Chapter 70: Go out with a knife and tell the truth
Night slowly fell.
In the new home on North Street in Lingshan Town, Jiang Ning changed into a light outfit, stuffed the dagger into her sleeve, opened the door and walked out.
"Jiang Ning? Where are you going?"
Liu Mingan sat on the stone bench in the yard, looking at Jiang Ning, who was dressed neatly, in confusion.
There are two bedrooms in the new home, and Liu Mingan has no reason to squeeze into the same bed with Jiang Ning. Half an hour ago, they went back to their respective rooms, and he thought Jiang Ning had fallen asleep, but he saw her change her clothes and come out, and she looked like she was going somewhere. Jiang
Ning also thought Liu Mingan was asleep, but who knew he was still sitting in the yard, and he should have used the space to go out earlier.
Jiang Ning frowned and asked instead of answering: "Why don't you sleep so late at night and feed mosquitoes here?"
"There are no mosquitoes at this time of year," Liu Ming'an said with a smile, then slightly turned away and lowered his voice: "I can't sleep, this environment is a bit strange."
Of course, it was mainly because Jiang Ning didn't sleep next to him, and he was not used to it.
But Liu Ming'an didn't dare to say this, for fear of being beaten to death.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning raised her eyebrows and said in surprise: "You are so old and still recognize the bed?"
Liu Ming'an didn't say anything, and heard Jiang Ning casually say: "It's okay, you will be familiar with it in a few days, try to adapt."
"By the way, you haven't told me where you are going?" Liu Ming'an suddenly realized that his question was diverted by Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning went out at this time to avoid Liu Ming'an, but accidentally bumped into him. When Liu Ming'an asked her where she was going, she naturally lied.
"I just want to take a walk and look at the surrounding streets and houses, so that I won't get lost in the future."
Jiang Ning said this very naturally. Liu Ming'an didn't doubt it at all. She stood up and said, "Then I'll walk with you. I can't sleep either."
However, Jiang Ning raised her hand and pressed Liu Ming'an's shoulder, pushing her back to her seat: "It's dark, what's the point of walking? Go to bed early."
After saying that, Jiang Ning no longer cared about Liu Ming'an's reaction, and turned around to go to the door.
"Jiang Ning, you--"
Liu Ming'an felt something was wrong, and stood up immediately, stretched out his hand to grab Jiang Ning's arm, but pinched a hard object at her sleeve.
It was a dagger!
"Jiang Ning, why are you carrying a dagger?" Liu Ming'an's face changed, and when he thought of Jiang Ning's change of clothes, he gradually had a bad feeling in his heart.
There was no way to avoid it, Jiang Ning sighed in his heart, looked at Liu Ming'an and asked: "Have you finished writing the petition?"
"I have written it," Liu Ming'an replied, thinking that Jiang Ning was going to change the subject again, and immediately asked: "You haven't told me where you are going, and why do you carry a dagger?"
Jiang Ning still did not answer Liu Ming'an's questions, but asked him three questions in a row: "Do you believe in the government? Do you think the county magistrate can find out the truth? Do you think that the clerk will let his nephew get what he deserves?"
Liu Ming'an understood that Jiang Ning did not trust others, she only believed in herself.
"So? What do you want to do?" Liu Ming'an heard himself asking this, his voice was so obscure that it seemed to be squeezed out of his throat.
Jiang Ning knew that she had scared Liu Ming'an, but what could she do? Should she put her hope in the government? She had been wandering in the dark for so many years, and the idea of fighting violence with violence had long been ingrained in her bones.
"N, you have to remember that there is nothing that can't be solved by killing people!" The woman's words seemed to echo in her ears again.
"What if it really is?" Jiang Ning remembered that she didn't agree with this truth at that time, and asked back.
The woman raised her lips, her eyes flashing with bloodthirsty murderous intent. She said, "If you think there is, it must be because you haven't killed enough people!"
...
"Jiang Ning? Jiang Ning?"
Liu Ming'an's voice penetrated the eardrums and brought Jiang Ning out of the swamp of the past.
When Jiang Ning came to her senses, she saw Liu Ming'an holding her arm and looking at her anxiously.
"What happened to you just now? Did you think of something?" Liu Ming'an asked after he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jiang Ning's eyes were no longer scattered.
Jiang Ning's appearance just now was too frightening, with murderous intent and dead silence in her eyes, as if she was a fierce ghost struggling to crawl out of hell to take souls and lives.
Jiang Ning slightly raised her head and looked at Liu Ming'an, with a broken light in her eyes: "Liu Ming'an, I brought this unprovoked disaster to you."
"What?" Liu Ming'an didn't understand what Jiang Ning was saying for a moment.
"I provoked the people from Jinyufang, and those things last night were all directed at me..." Jiang Ning paused, and the fire seemed to be burning in front of her again: "They not only want to steal money, they also want to kill people! And these things originally had nothing to do with you, but because of me, I dragged you into it, do you understand?"
Jiang Ning's voice was not as calm as before, with some subtle tremors.
In Liu Mingan's memory, Jiang Ning's voice was always clear and melodious, like the dew drops from the wild orchids in the valley dripping onto the stones. When would she be so emotional?
"Jiang Ning, don't say that..."
Liu Mingan wanted to say something, but Jiang Ning continued to talk as if she didn't hear him: "You were originally a scholar, you should have just studied hard and passed the imperial examinations, but you bought me home. People like me, as the Buddhists say, have done too many evil things and have karma. I will only bring you disasters..."
"Jiang Ning!"
Liu Mingan looked at Jiang Ning anxiously as she fell into her own thoughts again and couldn't get out.
"…Since this matter started with me, I will end it myself. Liu Ming'an, you are a good person, your hands are clean, but I am not, I don't mind having a few more lives under my hands--"
Jiang Ning did not say the word "human life" in the end, because Liu Ming'an stretched out his hand and pulled her into his arms.
The body temperature of another person passed through the clothes, and the faint scent of ink lingered around her nose. Jiang Ning wanted to raise her hand to push Liu Ming'an away, but in the end, she put her hand down for some reason and let him hold her meekly.
Liu Ming'an put one hand on Jiang Ning's waist and the other hand behind her head, holding her tightly in his arms. Looking at Jiang Ning who was quietly nestling in his arms, a look of regret flashed in his eyes.
Liu Mingan could hear self-doubt, self-denial and self-hatred in Jiang Ning's words. Why would a girl in her prime live like this? She must have had some bad experience.
Liu Mingan recalled the first time he saw her in the cage. She was covered in wounds but she was like a lone wolf that would never give up
. She was calm, sharp, and alert. "Jiang Ning," Liu Mingan held her tighter in his arms, his voice as gentle as the spring breeze in March, "Don't have these strange thoughts anymore. You didn't get me into trouble. It's my great fortune to meet you."
The evening breeze in the courtyard gradually rose. Jiang Ning didn't struggle, and let Liu Mingan hold her tightly in his arms.
Liu Ming'an knew that Jiang Ning had some extreme thoughts in her mind, and patiently advised: "The county magistrate is a good official who is honest and upright. Believe me, even if he can't find out the truth, you don't have to..."
Liu Ming'an paused, thinking of Jiang Ning's martial arts that were no less than Zhao Qiang's, and her action of carrying a knife out today, and her heart inevitably sank.
"Don't have any extreme thoughts, okay?" Liu Ming'an lowered his eyes and looked at the expressionless person in his arms, and sighed secretly.
Jiang Ning never said a word and didn't make any promises to Liu Ming'an. She was wrong. Monkey and Hu Laoliu were not easy to deal with. If such people could not be eradicated, there would be endless troubles.
After a long while, Liu Ming'an sighed helplessly: "Jiang Ning, you shouldn't be this kind of person."
Jiang Ning's eyes flickered uncontrollably. This was the second time she heard Liu Ming'an say this to her.
"You still don't understand. I was born this way." Jiang Ning finally spoke, her long eyelashes drooping, blocking all her expressions: "I'm not a good person. If someone offends me, I just want to kill him, just like..." Jiang Ning
said this, broke away from Liu Ming'an's arms, and stared into his eyes: "Just like He Wen who died back then."
Liu Ming'an's pupils shrank for a moment, and he looked at Jiang Ning in disbelief.
"Do you know how he died?" There seemed to be a wound in her heart being torn apart, but Jiang Ning didn't care and wanted to add salt to it: "I pressed his head and pushed him into the pond, watched him die, and then I faked the scene so that the coroner couldn't see any clues..."
"I went out tonight and planned to kill someone. Those two people from Jinyufang provoked me, so I wanted to make them my victims. I have the ability to kill people, and I am even more capable of getting away with it..."
"Human life is the least valuable thing in my eyes. I am just that kind of person, born cold-blooded, numb, and cruel. Do you understand?"
Liu Ming'an was so shocked by every word that he couldn't say anything. He heard every word that Jiang Ning said, but he suspected that he had misheard. He even felt that this was a nightmare.