Song Qingchao looked at the boots in front of her, her eyes felt hot.
She thought she was too insecure.
Those years of being battered and worn down by Feng Shaocheng had made her forget who she originally was.
After her rebirth, she had been constantly driven by events.
Every day she thought about how to survive, how to drag everyone who had bullied her in her previous life down to hell.
She was a vengeful spirit who had crawled out of hell herself, so how could she covet the light of the world?
But she still coveted it.
Song Qingchao's gaze gradually moved upwards, and though she dared not look, she forced herself to.
Slender, straight legs, a lean and upright waist, broad shoulders, and finally a face that looked down upon all beings.
Spotless, and adorned with brilliant patterns, merely looking at it was like bathing in a spring breeze.
White snow landed on his hair, his eyelashes, his shoulders, yet it could not suppress the light emanating from him.
Her gaze slowly met his.
Bai Youan bent down, his brows unfurled, his smile gentle.
The first words he spoke were, "Seeing that you are unharmed, I am relieved."
Song Qingchao frowned, somewhat bewildered.
He was truly too peaceful.
So peaceful that it was a little frightening.
The crimson sunset cast a warm glow around him.
Song Qingchao stared blankly at him, letting him lift her injured hand and then gradually hook her fingertips off the hairpin.
"Speaking of which, I haven't given you a hairpin before."
Bai Youan threw the blood-stained hairpin to the ground, then took out a handkerchief embroidered with red plum blossoms from his embrace, carefully wiped the blood from her palm, and then took out medicinal powder to dress her wound.
Song Qingchao merely responded with a sound.
She still felt a little guilty, but looking at his practiced movements and the relaxed slope of his shoulders, the tense string in her heart loosened slightly.
After her wound was bandaged, she asked him, "Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"
Bai Youan's hands, tying the knot, paused. "I only wish for your safety."
He stared blankly at the blood seeping through the white cloth. "Are you unwilling to leave?"
Song Qingchao hadn't expected Bai Youan to ask her this, but now, she truly couldn't leave.
So she answered instinctively, not noticing Bai Youan's already somewhat dejected mood.
The moment her hand was released, Song Qingchao panicked.
She wanted to grab Bai Youan's hand, but in the end, she couldn't even catch his shadow.
"Bai Youan..."
She couldn't help but feel despair. Was this it?
"Don't sit on the ground, it's cold. It's not good for a girl's body."
Although his voice was still gentle, Song Qingchao could detect the weariness hidden within.
She didn't dare to ask, and could only let herself be helped up by Bai Youan.
"Also, don't get too tired."
Song Qingchao watched as he took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders, feeling a bit perplexed.
Did his continued concern for her mean he wasn't angry?
But Bai Youan's expression didn't seem like someone who wasn't angry.
"I'm leaving."
His shoulder was patted, and then Bai Youan left without looking back.
Song Qingchao, draped in two cloaks, suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
He just left like that?
She was momentarily dazed, but seeing the people constantly appearing around her, Song Qingchao felt that it was not yet time to be discouraged.
The situation she had finally opened up could not be ruined because of this.
After composing herself, Song Qingchao smiled and raised her head, swallowing all her embarrassment and bitterness.
At this moment, Su Nanyi also walked to her side.
"I hid everyone in a concealed underground cave, which is why Er Gouzi and the others couldn't find them. But those who just appeared, they must have seen everything."
Song Qingchao nodded to show she understood.
Because some people had already begun to kneel on the ground thanking her, some were wailing for their deceased loved ones or for their own narrow escape from death, and the bolder ones even stepped forward and beat the people who had tied up Zhou Si and Zhou Wu.
Song Qingchao did not intervene. It was not yet time to win people's hearts.
If anyone wanted to attach themselves to her at this moment, she might not even consider taking them in.
"Aren't you going to manage them?"
Song Qingchao was not in a hurry, but Su Nanyi was.
"And what are you keeping those people for? Don't tell me you're going to use even these scum who are rotten to the core."
Su Nanyi's expression changed immediately.
Song Qingchao merely gave him a look of a fool. "These people still belong to you. Manage them well and don't let the people I've captured die."
She was in a bad mood and couldn't be bothered to explain.
"Is the cave large? Can these people fit?"
Song Qingchao gestured with her finger, then turned her head to ask Su Nanyi.
Su Nanyi's expression was still not good, but he finally nodded. "Yes, but there's no food left."
"Oh, it's fine," Song Qingchao replied indifferently. "Let your people go in first, it's quite cold."
Su Nanyi nodded in agreement, then organized the people who had just come out to re-enter the cave.
Although these people were reluctant, they eventually went in.
They had watched from beginning to end and knew that this seemingly delicate and gentle girl was not to be trifled with.
Moreover, Su Nanyi had given his word, and they had no better options.
After all, at this time, death was just around the corner wherever they went.
As long as they could start working, at the very least, they could maintain a state of being fed.
Outside, Song Qingchao was completely unaware of the thoughts of this group of people.
Her mind was entirely occupied with Bai Youan.
Only when Zhou Si and Zhou Wu came to ask questions did she snap back to attention.
"Master..."
"Mm." Song Qingchao came back to herself. "What about these people?"
"Their Achilles tendons are severed. Tie them up and throw them into the cave."
She turned and said, "Zhou Wu, go meet Zhou Liu. The two of you go back and bring a pig."
Zhou Wu didn't understand what Song Qingchao intended to do, but he would unconditionally follow his master's orders.
After everyone else had left, only Ying Zhong and Zhou Si remained. "You two throw them, I'll go see if there's anything to eat nearby."
Ying Zhong: "..."
Zhou Si: "..."
The two looked at each other and thus reached a strategic alliance.
Ying Zhong was responsible for severing the tendons, and Zhou Si was responsible for packaging and disposal.
The two worked quickly, their movements as practiced as if they had been butchering fish in the market for over twenty years.
And at this moment, the people in the cave had yet to realize what the future held.
With "thump, thump, thump" sounds,
"Corpses" were continuously thrown down from the cave entrance.
The initial "corpses" were not so bloody.
But after being processed and then dropped, the blood flowed out as if it were free.
This spectacular scene terrified the women, who hugged their crying children tightly.
Even Su Nanyi frowned.
He looked up, about to ask, when he saw Zhou Si's head emerge from the cave entrance.
"It's so high. I wonder if what I threw just now splattered his brains out?"
Su Nanyi: "..."
He suddenly felt that the business he had gotten into was quite risky.