Disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting!
"Xiao Shan! I hate you, I hate you! Get away, get away!"
"So you've finally admitted it! You hate me, you hate my roughness, my rudeness! You're just like everyone else in the village!"
Xue Niang suddenly bit down on Xiao Shan's arm, her eyes losing focus.
By the time Xiao Shan realized something was wrong, Xue Niang had been motionless for a long time. A sliver of moonlight fell upon her face, and a trickle of blood slowly snaked from the corner of her mouth.
Xiao Shan’s body trembled.
"Let go! Let go!"
His large hand clamped over her mouth, and Xiao Shan felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer.
How much did she loathe him, to choose to bite her tongue again!
In her heart, he was as filthy as those beasts.
"Xue Niang, you truly are heartless..."
"I won't touch you, I won't touch you, I won't touch you, alright!"
He punched the wall, his last words a roar like a caged beast breaking free.
As if a rift had been torn in the darkness, Xue Niang was pulled back to reality by his shout. She wasn't in the hands of inhumane slave traders; before her was Xiao Shan.
"Waa—" Xue Niang sobbed, burying her face in the bed.
Her mouth hurt so much, her wrists hurt too. It was all this damned man's fault, what was he going crazy for!
Xiao Shan had never seen Xue Niang cry like this before. She looked like an wronged child, and he stood there stunned for a moment.
"They bullied me, and you bullied me too. How could you bully me! You're not Xiao Shan, get out!"
Xiao Shan opened his mouth, his previous ferocity dissipating, leaving him feeling utterly drained.
His heart was in turmoil.
A chaotic heart was a great taboo in warfare.
Therefore, he had lost control, disrupted everything, and now she hated him.
Even though he knew nothing was missing from home, and she hadn't taken anything with her, he still panicked when he couldn't find her.
"I thought you had left. I searched for you for dozens of miles outside the county town. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."
Xiao Shan said dejectedly, then left the room.
Xue Niang cried until she was hoarse, and eventually fell asleep without knowing when. Xiao Shan never returned to the room.
The next day, when Xue Niang woke up, a bottle of healing ointment, along with a few eggs and sweet potato porridge, were placed by her bedside.
Qu Linglong came to give Xue Niang acupuncture. As she removed Xue Niang's clothes, she was startled to see the blood-tinged teeth marks on her neck.
Her first thought was that Xue Niang and Xiao Shan had consummated their marriage. But upon seeing the vibrant, blood-drop-like chastity mark on her arm, she couldn't help but be taken aback.
Upon closer inspection, Xue Niang's eyes were red and swollen, and her wrists also bore some bruises.
"Could it be that Brother Xiao did this?"
Xue Niang remained silent, implicitly admitting it.
Qu Linglong was surprised. Brother Xiao doted on Xue Niang like a treasure; how could he have been so rough? Had he lost control of his strength in a moment of impatience?
"Xue Niang, did you two have a fight?"
When Qu Linglong had entered, Xiao Shan was chopping firewood, and she hadn't paid much attention.
"He suddenly went mad and bullied me."
"Uh, perhaps Brother Xiao couldn't hold back? After all, you are so... alluring."
"I don't like it, I don't like him acting like that."
"But Xue Niang, it's like this between husband and wife. Otherwise, where would children come from? Marital intimacy, the joy of the flesh, conceiving offspring, it's all natural. Ugh—"
Qu Linglong covered her mouth and gagged.
Xue Niang, seeing her pale face, couldn't help but worry, "Linglong, are you feeling unwell?"
"No—Ugh—"
Qu Linglong covered her mouth and ran out.
Xiao Shan watched Qu Linglong gagging with her hand over her mouth, his brow furrowing deeply.
"You're pregnant."
He stated with certainty. Recalling her constant pallor and her strange behavior with the maid, he had seen women in early pregnancy, and Qu Linglong's reactions were exactly the same.
Qu Linglong's eyes were teary from vomiting, and she didn't refute him. Such a thing couldn't be hidden.
"Is it his?"
Qu Linglong nodded.
"You can't keep it!" Xiao Shan said decisively, "He is not a good man."
Qu Linglong gave a bitter smile. Everyone said he wasn't a good man, and that the child couldn't be kept. But she just couldn't bear to part with it, couldn't cut ties. Perhaps she owed him from a past life!
"I want to give birth."
"Don't act on impulse. You're still young; having a child will tie you down for decades to come."
"Brother Xiao, ever since I met him, my life has already been tied down. Don't worry about me anymore. Just live well with Xue Niang."
"Qu Linglong!" Xiao Shan said with some anger, "Since you call me Brother Xiao, I will speak as an elder brother. Your life isn't just about one man. You're hiding here, have you thought about your father? You lost your mother at a young age, and Administrator Qu raised you like both father and mother. And what's the result? You ran off here for a man?"
Qu Linglong was overwhelmed with shame. She had let her father down and didn't want this, but she couldn't face it right now. Give her some more time, and perhaps she would become as strong as Xue Niang.
"Brother Xiao, you've changed."
He used to never meddle in anyone's affairs. Now he had become more humane. Had Xue Niang changed him?
"Qu Linglong!"
Xiao Shan was very displeased with Qu Linglong's attitude.
Xue Niang, having dressed, came out and stood at the bedroom door, watching Xiao Shan scold Linglong with an angry expression, feeling a bit annoyed.
"Xiao Shan, Linglong is not your subordinate. Why are you shouting at her?"
Xiao Shan's hands trembled, and his stern face cracked slightly.
Xue Niang walked in and looked at Qu Linglong's complexion, worriedly asking, "Linglong, is your stomach bothering you? Do you need to rest?"
Qu Linglong looked somewhat dazed. She had personally witnessed Xue Niang subdue the burly man with just a few words. This change of expression was as rapid as a performance on stage.
Truly, every dog has its day.
"I'm fine, Xue Niang. I need to ask you something today, and you must tell me the truth. Do you like Brother Xiao?"
Xiao Shan suddenly looked at Qu Linglong, his hands clenching involuntarily.
Why was Linglong meddling in this!
How could Xue Niang like him? She hated him to death right now.
At this moment, he didn't even dare to look at Xue Niang's expression.
"He's annoying."
Xue Niang hadn't expected Linglong to ask about something like this. She turned her head and answered stiffly.
Qu Linglong smiled. As expected, Xue Niang wasn't indifferent to Brother Xiao. Perhaps she hadn't realized it herself, but compared to before, when she spoke of Xiao Shan, there was always a hint of girlish petulance in her voice.
It was just that both of them seemed to be blinded by their own affairs.
Good things take time. She wouldn't worry about it anymore.
"The carriage is still outside. I won't stay long. Xue Niang, Brother Xiao, I'll be going now."
Xue Niang saw Qu Linglong out, while Xiao Shan sat on a wooden stool with an unhappy expression.
Xue Niang truly disliked him.
He didn't know where she had gone yesterday. It was all his fault for losing his temper and messing things up, and he hadn't asked her properly. She definitely wouldn't tell him now.
He held an axe, chopping aimlessly. The firewood on the ground had already been reduced to splinters.
Just then, Xue Niang, with a fierce look and an imposing aura, rushed in. Her eyes swept over the pile of firewood, she picked up a relatively thick branch, and ran out again.
What had happened?
Xiao Shan quickly stood up, dropped his axe, and followed her out.