Xue Zi Ning was stunned, looking at Wei Hai. Wei Hai smiled, "Ah Ning, don't be afraid. You'll be free soon, but before that, can you do me a favor?"
Xue Zi Ning did not answer. Wei Hai pointed to the crowd not far away, "Take them to the back mountain. Once everything here returns to normal, bring them out, and then you can leave freely."
"Brother Wei, what about you?"
Wei Hai smiled, "If I can come back alive, I will personally let you go."
After speaking, he released her hand and left without looking back.
"Sister Ah Ning, my father is a hero," Wei Dong said.
Xue Zi Ning nodded, "Yes..."
"Sister Ah Ning, let's hide quickly!" Wei Dong urged.
"Aren't you worried about your father?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Wei Dong smiled, "My father is very capable."
A woman who had walked over said with awe, "Brother Wei once fought a giant worm by himself."
The crowd chimed in, "That's right, that's right..."
Xue Zi Ning looked at the dense soldiers on the beach not far away and turned to walk towards the back mountain.
There was dry food and water in the cave; it was obvious someone had prepared it.
"Sister Ah Ning, you lead everyone further inside. I'll guard outside the cave. I'll call you if anything happens," Wei Dong said.
Xue Zi Ning pulled Wei Dong back, "You are still young. I should do this. Besides, you are familiar with this place."
"But, Father told me to protect Sister Ah Ning," Wei Dong said.
Xue Zi Ning was taken aback, then smiled, "Your father is something else, asking a child to protect an adult like me."
"No, I'm not a child anymore. I'm an adult. Sister Ah Ning is a woman, and a man should protect a woman," Wei Dong stated righteously.
Xue Zi Ning bent down, "I don't know everyone, and they might not listen to me. You are familiar with everyone, and they will definitely listen to you."
Wei Dong nodded, "Alright, be sure to call me if anything happens."
Xue Zi Ning nodded.
Wei Dong led everyone into the mountain.
Xue Zi Ning watched as the people on the sea had entered the village. Although she couldn't see clearly, she could feel that it must have been a brutal scene.
As dusk began to fall, Xue Zi Ning heard some movement. She opened her eyes abruptly and saw several soldiers searching nearby.
The armor they wore bore an "An" character, indicating they were soldiers of An Kingdom.
"Those people have all been captured. What else does the General want us to find?" one soldier grumbled.
Another replied, "It's just a personal vendetta!"
"But Wei Hai is quite unlucky. After a few good years, the General still found him."
"It serves him right that a fine tiger general was forced to this point after all these years. Who asked him to steal the General's fiancée? The General has never forgotten the hatred of his stolen wife?"
"Stop talking. The General hates being spoken of like this the most. Be careful, or we might lose our lives."
"What happened to my father?" Wei Dong, having overheard the conversation, rushed out.
Xue Zi Ning inwardly cursed her bad luck. As expected, the two soldiers looked at Wei Dong and asked, "Your father? Who is your father?"
"Wei Hai. What did you say happened to my father?" Wei Dong asked urgently.
Hearing this, the two soldiers stepped forward and tried to grab Wei Dong. Da Feng Novel Network
"You... what are you doing?" Wei Dong, startled, tried to run back.
How could the soldiers let the duck they had caught escape? They quickly pursued him and grabbed Wei Dong by the chin.
Wei Dong cried out, "Let go of me! Let go of me!"
Just then, a figure appeared from who knows where. Before the two soldiers could react, they were knocked to the ground.
Wei Dong, who had been petrified, looked at the person who had saved him with disbelief, "Sis... Sister Ah Ning..."
"Drag them in. I have questions for them," Xue Zi Ning said.
Wei Dong called for people to drag the two soldiers in. Xue Zi Ning tied them up and splashed water on their faces.
The two looked at her, stunned, then quickly regained their composure. One of them said, "Let us go. The army will reach here soon, and not a single one of you will escape."
The others in the cave were too scared to move. Xue Zi Ning sneered, "Who are you trying to scare? Reaching here? Do you think anyone will care about two small fry like you?"
The two exchanged glances, "Who are you?"
"You don't need to know who I am. I'll ask one question, and you'll answer obediently. Otherwise..."
Xue Zi Ning took out a dagger and suddenly slashed towards one of their faces.
The man shrieked in terror but found that she had merely shaved off a lock of his hair.
"Next time, I won't be so lenient."
Despite being a seemingly delicate girl, why was she so ruthless in her actions?
Something about her felt off, emitting a powerful aura that kept everyone breathless.
"I... I'll talk..." The soldier whose hair had been cut was the first to surrender.
"You are soldiers of An Kingdom. Why did you go to so much trouble to come here?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
The two were shocked. Who was this girl? How could she know they were An Kingdom soldiers so easily?
Xue Zi Ning looked at them as if they were idiots, "There's an 'An' character on your armor."
The two suddenly understood, regretting wearing the armor that rightfully belonged to them.
"Speak..." Xue Zi Ning said coldly.
Her delicate face was as clear and frosty as the heavy frost of late autumn, chilling one to the bone.
"Wei Hai was originally a general of An Kingdom and was sworn brothers with our General. However, Wei Hai stole our General's fiancée. The hatred for his stolen wife cannot be forgiven. Our General, unable to bear it, broke brotherhood with Wei Hai... Later, Wei Hai colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and was exiled by the King of An..."
"Colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country? Would Wei Hai do that? Wasn't it your General who framed him?" Although she disliked Wei Hai, he wasn't a cunning person.
The two remained silent, clearly indicating that Wei Hai had been framed.
"So this time it was also your General cutting the grass to remove the roots?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
The two quickly shook their heads, "The imperial court issued an order. A criminal has arrived in An Kingdom, and our General was ordered to pursue and capture him."
"Personal vendetta?" Xue Zi Ning probed.
The two said no more, evidently, all her guesses were correct.
"What criminal?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
The two shook their heads, "The secret decree is with the General. We don't know."
Xue Zi Ning nodded, then knocked them unconscious with a cleaver each.
"Sister Ah Ning, what do we do?" Wei Dong asked.
Xue Zi Ning pondered for a moment and said, "Wei Dong, you stay here. I'll go take a look."
"Sister Ah Ning..."
"I won't leave, don't worry." Xue Zi Ning stripped one of the soldiers of his armor and put it on.
At the village entrance, Wei Hai was subdued on the ground. He painfully lifted his head to look at the man sitting on a chair, saying, "If you have a grievance, it's with me. Let them go. They are all innocent."
"Innocent? Wei Hai, you truly know how to amuse this General. They are all soldiers who fought alongside you back then. Letting them go would be like letting tigers return to the mountains!"