

Feng Xiuhu grasped the key point: "Who dragged him in? The judge?"

Feng Xiaohu pointed to the sky.

Feng Xiuhu looked up at the sky, but still only saw the moon.

Suddenly, his body froze.

Because of the quiet night, he hadn't been able to see clearly before.

But after getting used to the darkness, he suddenly discovered that there was a huge shadow outline under the dark night sky.

The outline was like a semicircle, with a "pointed ear" shape on each side, occupying almost half of the night sky.

Look at the direction again - where is the moon?
It turned out to be one of her eyes!
Faced with such a huge creature, Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but shrink a step and subconsciously wanted to hide behind a tree trunk.

"That thing is the judge?" He lowered his voice unconsciously.

Feng Xiaohu remained calm.

"Her name is Yin Owl."

"Owl?" Feng Xiuhu was stunned. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that the huge outline did look like an owl's head.

Feng Xiaohu looked at the "moon" in the sky with a rather melancholy tone.

"She was once a deity worshipped by the Linyin tribe, known as the incarnation of night, possessing the power of both 'shadows' and 'dreams'."

"Now this is the only way to please myself."

He looked back and saw Feng Xiuhu hiding behind a tree trunk. She winked at him and said, "Come back! Don't let her find you!"

Feng Xiaohu pulled Feng Xiuhu out: "She is sleeping and has been sleeping for many years. Besides, she should have been discovered long ago. We are standing on her now."

Feng Xiuhu was shocked when he heard this: "This is too rude."

Feng Xiaohu pointed at the tall, straight trees around him and said, "These are her feathers."

"This is Menglin. In the words of the Linyin Clan, this is her kingdom of God."

Feng Xiuhu looked up at the sky cautiously - sleeping with one eye open and one eye closed, which is very consistent with the style of an owl.

"When will she wake up?"

Feng Xiaohu sighed: "It depends on her, maybe never."

"Ever since being betrayed and having her shadow power taken away, she's been disheartened and has never returned to the mortal world. She's hidden here, in eternal sleep—a helpless compromise for survival." Feng Xiuhu smelled gossip. "What betrayal? Who took it away? Tell me in detail."

Feng Xiaohu shook his head: "That's an even older story. We have limited time, so we'll tell it later."

Feng Xiuhu said, "That's what I want to hear right now."

"No, you don't want to."

Feng Xiaohu replied: "We have more important things to talk about."

Feng Xiuhu was unhappy and squinted at him: "For example, why can't I learn the methods of the church?"

These words seemed to carry a threat.

Feng Xiaohu was also a little angry: "I find that you lack basic respect for me - Yin Xiao and I are the same, why are you afraid of her but not me?"

Feng Xiuhu snorted twice and rolled his eyes.

Why else? Because he won the real man's battle for "property"!
Thinking of this, Feng Xiuhu's bad memories came back to him, and he angrily said, "Whose evil god specializes in biting people's butts?"

"That's because—Hey!"

Unable to explain, Feng Xiaohu squatted down and sulked.

Feng Xiuhu also squatted down, patted his shoulder and comforted him: "Look, you are in the wrong, right?"

Feng Xiaohu shook his shoulders, shook off Feng Xiuhu's hand, and said sullenly, "I told you, there are no evil gods in this world."

"The concept of evil gods was fabricated by the New Gods to deceive the world."

"And the truth is exactly the opposite of what you know. The New God is an out-and-out robber."

Feng Xiuhu asked him, "Does the new god refer to the church or the temple?"

When Feng Xiaohu mentioned this, his expression was complicated. He was silent for a long time before answering, "Both."

His voice deepened.

"God, this is the name you humans gave us."

"We have existed since the beginning of the world. We are the embodiment of various rules and possess a powerful force that humans cannot understand."

"So people started to worship us and beg for our protection."

"Humans are the darlings of the world. They know how to think and explore, and they are also good at observation. Humans discovered the patterns that emerge when we use the power of rules and recorded them. Through research, learning, simplification, and recording, early runes were formed."

"From then on, humans created magic. After practicing, powerful individuals gradually emerged from the human group, and thus rule came into being."

"With domination comes strife."

"What started as a conflict between tribes gradually evolved into a war between faiths."

"Even though there is no intersection between gods, people insist on distinguishing right from wrong and winners from losers, just to prove that their own beliefs are the only correct answer in the world."

"But even so, human affairs still cannot have any impact on God."

"In essence, we do not need human offerings or faith. Human behavior may make us happy or angry, but in the final analysis, it will not have any impact on us, because we have infinite life. No matter what happens between humans, it is just a farce to us."

"But people are making progress. They are constantly improving their magic. More and more people are gaining powerful strength through practice, and they are also becoming more and more powerful."

"Until one day, during a war, humans pointed their swords at the gods believed in by their enemies."

"God lost."

When he said this, Shi's voice sounded a little unnatural, but Feng Xiuhu didn't notice it.

"From that moment on, God suddenly realized that humans had grown large enough to threaten us."

"Unfortunately, it's too late. The first person to kill a god took away the power of rules that belonged to him. Humanity gave it a new name: authority."

"It was also at this time that people finally realized that God..."

“It doesn’t have to be God.”

In the dark, Feng Xiuhu seemed to hear a sigh.

“Thus, a new god was born.”

(End of this chapter)