Chapter 135
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They had endured through the night.
The servants of the Jiang Manor brought in food, trembling with fear.
Jiang Wan emerged just as breakfast was being prepared.
She had spent a long time inside, and though there were some noises, they were relatively subdued.
She had remained in there longer than Jiang Huaisheng.
Jiang Changtian was somewhat surprised.
In fact, he had begged for mercy after just an hour during his first time locked inside.
It was only after being confined multiple times that he slowly adapted to the absolute darkness and silence, though he nearly went mad in the process.
Old Lady Jiang had stayed up all night outside, forced to watch each of her children endure torment.
Thankfully, her usual healthy lifestyle had prepared her; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to withstand sitting motionless through the night.
After emerging, Jiang Wan clung tightly to Wu, as if she had lost her mind, embracing her.
Her eyes were timid, afraid to look at Jiang Changtian.
Jiang Changtian ate his breakfast leisurely.
The men in black also took turns to eat.
The breakfast at Jiang Manor was exquisite. Though not as lavish as before, the foundation was there, and the cook's skills were quite impressive.
After finishing breakfast, Jiang Changtian wiped his mouth contentedly. "Indeed, eating with Mother makes the food taste better. Mother, you've always loved chanting sutras. This meditation room was built especially for you. It's your turn now."
Old Lady Jiang, having stayed up all night, was dizzy and disoriented, her body unaccustomed to the strain.
She couldn't understand why this small meditation room had caused Rong'er, Huaisheng, and Wan'er to emerge in such a state of extreme fear.
The little beast hadn't spent much time in there before.
She didn't know what tricks he had employed.
But Old Lady Jiang felt she might not be able to endure it.
At her advanced age, she couldn't handle such shocks. After Yao Gu's departure, she had been bedridden for a while, and her health had significantly declined.
She looked at Jiang Changtian and spoke with some embarrassment, "Tian'er, we're mother and son. Must we really come to this?"
Jiang Changtian gazed at Old Lady Jiang before him, who, despite staying up all night, still appeared quite spirited.
It had been a long time since he'd heard her call him "Tian'er."
He thought he was locked in the meditation room again. Once, when he was confined there, he had hallucinated his mother embracing him, patting his back, telling him not to be afraid.
It was after that time that he began to fear the meditation room less, even developing a glimmer of anticipation.
Anticipation that in the darkness, there would be a mother to embrace him. freёwebnovel.com
He suddenly felt a bit lost and bored.
Especially when looking at the feigned kindness on the face before him.
That had once been all he longed for.
He stared at Old Lady Jiang expressionlessly and said, "Considering your advanced age, I'll be lenient. You only need to stay for the time it takes one incense stick to burn."
Old Lady Jiang was pushed into the meditation room.
Jiang Changtian leisurely selected three incense sticks and lit them.
The white smoke curled upward.
Jiang Huaisheng desperately wanted to take her place, but having been inside once, the indescribable terror prevented him from speaking up.
Jiang Wan also dared not speak, clinging to Wu like an infant in her arms. She was afraid to look at Jiang Changtian, trembling nervously if their eyes met by accident.
Jiang Rong, who seemed to have gone mad, had fallen asleep, snoring lightly in his chair.
Everyone listened for sounds from the meditation room, though usually no noise could escape unless someone screamed at the top of their lungs.
But even after one incense stick had burned out, there was still no sound from inside.
When the door was opened, the old lady had already fainted.
It turned out she had deliberately held her breath to lose consciousness as soon as she entered.
Jiang Changtian looked at the unharmed Old Lady Jiang and smiled.
This was the mother who had raised him; half of his intelligence came from her teachings.
As he called out to Old Lady Jiang, he accidentally stepped on her hand, grinding it slightly, but she didn't wake up.
Jiang Changtian left with the men in black.
The Jiang household was in chaos.
Jiang Huaisheng had people carry his mother to her room to rest and called for a doctor.
Seeing Wan'er and Rong'er in a dazed state, he arranged for someone to look after them.
His first priority was to find people to demolish the meditation room.
The place was too terrifying.
He never wanted to enter it again for the rest of his life.
He eagerly started the task himself.
The hammer shattered layer after layer of doors, allowing sunlight to flood in.
The inside was very ordinary and plain, truly empty.
Yet it harbored immense fear, seeming almost absurd in the daylight.
Jiang Huaisheng hammered away furiously, channeling all his anger into each blow.
The walls were exceptionally hard, seemingly reinforced with something special, making them tougher to break than earthen walls.
Panting heavily, Jiang Huaisheng continued to hammer, blow after blow.
As he reached a corner, he noticed dense vertical lines etched there, with a single word written above them: "Mother."