Chapter 26 Lotus Seed Suppresses Sleep, Dolls Drive People Away...
Ten days later, near Lianzi Town.
On the mountain road, an unremarkable horse-drawn carriage swayed and rocked, seemingly moving slowly, yet actually traveling very quickly.
The scholar in blue sat in the driver's seat, whipping the horse. He looked into the distance and saw the silhouettes of houses standing in rows. He drove the carriage while opening the door.
Accompanied by the sound of wind chimes, he called out, "Although this place is remote, there seems to be a town ahead. Why don't we rest in the town today?"
Inside the carriage, Wen Chuan and Qing Yu were playing chess at the table on the long couch, while Zhang Xuan was drinking medicine with a bitter face next to the bookshelf opposite. It was the last of his detoxifying Chinese medicine, a seven-day course of treatment, and he still had to drink two more courses.
On his side, Lin Fanxiang was picking out medicinal herbs from the medicine cabinet.
Upon hearing Qin Tianshu's voice, Zhang Xuan, holding the dark bowl of medicine, replied, "Great! Perfect timing, we can have some hot food!"
"When have we ever needed you?"
Upon hearing this, Qingyu tilted her head, avoiding Wen Chuan who was facing her, and deliberately looked at Zhang Xuan, who was frowning and pinching his nose, not wanting to drink the medicine.
Qingyu: "Who was it yesterday who hugged Wen Chuan and shouted that they would only eat his cooking from now on?"
Perhaps because he's still growing, Zhang Xuan really can eat a lot. Just yesterday, they caught three or four fish by the river, and he ate two of them by himself. If Lin Fanxiang, being a doctor, hadn't stopped him, Zhang Xuan would have been staring at each of them with his hungry eyes.
Zhang Xuan: "..."
First, he didn't hug Wen Chuan, but just put his arm around his shoulder with great magnanimity. Second, he said that it would be worth it to eat only Wen Chuan's cooking for the rest of his life.
Zhang Xuan, holding the bowl of medicine, smiled and replied, "What do you know? I just feel sorry for Brother Wen, that he must be tired from cooking every day."
After saying that, he thought about it himself and felt that what he said made a lot of sense. The boy nodded and said, "That's right."
"Oh—" Qingyu nodded in agreement.
"So you're not going to drink your medicine?"
Zhang Xuan: "..."
Oh no, what if they realize I don't want to take my medicine and keep urging me to?
Lin Fanxiang smiled faintly upon hearing this and turned around. She looked at Zhang Xuan, who hadn't taken his medicine yet.
"You just said the medicine was too hot and insisted on drinking it by the window. Now that so much time has passed, it should be fine."
It's not just okay, it's already half-cooled down.
Zhang Xuan's face darkened; the medicine was too bitter, and he really didn't want to drink it.
Wen Chuan's gaze was fixed on the chessboard. He picked up a black piece and gently placed it. Without turning around, he did offer Zhang Xuan a word of advice, "This medicine is even more bitter when it's cold, but you have to drink it eventually."
These past few days, every time Zhang Xuan takes his medicine, he dawdles for ages, as if the longer he dawdles, the better the medicine will taste.
Urged to be fed three times, Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen. He then pinched his nose, closed his eyes, and gulped it down.
"yue——"
"It's so bitter!" Zhang Xuan's face was scrunched up, and he looked as if he had suffered a great injury.
"Gurgle—"
Cai Cai chirped at him from the chicken coop in the bookcase, and the chicks even stretched out their claws and jumped out of the coop, seemingly frightened by his appearance.
Almost everyone present laughed, even Qin Tianshu from the vehicle control department couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
Lin Fanxiang stepped forward helplessly, picked up a small plate from the table next to the medicine cabinet, and handed it to Zhang Xuan—it was candied fruit she had prepared.
Zhang Xuan calmed down, took the plate from Lin Fanxiang, and chewed the candied fruit slowly and forcefully.
Qingyu smiled and tried her best not to make a sound. She calmed herself down and focused on the chessboard again.
"When did you get four consecutive pieces again?!"
Qingyu was shocked; she had already lost several games in a row.
Wen Chuan: "When you were laughing just now."
Qingyu paused for a moment, then threw the white piece back into the chess box. She pouted and said, "I'm not playing anymore, I've lost so many times already."
Wen Chuan helplessly tidied up the chess pieces. Qing Yu didn't know how to play chess and found Go too troublesome, so he had to teach her to play Gomoku, which children liked to play. But she wasn't focused today and couldn't win any game.
Qingyu lay on the table, and the girl looked up at him from the side, then smiled.
"I'm not feeling well today, but we'll definitely have a proper game another day."
As the boy gathered the chess pieces, he nodded with a light laugh, agreeing with her words, "Okay."
At the beginning of Shenshi (3-5 PM), the afternoon sun slept peacefully on the fallen leaves and the horses traveling in the mountain suburbs.
This place is really quite remote; I guess not many people come here normally. But Qin Tianshu said that this mountain road is a small path that can get you to Shengjing faster.
Qingyu glanced at the incense clock beside her and asked, "Are we about to reach that town?"
Wen Chuan nodded. "After traveling for ten days straight, it would be good to stay in a small town for one night."
Lin Fanxiang put away the medical book, and Zhang Xuan took Cai Cai out of the chicken coop.
The wind chimes tinkled, and Qin Tianshu turned around. "Let's get out of the car."
...
"Isn't this the hour of Shen (3-5 PM)?"
Qingyu glanced at the sky; it was very bright, not even evening yet.
Zhang Xuan held Cai Cai in his arms, staring silently at the quiet street. "Why do I suddenly remember the night we first arrived in Danzhou..."
The group looked at each other, gazing at the deserted street and the quiet autumn breeze.
Qingyu watched the cold wind rustle the straw baskets by the roadside, then let out a soft sigh.
"Do you think anyone will answer the door if we knock on it now?"
Qin Tianshu: "...First, we need to determine whether the people in this town are asleep or dead."
Lin Fanxiang: "Or, that's all?"
...The group looked at Lin Fanxiang; they liked the way he spoke.
Lin Fanxiang paused, avoiding everyone's gaze for once, before speaking, "...There is no smell of blood in the air."
She was sensitive to smells, and although the village was quiet, there was indeed no smell of blood.
"There's someone there—"
Qingyu raised her chin, and a small child's figure flashed past from a corner of the alley far away.
Luckily, she had sharp eyes; the child was several alleyways away from them.
Zhang Xuan, who was closest to the alley entrance, threw a handful of vegetables to Wen Chuan beside him. He ran quickly, his toes barely touching the street objects, taking shortcuts, flipping and flying across two alleys, landing straight in front of the child.
The dusty, gray-clad child was so frightened by him that he instantly fell to the ground.
Zhang Xuan frowned and stepped forward. The child saw his Blood Moon Blade and screamed in fright.
"Ahhh—"
Zhang Xuan was startled by the child's cries and screamed.
Qingyu and the others who rushed over: "..."
Two good lads.
Zhang Xuan awkwardly touched his nose. The child on the ground even started wiping away tears. His face was dirty, his eyes were red, his clothes were tattered, and his legs were trembling. He sat on the ground sobbing, as if he was whispering something.
Qingyu tilted her head, then slowly stepped forward, squatted down, and looked at the child on the ground.
He looks like a little beggar.
Qingyu took out a small handkerchief and gently wiped away Xiaoshitou's tears. She paused for a moment when she touched him.
Then she smiled and spoke to him.
"Little one, your older brothers and sisters aren't bad people, don't cry."
Little Stone stopped crying and stared blankly at the beautiful older sister in front of him. He had never seen such a beautiful person before, like a fairy.
The child's eyes lit up, and Qingyu chuckled at his antics. Then, with a smile, she spoke softly.
"Little one, your older brothers and sisters are just passing through and thought the town was too quiet. Are you from here? Can you tell us what happened?"
Little Stone nodded blankly, then as if remembering something, the tears he had barely managed to hold back began to well up again. He choked back sobs and whispered,
"You must leave quickly! This place is cursed. If you don't leave now, you'll all die..."
Qingyu frowned and stood up, but Xiaoshitou seemed to be terrified. He kept crying and saying "curse, curse, curse."
The group was at a loss for what to do. After all, they were just a group of teenagers under twenty, and they panicked when the child cried like this.
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't cry, you..."
Lin Fanxiang frowned, "Were you surprised...?"
Qingyu looked down at the crying little boy, then suddenly picked him up. Little Stone was startled; the dirt on his body had soiled the young lady.
Qingyu ignored all of this. She exchanged glances with the others, lifted Xiaoshitou a little higher, and then gently patted Xiaoshitou's back. She didn't say a word, but gradually, Xiaoshitou stopped crying. He sniffled, and his little face turned red in his dark complexion.
Zhang Xuan quietly stepped back to the side of the group and said incredulously, "I didn't realize Qingyu was so good at taking care of children."
Lin Fanxiang watched this scene without saying a word.
Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan, who was standing nearby, explained calmly, "Qingyu's hometown values children very much."
Zhang Xuan nodded to indicate that he understood. Although it was a bit strange, he figured it was probably just a local custom.
Qin Tianshu glanced at Zhang Xuan speechlessly, then turned his gaze to Qingyu, who was gently coaxing the child. He pondered to himself that the demon race was good at killing each other, but because of this, they considered newborns to be the foundation of the race. They valued and protected the young in the race. Qingyu was a demon, so it was normal for her to know how to coax children. However, it was rare to see her so gentle.
Before long, Qingyu calmed the child down and learned from him what had happened in Lianzi Town recently.
Starting a year ago, the people in Lianzi Town gradually began to prefer sleeping during the day. At first, no one thought it was a big deal, just a bit of drowsiness. They would also be awake at night. But as things progressed, everything became strange. Parents would not get up to cook for their children, merchants would not get up to open their shops, and farmers would not get up to work.
Everything changed. Everyone in Lianzi Town became nocturnal, sleeping during the day and going about their business at night. The young people in the town wanted to escape, but they found that things would get even worse if they went out. They would die in their sleep within two days. Some people escaped back and told the people in the town that no one could do anything. The old people in the village said that their town was cursed by a monster.
Zhang Xuan: "If it's a method of hiding during the day and going out at night, it doesn't seem like it's a way to kill someone..."
Qin Tianshu shook his head. Lin Fanxiang, standing beside him, said, "People can't go without the sun for long periods. It won't kill them, but it will definitely affect their health, and over time..."
Wen Chuan pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then leaned down and said gently to Little Stone, "Little Stone, you said everyone sleeps during the day and comes out at night, so why are you out during the day?"
Little Stone shook his head. He then looked up at Qingyu beside him. Qingyu had been silent since earlier. After sensing the child's gaze, the girl gently curled the corners of her mouth and rubbed his head.
Little Stone: "Only adults do that."
He paused, then looked up at the crowd and said, "Only adults sleep during the day; the children in town don't..."
Everyone was shocked to hear this. What kind of curse would target an adult but not a child?
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Little Stone twisted his tattered clothes with his little hands, secretly glancing at Qing Yu and Lin Fanxiang. Then he lowered his head and said in a low but firm voice, "So many people in town have died, really... You should leave quickly, leave quickly..."
"Sister... let's go quickly..."
-----------------------
Author's Note: The setting of the demon race in this article has been mentioned before. They rely half on cultivation and half on life and death. Therefore, demons can absorb the spirits of demons before they die to cultivate. However, for this reason, there is an unwritten rule among demons that they cannot kill infants, or even protect infants. Otherwise, if they keep killing each other, there will be no demons left.
Simply put,
Demon race: Our love for optimizing our race does not mean we enjoy becoming rare animals.
P.S.: My Kyushu trip has officially begun! If you like it, please bookmark it and leave a comment. Thank you! [heart emojis]
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