Chapter 60 Nightmare
The moonlight was soft and gentle, and the night was cool and still.
Jia Baoyu had already gone to sleep.
Qingwen is on night duty outside, while Xiren is lying on the footstool inside, keeping watch.
Perhaps it was because Jia Baoyu had played with the maids for too long before going to sleep and was too excited.
Therefore, he slept very restlessly.
In his dream, Jia Baoyu was walking along a river, his journey arduous, when suddenly he heard mournful sounds all around him.
"Give me back my life! Give me back my life!"
Jia Baoyu looked around, but could not see anything.
Suddenly he felt a cold sensation on his feet. Looking down, he saw a naked little child with three leaves on his head standing at his feet, urinating right on his feet. Jia Baoyu couldn't dodge in time and was urinated on.
"Whose child is this, so rude!" He stepped back, but then saw another child approaching, also with three leaves, naked, and quite adorable. The child smiled at Jia Baoyu and began to speak.
"Give me back my life..."
The sound was shrill, exactly the same as the sound he had just heard.
Jia Baoyu took a step back, but felt someone tugging at his trouser leg from behind. He looked back, was startled, and fell to the ground.
Behind him were dozens of little children, each with three leaves swaying on their heads, shouting at him to pay for his life...
Jia Baoyu broke out in a cold sweat and was about to explain when he heard someone calling his name.
"Baoyu, wake up, Baoyu... wake up..."
Jia Baoyu jolted awake and opened his eyes.
He breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it was just a dream.
Xi Ren, alert, noticed that Jia Baoyu was sleeping restlessly, covered in sweat, and had a pained expression on his face, so she quickly woke him up.
"What dream did you have that made you so scared? I'll have Granny Ma come over tomorrow to interpret it for you."
Xiren poured a cup of water and handed it to Baoyu. Baoyu drank a few sips of water from the cup in Xiren's hand, and only then did he feel his wildly beating heart calm down.
Xiren put down her teacup and turned around, only to see that Baoyu, because he was a restless sleeper, had kicked off the covers at some point, with both his feet sticking out of them.
She hurried over and tidied the quilt, covering Baoyu's legs and feet.
"Look how cold the weather is getting. Will it frost tomorrow morning? Good sister, come and sleep in bed. Don't catch a cold on the floor." Baoyu said, pulling Xiren along.
When Baoyu was still a child, the maids who kept watch at night would often sleep with him in bed.
These past two years, as Baoyu has grown up, Lady Wang has finally gotten them to behave properly.
Xiren didn't want to agree, but Baoyu looked at her pitifully, and Xiren's heart softened, so she agreed and put her bedding by the bedside.
Baoyu had just had a nightmare and was still scared, but he was unwilling to say that he let Xiren come up to sleep because he was timid and afraid of having nightmares.
Xiren understood what Baoyu meant, but she didn't expose him. She simply obediently lay down beside him.
With Xiren by his side, Baoyu felt much more at ease. Knowing that he could no longer dream, he closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully.
"Give me back my life..."
The moment he closed his eyes, he heard that piercing scream again.
Jia Baoyu felt a jolt of fear and tried to wake up, but found that he couldn't move at all.
He watched helplessly as the three-leaf dolls at his feet chattered and cried out, "Give me back my life! Give me back my life!" He wanted to explain, but couldn't even open his mouth.
Why do these three leaves look so familiar?
Jia Baoyu had a sudden thought: Isn't this a ginseng leaf?
Are they ginseng babies?
Jia Baoyu looked closely and counted the number of babies. There were thirty-one in total, which was exactly the number of ginseng seedlings that had died in his hands.
They were demanding to pay for their lives, and they certainly hadn't come to the wrong person.
But how am I supposed to pay it back?
Jia Baoyu looked worried and distressed.
The ginseng dolls surrounded him, one on top of the other, enveloping Jia Baoyu from bottom to top. Jia Baoyu felt that he had difficulty breathing and tried to push the dolls away, but he still could not move an inch.
Just then, a delicate scolding voice rang out.
"Let him go now! He didn't mean to kill you. He just wanted to give you a safe place, but his good intentions backfired."
As soon as the sound appeared, the three-leaf dolls disappeared instantly, and Baoyu felt that he could move his whole body again.
He looked up, and although he was mentally prepared, he immediately closed his eyes tightly.
A clear, bell-like laugh reached his ears, and Jia Baoyu closed his eyes even tighter.
"Baoyu, open your eyes and look at me..." The melodious voice was very pleasant to hear, but Jia Baoyu did not want to open his eyes at all.
He pinched his palm hard, trying to wake up, but felt no pain.
Jia Baoyu wanted to shout: He would never grow ginseng again! He was overestimating himself, he was just boasting...
But for some reason, he lost his voice again.
Jia Baoyu was extremely annoyed!
Right now, he would rather have those little children beside him than this thing in front of him.
Although the little babies are scary, this one is truly terrifying!
Jia Baoyu only glanced at it, but the image of this thing was imprinted in his mind and could not be forgotten.
It was something that looked like an old tree stump, no more than three feet tall. Its whole body was covered with something like withered tree bark, which was falling to the ground in a rustling motion. On top of it was a large patch of lush green ginseng leaves, each about the size of a palm.
This thing has no visible limbs or facial features, and we don't know where the sound is coming from.
Although the voice was clear and gentle, Jia Baoyu felt a chill run through his body from the bottom of his heart...
“Baoyu…”
"Baoyu... wake up quickly, it will be too late if you don't get up soon."
Xi Ren gently nudged Bao Yu to wake him up, but Bao Yu was sleeping soundly and she couldn't wake him no matter what she did.
At this moment, Qingwen came in.
“What’s going on? If Second Master doesn’t get up soon, he’ll be late for school. It’s not a big deal if he’s late, but we’ll be in trouble. Xiren, hurry up and urge Second Master again.”
"I've urged him several times, but Second Master just won't wake up. Why don't you give it a try?"
"Second Master, Second Master!" Qingwen called out twice as she approached.
Jia Baoyu didn't react at all. Qingwen was anxious because of the Second Master's schooling. They, the maids and the servants who followed him, had been punished so many times, but the Second Master still didn't learn his lesson.
Qingwen was angry. Seeing that Baoyu wouldn't get up soon, she knew she was going to get a beating today. So she grabbed the quilt and pulled it aside.
Sure enough, Baoyu, who had been motionless just moments before, shivered and then opened his eyes.
Xiren rushed forward and covered Baoyu with the quilt again, then scolded Qingwen.
"How old are you? You still act so irrationally. What if Second Master gets cold?"
Qingwen rolled her eyes at her.
"You think you're so virtuous? Then why don't you wake him up!"
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