To test whether the surgery was a success, Li Ang suggested that Ma Bonde should catch some sleep right away. Prefect Ma readily agreed and ordered a servant to lead Li Ang to a side hall to rest for a while, while he himself rushed back to his bedroom. He shook awake his sleeping concubine and asked her to sit by the bed and watch him fall asleep, instructing her to send for Daoist Xi Menzi in the side hall through the servant if anything unusual happened.

The groggy woman looked confused. Why is he going to sleep now when someone was just beating a drum to report an official matter? Despite not understanding, the concubine still wrapped herself in a blanket, lit a candle, and moved a stool to the bedside, watching Prefect Ma enthusiastically crawl under the covers, excitedly close his eyes, breathe evenly, and prepare to sleep.

Strangely, as soon as Ma Bonde had the thought "I want to sleep," he immediately fell asleep.

In the past, after falling asleep, he used to dream about passing through a long, narrow, dark tunnel. Upon opening his eyes, he would find himself in another world, embarking on an alternative life.

But this time, after falling asleep, he didn't see any tunnel. To be precise, he didn't dream of anything at all—when he opened his eyes again, he was staring at the familiar ceiling.

Ma Bonde slowly came to his senses, feeling the movement of his eyeballs and the response of his limbs much slower than usual, as if he were intoxicated.

"My lord, you've woken up."

He rolled out of bed to find the concubine, still wrapped in her blanket by the side of the bed, her eyes bleary. The thin gauze window of the bedroom was dimly lit, as if it was just dawn.

Is it morning already? I don't feel like I've slept at all!

Ma Bonde sat up, bewildered. He took a moment to collect himself and then asked his concubine, "Lu E, did I talk in my sleep last night?"

"No."

The woman shook her head, hesitated, and then said softly, "But last night, my lord, you were sleeping with your eyes open."

What? Sleeping with open eyes? Isn't that something Zhang Fei would do?

Prefect Ma was even more bewildered, only to hear the concubine continue, "After you fell asleep last night, sir, you suddenly opened your left eye and, in a daze, ordered me to pour you some tea. It gave me quite a fright, as I thought you had awakened. When I brought the tea, you didn't drink it. You slowly opened your right eye, sat up in bed, and asked me to get you some books, saying you wanted to read by lamplight. After that, you spent the entire night reading, alternately opening your left and right eyes. Just before dawn, you put down the book and lay back down."

Is that even possible?

Ma Bonde was dumbstruck. After comforting the concubine briefly, he dressed and headed out the door, running towards the side hall.

In the side hall, Li Ang sat there like an old god, savoring the pumpkin sweet porridge a servant had brewed and served. Seeing Ma Bonde hurry in, he calmly set down his spoon and smiled, "Prefect Ma, you look well."

"Please don't mock me, Master Daoist," Ma Bonde replied with a wry smile. "Although no strange dreams occurred last night, my concubine said that I was sleeping with one eye open and one eye closed, as if I were some kind of extraordinary person."

"That's normal." Li Ang nodded calmly and said, "It will always be like this from now on."

"What?"

"The strange dreams have plagued you for too long. Even though I used the corresponding Taoist techniques to counter them, I cannot completely eliminate their influence," Li Ang stated serenely. "But that's not a bad thing. From now on, Prefect, you will only need to sleep for two to four hours each day. As your body gradually adapts, you'll even be able to control yourself in a half-awake, half-asleep state, performing your daily routines without ever needing a bed. As for sleeping with one eye open and one closed... that's merely a minor side effect from the clash of Taoist techniques, nothing of consequence."

This... Ma Bonde was at a loss for words, but then he realized that since the main objective of getting rid of the strange dreams had been achieved, he didn't need to be overly concerned with the trivial details.

He had no idea that beneath the seemingly normal bones of his skull, the structure of his brain had undergone significant changes; the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus had expanded considerably, making his brain's external appearance more similar to that of a dolphin.

Indeed, this transformation was quite successful. The newly engineered brain significantly reduced the sleep needed by the host, requiring as little as thirty minutes a day to satisfy the daily need for sleep. This half-hour of sleep could also be divided into a dozen or so segments, each lasting only two to three minutes. Furthermore, the new brain allowed the host to enter unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, where one hemisphere rested while the other remained active for work. In this way, the host could theoretically avoid deep sleep for a lifetime, working at high intensity twenty-four hours a day, non-stop for three hundred and sixty-five days.

If the Origin of Life weren't so powerful and difficult to make public, Li Ang would have even considered selling the brain modification surgery to the Special Affairs Bureau or other Superhuman Organizations. They would surely pay a high price for a modification scheme that allowed their agents to engage in high-intensity, fierce, and prolonged combat.

Hmm... come to think of it, capitalists might also like this kind of surgery. If it could be popularized, the vast majority of workers might not even have the luxury of a 996 schedule anymore; staying in the company all day without leaving work would also be a possibility.

Li Ang pictured the sweatshops that would arise under such circumstances and immediately dismissed the idea of selling the technology.

It would be better to just apply the brain modifications to Worms and Soldier Bees. With this experience, he could later create biological weapons like all-weather, high-altitude patrolling Unmanned Scout Drones.

After Li Ang repeatedly confirmed there were no further issues, Ma Bonde finally breathed a sigh of relief. At Li Ang's request, and with heartfelt thanks, Ma Bonde escorted him out of the mansion, onto a carriage, and off to Tongfu Inn.

The members of the merchant caravan at the inn were quite worried when Li Ang hadn't returned all night (except for Liu Wu Dai, Wanli Fengdao, and Xing Hechou). When they saw him now returning in a sedan chair from the Prefect's residence, they were quite surprised.

Out of respect for doctor-patient confidentiality, Li Ang did not reveal Ma Bonde's illness and fabricated an excuse, saying that the Prefect of Goose City admired Taoism and had invited him to his residence for a discussion on Taoist principles.

In any case, with Ma Bonde's connection, it was much more convenient for the caravan members to replenish their supplies in the city. By the afternoon, they had already packed up and were ready to leave the city for Lvzhou.

Li Ang and the others also set off with the caravan, leaving the city gate behind.

It was strange; players in the second layer of Shengnan King's Dream could easily trigger the "Resolve Anomalous Event" reward. Whether it was the bandits they had killed earlier on the road, dealing with the thugs in the inn, or treating Ma Bonde's strange illness, these were all recognized by the System as resolving anomalous events and awarded some Experience Points and Reward Points. Looked at this way, the efficiency of earning points in this second layer seemed much higher than in the first.

The caravan hadn't gone far from the city gates when the sound of urgent hoofbeats came from behind. Turning to look, they saw a middle-aged man ride out of the city gate at high speed, dashing down the street toward them.

"Please wait, Daoist Master!"

The middle-aged man pulled on the reins, dismounted, and held a small box in his hand.

Li Ang, who was riding on horseback, eyed the man and recognized him as the Butler from Ma Bonde's household. "Steward Zhao? Why have you come?"

Breathless, Steward Zhao swallowed twice and lifted his head to say, "The master said that he was greatly indebted to Daoist Master for imparting Taoist wisdom, and specifically sent me to deliver a gift of thanks..."

He handed the box he was holding to Li Ang, who took it and weighed it in his hand. It likely contained some assorted gold and silver.

Ma Bonde had probably been too afraid to live lavishly due to the strange dreams, so he likely didn't keep much gold and silver at home. He must have scraped this together when he learned Li Ang was departing.

Li Ang, without demur, accepted the box of gifts and nodded at Steward Zhao. "The Prefect is thoughtful. If the Prefect encounters any issues in the future, he may send a letter to Lvzhou City, where I will be staying with the caravan for a few days."

"Daoist Master is most considerate." Steward Zhao offered a compliment, but his expression held some hesitation.

Li Ang frowned slightly. "Is there anything else?"

"This..." Steward Zhao glanced at the members of the caravan and, clenching his teeth, spoke in a low voice, "At noon, the Government Officials of Goose City apprehended a peculiar fiend, and the master is currently interrogating him in the Yamen. Please, Daoist Master, could you delay your departure and come to the County Government?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.