My inner complaints about Si Jiangchen seemed to be sensed by Si Tong.
He slipped off the chair and ran in front of me. "Sister Xiaohe, don't blame Uncle Jiangchen. He's very pitiful."
Saying so, Si Tong reached out and lifted my slightly drooping lips. "Uncle Jiangchen said he likes to see you smile. He'll be very happy then... He not only has to deal with his business rivals, but also many people who want to cause him trouble. And there's also Auntie, who acts one way in front and another behind his back. Dad simply doesn't have the time to defend himself. So, I find my own ways to solve problems and don't cause Dad any trouble! Sister Xiaohe, I won't cause you any trouble either. I promise!"
Afraid that I wouldn't believe him, Si Tong held up his chubby little hand in a sword - finger gesture beside his face. "I can take care of myself!"
"You little rascal."
I gently pinched his nose. "You've caused me quite a bit of trouble!"
If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have met Si Jiangchen... No!
A sudden flash of inspiration hit me. Si Tong was sent by Du Wenzhong to find me in the store. Could it be... was all this planned by my grandpa, Du Wenzhong... No, that's not right!! Was it Wen who designed this?
... It seems that as soon as I get back to the urban area, I should go to the hospital to find Wen and ask him what his purpose was!
"Si Tong, tell me. What happened to Auntie Lin Shuya?"
The top priority now is to solve Si Tong's problem. With the Soul - Calming Spell protecting him, yet nightmares still managed to enter his consciousness. This must not be a simple matter!
"I..."
Si Tong glanced at my expression again before starting to tell me about his nightmare.
Yesterday, Si Jiangchen accompanied me to record a program at Future Water World. Si Tong stayed in the villa with the nanny.
After dinner, Si Tong sat in front of the TV, connected his phone for screen mirroring, and watched our live - broadcast program.
The nanny had been with Si Tong for a long time. Seeing that there were some scary parts in the live - broadcast, she advised Si Tong to go to sleep. But Si Tong really liked seeing me on the screen, so he pulled the nanny to watch the program with him.
However, as the little guy was watching, he always felt that something was off on the screen... He vaguely saw a familiar figure following me in the camera.
So Si Tong pointed at the figure and asked the nanny if she could see it. The nanny stared at the screen for a long time but didn't see anyone there.
Then, the live - broadcast suddenly stopped. That should have been when An Hong and the others had an accident, and everyone was scared out of their wits!
Seeing that the program had stopped, the nanny advised Si Tong to go to his bedroom on the second floor to sleep. Si Tong reluctantly nodded in agreement.
But just as he was leaving the sofa to go to his bedroom, Si Tong seemed to see a figure floating out from the already - black TV screen. When he turned his head to look, all he saw were the soft yellow lights of the ambient lamps in the living room, refracting off the central crystal chandelier and creating strange and colorful lights.
Si Tong felt a bit creeped out at that moment.
The nanny, following her usual routine at home, helped Si Tong wash up and then led him to bed.
Si Tong thought he was a little man and didn't need the nanny to sleep with him. He took a book, said good - night to the nanny, and then got into bed, planning to read for a while before going to sleep.
It was already past midnight at this time, when yin energy was at its peak and yang energy was rising. Generally, the elderly would require children to be sound asleep before ten o'clock at night, and there was definitely a reason for that.
Falling asleep around ten o'clock could nourish the heart, which meant nourishing the spirit.
Children's souls were not stable, so they needed more sleep to recuperate.
Si Tong was usually taken care of by the butler and the nanny, and he had his own ideas, so he hardly ever went to bed early.
The desk lamp could only illuminate a space less than a meter in front of the bedside.
Si Tong didn't like reading fairy tales. He was reading a detective story from the villa's study.
Outside the villa was a quiet dense forest. Future Water World had always had poor business, and in this villa area, only the one rented by Si Jiangchen had lights on...
An unknown night - bird was startled by the moon and flew into the sky with a scream.
Although Si Tong knew a lot of characters, he still didn't fully understand this kind of detective book. Moreover, while he was reading, he always felt that he could see someone standing on the floor out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned his head to look, there was nothing there.
Si Tong simply stopped reading. Just as he reached out to turn off the light, suddenly the curtain fluttered gently, and Lin Shuya walked out from behind the window.
"Auntie, why are you here?"
Si Tong was a bit puzzled. He and Si Jiangchen had come to this Future Water World on a whim and hadn't told anyone. How did Lin Shuya manage to follow them? Could it be that Tangtang had told her?
Si Tong knew that Si Jiangchen had called the butler.
But after all, he was still young and didn't realize how strange it was for Lin Shuya to appear at this moment.
"Tongtong, Auntie is sick. Auntie is looking for something!"
Lin Shuya's voice was a bit anxious. She slowly walked closer to Si Tong's bedside. As she got closer, more and more wrinkles appeared on her well - maintained, youthful and beautiful face. When she leaned over and looked at Si Tong, the skin on her face had cracked like a dry riverbed, and pieces of skin were falling off.
"Auntie..."
Si Tong was scared. He reached out to push Lin Shuya away, but Lin Shuya's face suddenly shattered with a "crash" and fell to the ground. Where her facial features had been, there was now a horizontal crack.
"Auntie is not feeling well, Tongtong... Have you seen this person?!"
The faceless Lin Shuya's voice became even more strange. As she spoke, she got closer and closer. Right in front of Si Tong's nose, the crack on the blank face suddenly opened, revealing a huge eye!!
The dark - red pupil was almost bigger than Si Tong's head. The blood vessels in the white of the eye were churning, like countless red earthworms wriggling and trying to break free from the confinement of the eyeball!
"You're not Auntie!!"
Si Tong was so scared that he struggled desperately and jumped up.
The Lin Shuya in front of him had disappeared. The window of the bedroom had been opened a crack at some point. The sky was already turning pale, and a white figure suddenly disappeared into the shadows of the forest outside the window!!
...
"Are you sure it was Auntie you saw?"
A chill ran through me.
If I hadn't read the Reincarnation Record, I would have thought that this nightmare of Si Tong's was just a sign that he didn't like Lin Shuya.
But now, connecting all the events, it seemed that Lin Shuya was also looking for the true form of the One - Eyed Buddha Mother... because her body had already started to decay!
After all, when I bit Si Jiangchen back then, I didn't fully turn into an indestructible zombie. And when Si Jiangchen bit her wrist... actually, the zombie toxin in her body had mutated.
The fact that she didn't turn into a disgusting, useless zombie was already a miracle. To be able to maintain her youthful appearance for so many years after the thunder tribulation was already extremely rare...
Lin Shuya wanted to stay young forever!