When night fell, in a room of the inn, Cheng Ping, whose hands and feet were tied, sat on the ground and banged the door with his body.

"Hey, hey." He weakly shouted to the crack of the door, "This is really none of my business... Is your wife awake? Ask her when you wake up, she will definitely say the same..."

No one answered outside the door, but it wasn't that there was no one. Cheng Ping could hear breathing.

"Hey, how about you get me something to eat first?" he said.

Of course no one paid attention.

Cheng Ping had no choice but to move and turn around, sitting against the door and looking inside.

This was an upper room in the inn. Perhaps it was to make it easier for the lady to see him, so she didn't tie him up and throw him into a stable or a woodshed.

The room was beautifully decorated and warm as spring, with teapots placed on the tables.

Fortunately, he didn't have to be cold, so Cheng Ping moved towards the tables, held the teapot in his mouth and tried to drink the tea. Because of his unsteady movements, he almost choked and spilled the tea all over himself, but he was still happy and full of admiration.

"Not bad, not bad, good tea." He said, then took a bite and continued drinking.

Compared to his complacency, at the door of the house on the other side, two women came over carrying medicine with anxious faces.

Two attendants were guarding the door anxiously.

"How are you? Are you awake?" the two women asked hurriedly.

The follower shook his head.

"We went to see the doctor again and sent a message home," they said.

"Are you too harsh?" Xi Niang asked.

One of the attendants looked a little embarrassed and uneasy.

Could it be that he really lost his sense of control because of panic, struck too hard, and hit the lady so hard that she still hasn’t woken up yet?

"What the hell is this!"

The two women sighed and stopped blaming the entourage. After all, there was really nothing they could do at that time. They opened the door and entered the room.

The lady behind the curtain was lying on her back sleeping.

"Sanniang, I can't take medicine like this." Xiniang said in a low voice.

Sanniang also sighed helplessly.

"The doctor said it's okay. Take the medicine when you wake up. Don't give the medicine until you wake up, otherwise it will be worse if you choke," she said.

The two people sat down on the ground and looked at each other in sorrow.

How could this happen... It's obviously fine...

"It's all that little liar's fault!" Xi Niang said angrily in a low voice, "You're a hopeless person, now it's over..."

Sanniang was silent for a while and said nothing.

"Tell me, isn't it a little strange..." She suddenly whispered.

The young lady looked at her in confusion.

"She... was a fool when she was a child... Do you think she looks like a fool now?" Sanniang said in a low voice.

Xi Niang shook her head, she looked nothing like him in appearance or words and deeds. How could there be such a fool? If such people were fools, then what would happen to them and others!

"Didn't we agree?" she said.

"How can a fool be cured?" Sanniang said in a low voice, looking around, "Could he be possessed by something... I've heard that if someone is possessed, if it is revealed, he will be scared away. Scared away, people will be scared away.

It means she is dead... Look at her like that during the day, as if she has lost her soul..."

Before she could finish her words, Xiniang was so frightened that her face turned pale and she stretched out her hand to slap her.

"What nonsense are you talking about! What nonsense are you talking about!" she whispered in a trembling voice.

Sanniang was so busy that she didn't dare to say anything more.

The two of them were silent for a while, the room was a little dark, and the wind blew through the cracks in the windows and doors, making it even more creepy.

"Light...light..." Sanniang stammered.

Xi Niang hurriedly lit the lamps, and when a few lamps came on, the room felt a little warm, and the two of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"The doctor is here." A follower outside the door said.

The two people hurriedly stood up and watched an old man come in carrying a medicine box.

There were more people, and the two women were just about to speak when their uneasiness subsided, and a female voice came from inside.

"No, I'm fine."

This sudden female voice made Sanniang, who was holding a lamp to lead the way, scream out in fright.

Others were also startled by her cry, and the attendants outside the door rushed in regardless of their gender.

"Madam, madam, it's my fault."

Kneeling on the mat, the two women leaned over to salute and said in panic.

It turns out that this lady has woken up a long time ago, so what they said must have been heard...

How stupid. They are afraid of being caught talking about people behind their backs, so they could just do it in front of them...

"It's okay, don't talk to you anymore. I'm...scared myself. I thought people wouldn't be so hasty when they come in and speak. I didn't expect that I still scared you." Cheng Jiaoniang said.

How can you be afraid of yourself...

This, this is really disappointing...

The two women leaned to the ground and became more chatty.

"Madam, don't listen to that little liar's nonsense. You'll be fine. That little liar just relies on his mouth to trick people into eating and drinking..." they said hurriedly.

Cheng Jiaoniang shook her head and looked at them.

"You guys do me a favor." she said.

The two women were overjoyed. Instead of driving them away, they still wanted to use them. This was truly magnanimous.

"Go and buy some books with the money." Cheng Jiaoniang said, "It doesn't matter what kind of books, the more the better."

Book? Now?

Although the woman was a little surprised, she still responded hurriedly.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor woke up the sleepy Cheng Ping.

"...Here, put it all over here..."

Along with the voices, there was the sound of things hitting the ground.

"...be careful..."

What to do?

Cheng Ping hurriedly moved to the door and looked out with one eye. Two boys walked quickly in the corridor, each holding a thick stack of books in their hands.

Book?

How come so many books were delivered in the middle of the night?

"Is there anything else in the car outside?" a woman's voice sounded.

"Yes, I really want them all. Can I come over here, madam?"

Lady?

Cheng Ping was overjoyed, the lady woke up!

"Hey, hey." He bumped against the door with his shoulder, "Can you let me go?"

After shouting several times, someone came over, but did not open the door.

"Let you go?" the male voice said angrily, "Just wait, I'll come back to settle the score with you when my wife is done!"

What are you busy with at night?

Cheng Ping looked out through the crack in the door. It was already dark, and the lights in the corridor were flickering.

Forget it, let's go to sleep first and talk about it when we wake up.

As the east gradually became brighter, the woman guarding the door woke up from her nap and saw the woman opposite lying on the mat and sleeping soundly with a quilt.

It was almost dawn. The woman exhaled, rubbed her shoulders, sat upright, and looked inside.

The sliding door in the inner room is open, and you can see the woman sitting inside at a glance.

Sit up straight!

The woman suddenly woke up. Had she been sitting like this all night?

The lights were still on in the room, and the books bought last night were almost piled up in the room. They were scattered on several tables on the floor, and the lady was sitting among them.

She did not look through the book. The volume in front of her seemed to be the one from last night, while the other books remained the same.

In the gradually brightening sky, the originally bright candlelight was gradually dimmed, and the light in the room became dim instead, as if the vitality in the woman's body was gradually dimmed.
To be continued...