Chapter 108 Bai Xiuming, the sun has set.
After only a short while, Bai Xiuming sensed that the person in his arms was becoming restless.
She shifted slightly, adjusted her posture, and rested her head on his shoulder, her fingers still playing with his hair.
Bai Xiuming looked at the sun steadily sinking on the horizon and couldn't help but laugh silently.
He looked down at Achan nestled in his arms; her soft, delicate body was radiating warmth that made him unwilling to let go.
Feeling the vibration in his chest, Achan turned her neck. From this angle, she could only see his clearly defined jawline and his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
Achan stared at his Adam's apple for a while, finding it amusing, but still refrained from reaching out.
After a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Bai Xiuming, aren't you tired?"
"Not tired."
"oh."
But she was getting a little tired from being carried, and Ah Chan yawned. She was still sleepy and would fall asleep in a little while.
"Are you still sad?" Achan straightened up slightly, tilting her neck back a little, wanting to see his expression.
Bai Xiuming calmly pressed her head back onto his shoulder: "Sad."
Ah Chan tried to hold back, but couldn't help muttering under her breath, "You're so hard to please."
That little girl was fine after only being held and comforted for a short while, but how long has he been holding her?
"Be patient, I'm sad right now."
"Only someone who's really heartbroken would talk like that," Ah Chan pouted and said deliberately, "You're such a grown-up, why are you still heartbroken for so long? I never am."
"So you only cry secretly when you're sick?"
Achan froze, then shouted, "I didn't!"
"It's okay to cry, only I saw it."
"Oh." Ah Chan was relieved.
She had just relaxed when she heard Bai Xiuming continue, "And Feng Yang and Jiang Kai too."
After a moment of silence, she tugged at his clothes and said seriously, "Let's go back and silence them."
With her voice all around him, Bai Xiuming slowly closed his eyes. The gloomy mood he had felt since arriving in Xiling seemed to have finally seen the light of day.
"Did you hear me?"
"I heard that, I'll deal with it when I get back."
Although he was just trying to coax her, Achan immediately became happy.
Sensing that he seemed less unhappy, Achan became more talkative: "Bai Xiuming."
"Um?"
"Will we have to take a carriage back to the capital?" Suddenly realizing that there might be no Xue on the way back, her mood dipped for a moment.
"If you don't want to ride in a carriage, I can take you away."
"Never mind." Achan hesitated for a moment but then refused. "I can't leave Huiniang behind, and I bought so many things. I have to go with them."
“You can let her travel with the entourage returning to the capital; no one will touch your things,” Bai Xiuming suggested.
"Then will you take me flying back?"
"Can."
"You have to carry me on your back, the wind is too strong in the sky, you need to shield me from it."
"Um."
"Go slower, I choked last time."
"good."
Suddenly receiving a completely obedient order from Bai Xiu, A Chan's eyes darted around as she asked, "Are those who were captured also going back to the capital with us?"
"Some of them will be sent to the capital."
"Then... what about the Shen family? Will they also be sent to the capital?"
Bai Xiuming did not answer.
After waiting for a while without getting an answer, she leaned close to Bai Xiuming's ear and said, word by word, "Bai, Xiu, Ming, did you hear me?"
"I heard you, but I don't want to answer."
How could she not want to answer? Her probing had only just begun; was she going to fail so easily?
"Just tell me, I'm so curious."
Are you curious about everyone in the Shen family, or do you only want to know about the one person you care about?
Achan was taken aback for a moment, then asked matter-of-factly, "Aren't you in a bad mood? Why are you concerned about such trivial matters?"
Even though I was in such a bad mood, I still couldn't make him any more gullible. It's simply outrageous!
"Probably because I know you don't come to my door unless you have a reason."
As the two were talking, a gentle breeze blew by, ruffling Achan's hair.
Before Achan could even raise her hand, Bai Xiuming tucked the stray hairs that had blown onto her face behind her ear. His fingers touched her small, soft earlobe.
Now that he already knew, Achan stopped beating around the bush. She grabbed his hand and tentatively asked, "Then... could you quietly let her go?"
After saying that, she felt that she had been too blunt, so she continued to try to justify herself: "Look, Shen Huixue has been in the capital all these years, and the Shen family looks down on her because she is a half-demon, and they don't associate with her. Now that the Shen family has committed a crime, she has to be sentenced as well. How unreasonable is that?"
Is there anything else?
Achan paused for a moment: "And Shen Huixue's mother."
Although she never showed it, Achan didn't actually like Shen Qingwu as much as Huixue.
Even though Sixth Uncle's death wasn't Shen Qingwu's fault, Achan would still take her anger out on him.
If it weren't for Shen Qingwu, and if it weren't for the Shen family, Uncle Liu might not have died so easily.
She used Shen Qingwu to deal with the Shen family. Shen Qingwu was fully aware of this and accepted her manipulation, which was tantamount to accepting the same fate as the Shen family.
When Achan made this decision, she never hesitated.
Originally, she didn't want to bother with Shen Qingwu, but the words still came out. She thought that Huixue had already lost her father and would be happy to stay with her mother.
Having family by your side is always better than being alone.
"She's innocent too?"
"She's not entirely innocent, after all, she's Shen Zhiheng's younger sister." Achan changed the subject. "However, she's been mentally unstable for over a decade, only recently showing signs of improvement. Whatever the Shen family did, it's not her fault. Besides, it was entirely her help that drove the Dragon Mother mad. Even if we don't reward her, we can't let her die with the Shen family, don't you think?"
After she finished speaking, Achan looked at Bai Xiuming with anticipation.
“Hmm, that sounds reasonable.” After Bai Xiuming finished speaking, A Chan’s eyes lit up slightly, but then she heard him change his tone, “But it won’t work.”
Ah Chan was dumbfounded. He had nodded no matter what she said just now, so why did he change his mind in the blink of an eye?
"How can men be so fickle?" Achan complained.
"Is it because I'm easier to talk to when I'm upset?"
His perfunctory explanation made Achan even angrier: "Why don't you just stay sad!"
"Didn't you manage to appease him?"
Ah Chan's face turned red with anger. Why did she inexplicably soften her heart and coax this person? She was furious!
Seeing her angry expression, Bai Xiuming suddenly said, "You've come up with so many reasons for them, but what about you?"
"Me?" Achan was taken aback. She straightened up and looked at the man who had suddenly become somewhat serious.
Bai Xiuming met her gaze and asked, "Why are you helping them? Why do you have to take action against the Shen family?"
Seeing that Achan was speechless, he said again, "Give me a reason that can convince me."
Of course, Achan had many excuses, but seeing his serious gaze, she suddenly realized that Bai Xiuming was serious this time and wanted to hear the truth.
Of course, I can't tell him the whole truth, but I can tell him part of the truth.
After a moment of contemplation, Achan said, "You know, my life was saved by that fox demon, and I have always been grateful to her."
Bai Xiuming frowned but did not interrupt Achan.
Achan smiled and said, "When I met Huixue, we were chatting, and she said her father's name was Liufeng. Coincidentally, in the part of my memories, there was also a fox demon named Liufeng."
This was somewhat unexpected for him.
"Liu Feng was her uncle. They used to be very close, but one of them died in Shangjing and the other died in Xiling."
If I hadn't met Ji Chan, perhaps I and Uncle Liu would have really died somewhere unknown to each other.
Bai Xiuming remained unmoved. He asked, "You came all the way to Xiling just to destroy the Shen family and avenge that fox demon's uncle?"
Achan immediately denied it: "Of course not, I really just came out to relax. Who would have thought that because you had a feud with the Shen family, you found out that the Shen family was related to Liufeng's death."
I didn't originally intend to do anything, but they kept coming up to me to annoy me. Since Shen Qingwu was determined to avenge her deceased lover, I just lent a hand.
Ah Chan completely absolved herself of any wrongdoing, which was exactly what she had originally intended to do.
She is not one to take the initiative; she prefers to wait in the shadows for her prey to reveal its weaknesses before striking decisively.
The more eager and proactive she was, the easier it was to expose her flaws. On her first day in the capital, she encountered Bai Xiuming and was imprisoned in the town jail. This incident taught her a lesson and made her more cautious.
Bai Xiuming's furrowed brows relaxed, but he still said to her, "You are too concerned about the memories of that fox demon, which is not a good thing. You are human, not a demon."
Achan lowered her eyes, her mood suddenly becoming somewhat depressed, but she still retorted, "She saved me, and I must repay this kindness."
"How will you repay this kindness? Find all the demons associated with it, help them, and consider that your way of repaying a debt of gratitude?"
"No need for that. Besides this uncle, the only person she cares about most is her younger sister. I'll help her find her sister and make sure she's doing well. If she's not doing well, I'll help her out."
Bai Xiuming never imagined that one day he would have to stand here listening to people talk about how to repay a demon, and he couldn't even ask her to change her mind.
Seeing her determination, and even having already made a plan, Bai Xiuming remained silent for a long time before finally sighing: "Only this once."
Achan's eyes lit up: "Really?"
"But there are conditions."
"Tell me what you want, and I'll agree to anything." Achan's eyes were filled with joy.
“I can let them go, but from now on, they need to leave Great Xia.”
Bai Xiuming could disregard the emperor's decree, and even if the emperor found out, he wouldn't make a big fuss over the two of them, but he still had to consider the emperor's reputation.
"No problem." This was exactly the result Asan wanted.
At this moment, Bai Xiuming raised his head and looked towards the horizon.
Achan turned her head and followed his gaze. The glow of the sunset gradually faded, and the sun had become a red disc, having lost its dazzling brilliance.
It is gradually sinking below the horizon.
Achan broke free from Bai Xiuming's embrace, stood up, and tiptoed to look into the distance, only to find that the wall in front of her blocked her view.
She moved to the side, but then felt the angle wasn't good enough.
Just as she was busy, her body suddenly felt light as Bai Xiuming picked her up with one hand.
He placed Achan on his right shoulder, wrapped his arm around her legs, and held her body in place.
Achan paused for only a moment before focusing all her attention on the scenery before her.
They stood on the city wall, watching the last rays of the sun be swallowed by darkness.
“White-robed, the sun has set,” she murmured.
Achan was still immersed in the lingering charm of the sunset, and before she could savor it, she was put back on the ground.
The sudden drop in elevation made her feel uncomfortable.
"We've already watched the sunset, shall I take you back?" Bai Xiuming asked.
Ah Chan shook her head, thinking to herself, "He'll probably go collect his mother's remains in a little while, right?"
He'll be sad then.
He spent the whole day with her, so perhaps I should spend more time with him too?
"Shall I go back to the Xiling Prince's Mansion with you?" she asked.
"What are you going to do?" Bai Xiuming didn't refuse, but asked in return.
Of course, Achan wouldn't tell him about her inexplicable thoughts. She found a good reason for her strange idea: "Didn't you promise me that you would release Huixue and her mother? I'll go pick them up."
"Someone will bring them to you; you don't need to pick them up."
Achan was furious. Why wasn't this person cooperating at all?
"I want to go too!"
Bai Xiuming seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled, "Let's go."
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