Chapter 382: The Conversation Gets Dirtier

The next night, the group gathered at the “Tang Palace Bathhouse” for a bath. Wearing loose bathrobes, they then moved to the public lounge area, where Gu You was already reclining on a chair, sipping juice and wearing sunglasses.

KK and Sun Zhen walked over, chatting and laughing. Gu You asked, “What’s so funny?”

KK smirked mischievously, “Let’s just say, Chen Ge is quite the manly man…”

“Didn’t you get enough water in the bath?” Chen Shi appeared behind them, making KK immediately fall silent.

Gu You chuckled, and the four of them found a secluded corner. Sun Zhen went to get some fruit, returning with a plate, and said obsequiously, “Miss Gu, you must be thirsty after the bath. Have some fruit… These honeydew slices were the last ones; I had to fight for them.”

Gu You smiled and placed the fruit plate in the center. “Let’s all share.”

KK quietly mocked Sun Zhen, “Your flattery lacks finesse.”

“Mind your own business!” Sun Zhen retorted angrily, grabbing a slice of watermelon.

KK took out a box of fine cigars, four in total, and said excitedly, “Come on, these are top-notch. Chen Ge, try one.”

Despite feeling tempted, Chen Shi resisted, remembering his promise to Lin Dongxue to quit smoking. “No thanks, you guys go ahead.”

KK and Sun Zhen smoked their cigars with obvious pleasure. The aroma made Chen Shi worried about relapsing into his smoking habit, so he quickly got to the main topic. He tossed a piece of paper onto the table. “This is Wang Sunxu’s ‘timeline.’ His resume is like this: childhood, orphanage, school, society. See if you can dig up anything explosive!”

Gu You said, “About the last two dreams, I think they are related to women. The tropical rainforest, with a house hidden inside, doesn’t it resemble a woman’s genitalia?”

“Oh, Gu Da-jie is driving. Everyone, buckle up,” KK said excitedly.

Chen Shi, however, disagreed. “Is it another case of oversexualization? Personally, I don’t think the entire space in which the person is situated represents a specific organ. I believe only objects with human-like characteristics in dreams could symbolize someone.”

Gu You responded, “Don’t you think Wang Sunxu is sexually repressed?”

“That assumption is meaningless. What if Wang Sunxu is gay? What if he and Zhou Xiao are lovers?” Chen Shi suddenly remembered something. “Alright, he had a crush on a girl in middle school.”

Gu You smiled, “In the third dream, there was a snake. In psychoanalytic theory, a snake also symbolizes the female. I’ve mentioned that dreams are created simultaneously. In the second dream, Wang Sunxu enters a room, symbolizing intercourse. However, he immediately finds it’s a church, a sacred, untouchable place in his belief. So, this woman should be a mother-like figure. He is infatuated with this person but knows she is untouchable.”

KK and Sun Zhen listened intently while eating honeydew. Chen Shi had always been skeptical of oversexualization theories. He thought that in Freud’s time, proposing such a theory was revolutionary. But in modern, more open times, sexual imagery wouldn’t dominate dreams as it might have in the repressed 19th century.

However, Gu You’s theory made some sense, and Chen Shi couldn’t find a rebuttal. He said, “I agree with the ‘mother’ theory, but this ‘mother’ figure should correspond to the Virgin Mary painting. He mentioned the Virgin wore red, a color that can symbolize both blood and sexual desire. What happens in a dream is what the dreamer desires. The Virgin Mary painting caught fire, indicating he wanted to kill this person. Wang Sunxu’s panicked reaction likely suggests it was his first murder, and he burned the body afterward.”

Gu You added, “In the church, he wanted to sleep, indicating this place gave him a sense of security, like a home. I think the woman he killed was his mother, and the location was his home.”

“No, there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense! Wang Sunxu was living with his brother. If he had committed matricide, his brother would have played a part in his dream. Another detail, the monkeys eating fruit—Wang Sunxu was thirsty and exhausted, wanting their fruit, but the monkeys wouldn’t share. What do the fruits symbolize? What about the monkeys? This clearly represents a collective Wang Sunxu was part of.”

“I get it! The monkeys symbolize other children with families. This dream relates to his time in the orphanage. Could he have been adopted before?”

“Possibly. If he was adopted, it must have been by a woman, whom he later killed.”

“Whoa!” KK exclaimed. “You two are amazing! Your analysis is so detailed. I’m impressed.” He handed each of them a slice of fruit.

Chen Shi smiled, “Go get some food.”

“On it!” KK stood up and left.

Chen Shi felt both excited and exhausted after piecing together the truth.

When KK returned with food, Chen Shi took a few bites, rested a bit, and then continued, “I’ll share my thoughts on the third dream. The most important person in the dream was Wang Sunxu’s brother. But this brother initially appeared as his brother and later transformed into someone else, a person resembling his brother.”

KK blinked in confusion, “That’s too mysterious, isn’t it?”

Gu You explained, “Dreams are created simultaneously. Often in dreams, a person will appear and then change into someone else as the ‘plot’ progresses.”

KK pondered and then suddenly slapped his thigh, “No wonder I once had a sex dream, and halfway through, the person turned into Ng Man-tat.”

“Disgusting!” Sun Zhen instinctively moved away from him.

Chen Shi said, “My theory has real-life reasons. According to our analysis, during his time in the orphanage, his brother wasn’t around. The snake symbolizes the female. There were two instances of fire in the dream: the burning maple forest and setting fire to the snake. This likely connects to events in the second dream. The ‘brother’ said ‘don’t be afraid’ and then killed the snake. This person must have led him down the criminal path, likely Zhou Xiao!”

Chen Shi pointed to the timeline. “During Wang Sunxu’s time in the orphanage, ‘Black Honey’ had already split. Zhou Xiao had begun his criminal activities. The timeline matches.”

Gu You said, “Wang Sunxu had complex feelings towards the ‘snake,’ both pity and hatred. He mentioned the burning snake smelled foul and white stuff oozed from its skin. This white stuff could symbolize semen. Wang Sunxu likely raped this ‘mother’ figure before killing her.”

KK’s mouth fell open, “Whoa! This conversation is getting dirtier and dirtier.”