BOOK 2. Zhao Yunlan is a successful detective and has been blind from birth, and is attacked on his way home from a night out but someone steps in and saves him and runs off. Shen Wei is a university lecturer in Architectural Technology and liv...
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The journal lay on the desk in Shen Wei's office at home, unopened, he had no wish to read it, the nightmares were enough without reading about them in black and white. It would make them too real, and he was too afraid of whatever else he would find, that had escaped his dreams. He felt disillusioned with himself as a university lecturer, looking at all the books on the shelves in this, his home, and the thought of the many more on the shelves of his office at work in the university. Since when did he become afraid of one small book when he had read thousands, lifting the offending scripture, he left and went in search of a quiet place to sit and brave opening the first page to read.
He walked past the bedrooms towards the rear of the building, where hopefully no one would disturb him and passed the old room which had been locked for years unable to be opened without a crowbar. He heard the door click as he passed and turned around staring at the visible gap revealing the inside, he pushed it slightly and it easily swung wide open. The old furniture didn't look out of place, it just suited the style of the décor. Wandering over to the tall two door wardrobe, he opened it surprised to find it full of long dark robes belonging to the only person that he of, who wore them. There was a glass cabinet with a display of masks from different times and ages, some with simple decoration, and others plain.
More book shelves with an uncountable amount of journals similar to the one in his hand which made the amount of dreams he'd had, seem like the tip of the iceberg and he sat on the nearest seat and stared at them. Between the bookcases, hung portraits of several people of different ages. Black Robe was in several images, along with a man in long flowing robes who looked familiar, holding a cat, another which looked like Yunlan but he had a lollipop in his mouth smiling. One of the portraits was like Chu with a soldier's uniform and Yunlan dressed as someone who would work in a laboratory. He was surprised to find smaller photos of himself on graduation days but not the university he was at now or the one he graduated from.
He wasn't afraid of anything, just getting more and more curious, until he decided that the only way to find the answers, was to read a book. Everything was in chronological order, so he picked the era he felt comfortable with, and started reading, very occasionally recognising a dream or part of one but not as terrifying as he had originally thought. He read about meeting Chu, Da Qing and Yunlan for the first time in the medical bay for injured soldiers during the war.
Chu was a member of an elite team of soldiers who raided a laboratory for drug samples in order to start developing an antidote but found Da Qing as a prisoner and rescued him, all the team perished except Chu, the only survivor. Black Robe brought them back safely and Da Qing was admitted to the medical bay but ended up in the bed next to Yunlan who had also been saved in accordance to an order from Black Robe, who wanted a subject who was given the illegal drug, to help start off the research for an antidote.
He survived after Black Robe moved him to a private room and transferred some of his energy to him. This part Shen Wei recognised because ha had dreamt about it, but it made more sense now, after learning a little more. He carried on reading until he reached Yunlan's suicide, slowing down a little but was able to continue, understanding why everything happened and Yunlan's last words at that time, if ever they should meet again,
