Two days later, Quan Jinghuai caught up with Hong Xiaoduo and her group on horseback and told her that the government had gone to suppress the remnants of Dalian Mountain.
Those bandits who fell into Hong Xiaoduo's hands that night, those who didn't die, were all thrown into prison.
The three adults and seven children continued on their journey, but Tian Shu and the others noticed a problem: since that night, both their master and their "mother" had become very strange.
The two of them fell silent. Sometimes Master would stare at them absentmindedly, and sometimes he would stare at 'Mother' from afar absentmindedly.
The atmosphere was a bit strange. Tian Shu and the others were curious but didn't dare to ask, and they were all more obedient than usual.
Although Fei Yan was also curious about what had happened between the two, she was certain that there was nothing unpleasant between them; rather, they seemed to each have their own worries.
On the fifth day at noon, we stopped to rest and prepare for lunch.
Tianji came over with a freshly roasted sweet potato and handed it to Hong Xiaoduo to eat.
"What's wrong?" Seeing the child's hesitant expression, Hong Xiaoduo had no choice but to ask herself.
Tianji glanced at Tianshu and the others, and asked softly, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you angry with our master?"
"Huh? Why would you ask that? And why are you the one asking me?" Hong Xiaoduo looked towards Tian Shu upon hearing this.
“After that night, you and Master were acting strangely, and we didn’t dare to ask. Today we drew lots, and I drew mine,” Tianji told honestly.
Hearing what the children said, Hong Xiaoduo realized that her emotions had affected them.
She raised her hand to beckon the children over, and seeing that Tian Shu and the others had all walked to Hong Xiaoduo's side, Fei Yan also quickly came over.
Hong Xiaoduo told them directly that her unusual mood these past few days was because she had lost control of her strength when fighting the bandits that night, resulting in the deaths of more than ten bandits.
The first time I caused someone's death, I felt a little uncomfortable, not guilty.
“Mother, they are evil people. They have harmed countless innocent lives in the past. You are doing this to rid the people of a scourge.”
"Yes, Mother, they deserved to die."
Feiyan and the seven children took turns persuading and comforting her.
The central message, roughly the same, is that it was good to kill them! It was the right thing to do. If they were let go, they would continue to do evil and harm good people.
Feiyan spoke the most, saying that in that situation that night, Hong Xiaoduo single-handedly fought against so many of them, and it was fortunate that she herself was safe and unharmed. Who could care about the enemy's injury or death in that situation?
Looking at the seven children and the adults in front of her, their faces full of worry as they tried to comfort her, Hong Xiaoduo felt a warmth in her heart.
"Actually, I've thought about all of what you've said, but I'm just having trouble getting over this mental hurdle. Don't worry, I'll adjust my mindset, and it won't stay like this forever," Hong Xiaoduo quickly reassured her.
"Mother, is our master feeling guilty?" Tian Shu asked, just wanting to know that his mother's unhappiness wasn't because of their master!
So now we should start to care about what's on our master's mind.
"Ah, what's wrong with your master?" Hong Xiaoduo hadn't noticed anything unusual about Quan Jinghuai these past few days.
Tian Shu pointed out the unusual behavior of their master, and Hong Xiaoduo thought about it seriously and said, "I really don't know what's wrong with your master, but leave it to me. I'll find a chance to ask him what's going on."
Hearing her say that, the children were completely relieved, and one by one they went back to the fire to dig for the fragrant sweet potatoes.
Actually, Hong Xiaoduo didn't dwell on the matter much after that night, but because people had died, more than a dozen of them, and she was just an ordinary person in modern times, not an assassin or anything, it was indeed a difficult psychological hurdle for her.
In the past few days, she has been adjusting her mindset and emotions, and she is basically fine now.
She was quite puzzled. When she first arrived and taught that villain a lesson, she was unsure whether he was alive or dead, and she was constantly on edge.
But now, with more than a dozen lives lost in a single night, she hasn't had any nightmares about it.
I slept quite soundly, and my appetite remained good.
After thinking about what the children had said, Hong Xiaoduo looked at Quan Jinghuai, who was sitting not far away eating, stood up and walked towards him.
He sat down on the rock next to him and said, "Brother Quan, after what happened that night, I didn't even realize I was acting strangely, which made the kids overthink. I've already explained things to them, and now I wanted to ask you what happened?"
"Are you angry because I lied to you that night and went to lure them away by myself?"
Upon hearing this, Quan Jinghuai glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and then laughed self-deprecatingly: "I'm actually nothing, it's just that I feel like a joke."
"What a joke? Brother Quan, what are you talking about?" Hong Xiaoduo didn't understand. Could it be that he hurt Brother Quan's pride because he knew she was very powerful?
Quan Jinghuai simply put down the half sweet potato in his hand, looked at Hong Xiaoduo seriously and said, "Isn't that right? Your kung fu is so high that even three of me wouldn't be a match for you, yet I presumptuously became Tian Shu and the others' master! You can be my master now!"
So that's how it is. Hong Xiaoduo didn't know how to respond to this.
Quan Jinghuai thought to himself, "I was lucky that a long time ago, when I discovered that some lecherous scoundrel was eyeing you, I secretly stopped him from blowing sleeping potion into your inn room. With your skills, you don't need anyone else to meddle!"
He recalled the scene in Tongling where she used her light-footed skills to climb the wall, which was clearly not very skillful.
I've spent quite a bit of time with her, so how come I never noticed how skilled she was?
“Brother Quan, you might not believe it, but I really don’t know kung fu, really. So, I can’t teach Tian Shu and the others. And, I don’t want to hide it from you, as for how I’m so good at fighting, maybe I’m just more talented?” Hong Xiaoduo said very sincerely.
However, whether he believes it or not is none of my business.
Who describes fighting skills with talent? Quan Jinghuai was amused by her response!
My gloomy mood from the past few days has eased up a bit.
"Brother Quan, don't disbelieve me. Even I find what happened that night unbelievable. It's too exaggerated," Hong Xiaoduo said truthfully.
"It's still a bit cold, Brother Quan, let's go warm ourselves by the fire," Hong Xiaoduo called out.
Although Quan Jinghuai didn't immediately feel relieved after just a few words, he didn't feel as depressed as before.
"How is your swordsmanship?" Quan Jinghuai asked, remembering the question.
"Swordsmanship?" Hong Xiaoduo shook her head repeatedly. She knew absolutely nothing about swords; all she knew was how to draw them and put them back in their sheaths...
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