She simply told Grandpa Niu that sometimes helping evil people was like fostering the proliferation of wickedness, thus good could also be evil.
This was taught by her grandmother, who never concerned herself with good or evil, but only followed the conscience of her heart.
A Jiu rushed out of the door. In the courtyard, out of more than a dozen soldiers, four or five hadn't reacted, while several were already kneeling and begging for mercy.
Two others had their hands on the sabers at their waists and retreated to the doorstep, looking for an opportunity to escape.
Fear flashed in their eyes.
But Tuoba Yan's saber hadn't even been drawn. He stood there, his back to A Jiu, like a cold-blooded executioner.
"What right do your patrol envoy's men have to question matters in our military camp?" the man at the door said meekly.
"Besides, what's wrong with eating some of the villagers' grain? We're the ones who have to protect this village's stability."
"Don't think I don't know you have military pay," Tuoba Yan chuckled, rubbing his nose. The ferocity in his eyes didn't diminish one bit.
A Jiu rushed forward to check on the soldiers who had stopped breathing.
Their bodies had gone limp. Visibly, even their finger bones were shattered. A Jiu looked closely, never having imagined in her wildest dreams that a finger without bone support could be as soft as mud, let alone other parts of the body.
A Jiu suddenly felt breathless. She mechanically turned to look at Tuoba Yan. He had a smile on his face, and his pupils glinted with a pearly sheen.
A Jiu was startled by his gaze. His smile held no warmth at all.
The two preparing to flee through the doorway trembled all over, their eyes wide with disbelief as they looked at the two men who had just been thrown out. The corpses were changing.
Tuoba Yan strode forward. A Jiu shook her head, "Xiao Yan!" No...
"Cut the weeds and remove the roots," Tuoba Yan said without turning his head. He drew his long saber and flicked it through the air, but it was the handle that struck the man's face.
As he fell, his entire body convulsed. Soon, like the ones before him, without a drop of blood, his body went limp.
The other man's eyes widened.
He thought it was from fear, but then he suddenly straightened his back, staring blankly at the softening corpse on the ground. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he looked at Tuoba Yan blankly, clasping his fists.
"General, I am Zhao Kun's subordinate from the vanguard, Number 329. I request instructions."
"Dispose of these bodies. In three days, go home."
Tuoba Yan sheathed his long saber and turned back silently. He saw that the girl was trembling all over, tears welling up at the corners of her mouth, her gaze towards him filled with fear and unfamiliarity.
"Sister A Jiu!"
His voice was as gentle as usual.
But when he reached out his hand, A Jiu reflexively shook her head, her eyes fixed on the person disposing of the bodies.
He was like someone devoid of all emotion, dragging the corpses out one by one.
After dragging them to a place out of sight, a red light suddenly flashed, crackling like thunder and lightning.
The man returned, dragged the rest out, and again there was a crackling sound.
A Jiu sat down on the ground with a thud and sluggishly looked up at Tuoba Yan. "They... they're all dead?"
"Sister A Jiu, don't be angry. I've seen what you're like when you have no food to eat. They clearly had military pay, yet they still occupied the villagers' sustenance. What would you do? What would Uncle, Aunt, and Grandmother do?"
He bent down again and reached out his hand.
Tuoba Yan's words echoed in A Jiu's mind. What he said wasn't unreasonable, but A Jiu was terrified by the gruesome sight of the corpses.
"You... didn't you say you were going home?" A Jiu asked Tuoba Yan expressionlessly. "Go home quickly, don't come back."
"Yes, Sister A Jiu. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I'm afraid it will affect your life, so I've prepared a letter of divorce in advance."
As he spoke, Tuoba Yan tucked his outstretched hand into his embrace and took out an envelope.
A Jiu hesitated before reaching for it, her gaze unfocused as she lowered her eyes.
It was better for him to leave, at least then the case from back then wouldn't be investigated.
Tuoba Yan's heart was filled with mixed emotions. Was Sister A Jiu hesitating? Did she not want him to go?
A Jiu slowly reached out and clutched the envelope, but she had no intention of looking at it immediately.
Tuoba Yan's heart sank, but he always remembered that this girl's eyes held galaxies, and also his home. That mole between her eyebrows was too similar.
Suddenly, a wave of emotion stirred within him. "If you want me to come back, I will."
"No... I don't!" A Jiu's voice suddenly rose.
Tuoba Yan paused for a few seconds, looking at A Jiu for a long time before smiling slightly.
"Okay, fine."