Chapter 69 Finding a Way Out The village was like a well that was gradually drying up, and then…

It was a rare clear night, and even the wind seemed calm.

Bamboo lanterns swayed under the eaves as the villagers led their honored guests to an open space on the east side of the village, where a large bonfire had already been set up, crackling and illuminating their faces.

Seeing Danzhu standing alone on the outskirts of the crowd, still wearing her blood-stained clothes, the mountain people passing by quietly avoided her, either out of awe or fear.

Ayan quickly had someone bring her a new set of clothes, then personally went up to Danzhu and handed them to her: "Sister Danzhu, please change your clothes."

Danzhu looked at Ayan and finally nodded.

"Don't worry," Ayan took the knife from her hand, "You're safe now. There's no one in the village who would harm you."

Those who participated in the rebellion have been driven out of the village, their fates left to chance.

Danzhu let out a long sigh of relief: "...Alright."

As Ayan watched her departing figure, she felt as if Danzhu had shed some shackles that had lasted for many years.

After changing her clothes, Danzhu silently returned to the campfire.

She was used to being alone, and because of Allen's excessive contact, she had a subtle aversion to social interaction.

The women of Luxi Village warmly pulled her to the center.

"I heard you killed your enemy?" Cui Pingchun scrutinized Danzhu and suddenly realized how ridiculous his previous idea of ​​"saving" her had been.

After lying low for ten years, he finally got a chance to take revenge. If this story were recorded in history books, he might be remembered for generations.

"Miss Cheng, you are truly admirable," she exclaimed.

This title, however, subtly stung Danzhu.

She shook her head: "I'm no longer Miss Cheng."

From the day she was abducted, her family treated her as if she were already dead.

But she struggled painfully in Ah Lian's hands for a long time before she finally realized this fact.

Both were women who had fled their families, and the two immediately understood each other and stopped mentioning the matter.

"Danzhu," Cui Ling, who was beside her, touched the back of her hand and said softly, "You've suffered so much these past years."

"It must have hurt a lot when you aborted that child, right?"

Danzhu's eyes glazed over for a moment.

She was already contemplating suicide at the time, and after unexpectedly becoming pregnant with an illegitimate child, she became even more listless and delirious, overwhelmed by a strong sense of self-loathing.

Li Shan barged in to take her away, but she didn't even have the courage to look up.

Even if she escapes, what good will it do? There is no place for her in this world anymore.

She created countless accidents, finally getting rid of that unwanted mass of flesh and blood. Looking at Ah Lian's shocked expression, she felt a long-lost sense of pleasure.

But that's not enough.

What she wanted was complete liberation.

However, she never had access to any weapons, nor could she poison his food. She could only wait day after day for the opportunity to kill him.

She finally realized her chance had come when he told her to draw her sword.

At that moment, she was so excited that she trembled uncontrollably, her body trembling with alternating excitement and murderous intent.

For the first time in all those years of pain and numbness, she felt herself living so clearly.

yes.

She endured ten years of hardship, just to live for this one moment.

"I've long forgotten how I felt back then," Danzhu said softly.

She picked up a full glass of wine, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

“I often feel that everything over the years has been fake. The days when I was a well-bred young lady in the family were fake, and the days when I was kidnapped and imprisoned in the village were also fake.”

"Perhaps I died when I was sixteen, and all that remains is a wronged soul filled with resentment."

She put down her wine glass: "Now that my great revenge has been achieved, I don't know where to go next."

"...Do you want to come to Luxi Village?" Cui Pingchun turned his head.

She glanced at Wen Yu, who was busy with Wen Qingshi and A Yan on the other side, and then thought of her past experiences: "No one there will talk about your past. You can farm, work, and live an upright life."

This woman endured ten years of suffering fueled by hatred. Now that her hatred has been resolved, she needs to find something new to rely on in order to live like a human being, rather than a walking corpse.

“Miss Cui, I understand your good intentions,” Danzhu shook her head, “but how can the world tolerate a woman like me?”

Losing one's "innocence" and "chastity" is the greatest sin, not to mention that she also committed the crime of "murdering her husband." If people knew, they would surely curse her behind her back.

She never dared to struggle because she dared not face the world's gaze.

Words are like swords; they can truly kill a person.

“None of us are accepted by this world.” Cui Pingchun smiled and said magnanimously, “I ran away from my marriage and ran away from my family to open a clinic here. People say I’m unconventional.”

"Miaozhi divorced her husband and raised her daughter alone. She also became a teacher at a school. People said she was rebelling against the Heavenly Gang."

"After her divorce, my aunt took her ex-husband to court and exposed the crimes of his entire family. People said she was heartless and ungrateful."

"When she was young, she disguised herself as a man to participate in a literary competition and won first place, but then revealed her true identity as a woman in public. People called her a fraud."

“What the world cannot tolerate, Luxi Village can.”

Danzhu looked at the women in front of her; each one seemed to be a person with firm convictions, as if no storm could ever shake them.

“You killed your enemy with your own hands, which is a great act of justice, and it is not your fault.”

Cui Pingchun looked at Danzhu with burning eyes: "Do you believe it or not, one day, the era that belongs to us women will come."

"By then, not only will Luxi Village be able to accommodate us, but the whole world will be able to accommodate us."

Danzhu pondered for a long time before finally nodding: "Okay."

She's willing to believe again.

Back then, she couldn't believe that Li Shan could save her from her misery, but she missed the chance to escape and sank into despair for ten years.

This time, faced with a lifeline, she didn't want to let go.

----

On the other side, Wen Qingshi volunteered to help. She always had an endless curiosity about these novel things and quickly became friends with the people around her.

She learned very quickly. Although there were still some language barriers, she soon learned some common phrases and imitated a few, which made the older girls next to her laugh.

Seeing that the time was right, Wen Yu leaned closer and whispered, "Qing Shi, do you think A Yan and the others are suitable to study at our school?"

Wen Qingshi was somewhat surprised: "Them?"

Upon closer reflection, it does make sense.

Everything in this mountain village was very primitive. Before today, many people still believed in so-called gods, there were no people who knew medicine, and not many people were literate.

Such a counterfeit business is destined to fail in the long run. The only way to break the deadlock is to go out and actively engage with the outside world.

That would definitely require someone with a special status to act as this hub—such as the clan chief's daughter.

In an instant, all the advantages and disadvantages were clearly analyzed.

Using the excuse of helping, Wen Qingshi approached Ayan, who was flipping the grilled meat, and asked, "Ayan, do you want to study?"

"Reading?" Ayan was taken aback.

Her mother had said something similar before.

What was her response at that time?

Her mother used to teach her to speak Mandarin and even used charcoal to write characters on a stone slab to teach her to recognize them.

She found it difficult to pronounce and always wanted to slack off, so she deliberately asked, "Mother, why do we have to learn the city people's language? Aren't they all said to be very bad, and that our ancestors came to the mountains to escape them?"

Li Shan put down her charcoal pencil: "Ayan, the city people have many skills. They can cultivate fertile fields, forge weapons, and understand things we don't."

“We can’t stay trapped in the mountains forever. We will have to come down from the mountains one day. When that time comes, we must be able to deal with whatever comes our way, whether it is good or bad.”

Seeing that her daughter seemed to understand but not quite, Li Shan gently patted her head: "Study hard, you'll need it someday."

Now, those words have indeed come true.

She did start thinking about leaving the village to learn some skills from outside and bring them home so that the villagers could learn new things.

Seeing that she seemed to be able to persuade her, Wen Qingshi continued to ask, "Would you like to come to our academy? There are many girls there around your age who are learning what they want to learn."

"You can study literature and history, medicine, astronomy, geography, or science. The academy has everything."

"I need to ask my mother first," Ayan said hesitantly.

She was indeed very interested in the opportunity, but she couldn't let go of her mother who had just given birth.

Ah Chao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said seriously, "Sister, you go ahead. I'll take care of Mother."

Ayan ruffled her sister's hair and chuckled, "How old are you to say things like that?"

“I’m serious.” A-Chao looked at her earnestly and said, “You are the future clan leader. Whether you lead everyone down the mountain or stay in the mountains, it’s always good to learn more skills.”

“The village is becoming more and more isolated, and we can’t even find a doctor to help with childbirth. If it weren’t for the good luck this time, with a few doctors helping us, my mother would have been in danger.”

“If this continues, the number of people in the village will only decrease, and one day it will be driven to despair.”

She held Ayan's hand: "It doesn't matter whether I go out or not, but it's different for you. Your decision is related to the future of the entire village."

These words struck a chord with Ayan.

She did feel that things couldn't continue like this, but she was still young and unsure about making such a big decision.

The words Li Shan had spoken echoed in her ears again.

"As the clan chief, I must not only ensure that my people have enough to eat today, but also see the way forward for tomorrow. Our ancestors fled into the mountains to survive, but if one day these mountains become a cage that traps us, we must have the courage to go out."

She suddenly understood her mother's painstaking efforts over the years: why she taught her to speak Mandarin, and why she treated Ah Chao, who came from a "city" background, well.

The village is like a well that is gradually drying up; if it doesn't find a new source of water, it will eventually run dry.

“Ah Chao is right.” Ah Yan raised her head and finally made up her mind, “I should go out and take a look.”

When she looked at Wen Qing, the other person waited quietly for her answer, his gaze gentle.

"I will tell my mother my decision when she wakes up."

Ayan smiled and said, "I want to go to your academy to learn things that I can't learn in the village."

Just then, Chen Miaozhi returned carrying her sleeping little sister. Upon hearing this, she smiled and asked, "So, you've made up your mind?"

Knowing that Chen Miaozhi had just gone to visit Li Shan in her room, Ayan quickly asked, "Is Mother alright?"

"The clan leader woke up for a while, ate some food, and went back to sleep. You can see her tomorrow," Chen Miaozhi reassured her.

Then, she handed the little girl to Ayan and said with a smile, "The clan chief hasn't named her yet. She said she wants you, her older sister, to name her."

Ayan stared blankly at her younger sister's flushed face wrapped in swaddling clothes: "Huh? Me?"

She hasn't received much formal education!

“She said that you are the next clan leader, and many things will be left to you to decide,” Chen Miaozhi said slowly. “If she is no longer here, you will be the one to lead your sisters down the line.”

My mother was so amazing, how could she be gone one day?

Without her mother, how could she support the entire tribe...?

Ayan instinctively wanted to refute, but then she remembered that her mother had not been present during the day.

She executed the traitor with the chieftain's bow.

Before she knew it, she had taken over the responsibilities of the clan leader, and... she wasn't doing a bad job.

“My mother said that she named me Yan because she hoped that I could inherit the fiery red robe that belonged to the clan leader.” Yan glanced at the flickering firelight on the other side. “She named Achao because she hoped that she would be like the rising sun and have a bright future ahead of her.”

"She doesn't want us to be gentle and virtuous, she only hopes that we will take up swords and arrows and stand tall and upright."

The sleeping little girl seemed to sense something and murmured something in her arms.

Ayan looked down at her childish face and said, "Then, let's call her Acan."

May her life be as fiery as fire, shining brightly and endlessly.

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Author's note: Don't worry, I will not abandon the story or stop writing.

Writing has become as essential to me as breathing; it's an indispensable part of my life. [Hugs]

At first, I wrote this story just to challenge myself with a new subject, without thinking too much about it. But once I picked up the pen, I realized that I couldn't just tell one person's story.

Once I started writing about "her," I wanted to write about more "them," and that's how the number of characters in the story grew, but they all got better and better.

May we emerge from suffering and journey towards the spring mountains.