The man shuddered in fear and swallowed silently. “I didn’t say I’d rather die than concede.”
“Then tell me, who sent you here? Although they’ve already said it, I want to see if you’re an honest person.”
“Whoever they’ve said it was, that can’t be the truth, because they’ll never be allowed to know,” the man said confidently. “Only I know, but how can I possibly tell you?”
“Xi Bolai.” An Xiaoning asked, “Correct?”
The man was instantly stupefied. “You…”
“How do I know?” An Xiaoning laughed. “Do you want to know how?”
“It’s not him.”
“Your reaction just now already gave you away.” An Xiaoning used the sharp knife in her hand and stabbed it slightly into the man’s body. The man felt the pain, and his face scrunched up.
Feeling the knife stab into him slowly, the man became panic-stricken.
“Wait!”
An Xiaoning stopped her hand. “I’m only giving you this one chance.”
“Indeed… it was indeed him who sent us here. The goal was to get your master’s remains without anyone realizing.” The man’s lips trembled. “That’s all.”
“All of you could have just captured those graveyard-keepers, or killed them and dig up the remains. Why didn’t you do that?” She could not comprehend that the most.
“Mr. Xi originally sent us here to kill them directly, but we have elderly and children at home, how would we dare to kill them? So, we decided to use this stupid method. We originally didn’t want to take on this job, but the remuneration was a hefty sum. That’s why everyone was willing to take this risk. Please spare me, Ms. An, I won’t dare to do this anymore in the future!”
An Xiaoning took her knife away. “Ah, I thought you were really not afraid of entering prison or dying. You were acting so righteous just now, but this is all you amount to.”
“Ms. An, if I’d chosen to concede in front of the group just now, I would definitely die because Mr. Xi planted people in there to supervise. Compared to death, going to prison isn’t as frightening.”
An Xiaoning turned and exchanged looks with Gu Beicheng, the two breaking into a smile.
“Let him go.”
The man who held him instantly released his hands.
The leader of the group was extremely eager to run away, but An Xiaoning shouted to him, “I haven’t finished.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Yes?”
“You and your group have failed your mission. Xi Bolai’s men would definitely search for all of you. Break off all connections with them and move your families away. Judging from Xi Bolai’s character, he’ll definitely not let all of you off so easily. So, breaking off connections with them of your own accord is more appropriate.”
“Thank you… Ms. An!” As he finished speaking, the man scurried off rapidly.
An Xiaoning turned and told Gu Beicheng, “Ask someone to seal this underground passageway. Also, arrange for more people to take turns to be on duty here. I don’t want to move the grave, it’s quiet here, and when Master was alive, she liked living at a place like this. After staying here for so many years, it’ll be upsetting if she had to leave.”
“Umm. I’ll send more people to be on duty here.”
An Xiaoning went before the grave and gave a deep bow. “Master and Grandfather must have gotten a shock. Something like this will never happen again.”
Gu Beicheng followed her and gave a deep bow as well.
The sky was bright by now, and the two went downhill together.
“Looks like Xi Bolai is mainly after you.”
“I know why he’s doing that,” An Xiaoning remarked frankly. “I feel like he’s a complete nutter. I hate it extremely. He wants to catch me? It won’t be so easy.”
“Protect yourself well. You must not let him have any chance at all.” Gu Beicheng continued, “We musn’t harbor any intention to harm others, but we ought to guard against all who intend to harm us.”
“Mmm.”
An Xiaoning brought her people and drove back to her house at Dongpo Road.
Jin Qingyan had yet to wake up, so An Xiaoning wore her slippers and crept into the bedroom with the lightest footsteps.
It was very warm in the room, and she could feel her face turning hot as soon as she entered.
Her hand was icy cold. Seeing him sleeping soundly on the bed gave her the urge to do something bad all of a sudden. Hence, she sneaked her icy cold hands into the covers, and Jin Qingyan was instantly awoken by her cold touch. He opened his eyes, saw her, and immediately pulled her into his arms. “Why are your hands so cold?”
“It was very cold on the mountains.”
“How did all of you survive the night?”
An Xiaoning took off her slippers and climbed under the covers. “There were blankets. Gu Beicheng and I each had one, and we wrapped it around ourselves. In the mountains, one blanket isn’t enough for warmth. I think even two blankets won’t be useful.”
“You spent the whole night beside him. He’s gotten it easy.”
An Xiaoning laughed. “What are you talking about? We went to do serious business. Xi Bolai made his people dig a long underground passageway to connect to Master and Grandfather’s grave. Luckily, before the tunnel had reached the grave, we discovered it in time. We captured a total of ninety-two people, but I let them all go. They were after my master’s remains. I guess, Xi Bolai wanted to use that to threaten me.”
Jin Qingyan frowned. “Why is he so disgusting? Do you want to move the grave over?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Master likes it there. I made Beicheng get more people to stand guard there, so there are people taking turns to be on duty twenty-four hours a day.”
He affectionately leaned on her face. “Do you know what time I slept yesterday, all by myself?”
“After you sent me the message?”
“Of course not.” His eyes still looked rather sleepy. “Two hours after I sent that message, I was still awake. Without you lying beside me, I couldn’t sleep.”
“Do you need some medicine from the hospital?”
He removed the hand he had on her waist. “What medicine? You are my medicine.”
An Xiaoning stretched her body. “Actually, I didn’t really sleep well last night either. It was so cold, and we just slept hugging our legs and leaning against the wall. It was impossible to sleep well like that. Sleeping like that for the whole night, my whole body is aching now.”
“Then, let’s sleep a while more?”
“If we sleep more, we’ll be late. You still have to go to work.”
“It’s okay, I’ll just take a snooze for a while more.”
She gazed at his figure that was within close distance to her, and her nose was filled with his unique scent. She shut her eyes as well.
—
“Sis.” Mo Xun came down from upstairs. “I’ve already found a house. Everything went according to what you said, and it’s all been sorted out there. Should I bring you there to take a look?”
Mo Li sat upright. “I believe your judgement. Wait for me to pack up and we’ll go over.”
Mo Xun was rather surprised. “Sis, you’re moving there today?”
“Umm. I’ve disturbed them for a period of time already, I feel rather sorry about it, so it’s better if I move out. I’m fine now, I can handle things myself.” Mo Li got down from the bed, packed up her few pieces of belongings, and headed out of the basement with him.
An Xiaoning saw her carrying a bag and asked, “Mo Li, are you leaving?”
The man shuddered in fear and swallowed silently. “I didn’t say I’d rather die than concede.”
“Then tell me, who sent you here? Although they’ve already said it, I want to see if you’re an honest person.”
“Whoever they’ve said it was, that can’t be the truth, because they’ll never be allowed to know,” the man said confidently. “Only I know, but how can I possibly tell you?”
“Xi Bolai.” An Xiaoning asked, “Correct?”
The man was instantly stupefied. “You…”
“How do I know?” An Xiaoning laughed. “Do you want to know how?”
“It’s not him.”
“Your reaction just now already gave you away.” An Xiaoning used the sharp knife in her hand and stabbed it slightly into the man’s body. The man felt the pain, and his face scrunched up.
Feeling the knife stab into him slowly, the man became panic-stricken.
“Wait!”
An Xiaoning stopped her hand. “I’m only giving you this one chance.”
“Indeed… it was indeed him who sent us here. The goal was to get your master’s remains without anyone realizing.” The man’s lips trembled. “That’s all.”
“All of you could have just captured those graveyard-keepers, or killed them and dig up the remains. Why didn’t you do that?” She could not comprehend that the most.
“Mr. Xi originally sent us here to kill them directly, but we have elderly and children at home, how would we dare to kill them? So, we decided to use this stupid method. We originally didn’t want to take on this job, but the remuneration was a hefty sum. That’s why everyone was willing to take this risk. Please spare me, Ms. An, I won’t dare to do this anymore in the future!”
An Xiaoning took her knife away. “Ah, I thought you were really not afraid of entering prison or dying. You were acting so righteous just now, but this is all you amount to.”
“Ms. An, if I’d chosen to concede in front of the group just now, I would definitely die because Mr. Xi planted people in there to supervise. Compared to death, going to prison isn’t as frightening.”
An Xiaoning turned and exchanged looks with Gu Beicheng, the two breaking into a smile.
“Let him go.”
The man who held him instantly released his hands.
The leader of the group was extremely eager to run away, but An Xiaoning shouted to him, “I haven’t finished.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Yes?”
“You and your group have failed your mission. Xi Bolai’s men would definitely search for all of you. Break off all connections with them and move your families away. Judging from Xi Bolai’s character, he’ll definitely not let all of you off so easily. So, breaking off connections with them of your own accord is more appropriate.”
“Thank you… Ms. An!” As he finished speaking, the man scurried off rapidly.
An Xiaoning turned and told Gu Beicheng, “Ask someone to seal this underground passageway. Also, arrange for more people to take turns to be on duty here. I don’t want to move the grave, it’s quiet here, and when Master was alive, she liked living at a place like this. After staying here for so many years, it’ll be upsetting if she had to leave.”
“Umm. I’ll send more people to be on duty here.”
An Xiaoning went before the grave and gave a deep bow. “Master and Grandfather must have gotten a shock. Something like this will never happen again.”
Gu Beicheng followed her and gave a deep bow as well.
The sky was bright by now, and the two went downhill together.
“Looks like Xi Bolai is mainly after you.”
“I know why he’s doing that,” An Xiaoning remarked frankly. “I feel like he’s a complete nutter. I hate it extremely. He wants to catch me? It won’t be so easy.”
“Protect yourself well. You must not let him have any chance at all.” Gu Beicheng continued, “We musn’t harbor any intention to harm others, but we ought to guard against all who intend to harm us.”
“Mmm.”
An Xiaoning brought her people and drove back to her house at Dongpo Road.
Jin Qingyan had yet to wake up, so An Xiaoning wore her slippers and crept into the bedroom with the lightest footsteps.
It was very warm in the room, and she could feel her face turning hot as soon as she entered.
Her hand was icy cold. Seeing him sleeping soundly on the bed gave her the urge to do something bad all of a sudden. Hence, she sneaked her icy cold hands into the covers, and Jin Qingyan was instantly awoken by her cold touch. He opened his eyes, saw her, and immediately pulled her into his arms. “Why are your hands so cold?”
“It was very cold on the mountains.”
“How did all of you survive the night?”
An Xiaoning took off her slippers and climbed under the covers. “There were blankets. Gu Beicheng and I each had one, and we wrapped it around ourselves. In the mountains, one blanket isn’t enough for warmth. I think even two blankets won’t be useful.”
“You spent the whole night beside him. He’s gotten it easy.”
An Xiaoning laughed. “What are you talking about? We went to do serious business. Xi Bolai made his people dig a long underground passageway to connect to Master and Grandfather’s grave. Luckily, before the tunnel had reached the grave, we discovered it in time. We captured a total of ninety-two people, but I let them all go. They were after my master’s remains. I guess, Xi Bolai wanted to use that to threaten me.”
Jin Qingyan frowned. “Why is he so disgusting? Do you want to move the grave over?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Master likes it there. I made Beicheng get more people to stand guard there, so there are people taking turns to be on duty twenty-four hours a day.”
He affectionately leaned on her face. “Do you know what time I slept yesterday, all by myself?”
“After you sent me the message?”
“Of course not.” His eyes still looked rather sleepy. “Two hours after I sent that message, I was still awake. Without you lying beside me, I couldn’t sleep.”
“Do you need some medicine from the hospital?”
He removed the hand he had on her waist. “What medicine? You are my medicine.”
An Xiaoning stretched her body. “Actually, I didn’t really sleep well last night either. It was so cold, and we just slept hugging our legs and leaning against the wall. It was impossible to sleep well like that. Sleeping like that for the whole night, my whole body is aching now.”
“Then, let’s sleep a while more?”
“If we sleep more, we’ll be late. You still have to go to work.”
“It’s okay, I’ll just take a snooze for a while more.”
She gazed at his figure that was within close distance to her, and her nose was filled with his unique scent. She shut her eyes as well.
—
“Sis.” Mo Xun came down from upstairs. “I’ve already found a house. Everything went according to what you said, and it’s all been sorted out there. Should I bring you there to take a look?”
Mo Li sat upright. “I believe your judgement. Wait for me to pack up and we’ll go over.”
Mo Xun was rather surprised. “Sis, you’re moving there today?”
“Umm. I’ve disturbed them for a period of time already, I feel rather sorry about it, so it’s better if I move out. I’m fine now, I can handle things myself.” Mo Li got down from the bed, packed up her few pieces of belongings, and headed out of the basement with him.
An Xiaoning saw her carrying a bag and asked, “Mo Li, are you leaving?”
