Chapter 94 A desolate night awaits; Young Master Jiang will definitely not ignore it. ...

The Ladder to the Clouds.

"Qingnu, I heard from the Wu family that you saw Young Master Jiang, and that their child is coming back soon, and will be cured soon?"

Zhou Qingnu sat in front of the stall. The two full baskets of plums had been almost sold out. Xiao Ying was helping to pick out the last few plums and share them with the neighbors next door.

She paused for a moment, then, seeing that a large crowd had gathered around, she could only nod. "I didn't see him, but judging from Young Master Jiang's good condition, he must have recovered by now."

"Wow, that's amazing, Qingnu. I wonder if you managed to snag one of the talismans Young Master Jiang drew last time? I managed to get a roll, and I stuck it behind my door. Everything's been peaceful these past few days. Even my dog, who always barks at night, is sleeping soundly."

As soon as the woman spoke, the people around her chimed in, "Really, really, this is the first time I've ever bought talisman paper. As expected of Young Master Jiang, the effect is truly amazing. You can sleep on it and not wake up."

"Qingnu, next time you see Young Master Jiang, could you ask him to draw more talismans for us? We can negotiate the price; we just want peace of mind."

Zhou Qingnu was forced to hand over a talisman, but she wasn't sure if it was drawn by Young Master Jiang. After all, she couldn't trust Lian Gu's words. Later, she put the drawing in a box at home and never took it out again.

One voice after another entered her ears, and Zhou Qingnu could only smile and agree, "I've only spoken a few words with Young Master Jiang. Everyone entrusts everything to me, and I feel guilty. What if I can't handle it? Wouldn't that be letting everyone down?"

"Qingnu, just go ahead and say it. Whether Young Master Zhijiang paints or not is his business. Do you think everyone is going to force you to drag Young Master Jiang into painting a few pictures for us?"

Boom—

As night deepened and the sky was already overcast, the sound of thunder suggested a thorough downpour was imminent. Zhou Qingnu exchanged a few more casual words with them, and seeing that Xiaoying had finished packing, she pulled him home.

After eating, Zhou Qingnu went to bed early.

A silvery-white lightning bolt streaked across the pitch-black night, like a gigantic monster opening its blood-red maw and swallowing everyone whole.

Boom—

Thunder followed in quick succession.

The towering trees at the village entrance rustled in the wind, and the trunks, which were so thick that two adult men could not encircle them, crashed to the ground in an instant.

The extremely loud sound made the ground tremble slightly. Large raindrops gathered into streams on the uneven ground and fell from the rocks at the top of the mountain like a waterfall falling from the sky.

Xiao Ying was awakened by the thunder and kept crying. Zhou Qingnu tried to comfort him, but nothing worked. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted as he stared at the wailing child.

Before going to bed, she had moved several large stones from outside and placed them behind the wooden door. However, she hadn't expected the wind to be so strong, making the door and windows rattle loudly. Zhou Qingnu sighed, curled up, wrapped herself in the blankets, got out of bed, and then laboriously pushed the table and chairs behind the door.

"Xiaoying, stop crying, help your mother get some strips of cloth."

The window was blown wide open, and the wind howled in, making people shiver. Zhou Qingnu tried her best to close the window tightly and stuffed strips of cloth into the gaps inside, and only then did the wind subside a little.

She carried the child to the bed, her heart pounding, with a feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight.

As Zhou Qingnu gently closed her eyes, she suddenly heard a strange sound, like someone poking a ash-filled chimney with a dry twig, the sound of it hitting a rough stone surface.

Xiao Ying must have cried herself to sleep, because she finally fell into a deep sleep in her arms. Zhou Qingnu's heart was in her throat as she listened carefully to the sounds outside.

She pulled the blankets up a little higher and buried her face in them.

The door slammed shut, and the tables and chairs blocking the way parted slightly, allowing a dark figure to slip in.

The shadow of his slender arm was cast on the ground like a plum blossom branch outside the window, and the dense hairs stood up like tiny forks in the skin.

call--

Zhou Qingnu felt a chill on the back of her neck, as if someone had blown a breath of cold air into it. Even though the blankets were still covering her tightly, it felt like wind was blowing in from all directions.

Besides the cold, the next thing to happen is pain.

A red thread, just like the silk thread used for embroidery, was wrapped around her neck. Although the thread was thin, if stretched taut, it could cut through the skin and cause blood to gush out.

Zhou Qingnu was terrified. She pressed her back tightly against Xiao Ying, forming a barrier. But the thread around her neck tightened more and more, and she could barely breathe.

She breathed out slowly through her nose, her mouth was dry and sore, and her hands gripped the inner core of the quilt tightly, leaving several scratches on it.

"you--"

She flicked her arm upwards and clearly felt the dark shadow flicker before disappearing.

Zhou Qingnu was finally able to catch her breath. She didn't dare to light the candles, and after glancing around the room and seeing that there was nothing unusual, she went to look at the small camp inside.

The boy's face was flushed, and he looked like he was fast asleep.

Zhou Qingnu glanced up and down, and seeing nothing wrong, she breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to go back to sleep, she suddenly noticed a dark green mark on the boy's palm.

It resembles a deformed maple leaf, yet also a hand with six fingers.

Under her gaze, a dark shadow appeared at the edge of the mark, radiating heat. Zhou Qingnu nervously patted the boy's shoulder, but Xiao Ying remained unconscious.

He had never slept so soundly before.

Zhou Qingnu patted her hands frantically, watching as Xiao Ying's face remained flushed, like a burning ember.

"Xiaoying, Xiaoying, don't scare your mother—"

"Xiaoying, Xiaoying".

The boy still didn't wake up, and Zhou Qingnu didn't care about the rain outside anymore. She was about to take the child out, but she was blocked by the tables and chairs. She almost lost all her strength, and her hands and feet were so weak that she couldn't straighten them.

Zhou Qingnu tripped over a table leg and fell to the ground. Looking at her child who was still fast asleep, she had no choice but to crawl to the window, forcefully tear off the strip of cloth that was stuck on it, and then push the window open.

But the window felt as heavy as lead; she tried with all her might, but it remained perfectly still and wouldn't budge.

"What happened?"

Zhou Qingnu's forehead was covered in sweat. She turned back to pull the table and chairs. With great difficulty, the table moved a few times. She squeezed her thin body through the table and tried to pull the door, but to her surprise, the door wouldn't budge either.

Her hands were gripping the doorknob tightly, as if glued to it, and she couldn't pull them off. When she finally gave up, the cold floor pressed against Zhou Qingnu's skin, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, the torrential sound mixed with a woman's low sobs. After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Qingnu finally heard other sounds besides the rain.

"Qingnu, Qingnu, are you home?"

Zhou Qingnu excitedly scrambled to her feet, pounding on the wooden door with both hands. "Is that Madam Wu? I'm here, I'm here! There's something wrong with my door, why can't I open it? Please help me, Xiaoying is acting strangely, he hasn't woken up yet."

"I was worried all night, Madam Wu, where is Brother Wu? Please have him come and help me."

"Qingnu, wait for me to go find him."

The woman's voice outside the door offered Zhou Qingnu some comfort. She looked at Xiao Ying, who was still sleeping soundly beside her, and burst into tears, large tears falling down her face.

"Qingnu, Qingnu, don't worry, I've called everyone here, the door will definitely open. Maybe Xiaoying is just fast asleep. Kids are hard to wake up sometimes, I've had that before, so don't worry."

Aunt Wu didn't care what she had come for anymore. She helped the men next to her to pull the door open. It was just an ordinary wooden door, but for some reason, they just couldn't open it.

Several bearded men felt like their hands were about to break, but the door wouldn't budge. Uncle Wu wiped his sweat and said, "Sigh, is the door really broken, or is it possessed?"

"Qingnu, has anything unusual happened at your house lately? Why can't this door be opened for no reason? It looks like it's about to fall down. It's really strange."

"Aunt Wu, could you please go and call Young Master Jiang for me? Or could you go to Shen Wu Ke and find someone to come and help me? This door is really broken."

Zhou Qingnu's newly ignited hope was shattered again. She was exhausted by the series of problems. She hoped that Young Master Jiang would appear out of nowhere, take the child in her arms, wake him up, and tell her that Xiao Ying was awake and that nothing had happened.

"Qingnu, this is really unfortunate. I was just thinking of sending someone to Shen Wuke to call them back, but I didn't expect that the city lord of Yunshui City would host a banquet today and call Young Master Jiang and the others away."

“I remember now, Qingnu, do you have that talisman that Young Master Jiang drew before? Why don’t you take it out and try it? Since it can protect the family, it might be able to break this door open. Or you can stick this talisman on Xiaoying’s head, it will have some protective effect. If there’s really no other way, we’ll just have to try it as a last resort.”

The sounds outside the door came one after another, some near and some far. Zhou Qingnu felt as if her ears were about to explode, the noise was incessant. She heard Madam Wu's method, but whether that talisman... was actually drawn by Young Master Jiang was still unknown.

Try anything, no matter how desperate!

Yes, that's the only way.

Zhou Qingnu rummaged through drawers and cabinets, finally finding the talisman. The yellow talisman reflected on her pale palm, looking rather terrifying.

Young Master Jiang has already saved Xiao Ying once. Regardless of whether it was a talisman he drew or not, as long as it bears his name, it belongs to him. If anything happens to Xiao Ying, Young Master Jiang will not ignore it.

Yes, Young Master Jiang will definitely not ignore this.

Even Gu said that this talisman was drawn by Young Master Jiang. She has witnesses and physical evidence. So many people have this talisman, so there's absolutely no problem.

Besides, she was only trying to save her child. In her haste to save her child, she did something that could be forgiven!

Zhou Qingnu steeled her resolve, took out the talisman, placed it on the door, and tried to pull it, but it was no use. She could only turn around and stick the talisman on Xiao Ying's forehead.

The talisman fluttered in the wind, revealing a pair of tightly closed eyes underneath.

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Author's note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! [dove emoji] (feeling guilty)