The village chief and his wife went to rest, and Xue Zi Ning slipped into the room.
As she neared the bed, the man suddenly opened his eyes and was stunned for a moment when he saw her.
Fearing he might cry out, Xue Zi Ning quickly covered his mouth and nose, whispering, "One of ours."
The man looked at her, struggling. Xue Zi Ning repeated, "One of ours."
The man still struggled, and Xue Zi Ning grew confused. Had she made a mistake?
She hadn't misidentified the token either.
"Aren't you..." Xue Zi Ning asked in a low voice, then turned to find the man rolling his eyes. She quickly removed her hand, only to realize in her haste she had blocked both his mouth and nose.
Feeling a pang of guilt, she saw the man had fainted and wouldn't wake for a while. Without further delay, she turned and returned to Wei Hai's home.
Upon reaching her room, she climbed through the window. Suddenly, there was a faint sound from outside the door. She quickly pulled the quilt over herself.
The door opened, and she sensed footsteps. Though the person was trying to move silently, she could hear them clearly.
The footsteps stopped less than a step away above her head. In the darkness, she could feel the warm breath spraying onto her face.
"Give it to me, I want to eat meat..." She swung her fists towards the owner of the breath.
She heard the sound of her fists landing on flesh.
After a low groan, the owner of the footsteps quickly retreated.
Xue Zi Ning opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this Wei person was indeed not simple.
In the early morning, she woke up early and found Wei Hai was not outside.
After calling out several times without a response from Wei Hai, she called for Wei Dong. Wei Dong, rubbing his sleepy eyes, came out, "Sister Ah Ning, what is it?"
"Where is Big Brother Wei?"
Wei Dong said, "Dad mentioned this morning he was going to the village chief's house."
Xue Zi Ning frowned slightly and said to Wei Dong, "Shall we go to the village chief's house too? The day before yesterday, I saw the village chief buy a lot of candy for his son Hu Zi."
"Really? Hu Zi and I are good friends, I can ask for some candy," Wei Dong said happily.
"Then shall we go?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Wei Dong nodded, splashed some water on his face outside, and then called out to her, "Sister Ah Ning, hurry up..."
Xue Zi Ning came out, and Wei Dong pulled her along towards the village chief's house.
From a distance, she saw many people gathered at the village chief's house. Wei Dong pulled her to hurry forward, "Quickly, quickly, or there won't be any candy left."
Xue Zi Ning hurried forward. With so many people, she couldn't see what was happening inside. Wei Dong, however, managed to squeeze in and soon she heard Wei Hai's voice, "Wei Dong, why are you here?"
Seeing his father was also there, Wei Dong was frightened and ran back.
Wei Hai quickly chased after him. Only then did Xue Zi Ning dare to push her way through the crowd. She saw the man tied up tightly on the ground – the assassin from Qian Jin Tower whom she had covered the mouth and nose of the previous night.
Now, the man's mouth was gagged, preventing him from speaking.
The village chief said to the crowd gathered around, "Our fishing village has rarely had outsiders visit. Now that an outsider has appeared, this person is likely not ordinary. To prevent our fishing village from being disturbed by the outside world, what do you think we should do?"
The villagers exchanged glances, remaining silent.
The village chief cleared his throat and said, "I have decided to let the Sea God make this decision."
Xue Zi Ning was startled. Was he leaving the man to his fate?
But soon she felt she had thought too simply. The village chief produced another knife and made a cut on the man's palm.
Xue Zi Ning looked towards the sea not far away. She remembered Hua Yun Jin telling her that sea sharks were fierce sea creatures that could track blood for thousands of miles.
Once a person had a wound, they would inevitably be pursued by sea sharks, leading to certain death.
She saw villagers lifting the man and heading towards the sea. She moved closer. The man, who had been listless, suddenly saw her and his whole body stiffened.
Xue Zi Ning rejoiced inwardly; it seemed this man recognized her.
She looked at the man, spoke three words, and then flicked her fingers.
How could the villagers have imagined that the securely bound person could break free?
The man rolled over, grabbed Xue Zi Ning, and clamped his hand around her chin, coldly saying, "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill her..."
Seeing the person being held hostage, the village chief was shocked. This girl was treasured by Wei Hai.
"Let her go..." Wei Hai rushed over.
Seeing the man holding his Ah Ning hostage, his heart leaped into his throat.
"Prepare a boat for me," the man demanded angrily.
The village chief was about to refuse, but Wei Hai shouted, "Prepare the boat."
"Wei Hai, you can't let him go..."
Wei Hai looked at the village chief and said, "I said prepare a boat..."
"Wei Hai..."
"Listen to me..." Wei Hai said, word by word.
The village chief sighed and ordered someone to prepare a boat. Soon, a small boat was placed by the sea.
The man, holding Xue Zi Ning hostage, came to the side of the boat and whispered, "Your Majesty, allow me to take you away!"
"You go first. The boat can't carry both of us. Hurry..." Xue Zi Ning urged in a low voice.
"Alright, Your Majesty, hold on." The man pushed Xue Zi Ning away and boarded the boat, rowing out.
Xue Zi Ning felt a flicker of hope, wishing to successfully send her message back.
She turned, and her heart leaped in alarm. She saw Wei Hai raising a bow, the arrow gone.
She quickly looked back and saw only the small boat still floating, empty.
Wei Hai dropped the bow and came before Xue Zi Ning, lifting her onto his shoulder.
Upon returning home, Wei Hai pressed closer step by step. Xue Zi Ning retreated, "Big Brother Wei, what are you doing?"
"Ah Ning, you know him, don't you?" Wei Hai asked, word by word.
Xue Zi Ning blinked, "Big Brother Wei, what are you talking about? I don't understand..."
Wei Hai chuckled softly, "Ah Ning, if you tell me the truth, I won't do anything to you. If not, today we will make it a done deal!"
Xue Zi Ning narrowed her eyes, "Big Brother Wei, if you have something to say, let's talk properly!"
Wei Hai said, "Ah Ning, you've always wanted to leave this place, haven't you?"
"Yes, I really want to leave here. Is that wrong?" Xue Zi Ning no longer concealed it.
"I've been so good to you, why do you want to leave?" Wei Hai roared.
"Because this is not my home, I want to return to my place," Xue Zi Ning said.
"Ah Ning..." Wei Hai roared, furious.
"Big Brother Wei, something's happened, the army is here," a voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Wei Hai trembled and whispered, "I know. Quickly tell the village chief to gather everyone. Send the elderly and sick to the back mountain, I'll be there immediately."
"Yes, Big Brother Wei." The person outside left.
Wei Hai stepped forward and grabbed her hand. Just as Xue Zi Ning was about to break free, she heard him say, "Come with me."
Seeing that Wei Hai wasn't going to do anything, Xue Zi Ning put away her weapon and followed him.
In the backyard, Wei Hai glanced at her and then said, "Ah Ning, I know you want to leave this place. Soon you will be free."