TSWPF -Chapter 94 Inner Demon

It was him…

Li Qingling jumped in shock at the person in front of her, but quickly reacted. Without hesitation, she drove the arrow in her hand straight into the man’s brow.

The man hadn’t expected to encounter Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou here. He was completely unprepared as an arrow pierced his forehead.

“You…” His eyes widened as he stared at Li Qingling. Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed.

Li Qingling didn’t bother wiping the blood from her face. She pressed her lips together, cleaned up the blood on the ground, and pulled Liu Zhimou into the cave.

Together, they dragged the man into the cave and returned the stone to its original position.

Once everything was done, Li Qingling sank to the ground, as if suddenly remembering what she had done. Trembling all over, she wrapped herself in her arms and buried her head between them.

She… had killed someone…

At the moment of killing, she had felt nothing. Her mind had only thought: she couldn’t let him alert others, couldn’t let him kill her and Liu Zhimou.

It was only after everything was over that the fear hit her.

In her past life, she had lived in peaceful times and had never imagined that she would ever take a life.

Although this man was an enemy to them—either he dies or she and Liu Zhimou would—she still couldn’t get past the mental barrier.

Liu Zhimou reached out and pulled Li Qingling into his arms, hugging her tightly. He patted her back and whispered in her ear, “He was a bad man. He deserved to die. Don’t blame yourself.” Though she appeared tough, her heart was actually the softest.

He truly feared that this incident would leave a lasting scar on her mind.

Li Qingling hugged him back with force, her muffled voice emerging from his chest. “I… killed someone, Zhimou. I killed someone.” Did he feel afraid seeing her like this?

Sensing her fear and distress, Liu Zhimou gently pushed her back, cupped her face in his hands, and looked seriously into her eyes. “Xiaoling, listen to me. If you hadn’t killed him, he would have killed us. If we die, who will take care of the younger siblings?” The moment he saw the enemy, he had already lifted a nearby stone—but she acted a step faster, otherwise it would have been him who killed. “You did nothing wrong. Not at all. Understand?”

“But…”

“No buts.” Liu Zhimou cut her off firmly, guiding her with unwavering resolve. “He’s the enemy. He must have killed countless civilians. He deserved to die.” He repeated these words, hoping she would absorb them and untangle the knot in her heart.

Hearing Liu Zhimou’s words, Li Qingling gradually calmed down. She nodded and said, “Yes, he is the enemy. He has killed many. By killing him, I’ve removed a threat to the people.” Thinking this, her heart felt somewhat relieved.

“Yes, you removed a threat. You did nothing wrong.”

Li Qingling nodded softly, resting her head back against Liu Zhimou’s chest. Listening to the strong beat of his heart, her tense body slowly relaxed.

Like soothing a frightened child, Liu Zhimou gently patted her back, helping her exorcise her inner demon.

After a long while, she whispered, “Thank you, Zhimou.” Without him, she couldn’t have recovered so quickly from the guilt.

“I am your fiancé, your future husband. No need to be so formal with me.” He wished he could shield her from all harm and create a safe world for her, but he was not strong enough yet, and she had been hurt.

This frustrated him, but he resolved to continue improving, determined to let her live happily under his protection.

Li Qingling gave a soft hum in response and hugged him tightly.

“All right, I’m fine now. Let’s hurry and pack up!” After a short while, Li Qingling gently pushed Liu Zhimou and whispered, “I wonder if this man revealed this place to anyone.”

“Probably not. The food is still here.” Liu Zhimou stood and scanned the cave, stopping at the clay pot he had set up. “He was eating alone here.”

Many soldiers had come to Song Mountain, so food would have been scarce—otherwise, the soldiers wouldn’t have had to hunt from time to time.

If he had disclosed this place, he wouldn’t have gotten much to eat anyway. His selfishness ended up preserving the supplies.

Li Qingling, avoiding the man lying on the ground, glanced around the cave and agreed with Liu Zhimou.

“Let’s just carry the food back for now and leave the rest for later,” she suggested. Food was the priority; everything else could wait.

Liu Zhimou nodded. “Fine. Let’s wait until dark.” Traveling at night reduced the chance of encountering enemies, and they could drag the man outside under cover of darkness.

Li Qingling agreed.

They stayed in the cave until nightfall. They carried the man outside and left him hidden among thorny bushes where he would be hard to find. Then they returned to the cave, loaded the food, and started back under the moonlight.

The path was rough. With a thud, Liu Zhimou fell again. Li Qingling set down the food, anxiously helped him up, and asked if he was okay.

He rubbed his sore knee and said embarrassedly, “It’s fine.”

Li Qingling had never fallen before, and he had fallen twice—quite humiliating just thinking about it.

It was too dark to read Liu Zhimou’s expression, so she suppressed her worry, telling him to be careful, and continued carrying the food.

Liu Zhimou, injured in the leg, gritted his teeth and followed her, carefully keeping pace.

Li Qingling, mindful of him, deliberately walked slowly.

It took nearly two hours for them to return. The old man, holding an oil lamp, frowned at them. “Why are you so late? The children were worried sick. I barely got them to sleep.” His eyes fell on Liu Zhimou’s leg, seeing the blood. He asked anxiously, “Zhimou, are you hurt?”

He reached out to lift Liu Zhimou’s pants.

“Don’t—” Liu Zhimou tried to stop him, but it was too late. The old man had already pulled the pants up.

Seeing his bruised, bleeding knee, both the old man and Li Qingling gasped. That must have hurt terribly—and yet he walked back without flinching.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?” Li Qingling scolded, heart aching. “Come, sit down.” She helped him to a chair.

Liu Zhimou smiled faintly. “It looks worse than it feels. It’s not that painful.” If he told her, she would insist on carrying all the food herself.

Li Qingling pressed her lips together, tugged at the corner of her mouth, and pressed his knee gently. He gasped in pain. “Next time, don’t show off.” She also blamed herself for not noticing sooner. “Old man, please help stop the bleeding.”

The old man frowned. “No more hemostatic herbs left? We used them all.” He had considered going out to pick some, but was worried about the children.

Li Qingling frowned. “I’ll go get some!” She stood and reached for the oil lamp.

“No need. The wound’s small. The bleeding will stop on its own.” Liu Zhimou grabbed her hand. At this hour, he didn’t want her to go out. “Don’t make me worry, okay?”

Seeing his slightly pleading eyes, Li Qingling exhaled slowly and nodded in compromise.

She went to fetch clean water, added some spirit water, and carefully cleaned his wound with cloth.

After seeing the bleeding had stopped, she relaxed.

The old man tore a clean cloth to bandage Liu Zhimou properly and then urged them to sleep.

Both Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were exhausted and fell asleep immediately.

Not long after, Li Qingling began having nightmares, murmuring apologies repeatedly.

Her movements woke Liu Zhimou and the old man.

The old man lit the oil lamp. Liu Zhimou tried to wake Li Qingling but was stopped by the old man. He shook his head. “Don’t wake her like that. You’ll frighten her soul. Calm her, let her settle.”

Following his advice, Liu Zhimou held Li Qingling and whispered gently in her ear.

After a long time, she stopped speaking nonsense, and her expression steadied.

“Brother Zhimou, what’s wrong with my sister?” Li Qingfeng asked worriedly, looking at Li Qingling, then at Liu Zhimou.

Liu Zhimou, not wanting to alarm the children, smiled and shook his head. “She had a nightmare. Go back to sleep. Don’t worry—she’s fine with me watching over her.”

Li Qingfeng pressed his lips, nodded, and lay back down, gently patting Li Qingning, who hadn’t fully woken. Once she slept again, he finally relaxed.

After the children returned to sleep, the old man looked at Liu Zhimou seriously. “What happened while you were fetching food?”

If nothing had happened, Li Qingling wouldn’t have had a nightmare. She had clearly been startled.

Liu Zhimou, heart aching, explained everything to the old man.

The old man listened and looked at Li Qingling with concern. She clearly had an inner demon, which had caused her nightmare.