Chapter 80: The Oriole
A cave. A campfire.
The young man was like a knight protecting a princess.
He watched as his entire family fell asleep.
He gently moved his sister, Jiang Yu, aside, took off his own padded jacket, and covered her with it.
It felt a bit chilly after taking off the jacket.
He stood up and began to practice his swordsmanship.
It was still those same few moves—a swing, a chop, a slash—completely devoid of anything profound.
Jiang Feng continued to practice meticulously.
The campfire illuminated the young man practicing swordplay in the cave, his shadow cast upon the cave wall. It was as if time had been transcended, like seeing an ancient immortal swordsman dancing with his blade.
The more he practiced, the more fluid and effortless his movements became. At first, he felt the sword in his hand was a bit heavy; later, it felt just right; and eventually, he forgot he was holding a sword at all.
Because his family was right before his eyes, he had become their protector, and he felt at peace.
Qin Luoxia fell asleep quickly, but after a while, she woke up again. Seeing Fenger practicing his swordplay and herself snuggled against her husband, she adjusted her posture, pulled both her husband and Mianmian into her arms, and went back to sleep.
She didn’t pay attention to Jiang Yu, who was fast asleep with her legs propped up against the cave wall, sprawled out in a way that no one could hold her; as long as she didn’t roll into the campfire, it was fine.
Qin Luoxia fell asleep again, thinking before she drifted off: “Will my second child ever be able to get married? What if she kicks her husband away on their wedding night? With this personality, will she have to take in a son-in-law? Otherwise, I worry about whichever family she goes to.”
Jiang Changtian was a light sleeper and didn’t sleep soundly in a new place. He thought he had slept, but it was actually just for a moment. When Fenger got up, he woke up. He watched Fenger practice his swordplay for a while before closing his eyes again.
He was retracing his actions from the day.
He told the local bandits of Ming County not to attack the county government office because there was an ambush, leading them to attack Master Liu instead.
He told the villagers that the bandits from Jishan County would come over, and urged them to hide.
Master Liu had his own sources of information, so he certainly wouldn’t believe him, because the Jishan County bandits hadn’t come this way.
His methods were very rough and wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Just like when he had inadvertently revealed to the merchant that Guard Wu Liu was his wife’s lover, or casually told him where to buy poison and which poison was the most lethal—the kind that could kill instantly.
His actions were crude.
If anyone were to investigate the case seriously, they might have traced it back to him.
But when he saw the rotting corpse of Guard Wu Liu, he felt very happy. Genuinely happy.
He even felt that eating meat that day hadn’t been such a disgusting thing after all.
The meat that was usually hard to swallow actually tasted exceptionally fragrant when he thought of Guard Wu Liu’s corpse. It seemed he could finally taste the meat, rather than feeling a wave of nausea.
He thought: “Mother is right. Deep down, I am like a demon. My face is like peach blossoms, but my heart is like a demon. I am just that kind of person.”
He wanted to hide the demonic side of himself. He didn’t want Sister Xia to know. He craved the embrace of Sister Xia, and he was greedy for her care and her affection.
He was extremely hypocritical.
Look. Mother was right about everything.
To make someone die, just brand them with a crime. They will doubt themselves, feel that they are truly that kind of person, and slowly, they will become that person.
Unfilial and disrespectful, without parents, heartless and unrighteous, evil-hearted and hypocritical, full of lies.
Not only did he become all that, but he surpassed it. He even learned to kill. The first person he killed was himself.
Tonight, those bandits would come. They definitely would. Because when he went there during the day, the bandits were sharpening their blades.
Those who turn to banditry rarely possess great wisdom; if they truly had great wisdom, they wouldn’t have ended up in that position.
They were anxious. Hearing that the bandits of Jishan County had occupied the county government office and declared themselves kings, they were anxious.
Worried that if they didn’t act, they would fall behind, they thought about making a move to become rich and powerful.
But the bandits of Jishan County were actually different from them. He had returned to the county office and inquired carefully; it was unclear whether the Jishan County bandits were real bandits or fake ones. They were well-trained, and they were definitely rebelling, but they might just be using the name of bandits.
The bandits of Ming County were usually poor, their stronghold far away in the deep mountains. They were just a group of vicious people who had brains, but not many.
To make them attack the county government office, they actually didn’t have the guts, but they felt compelled to do it. Bandits are always easily incited, believing rumors as facts.
They were coerced into coming, and hearing about an ambush, they would immediately shrink back. But at this moment, they needed a ladder; otherwise, they would have no face or standing in the bandit world.
Therefore, they would definitely come. And it would be tonight.
Jiang Changtian closed his eyes. He thought carefully about the words he had spoken, every step of the process. He thought in detail about the appearance of the sturdy men he had seen that day. He had only glanced at them, but now he began to recall carefully: how many people were there, and what kind of weapons they used.
Landlord Liu’s house also had guards. Landlord Liu certainly wouldn’t believe his words; with his large estate, it wouldn’t be easy to hide. But he would arrange more guards than usual.
As for the others in the village, well, Sixth Auntie probably wouldn’t hide. With a guilty conscience, she would definitely think he was playing tricks, so she would follow Landlord Liu.
Those who were on good terms with Landlord Liu would likely go to his house seeking refuge.
Others, when their lives were at stake, would hide in the mountains like them.
When bandits raid at night, they generally wouldn’t scatter into the mountains to chase after poor villagers like them.
Having considered every aspect, he finally fell back asleep.
This time, with Sister Xia holding him, he quickly fell asleep.
When Jiang Changtian’s breathing became even, Qin Luoxia opened her eyes.
Her gaze was sharp. She beckoned to Fenger.
“You keep watch, I’m going out to take a look,” Qin Luoxia said silently.
Jiang Feng wanted to say he would go, but looking at the animal meat hanging in the cave and at Mother’s eyes, he nodded obediently.
Qin Luoxia gently laid her husband flat and tucked Mianmian into his arms. Then she stood up.
She picked up the spear she had prepared and walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, the cold wind was piercing. Being blown by the cold wind, Qin Luoxia became even more alert.
Behind her, in the cave, was her family. Outside the cave, the vast mountains stretched out, with endless darkness.
The Aunt Qin who had just been gently holding her husband and children had now tied up her cuffs and pant legs, covered her face with a cloth, and wrapped her head. Her figure was tall and strong; she had wrapped several layers of cloth around her chest and tied things around her waist, making her look like a sturdy man.
She had made up her mind: regardless of whether the bandits came or not, tonight, Master Liu would die.
She had never killed a person. But during this period, she had killed many, many wild beasts.
She didn’t know anything about great righteousness, nor did she know about right and wrong in the grand scheme of things.
She only knew that Mother said Father had died in battle, leaving no remains, not knowing who he had fought for or died for, leaving behind his wife and daughter to live in fear and beg for food.
Mother had brought her all the way here while begging for food; she knew what hardships Mother had endured. She knew why Mother had muttered before she died that she had no face to see Father.
How she wished she had grown up back then so she could have protected Mother.
Now, she wanted her family to stay together and alive. Whoever wanted to harm them, she would kill their whole family.
She wasn’t afraid of killing, really. When she was very young, on the road fleeing from famine, she had seen dead people. She had also seen people kill others.
Qin Luoxia at this moment had none of the gentleness she displayed when holding her little daughter. She was filled with a fierce aura, just like when she calmly hunted wild beasts in the dense forest.
She sprinted rapidly toward the village, merging with the night. The cold wind blew. The leaves played a mournful tune.
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