Chapter 263 - 118: Seven Sheep
The excessive headache gave Chen Zhou a feeling of impending cold.
On the island, there was a lack of medical supplies, and getting sick was one of the things he feared most. The thought of possibly catching a cold and its consequences filled him with dread.
Despite being exhausted, he didn't dare sleep. He quickly lit a fire, drying his clothes and body while heating up some leftovers, just enough to fill his stomach and warm his gut.
With food in his stomach, the sleepiness became more pronounced.
He added some large logs to the stove, hoping the fire would still be burning when he woke up. Chen Zhou grabbed a bottle of ale in passing.
He hastily covered the leftovers on the table, pouring the liquor into his mouth as he walked to the bedroom, with the spicy aroma of alcohol filling his mouth as he slipped under the covers.
At this time, the sky outside the cave was already beginning to brighten, but the rain continued with a sporadic intensity.
Already tired and having drunk alcohol, Chen Zhou was still worried about the pregnant mother goat and the tethered billy goat, fearing they might not avoid the rain in the forest and get sick after being soaked.
He lay there drowsily for a while, the alcohol taking effect, turning his somewhat logical thoughts into a tangled mess. Within moments, he fell into a deep sleep.
…
As a child, whenever Chen Zhou got sick with a fever, he would have nightmares that later developed into a dry cough lasting for more than ten days.
His hometown had a folk remedy for treating coughs, using sea buckthorn soaked in alcohol, preferably with buckthorn that was frozen solid in winter. His cough had indeed left a permanent mark, but it was cured by drinking this concoction.
As he grew older, he seldom got sick, and even if he did, he rarely dreamed.
Unexpectedly, during this sleep, he dreamt of many fragmented scenes, most of which revolved around his life after returning to the modern world, though the content wasn't very pleasant.
There were relatives and friends who heard he had come into a windfall and came to borrow money; women who once ignored him now approaching him with heavy makeup; investigators with bank records knocking on his door, and countless real estate agents, car dealers, and various salespeople, pestering him endlessly…
Then, he dreamt of the Cannibal Tribes, seeing himself dressed in gear rescuing a captive who looked very much like a close dorm mate from college.
In the dream, this native was even better than Robinson's Friday, being not only sensible and obedient but also quick and knowing strangely some modern Chinese jokes and even possessed some professional knowledge unknown to him. They got along very well, almost like real brothers.
However, this story ended badly. In the end, this always smiling, friendly "good brother" betrayed him, leading a group of Cannibal Tribes to conquer the kiln cave.
The natives set up a bonfire on the platform, tied him to a long wooden stick, intending to roast him alive, just like the Cannibal Race in Pirates of the Caribbean dealt with Captain Jack.
The dream ended with him being burned by flames, and then he had one final terrible dream—
All his live traps worked, but the captured mother goats were all killed by wild beasts, leaving only a mess when he reached the trapping site.
Even the kids who followed the mother goats did not escape this calamity, their torn hides and limbs scattered in the puddles.
…
This sleep was overly exhausting, and when Chen Zhou woke up, it was already afternoon.
The oil lamp, which he forgot to extinguish before sleeping, had long since burned out, leaving the kiln cave pitch black.
After opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling, Chen Zhou remained silent for a long time.
Raisins and the three kittens seemed to be sleeping in a wooden box beside the bed, as he couldn't hear their playful noises.
From afar, the sound of rain could be vaguely heard, with a damp breeze slipping past the walls and into the bedroom.
Then, the clattering sound like horse hooves approached, and the wet Lai Fu came to the bedside.
Ha ha~
It seemed to have just exercised, opening its mouth to pant heavily, trying hard to stretch its body to lick Chen Zhou's face.
Pushing aside this moving "alarm clock," Chen Zhou felt his forehead.
He wasn't running a fever, but the back of his head, or rather his brain, still throbbed slightly, making him uncomfortable.
Since he was healthy, he couldn't avoid work—the live traps he set at dawn should have yielded results by now.
Climbing out of bed and quickly getting dressed, Chen Zhou couldn't help but think of the dreams he had.
Those troublesome images slowly faded with his waking brain, like colors being diluted by water, but the general plot left a strong impression on him.
Regarding dreams or matters of the occult, modern young people always handle it with a "if it's beneficial I believe, if not, it's superstition" attitude.
Chen Zhou was no different.
"Dreams are always the opposite; having these dreams means that the things in them won't happen in the future…"
Thinking this, he finished dressing and grabbed a lighter from the bedside table, lighting an oil lamp full of lamp oil to illuminate the wooden box beside the bed.
As expected, Raisins indeed cuddled with the three kittens nestled in the box.
Their sleep was light, long since awakened by Lai Fu's footsteps. Seeing the oil lamp move close, they all poked their heads out, like little fuzzy balls, watching Chen Zhou with wide eyes.
Finally, Raisins stretched out its head, crowded around the box's exit with its kids.
It gazed at Chen Zhou, this capable and gentle "big cat," letting out a tender "meow~," as if expressing its concern—
This big cat seldom sleeps during the day.