Chapter 80
The cave.
The campfire.
The young man seemed like a knight protecting a princess.
He looked at his family, all asleep.
He gently moved his sister Little Jiang Yu aside, took off his jacket, and covered her with it.
Taking off his jacket made him feel a bit chilly.
He stood up and began practicing sword forms.
The same few moves—one swing, one chop, one sh,pletely devoid of any profound technique.
Jiang Feng practiced meticulously.
The campfire illuminated the cave, casting the shadow of the young swordsman on the cave walls, as if witnessing an ancient immortal master performing a sword dance through the ages.
The more he practiced, the more fluid his movements became, the more at ease he felt, first finding the sword in his hand heavy, then just right, and finally forgetting he was holding a sword at all.
For all he saw were his loved ones, and he had be their protector, at peace.
Qin Luoxia fell asleep quickly, but soon woke up again. Seeing Jiang Feng practicing, and with her Husband and Mianmian by her side, she adjusted her posture to hold them both in her embrace, and went back to sleep.
She didn''t bother with Jiang Yu, who was sleeping sprawled out against the cave wall, limbs akimbo, impossible to hold, as long as she didn''t roll into the fire.
Before dozing off again, Qin Luoxia wondered if her second daughter would be able to get married, or if on her wedding night she might kick her Husband out, with that temper of hers. Maybe she would end up having to take in a son-inw, making Qin Luoxia worry whoever''s family he came from.
Jiang Changtian''s sleep was light, unable to rest properly in an unfamiliar ce. He thought he had slept, but it was only for a moment before Jiang Feng got up, waking him. He watched Jiang Feng practice for a while, then closed his eyes again.
He was going over his actions that day.
He had told the local Ming County mountain bandits not to attack the county office, as there was an ambush waiting, and lured them to attack Squire Liu instead.
He had told the vigers that bandits from Jǐ Mountain County would being, warning them to hide.
Squire Liu had received his message, but surely wouldn''t believe it, since the Jǐ Mountain County bandits never came this way.
His actions were clumsy and didn''t stand up to scrutiny.
Just like when he unintentionally told that merchant caravan that Wu Liu was his wife''s lover, and carelessly mentioned where to buy poison and what toxins would be most lethal.
Instantly fatal.
He had been sloppy.
If anyone seriously investigated the case, they might trace it back to him.
But when he saw Wu Liu''s rotting corpse, he felt happy.
Genuinely happy.
He even felt that eating meat that day was no longer a disgusting act.
Meat that was usually hard to swallow became strangely appetizing when he pictured Wu Liu''s corpse, as if he could taste the vor instead of feeling nauseous.
He thought, his mother was right—he had a demon inside, a beautiful face but a demon''s heart. That''s the kind of person he was.
He had to hide that demonic side, not wanting Sister Xia to know. He craved her embrace, her care, her adoration.
He was utterly false.
Look.
His mother was right.
To have someone killed, just use them of a crime.
He would doubt himself, believing he was that kind of person, and slowly be that person.
Unfilial, disrespectful, heartless and dishonest, his mouth full of lies.
Not only had he be that, he had surpassed it.
He had even learned to kill.
The first he killed was himself.
Tonight, those bandits woulde, they would definitelye.
Because when he went during the day, the bandits were sharpening their des.
Those who had turned to banditrycked great wisdom. If they had it, they wouldn''t have fallen to such depths.
They were desperate.
Hearing that the Jǐ Mountain County bandits had upied the county office and dered themselves kings, they became desperate.
Worried that if they didn''t act, they would be left behind, hoping to strike it rich.
But the Jǐ Mountain County bandits were different—he had inquired carefully at the county office and could not tell if they were real bandits or not. They were well-trained and rebelling for certain, or perhaps only using the guise of bandits.
The Ming County bandits were simply impoverished, their mountain hideout remote, just a group of vicious but dim-witted men.
He told them to attack the county office, which they didn''t really have the guts for, but werepelled to go through with to save face in the ouw brotherhood after being riled up on rumors.
They were being swept along and would retreat at the first sign of an ambush, but at that point they needed something to show for their efforts, to avoid losing ouw credibility.
So they would definitelye.
And tonight.
Jiang Changtian kept his eyes closed.
Carefully going over every word he had said, each step, meticulously recalling the sturdy men he had seen, merely ncing at them earlier but now vividly remembering how many there were and what weapons they carried.
Squire Liu''s estate also had guards.
Squire Liu certainly wouldn''t believe him, being a prominent figure disinclined to hide away.
But he would arrange more guards than usual.
In the vige, Sixth Auntie wouldn''t hide, probably assuming he was behind some trickery, following Squire Liu instead.
Those close to Squire Liu would likely seek refuge at his estate.
Others concerned for their lives would flee to the mountains like them.
Night raids by bandits rarely scattered into the mountains chasing impoverished vigers.
Considering everything, Jiang Changtian then drifted back to sleep.
This time, Sister Xia held him in her embrace, and he fell quickly into a deep slumber.
Once Jiang Changtian''s breathing became even, Qin Luoxia opened her eyes.
Her gaze was sharp.
She gestured silently to Jiang Feng.
"You keep watch. I''m going out to look around," she mouthed soundlessly.
Jiang Feng wanted to go instead, but seeing the hung game in the cave and his mother''s resolute eyes, he obediently nodded.
Qin Luoxia gentlyid her Husband down, tucking Mianmian into his embrace.
Then she rose.
Taking up the long spear she had prepared, she left the cave.
Outside, the wind cut like a knife.
The cold air sharpened Qin Luoxia''s senses.
Behind her in the cave were her loved ones.
Outside stretched the boundless darkness of the mountains.
The gentle wife and mother who had just held her Husband and child was now binding her sleeves and trousers, her face covered in cloth wrappings, her head hooded. Her tall, strong frame bound with strips of cloth across her chest and around her waist made her look like a sturdy man.
She had made up her mind. Whether the bandits came or not, Squire Liu would die tonight.
She had never killed before.
Buttely, she had in many fierce beasts.
She knew nothing of great justice or right and wrong.
She only knew that her mother had said her father died in battle, his remains never found, uncertain of whom or what he had fought and died for, leaving behind wife and children to wander begging for survival.
Her mother had brought her along that path of destitution until arriving here. She knew the hardships her mother had endured, the regrets her mother voiced on her deathbed about having no face to meet her father.
How she wished she had been grown then, able to protect her mother.
Now she would ensure her family all remained alive and intact. Anyone who tried to harm them, she could kill their entire n.
She wasn''t afraid to kill, truly.
From a young age fleeing famine, she had seen the dead.
Seen people kill.
At this moment, Qin Luoxia exuded none of the gentle warmth she showed cuddling her little daughter.
Her whole being radiated ferocity, like a predator calmly hunting prey in the deep forest.
She raced swiftly towards the vige.
Melting into the night.
The cold wind howled.
The rustling leaves sang their mournful tune.