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墨書 Inktalez
"Uncle Lin, what's wrong?" Qing Luan asked curiously. Just a moment ago everything seemed fine, so why was it different now?
Uncle Lin glanced at Qing Luan and then at his wife, explaining with a heavy tone, "I heard from someone who came from the city today that a village over the mountain has been wiped out. Everyone there is dead, and their houses have been burned down. It was done by pirates... I'm worried that if the pirates come to the city, I won't be able to protect my little bit of property."
"Pirates?" Qing Luan gasped, almost blurting out that they were not pirates at all, but she quickly covered her mouth and held back her words—only she knew who those people really were. Even if she spoke up, no one would believe her, so she feigned confusion and asked, "How could there be pirates here?"
Because she was being hunted, she had never told them where she came from; she only mentioned that her family had fallen on hard times, that her parents were deceased, and that she had fled here with her sister and maid.
Uncle Lin didn't suspect anything further, thinking she was simply afraid. He casually replied, "There are a few small islands beyond the sea where many bandits have gathered. They commit all sorts of atrocities, often robbing and killing..."
"Have they killed villagers before?" It wasn't strange to have pirates; what was odd was that no one seemed to find this situation suspicious.
"Well..." Uncle Lin hesitated at her question and murmured, "Although the bandits are ruthless and cruel, they have never come ashore before. They usually rob passing merchants. I don't know what happened this time; they actually wiped out a village and killed so many villagers, even sparing no children. It's too brutal."
"Is there any evidence to prove it was the pirates?" Fortunately, at that moment, Qin'er and Tide were not present; otherwise, they would surely be agitated by this news.
"Isn't it possible that there could be others besides pirates?" he asked feigning ignorance.
"Who else could it be besides pirates?" Uncle Lin chuckled. "That place is a poor backwater; just surviving is a huge blessing. There are no wealthy people there—who would waste their energy on killing and burning down villages?"
His words left Qing Luan silent. The problem lay with her; if it weren't for her, the villagers wouldn't have died. If she hadn't appeared, all the grudges would not exist—everything stemmed from her.
"Qing Luan, what's wrong with you?" Aunt Lin asked in confusion as she noticed Qing Luan staring blankly into the distance with tears in her eyes.
"I'm fine, just startled!" She gently shook her head and returned to the room where she was temporarily staying, lost in confusion.
"This child... sigh, I must admit I'm scared too. So many people have died; it's quite unsettling!" Aunt Lin sighed as she watched Qing Luan's retreating figure.
"Yes, no one dares to leave the city now," Uncle Lin added after recalling something. "By the way, I heard that Brother Hu's daughter might not make it."
"What?" Aunt Lin's voice, which had been filled with sympathy, immediately turned anxious. "How could that be? Didn't she just give birth? You said both mother and child were safe. How could she be in trouble before the month is even up?"
"I don't know either. I ran into Brother Hu in town today, and that's what he said. I couldn't believe it, but I didn't dare to ask further. Sigh!" He thought of that gentle and quiet girl, so young yet facing such a fate, and felt a pang of sorrow.
The two fell silent; there was nothing they could do about matters of life and death, only silently hope for her safety.
Under Qing Luan's care, Xuan'er gradually regained her health and became more cheerful, her face regaining its color. Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin were overjoyed but at a loss for words.
They wanted to thank Qing Luan, but she refused. She said it was embarrassing enough that the three of them had been eating and drinking for free at Chen Residence, let alone that she hadn't done anything—yet the Lin couple insisted. Xuan'er was their treasure, saved multiple times by Qing Luan, so no matter how much she declined, they presented her with one hundred taels of silver and a gold hairpin inlaid with round pearls. Qing Luan found it overwhelming but couldn't refuse since they insisted.
After staying at Lin Residence for about ten days, life was peaceful. Tide and Qin'er were living comfortably, almost treating Lin Residence as their own home. However, Qing Luan felt differently; deep restlessness and unease stirred within her heart.
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