Cum Ama
At dusk in Shanshan City, the wind and sand gradually subside, and the setting sun is as red as blood, dyeing the ochre city walls a tragic golden red.
Although Zhou Yingxue's plan was risky, it was the only chance of survival at the moment, and the entire city was in motion.
Just when Ning Lingyi was busy, the personal guard came to report that a woman was asking to see him outside the government office.
Ning Lingyi was slightly startled and gestured for someone to come in.
The curtain lifted and a woman walked in gracefully.
In an instant, even this simple government office seemed to become brighter.
She was wearing a brightly colored Hu skirt, embroidered with intricate patterns in gold thread, and had heavy, exotic-style gold ornaments around her neck and wrists that jingled as she walked.
The makeup on her face is delicate and bright, her eyebrows and eyes are drawn very long, her lips are full and juicy, and she has a kind of vigorous and wild charm.
Her beauty is like a huge flower suddenly blooming in the desert, warm, direct and dazzling.
"Are you the princess, Ning Lingyi?" Ji Hainu looked Ning Lingyi up and down, her eyes full of undisguised curiosity, her voice a little sweet.
Ning Lingyi also looked at her quietly. This woman was so beautiful that she was also amazed.
So he nodded: "I am Ning Lingyi. What is your name?"
"My name is Ji Hai Nu." She took a few steps forward, almost getting in front of Ning Lingyi, and looked at her carefully. "I heard about your story and came to see you specially."
"What are you looking at me for?"
"As for me," the haenyeo tilted her head, her gold jewelry swaying, "I've only seen women clinging to men, like vines entwining a tree. I've never seen a woman become a general... Oh, that's not right."
She frowned and thought for a moment, "The girl from the Zhou family said that you are older than the general, the emperor?"
Ning Lingyi shook her head slightly: "I am not the emperor, I am just myself."
Ji Hai Nu seemed to understand, but her eyes sparkled with a hint of eagerness: "But you are in charge of so many people, and you can make your own decisions. It's amazing."
Ning Lingyi looked at her bright and innocent face, her heart moved slightly, and she said softly: "You are also amazing. You take good care of yourself. This makeup is very beautiful."
Ji Hai Nu immediately became happy, as if she had received the compliment she wanted most. She spun around on the spot, and the hem of her skirt spun open like a flower to show Ning Lingyi, and smiled at her: "This is my favorite makeup! I dressed up specially to see you!"
"It looks very nice and beautiful." Ning Lingyi praised sincerely.
Upon hearing this, Ji Hainu was even more delighted. She stepped forward, took Ning Lingyi's hand, and led her to sit on a low couch beside her. Her movements were natural and intimate, without any restraint.
She took out a heavy package from a colorful embroidered bag she carried with her, stuffed it into Ning Lingyi's hand, presented it to Ning Lingyi, and waited for her to open it.
Ning Lingyi opened it and saw a thick stack of silver bills, as well as a lot of gold ornaments and gems, which sparkled alluringly under the light.
"For you!" The haman girl said in a relaxed tone, as if she was just giving a bunch of ordinary wild flowers.
Ning Lingyi was stunned and pushed the package back: "This is your thing, you have to keep it yourself."
"Why not?" Ji Hai Nu was puzzled. "I cheated these from those men. They used these to please me. I think if I like someone, I should give them these."
Ning Lingyi looked into her clear yet ignorant eyes and patiently explained, "Since you...earned it through hard work, you should keep it well. You'll need money for many things in your life."
The seawoman hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't have to live on my own. I live with the biggest merchant in the city, Master Barhan. He gives me food and drink and beautiful clothes to wear."
"What if..." Ning Lingyi chose her words carefully, "What if Master Barhan doesn't like you anymore?"
The haenyeo blinked her large, delicately painted eyes and shook her head firmly: "No! Everyone will like me because I'm beautiful."
Ning Lingyi looked at her innocent look, completely trusting in her own beauty, and felt a trace of pity in her heart. She held Ji Hainu's hand and said softly, "Indeed, you are really beautiful. Everyone will like you, and I like you too."
Ji Hainu's eyes curved with joy, as if she had received a great reward. She couldn't help but hug Ning Lingyi.
Suddenly remembering something, he said, "Oh, Zhou Yingxue went to ask Master Barhan for help. Master Barhan has a big business and keeps many beautiful women like me. Zhou Yingxue is bargaining with him, and Master Barhan said that he is willing to let the women in his hands die for His Majesty..."
She pointed at Ning Lingyi and said, "I ran out by myself and came to see you first."
Ning Lingyi's heart suddenly tightened when she heard this!
really!
There are still people who are taking advantage of this to cause trouble and want to drag the lives of innocent women into this vortex!
She stood up suddenly, her face solemn: "No!"
The sea girl was startled by her sudden action and quickly grabbed her sleeve: "What are you going to do?"
"I'll stop Barhan! We can't let them..."
"Don't go!" Ji Hainu pulled her back with a puzzled look in her eyes. "Don't worry, they are willing."
"Are you willing?" Ning Lingyi was stunned.
"Yes!" Ji Hainu nodded. "They are in the hands of Master Barhan, being sent back and forth to accompany different guests, just like goods. If they go, Master Barhan promised to set them free and give them a sum of money. They are willing to do so."
Ning Lingyi felt as if her heart had been hit hard, and her voice trembled: "But this could kill you, it's very dangerous!"
"In the desert, human life is sometimes worth less than a pack animal."
The sea woman's tone remained calm, with a numbness that comes from being accustomed to seeing life and death. "This matter is very valuable. They all think it's worthwhile to exchange one life for future freedom."
“It’s a good deal…”
In this world, the fate of these women is as light as dust. They can only use their lives to gain that tiny bit of freedom. Ning Lingyi's eyes became hot and tears rolled down.
Seeing her tears, the sea girl panicked and clumsily wiped her face with her sleeve: "Why are you crying? Don't cry!"
Ning Lingyi grabbed her hand, tears falling even faster: "I'm sad that a woman's life can be thrown away so easily. Because it has no value, even death becomes a good deal... This makes me very painful..."
The sea girl looked at her surging tears with a look of confusion on her face. For her and those women, this was indeed a good deal.
But she still stretched out her arms, hugged Ning Lingyi, and patted her back as if to soothe a small animal: "Don't cry, we...we feel very happy."
Ji Hainu's original intention was to comfort Ning Lingyi and didn't want her to cry, but she didn't expect that these words would make Ning Lingyi even more sad. She leaned on Ji Hainu's shoulder, which had a strong fragrance, and burst into tears.
Ji Hai Nu was at a loss as to what to do after hearing her cry. No matter how she tried to comfort her, it was useless. In the end, she had no choice but to lean close to her ear, lower her voice, and try to appease Ning Lingyi with a hint of mystery and pride: "Okay, okay, don't cry. I'm going to tell you something in secret, please don't tell anyone."
Ning Lingyi raised her tear-filled face, looking extremely pitiful.
Ji Hainu winked cunningly: "Before I came to see you, I had already killed that old man Balhan. Then, I asked Zhou Yingxue to take all the women in the business away. Before leaving, I also distributed all the money of Master Balhan to those women."
Ning Lingyi was completely stunned and forgot to cry: "You... killed someone?"
"Yeah." Ji Hainu nodded, looking calm, as if she had just crushed a bug to death.
"Balhan was very good to me. He would give me money and buy me beautiful jewelry, but he would also beat me, and even more so those disobedient women. After beating them to death, he would throw them directly into the desert to feed the wolves. I counted and he had beaten dozens of women to death. I was annoyed, and there happened to be someone who could take those women away, so I killed him." She said it lightly, as if she was just clearing away an unsightly clutter.
Ning Lingyi looked at her bright and innocent face and listened to the bloody facts, her heart was shocked beyond words.
She calmed herself down and held the haemu's hand: "Then you must be extremely careful in the future and live a good life with money. You...you are so beautiful, it's easy for something to happen if you are alone outside."
Ji Hai Nu shook her head, a trace of confusion on her face: "I don't know anything, I only have this face, and I can only serve men. I can't live without men."
Ning Lingyi felt a pang of sadness in her heart and held her hand tightly. "At the beginning, I didn't know how to fight or handle government affairs. I learned everything slowly. You can learn too, and learn to survive on your own."
The sea girl thought about it seriously, but still shook her head: "But that would be too tiring. I'm used to being served, and I don't want to work so hard."
Ning Lingyi looked at her beautiful eyes that were used to dependence, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Then... you can find someone to rely on, or you can use this money to live a good life."
Hearing this, the sea girl suddenly burst into laughter, her laughter as clear as a silver bell: "Yes! That's what I think!"
She looked at Ning Lingyi with burning eyes and held her hand tightly, "That's why I came to find you!"
"Me?" Ning Lingyi was stunned.
"Yes, it's you." The sea girl nodded vigorously, her eyes pure and trusting, and her eagerness deepened. "I think you are very good, I like you, and I will follow you from now on!"
Ning Lingyi looked at her bright smile, and thought that she had killed someone and had no way out, and her own future was uncertain, and she felt mixed emotions.
But looking at those beautiful eyes, she couldn't refuse her after all.
"Okay." Ning Lingyi promised solemnly, "If...if we can survive this time, I will take you back to the capital and let you live a good life."
A huge smile suddenly appeared on the face of the female seaman, and it was so bright and beautiful: "Thank you!"
She suddenly stopped smiling, as if she had thought of something, and said seriously, "However, Zhou Yingxue's plan is good, but we, everyone in this city, still can't escape."
"What's the meaning?"
"Zhou Yingxue doesn't understand men." Ji Hainu said firmly, "If a man like Tuoba Hong tries so hard to catch you but can't, he will only become more angry and resentful. He won't care about any tricks or strategies, he will kill everyone in this city to vent his anger."
Ning Lingyi was shocked, as if she had been enlightened!
That's right! She was only thinking about how to escape, but she ignored the character of grassland men! Zhou Yingxue's scheme might delay the situation for a while, but it would definitely not quell the rage of a hegemon who had been teased.
At that time, Shanshan City will surely usher in the bloodiest massacre!
Ji Hainu looked at her suddenly changed expression and said softly, "As long as you die, his anger will be vented, and the people of this city may be able to survive."
Ning Lingyi looked at her: "You mean..."
The sea girl nodded, her eyes calm: "You need to truly die in front of him."
"Or, make him think that you are really dead."
*
It's time to set off.
The night is dark and the north wind is biting.
Ning Lingyi put on an ordinary Hu costume and blended into a group of death warriors.
Ji Hainu changed into Ning Lingyi's iconic black uniform and rode the majestic jade lion horse. She was tall to begin with, and now she straightened her back and deliberately imitated Ning Lingyi's manners and demeanor. In the dim light, they were actually about 70% similar.
The two met briefly at a fork in the road.
Ning Lingyi looked at the woman in front of her who was as bright as fire and yet was willing to die for her. Her throat choked with sobs, and she finally asked, "Have you really... thought it through?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Hainu looked at the reluctance and grief in Ning Lingyi's eyes and suddenly burst into laughter. Her laughter echoed across the empty Gobi Desert, carrying with it a sense of unbridled freedom from all restraint: "I've already made up my mind! I don't want to be like those women, waiting to be rejected by men and then beaten to death like garbage! I want to live and die happily!"
She looked at Ning Lingyi, her eyes filled with joy: "Dying like this is much more interesting than dying of old age in some man's backyard!"
Ning Lingyi stretched out her hand, wanting to shake her hand one last time.
Ji Hainu took the lead, stretched out her hand, and held Ning Lingyi's cold hand tightly.
"Thank you." The haman looked at her with a brilliant and beautiful smile.
Ning Lingyi's eyes filled with tears, and she held her hand: "It's me who wants to thank you."
"Don't worry," Ji Hainu leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of cunning, "I'm the best at acting. I will make that man in Beishuo believe that Ning Lingyi died in front of him."
"That way, you'll be safe."
Ning Lingyi looked at her, a thousand words stuck in her chest, and finally turned into just one sentence: "Do you have any other wishes?"
The Ama girl tilted her head and thought seriously for a long, long time.
The wind blew up a strand of hair from her temple, brushing it across her bright cheek. Ning Lingyi looked at her incomparably beautiful woman, feeling infinite affection in her heart.
Finally, she shook her head and said in a relaxed tone: "I am very beautiful, so I am loved by many men and have also received many good things. I have enjoyed eating, drinking and having fun in my life, and I have no regrets."
She paused, her eyes fixed on the dark sky in the distance. Her voice gradually deepened, carrying a hint of melancholy that she herself might not have noticed: "I am very beautiful, and I live a very happy life. However, there are many women who are not beautiful, and they can't deceive men..."
"If possible, let women who cannot choose their own destiny have the opportunity to live happily in the future."
Ning Lingyi looked at her, looking at this woman who was about to burn herself out like a shooting star.
She nodded vigorously, and every word sounded like an oath: "Okay, I promise you."
The mermaid smiled, and that smile was breathtakingly beautiful in the night.
She took one last look at Ning Lingyi, with something in her eyes that Ning Lingyi could not understand, a passionate and strong look. Then, she shook the reins, and the Jade Lion Horse neighed loudly, carrying her towards the cliff where her death was destined.
She carried Ning Lingyi's souvenir in her arms, and she felt very satisfied to be able to die for Ning Lingyi.
Along the way, she kept thinking, how could she die more beautifully?
She thought again, I am indeed very beautiful and she likes me very much.
She finally thought, I want to be this beautiful in my next life.
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