"It's about right. The scent emanating from so many citronella plants will surely make mosquitoes tremble and not dare to come a step closer."
"That's good then." For the first time, Meng Yiluo found these weeds endearing.
"Xinci, does this mean we can have a good night's sleep?"
"We should be able to. It's just that you haven't smelled the combined scent of the citronella plants. It's quite strong, isn't it?"
"A strong smell is fine. We'll get used to it after a while."
"Yes, as long as we don't get bitten by mosquitoes, I'm happy to smell this." Meng Qitian didn't want to get up anymore. He kept rolling on the citronella plants. "This way, the mosquitoes won't find me."
"I want some too!" The first wave to arrive, Qiren, dragged Yu'er wobbly as they ran over, followed closely by Ke'er. The three adults lagged behind, with Meng Xiaohe carrying Bao'er at the very end.
Fu Xinci hadn't expected these three little ones to be awake. She didn't realize that under the bombardment of overwhelming mosquitoes, even a deity couldn't sleep.
As soon as they got the confirmation from Qi He, the three little ones didn't wait for the adults and ran over like little tumbling dice.
Yu'er saw his sister was there and immediately pounced into her arms, complaining.
"Sister, look at my arm. I got a big bump from a mosquito bite, and there are more, they're so itchy."
"Cousin Ci, I have bumps on my hands too," Ke'er quickly added, acting spoiled towards her cousin and showing her the several large red marks left by the pesky mosquitoes.
Only Qiren remained silent. As the youngest uncle, he felt too embarrassed to act spoiled towards his grandniece. He turned and ran towards his older brother.
Fu Xinci held the two little ones, listening to their complaints and offering timely comfort. The two little ones' moods improved slightly.
When she heard Jiang Tou'er leading everyone over, she immediately took her family to find the best spot to sit.
"Oh my, this place is good! We haven't heard any buzzing sounds on the way here," Jiang Tou'er grumbled first, then told Nianzi and the others to light the bonfire.
Once the bonfire was lit, Jiang Tou'er couldn't help but exclaim, "Look how good it is here. Even with the firelight, we don't see those annoying insects swarming around."
"Boss, since there are finally no mosquitoes, let's get some sleep. We have to travel again soon." The dark-faced burly man now found the talkative person extremely annoying.
"Mm, sleep then." At this point, Jiang Tou'er knew that the Meng clan members wouldn't dare to escape. Where could they go? If caught, they would be beheaded anyway.
Seeing Jiang Tou'er fall asleep immediately, the dark-faced burly man wasn't as carefree. He stretched his dark, stern face and ordered the Meng clan members to lie down on the ground. He then sat down to doze off near the outer perimeter with Wu Laoda and the others.
Yu'er's arms were so itchy he couldn't sleep. He leaned into his sister's arms and whimpered.
Fang Shi, afraid her son would disturb her daughter's sleep, wanted to carry Yu'er away. But Yu'er refused to move and whimpered to his sister as if he had a toothache.
Fu Xinci was at her wit's end with him. When no one was paying attention, she poured a little medicinal oil from her space to rub on him.
Yu'er, in a daze, smiled. As he fell asleep, his little thought was still telling himself that his sister always had a solution.
Snoring filled the air. Fu Xinci felt a splitting headache. She just wanted to sleep quietly, why was it so difficult?
Unable to fall asleep, Fu Xinci stood up with a dejected expression. She had only one thought: she needed to find a quiet corner to stay for a while, otherwise, she feared she would develop neurasthenia.
"Sigh, what kind of bad karma did I accumulate? Did I commit great sins in my past life to be transmigrated to this miserable place?"
Fu Xinci muttered to herself as she walked forward. Her sense of security was still strong, and she didn't dare to make a sound, fearing she would be thrown into the fire if someone heard her.
"Sigh." The sigh was real, she could confirm that. Not just her, but even the youngest, Bao'er, would sigh here.
As Fu Xinci was pitying herself, she heard her grandfather's voice calling her: "Ci'er."
"Grandfather, why aren't you sleeping either?"
"Your grandfather is old and needs little sleep. What about you, Ci'er, why aren't you sleeping?"
"Grandfather." Fu Xinci saw that the ground underfoot was relatively flat and helped her grandfather sit down, then began to complain: "Grandfather, their snoring is like thunder, I really can't sleep."
"Ci'er, you are still young. How can you not sleep?"
"Grandfather, I want to sleep too, but just as I'm drifting off, their snoring wakes me up. Grandfather, if this continues, I..."
She didn't say the words "I will get neurasthenia." She was afraid that given her grandfather's temperament, she would have to explain the meaning of this term to him.
Her mind was so chaotic, like a ball of paste, she couldn't sort out a single coherent thought. Asking her to explain things was truly asking too much of her.
"Ci'er, it is grandfather who has implicated you." Seeing his granddaughter's listless appearance, Meng Qingping felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
It was he who had implicated his children and grandchildren, causing them to suffer with him. Especially seeing his granddaughter nodding off listlessly, his heart was bleeding.
"Damn Meng Qinghong, you brought this upon yourself and deserve to die! Why do you have to implicate so many of us? Especially the children. They've never even seen what Meng Qinghong looks like, whether he's round or flat, a demon or a human, so why do they have to be implicated by a disaster like you? You, Meng Qinghong, the harbinger of disaster, go die, go die!"
Meng Qingping cursed more and more fluently, astounding Fu Xinci, who was sitting beside him.
Her usually elegant, amiable, and distinguished grandfather could also curse, and so skillfully at that. Good heavens, what had gone wrong? Had her grandfather been possessed by someone else?
Fu Xinci stared with wide eyes, watching her grandfather's abnormal behavior.
This was the first time the second master Meng had ever cursed in his life. He found that shouting his elder brother's name and cursing him felt quite satisfying, and the anger that had accumulated in his heart seemed to slowly dissipate.
Having finally found a way to vent his frustration, how could Meng Qingping let it go? He immediately raised his voice and cursed even more vigorously.
"Meng Qinghong, you harbinger of disaster, you brought your own death upon yourself with your wicked deeds, but implicating the innocent and young is a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths. Decapitation would be merciful of His Majesty. You should be dismembered, your waist cut, your head encircled..." In his rage, Meng Qingping listed all the punishments he knew.
Fu Xinci gained some insight. This was the first time she had seen someone curse so eloquently. Her respected grandfather was truly one of a kind, unparalleled in history.
The grandfather and granddaughter, one enthusiastically cursing, the other listening with keen interest.
Those who had been drawn by the curses and were arriving were stunned. They felt as if they were still dreaming. Was the person sitting in the darkness, still cursing with unfinished fervor, really their gentle and refined second master Meng?