First came the dreams, then the meteor shower, the prophetic verse, disappearances, deaths, and then the black Tree sap.
One bad omen followed another. They seemed unrelated, yet each was vaguely connected to some word, leaving him unsettled and unable to sleep.
That night, Zheng Qing lay in bed, gazing through the small patch of night sky visible beyond the balcony at the stars glittering against the black backdrop. They seemed like silent, watchful eyes. Even after he closed his eyes, he could still feel those icy stares. When he turned over, they pricked his back like needles, making him increasingly restless.
He clutched the Nightmare Doll and worried himself into wild thoughts, not even knowing when he fell asleep.
Yet when he woke, the cloth doll's head was still safely attached to its neck, which lifted his mood slightly. As the saying went, the morning set the tone for the day. If one woke in a good mood, the rest of the day would not go too badly.
Xiao Xiao, who did morning lessons with Zheng Qing every day, was the first to notice his good mood.
"Something make you happy?"
After finishing their morning lessons, on the way to the teaching building, Doctor curiously counted on his fingers. "You seem unusually cheerful today... Is it Jiang Yu? Councilwoman Su? Or those three Great Sprites?"
The implication could not have been clearer.
Zheng Qing's face immediately fell.
"Why can't it be because I found the source of that black Tree sap?" he retorted stiffly.
Xiao Xiao curled his lip.
"Because I know you too well." He shrugged and explained, sounding rather bored. "If it were something like that, you would have been dying to brag to me before morning lessons. Only when it comes to those witches do you