The old woman looked into the dog's eyes and instructed him word by word: "Tomorrow night, around 3 PM, sneak out of the house and wait at that little pavilion outside the city. Someone will come to pick you up then. Be a good boy and go with that person, understand?"
The dog nodded: "Understood."
The old woman waved her hand: "Alright, go back now, but don't tell anyone about this."
After hearing her words, the dog numbly turned and left.
Once he was sure the old woman hadn't chased after him, he forced back his headache and took out two of the antidote pills his mother had given him, swallowing them whole.
His headache subsided considerably, though he was still a little dizzy, so he quickly left the awful place.
He had been pinching his thigh hard to keep himself conscious, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to remember to take the medicine.
He stumbled and ran toward the inn, only to find the uncle from before sitting at the inn's entrance, panting heavily.
"You're back already? I just arrived, I haven't even gone to see your mother yet!"
The uncle was a little surprised. They came out too quickly. Could it be that they really misunderstood the old woman?
"Uncle, it's alright now, thank you."
Gou'er actually wanted to ask him to keep an eye on the old woman a little longer, but he was so dizzy that he could barely stand, so he gave up the idea and decided to wait until his mother woke up.
His abilities are too weak; I really don't know how to handle this.
It was already incredibly difficult for him to even come back conscious.
The dog sighed and went upstairs in a daze. But as soon as he opened the door to the guest room, he couldn't stand the dizziness and fainted on the spot.
Jiang Jiuniang opened her eyes, took off her earplugs, silently got up and went to the door, closed the door, then carried her unconscious son to the bed, looked at his pale little face and sighed.
He was indeed too young, but it was quite remarkable that he managed to take the antidote pill and only fainted after getting to her side.
She touched her son's chubby little face, took out a vial of medicine from her spatial storage, and fed it to him.
Then she pulled the blanket over them both and continued to nap.
No rush, it will have to be tidied up eventually.
After a while, the dog's complexion began to improve and became rosy, but it remained in a deep sleep and did not wake up.
When Jiang Jiuniang first arrived here, she went out for a walk to get a general idea of the situation and happened to witness the whole process of the old woman's attack.
She didn't make a fuss at the time, thinking it was an opportunity to let the dog see the world, so when she came back, she deliberately mentioned it when she was going to bed, indicating that he could walk around the neighborhood.
The dog has just arrived here and will definitely be curious about everything around it, so it will definitely go outside.
The old woman's hiding place wasn't far from the inn, and there were few normal, healthy children in the city, so the dog would definitely be targeted.
Then, the old woman took him to see the world.
Jiang Jiuniang admitted that as a mother, she was a bit harsh, but she was only letting Gou'er have this experience on the premise that he was sure that Gou'er's life was not in danger, so that he could learn from the experience and protect himself and his family in the future.
The dog didn't wake up until the afternoon. His head was no longer dizzy or painful. He found himself lying in bed and turned to see his mother still sleeping. He remembered that he had fainted at the door. Needless to say, his mother must have saved him.
He recalled the panic, fear, and helplessness he felt when the old woman sprinkled medicine on him, but when he saw his mother, he instantly calmed down.
He moved closer to his mother and reached out his little hand to hug her arm, instantly losing his fear.
Are you hungry?
Jiang Jiuniang didn't even open her eyes, and her voice was still heavy with sleepiness.
I'm not hungry.
He shook his head, but Jiang Jiuniang ignored him and continued to sleep with her eyes closed.
"Mother."
"Um?"
"I just wanted to call out to you."
He moved closer to Jiang Jiuniang, feeling her warmth, and then clenched his fist and said, "I will definitely work hard to become stronger."
In just two or three days, he realized how ridiculous some of his previous behaviors had been.
Back in the capital, his grandfather, the retired emperor, built a martial arts training ground for him at the Imperial Academy. With the basic skills he had acquired over the past few years and the martial arts he had learned through extra tutoring from his parents, he had almost no rivals at the Imperial Academy. He began to feel a little proud and enjoyed the slightly respectful looks people gave him.
He had never mentioned these things to his parents. He thought that if he didn't tell them, they wouldn't know, and even if they did, they wouldn't think he had done anything wrong.
He was just engaging in normal martial arts duels, stopping short of actually hurting anyone. This was something his parents taught him, which is why he felt fearless.
Unexpectedly, his mother saw everything but never said anything. Instead, she chose to take him with her on this trip.
Let him know that there are people more capable than himself in this world, and that not everything can be solved with force.
Moreover, two fists can hardly fight four hands, and it is easy to dodge a spear in the open but difficult to guard against a hidden arrow.
His previous idea was really too naive.
Jiang Jiuniang sensed the change in his emotions, reached out and patted his back, saying, "Becoming stronger isn't just talk, nor does it necessarily mean constantly forcing yourself to do something. I brought you out here so you would understand how important it is to remain calm and composed when facing problems."
"Son, you did a great job today. I'm so proud of you."
The dog paused, then asked, "Mother, do you already know what happened?"
He assumed that his mother had gone out to check after discovering that he had fainted, so he didn't think much of it.
"Yes, you are still trying to control yourself at critical moments, which is better than many adults."
Jiang Jiuniang didn't explain further, and didn't intend to let Gou'er know that she knew about this beforehand.
The dog pursed his lips and didn't speak. His goal was to become as excellent as his parents, not just to be better than others.
"Tell your mother what you think about this. For example, what do you think those people are doing grabbing children?"
Jiang Jiuniang was very patient and guided the dog to make bold guesses.
After thinking for a moment, Gou'er said, "It must be a kidnapper, the kind who specializes in abducting and trafficking children."
"Then why do they only want healthy children?"
"Perhaps they don't want children with health problems because the place they sell to is far away and they're worried about accidents on the way?"
These child snatchers are widespread, found in various places, and operate on a large scale with complex influence, making them difficult for the government to investigate. As a result, they become increasingly brazen, and in some places, cases of children being snatched in the street have even occurred.
Jiang Jiuniang didn't comment on whether his words were good or bad, but continued to ask, "Then why did you tell them to wait for someone to pick you up at the pavilion outside the city tomorrow night? Who do you think will be coming to pick you up?"
After thinking for a moment, Gou'er continued, "Letting us go ourselves will reduce a lot of trouble and make it less likely to arouse suspicion. Those people should also be accomplices of the flower sellers, but they are the ones responsible for the handover on the way."
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