An Nuan was not killed on the spot.
She was tied up by those people and taken to a black sedan.
By then, An Nuan's mouth was stuffed with cloth, unable to make a sound.
On the quiet night in the already sparse small town, there were pitifully few people around. A sliver of a waning moon lingered whimsically in the sky, looking extremely lonely.
An Nuan did not know where she would be taken, and was also filled with tremendous fear.
It turned out that no matter how many times one went through this, one still could not face death with equanimity.
The sedan shook as it moved, then suddenly stopped.
The moment it stopped, An Nuan's fright became even more apparent, and her body started shaking slightly.
She stared wide-eyed at the people in front of her. With her mouth stuffed, she could only make faint, muffled noises, completely unable to communicate her thoughts. To escape by herself at this moment was merely wishful thinking.
Still tied up, An Nuan was taken out of the car.
The vaguely familiar surroundings made An Nuan's heart skip a beat.
If she remembered correctly, this was the place she had come with Qin Jiang last night to rescue Yu Tao.
So...
Would she be thrown into Blue River too?!
Indeed, just as Qin Jiang had said, this was their habitual way of killing people and destroying evidence, leaving no trace behind.
Tying rocks to people and throwing them into the river was an extremely effective way of killing without leaving a bullet or any other evidence. Unless the river dried up, the bodies would never be discovered.
Who knew how many people had died and how many aggrieved souls were buried in this Blue River.
The more An Nuan thought about it, the more indignant she felt.
The horror was secondary. She truly did not expect that there would still be such dark forces acting with impunity in a place like this, completely disregarding the law.
At that moment, An Nuan felt her body being tied to some rocks.
She looked at the people in front of her, at their cold, heartless faces, as if they were used to this.
Was a human life truly so insignificant in their eyes?
If...if she still had a chance to live, she would definitely bring these people to justice, she would definitely restore fairness and justice to this place!
Her body shuddered.
She was roughly shoved towards the riverbank.
The high embankment loomed below with the dark waters. On this dreary moonlit night, the river was not visible at all. One could only vaguely sense that the river was somewhat turbulent tonight. Once thrown in, she would likely be swept away by the currents.
An Nuan's body kept trembling, shivering in fear and horror, envisioning the horrors that awaited.
Finally, her body was suddenly flung into the river with great force.
It happened so quickly that she did not even have a chance to resist.
In an instant, the water surrounded her body.
Although An Nuan knew how to swim, with hundreds of pounds weighing her down, she did not stand a chance. Her body sank rapidly, pulled down by the rocks.
She held her breath, trying desperately not to inhale water, hoping against hope to escape this plight.
But the increasing depth made her feel more and more breathless.
Suddenly, she felt a little uncomfortable.
It was that inevitable yearning for life that surfaced as death approached, that final nostalgia for the world one was leaving behind.
Memories of her life flashed before her eyes.
This brief life after her rebirth.
She had not yet avenged all she was meant to.
She had not yet fulfilled her filial duties.
And the one she was meant to love...she had not even confessed her feelings to him.
Regrets.
Truly, she had too many regrets.
An Nuan's consciousness grew hazier.
The scene of her past life when she was stabbed to death vividly resurfaced before her eyes.
So this was how it felt to die.
It was...
Exactly the same.
Exactly the same...
Just as An Nuan was about to lose consciousness, she blearily saw a shadow swiftly swimming towards her.
An Nuan, who was ready to bid the world farewell, suddenly convulsed back to life. She stared wide-eyed at the figure madly swimming closer and closer. Soon he was right beside her, grabbing her while using the sharp dagger in his hand to cut through her bindings in one swift motion. At the same time, the rocks fell away from her body, instantly lightening her load. The next second, she desperately propelled herself upwards.
The man who had saved her swam up alongside her, even supporting her body to help her swim faster.
“Phew!” An Nuan finally broke through the surface, gasping her first breath of air.
As that first breath of air entered her lungs, An Nuan was so moved that her eyes turned red.
She thought she was going to die and meet the King of Hell again. But unexpectedly, she had survived.
For the first time, she understood the wisdom behind the old adage that the secret to longevity is continuous breathing.
So she breathed, desperately, clinging to life.
Suddenly, her body was grabbed again and pulled swiftly towards the riverbank.
Only then did An Nuan realize who had saved her.
It was...Ye Jinghuai.
Ye Jinghuai, who had mysteriously disappeared, now just as mysteriously reappeared, rescuing her yet again.
He always seemed to show up whenever she was in danger.
Her vision blurred.
But she was overwhelmed by the simplicity and preciousness of this happiness before her.
She reached out and clutched Ye Jinghuai's clothes tightly, refusing to let go.
Ye Jinghuai seemed to sense it. His thin lips drew into a tight line as he carried her up onto the riverbank.
Qin Jiang and Hu Feng were waiting for them there. Seeing them emerge, they immediately came over to pull them ashore.
At this late hour, all was quiet.
A night breeze brought a sudden chill.
"Achoo!" An Nuan suddenly sneezed.
Qin Jiang hesitated, wondering if he should wrap An Nuan in his dry clothes. But then he saw the icy expression on Ye Jinghuai's face as he firmly grasped An Nuan's hand and led her back into the sedan.
One could tell his mood was foul beyond measure.
Even Hu Feng didn't dare utter a peep.
Now that Mr. Ye and Madam were in the car, Hu Feng also wondered if he should get in. He looked uncertainly to Qin Jiang for guidance.
Qin Jiang's thoughts were:
He also had no idea what to do now.
He was just worried about taking fire damage meant for the pond fish.
Just then, Ye Jinghuai's frigid voice rang out, clearly suppressing anger, "Why aren't you getting in the car?!"
Qin Jiang instantly scrambled towards the sedan.
Seeing Qin Jiang's bootlicking display, Hu Feng hurriedly followed suit.
Hu Feng drove while Qin Jiang sat in the passenger seat.
But where to go now?!
Earlier they were simply told to come here and wait. There were no further instructions on where to go afterwards!
Just then, they heard Mr. Ye's stern voice command, "Back to Qing City."
Hu Feng finally breathed a small sigh of relief and started driving towards Qing City.
In the back seat, Ye Jinghuai draped the clean jacket he had brought over An Nuan's drenched body. Though he himself was also dripping wet, Ye Jinghuai did not attempt to warm himself at all.
Qin Jiang suddenly spoke up, "Do you need towels?"
Ye Jinghuai's eyes flashed sharply.
Without even turning his head, Qin Jiang could feel the stare of death upon him.
Ye Jinghuai really was too damn scary sometimes.
He felt that now even breathing was a mistake on his part!
After all, he wasn't the one who had pissed Ye Jinghuai off.
Clearly, it was An Nuan's doing!
If Ye Jinghuai had a problem, he should take it up with An Nuan!
