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Jiang Chunbao’s back, limbs, and even his face were marked with various bite wounds.
Doctor Yang, acknowledging his limited medical skills, found it challenging to treat him.
Jiang Chunbao was the hope of the Jiang family, so in this situation, there was no hesitation. They quickly hired a cart to rush to the county town, only returning to Jiang Family Village three days later.
By this time, Jiang Chunbao had already regained consciousness.
“Don’t come near, don’t bite me, don’t bite me…”
“Get away, roll away, roll away!”
“Help, help!”
…
At the sight of any shadow moving, be it human or object, Jiang Chunbao would be filled with terror, curling up into a ball and instinctively grabbing anything within reach for self-defense.
Disregarding the wounds that had just been painstakingly staunched, they now reopened.
Unmindful of whether the person in front of him was Zhang shi, there to feed him or administer medicine.
Even when Jiang Chunbao managed to sleep at night, he trembled all over, easily startled by the slightest noise, shouting and screaming. Even in the scorching heat, he would cover himself with a blanket, not daring to expose even a fraction of himself.
He appeared utterly deranged.
With Jiang Chunbao in this state, a dark cloud loomed over the Second Household.
Zhang shi wept profusely, her swollen eyes like apricots, unable to open.
Seeing the hope of his family in such a frenzied state, Jiang Yocai’s heart sank. His pillar of support crumbled. As he paced back and forth in regret at home, he searched everywhere for the culprit – the dog that had driven Jiang Chunbao into this state of madness!
However, after searching for several days, Jiang Yocai found no leads.
Some villagers kept dogs, but they were all small in size. During the time Jiang Chunbao was bitten, most households could confirm their dogs were at home. These village dogs were primarily guard dogs and rarely ventured out, not even daring to pick up scraps of food dropped by others, let alone biting someone.
Even in the neighboring villages, there were no reports of a dog with such a large mouth, towering stature, capable of harming people.
On the day Jiang Chunbao was bitten, although it was already dark, it wasn’t too late. Even the early-to-bed rural households had just finished dinner and were tidying up. Even if they didn’t see Jiang Chunbao being attacked, they should have heard something.
After all, being bitten to such an extent would have surely produced a piercing scream.
However, everyone in Jiang Family Village heard no commotion that day. In fact, upon reflection, they found that it was unusually quiet, so quiet that even the buzzing of insects in the summer, normally high and low, was absent.
No cries heard, no sign of a large dog—it all seemed to have happened out of thin air.
Eerie.
Exceptionally eerie.
The more Jiang Yocai inquired and searched, the more his scalp tingled, and the chill down his spine intensified. He fell ill for two days, feeling drowsy during the day and plagued by incessant dreaming at night.
As for the content of his dreams, upon waking in the morning, he couldn’t recall a thing, but he was sure he had dreamt, feeling sore all over upon awakening, as if he hadn’t dreamt at all but had personally undergone a harrowing experience.
Jiang Chunbao was in a frenzied state, while Jiang Yocai seemed dazed and confused, making the atmosphere in the Second Household increasingly heavy these days.
Damn eerie! Jiang Chunhe had practically scratched his head bald in recent days.
He couldn’t sleep at night, tossing and turning like a hotcake.
“Turn over more gently, the child can’t sleep soundly.” Wu shi, in a low voice, reminded him.
Jiang Chunhe couldn’t hold it in any longer and promptly sat up.
“What’s wrong?” Wu shi, seeing Jiang Chunhe staring intently outside, also sat up. “Is there something going on with Chunbao again?”
Listening intently, Wu shi’s forehead furrowed.
There was indeed some commotion coming from the west room.
It was a frightening mix of crying and shouting.
“Do you want to go take a look?” Wu shi asked Jiang Chunhe.
“What’s there to see? It’s the same every time, can’t stop it, can’t be of any help,” Jiang Chunhe shrugged, a bit impatient.
It’s not that he, as the elder brother, was being too callous. On the contrary, seeing Jiang Chunbao in such a state was truly distressing for Jiang Chunhe. He even emptied his personal savings to help treat Jiang Chunbao’s wounds.
But with Jiang Chunbao refusing proper treatment, crying and howling all day, attacking anyone in sight and making everyone avoid him, it reminded Jiang Chunhe of Jiang Chunbao’s usual selfishness and self-centeredness, leaving him with no desire to keep trying to help.
Seeing Jiang Chunhe’s response, Wu shi fell silent, sighing, “How did this all go so wrong? I wonder what sins were committed…”
“What other sins could there be?” Jiang Chunhe remarked. “I bet it’s related to the Third Household.”
“I always felt something off about the way he looked at the Third Household. I warned him not to mess with them, not to provoke Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun. It seems he didn’t listen, insisted on causing trouble, and ended up in this state.”
Truly… speechless!
Jiang Chunhe sighed and shook his head.
Wu shi widened her eyes, “Is the Third Household really that mysterious?”
“Absolutely, extremely mysterious!” Jiang Chunhe nodded emphatically, “You see, I used to be a skilled hunter, but why is it that suddenly I can’t catch anything anymore? It’s all because I thought I scared away that rabbit last time, which Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun found. I wanted it back, and that’s when things went wrong.”
“Then, I thought it would be a good idea to send Jiang Datou to cause trouble at the bamboo workshop in the Third Household, and the roof collapsed, leaving me injured for days. After that, Mother fell into a pit, and our harvest wasn’t good… Every single thing, every incident, isn’t it all connected to the Third Household?”
“Perhaps…” Wu shi sounded uncertain, “Just a coincidence?”
“Once or twice could be a coincidence, but after so many times, is it still a coincidence? No, it’s not!” Jiang Chunhe stated firmly, even saying, “Believe it or not, if I improve my relationship with the Third Household, my luck would immediately turn for the better!”
“Really?” Wu shi scoffed, “I don’t believe it.”
In this world, where could such mysterious things happen?
“Don’t doubt it. When I have the chance, I’ll give it a try, and then you’ll see,” Jiang Chunhe raised his chin.
On August 3rd, the provincial exam began.
Compared to the four days of arduous testing, the provincial exam only lasted two days.
However, within these two days, there were two separate exams, each requiring the composition of an essay and a poem.
The essay topics were selected from the Four Books and Five Classics, while the poems were given specific themes to write about.
As usual, candidates entered the exam hall in the morning, were checked upon entry, and then proceeded to their designated seats according to their names.
Writing an essay and a poem in a single day was no easy task for the examinees, so once they entered their seats, they wasted no time and immediately prepared for the exams.