This cry of "Mother" was full of heartache and regret, but the deranged Jiang Zhiqing couldn't feel it at all. She snatched the pillow back, hugged it in her arms and continued to coo, lost in her own world.
Ye Wanmian, on the other hand, sat beside her, taking out her medical book and flipping through it.
When Ye Wanmian first got the medical book yesterday, she had skimmed through it briefly. There was no mention of a cure for madness in it. Presumably, madness fell into the category of intractable diseases.
You can't eat an elephant in one bite. She didn't want to get married again in this lifetime. She had plenty of time to learn slowly. With her perseverance, she was bound to achieve success.
The two sat side by side under the eaves, not interfering with each other, enjoying this moment of solitude.
Just outside the wall, the yellow dog lay on the clean stone slab with its eyes slightly closed. Its posture seemed casual, but in fact, it had been on high alert, carefully listening for any movement around.
Ever since coming to terms with the fact that he had possessed the yellow dog, Xiao Jingcheng had now become extremely proficient in using this body, and had gradually found a bit of fun in it.
The sense of smell and hearing of canines were several times more sensitive than those of humans. Just sitting there like this, all kinds of noisy sounds came at him from all directions. He could hear the sound of beetles crawling on the wall and the sound of water droplets falling from the eaves.
From these intricate sounds, he distinguished the voices of Ye Wanmian and Jiang Zhiqing. Although he couldn't see with his eyes, through this conversation, he could roughly imagine the scene in the yard.
So that's why she had taken him through the streets and alleys early in the morning, just to visit a crazy woman here. It seemed that the crazy woman was often abused by her family?
So, was she being kind to this crazy woman out of pity and came here specifically to take care of her?
Xiao Jingcheng sneered in his heart.
She herself was living a tight life. She had even bargained when buying a silver-plated bowl for him, and yet she still had the energy and money to pity others. He didn't know why this fool, Ye Wanmian, liked to meddle in other people's business.
His tail involuntarily twitched slightly behind him. The Crown Prince never imagined that in fact, he was also one of the people she "meddled" with.
However, just thinking about the chicken leg he would get to eat later, Xiao Jingcheng didn't feel like bothering to care about it.
It wasn't that he was particularly fond of the roasted chicken legs in this remote town. It was just that he found that his appetite had become incredibly large, and meat could fill his hunger to a greater extent.
Just thinking about the aroma of the roasted chicken, Xiao Jingcheng's stomach growled, and his mouth watered.
He looked back impatiently at the courtyard wall.
Tsk, when on earth was this village woman going to come out? Didn't she plan to stay here until it got dark?
The furry ears on his head twitched slightly. Xiao Jingcheng caught a strange sound from the countless chaotic noises. He squinted his eyes warily and looked in the direction of the alley entrance.
Someone was coming.
Moreover... judging from the footsteps, there was more than one person. They were heading straight towards him and Ye Wanmian.
This reminded him of the feeling of being constantly monitored after following Ye Wanmian away from the market yesterday.
Interesting.
He was going to see today exactly who had been secretly following them and what they were up to.
Xiao Jingcheng pricked up his ears warily, listening for any movement around, but his posture still remained as lazy and comfortable as before.
By staying still, he had to some extent confused the other party.
The footsteps were getting closer. Judging from the direction, they were indeed heading straight for him. Moreover, the other party seemed to have locked onto his position and was emitting a strong sense of hostility towards him, because all of a sudden, Xiao Jingcheng smelled a strong stench.
His body instantly tensed up. The instinct of a canine was telling him that there was danger.
Since they were coming for them, it meant that the other party would probably choose to show up at this moment when there was no one around. Whether they were coming for him or for the woman in the house, he wouldn't let them get away with it!
Xiao Jingcheng didn't have to wait long. Just as he was getting ready to defend himself, several figures suddenly appeared in front of him - the "tails" that had been following them had finally revealed their true identities.
To Xiao Jingcheng's surprise, they weren't any soldiers or killers, but...
Dogs.
And there were a great many of them!
The leading dog had a mottled coat and a strong body. It was now glaring at him with a fierce look in its eyes, its lips slightly parted, revealing its dirty fangs, and saliva was dripping from its teeth and tongue. The strong stench was coming from it.
The other dogs following behind it bared their teeth and let out growls from their throats, blocking the way in the alley tightly.
The visitors were clearly unfriendly and had clearly planned this in advance.
[It's... It's Sorrowful Tiger! Run, run!]
The yellow light ball inside his body had been trembling in fear and hiding in a corner ever since it saw that mottled stray dog.
Xiao Jingcheng prodded the soul of the yellow dog and frowned, asking:
[What do you mean? Do you know that dog?]
The yellow dog replied tremblingly: [Sorrowful Tiger is very fierce. It's the leader. It will kill any dog that disobeys... Big Yellow, Big Yellow hasn't paid tribute to Sorrowful Tiger for a long time...]
Xiao Jingcheng understood what the yellow dog meant.
This mottled stray dog named Sorrowful Tiger was the leader of the stray dogs in Dongli Town. It bullied the dogs in the town. If any dog dared not to submit to it, it would lead its minions to chase, surround and kill the disobedient dog.
It seemed that the yellow dog had been bullied by Sorrowful Tiger before and had submitted to its tyranny, being forced to offer food as tribute.
However, because it had been poisoned and then possessed by him, it hadn't been able to pay tribute to Sorrowful Tiger for a while. So Sorrowful Tiger had come looking for it, intending to punish this disobedient "traitor".
Since Xiao Jingcheng and the yellow dog shared the same body, he could naturally feel the fear coming from the depths of the yellow dog's soul. His body's instinct was also telling him that it was not advisable to stay here and that he had to leave quickly.
But the current situation of being surrounded was no different from the day when he had been cornered by killers on the edge of a cliff.
That day, he had also been slowly forced into a desperate situation by those killers.
This similar situation ignited a fierce determination in Xiao Jingcheng's heart. He tensed his body and also let out a growl from his throat, glaring fiercely at the mottled stray dog in front of him.
[Stupid dog, with your cowardly appearance, how can you protect that woman? Watch closely. I'll only teach you this once!]
The mottled stray dog was quite angry to see that the yellow dog not only didn't show any sign of submission but also took an attacking stance. Just as it was about to signal the other dogs beside it to pounce on the yellow dog and bite it, the yellow dog made its move -
The once weak and cowardly yellow dog leaped nimbly into the air, baring its sharp fangs, and shot towards the mottled stray dog like an arrow released from a bow.
In the sunlight, that yellow figure was strong, brave and unstoppable!
A hint of disdain flashed across the mottled stray dog's cloudy eyes. It also leaped into the air to meet the yellow dog -
In an instant, the two figures were locked in battle!