Chapter Four: No Rent Charged in Dreams

Meng transformed, his long trunk coughing up a blue dream pearl. Inside it, the girl's mother gave the final life jacket to a child and vanished in the flood. She had not broken her promise by choice. She simply could not return. Back in the kitchen, the soup boiled. Meng placed the pearl in a treatment case and promised to help the girl face the full memory with her family. “Eating a nightmare is quick,” Su Li said. “Staying until someone finishes dreaming takes longer.” After drinking, Meng obeyed the third rule. “I help people sleep because I'm afraid to face my failures while awake.” The ledger accepted “one night of dreamless rest.