Night was slowly falling.
In her new home on North Street in Lingshan Town, Jiang Ning changed into comfortable clothes, slipped a dagger into her sleeve, and pushed open the door to leave.
"Jiang Ning? Where are you going?" Liu Ming'an sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, looking puzzled at Jiang Ning's nimble attire.
The new house had two bedrooms, so Liu Ming'an no longer had reason to share a bed with Jiang Ning. Half an hour ago they had each retired to their rooms, and he thought Jiang Ning had gone to sleep. He didn't expect to see her emerge in different clothes, looking as if she was heading somewhere.
Jiang Ning had also assumed Liu Ming'an was asleep. Who knew he'd still be sitting in the courtyard? If she'd known, she would have used her spatial abilities to leave undetected.
Jiang Ning frowned and countered with a question instead of answering: "Why aren't you in bed at this late hour? Are you out here feeding mosquitoes?"
"There are no mosquitoes this time of year," Liu Ming'an said with a smile. Then he averted his eyes slightly and lowered his voice: "I couldn't sleep. The environment feels a bit unfamiliar."
Of course, it was mainly because Jiang Ning wasn't sleeping beside him, and he wasn't used to that. But Liu Ming'an didn't dare say so, fearing she might kill him for it.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow in surprise: "A grown man like you still needs to get used to a new bed?"
Liu Ming'an said nothing, and Jiang Ning casually added, "It's fine, you'll get used to it in a few days. Just try to adapt."
"By the way, you still haven't said where you're going," Liu Ming'an suddenly realized his question had been deflected.
Jiang Ning had chosen this time to go out precisely to avoid Liu Ming'an, but she had unexpectedly run into him. Now that he was asking where she was going, she naturally had to lie.
"I just wanted to take a walk around, see the surrounding streets and houses, so I don't get lost later," Jiang Ning said very naturally.
Liu Ming'an didn't suspect a thing. He stood up and said, "Then I'll walk with you. I can't sleep anyway."
However, Jiang Ning raised her hand and pressed it on Liu Ming'an's shoulder, pushing him back into his seat. "What's there to see in the dark? You should go to bed early."
With that, Jiang Ning turned to leave without waiting for Liu Ming'an's reaction.
"Jiang Ning, you—"
Liu Ming'an felt something was off. He quickly stood up and reached out to grab Jiang Ning's arm, but his hand touched something hard in her sleeve.
It was the dagger!
"Jiang Ning, why are you carrying a dagger?" Liu Ming'an's expression changed. Thinking back to Jiang Ning changing clothes, he gradually had an ominous feeling.
Unable to avoid it any longer, Jiang Ning inwardly sighed and looked at Liu Ming'an, asking, "Have you finished writing the complaint?"
"I have," Liu Ming'an replied, realizing Jiang Ning was trying to change the subject again. He immediately pressed, "You still haven't told me where you're going, and why you're carrying a dagger."
Jiang Ning still didn't answer Liu Ming'an's questions. Instead, she asked him three of her own: "Do you trust the government? Do you think the county magistrate can uncover the truth? Do you think that clerk will let his nephew face the consequences of his actions?"
Liu Ming'an understood. Jiang Ning didn't trust others; she only trusted herself.
"So? What do you intend to do?" Liu Ming'an heard himself ask, his voice as hoarse as if it were being squeezed from his throat.
Jiang Ning knew she had frightened Liu Ming'an, but what could she do? Should she pin her hopes on government officials? After so many years of hunting in the darkness, the concept of fighting violence with violence was deeply ingrained in her bones.
"N, remember, there's nothing that can't be solved by killing!" The woman's words seemed to echo in her ears again.
"What if there really is?" Jiang Ning remembered that at the time, she didn't agree with this principle and had asked a counter-question.
But the woman had curled her lips, her eyes flashing with bloodthirsty killing intent, and said, "If you think there is, then you certainly haven't killed enough people!"
...
"Jiang Ning? Jiang Ning?"
Liu Ming'an's voice penetrated her eardrums, pulling Jiang Ning out of the swamp of her past.
Jiang Ning came back to her senses to find Liu Ming'an gripping her arm, looking at her with eyes full of anxiety.
"What happened just now? What were you thinking about?" Liu Ming'an asked, relieved to see Jiang Ning's gaze no longer unfocused.
Jiang Ning's appearance moments ago had been too alarming—a body full of killing intent, eyes dead and lifeless, like a fierce ghost struggling to crawl out of hell to claim souls.
Jiang Ning tilted her head slightly to look at Liu Ming'an, her eyes seeming to hold shattered light: "Liu Ming'an, I'm the one who brought this undeserved calamity upon you."
"What?" Liu Ming'an didn't immediately understand what Jiang Ning was saying.
"It was I who provoked the people from Gold Jade Hall. The events of last night were all aimed at me..." Jiang Ning paused, the fire seeming to blaze before her eyes again. "They weren't just trying to steal money; they wanted to kill! And all of this originally had nothing to do with you. It's because of me that you got involved. Do you understand?"
Jiang Ning's voice was unlike her usual calm demeanor, carrying a slight, barely perceptible tremor.
In Liu Ming'an's memory, Jiang Ning's voice had always been clear and crisp, like dewdrops from wild orchids in an empty valley falling onto stones. When had she ever shown such outward emotion?
"Jiang Ning, don't say such things..."
Liu Ming'an wanted to say something, but Jiang Ning continued as if she hadn't heard him: "You were just a scholar, content to study, write, and pursue an official career. But you just had to buy me and bring me home. Someone like me, in Buddhist terms, has committed too many evil deeds. I carry karmic obstacles. I will only bring you misfortune..."
"Jiang Ning!"
Liu Ming'an watched helplessly as Jiang Ning once again sank into her own thoughts, unable to escape. He called out to her anxiously.
"...Since this matter started because of me, I should end it myself. Liu Ming'an, you're a good person. Your hands are clean, but mine aren't. I don't mind if a few more—"
Jiang Ning didn't finish saying "lives," because Liu Ming'an reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
The warmth of another person's body transmitted through their clothes. A faint scent of ink lingered in her nostrils. Jiang Ning initially wanted to raise her hands to push Liu Ming'an away, but in the end, as if possessed, she lowered them and docilely allowed him to hold her.
Liu Ming'an had one arm around Jiang Ning's waist and the other hand cradling the back of her head, holding her tightly against him. Looking at Jiang Ning quietly nestled in his arms, a pained expression flashed across his eyes.
From Jiang Ning's words just now, Liu Ming'an had detected self-doubt, self-negation, and self-loathing. Why would a girl in the prime of her youth live like this? She must have experienced some kind of trauma.
Liu Ming'an also recalled the first time he saw her in the cage, covered in wounds yet still like an unyielding lone wolf—calm, sharp, and full of wariness.
"Jiang Ning," Liu Ming'an held her even tighter, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze in March. "Don't have these strange thoughts anymore. You haven't implicated me. Being able to know you is my greatest fortune."
The evening breeze began to rise in the courtyard. Jiang Ning didn't struggle, allowing Liu Ming'an to embrace her fully.
Liu Ming'an knew Jiang Ning harbored some extreme thoughts and patiently tried to persuade her: "The county magistrate is an upright and honest official. Trust me, even if he can't uncover the truth, you shouldn't..."
Liu Ming'an paused, remembering Jiang Ning's martial skills that were no less than Zhao Qiang's, and her action of carrying a knife out today. His heart inevitably sank.
"Please don't have any radical ideas, okay?" Liu Ming'an looked down at the expressionless person in his arms and inwardly sighed.
Jiang Ning remained silent, offering no promise to Liu Ming'an. She had misjudged; both the monkey and Old Six Hu were not good people. With such individuals, if you don't eliminate them completely, they will undoubtedly cause endless trouble in the future.
After a long while, Liu Ming'an seemed to sigh in resignation: "Jiang Ning, you shouldn't be this kind of person."
Jiang Ning's eyes flickered uncontrollably. This was the second time she had heard Liu Ming'an say these words to her.
"You still don't understand. I was born this way." Jiang Ning finally spoke, her long eyelashes lowered, hiding all expression. "I'm not a good person. When someone offends me, I just want to kill them, just like..."
At this point, Jiang Ning broke free from Liu Ming'an's embrace, her gaze firmly fixed on his eyes: "Like He Wen, who died back then."
Liu Ming'an's pupils contracted instantly as he looked at Jiang Ning in disbelief.
"Do you know how he died?" It felt as if a wound in her heart was being torn open, but Jiang Ning recklessly poured salt on it: "I held his head down, pushed him into the pond, and watched him take his last breath. Afterward, I tampered with the scene, leaving no trace for the coroner to detect..."
"Tonight when I went out, I was planning to kill again. Those two from the Gold Jade Hall provoked me, so I intended to make them the next victims of my blade. I have the skill to kill, and even more so, the ability to walk away unscathed after the deed..."
"Human life is the cheapest thing in my eyes. This is who I am - born cold-blooded, numb, and cruel. Do you understand?"
Liu Ming'an was so horrified by each word that he couldn't utter a sound. He heard every word Jiang Ning said clearly, but he doubted his own ears, even believing it must be a nightmare.