The woman's plea silenced everyone around her.
Even the gatekeeper who was supporting and dragging them showed hesitation when he came behind the woman after taking care of the others.
The woman's face showed a little joy, as if she saw hope.
She pulled the child, who was already pale with fright, to the two of them.
"Come, Pearl, call the master and the madam..."
"Kowtow to them."
she urged.
The four or five-year-old child had never seen such a scene before. He stood there blankly and trembled.
The woman saw this and was anxious in her heart, cursing: "Kowtow to me! Kowtow to the master and his wife!"
As she said this, she didn't care about anything else and pressed her child's neck to make her lower her head.
When the child saw that her mother, who usually took good care of her, seemed to be a different person, the fear accumulated in her heart burst out at that moment.
She screamed and cried loudly.
While she was struggling hard, trying to take the woman's hand away from her confidant's neck, she kept shouting: "Auntie...it hurts..."
"Auntie, Pearl hurts, Pearl hurts!"
When the woman heard this, tears kept falling from her cheeks, but she didn't dare to let go. She pressed her daughter's head with determination and wanted her to kowtow to Chu Qingxiao and Chu Qingxiao.
The scene was touching, and Chu Zhaozhao's eyes turned red.
"Don't you understand? I want you to throw them all out!" But then Huang Quxiang's voice sounded again.
After hearing this, the gatekeepers finally did not dare to hesitate any longer. One of them grabbed the woman, and the other picked up the child and threw it outside the stronghold.
The woman was stunned for a moment. She thought she had found a way out for her daughter, and the look on her face almost collapsed at that moment.
"Girl! Girl!"
"You keep her! She can do anything! You keep her..."
She used all her strength to yell at Chu Zhaozhao, her eyes mixed with begging and despair.
Chu Zhaozhao's body trembled, and she could no longer watch what was happening in front of her.
But the moment she took steps, Chu Qingxiao on the side stretched out his hand and pulled her back.
Chu Zhaozhao was stunned. She turned back and looked at the young man behind her in disbelief. She probably never expected that Chu Qingxiao would stop her at this time.
She almost couldn't help but say something, but then there was a rapid sound of horse hooves outside the village gate.
The firelight in the village could not clearly illuminate the scene outside the village gate, but I could vaguely see several men in black getting off their horses at that time, holding long whips in their hands, and began to greet the group of crow slaves.
"Damn it! Are you torturing our brothers in the middle of the night?"
"You beasts! How dare you run away!"
"I'll beat you to death!"
Amidst the curses from those who came, the long whips in their hands kept swinging down. Along with the sound of skin and flesh being ripped open, the crow slaves also let out heart-rending wails.
Everyone in the village turned pale when they saw this scene.
After the group of men in black vented their anger, the leader turned his head and looked toward the Goshawk Village. It was vaguely visible that half of his face seemed to have been burned by fire and was covered with horrific tumors.
With just one glance, everyone in the village was startled and lowered their heads. Even the timid ones began to tremble.
"Bah." The leading man seemed to be very satisfied with everyone's performance. He spat at the village gate provocatively, then got on his horse and whipped the group of crow slaves away like he was driving cattle and sheep. Goshawk Village.
…
"Why are you stopping me!" Back in the house, Chu Zhaozhao broke away from Chu Qingxiao's hand. She turned to look at the boy and shouted angrily with her eyes red.
"That kid is only five years old!"
"Do you know what kind of torture she will suffer if she falls into the hands of those evil spirits?"
"Chu Qingxiao! I always thought you were different from others!"
"I didn't expect that I still misjudged you! You are a coward!"
Chu Qingxiao looked at the girl with red eyes calmly and listened to her curses. After she vented her emotions, she said softly: "We can't save them..."
"How do you know you can't be saved if you can't save it! You were just scared out of your wits by Guiyanzhai! You are just afraid of death!" Chu Zhaozhao said angrily.
"Everyone is afraid of death. This is human nature. It's not something to be ashamed of." Chu Qingxiao's tone was still so calm, but his eyes were extraordinarily gentle, looking at the girl in front of him at that time.
"But I'm not afraid." The next moment, Chu Qingxiao said again.
Chu Zhaozhao was stunned when he heard this, and almost subconsciously retorted: "Aren't you afraid? Then you just..."
"I have died more than once, and I have experienced everything in that eternal night of reincarnation."
"I cherish this life that was bought for me by the people of Wuling City, Mr. Luo, Butcher Liu, Capt. Cao, my father, my uncle, and the Xizhou Jianjia."
"But I'm not afraid of death, if that means anything."
Chu Qingxiao said this, and his calm voice finally made the angry girl regain some sense.
"But even so, we still can't save them."
"Because the price of justice will be repaid by the residents of Goshawk Village."
"If we do that, we will be generosity to others and use the lives of others to uphold the justice in our hearts. But I don't think such justice can be called justice."
After Chu Zhaozhao heard these words, her body trembled obviously, and she lowered her head: "I... I actually understand..."
"But when I saw the woman holding my hand and seeing how young the child was, I felt... things shouldn't be like this."
"Why does Guiya Village treat people like animals, and why does it decide their life and death?"
As she spoke, the girl's shoulders suddenly shrugged a little, and there was a cry in her tone.
Chu Qingxiao didn't hesitate, he walked forward, stretched out his hand and took the girl into his arms.
He didn't use any words to comfort her.
Because in the face of cruel facts, any words are pale.
This world is so cruel.
Even if you have never done anything wrong or hurt anyone.
It won't give you any tenderness either.
You are left to lick your wounds alone.
Swallow all the unwillingness and grievances alone.
Then he cursed in his heart, "Fuck the world."
But the next moment, you still have to accept it.
During the six months of guarding Wuling City alone, Chu Qingxiao understood this truth.
And now it's Chu Zhaozhao's turn.
All he could do was give her something that he wanted to have but no one gave her...
Warm hug.
It didn't change anything, but at least, he was telling her.
I'm with you.
…
He was probably tired from crying.
After a while, Chu Zhaozhao fell asleep on Chu Qingxiao's shoulder.
Chu Qingxiao carefully picked up the girl and placed her on the bed.
Under the moonlight, he looked at the tears on the girl's face that had not yet dried up. He felt a little distressed and reached out to gently wipe away the tears for her.
Then he brought another quilt and covered her with it.
After doing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He stood up and looked around the room, as if searching for something.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a handkerchief lying on the wooden table beside him. He stepped forward, lifted it up, and put it on his face for a while. He seemed to think it was very suitable, so he put it in his arms. inside.
Then he found the baggage containing the broken swords from the wooden cabinet on the side and carried it on his back.
Finally, he turned his head again and glanced at the sleeping girl on the bed. Under the moonlight, she looked peaceful and as beautiful as a picture scroll.
He smiled slightly, withdrew his gaze, turned around, opened the door, and stood outside.
The Goshawk Village is quiet and peaceful under the darkness of night.
Only the occasional mountain wind made the woods rustle.
He thought of the woman's last desperate efforts to crawl to her side.
Thinking of her eyes full of hope when she pressed her daughter's neck.
I also thought of the collapse on her face when her last hope was dashed.
He understands how it feels.
Just like him in Wuling City.
He prayed countless times, praying that someone would think of this city and their suffering, and then reach out to them in the darkness.
But no one remembered and no one responded.
When Chu Qingxiao thought of this, he took a deep breath, wrapped the baggage behind his back tightly, then lowered his head, folded the handkerchief in half, and slowly tied it around his face to cover his mouth and nose.
After doing this, he raised his head.
At that moment, his eyes were no longer clear.
A chill like the snow of Jiuyou covered his pupils.
He looked towards the forest.
Like a demon god patrolling his territory.
Ling Lie's murderous intent overflowed from his body like a runaway horse or an arrow.
Constantly surging.
It's a world of assholes.
Those who hold a butcher's knife can sing to their heart's content and revel day and night.
Those who are diligent in their duties are walking on thin ice, allowing themselves to be eaten by mermaids.
That's not fair.
So he thought.
Immediately he reached out and took out a broken sword from his back, holding it in his hand.
He was going to break this bastard's rules.
He wanted to respond to the woman.
He wanted to reach out to her that hand that he had longed for so much but no one stretched out for him.
