Bab 29: The Strange Demon
"You're joking, right? Lin Yuhe-"
"I'm not Lin Yuhe! I'm telling you I'm Lin Changying!"
"What do you mean?? Lin Yuhe, what's wrong with you today?!"
"I-I'm Changying! How many times do I need to say it?"
Lin Changying explained to the entire village what had happened for the past years involving the slavery incident and, alarmed by the commotion, more people began crowding around the trembling girl.
They listened to her story in incredulity while they glared at her in revulsion, forcing them to avert their eyes.
...
After finishing her story, there was a large silence that lingered in the village, yet this was soon broken off by a sudden man's voice. Surprisingly, it was the novel seller from before.
"No wonder! I saw a girl who looked exactly like you yesterday buying my books and she was with an extremely well-dressed man! Who knew they were actually a master and its slave!" He exclaimed in shock.
"I also saw a girl who looked exactly like Lin Yuhe walk into the village yesterday!"
"Yeah, same! I thought it was just my imagination."
"So, is it true? Yu, I mean, Changying?"
Lin Changying sighed, "Yes. The real Lin Yuhe is actually in this village right now... I thi-"
"Yuhe, I mean Changying, how come you're only telling us now?" A lady interrupted.
"I... Because... I..." The girl stuttered, no matter how much she wanted to say, no actual words came out of her mouth.
"It's probably because she felt guilty! Seeing her sister, who she sold as a slave, come back to this village for revenge! Of course, she would confess now!"
"No, I-" Lin Changying felt her knees tremble and wanted to collapse onto the ground, but if she did collapse, it would make the situation even worse.
"Stop!"
Everyone's voices quietened and glanced at the old man who walked past the crowd. It was the same man who worked with her at the guest house.
...
Yu Xuelan darted her head out the window, noticing the place was devoid of any human beings.
If Lin Changying had really confessed to the villagers, she would really be surprised. After all, the girl seemed like she was ready to pack her bags and run away without saying a thing.
She left the room and saw a familiar young boy standing outside. The boy flinched upon seeing Yu Xuelan and instantly bowed.
"Is there something wrong?" Yu Xuelan asked.
"Is gege still here?"
A/N: Gege = older brother
Yu Xuelan recognized the boy was the one who Wu Zhitian was carrying outside the alleyway and smiled.
"Mn! He is, why?"
"Ah, I just wanted to thank him for saving me yesterday! I want to give him some red bean buns in return!"
Yu Xuelan chuckled, "I'm sure he'll come out soon, but did something happen yesterday?"
The boy scratched his neck and whispered, "Well, gege told me not to tell anyone, but he actually saved me from a murderer!"
Yu Xuelan internally coughed out blood, "Mur, murderer??"
"Yeah! He was so cool! Because the murderer was planning to eat me but gege came and saved me in time!"
"Did gege say anything to the murderer? Or did the murderer say anything to him?"
"Gege was so cool! The moment he came, the murderer was so scared and even started bowing before him! But he covered my eyes and by the time I opened them the murderer was gone."
Yu Xuelan slapped herself in the face.
"Young boy, that was probably not a murderer, but a demon!" she thought.
She regained her composure and asked, "Did the murderer say anything?"
The boy rubbed his chin, attempting to remember, "The murderer was even saying that he was taking orders under someone. I think the murderer's boss was called..."
Yu Xuelan looked at the boy in anticipation but he kept scratching his head as though he was shovelling down his deepest memories.
"Oh! Bo Fan! I think."
Her heart stopped.
...
"Stop! Is this how you treat people?" The man scolded.
"People?! Is she even human? She sold her own sister off!"
The man rebuked, "Are you guys deaf? The one who sold her sister off was her mother! Do nine-year-olds have the authority to sell people?"
"Elder Wong, you're only taking her side because you raised her after her mother died!"
The villagers' voices grew louder and angrier, and Lin Changying felt the weight on her shoulders press her down, so heavy that it was capable of drilling herself down in the ground.
The man sighed, "She may have deceived us for the past years, but it was not an easy thing for her to take responsibility for her deeds."
"Elder, please think about what her twin sister might have been through just because of her mistake!"
"Yes, part of this was her fault, but instead of only blaming this poor girl, think about the whole reason why this happened in the first place. It was because of her mother's decision to sell one off!"
The crowd murmured between each other and the elder continued, "But I'm not saying you should blame the mother."
"Elder Wong, then whose fault is it? Of course, it's this girl's fault because she was ridden with stupidity!"
"Humans are indeed complex creatures. Once they lose a target to put the blame on, they try to find someone else to blame. Who are you guys going to blame next? Yes, her mother always stole from this village to feed her children, but why did she need to do that? Because their father had left them with nothing and we did nothing to help them because we didn't even think of them as humans! So who are we going to blame now? Her father? The village? But of course, we won't blame the village because we don't think we're wrong. But who's the father? We don't know. So are we going to put the blame back on the girl?"
Everyone's faces paled, and the noise died down instantly. Lin Changying was speechless and darted her eyes back and forth, speechless by the elder's words.
"Elder Wong, you're basically implying that all people are inherently innocent. If a demon god was here and they beg for forgiveness for their evil deeds, would you also forgive them?!"
"I'm not saying that I'm forgiving Lin Changying. I'm saying that we don't need to throw things at her like rocks or food just to make her feel even more miserable than she already is!" He exclaimed.
"She's only asking us to listen so she can come to terms with her past actions, yet you are all are making it worse by causing such a commotion. What's done is done. What good would it do if you just throw things and curse at the girl? It's not like we can return to the past!"
The elder's voice gradually grew croaky the more he yelled. Some even made sure he didn't collapse from his fuming anger. He took a few breaths before chuckling and pointing at Lin Changying.
"Have you caused enough trouble now? Well, what are you doing just standing there? Go pack your bags and leave!" The elder yelled, though his tone did not have any hints of anger, relief.
The elder and villagers were still yelling amongst each other, but despite all the noise, Lin Changying could not hear a single thing. She clenched her fists and felt a storm stirring within her.
Before she could attempt anything rash, she ran away from the angered villagers. Even so, no matter how far she ran, it was as if a thick rope was dragging her back, not letting her go.
After listening to the elder's words, she could not help but curse herself even more. But she could not return. Ever again.
"Elder Wong, you're just going to let her go like that?"
The man stayed silent and watched the girl run off, not even taking a glance back.
He chuckled, and that chuckle soon became a burst of loud laughter, which led the villagers to steal glances at each other in confusion.
"I'm just a dying man!" The man laughed. "And I wouldn't want to get on Yu Xuelan's bad side!"
Everyone furrowed their brows, an icy shiver travelled through their spine upon hearing that name, yet they were confused on why the elder had mentioned her.
"What do you mean? Why would you get on the Snow Flower's bad side?"
The elder clicked his tongue before walking away, only leaving the bunch with nothing but fear and bewilderment.
The elder sighed and gazed up at the cloudless sky, muttering, "Changying, you may have escaped now, but you cannot run away forever."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone