Chapter 61 - 61 58 The Origin of the Helmsman

Words : 1568 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

61: Chapter 58 The Origin of the Helmsman 61: Chapter 58 The Origin of the Helmsman “The Dream Creation Technique! It was all about Perception. You first sketched and painted the details of the dreamscape in your mind, then struck the gavel to release your Perception. When others heard the gavel, if they were unguarded, they’d be pulled into the daydream you wove.” Yuan Buyu was instructing Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan first glanced at Little Fuzi, then closed his eyes to conceive his vision. “A red moon hung high in the sky, and I walked atop the heavens, looking down at the people below…” “Smack!” Zhou Xuan thought the dreamscape was sufficiently crafted, striking the clappers to signal with the gavel. Little Fuzi shivered for a moment, then returned to normal. Zhou Xuan only saw a flash of the red moon in the sky, and nothing more followed. After waiting for half a minute, Zhou Xuan turned back to Yuan Buyu and said, “It didn’t work.” “What kind of dream did you conceive in your mind?” “Just like that…” Zhou Xuan recounted the dreamscape he had imagined to Yuan Buyu. Yuan Buyu was so frustrated he wanted to hit him. “I told you to dream, not to wish… You’ve imagined yourself as a God walking in the sky!” Yuan Buyu took a puff of his pipe, calmed his emotions, and then said, “It’s also my fault for not clarifying. Daydreams aren’t whatever you create them to be, they follow the order of Incense Fire.” The texture of the dream improved with the increase of the Incense Fire Level. The first incense was merely a phantom, and by the third incense, the dreams had a tangible reality. Likewise, the form of the dream was limited by the Incense Fire Level. During the first incense, the dreamscape was of common streets and alleyways. During the second incense, extreme weather such as thunder, lightning, and frost could appear in the dreamscape. It was only by the third incense that the dream could include ghostly figures and traces of God…” “In short, the more profound and surreal the dream, the higher the Incense Fire Level required during its creation; the closer a dream resembled reality, the lower the Incense Fire Level needed.” “Moreover, when the Incense Fire Level isn’t high, your dream isn’t realistic enough. Those who enter your dream will wake from even a bit of pain or harm. Once awakened, it’s difficult to bring them back into the dream… Ultimately, it all comes down to the Incense Fire Level.” Yuan Buyu said, “A storyteller at the level of the first incense is merely an Illusionist, playing tricks on the eyes. Only a storyteller at the level of nine incense is a real God of dreams; anyone who enters my dream, whether demigod or great ghost, becomes dust with the flick of a finger.” The differences between these levels of Incense Fire were as vast as that between mortals and Gods… Zhou Xuan muttered to himself, encouraging himself, “I should focus on building a solid foundation first, unlike my master, who always fantasized about the ninth incense even though he wasn’t anywhere near it.” Yuan Buyu: “…” “Ahem, Xuan, keep practicing. I still need to head to the kitchen to cook later…” Yuan Buyu urged. Zhou Xuan gathered his spirit and began weaving the dreamscape in his mind again. Even though he failed last time, the process was much more familiar now, and dream creation became more effortless. “The Wang Family Market was bustling with people, lined with dozens of snack stalls along the street…” This time, Zhou Xuan crafted a dream filled with food, dreaming of snack and pastry stalls at the Wang Family Market, thinking it wouldn’t fail again. “Smack!” The gavel signaled, drawing people into the dream, but as he struck the gavel this time, the image of the Paperman Boatman’s face flashed before Zhou Xuan’s eyes. It was merely a fleeting glimpse, so quick even he didn’t react… Upon hearing the sound of the gavel, Little Fuzi shivered again, his eyes stung as if they had caught some dust, and he hurriedly closed them. When he opened them again, his surroundings had transformed — he was now in a dream crafted by Zhou Xuan. He saw a sign not far away — Wang Family Market — surrounded by snack stalls. Every delicacy imaginable was there. Tofu pudding, layered cakes, noodle soup, and freshly fried large twists drenched in oil, sprinkled with sesame and powdered sugar, which aroused the gluttonous worm in Little Fuzi’s stomach. He squeezed toward the stalls, drooling over the snacks, but being an apprentice, he had no salary, relying on odd jobs to earn a little oil money. Buying a piece of fabric to make a shirt would use up all the savings, leaving no spare money for treats. “I’ll eat once I become a master.” Little Fuzi wiped his mouth with his sleeve, just about to leave, when he suddenly remembered cleaning the Young Master’s room a few days ago for forty bucks, afraid of theft, he had sewn it into the lining of his clothes. Sёarch* The ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He quickly opened the collar, tore at the fabric sewn into the lining, and took out the money to buy a large fried twist. The vendor handed him the twist. He reached out to take it, only to find on the twist there were countless human eyes, staring right at him… … From the moment Little Fuzi entered the dream, Yuan Buyu had been watching while puffing on a cigarette. When he first saw Fuzi looking around, he secretly praised, “Xuan’s grasp is fast, the dream is woven well, and Little Fuzi hasn’t noticed any flaws.” A moment later, Little Fuzi tore open his clothes and took out forty bucks. Yuan Buyu praised again, “A dream that can bewilder Little Fuzi into revealing his money… quite insightful.” Before he finished praising, Little Fuzi burst into tears on the spot. “What happened?” Yuan Buyu walked toward Little Fuzi. Zhou Xuan, knowing he had crafted a dream of food, seeing Little Fuzi cry, misunderstood and asked, “Fuzi, are you crying for the food in the dream?” “Wow, the eyes, the eyes, the twist is covered with eyes, scared me to death…” Yuan Buyu listened and blew his beard, glaring, scolding, “Xuanzi, I told you to dream, not frighten people. Look at Little Fuzi, so scared, he probably won’t eat twists for half a year.” “I didn’t include a twist in my dream…” Zhou Xuan was also puzzled. But after reflecting, he told Yuan Buyu, “I remember now, at the moment I used the gavel to draw Little Fuzi into the dream, I glimpsed that Paperman Boatman… Could that twist with eyes be his doing?” “Paperman Boatman? Alright, I know the origin of that Paperman Boatman.” “Who is that Boatman?” “Heh…” Yuan Buyu didn’t answer, first patting the shoulder of the still sobbing Little Fuzi, “Alright, alright, Little Fuzi, being a grown man, scared of a few eyes? If it’s too much, ask Xuanzi for some mental distress compensation.” Zhou Xuan also felt guilty, took out eighty bucks, and said, “Forty for sparring, forty for damages, will that do to stop crying?” Little Fuzi took the money while sobbing, “Wow… I can take the money… and not cry.” Zhou Xuan stuffed the money into Little Fuzi’s hand, “Alright, you should head back indoors first…” “Young Master, I still want to dream a bit more. That strange dream, I… I found it thrilling, want to do it, love to do it.” Still want to dream? Are you earning mental distress fees here? With much persuasion, Zhou Xuan finally coaxed Little Fuzi back to the dormitory. He said to Yuan Buyu, “Old man, with everyone gone, what about that Boatman?” “That Boatman, huh? It’s no one else but you yourself.” “Me?!” “Humans don’t just have one consciousness but two, one in the light and one in the dark. Your conscious mind guides your spirit when you’re awake, eating, drinking, and so on. But when you sleep, the conscious mind slumbers, and the Dark Consciousness takes over your spirit. The countless murmured thoughts in a dream are woven by the Dark Consciousness.” Don’t be fooled by how convoluted Yuan Buyu’s words seemed, but Zhou Xuan truly understood them. Dark Consciousness was essentially the subconscious. He didn’t expect his master to also be a master of psychology, “The dreams we create, the Dark Consciousness also contributes in part to the dreamscape. However, the average storyteller’s Dark Consciousness rarely appears in the Divine Revelation Secret Realm, and even if it does, it doesn’t manifest as a ghostly presence.” After puffing two cigarettes, Yuan Buyu left one last word, “I’m off to cook. I have a feeling that you, kid, just might take this storyteller path and blaze an entirely different trail.” As Yuan Buyu walked away, Zhou Xuan exhaled a murky breath. Having listened to Yuan Buyu’s explanation, he understood why his subconscious appeared as the eerie Paperman Boatman. Because he had died once, escaping the Underworld…

Chapter 61 - 61 58 The Origin of the Helmsman

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