A Shocking Dream

Her voice was filled with anger and sorrow, her eyes were red with tears welling up in them, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Grandpa frowned, his face full of pity and sorrow. "Son, this... the government's actions are truly cruel, but we are so weak and powerless, how can we stop them?" Lin Wunian clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. "No, there must be a way. They are just infected with the disease, not dead yet!"

"Silly child, you don't belong to this world, and don't try to change the rules of this world. You have tried your best in this matter. If you can't stop it, you can only accept it." Grandpa's voice was a little hoarse, with helplessness and vicissitudes, trying to comfort Lin Wunian.

Lin Wunian widened her eyes and looked at her grandfather in disbelief, "Grandpa, how can you say such things? Those are human lives! Just because of this so-called world rule, we have to watch them burn to death? I can't do it!" Her tears burst out, leaving two clear marks on her face.

Grandpa sighed softly, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes. "Wunian, Grandpa knows you're kind, but we're just ordinary people. The cruelty of this world is beyond our ability to contend with. If you impulsively resist like this, you'll only risk your own life. It might even cause public resentment." Grandpa's gaze passed over Lin Wunian and looked toward the epidemic area surrounded by soldiers. "The government naturally has their reasons for doing this. When something gets out of control, sacrificing the small to protect the big is their only option."

Grandpa's face was full of wrinkles, and every wrinkle showed the vicissitudes of life and helplessness. "They are not us. They have not received new ideological education. In their eyes, this may be the fastest way to quell the plague. We can't change their decision, child, don't do things that are futile." Grandpa held Lin Wunian's hand and trembled slightly. He was afraid of losing his only relative, but he knew that the righteousness in Lin Wunian's heart was like a flame that was difficult to extinguish.

Lin Wunian bit her lip so hard that it oozed traces of blood. She looked at the purgatory on earth, her heart filled with grief and indignation. "Grandpa, should those innocent lives be sacrificed just because they are ignorant? This is unreasonable. This is worthless!" Lin Wunian looked at her grandfather, her eyes full of confusion and grief. "Didn't we accept the new ideas so that we could stand up at a moment like this? If we just stand by and watch, what difference would there be between us and them?"

"Oh," Grandpa sighed and gradually disappeared from Lin Wunian's consciousness.

"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Lin Wunian shouted a few times and suddenly woke up. She looked around and found herself still in the busy pharmacy.

Lin Wunian wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, a lingering trace of fear in her eyes. Grandpa's presence in the dream had been so real, yet in the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace, just as he had departed from her life. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and continued sorting herbs. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the dream. Grandpa's sigh was like a heavy hammer, hammering against her heart, as if he had something important to tell her, but he couldn't say it in time.

Could it be that she had done something wrong? Lin Wunian began to doubt herself, recalling every step of the dosage and protocol. In the dim pharmacy, a candle flickered in the corner, its faint light casting eerie shadows on the medicine cabinets, like a snarling monster. The heavy smell of medicine filled the air, but now it no longer felt reassuring, but rather like a suffocating fog.

She slumped in the corner of the pharmacy, the surrounding noise seeming to fade away. The bottles and jars stacked on the medicine cabinets, reflecting a cold luster in the dim light, stared at her like merciless eyes. The once familiar smell of medicinal herbs now felt like a merciless mockery.

She memorized every patient's symptoms, staying up countless all-nighters to devise treatment plans, consulting ancient texts and comparing case histories. She carefully considered the dosage of each herb, yet why did the condition worsen? Outside, the wind howled, rattling the windowpanes like the howling of an angry spirit. Was it her own inadequacy? Or had she overlooked some hidden key?

Lin Wunian's eyes grew hollow. Her mind flashed back to the pained face of a patient, a kindly old man, full of hope for recovery. She had once believed she could be a savior, but now, her heart was filled with guilt and regret, as if she were trapped in a dark quagmire, unable to extricate herself. The darkness seemed to surge in from all sides, threatening to devour her completely.

Lin Wunian's brow furrowed as a sudden flash of inspiration struck her mind, like a ray of hope in the darkness. She abruptly stood up, her movement so swift that it created a breeze that shook the surrounding candles violently.

She frantically searched for her belongings, her fingers trembling slightly with nervousness and excitement. The package was filled with her treasures, but at this moment, her eyes were focused solely on the ancient book—the one she had previously claimed was the No-Mind Heart Method. The cover was worn and tattered, the paper yellowed and brittle, as if it would crumble to dust with a single gust of wind, yet the words still held a mysterious aura.

A burning determination ignited in her eyes. In her heart, this book held the key to reversing the dire situation. Every wrinkle, every wear and tear seemed to speak of ancient wisdom, and this wisdom was her last hope for a reversal of fortune. Lin Wunian's hands frantically searched within the package, beads of sweat gradually forming on her forehead. The air around her seemed to freeze. Suddenly, her fingertips touched the familiar rough texture, and her heart trembled violently. As she pulled the ancient book from the depths of the package, her eyes instantly lit up with a brilliant light that seemed to dispel all the surrounding haze.

She clutched the book, the corners of her mouth curling up unconsciously, and then a laugh escaped her. It started softly, carrying a sense of relief, then gradually grew louder, echoing in the silent space. In this laughter was the ecstasy of finding hope, as if grasping a last straw in this cruel world; in this laughter was the satisfaction of past efforts, the days and nights spent studying now having all been worthwhile; in this laughter was also a longing for the future, as if she had already foreseen the changes this book would bring to the current situation, like seeing the first light of dawn in the darkness, and all suffering would vanish under the guidance of this book.

She carefully brushed off the dust on the book and turned the pages with trembling hands. The old paper made a slight rustling sound, as if telling an ancient story. The edges of the book were a little worn, and the corners of the pages were slightly curled.