Chapter 133: The Abyss Gazes Back
In the Buddhist hall, the Bodhisattva had long, slender eyes and a face full of compassion.
A smile played on its lips.
It had large ears, a sign of good fortune.
One hand was placed against its chest, while the other held prayer beads.
The Bodhisattva’s robes were carved with lifelike detail, draped smoothly over its body, with a corner of the magnificent hem curled up.
The Bodhisattva looked down upon all living beings, and all beings were equal before it.
Jiang Wan and Old Madam offered incense and copied scriptures for the Bodhisattva every day.
At this moment, the Bodhisattva remained motionless, as steady as could be, offering no help.
In the eyes of the onlookers, this was somewhat incomprehensible.
Jiang Rong seemed to have gone mad, but that was to be expected; after all, he had been timid from the start.
He looked as if he had been unwell to begin with.
But when Jiang Huaisheng went in, he had even recited the calming incantation; going in for a sleep and coming out should have only taken a day.
For someone as strong as him, what could possibly happen after being locked up for a while?
The subordinates all felt that Mr. Jiang was too kind, practically like the Holy Mother of the Golden Spirit.
Even if Jiang Huaisheng just rested or took a nap inside, half a day would have passed.
Jiang Huaisheng thought half a month had passed for him.
In reality, it had been less than two hours.
Or rather, a little over three hours.
Waiting for over three hours was long enough for the others as well.
But in Jiang Huaisheng’s perception, he could hear nothing but his own breathing and heartbeat, and time felt infinitely long; he had even been wondering why he hadn’t felt hungry after so many days, when in reality, it had been less than two hours.
The onlookers were shocked by Jiang Huaisheng’s appearance.
The men in black looked at Jiang Changtian with expressions of admiration.
Mr. Jiang was truly a capable man with extraordinary abilities.
But the Jiang Family members suspected he had been poisoned; how could this be?
He had only been locked up for two hours.
He had actually started to self-harm.
Jiang Rong was still raving mad; he didn’t pay any attention when his Father came out, just kept muttering.
Madam Wu was both nervous and afraid; she had been leaning against the warm couch, holding her child, and had drifted off to sleep.
Now she woke up with a start, and seeing her husband in such a horrific state, she was terrified and at a loss, not daring to touch him; she held her child tight, afraid of being knocked over by her husband.
Jiang Huaisheng wasn’t mad, just on the verge of madness; he breathed heavily, and seeing his wife and child rush over regardless of the danger, he held them close.
He was alive, he was still alive, he was fine, he was fine.
He couldn’t feel his face bleeding, couldn’t feel the blood dripping down.
Instead, he comforted Madam Wu with a smile on his face.
But the others were even more terrified.
With a “Bang!”, Jiang Wan was thrown inside.
Seeing her Father actually crawling out, Jiang Wan was exceptionally terrified; there was definitely something wrong.
He must have been poisoned.
She was very cautious after entering the room and didn’t touch anything.
Although they had come together and she was certain Jiang Changtian hadn’t tampered with this room, it was hard to say.
Jiang Changtian had worked in the Herb Preparation Bureau, and doctors all said his medical skills were very good.
Grandmother would also occasionally chant scriptures in here, but the difference was that the door was usually open; it was generally not closed.
Once the door was closed, this place was like a black box.
Jiang Wan sat on the prayer mat.
She actually practiced meditation with her grandmother and often sat for a long time.
If Jiang Changtian hadn’t poisoned the place, Jiang Wan wouldn’t actually be afraid.
She often had dreams before.
A single dream could span decades.
It was extremely long.
Trapped in the dream.
Waking up, it was just one dream in one night.
Just now, watching her Father and older brother, the time was actually very short, not long at all.
But soon, she felt something different.
This was different from her usual meditation.
Usually, when meditating, one had to strive to calm the mind.
But here, it was naturally very quiet, without a single sound.
Inside, one really couldn’t hear the sounds from outside, nor could one see a sliver of light.
Was this room really meant for chanting scriptures?
Jiang Wan started to panic a little.
Soon, she heard a “Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…” sound.
Where was this sound coming from? How could there be a sound in such a quiet place?
She searched in terror, but soon, she discovered that this sound wasn’t coming from anywhere else.
It was actually her own heartbeat.
“Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.”
Her heart was beating so fast, so fast, faster and faster.
How could this be?
Jiang Wan felt somewhat panicked.
She estimated that she had only been inside for a short time.
But suddenly, she began to doubt: was it really that short?
Before coming in, she had prepared herself, thinking that a sleep would make a day pass.
But the images of her older brother and Father kept appearing in her mind.
What exactly was in here? Her older brother’s hands were covered in blood, and her Father had actually torn open the wounds on his face again.
Were there ghosts?
Impossible; outside was the Bodhisattva, the Buddhist hall, and the ancestors of the Jiang Family; there couldn’t be any ghosts.
But she seemed to hear other sounds in here.
Someone was breathing, and that breathing was getting closer and closer, closer and closer.
Jiang Wan waved her hand to strike, but there was nothing.
She covered her ears, but she could still hear that sound.
She ran; she heard footsteps chasing her, she heard breathing, heard heartbeats.
She thought of the dream where, when executing Consort Lan, they placed a wet cloth over her face, then another wet cloth, layering them on like that.
And she died.
Suddenly, it felt as if Consort Lan was blowing air into her ear.
No, it was just an illusion.
There was no Consort Lan; she was in Ming County, nothing had started yet, she was still in the Buddhist hall.
There was no blowing of air, no one else’s breathing, no one else’s footsteps, no one else’s heartbeat; from beginning to end, there was only her, only her.
She fiercely poked her palm; this was the preparation she had made before coming in, using a jade hairpin from her head. If she started to go mad or was poisoned, she would use the jade hairpin to poke her palm; it wouldn’t cause injury, yet it could remind her to stay clear-headed.
Sure enough, she sobered up, felt the prayer mat, and sat back down.
She didn’t know why she had run just now; suddenly, she had felt there was someone else in this small space.
It was very small here; she had easily bumped into the wall.
So, the muffled sounds of knocking against the wall heard outside earlier must have been caused by running and bumping into the wall.
Jiang Wan’s thoughts gradually returned, and she tried hard to adapt to the darkness.
Even though she knew she was in a very small place, because she couldn’t see and couldn’t hear, she felt as if she were in a very, very large place, an endless darkness, as if it were connected to the underworld.
First it was Consort Lan, then Consort Lan disappeared.
Suddenly, a man wearing a crimson official robe walked towards her. When he reached her, she realized he had no head; he was holding his head, and his head was speaking to her, affectionately calling out: “Wan’er, Wan’er…”
Jiang Wan poked her palm with the jade hairpin again.
The headless man in the official robe in front of her vanished.
Then, there was actually a pair of dangling feet in front of her.
Those feet were wearing beautiful embroidered shoes, exceptionally beautiful, with several East Sea pearls embedded in them.
She recognized those as Jiang Yu’s feet—the “Little Fish” who was the pampered concubine of General Meng, whom everyone in the capital envied. It was said she especially loved shoes, and her shoes were all custom-made by General Meng himself; even the East Sea pearls bestowed by the Emperor were used to inlay her shoes.
But right now, the tips of the shoes were facing her face, and the person was dangling in the air. She looked up and actually saw the suspended Jiang Yu in the endless darkness, sticking out her long tongue and making a face at her.
Jiang Wan screamed and used her hand to push, and she actually pushed against a pair of feet. She quickly let go; it was all fake, fake, fake.
The jade hairpin poked her palm again. This time she pushed with her hand, and it wasn’t feet, just a pillar; she felt it, it was just a pillar.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Didn’t Jiang Changtian say he had been locked up many times? She had only been in for a short while; yes, at most one or two hours, it would be fine.
She was just a little thirsty now and wanted to drink water.
Suddenly, she heard a voice calling: “Water, water.”
It was Aunt’s voice.
She saw Aunt lying in front of her, reaching out her hand, asking her for water.
She was flustered and accidentally knocked the water over.
At the last moment, Aunt’s hand tried to grab the rope at the head of the bed, but in the end, it couldn’t reach it and dropped down.
Aunt stared at her with wide eyes, asking her for water.
Impossible, she had clearly already been buried.
The noble ladies of the capital had all watched the Empress Dowager’s burial together.
Jiang Wan was confused.
In a world of absolute darkness and silence, she was completely confused.
She couldn’t tell the time, couldn’t distinguish between reality and dreams.
One terrifying scene after another in her mind seemed to come to life, replaying over and over before her eyes and around her.
Aunt’s hand didn’t grab the rope, but it scratched her hand, broke her skin.
The long nail guard scratched her skin.
A ripping sound.
Once again, the jade hairpin saved her.
Her palm was already bleeding.
The rounded head of the jade hairpin couldn’t draw blood, so in a moment of crisis, she smashed the jade hairpin and used the broken edge to cut.
So it wasn’t Aunt who scratched her; she had poked it herself.
She sobered up and took deep breaths.
The endless darkness still surrounded her.
She didn’t know how long had passed.
But it felt even longer than the decades in her dreams.
Every breath was hard to bear.
Was she poisoned?
She didn’t know why it was like this.
Soon, after calming down, she felt she had made it through, and she heard a dripping sound.
It was the sound of her blood dripping onto the ground.
Jiang Wan broke down and pressed her hand.
It was just a small wound, it was fine.
She tried hard to comfort herself; she still didn’t know how long had passed, but she touched the wound on her hand—it shouldn’t have been long, the blood was still slippery and fresh. If it had really been a long time, the wound would have scabbed over, and she would feel hungry.
She repeatedly reminded herself: it’s fine, just endure it.
She felt she had endured enough, so she could just pretend to break down to get out.
Although she was already somewhat deranged and broken down, her intelligence was still there.
Thank goodness for those dreams day and night that allowed her to distinguish between dreams and reality.
If she could get out, she would definitely take revenge.
When the time came, she would just act a little more pitiful, and it would be fine.
She estimated the time.
It must have been a long time.
She heard footsteps.
The door opened, and light poured in.
She took deep breaths.
It’s fine, it’s fine, she wailed, like a madwoman.
Her hair was disheveled.
It’s fine, she crawled on the ground; although she was in a sorry state, she had passed the test, it was fine.
It’s fine, she had escaped; she looked back at the little black room, like a bottomless abyss, gazing back at her.
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