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墨書 Inktalez
After the four of them returned home, they didn't dare to tell the adults about what had happened. They all silently ate and slept. In the middle of the night, Severe Cold felt uncomfortable all over; every place his fingers touched felt uneven and unbearably itchy. He scratched until his skin broke but still wanted to scratch more.
When he lifted the blanket, he was startled to see many red bumps the size of fingernails all over his body. Each bump was about a millimeter high, and due to the bacteria under his nails, some areas were oozing yellow fluid.
With his mother's help, Severe Cold used boiling water to wipe his body. At that moment, as the towel soaked in the boiling water was pulled out and rubbed on the itchy spots, it felt pleasantly numb. However, as soon as he stopped rubbing, the itchiness and pain intensified.
No matter how much his parents asked him, Severe Cold just shook his head and said nothing. One reason was fear; another was that the four of them had promised each other not to speak of it when they fled.
Yan Han's Father knew his son was as stubborn as a mule; if he didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't utter a word no matter what. Helplessly, Severe Cold's parents decided to check on the other children who had played with him to see how they were doing.
As it turned out, two of the children had similar symptoms to Severe Cold, but Gouwa was an exception. Gouwa came home without eating dinner and went straight to bed. Gouwa's mother, Sun Guiying, thought her child was just tired from playing too hard and needed rest, which seemed normal.
Gouwa's sister saw her brother throw several wet new clothes on the ground and hurriedly picked them up to place them in a basin, planning to ask Gouwa later where he had found those clothes.
At that time, Lotus Town was still relatively underdeveloped compared to other places. Gouwa's sister, Chun Ni, had never seen clothes like those before and was naturally delighted.
Entering Gouwa's room, Chun Ni shouted loudly, "Gouwa, get up for dinner!"
At this moment, Gouwa's face was flushed red, and his heavy breathing could be clearly heard by Chun Ni even before she reached the bedside. No matter how much she called or tried to shake him awake, Dog Wazi kept his eyes tightly shut.
"Mom... Dad..." Chun Ni panicked and rushed outside to call for their parents.
Now everyone at home became anxious and hurriedly carried Dog Wazi to the village health station to see what was wrong. Dr. Xiao Zhang at the health station was a relative of Dog Wazi's family; there was no need to elaborate on their relationship here. The doctor gave Dog Wazi an injection and prescribed some colorful medicine, treating it as a common cold or minor ailment.
It was during the Dog Days, and the heat was intense. Since he had a cold, his family naturally resorted to traditional remedies to complement the medication, wrapping Dog Wazi in a thick blanket to induce sweating in the sweltering heat.
Severe Cold and the other kids had not slept well, their bodies itching and aching, leaving them in misery.
Dog Wazi's parents spent a restless night worrying. When the rooster crowed for the third time, they could no longer sleep and got up to check on Dog Wazi.
Dog Wazi's mother, Sun Guiying, lifted the blanket, and a wave of damp, warm air rushed out from under it. This unusual phenomenon startled her, and she quickly reached out to touch her son.
Dog Wazi felt icy cold; it seemed all the warmth had dissipated from his body. In rural areas, such situations were common, and no one paid much attention. Dog Wazi's family thought he would wake up soon; typically, after a fever breaks from a cold, a person would gradually regain consciousness.
After bathing with herbal remedies and other traditional methods, the bumps on Severe Cold and his friends began to improve. They gradually returned to school as exams approached. Soon it would be summer vacation, the favorite time for children—long days filled with opportunities to catch shrimp and fish by the river.
The exams concluded amidst tension and pressure. Severe Cold was still thinking about the hundred-dollar bill they found by the river that hadn’t yet been spent on treats when the three of them called out to visit Dog Wazi’s house. As they stepped into Dog Wazi's room, an unexpected chill ran through them.
“Damn… it’s so hot outside; why is it so cold in here?” Severe Cold muttered. The other two looked at each other nervously, afraid to make a sound as they tried to assess Dog Wazi's condition.
Suddenly, their faces turned pale as they realized something was off. One of them pointed shakily at Dog Wazi lying on the bed and stammered, “He… he… there’s something on the bed…”
The sweat that had just begun to dry on their brows erupted again at his words. Each of them felt as if countless ants were crawling over their skin. Terrified, they dared not look at Dog Wazi any longer. Fearing they might fall behind, they rushed toward the door, wishing they had been born with an extra leg to escape faster. They all pushed and shoved each other as they scrambled out of Dog Wazi's room.
Once outside in the yard, they finally paused on the road, panting heavily as they leaned against their knees to catch their breath.
“Who shouted just now?” Severe Cold wiped his forehead, drenched in cold sweat, and asked loudly.
"Not me," Erwa quickly said.
The two of them turned their gaze to their youngest companion, Xiao Mingzi, who looked terrified.
"I... I saw a woman with long hair on Dogwa Brother's bed..." Xiao Mingzi nervously tugged at the corner of his sweat-soaked shirt, his voice trembling.
"Erwa, did you see it clearly? Was there really someone on Dog Wazi's bed?" Severe Cold, though young, held a high status in the village. Whether it was the children from his own family or those from other families, they all referred to him as an elder.
Severe Cold was considered the leader among the children, and most of them obeyed him. Only older kids like Dog Wazi were not intimidated by him. Although Dog Wazi sometimes bullied other kids, he had to tone it down whenever Severe Cold was around. The other children regarded Severe Cold as their boss, and in this state of confusion, they dared not speak out of turn.
"I wanted to take a look just now, but then this guy yelled... Damn... I ran away in a panic, scared out of my wits. How could I dare to look after that..."
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