After the Lunar New Year's Eve, it was the Spring Festival.
A festival of spring.
The spring chill was biting.
Unexpectedly, there was no sunshine today, not to mention a heavy downpour.
On top of that, two children suddenly fell ill.
It was a bit inauspicious.
Jiang Changtian felt somewhat responsible. He shouldn't have asked Young Lord Zi that question.
Even he couldn't escape the curiosity and speculation about the unknown fate.
When he was little, he dreamed of becoming someone like his father and elder brother.
Later, he forgot about this dream for a long time.
He only wanted to stay alive and raise his children well.
Humble and unaware.
Looking back now, he realized he could truly be that humble, and had indeed been that humble.
Ever since the day when Feng almost died, he felt like he had developed a phobia.
He was frightened to the point of frenzy.
He was worried, worried that Feng, Mianmian, Elder Sister Yu, and Sister Xia would leave him, and he was terrified.
He felt, for no apparent reason, that it might happen.
He would go insane.
He would become a true orphan in this world, better off dead.
From that day on, a surging ambition arose within him. He wanted to change everything, to take revenge, to let his family live a life of luxury and wealth. He wanted Elder Sister Yu to be able to curse at whoever she wanted, Feng to be able to ride horses through the streets and trample whoever he wanted, Sister Xia to wear the finest clothes and most expensive shoes, and Mianmian to grow up like a true princess, carefree and without worries.
But he was too weak.
Too small and feeble.
Scholars are truly weak.
From Wu Liu's death to Lord Liu's death, he was only trying to protect himself.
He had no choice.
But when the rebel Mr. Gong came,
He saw another possibility.
He couldn't help but ask Young Lord Zi, "Will your father win?"
This child who spoke like a sage surprisingly said no.
What he really wanted to ask was, "Will I win?"
But he was a deep thinker.
He didn't dare express even a hint of this emotion.
He was afraid of being seen through.
However, he couldn't resist the temptation and asked who would win.
He thought that the moment he spoke, he might have lost.
Because Zi Lu definitely wouldn't have asked his son this question.
Rumor had it that Zi Lu was very generous. Although a rebel, in dealing with others, he was very charming.
People felt compelled to die for him upon meeting him.
Even if curious, he wouldn't ask.
He would just act, until the very end.
But Zi Congheng looked at him.
He asked who would win.
Zi Congheng looked at him in surprise.
That gaze was somewhat incomprehensible, not because he asked who would win.
Jiang Changtian was a deep thinker, but also an extremely observant person.
So the person who would eventually win must be related to him, either himself or someone like him.
This was Jiang Changtian's judgment based on Young Lord Zi's expression.
He was somewhat excited.
But at the same time, he cautioned himself not to believe it too readily.
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
As a result, in the afternoon, Young Lord Zi had a high fever, convulsed, and lost his soul.
Even Mianmian developed soul-loss symptoms.
It gave Jiang Changtian quite a scare.
He could only hide those treacherous thoughts deep in his heart.
There are no ghosts or deities in this world.
If there were, he would be willing to become an evil ghost and destroy those deities who feast on the dead.
The two children whose souls were restored lay on the same bed.
The village elder said they shouldn't be moved tonight, lest they lose their souls again.
Children see many things, so it's easy for their souls to wander off.
Jiang Changtian stood guard at the door, with Hei Ta beside him.
Hei Ta was a bit puzzled, unable to comprehend how that skinny old man, whom he could slap to death with one palm, could actually call back Young Lord's soul?
Young Lord seemed to have been to an unclean place, vomiting up a lot of black water.
And Jiang's young daughter also lost her soul at the same time, who knows if she went to the same place as Young Lord's soul.
He looked at Mr. Jiang sitting next to him and felt he had become somewhat mysterious.
That skinny old man was like a soul-calling ghost, while Mr. Jiang seemed like an exiled celestial being. As long as he guarded the door, Young Lord and little Mianmian's souls wouldn't wander off, right?
Jiang Mianmian woke up.
She slept for a while, then woke up again.
When she woke up again, she saw Zi Xiaochong sitting beside her.
Seeing him staring at her intently, she asked in a hoarse but sweet and childish voice, "Brother Chong, what are you looking at?"
Young Lord Zi asked curiously, "Where did you go when you lost your soul? Can you remember?"
Jiang Mianmian looked around, then nodded.
"Can you tell me?" Young Lord Zi asked.
"Can't explain clearly," Jiang Mianmian said bluntly.
"Then tell me slowly, this is a secret between us, I won't tell anyone," Young Lord Zi coaxed.
Jiang Mianmian felt that Zi Xiaochong was trying to trick her.
Hmph.
Even tricking a child.
She rolled her eyes and said, "There were birds, big enough to hold many people, and they could fly."
"Then what?" Young Lord Zi asked.
"Bang!"
"Broke."
After saying that, Jiang Mianmian ignored Zi Xiaochong.
She started shouting at the top of her lungs, "Mother, Father!"
She called out resolutely.
Young Lord Zi reached out and patted her head, which was a bit damp from sweat, but he didn't mind.
He wanted to say that he had lost his soul too. He went to a wondrous place.
The birds there were huge, able to carry many people, and could fly, but they weren't called birds, they were called "flying chickens."
He found that while riding the flying chicken, he fell ill.
His head ached terribly, and he was taken to a medical clinic.
Those people in white robes wanted to cut open his head.
He was terrified and kept struggling.
But there was a young girl in white robes who kept holding his hand and telling him, "It's okay, it's okay, you'll be fine."
That girl kept crying.
He didn't cry, he was just a bit scared and resistant, but he didn't cry.
Yet that girl kept crying.
He heard someone shout, "Jiang Mianmian, what's wrong with you, hold back your tears, or you won't pass the evaluation."
He saw that a hole had been opened in his skull, and a strange thing had indeed grown inside.
That thing was removed, and they closed his skull back up.
He woke up.
And saw that same crying girl.
She smiled at him and said, "The surgery was very successful, great."
But her tears didn't stop.
Her smile was covered in tears.
He wanted to help her wipe away her tears.
...
"Come back, come back."
"Search for the distant, seek out the near."
"Promise at the mountains, answer across the rivers."
"Come back, Congheng."
"He's back, he's back."
"Come back, Congheng."
"He's back, he's back."
...
He woke up.
Opened his eyes.
Saw the unconscious Jiang Xiaogui.
Saw her face stained with tears.
She had also lost her soul.
At this moment, Zi Congheng looked at Jiang Xiaogui, who was shouting incoherently in front of him.
He smiled inwardly and said, "You may not believe it, but I feel that you have cured me."
"I don't believe it either."
Jiang Xiaogui shouted while her nose was running...
How dirty.
He reached out and wiped away the snot for her.
...
