Everyone was too scared to stay any longer. They helped Mrs. Chen to her feet, and all hurried away with her, not daring to glance back at An Jing.
From that moment on, Mrs. Chen never dared to appear before An Jing again. She would rather die mocked by the villagers, shunned by her clan, than face An Jing and be strangled by her.
After that, those in the village who had thought of causing trouble for An Jing and Xiao Changyi had to think twice; after all, An Jing really dared to kill, and they were afraid.
Of course, all this would come later.
Seeing that everyone had been gone for a while, yet An Jing did not turn around as before to look at him, Xiao Changyi watched her straight, slender back and sighed softly before calling out gently, "Jing Er."
An Jing did not turn around or speak. As soon as she heard Xiao Changyi call her, she took off running.
She did not look back as she ran; she ran straight to the creek in the mountains. There, she sat on a large rock by the creek, hugging her knees, staring fixedly at the trickling stream in front of her, her little face devoid of expression, lost in thoughts unknown.
Xiao Changyi followed her, but he did not approach An Jing. Instead, he stood under a tree not far from her, leaning against the trunk, still expressionless, but his eyes deeply focused on An Jing, who sat by the creek with her back to him.
An Jing knew that Xiao Changyi had followed her, but she still did not turn around. She maintained the same action and posture, continuing to sit with her knees hugged, watching the stream flow before her.
As time ticked by, the sky grew darker, until Xiao Changyi could hardly see An Jing anymore. Only then did he walk up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
The moment An Jing felt the familiar embrace, she immediately turned around in Xiao Changyi’s arms and buried her face against him.
Xiao Changyi hugged An Jing with one arm while gently stroking her head with the other.
"My lord, I hit your mother... No, I wanted to kill her, because she wanted to kill you," An Jing’s voice was soft, muffled, with a hint of grievance and a touch of pity, but it was mostly anger.
It was clear that she did not regret taking action against Xiao Chen’s behavior, she was only afraid that Xiao Changyi would grow distant from her because of it.
Xiao Changyi’s embrace tightened a little as he said indifferently, "She is not my mother."
After a pause, "She ceased to be the day I agreed to enlist."
Another pause, "Originally I had no intention of coming back alive." But death eluded him.
The latter words, Xiao Changyi left unspoken.
An Jingxin’s heart clenched in an instant. He hadn’t intended to come back alive? That meant he planned to die on the battlefield, right...
Without even realizing it, An Jing also tightened her hold on Xiao Changyi, fiercely, fiercely.
Feeling the force she exerted on him, Xiao Changyi’s cool lips curved slightly, "Fortunately, I came back alive."
Understanding the deeper meaning in his words, she responded directly, "Yes, fortunately you came back alive, otherwise, how could we have met?" If it had truly been so, the scene would surely not be as it was now.
Xiao Changyi said nothing more, just held her tightly in his arms, and nodded, "Mmm."
If I had known you had so thoroughly given up on her, I wouldn’t have cared so much and would have taken action against her sooner," An Jing muttered again. If someone who planned to die on the battlefield wasn’t thoroughly disillusioned, then who would not intend to come back alive?