flamboyant - Chapter 8
Upon hearing this, the two men cried out, claiming they were law-abiding citizens and were simply drunk. The swordsman, however, said, "Now I know who they are. Your words remind me of them. I saw their wanted posters in another county; they really have done many despicable things."
The two men shuddered at these words, while Feng Ning was taken aback. What a coincidence! She suddenly realized what was happening and jumped up, exclaiming, "Then I've done a great deed! I've rid the people of a scourge! Haha..."
The swordsman seemed to find her reaction amusing, both surprised and amused, which made his expression somewhat strange. He coughed twice, looked at the two people sitting on the ground wearing only undergarments, and said to Feng Ning, "Turn your back and walk a few steps away."
Feng Ning looked at him suspiciously, but he waved his hand, urging her to hurry up. Feng Ning thought for a moment, then did as he said, taking two steps away and turning her back. Then she heard the swordsman say to the two men, "Take off your pants."
Feng Ning chuckled, then heard the two people behind her struggling and resisting, followed by a few screams as if they had been beaten. Then it quieted down behind her, with rustling sounds as if they were taking off their clothes.
Then, the swordsman said, "Stretch out your arms." Feng Ning was curious; why should they stretch out their arms? She secretly turned her head to look and saw the swordsman use his sword to make a cut on the arms of the two men. He didn't look at Feng Ning, but amidst the two men's screams of pain, he said, "They're not wearing pants, don't peek."
Feng Ning quickly turned her head back, but she still glanced at him subconsciously as he spoke and saw four pale, fleshy thighs. She rubbed her eyes and muttered, "I wouldn't have seen it if you hadn't reminded me. Why did you have to say it?"
The more she thought about it, the more she felt she was being taken advantage of, so she shouted, "Brother, give them a couple more kicks for me!" As soon as she finished speaking, she heard several loud thuds of kicks behind her, and the two drunkards cried out in pain. Feng Ning was delighted and giggled.
What was originally a bleak moonlit night now seemed to have become interesting. Feng Ning looked at her shadow cast by the moonlight at her feet and cheered herself up. In fact, everything can change for the better, and she would have a chance to find herself again.
Author's Note: Who is that swordsman? Everyone should know by now, right? ??
6
6. The Third Wife of the Dragon Family, who picked up her husband...
Feng Ning waited with his back turned, and heard the swordsman behind him say to the two men, "You, use his blood to write 'I am a beast' on him, and you, do the same, use his blood to write 'I am a monster' on him." Feng Ning couldn't help but laugh and laugh, thinking to himself that this man was both righteous and funny.
The last two drunkards, with bare legs and wearing blood-stained clothes emblazoned with self-deprecating words, were hung from wooden stakes in the marketplace. Feng Ning peeked through her fingers, covering her eyes, and thought it was a brilliant solution.
"Looking again?" The swordsman turned around and noticed Feng Ning's actions. He seemed surprised by her mischievousness and gently scolded her. Feng Ning giggled, "Brother, you're such a kind person."
The swordsman raised an eyebrow, standing in the moonlight, looking both handsome and dashing. However, Feng Ning, a married woman, clearly didn't notice. She waved goodbye, saying, "I have to go now, until we meet again." In high spirits, she skipped and hopped towards the city gate. She stood there for a while longer, and when dawn arrived, the city gates opened wide. Feng Ning followed the farmers, who were walking under the starlight, out of the city.
She walked for a while, but couldn't find her way, so she pulled a farmer aside and asked, "Uncle, which way does the Liang River go?" The farmer pointed her in the right direction, and Feng Ning ran off to find it. After walking for quite some time, she finally saw a rushing river.
Feng Ning stood on the high riverbank, watching the rushing water. Suddenly, a vision of utter darkness and the icy river sweeping her downstream flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes, swayed, and felt intensely dizzy. She quickly crouched down, burying her face in her knees, waiting for the dizziness to subside. When she opened her eyes again, the scenery remained the same, but her legs were still weak. She simply sat down on the ground, staring at the river and trying hard to remember. Unfortunately, this time she couldn't recall anything.
It was eerily dark all around, and it was still dark. Only the moon shone a pale white light on the place, and Feng Ning felt that her heart was also pale white.
A man approached her, and Feng Ning turned around to see it was the swordsman. She smiled and asked, "What are you doing here?"
The swordsman sat down beside her at a distance: "This is not a safe place."
Feng Ning hugged her knees and looked at him: "Big brother, you are such a good person. I'm fine. You saw it just now. Bad people can't bully me."
The swordsman asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I heard I had some trouble here, so I came to check it out." Feng Ning spoke honestly. For some reason, she felt a connection with this swordsman and didn't feel awkward talking to him.
Perhaps because she had company, she felt more energetic and jumped up, walking downstream along the river. The swordsman, as expected, also stood up and followed her. Feng Ning walked with her hands behind her back, looking around as she went. The swordsman asked softly, "What are you looking for?"
Feng Ning replied, "I'll find myself." This abrupt answer surprisingly didn't provoke any further questioning from the swordsman. Feng Ning thought to herself, "That's good." She needed company, but she didn't need anyone to pry into her background.
They came to a place where there was a grove of trees on the bank. The riverbank was very low. Feng Ning was a little scared when she looked at the river, but she still squatted down on the bank to take a look. Such a muddy bank was indeed a place where one could be half in the water and half lying on the bank.
The grass on the ground was lush and green, the soil damp, much like the scent she had smelled when she woke up that day. The sky was already beginning to lighten, the moon and stars almost disappearing. Feng Ning looked up at the sky, then suddenly lay down on the grass. She gazed at the pale moon, closed her eyes, opened them again, and then closed them again.
She lay there for a long time, until the sky was fully bright. Her mind was blank; apart from the lingering fear of struggling in the darkness and raging torrents, she couldn't remember anything else. The swordsman didn't speak, only quietly watching her.
Feng Ning lay there, growing increasingly distressed. She remembered nothing. What could she do? No one liked her, no one appreciated her, she had no kind relatives, no loving husband—nothing at all. She disliked the Long family mansion; she didn't want to go back. But what could she do? She didn't even know who she was. Where could she go? Looking at the sky, she felt both wronged and helpless.
She sat up, rubbed her sore eyes, and got up, walking dejectedly towards the city with her head down. The swordsman quietly followed behind her. Feng Ning was lost in her own sorrow and didn't speak to him. The two of them entered the city gate one after the other.
The city guard who had spoken with Feng Ning earlier was startled to see her return, covered in mud and looking utterly sorrowful. He stammered, "Aunt, young lady, what's wrong? Could it be that your sister... really couldn't wait another hour or so?"
Feng Ning shook her head, her sorrow evident. The soldier, thinking a tragedy had truly occurred, was filled with regret: "Oh dear, young lady, I'm so sorry. If I had known this would happen, I would have desperately pleaded for you. I thought... You, please accept my condolences... Don't blame me, I truly didn't know it would turn out like this..."
The more he acted this way, the more guilty Feng Ning felt. She waved her hands repeatedly, "Brother Bing, it's not like that. It was my fault. I lied to get out of the city. Please don't blame me." As she spoke, she rubbed her eyes sadly, "It's not that my sister is sick, it's that I'm sick. I don't know what to do. If I can't find her, I'll definitely get scolded when I go home. Brother Bing, it was my fault. I shouldn't have lied to you. Really, please don't blame me."
The soldier was surprised, scratched his head, and didn't understand what she meant. What illness? Why couldn't she be found? She was going to get scolded. It was all a jumbled mess. But he did understand that her sister was alright. Seeing how upset the girl was, he didn't know what to say. He could only wave his hand and say, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault. Look at you, all dressed up. Be careful not to catch a cold. Go home quickly. Don't be afraid of being scolded. Family is family. Go home quickly."
Feng Ning rubbed her eyes again and said, "Brother Bing, you're such a good person." The soldier waved to her again, and the two said goodbye.
Feng Ning walked dejectedly through the streets, looking at the unfamiliar street scene and shops she didn't recognize at all, sighing inwardly. The swordsman was still following behind her. As she walked, she suddenly turned around and said to him, "Brother, I'm so sad."
"Huh?" The swordsman looked somewhat wary.
Feng Ning pretended not to see it and said, "When I'm sad, I get really hungry. I get sad when I wait for the city gate to open in the middle of the night, so I've been hungry ever since."
The swordsman exclaimed "Ah!" again, appearing even more surprised.
Feng Ning calmly continued, "But I ran away from home secretly. I have no money on me, and I'm quite far from home. I'm so hungry that I can't walk back. Could you lend me some money for breakfast? I'll pay you back when I get home."
This time, the swordsman didn't say "Ah," but his mouth was wide open, staring at her dumbfounded, clearly not expecting his bad mood to lead to this whole mess. Feng Ning blinked, looking at him innocently; for her, being hungry meant eating, which was a perfectly reasonable thing. The swordsman quickly composed himself, nodded, and said, "Okay."
Feng Ning's face lit up with a smile, her big eyes crinkling as she pointed to the breakfast stall in front of her: "Let's go there then." She had her sights set on the stall before she spoke.
The two arrived at the stall. Feng Ning's stomach was already growling loudly, which drew the attention of the swordsman next to her. Feng Ning gave him a look that said, "See, I wasn't lying." The swordsman coughed twice and turned his head away to suppress a laugh.
The breakfast stall was set up by the roadside, with only two small tables, and the items it sold were quite simple: wontons, rice porridge, sesame seed cakes, and steamed buns. Feng Ning ordered a bowl each of wontons and rice porridge, two sesame seed cakes, and a basket of steamed buns. After ordering, she asked the swordsman, "Brother, what would you like to eat?"
The swordsman was puzzled: "Didn't you order mine?"
"That's what I want to eat." Feng Ning blinked calmly at the swordsman's surprised face and patiently asked again, "Big brother, what do you want to eat?"