The Creatures That We Are
Chapter 1276: You’re Not Fish

Chapter 1276: You’re Not Fish

“Not necessary,” Zhang Wei said. “How does that line go again? You’re not a fish. How would you know a fish’s joy?”

“You’re not me,” Gregor said. “How do you know that I don’t know a fish’s joy?”

“Enough bickering, boys,” Liao Liao said resignedly. “Let’s focus on waking up.”

“I’m not you, so I don’t know you,” Gao Yang spoke up. “You’re not a fish, so you don’t know a fish’s joy. That is all there is to it.”

Captain! Why are you encouraging them? Fine! I’ll do it too!

Liao Liao recited the rest of the text: "When you asked, 'how would you know a fish’s joy?' you already knew that I knew it to ask me how I knew. I knew it from the bridge over the River Hao!"

Zhang Wei had only wanted to say something witty, but the others got unexpectedly serious about it. He wasn’t educated enough to keep up. He was out of this conversation.

Hong Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded, too. She asked uncertainly, “So, does Parry know that it’s dreaming?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Vermilion Bird smiled with realization. “What’s important is that we know we were.”

“Haha, so it’s as simple as that,” Zhang Wei said.

“You understand?” Liao Liao asked with surprise.

“Understand my ass,” Zhang Wei spoke with confidence. “But I have a feeling that Brother Yang has figured everything out. I’m just celebrating early.”

“Cool,” Heavenly Dog commented.

They turned to Gao Yang. Looking at the giant parrot bemusedly for a while, Gao Yang calmly broke down the situation:

“When we didn’t know we were dreaming, even the most absurd dream would seem reasonable. Our entwined dreams sucked all of us in like a vortex. There was no exit or a destination.”

“Once we realized we were dreaming, though, our dreams returned to normal even without us waking up.”

“That explains the Sunset Boulevard. Sunset heralds the arrival of the night. At night, we sleep. In sleep, we dream. Dreams have no boundaries. Falling into a dream is a process we aren’t aware of. This place is the moment humans enter a dream.”

“Not just humans, but all lives,” Gregor corrected. “The parrot’s dreaming, too.”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang turned to Dr. Jia. “What is the essence of a dream?”

“There are many schools of thought.” Dr. Jia launched into a lecture. “Psychology considers dreams a phenomenon that reflects the subconscious desires, emotional conflicts, and so on.”

“Neurology believes dreams to be the byproducts of nerve impulses. It has no logic or reason behind it. No meaning.”

“Some occultists believe dreams to be channels leading to higher dimensions, and that humans can only glimpse into very few of the universe’s truths through those channels.”

“Dreams are fascinating,” Hong Xiaoxiao said. “When I was little, I always wondered why people dream, and why people wake up if we dream.”

“Same,” said Heavenly Dog.

“Sometimes, I wonder how great it would be if I could keep dreaming without realizing that I am dreaming,” Hong Xiaoxiao continued. “In my dreams, I’m free and lack nothing. I’m happy...”

She gasped. “Oh! I think I know the answer!”

Gao Yang nodded at her to keep going.

“Hey, wait!” Zhang Wei felt utterly lost. “We haven’t found the question, have we? Why are we already going for an answer?”

“The question is dreams.” Gregor breathed in smoke. “Isn’t it obvious?”

The others nodded.

Zhang Wei turned to Wang Zikai.

“Why are you looking at me? Even an idiot would know.” Wang Zikai quickly framed himself as different from Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei turned to Nainai, who lifted her chin with her hands on her hip like discussing the answer was beneath her.

Zhang Wei huffed out a laugh and clapped his head. “You’re all awake while I’m the only one not clear-headed...”

A thought suddenly came to him. He said, “Shit! I know the answer, too!”

“Then we’ll say it together?” Hong Xiaoxiao chuckled.

“Yeah, let’s.” Zhang Wei was excited. “Three, two, one.”

“Waking up!” Hong Xiaoxiao said.

“Dreams come true!” Zhang Wei said.

Their smiles stilled and turned awkward.

Vermilion Bird pressed a hand to her forehead. “Zhang Wei, you’ve already said the keywords, but you still arrive at the wrong answer.”

“Why?” Zhang Wei insisted. “Dreams should come true. What’s wrong with that? Waking up from dreams is too pessimistic!”

“Idiot.” White Dew shook her head.

“Hmph!” Nainai seized the rare chance to mock someone else. “You foolish mortal.”

“So I got it right?” Hong Xiaoxiao perked up. “Do you all think the answer is waking up?”

Adept Horse nodded. “The answer is easy. In comparison, the question is more difficult to identify.”

Gregor looked ahead with the cigarette dangling from his mouth. “Here’s what I think: all sentient lives have dreams. No one knows what dreams are, but one thing is for certain. After we dream, we will wake up from it.”

The sunset reflected in Chen Ying’s eyes turned wistful. “Yes, a dream always ends.”

“Waking up,” Gregor repeated the words. “Are the ones waking from their dreams saved from drowning, or drowned by the saving?”

“Fine, fine.” Zhang Wei still liked his answer better, but he could accept theirs. He stopped dwelling on it and played the messenger. “Cerulean Dog! You heard us? Waking from dreams is our answer!

“I heard.”

They looked up to find a billboard suddenly standing at the center of the road. Cerulean Dog’s voice came from inside, but the mist depicted on the billboard obscured him.

“Apologies, everyone. It’s misty here, and I got lost. Just come on in. Welcome to the Forest of Riddles.”

“Tsk, acting all mysterious.” Wang Zikai was the first to jump in.

The others followed.

“Wait, how about my bird?” Dr. Jia hurried out.

“Don’t worry,” Gregor said. “It’s just dreaming, not trapped here.”

“Right.”

Dr. Jia looked back at his stupid enlarged parrot on the horizon one last time before grabbing Heavenly Dog’s hand to fly into the billboard. Soon, Sunset Boulevard was left empty.

The fat grey parrot remained lying on the horizon, its eyes darting around rapidly. After a moment, it muttered an unintelligible syllable in its dream.