A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

He Xidi ran to the outhouse seven or eight times that night, and his legs went numb by the time he finished squatting.

The next day she couldn't get out of bed, she huddled under the covers, her face sallow and her lips chapped and peeling.

She has been in great distress these past few days, fearing that He Zhaoyang will hand her over to the police.

He Zhaoyang hasn't had time to pay attention to her these past few days.

After being wheeled out of the operating room, Li Xuanxue stayed in the hospital room. She had lost so much blood that she needed help even to turn over.

He Zhaoyang has been staying on a bench in the hospital corridor for the past few days.

Qin Meng went back to take care of Old Madam Sheng. He Zhaoyang told the Sheng family what happened that night, and they were all very frightened.

He Zhaoyang wiped Li Xuanxue's face. When serving her porridge, he blew on each spoonful to cool it before bringing it to her lips.

Every time I eat or drink, I add water from the stream in the space.

Sheng Kaiyuan and He Zhaoyang took turns taking care of Li Xuanxue every day.

Two weeks later, Li Xuanxue's condition finally improved, and she was able to get out of bed.

However, the parents of the children who knocked Li Xuanxue down have not come forward.

When Sheng Kaiyuan came to relieve him in the afternoon, He Zhaoyang asked him, "Brother, what are your plans for dealing with those other companies?"

Sheng Kaiyuan was silent for a while. "I went to one place, and they said the child was just being silly and didn't mean it. The second place simply didn't open the door. The third place said... their child was also frightened and had nightmares for several days after returning home."

He Zhaoyang had a headache. "Brother, you don't need to worry about this. I'll handle it."

That evening, He Zhaoyang returned to his room, closed the door, entered his spatial dimension, and absorbed the spiritual energy of the stream.

Then, I directed the spiritual energy towards the homes of Aunt Zhao, Aunt Qian, and Aunt Sun. It wouldn't hurt them, but it would make things "not so smooth" for their families for the next few days.

The next morning, Aunt Zhao went to the well to fetch water. Suddenly, the wooden bucket fell into the well. She bent down to retrieve it, slipped, and fell into the nearby stream, getting completely soaked.

On the third day, she took a basin of hot water outside to pour it out, and the hot water splashed all over her. Fortunately, it was warm water and she was not scalded, but her clothes were completely wet.

She stood in the yard, soaking wet, and cursed, "What bad luck."

Her husband squatted by the door, glanced at her, and said, "Can't you have some self-respect? You can't even do this."

"How am I so pathetic? I was walking along just fine, and the threshold tripped me up!"

On the fourth day, her son was running in the yard when he tripped over a stone on the ground, bumped his forehead, and ran in crying.

Aunt Zhao squatted down to wipe his face, saying as she did so, "What's wrong with you? Can't you watch where you're going?"

Her son cried and said, "I wasn't watching where I was going..."

Aunt Zhao opened her mouth, then suddenly remembered something. She squatted there for a while, stunned, before slowly standing up. She remembered that her son had said the same thing the day Li Xuanxue was hit by the car.

She stood in the yard, clutching a towel in her hand, her expression changing slightly.

She didn't sleep well that night, tossing and turning. In the middle of the night, she sat up and nudged her husband, "Don't you think we should go see the Sheng family's daughter-in-law?"

Her husband, still half-asleep, mumbled, "What's so interesting? The child didn't do it on purpose."

"I have a feeling that something is wrong." Aunt Zhao didn't finish her sentence before lying back down, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did.

The other two companies are in the same situation.

The Qian family, who have been staying at home and refusing to see anyone, have been acting strangely these past few days.

The Sun family's door has been repaired three times, but it's still broken.

On the first night, the latch broke by itself, and the door was blown open halfway by the wind, letting in a cold draft. The Sun family man got up and fixed it, but it broke again the next morning.

He fixed it again, adding an extra row of nails. But the wind blew in the afternoon and it loosened again. The door was crooked and wouldn't close properly, as if something was blocking it from the inside.

He squatted by the door, staring at the door that had been repaired three times. He stroked his chin for a long time and muttered to himself, "What's going on here?"

His wife came out carrying a bowl, looked at the few extra nails on the door frame, and asked, "Have you fixed it yet?"

"It was fixed, but it broke again."

"This is weird." His wife stood there for a while, holding a bowl.

The Sun family, who said the child was also frightened, have been having trouble sleeping these past few days.

The Qian family's child started having nightmares that night.

Every night I dream of Li Xuanxue standing by my bed, holding a baby in her arms, silent, just staring straight at me.

He woke up crying, huddled under the covers, trembling. Aunt Qian went in and held him, comforting him for most of the night. He nestled in Aunt Qian's arms and whispered, "Mom, I'm scared..."

Aunt Qian patted his back, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's just a dream."

The child shook his head, crying, "She's been here for days, I'm scared."

Aunt Qian stopped. She sat on the edge of the bed, holding the child, and remained stunned for a long while, without saying "the dream is fake" again.

The following night, the child dreamed about it again.

Aunt Qian started having trouble sleeping. She even dreamed about it once.

She woke up in the middle of the night and stared blankly at the dark house, remembering that day when she stood in the yard and said, "My child was also frightened and had nightmares for several days."

She said it casually, and now it's come true.

Originally, the three families only had some doubts.

Until today, Aunt Zhao ran into Sun's daughter-in-law at the alley entrance. The two exchanged a few words, and the more they talked, the more their expressions changed.

Aunt Zhao said her family has been having a particularly unlucky few days; they keep getting into trouble on the road, either falling down or slipping on the ground.

The Sun family's daughter-in-law said that her door could never be repaired.

The two stood there for a while, and then saw Aunt Qian walking over with a vegetable basket. Aunt Qian looked the worst, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well for several days.

"Does your child still have nightmares?" Aunt Zhao asked.

Aunt Qian nodded. "For several days in a row, she's been dreaming of the Sheng family's daughter-in-law holding a child."

The three of them stood there, none of them speaking first. After a while, Aunt Zhao spoke up, "Is it somehow related to the Sheng family? Everything we said that day came true."

Aunt Qian: "Shall we go and take a look at the Sheng family?"

The Sun family's daughter-in-law nodded. The three of them walked together towards the health center.

He Zhaoyang was feeding Li Xuanxue.

Aunt Zhao, Sun's wife, and Aunt Qian came in.

The three people were carrying things in their hands: eggs, a basket of vegetables, and a bag of brown sugar.

All three looked a little awkward, as if they didn't know what to say first.

He Zhaoyang put down the bowl of porridge in his hand, stood up and looked at them.

Li Xuanxue leaned against the headboard, looking at the three people at the door, without saying a word.

Aunt Zhao spoke first, her voice much lower than usual, "Sister-in-law, we've come to see you."

She placed the eggs on the bedside table, glanced at Li Xuanxue again, and said, "Our child was wrong before. We're sorry to her sister-in-law."

Sun's daughter-in-law also put down her shopping basket, lowered her head, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, our child ran too fast that day."

Aunt Qian stood at the back, placed the brown sugar on the bedside table, and didn't look up for a long time before finally saying, "I'm sorry."

He Zhaoyang nodded, showing he knew what was good for him.