《落空的鬧鐘、流星雨與倫勃朗迷宮》

2020年8月13日

做了一個夢，跟我一起去一個偏遠地區的幾個朋友，在我一覺醒來後不見了。我問當地人，說他們已經離開了。我很懊惱當地人怎麼不叫醒我，也怨一起來的朋友沒叫我一塊兒走。將要去哪兒都不知道。

當地人昨晚還對我們很友好的呢，她們給我的感覺是老實、質樸，但是一覺醒來卻對我變得不誠實了呢。

當即我也在懊惱中真正的醒來，一看我設置的3：50的鬧鐘時間已過，已經是4點多了。原來我設置鬧鐘時應該設置是AM的，卻搞錯了在PM上。這個夢提醒我已經睡過頭了。

上到露台上，或者是4：24了，沒人。空姐說是今天早上要來看流星雨的，因為昨天她去了太早，沒有看到。

露台上的燈沒亮，昨天是早上4：22滅掉的，也不知今天是到時間滅了，還是從昨天滅了之後就沒亮過。

湖面上很寧靜，水天相接處也沒有船隻的燈光。漫天的星星，只要我注意看牠，牠就對我一眨一眨地打招呼。

第一顆流星出現在4：26，以後依次是：4：30，4：35，4：38，4：41，4：43，4：44，4：47，4：56，5：13。

2020年8月31日

前天早上的夢蠻有意思的。夢中的家在一棟樓房的一樓，抱西北角。胡笳要拍廣告性質的照片，正好有一個西方小姑娘從北窗前過，金髮、純真、可愛，手裡拿著一小束花草，記得有狗尾巴草。正好符合廣告畫面，我們就叫她站在窗前的草地上給我們做模特兒。

我們來到草地上，胡笳著手拍片，我也突然想拍幾張，就走進樓去想取手機來。走廊裡，家門半開著，從門口往裡看，屋子裡擺設都不認識了，窗簾、桌布、床上用品都是白色的，像是病房。納悶兒怎麼不一會兒家就變了，於是朝走廊的另外一頭走去，心想也許家在那頭吧。

不知怎的沒找到家，就出了樓，進出口不是同一個。出了樓就覺得環境很陌生。心想轉一圈吧，圍繞大樓轉一圈總會找到胡笳的，他正給小姑娘拍照呢。

往樓的左側一瞧，哇！好幽靜的去處，眼前是一大片古代的荒蕪地帶，荒蕪並不感到肅殺、蕭條。不見人煙，遠近卻有三四道籬笆，與院子入口處帶著小小雨棚的柴扉。是那種粗細不均的樹枝幹圍成的籬笆，不見門扇，也許是都敞著所以看不見門。整個區域古朴、清淡、自然，基調土黃、天空清灰，給人的感覺是一片久遠、久遠、久遠年代的地方。

很想去看看，但是目前我只能先圍繞大樓轉一圈，找人要緊。樓在身後右側。心想只要圍著樓轉就走不丟了。

向右沒走幾步，場景開始鮮亮起來，有了色彩，還有人走動，都是洋人，但也都是質樸的人，有點像荷蘭繪畫大師倫勃朗（Rembrandt）或維米爾（Vermeer）畫中的人物。

這時發覺我正繞圈的大樓變成了一條街，根本就沒向右拐的路，也就是說我已經轉不回去了。心想還有一招就是按原路退回去。

正想著怎麼辦，往右一看，發覺已經来到了一個大大的街心廣場邊緣，遠處廣場上感覺有中心噴泉水池，還有不少花崗岩雕像，高大威武超現實，那尺寸要比正常的雕像要高四五倍，要仰頭看，才能看全。

剛來得及看了一眼一個十多米開外 的石獅子，昂首、挺拔，表面刀削斧砍沒有弧線，感覺有些抽象，它是離我最近的雕像。正想走近細細觀賞，不知怎麼覺得好困，不知不覺就已經在廣場邊緣躺了下來。

突然感覺身下有動靜，發覺我正躺在一個地面有拼縫的地方，裡面那部分似乎是圓形的，十米開外的地面中間有一個不規則缺口。空中有一個與缺口相對應的不鏽鋼樣的金屬條彎曲成的「鑰匙」往下降，說是鑰匙但不是常人中的鑰匙形狀，如果那鑰匙碰到了地面上的「鎖」也就是那個缺口，一定會嚴絲合縫的。

這時好像有路人提醒，說是趕快往邊上稍稍。我立刻向外側滾了一下離開那條縫隙，地面動靜大了點兒，感覺如果那鑰匙碰到鎖，地面就會被啟動、或升或降。有點恐怖呢。

就在那鑰匙剛要伸進鎖眼的一瞬間，我突然從恍惚中醒來。

奇怪的夢，有東方的古代場景，有西方16～17世紀中的人物，又有超級宏偉的未知地方。

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The Missed Alarm, a Meteor Shower, and the Rembrandt Labyrinth

August 13, 2020

I had a dream: several friends who had traveled with me to a remote region vanished the moment I awoke. I questioned the locals, who informed me they had already departed. I felt immense frustration at the locals for failing to wake me, and resented my companions for leaving without taking me along. I had absolutely no idea where they were headed.
The locals had been incredibly friendly to us just the night before, giving me an impression of honesty and rustic simplicity; yet, upon waking, how had they suddenly become deceitful toward me?
Marooned in this frustration, I suddenly snapped awake in reality. Glancing at my clock, the 3:50 AM alarm I had set had already passed; it was already after 4:00 AM. As it turned out, when setting the alarm, I should have selected AM, but accidentally left it on PM. This dream was a literal warning that I had overslept.

Stepping out onto the terrace, it was already 4:24 AM; no one was there. The flight attendant had mentioned she was coming to watch the meteor shower this morning because she had gone out too early yesterday and missed it.
The lights on the terrace remained unlit; yesterday they had shut off at 4:22 AM, and I didn't know if they had shut off on schedule today or if they had simply failed to illuminate at all since yesterday.
The lake's surface was incredibly serene, and no boat lights flared along the horizon where the water met the sky. The sky was densely packed with stars; whenever I focused my attention on one, it would blink back at me in greeting.
The first shooting star materialized at 4:26 AM, followed in succession by: 4:30, 4:35, 4:38, 4:41, 4:43, 4:44, 4:47, 4:56, and 5:13 AM.

August 31, 2020

The dream from the morning before last was quite fascinating. In the dream, our home was situated on the first floor of a building, occupying the northwest corner. Hu Jia intended to shoot some promotional advertisements, and just then, a young Western girl walked past our north window. She was blonde, pure, and adorable, holding a small bouquet of wildflowers and grass—I vividly remember it contained foxtail grass. It matched the advertisement composition perfectly, so we called out, asking her to stand on the lawn before the window to act as our model.

We stepped out onto the grass, and as Hu Jia commenced the shoot, I suddenly desired to capture a few photos myself, so I walked back into the building to retrieve my mobile phone.

Inside the corridor, our apartment door stood ajar. Peeking inside from the threshold, I failed to recognize any of the furnishings; the curtains, tablecloths, and bedding were entirely white, resembling a hospital ward. Bewildered by how our home had transformed in a mere fraction of a moment, I walked toward the opposing end of the corridor, thinking perhaps our actual home lay down that way.

Somehow, I failed to locate our apartment and exited the building; the entrance and exit were not the same. The moment I cleared the structure, the surroundings felt completely unfamiliar.

I figured I would walk a full circle around the perimeter; by tracing the building, I would bound to rediscover Hu Jia, as he was still outside photographing the young girl.

Glancing toward the left side of the building—wow! What an incredibly serene sanctuary. Spread before my eyes was a massive expanse of an ancient, desolate wilderness, yet the desolation felt neither harsh nor bleak. There was zero sign of human habitation, yet near and far stood three or four rows of fences, alongside a rustic brushwood gate capped with a tiny awning at a courtyard entrance. The fences were constructed of unevenly thick tree trunks and branches; no actual door panels were visible, perhaps because they were slung wide open and thus hidden. The entire sector was rustic, muted, and natural, cast in an underlying tone of earthen-yellow beneath a clear, ash-gray sky. It delivered a profound sensation of an incredibly distant, ancient era.

I deeply desired to explore it, but at present, I could only focus on circling the building first—finding my companions was the priority. The building sat behind me to the right. I figured as long as I kept tracing the structure, I couldn't lose my way.

Walking a few paces to the right, the scenery suddenly became vibrant, taking on brilliant color as people began moving about. They were all Westerners, yet they were deeply rustic individuals, strongly resembling the subjects within the masterpieces of the Dutch painters Rembrandt or Vermeer.

Just then, I realized the building I was circling had transformed entirely into a solid street; there was absolutely no path branching back to the right, meaning I could no longer loop back. I figured I had one tactic left: to retrace my steps along the original route.

Just as I was deliberating on what to do, I glanced to the right and discovered I had arrived at the outer perimeter of a colossal city square. In the distance, I could discern a central fountain pool accompanied by numerous granite statues—towering, imposing, and surreal. Their dimensions were four to five times taller than normal statues; one had to tilt their head entirely back just to take them in.

I barely managed to catch a single glimpse of a stone lion standing over ten meters away—its head held high, erect, its surfaces sharply chiseled like the blows of an axe without a single curve, appearing quite abstract. It was the closest sculpture to me. Just as I intended to step closer for a detailed inspection, an intense drowsiness washed over me out of nowhere, and subconsciously, I lay down right along the edge of the square.

Suddenly, I felt a heavy motion beneath my body, realizing I was lying directly over a seam in the ground. The interior section of that seam appeared to be circular, and a ten-meter distance away, an irregular cutout gap sat in the center of the ground. Hanging in the sky was a curved, stainless-steel-like metal bar shaped like a "key," descending slowly toward the cutout. Though it was called a key, it lacked the shape of a normal human key; yet, if that key met the "lock"—the irregular gap in the ground—it would undoubtedly fit with an iron-tight, seamless seal.

Just then, it felt as though a passerby shouted a warning, telling me to clear out and slide to the side immediately. I instantly rolled outward, clearing the seam. The ground's shifting motion intensified; I felt that if that key successfully entered the lock, the entire ground mechanism would be triggered, either hoisting upward or plunging down. It carried a hint of terror.

The exact microsecond that giant key was on the verge of sliding clean into the keyhole, I suddenly bolted awake from my stupor.

A strange dream, spanning ancient Eastern landscapes, characters stepped straight out of the 16th and 17th-century West, and a hyper-magnificent, unknown realm.

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零七篇

《鐵絲網夾道狂奔與黃昏的大池塘》

【1】 納粹時期的巨輪大樓

夢中的年代好像是在納粹時期。有時我是個特務被黨衛軍追趕。在工業化時代的舊大樓裡上下躲避追蹤者。時而在老式的電梯裡躥上躥下，時而從窗子爬出爬進。有驚無險。記得那棟大樓的正門上有個碩大的輪子，像一個放大了十幾倍的輪舵。上面掛滿了橫七豎八無遮蓋、男女均有的白人的屍體。

【2】 鐵絲網夾道與獅虎猛獸

記得有一次我在一個一眼望不到頭的狹長鐵絲網走道上狂奔。兩邊與腳下是巨大無比、長長的的籠子，裡面是窮兇極惡的獅虎猛獸，對我虎視眈眈，血盆大口垂涎三尺。三面只靠鐵絲網將我與禽獸隔開，上面是夜空，遠方是未知。這走道窄得無法逃避雙方同時對我伸出的爪子。我跑啊跑，跑得衣衫破碎、腳底出血。

【3】 集中營水池的深夜突圍

在一個黃昏的野地的大池塘裡。上百人或臥或站、或躺著或靠，懶懶散散地泡在髒水裡奄奄一息，我也是其中一個。岸上不遠處有鐵絲網，近處有個白人軍官持槍看守著。凡是膽敢逃跑的一個不漏地倒在他的槍下。他還時不時地用槍點射池塘裡的人。天色更暗了，這傢伙還在點射，眼看著那槍口就要對準我了。「不逃也是死！」心裡一驚，縱身一跳上岸，撒腿就跑。就著這拼命、就著這夜色，我還真逃了出來。

【4】 黃土山梁的迷路回家路

一次我順著一道路途險峻的黃土山梁，由西往東爬上爬下艱難跋涉。當然了，這個山梁要比真正的大山要小無數倍的，但一樣的迂迴陡峭，看似有路，但到了跟前兒卻又沒了路。急得不知如何是好時，卻及時地醒來，原來又是一個有關回家迷路的夢。

**********************************

The Barbed-Wire Run and the Dusk Pond

I. The Nazi Leviathan

The era in the dream seemed to be set during the Nazi period. At times, I was a secret agent being pursued by the SS. I dodged and hid from my pursuers, moving up and down through an old building from the industrial era. Sometimes I scampered up and down in an old-fashioned elevator; other times I climbed in and out of windows. It was perilous but I always escaped unharmed. I remember the main entrance of that building featured a colossal wheel, appearing like a ship's helm magnified over a dozen times. Draped across it horizontally and vertically were the uncovered corpses of white individuals, both men and women.

II. The Corridor of Beasts

I remember one time I was running at full speed along a narrow, long barbed-wire walkway that stretched as far as the eye could see. To both sides and beneath my feet were unimaginably massive, elongated cages, filled with vicious lions, tigers, and wild beasts. They glared at me with predatory intent, saliva dripping from their gaping jaws. Only the barbed wire on three sides separated me from these beasts; above was the night sky, and in the distance lay the unknown. This walkway was so incredibly narrow that it was impossible to evade the claws extending toward me from both sides simultaneously. I ran and ran, running until my clothes were torn to shreds and the soles of my feet were bleeding.

III. The Escape from the Firing Squad

It was dusk, inside a large pond in an open field. Hundreds of people were sitting, standing, lying, or leaning, soaking listlessly in the filthy water on the verge of death; I was one of them. Not far away on the bank was a barbed-wire fence, and closer stood a white military officer guarding us with a gun. Anyone who dared to escape fell under his gunfire without exception. From time to time, he would casually fire single shots at the people in the pond. As the sky grew even darker, this fellow continued his sporadic shooting, and I could see the muzzle of his gun was about to align directly with me. "If I don't run, I die anyway!" Shifting into sudden shock, I leaped onto the bank and bolted at top speed. Relying on this desperate struggle and the cover of the night, I actually managed to escape.

IV. The Undulating Ridge of Home

Once, I followed a treacherous yellow-earth mountain ridge, trudging with immense difficulty up and down from west to east. Of course, this ridge was countless times smaller than an actual mountain, yet it was just as winding and steep. It would appear as though a path existed, but the moment I reached it, the path vanished. Just as I was caught in frantic helplessness, not knowing what to do, I timely awoke. It turned out to be yet another dream about losing my way on the journey home.

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零六篇

《輕如薄紙的背負與緣份的古鏡》

2016年10月19日：廢紙焚燒場的毒氣與夜奔

夜晚，我和胡笳待在一個巨大的舊草棚裡。草棚內有一排排的桌椅，所有的門窗都沒有框架，只是草牆上的寬大豁口，兩側皆有。草棚的右側緊緊連著一棟同樣陳舊、刷著白石灰泥的兩層小樓，這裡看起來像是一個被廢棄的紙張焚燒場。草棚與樓房的前方是一片開闊的空地，後方則流淌著一條靜謐的小河。

正當我們忙著手頭的事情時，忽然看見外面的空地上從左側開進來一輛大卡車，緊接著又跟進了第二輛，車斗裡塞滿了廢紙。車上下跳下來幾個人，一副盛氣凌人、來者不善的模樣。旁邊樓房裡隨即有人下樓與他們接洽。我心裡暗自嘀咕：這個時辰怎麼可能會有正經的生意往來？預感不祥。

我壓低聲音，對正在幾步開外埋頭幹活的胡笳說：「趕快關燈，從後窗跳出去！」我倆貓著腰，借著一排排桌椅的掩護，悄悄且快速地奔向後窗。路過牆壁時，我順手撥下了上面的電燈開關，然而神祕的是，燈火並未熄滅，依舊散發著黃燦燦的光芒，將整個草棚照得一片通明。胡笳在身後低聲說：「不能關，突然滅燈反而會引起外面人的注意，還好沒滅。」好在草棚比較低，有朝外斜伸出去的寬屋簷，外面的人一時間還沒注意到裡面的動靜。

說時遲，那時快。我跟著胡笳先後跳出後窗，跑過腳下一片由黑瓦砌的舊屋頂，迎著呼嘯的夜風，縱身朝著遠處全力一跳。胡笳落在了靠近小河對岸的淺水裡，似乎不小心崴了腳，正一臉痛苦地捧著左腳按摩。我入水的位置比較靠近河流中央，借著河水的浮力，身體毫髮無損。我們迅速游過去，將身體半泡在冰冷的河水裡，躲在大柳樹的陰影中，警惕地觀察著對岸。

這時，只見草棚的窗洞口晃動著幾個人影，其中一人端著一個臉盆，朝河裡倒出了兩條魚。其中一條黑黝黝的魚竟然帶著強烈的攻擊性，直接全速沖著我們的方向游過來。「毒魚！」我說。我們跳出水面爬上河岸，在夜幕中奔逃，濕漉漉的衣服上拖帶著泥水。

跑出一段距離後，我們再度折返回去，想躲在暗處看個究竟。這時才發現那片廢墟不知何時已經被一圈高大的木柵欄給圍了起來。眨眼之間，柵欄內部突然升騰起火光，火勢蔓延得極其迅猛，剎那間化作一片沖天的火海。我們退到馬路對面遠遠地看著，四周也漸漸聚集了前來圍觀的附近居民。

就在這時，我看見二樓的窗戶裡突然探出一個人影。那人將手裡的一個布袋子在空中抖弄了幾下，一股濃黑如墨的煙塵瞬間被抖了出來，借著風勢迅速擴散。「快跑！」我說，「那是毒氣！」

我背起胡笳就跑，用另一隻手摀住自己的口鼻，提醒他：「千萬不要將毒氣吸進去！」此時的胡笳已經被嗆得臉色煞白，連呼吸都變得極其微弱。我背著他，朝著遠處幽深黑暗的巷子深處狂奔。在驚恐中醒來。

禮堂的驚險搜捕與背負

在以前的另一個夢裡，我也曾救過胡笳。

在一個大禮堂內，觀眾席上坐著不少人，我們也在。見幾個人進來，一排排查找，要抓胡笳。我心裡明白，坐在原位裝無辜是絕對敷衍不過去的。

就在他們逼近的那一剎那，我猛地站起身來，迎著衝上來的人對打了幾下，憑著驚人的爆發力將他們逼退。趁著一片混亂，我拉起胡笳，大步跨過一排排高高的靠背椅，身手敏捷地直接從禮堂後門逃了出去。一出大門，我立刻將胡笳背在自己的背上在夜色中狂奔。那一刻，我心中驚奇地發現，背上的他竟然輕得就像是一張薄薄的白紙，毫無重量，這使我得以帶著他大步流星、腳不沾地般飛速逃離了險境。

【備註】關於緣份的古鏡故事

聽說過一個關於緣份的故事：

從前有個書生，和未婚妻約好在某年某月某日結婚。奈何，到那一天，未婚妻卻嫁給了別人。書生大受打擊，一病不起。眼看書生奄奄一息，家人用盡各種辦法卻也無能為力。這時，一名和尚決定點化他。和尚到他牀前，從懷裏摸出一面鏡子叫書生看一看。

書生看到一名遇害的女子一絲股躺在海灘上，一名路人經過，看了一眼，便搖搖頭，走了。之後又路過一人，他將衣服脫下，給女屍蓋上，便走了。過了一會，再路過一人，走了過去，並挖了一個洞，小心翼翼把屍體掩埋了。書生看著鏡子裡發生的，滿面疑惑，然後，書生在鏡中看到自己的未婚妻在洞房花燭，被她丈夫掀起蓋頭紗的瞬間。

書生還是不明所以。於是和尚解釋道，那具海灘上的女屍，正是他未婚妻的前世。而他，就是第二個路過的人，曾經給過她一件衣服。她今生和他相戀，就只為了還他一個情。但她最終要報答一生一世的人，是最後那個把她埋起來的好心人，那人就是她現在的丈夫。

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The Feather-Light Rescue and the Ancient Mirror of Destiny

October 19, 2016: The Escape from the Toxic Smoke

Under the cover of night, Hu Jia and I occupied a massive, weathered straw shed. Inside, rows of tables and chairs were set out; yet, the doors and windows completely lacked frames, existing merely as wide, gaping horizontal voids carved directly into the thatch walls on both flanks. The right side of the shed was joined seamlessly to a two-story building sharing the same dilapidated aesthetic, its exterior coated in white lime mud; the site possessed the distinct atmosphere of an abandoned wastepaper incineration facility. Flanking the front of the structures was a vast, open courtyard, while a tranquil, narrow river trickled directly behind them.

While we were busily engaged in some task, I suddenly spotted a truck aggressively veering into the open courtyard from the left, immediately followed by a second vehicle, their storage beds crammed to the brim with crumpled wastepaper. Several people jumped out of the vehicle, exuding an air of ill intent. Someone from the adjacent concrete building hurried downstairs to negotiate with them. Why on earth would there be business transactions at this ungodly hour? I muttered to myself, a bad feeling creeping over me.

In a hushed, frantic whisper, I turned to Hu Jia, who was working a few paces away: "Hurry, kill the lights and leap out the back window!"
Crouching low beneath the silhouettes of the tables and chairs, we slipped silently and rapidly toward the rear opening. As I passed the wall, I reached out and flipped the master light switch; yet, miraculously, the illumination refused to die. Instead, it continued to cast a brilliant, warm amber glow, flooding the entire straw shed with light. Hu Jia whispered from behind, "Do not force it. A sudden blackout would instantly betray our movements to the thugs outside; it’s a blessing it stayed on." Fortunately, the structure of the shed was remarkably low, capped by a wide, sweeping thatched eave that slanted outward, shielding our frantic movements from the intruders in the courtyard.

Before the thought could even settle, the crisis erupted. Following closely behind Hu Jia, I cleanly vaulted through the low rear window opening. We bounded furiously across a vast expanse of old rooftop shingles made of overlapping black tiles. Bearing into the midnight wind, we executed a grand, desperate leap out into the distance. Hu Jia crashed into the shallow current close to the opposite bank of the river, seemingly twisting his ankle, as he sat clutching and massaging his left foot in intense pain. My own descent struck closer to the center of the riverbed; thanks to the dynamic buoyancy of the current, my body remained entirely unharmed. We lunged through the current, anchoring our bodies half-submerged within the deep, protective shroud of a weeping willow tree, warily watching the opposite bank.

Just then, a few shadowy figures materialized at the window voids of the straw shed. One man hoisted a massive washbasin and violently sloshed its contents into the river, discharging two bizarre fish into the current. One large, pitch-black fish instantly locked onto our coordinates, charging with a terrifying speed straight toward us. "There are venomous fish in the water!" I said. We launched ourselves out of the riverbed, scrambling frantically onto the grassy bank and sprinting blindly into the darkness, our soaked garments dripping heavy, muddy trails behind us.

After running a considerable distance, a powerful curiosity compelled us to cautiously retrace our steps, desperate to peer through the shadows and witness the outcome. Returning to the perimeter, we found that the entire clearing had been heavily sealed shut by a colossal grid of timber fencing. In the blink of an eye, roaring pillars of fire erupted within the enclosure, the blaze spreading with an apocalyptic speed until it transformed the site into a raging ocean of flame. We were forced to retreat across the main road, watching from a distance as a crowd of locals gradually gathered around us.

Suddenly, I looked up to see a dark silhouette extend itself from the window of the second floor. The figure held a canvas sack, giving it several violent, snapping shakes in mid-air, instantly unleashing a dense cloud of pitch-black ash that expanded rapidly on the wind. "Run!" I hollered. "That is lethal chemical gas!"

Without a shred of hesitation, I hoisted the injured Hu Jia onto my back, sealing my own nose and mouth tightly with my free hand while screaming a warning to him: "Do not inhale a single drop of that smoke!" Hu Jia was already gasping for air, his face turning completely pale as his breathing grew perilously faint. Carrying him upon my spine, I summoned every ounce of raw kinetic strength in my legs, sprinting like a maniac deep into the shadowy labyrinth of a distant alleyway. Marooned in a state of absolute panic and frantic exhaustion, I snapped wide awake.

The Auditorium Rescue
I've dreamt of rescuing Hu Jia before.

In a spacious auditorium, many people were already seated, and we were among them. Suddenly, several men entered and began searching row by row, intent on capturing Hu Jia. It was no longer possible to maintain a facade of indifference.

Just as the searchers closed in on our row, I unleashed a surge of overwhelming, formidable power! I sprang up, confronting the approaching men head-on, and with a few heavy, forceful blows, I drove them back. Amidst the ensuing chaos, I grabbed Hu Jia, vaulted over the high-backed auditorium seats, and dashed straight toward an open exit at the rear, vanishing into the night. The moment I crossed the threshold, I hoisted Hu Jia onto my back and took off at a full sprint. To my utter astonishment, he felt completely weightless—as light as a mere sheet of paper. This absolute lightness allowed me to move with the speed of a gale and the intensity of a raging fire; I covered ground in great, swift strides, drifting away with ease and leaving all danger far behind.

[Note] The Story of the Mirror of Destiny

I once heard a story about destiny:

Long ago, there was a scholar who agreed to marry his fiancée on a specific year, month, and day. However, when that day arrived, his fiancée married someone else instead. The scholar suffered a massive blow and fell gravely ill. Seeing him on the verge of death, his family tried every possible means but remained entirely helpless. At that moment, a monk decided to enlighten him. The monk came to his bedside, drew a mirror from his robe, and told the scholar to look inside.

The scholar saw a murdered woman lying completely naked on a beach. A passerby walked past, took a single look, shook his head, and walked away. Afterward, another person passed by; he took off his clothes, covered the female corpse with them, and walked away. A moment later, a third person passed by, walked over, dug a hole, and gingerly buried the corpse. Watching the events unfold in the mirror, the scholar was filled with confusion. Then, the scholar saw his fiancée in her bridal chamber, at the exact moment her husband lifted her bridal veil.

The scholar still did not understand the meaning. So, the monk explained: that female corpse on the beach was his fiancée's previous life. And he, the scholar, was the second passerby who had once given her a piece of clothing. She fell in love with him in this lifetime simply to repay that single debt of affection. But the person she ultimately had to repay with her entire lifetime was the final, kind-hearted man who had buried her; that man was her current husband.

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零五篇

《美猴王雪橇、通天跳板與大江長橋》

2014年1月19日：神速黃牛與美猴王雪橇

夢到有人牽來一頭壯實的黃牛，周身駝黃，有斑駁的棕色點綴，皮質光滑、柔軟。牠走到我的右側，斜臥下身子讓我坐上去。當我側坐穩當後，牠便站起來邁步前行。一路上我並沒有感覺到任何顛簸或奔跑的震動，但抵達目的地時，我才驚覺原來這頭黃牛的速度竟然比世間任何交通工具都要快得多。目的地是一條清澈的河邊，河水不深，有大片的淺灘，那頭黃牛又伏下身子讓我下來。我順著牠的脊背輕輕撫摸那光滑的皮毛，手感很舒服。河邊此刻也站著幾個人，似乎正準備出發去某個遙遠的地方。

在前幾天的另一個夢裡：我搬到了一處連綿起伏的小丘陵地帶，到處白雪皚皚。街上有幾個年輕人在跑，我跟著他們來到了一處小高地。哇！遠處連綿起伏的山坡後面，竟然飄出了佈滿大半個天空、數不盡的巨大透明泡泡。那些泡泡就像被放大了無數倍的肥皂泡，輕盈飄逸，晶瑩剔透，在日光下帶着迷人的反光，真是美極了。天空呈現出純淨的淺藍色，無數巨大的泡泡之間還瀰漫著飛舞的雪花。屋頂上蓋滿了厚厚的積雪，樹木也全變成了銀白色的，一切的一切都太妙不可言了。那一刻，我彷彿置身於一個巨大的聖誕玻璃雪花球（Glass Snowball）之中。就在這時，一隊由聖誕白鹿拉著的雪橇劃過右邊的天空，由小變大飛馳而來，簡直就和童話裡聖誕老人坐的雪橇一模一樣。果然，雪橇上穩穩坐著一個穿著紅色聖誕老人衣服的人，可當我仔細一瞧，那紅帽子下面顯露出來的，竟然是一顆毛茸茸的猴子臉——那是一位美猴王！

2014年3月19日：老廠房的彎槓與衝刺的男孩

夢見一棟只有鋼筋水泥框架的老工業廠房或倉庫​​，有七、八層樓高。裡面既沒有常規的樓梯，也沒有電梯。唯一能讓人上樓的，是一個兩頭由強韌橡皮帶子吊著的、中央稍微向下彎曲的橫木槓子。這根木槓貼著大樓的鋼筋框架，正慢慢地、上下規律地浮動著，人們需要藉著它的彈力伸縮上下樓。

我趁著那根木槓下來的一剎那，縱身一跳，穩穩地躍了上去，雙腿懸空盪下，坐在了彎槓的中間。只覺得身子一沉，向下盪去，隨即又向上揚起。我趕緊貓起身子，以防被框架給夾住。

藉力我跳到了樓上。大約在第五或第六層上有幾個小隔間，它們並不在同一水平面上，其中一間在兩層樓的中間，沒門。我好奇地探頭往裡一瞧，只見裡面有人正急匆匆地抽走一條自製的木梯（那是一條一尺來寬、在長木板上釘了些小木橫條的簡陋梯子）。無法進入。看起來樓上為數不多、隱約現身的人，似乎全都是受過傷殘的男人。

來到大樓外面，眼前呈現出一片綿延的草坡，坡度左高右低，山坡頂上矗立著一棟建築物。這時，一個瘦弱的男孩（其實看起來比普通男孩要稍微年長、成熟一些）出現在視野裡。他正努力地往坡上衝，看著他吃力地往上衝，沒成功，跌退了下來。但他沒有放棄，又繼續衝，又退下來。眼見他有一次幾乎就要成功攀上那片比較平坦的高地時，那瀕臨體能極限的最後一個大跨步，卻令他整個身體搖搖欲墜，看起來無比可憐。果然，他再度踉踉蹌蹌地倒退了下來。

此時他全身已經沾滿了泥濘，可他依然衝上去、摔下來，再衝上去、又重重地摔下來。跌倒、爬起，再跌倒、再爬起，反反覆覆地、頑強地、繼續著。那一刻，我的憐憫之心，漸漸被對他那份堅韌不屈的敬佩所代替。

這時我才注意到，原來他每一次看似慘烈的失敗，都在他的身體裡聚集起了更大的勢能！這使得他的每一次重新衝刺，都比上一次衝得更高。當然，每次摔下來的時候也一次比一次慘烈，倒退的距離也一次比一次遠。

就在他最後一次踉踉蹌蹌、大步向後倒退時，他的腳後跟猛地踩到了一條隱藏在草皮下、極具彈性的泥濘木板——濕漉漉的草皮深處，竟然橫臥著一條神祕的跳板！當他剛在木板上站穩，恰逢那條跳板往上彈起之時。剎那間聚集起來的能量，使他一下子快速地衝上了草坡頂端！我快步跟過去一看，只見那片草坡在大樓後面無限延伸著，而且地勢變得又高又陡峭，直插雲霄，隱隱有通天之勢。而那位頑強不屈的男孩，這一次終於再也沒有跌落下來。在天際的盡頭，幾個不知從哪裡驟然出現的神祕人影，伸出手拉了他一把，帶他進入了光芒之中。

2014年12月20日：大樓頂層的PS特技與大江長橋

夢到在一所大學的老校區教學樓裡當管理員。那裡剛剛整理好的大廳與過道，可大門總是被學生們推開，他們大大咧咧地走進來，穿過整個樓層。我心裡想著去把大門關上，那裡有好幾扇落地大玻璃門，可往往是這裡剛剛關上，那裡卻又被學生們推開了，到最後我也索性聽之任之、放任不管了。

走出去，才發覺原來這座校園是那麼的開闊美麗，到處都是古老而莊重的歷史建築。在教學大樓的後面，竟然有一個劇組正在拍電影，滾滾的人工濃霧遮擋住了被拍攝的大樓樓頂。樓頂的那一部分竟然被凭空「取」了下來，畫面感完全就像是現代電腦軟體裡的Photoshop（PS）摳圖手法，神奇極了。

再往前走幾步，眼前豁然開朗，出現一條大江，江水浩浩蕩蕩，大江裡面有無數條肥美的鯽魚正在歡快地躍出水面（我想那應該不是鯉魚，因為鯉魚是紅色的，而夢裡的魚不是）。隨後，我準備橫跨那座飛架在大江之上的長橋。那不是一座現代化的鋼筋鋼橋，而是一座散發著歷史厚重感的古老長橋。還沒等我邁步踏上橋面，我便醒了。

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The Monkey King's Sleigh, the Celestial Trampoline, and the Great River Bridge

January 19, 2014: The Golden Ox and the Monkey King’s Sleigh

I dreamed that someone led a sturdy ox toward me; its hide was a rich camel-yellow adorned with mottled patches of brown, its skin remarkably smooth and soft to the touch. It approached my right side, kneeling gracefully to let me mount. The moment I was seated sideways and stabilized, it arose and began to glide forward. I felt absolutely zero jolting or rapid running during the transit; yet, upon arriving at our destination, I realized this ox moved significantly faster than any modern mode of transportation. Our destination was a riverbank where the water was shallow, framing a vast expanse of pebbled shoals. The ox knelt once more, allowing me to dismount. I caressed its hide along its spine, enjoying the immensely comforting texture of its coat. A few individuals stood gathered by the water, seemingly preparing to embark on a journey to some distant realm.

A few nights prior, in another dream: I had relocated to an area of rolling, miniature hills, blanketed entirely in pristine white snow. A few youths were sprinting down the street, and I followed them up to a small, elevated plateau. Turning around to look back—wow! From behind the undulating ridges of the distant mountains arose countless massive, transparent bubbles that filled more than half the sky. Resembling magnified soap bubbles, they were airy, graceful, and crystal clear, reflecting the light in iridescent prisms; it was breathtakingly beautiful. The sky was a pale, crisp blue, and between the colossal bubbles, a dance of delicate snowflakes drifted through the air. The rooftops were heavily capped with snow, and the trees were turned a brilliant, shimmering silver—everything felt entirely enchanting. I felt precisely as though I had been placed inside a massive, exquisite glass snow-globe. Suddenly, a sleigh pulled by white reindeers soared across the right side of the sky, growing from a tiny speck into a grand vision, looking exactly like Santa Claus’s magical sleigh. Sure enough, a figure clad in Santa's signature crimson robes sat inside, but as I peered closely beneath the red hat, the face that emerged was covered in fur—it was a Monkey King!

March 19, 2014: The Soaring Trampoline and the Unyielding Climber

I dreamed of an old industrial factory or warehouse consisting of nothing but a bare reinforced concrete framework, about seven or eight stories high. Inside, there were absolutely no conventional staircases or elevators. The sole mechanism for reaching the upper floors was a slightly sagging wooden crossbar, suspended at both ends by heavy, high-tension rubber bands, floating slowly and rhythmically up and down against the building's skeleton. One had to masterfully harness its immense elastic recoil to ascend.

Seizing the exact microsecond the bar floated down to its lowest point, I leap onto it, sitting in the middle with my legs swinging below. I felt my body sink and swing downwards, then rise upwards again. I curled my body, crouching low to prevent myself from being crushed or pinned by the passing steel framing during the ascent.

Harnessing this momentum, I vaulted onto the upper decks. Around the fifth or sixth floor, a few bizarrely structured cubicles were scattered across uneven levels; one particular room hung suspended halfway between two floors and possessed no front door. I peeked my head inside, only to see someone frantically pulling away a makeshift wooden ladder—a crude device about a foot wide, constructed of a long wooden plank with tiny crossbars nailed onto it. The room was entirely inaccessible, and from what I could gather, the few shadowy figures drifting across these upper levels appeared to be disabled or wounded men.

Stepping outside the framework, a sprawling grassy slope presented itself, elevated high on the left and slanting lower on the right, capped at the summit by a solemn building. Just then, a frail-looking boy (though in reality, he appeared a bit older and more mature than a typical boy) materialized in the arena. He was channeling every ounce of his remaining strength, desperately sprinting up the steep incline. I watched him trudge furiously upward, at the half way up, losing his footing and tumbling back down the slop. Yet, he refused to surrender; he pushed himself up and charged the slope again, only to be ruthlessly repelled once more. At one point, he seemed on the absolute precipice of conquering the flat high ground, but that final, lunging stride at the very limit of his physical endurance left his entire frame rocking and swaying. He looked deeply pitiable. Sure enough, his balance shattered, and he came stumbling and staggering backward all the way down to the base.

Now completely slicked in thick mud, he charged up and crashed down, charged up and slammed down again. Fall and rise, fall and rise—over and over, with a stubborn, fierce, unyielding resolve, he continued this brutal cycle of assault. Gradually, the pity in my heart was entirely overwritten by a profound, towering sense of awe for his resilience.

It was only then that I caught a shocking realization: every single catastrophic failure was actually accumulating a massive pocket of kinetic potential energy inside his body! This meant that each subsequent charge shot him significantly higher and further up the hill than the last. Consequently, each fall grew increasingly brutal, and each backward stumble carried him further away from the crest.

During his final, staggering backward retreat, his heel slammed directly onto a mud-slicked, highly elastic plank hidden deep within the grass—a secret trampoline buried beneath the soaking sod. The exact microsecond he stabilized his footing upon it coincided perfectly with the plank's upward snap. The colossal, accumulated energy violently amplified his physical resilience and stamina, enabling him to rapidly dash up the slope with his own two feet, charging clean onto the summit! I scrambled up behind him to investigate, only to find that the grassy slope extended infinitely behind the building, transforming into a towering, vertical cliff that pierced the heavens with an absolute majesty. This time, that unyielding boy never fell back down. At the absolute edge of the horizon, a few mysterious silhouettes materialized out of the clouds, extending their hands to gently lift him over the crest and into the light.

December 20, 2014: The Photoshop Film Set and the Bridge Over the River

I dreamed that I was working as a facilities administrator inside an old campus lecture hall at a university. We had just neatly arranged the grand central hall and corridors, yet the main doors were continuously pushed open by swelling crowds of students wandering carelessly through the floors. I intended to shut the doors—there were several floor-to-ceiling glass panels—but every time I sealed one section, another door would be swung open by the students. Eventually, I resigned myself to it and decided to just let them be.

Stepping outside, I realized that the university campus was so beautiful, lined everywhere with ancient, stately historic architecture. Behind the main lecture building, a film crew was busily shooting a movie; rolling clouds of artificial mist completely shrouded the roof of the structure. I watched as the rooftop section was cleanly "extracted" and removed—the technique perfectly mirrored the digital cutting-and-pasting of modern Photoshop (PS) software. It was spectacular.

Walking a few paces further, the panorama split open to reveal a magnificent, roaring river. The currents surged with a tremendous volume, and within the waters, a countless multitude of plump crucian carp were joyfully leaping out of the surface (I knew they weren't carp, as carp are crimson, and the fish in my dream were not). Following this, I was preparing to cross a bridge spanning across the great river. It was not a sterile, modern steel structure, but an ancient, majestic long bridge radiating the heavy patina of history. Before my feet could even touch the surface of the bridge deck, I awoke in absolute tranquility.

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零四篇

《魚雷鱷魚、天降恐龍與柔光鴕鳥蛋》

2009年1月14日：土路血跡與奪槍夢

夢見土路上有幾處斑斑點點的血跡，似乎有人被殺。進到屋裡，一個神祕男子突然手槍對準了我和夢裡的一位女友。他瞄準了她先開了一槍，我急中生智，迅速衝上前去死死抓住槍頭展開激烈搏鬥，拼盡全力使得槍口朝上。砰的一聲，子彈打偏了，沒打著。醒來時，整個人心跳不已，驚魂未定。

2009年2月27日：無嘴魚與天降恐龍

夢見小李子在溪邊捕到了一條五尺多長的罕見大魚。準備烹調時，胡笳過來幫忙破開魚膛，一刀剁掉了佔據頭部三分之一的尖嘴巴，而我則留在邊上刮魚鱗。

那條大魚雖然沒了嘴，卻仍然劈啪蹦跳得厲害，生命力極其頑強，我最終無奈地放棄了刮魚鱗。

轉眼之間，畫面一轉，那條魚不知怎的落在了不遠處的一個小山坡上。陡然間，一條身形比那條魚還要大上一圈的巨型恐龍從天而降，竟然直接伏在那條大魚的背上開始交配。

完事之後，恐龍伸出頭猛然一看，這才發現它的情魚居然沒有嘴巴。隨著恐龍焦急的詢問，這兩隻史前生物竟然一問一答地對起話來。它們使用的語言我完全聽不懂，但那低沉神祕的聲音卻在耳畔聽得清清楚楚。

2009年3月28日：三大水池的游魚

夢見三個巨大的水池，裡面游動著大小各式各樣種類的魚。一開始看時還都是些不起眼的小魚，可看著看著，那些游魚竟然在眼前漸漸長大，最後全都變成了足足有一斤來重的肥美大魚。

2009年6月7日：敞開的窗口與柔光鴕鳥蛋

晚上睡覺前，我故意把隔壁那間大空屋的窗子留了有尺把來高的開口。早上醒來走進去一看，霍！竟然有三、四隻不同種類、羽毛斑斕的小鳥正在屋子裡歡快地嘻戲。只可惜它們一看到我進去，便顯得十分慌張，拍打著翅膀急急忙忙地朝窗外飛走了。

到了第二天晚上，我依然將那個窗口敞開著。隔天早上再度走入屋內，驚奇地發見中央的桌子上竟然有三、四個散發着柔光的大鴕鳥蛋和七、八隻小鵪鶉蛋。幾隻大雁和花羽小鳥也立在桌上。這一次，它們看見我進來非但一點兒也不躲閃，反而顯得悠然自得。

2009年6月10日：六十度陡降的驚險降落

夢見自己睡在一架只有十幾個乘客的輕型小飛機上。飛行途中，我心裡一直隱隱擔心飛機可能會掉下來。可隨後心中又升起一股無可奈何的豁達，想著：隨它去吧，不管了！就在這時，感覺到飛機猛烈地遭遇了一股強勁的逆向氣流，機長正在拼命拉升機頭，整個機身呈現出足足有60度的恐怖陡峭坡度。穿行到紐約鬧市區的上空時，底下的鋼筋水泥叢林裡幾乎看見不到任何像樣的跑道，然而在一片驚心動魄中，飛機最終安然無恙地平穩降落了。

2009年9月8日：魚雷鱷魚與水池大魚的囓咬

【夢一】
來到了胡笳工作的那間寬敞明亮、富有現代感的辦公室。大廳裡整齊地排列著七、八個隔間（cubicles），胡笳的隔間靠近一排落地大窗。辦公室的門並不在窗子這一面，進門後需要先走過一段兩三公尺長的欄桿走道，然後左轉才能進去。欄桿的右邊是一個有兩尺落差、呈階梯式的下層辦公區域。就在下層辦公室緊鄰著欄桿的地方，放置了一個直徑約兩公尺的巨大厚圓形玻璃魚缸。

魚缸的底部堆滿了厚厚的沙子，上面正游動著幾條一、兩尺長的大魚。有的魚把尾巴埋在沙裡，有的乾脆將大半個身子都埋進沙子深處，只露出一顆頭臉，一雙圓溜溜的眼睛卻在咕溜溜地轉個不停。沙面上散落著幾小塊麵包渣，想必是在這裡工作的職員們午餐後隨手投放的。我當時手頭沒有任何可以餵牠們的食物，竟鬼使神差地朝著魚缸底下吐了一小口唾沫，想看看它們會有什麼動靜。（這動作很不文明，在現實生活中我絕對不會這麼幹。）

誰知這口唾沫瞬間驚動了一條潛伏在底部的巨大鱷魚！原先我根本沒有看見它，因為它的外皮顏色和沙子一模一樣。突然之間，它搖身猛烈一動，露出了深埋在沙子裡的龐大身形；緊接著，一個鯉魚打挺，猛地翻出了那高大的魚缸，連帶著掀出好多條它的子孫，迅速沿著欄桿爬上了胡笳所在的辦公區域。我驚恐地大叫：「鱷魚！鱷鱼來了！」以通知正在隔間裡埋頭工作的胡笳。

【夢二】
畫面一轉，來到了一個水池邊，看見一個東方女人正在那裡洗魚。我跟她講述剛才鱷魚大鬧辦公室的恐怖場景。見她毫无反應，竟然把手裡剛洗過的一條生魚咬了一口吃了。突然，我瞥見地上一條足足有兩尺長的鯉魚正迅速湊近她，猛地一口咬住了她的小腿！鮮血立刻湧了出來，我急忙提醒她。

就在這一剎那，另一條長達一米的大魚突然蹦起來，有很大的勁兒，撞上了我的右手背！不論我怎麼甩都甩它不走，使勁地朝我身上擠兌。擔心它咬我，拼命地將手把那魚頭推擠到水池壁，不讓它有機會開口咬我；魚頭被擠歪出血，驚恐中醒來。

**********************************

Torpedo Crocodiles, Heaven-Sent Dinosaurs, and the Glowing Sanctuary

January 14, 2009: The Gunfight over the Bloodstains

I dreamed of several mottled patches of blood splattered across a dirt road, suggesting someone had been murdered. Moving inside a building, a strange man suddenly materialized, pointing a handgun directly at me and a female friend within the dream. He took aim at her first and fired a shot. In a flash of desperate wit, I lunged forward, fiercely grabbing the barrel of the gun and wrestling with him, straining with all my might to force the muzzle upward. Bang! The shot went wild and missed. I snapped awake, my heart hammering violently against my chest.

February 27, 2009: The Beakless Fish and the Descending Dinosaur

I dreamed that Xiao Lizi captured a rare, massive fish over five feet long down by the creek. As we prepared to cook it, Hu Jia stepped in to help gut the fish, cleanly severing its pointed beak, which constituted a full third of its head. I remained beside them to scrape off the scales.

Despite being mouthless, the giant fish continued to thrash and flop violently, its life force fiercely stubborn. Overwhelmed, I eventually gave up on scaling it.
In the blink of an eye, the scene shifted; the fish had somehow materialized on a nearby hillside. Suddenly, a colossal dinosaur—its physique a size larger than the fish—descended from the heavens, pinning itself flat against the giant fish's back to mate.

Once the act was finished, the dinosaur extended its massive head, staring in sudden shock to find that its beloved fish had no mouth. Following the dinosaur's anxious inquiries, these two prehistoric creatures actually began to engage in a verbal dialogue. I couldn't comprehend a single word of the language they used, yet their deep, mysterious voices vibrated clearly in my ears.

March 28, 2009: The Three Pools of Abundance

I dreamed of three colossal pools filled to the brim with a thriving multitude of fish of every imaginable size and variety. When I first gazed inside, they appeared to be nothing more than tiny, insignificant minnows. Yet, as I watched, the swimming fish gradually expanded before my very eyes, until every single one had transformed into a plump, heavy fish weighing well over a pound.

June 7, 2009: The Glowing Ostrich Eggs and the Avian Sanctuary

Before heading to bed one evening, I deliberately left the window of the large, adjacent vacant room cracked open about a foot high. Upon waking the next morning, I stepped inside to investigate—gasp! Three or four exotic little birds with magnificent, colorful plumage were joyfully frolicking inside the room. Tragically, the moment they spotted my entrance, they panicked, flapping their wings in a frantic rush to escape out the window.
On the second night, I kept the window open once more. Walking back into the room the following morning, I was astonished to discover three or four colossal ostrich eggs, glowing with a soft, ethereal light, arranged perfectly atop the central table, flanked by seven or eight delicate little quail eggs. Several elegant wild geese and those same colorful little birds were resting peacefully on the tabletop. This time, upon seeing me enter, they didn't scatter at all. Instead, they appeared entirely serene and carefree, completely at ease in my presence.

June 10, 2009: The 60-Degree Steep Landing Over Manhattan

I dreamed I was asleep inside a small, light aircraft carrying only about a dozen passengers. Throughout the flight, a lingering anxiety haunted me that the plane might fall from the sky. Yet, a wave of helpless resignation washed over me, and I thought: Let it be, I don't care anymore! Just then, the aircraft violently collided with a powerful pocket of turbulence. The captain pulled up hard on the nose, tilting the entire fuselage into a terrifyingly steep 60-degree ascent. As we reached the airspace over downtown New York City, there appeared to be absolutely no runway visible amidst the concrete jungle below. Yet, through the heart-stopping suspense, the plane executed a perfectly smooth and safe landing.

September 8, 2009: The Torpedo Crocodile and the Leaping Hand-Bite

[Dream I]
I arrived at the spacious, brightly lit, and highly modern office where Hu Jia works. The floor was neatly lined with seven or eight cubicles, and Hu Jia's workstation sat directly adjacent to a grand row of floor-to-ceiling windows. The entrance to the office was not on the windowed side; upon stepping through the door, one had to traverse a two-to-three-meter-long railed walkway and execute a sharp left turn to enter. To the right of the railing was a lower-level office space sitting at a two-foot drop, structured like cascading steps. Positioned directly against the railing on this lower level was a colossal, thick round glass fish tank about two meters in diameter.

The bottom of the tank was layered with a thick bed of sand, populated by several live fish measuring one to two feet long. Some of the fish kept their tails buried deep in the sand, while others had completely submerged their entire bodies, exposing only their faces, their round eyes spinning and rolling continuously. Scattered across the surface of the sand were a few small breadcrumbs, undoubtedly thrown in by the employees after lunch. Lacking any food to offer them, I impulsively spat a tiny bit of saliva down into the tank, curious to see how they would react. (This was a highly uncivilized act; in real life, I would never dream of doing such a thing.)

To my absolute horror, that single drop of saliva, instantly waking a gargantuan crocodile hidden at the very bottom! I hadn't spotted it initially because its scaly hide blended flawlessly with the color of the sand. Suddenly, with a violent, sweeping motion, it unveiled its massive form from the depths of the sand. In the next instant, executing a powerful flip, it vaulted clean out of the high glass tank, dragging a dark swarm of its offspring along with it, rapidly scaling the barrier to invade the office area where Hu Jia was working. Plunging into absolute terror, I frantically backed away while screaming at the top of my lungs: "Crocodile! The crocodile is here!" desperate to warn Hu Jia as he worked inside his cubicle.

[Dream II]
The scene abruptly shifted to a sink, where an Asian woman was washing fish. I told here the terrifying ordeal of the giant crocodile tearing up the office. To my astonishment, the woman remained completely unfazed. Right before my eyes, she took a bite out of the raw fish she had just washed and swallowed it down. Suddenly, I glanced down to see a two-foot carp darting toward her; with a violent snap, it clamped its jaws deep into her calf! Blood instantly gushed from the wound, and I warn her.

In that brief instant, another large fish—a full meter long and incredibly strong—leaped out of the water and slammed into the back of my right hand with astonishing force! The fish gripped my hand tightly, and no matter how hard I shook it, I couldn't shake it off. Afraid it would open its mouth and bite me, I mustered all my strength and slammed the fish's head against the sink wall to prevent it from biting me. The impact was so violent that the fish's head was severely dislocated, and blood flowed out. I awoke with a start.

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零三篇

《併攏的拉鍊樓梯與高手的照相機》

2008年9月5日：拉鍊樓梯夢

夢到在一棟古老又豪華的大樓頂層，想下樓卻不成，因為樓梯的坡度太陡峭、階梯間距又太大，伸長腿連腳尖都夠不著，雖然有扶手但還是膽戰心驚地不敢下。好不容易找到另一條坡度不太陡，間距也可以接受的樓梯，剛剛要下樓，忽然整個樓梯從那一頭開始朝這邊迅速併攏過來，像拉鍊被拉上了一樣，又無法下樓。

這樣下樓不成的主題在夢中是全新的，那陣子有過三、四次了。這說明了什麼？沒有退路？想退縮卻無路？

2008年9月18日：景德鎮瓷器店與母親的轉世夢

在J家（夢裡的），他出門前託我幫他去報攤取報紙，兩分錢一份，他說已經跟報攤說好了。

不一會兒，屋子裡來了許多人，也有黑人。我納悶兒這裡不是 J 的家嗎？怎麼這些人好像來到了公共場所似的。

出門後看見一條石子路、頗有江南風情的老式街道。正當我在猶豫東西方向時，卻看到左邊數過去兩三家店面的門匾上用草書寫著一行字，其中「景德鎮」三個字映入眼簾，我隨即走去，想看看瓷器古董什麼的。沒想到，剛推門進去，就見我母親與我姑姑正站在不太明亮的室內抽著煙。

「媽媽，您怎麼會在這裡？」我大驚失色。母親沒有答話，「你們不認識我啦？」我問。
「應該是你認識我們，」姑姑說，「你母親已經又轉世了，二十多年了。」
一轉身，我看見一個年輕的姑娘站在我的左側。難道她就是我轉世了的母親？

懵朦朧懂地出了那家店，在街上遇到人便想尋找答案——我母親與姑姑都已經過世多年，她們怎麼還在那裡抽煙？然而一路上都沒有得到滿意的解釋。

朝相反方向走了一段路，終於在街道轉角處看到了報攤。那報攤規模比較大、靠街面的兩處敞開著，十分明亮。我走過去拿報紙，「三分錢，」售報人說。不是說兩分嗎？我納悶著，便醒了過來。

2008年10月3日：高手的照相機與甘泉夢

與胡笳一起度假，來到溫泉室內，由弧線組成的階梯錯落、中間有島嶼的豪華大池子裡卻沒有水。胡笳說算了不泡了，黎晨說那怎麼成，看這裡有水龍頭開關。說著便順手一捻，各處的噴水孔高高低低地都湧出水了，但出水並不大。

「哎，你看外邊有露天池子，咱們去那裡吧。」

那是一個自然形成的大水塘，線條彎曲，四周參差錯落長著各種熱帶喬木。「我去游泳，」胡笳說著便一個猛子在水裡竄出去好遠。咦？黎晨忙想：你胡笳原來是不會游泳的呀！轉身一看胡笳還在邊上，這才鬆了一口氣。

再一趟水，原來那水還沒沒過腳面。低頭一看，池塘底部全都是像雨花石一樣的卵石，小的如雞蛋大小，大的如番薯。

黎晨在池邊找到控水開關一擰，嘩啦啦，各處的水都噴了出來，由小到大。有的是從樹幹噴出的，有如淋浴的水柱。

漸漸地又來了一些度假的遊客，他們進入水中戲謔、玩耍。

「照相機呢？多麼美好的景色，我要拍照。」黎晨說著這才發覺照相機忘在溫泉室內了。他們趕緊回去取，還好！機子還在！黎晨拿起照相機，怎麼鬆鬆垮垮的？！仔細一看，原來照相機看起來完整，但裡面所有連接零件的螺絲竟然全都是卸開的。不好！像蘇式月餅的酥皮一樣，一碰就層層脫落。她趕快小心翼翼地捧著，生怕掉了一顆螺絲。

走出門，遇到一個老外，問道：「怎麼了？照相機壞了？後街有一家照相機修理處。」胡笳與黎晨便急忙趕到那裡。

一個看起來很有經驗的白人老頭接過相機，打開放在桌子上，開始將螺絲一一上緊復原。

「不知是誰幹的，拆了機子又按原狀放著，一定是高手幹的。」黎晨自言自語，又好像是在對胡笳或修理工說。

「肯定是高手幹的！」邊上出現了幾個像西班牙人的年輕小夥子，他們好像都跟修理老人很熟悉。其中一個回答著，轉頭看了看黎晨。

黎晨心裡琢磨著，是不是他們中誰幹的，為了賺點修理費。幾個人圍著看老人修照相機，彼此之間還用著法語交談。

以上是黎晨的夢。

「美麗的地方沒有水，就因為我們才帶來了水，」胡笳說，「由小到大、積少成多，逐漸把甘泉分享給街坊鄰裡。你想想，這不是我們正在做的事嗎！」

**********************************

The Zipping Staircase and the Masterfully Dismantled Camera

September 5, 2008: The Zipper Stairs

I dreamed that I was on the top floor of an ancient and luxurious building, desperate to go downstairs but completely unable to do so. The slope of the staircase was terrifyingly steep, and the gaps between the steps were so immense that even when I fully extended my legs, my tiptoes couldn't reach the next ledge. Though there was a handrail, I was too frozen with fear to attempt the descent. After searching frantically, I finally located another staircase with a manageable slope and acceptable gaps. Just as I was about to step down, the entire staircase suddenly began to violently zip together from the far end toward me, exactly like a zipper snapping shut. Once again, my descent was blocked.

This motif of being entirely unable to go downstairs was completely new to my dreamscape, occurring three or four times around that period. What did it signify? A total absence of a retreat? A subconscious realization that even if I wanted to back out, there was no longer a path back? 

September 18, 2008: The Reincarnation in the Antique Shop

Inside J's house (within the dream), before he headed out, he asked me to swing by the newsstand to pick up his newspapers, mentioning they were two cents a copy and that he had already cleared it with the vendor.

Shortly after, a massive crowd of people—including Black individuals—poured into the house. I wondered in bewilderment: Isn't this supposed to be J's private home? Why are all these people acting as though they've stumbled into a chaotic public square?
Stepping outside, I found myself on a cobblestone road, an old-fashioned street laced with the delicate charm of the Jiangnan region. Just as I was hesitating over whether to turn east or west, my eyes caught a row of cursive characters swept across the signboards of a shop two or three doors down to the left. The words "Jingdezhen" leaped out at me. I immediately drifted toward it, intending to browse through some porcelain and antiques. To my utter astonishment, the moment I pushed the door open, I spotted my mother and my aunt standing inside the dimly lit room, quietly smoking cigarettes.

"Mother! How on earth did you get here?!" I gasped in shock. My mother remained silent. "Do you two no longer recognize me?" I asked.
"It is you who should recognize us," my aunt replied calmly. "Your mother has already reincarnated; it has been over twenty years now."

Spinning around, I noticed a young woman standing directly on my left. Was this youthful girl truly my reincarnated mother?

Stepping out of the shop in a daze, I searched the streets, desperate to find an answer from passersby—both my mother and aunt had passed away many years ago, so why were they standing there smoking? I received no satisfying explanation.

Walking in the opposite direction for a short while, I finally spotted the newsstand at a street corner. It was quite large, wide open to the street on two sides, and incredibly bright. I walked over to claim the papers. "Three cents," the vendor declared. Didn't J say they were two cents? Marooned in bewilderment, I snapped awake.

October 3, 2008: The Masterfully Dismantled Camera and the Spring of Abundance

On a vacation with Hu Jia, we arrived at an indoor hot spring facility. The grand, luxurious pool was beautifully structured with cascading, curved steps and miniature islands scattered down the center—yet, it was entirely devoid of water. Hu Jia shrugged and said, "Forget it, let's not soak." But Li Chen interjected, "How can we not? Look, there's a faucet valve right here." As she spoke, she casually twisted the valve, and streams of water instantly began to bubble up from spray nozzles placed high and low across the pool, though the flow remained quite weak.

"Oh, look outside! There's an open-air pool out there, let's go over there instead."

It was a naturally formed large pond, its shorelines curving gracefully, flanked on all sides by an intricate growth of various tropical trees. "I'm going for a swim," Hu Jia declared, executing a clean dive and surging incredibly far out into the water. Wait, Li Chen thought in a sudden panic, Hu Jia, you don't even know how to swim in real life! She spun around only to see Hu Jia still standing right beside her on the bank, allowing her to let out a massive sigh of relief.

Wading into the current, she realized the water didn't even submerge the tops of her feet. Looking down, the bottom of the pond was paved entirely with smooth pebbles resembling rain-flower stones—the smaller ones the size of chicken eggs, and the larger ones as massive as sweet potatoes.

Li Chen located a water control switch along the edge of the pond and gave it a sharp twist. Whoosh! Streams of water violently erupted from every direction, growing from a trickle into a powerful flow. Some jets even shot out directly from the tree trunks like overhead showers.

Gradually, a crowd of other holiday travelers arrived, stepping into the water to laugh, splash, and play.

"Where is the camera? This scenery is far too gorgeous, I must take a photo!" As Li Chen spoke, she suddenly realized she had left the camera back inside the indoor hot spring room.

They hurried back to retrieve it, and thank goodness, the device was still sitting there! But the moment Li Chen hoisted the camera, wait, why does it feel completely loose and rickety? Looking closely, while the exterior of the camera appeared entirely whole, every single screw connecting its internal components had been completely unscrewed. Oh no! Exactly like the delicate, flaky crust of a Suzhou-style pastry, it threatened to shed its layers at the slightest touch. She frantically and gingerly cupped it in her palms, terrified of dropping a single, precious screw.

Stepping out the door, they encountered a Westerner who asked, "What's the matter? Is your camera broken? There's a camera repair shop right down the back street." Hu Jia and Li Chen dashed over immediately.

A white elderly man who looked exceptionally experienced accepted the camera, opened it flat upon his workbench, and began to painstakingly thread and tighten every single screw, restoring it piece by piece.

"I have no idea who could have done this—completely dismantling the camera internally yet leaving the exterior looking perfectly untouched. It must have been the work of a true master," Li Chen muttered to herself, as if speaking to Hu Jia or the repairman.

"It was definitely the work of a master!" interjected a few young men nearby who looked Spanish; they appeared to be highly familiar with the elderly repairman. One of them answered while turning his gaze to look directly at Li Chen.

Li Chen wondered to herself if one of them had secretly disassembled the camera to earn some repair fees. The group huddled around, watching the old man repair the camera, conversing amongst themselves in fluid French.

The above was Li Chen's dream.
"A beautiful place had no water, but because of our arrival, we brought the water with us," Hu Jia remarked softly. "Growing from a trickle into a torrent, accumulating bit by bit, we are gradually sharing this sweet spring water with our neighbors and the community. Think about it—isn't this exactly the work we are doing right now?"

特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。

Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.

第四百零二篇