Chapter 23
Inside the square wooden house, there was a fresh feeling after the rain, and half of the furniture was illuminated by the dim light.
Jia'er lay on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his expression focused, and there were scattered footsteps behind him.
In the very center of the room, there was a stove with a medicine pot bubbling away, filling the room with a rich aroma of medicine.
On a kang (a heated brick bed) under the room window, five little figures are lying there—they look like they've been asleep for a long time and show no signs of waking up yet.
People kept coming in and out of the house, their footsteps echoing, mixed with muttering.
After an unknown amount of time, once the room had become completely quiet, the figure sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) looked up and around.
There was no one behind me, and no one in the room.
So he began to act.
Jia'er climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and crawled to the five people lying down.
Look closely, the five people lying there have their eyes closed and are breathing shallowly.
After studying it for a while, Jia'er finally decided to pinch the noses of the five people lying on the kang in turn.
After he finished kneading, he got out of bed, and finally, there was movement on the bed.
"You're awake?"
Before the person was fully awake, his loud voice had already arrived.
The person on the kang (heated brick bed) began to struggle, and Jia'er became agitated.
He couldn't help but rub his hands together, his eyes scanning back and forth between the five people.
Aono was the first to wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes slightly, he saw a pair of bright, piercing eyes staring at him from above.
"You're awake?"
Jia'er's clear voice, filled with joy, rang out. His big eyes blinked, brimming with undisguised delight.
Aono looked at the little dragon staring at him; the little dragon was incredibly cute with its chubby face—it was great to see him right away.
"Um."
Aono nodded with difficulty. His whole body ached, and his nose and throat still felt burning. He swallowed slightly, and then another sharp pain shot through his throat.
"It's so good that you're awake, Aono," Koji said, peeking out from his bed.
Aono looked at his horns, forced a smile, and thought it was good to see him again.
Once the first one wakes up, Jia'er will go and wake the second one.
So the second person found Jinbao, and under his intense gaze, Jinbao also woke up.
Okay, so let's move on to the third one.
Big Yellow, Honghong, Xiaomian, and everyone else were gradually woken up by his gaze.
Having completed his mission, Xiaolong chuckled as he landed backwards. Once on the ground, he went to check the stove to see if the medicine inside was ready.
Actually, Aono and the others didn't need to take medicine at all, but the adults wanted to make it, so they did.
"Everyone, it's time for us to get up and take our medicine." Jia'er quickly got into a role-playing mode, and with a serious air about him, he began to instruct his little friends in bed to get up and take their medicine.
They were drugged at the bottom of the river and have now woken up. They have no injuries and don't need medicine, but well, they've already been boiled.
Before anyone could figure out what was going on, they all sat up with splitting headaches, only to see a large medicine jar bubbling away in the center of the room, filling the entire room with a moist, medicinal aroma.
"What, what is this?"
Everyone was confused.
Jia'er quickly searched for a bowl, intending to pour out the medicine and share it with his friends.
"It's medicine, it's medicine! Your mother told you to drink it." For some reason, Jia'er's tone was filled with undisguised excitement.
...
The people on the kang (heated brick bed) watched him busy himself.
After much effort, Jia'er found five bowls in the room. He was eager to make a move on the stove, but it was too hot. He circled around it for a long time, but couldn't find a suitable opportunity to strike.
Everyone sat and watched him circle around the medicine furnace, a trail of white smoke rising around it, as if emanating from his body.
He looked so happy, I don't know what he was so happy about.
Just as they were looking for an opportunity, someone outside heard the commotion inside, and soon a large group of people rushed in.
Some of the people rushed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), while others stood by and watched the spectacle.
Jia'er's plan to carry the medicine stove was forced to stop. He watched as Qingye, Dahuang, Honghong, Xiaomian, and Jinbao's parents rushed in, then hugged them on the kang and cried uncontrollably. The room was filled with shouts and cries, and everyone's mouths were moving, but it was impossible to hear what they were saying.
A large group of villagers stood around him, whispering amongst themselves, saying that these children were unlucky and could have died there at any moment...
Jia'er remembered that he had just returned from his mother's place, and his mother had said the same thing—ah, his bottom was still a little sore.
He reached out and rubbed it, immersing himself in a sad mood along with everyone else.
However, his emotions were different from everyone else's.
After the lingering fear on the kang (heated brick bed) subsided, the adults started chattering again, asking if anyone felt unwell, what had happened, and how they remembered getting hurt, and so on.
Poor Qingye and the others had just woken up from their coma and hadn't even realized what was happening when they were surrounded and bombed.
"Thanks to this little baby for saving you, otherwise you would probably be buried at the bottom of the river." Qingye's mother clutched its blanket.
"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to them for bringing you out. Otherwise, I can't even imagine..." Jinbao's parents also covered their faces and sobbed.
"Huh? I..."
Jia'er pointed to himself, somewhat embarrassed. Was he really that good?
The little creatures sitting on the bed turned their gaze to him, and they too seemed a little incredulous.
Did Jia'er rescue them?
There were five of them, and Jia'er was so small. How could she bring them all out?
The situation at the bottom of the river at that time... if you just recall it briefly, you'll know that the situation was extremely critical.
"We should thank them a lot. This mission is now complete, and we no longer need to fear the clan chief's wrath."
Huh? The mission is complete?
The remains of our ancestors have been unearthed? And the jade cong and bone bell were also unearthed?
The five little creatures on the kang (a heated brick bed) exchanged glances. Something was wrong. The last thing they remembered was a red coffin at the bottom of the river, something surging beneath it. Before they could react, they suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and then... then they lost their senses.
"Father, Mother, you should go out first."
"Yeah, yeah, my head hurts so much."
"We want to rest for a while longer."
Realizing something was amiss and desperately needing the truth, everyone tacitly agreed to kick all the adults out of the room first.
The villagers were reluctant to leave. They were all watching the children, hoping to find out if they had been cursed after going into the water.
It seems there isn't one at the moment.
"Mother, you should go now, we're so tired," the "patient" inside the house said weakly.
Seeing how weak the children were, seemingly unable to even speak, the adult demon beasts had no choice but to agree:
"Alright, alright, you guys rest well, we'll come in and give you your medicine in a bit."
"Um……"
"Oh dear, don't talk to the child anymore, let's go."
"Let's go, let's go."
They left in a scattered manner, with the adults pushing and shoving each other for a long time. Finally, under the reluctant gazes of the children, they left the house with reluctance.
As soon as they left, everyone on the kang (heated brick bed) immediately started talking:
"Jia'er, what happened at the bottom of the river in the end? Did you rescue us?"
"You brought the jade cong and bone bell with you too?"
"How did you bring him out?"
Everyone was anxious, eager to know the truth. How come they were already in their tribe when they opened their eyes?
Underwater, they clearly touched some kind of restriction... those majestic voices, those mysterious smells.
Just recalling one thing is enough to terrify them.
Jia'er scratched his head. "What happened?" he asked. "Well, that's hard to say."
He will probably never forget what happened and what happened at the last moment at the bottom of the river...
*
When the group unearthed the massive piece of redwood at the bottom of the river, they were terrified and their hearts pounded. They thought they had found skeletons. Just as they were trying their best to turn the redwood over, a strange fragrance suddenly wafted over. The fragrance was extremely strong and domineering. Almost instantly, it took over their brains. Before they could even react, they lost their senses and fell backward.
"Aono, what's wrong with you guys?"
Koji stood at the back, unaware of what had happened. He simply watched as Aono and the others fell one by one, silently...
As the water rippled, there wasn't a single ripple on the riverbed.
Jia'er stared at all this in astonishment. He didn't understand what had happened, but as soon as he realized what was going on, the fragrance entered his nostrils.
Strange, sticky, sweet, with a hint of decay.
Jia'er felt a sudden dizziness. He covered his nose and suppressed the urge to gag.
So bizarre...
But the weirdest part was yet to come.
After the redwood slowly turned over, the white bones underneath surged continuously...
ah!
Upon witnessing such a horrifying scene, Jia'er was almost driven to the brink of madness!
That, that really is a skeleton?
Human bones? Oh no, monster bones?
So many! So many!
Jia'er had never seen such a bizarre and terrifying scene!
He was so frightened that he wanted to scream wildly, but when he opened his mouth, his throat went hoarse—he realized he had lost his voice!
how so?
No, this won't do, why is this happening...?
Before he could even think, Jia'er's gaze shifted, and his eyes focused on one spot again.
The stark white bones seemed to surge with boundless fury, rolling and churning like endless waves, layer upon layer, attempting to overturn the redwood and leap out.
Jia'er was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and his body was already stiff and unable to move.
His first reaction to danger was to get away as quickly as possible! Stiffly moving his neck, Jia'er quickly shifted his gaze to his friend, while his mind raced, trying to figure out how to escape.
But you don't know until you look, and what you find is shocking!
He discovered that Qingye and the others' bodies were constantly moving closer to the redwood... no, it should be said that they were being devoured by the redwood.
It is absorbing energy and sucking up [something]!
The white bones continued to churn, along with the jade cong and the bone bell—the bone bell was also ringing incessantly.
The scene before my eyes became increasingly disgusting, and the sounds around me became increasingly jarring.
Jia'er struggled to calm himself, and only then did he see that beneath the mahogany was a wooden coffin.
It turns out that the white bones, jade cong, and bone bell were all buried in one place.
As the redwood was turned over, the white bones surged forth, and the bone bells rang out. Previously, the noise was unbearable, but now the sound was amplified several times over.
Although Koji was so frightened that he wanted to find his mother, he calmed himself down and made a quick decision to jump over and pull Aono and the others out.
Then the skeleton seemed to have the ability to recognize its own kind. Jia'er had only taken two steps forward when he was already restrained and could no longer move forward.
His body was frozen in place, unable to move, as he watched helplessly as Aono and the others approached the red coffin step by step. Koji used all his strength to try to break free.
But suddenly, he realized that his consciousness was also becoming somewhat unclear.
No, absolutely not!
He cannot stay here.
The scene at the bottom of this river is so dangerous, and the weapon in front of us is even more sinister. If we are not careful, we can have our minds taken away here and sleep at the bottom of the river with our bones forever.
No!
Jia'er absolutely will not allow this to happen!
He wants to go out, and he wants to go out by himself, and he wants to take his friends with him!
My body is becoming increasingly stiff, and my mind is becoming increasingly unclear, as if only half of it is being used for thinking.
Jia'er struggled to break free a little, and was just able to move when she was knocked out and slammed to the bottom of the river.
Sand swirled around them, and Jia'er felt excruciating pain in his body, his mind still foggy.
how so?
He went forward again and was hit again.
He felt as if his bones were about to shatter. When he was ejected for the last time, Jia'er's remaining consciousness realized that his body was slowly moving towards the red coffin.
Just like the body of the friend we saw before.
Was he really going to perish at the bottom of the river with everyone and become part of the ancestors of the Muyun tribe?
Jia'er bit his tongue, and he felt a bloody taste coming from him, which seemed to clear his mind a little.
When Jia'er stood up for the last time, he was covered in mud and sand, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
The skeleton was clearly excited; in addition to the impact sound, there was an extra creaking sound, which sounded like mockery, or perhaps a celebration.
This was no illusion! Jia'er was filled with despair.
He had never seen such a horrifying array of white bones since birth, not even in the unfathomable depths of the East China Sea.
Another heavy blow struck him, and Jia'er felt like he was about to be thrown away again, but in a flash, he suddenly thought of something!
Ah, the East China Sea!
The next second, a loud bang came from the bottom of the river, and everything became murky. Within a radius of dozens of miles, all the plankton were swept away, and even the seaweed that swayed with the waves was broken in an instant.
When disaster strikes, all the tiny living creatures in the vicinity frantically run as far away as possible.
The entire river seemed to be battered by giant waves, with the water level on the banks rising and falling, and the waves crashing against the nearby grasslands one after another.
The large trees along the shore were all struck by the several-meter-high waves and drenched as if in a heavy rain.
However, the commotion was not over yet.
The waves surged incessantly, and suddenly a huge roar came from the bottom of the river. Upon closer inspection, a young dragon, tens of meters long, was seen frantically churning the water.
Seemingly unable to dissipate its anger, the young dragon desperately hissed at the light above, its voice penetrating and like an indestructible barrier.
The strange sights near the red coffin seemed to have disappeared, as did the unbearable sound of the bone bells. Everything seemed to have returned to calm, except for the white bones, which were still struggling in their death throes, creaking and churning, trying to jump out of the coffin.
Those strange spells from before seemed to have no effect on this young dragon at the bottom of the river. Its claws and scales were like the hardest guardians, unbreakable and as solid as a rock, no matter what kind of ancient spells it faced, like a superior copper wall and iron barrier.
Jia'er flew up and down repeatedly, finally landing at the bottom of the river and approaching the red coffin. At this dangerous moment when the bones were churning, he slapped the coffin with his palm, covering it with the red wood again. Then, he used his claws to grab Qingye and the others one by one. Before leaving, he swept his tail and swept away the red coffin and the bones and jade cong bone bell inside, leaving nothing behind!
People and objects disappeared, and the secrets buried at the bottom of this river for thousands of years were taken away. This vital pass at the foot of the snow-capped mountain gradually became calm...
...
That's how the mission was accomplished.
After Jia'er came out, he sent his friends back to their clan, and then went to find his mother as soon as possible.
Having just survived a life-or-death ordeal, he was still shaken and trembling. All he wanted to do was throw himself into his mother's arms for comfort, tell her about his bravery, and ask for her praise.
You know, deep down he really thought he was incredibly brave and incredibly smart.
Mother must think so too. Immersed in her own beautiful imagination, Jia'er walked quickly.
Upon returning home and seeing his mother, Jia'er immediately launched into a long, unreserved explanation of everything that had happened to him. His eyes lit up when he recounted how he had single-handedly brought everyone up.
"That's it! I transformed into a dragon and brought everyone up here!"
His voice was clear and crisp, his eyebrows and eyes were bright and lively, and he even winked after he finished speaking.
What happened? Hmm, after he finished speaking, why didn't his mother react? There was no praise or kiss as expected; he just saw his mother staring blankly.
Jia'er's heart skipped a beat, and then he felt his body slowly rising into the air...
"Hmm, Mother...?" Xiao Long's puzzled voice rang out from inside the house.
Yinglong couldn't believe that she had heard such a thing from the child's mouth, and that he hadn't even told her.
She was astonished! She was bewildered! She was shocked! How dare this child be so audacious? So lawless?
This is absolutely outrageous!
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She stared intently at the baby in her arms!
When the excruciating pain struck, Jia'er was still struggling. How could this be? He was clearly so smart and brave.
How could this happen? Can anyone tell him?
There is no one.
It's pitiful that when he later went to find Aono and the others, he was limping and clutching his buttocks.
His butt hurts so much!
He decided not to go anywhere for a while and would just stay in the cabin and wait for Aono and the others to wake up!
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