I get stronger every day I live.

Chapter 8: The Girl's Courage, the Forbidden Guard
"Why are you here?"

Seeing the two people visiting late at night, Lai Yang couldn't help but be slightly stunned and confused.

"Uncle, the village chief said he has something important to tell you." Xiao Yaya looked at the village chief.

"Sorry to disturb you so late at night. Let's go inside and talk." The village chief looked a little tired and listless.

"It's okay, come in." Lai Yang nodded, let the two of them into the house, and then closed the door.

Lai Yang lit the oil lamp in the house, which immediately filled the dim room with some brightness.

"It's so late. If you have something urgent that requires you to come to me so late at night, can't you tell me tomorrow?"

"Before that, I want to ask you something. I hope you can answer me honestly."

The village chief stared at Lai Yang solemnly.

"If you have anything to say, just say it directly. There's no need to be so polite."

Lai Yang was even more confused, and had an inexplicable bad feeling in his heart.

"Then I won't beat around the bush. Didn't you kill dozens of people before, including a county magistrate?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yaya's face changed drastically: "Grandpa Village Chief, what are you talking about? You suspect that uncle is a murderer? How could such a kind person like uncle be a murderer?"

"Uncle, please explain quickly."

When Xiao Yaya turned around and saw Lai Yang's expression, her body suddenly stiffened and the words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't utter them.

"Yes, I did kill dozens of people before I came here, but how did you know this?"

Lai Yang frankly admitted that he never thought of hiding anything and he did not think he had done anything wrong.

Even if he were given another chance to choose, he would still choose to kill the entire Zhao family, as well as the corrupt magistrate who colluded with Zhao and took human lives.

The village chief sighed and thought to himself that it was indeed so.

"Uncle, have you really killed someone?" Xiao Yaya felt like her worldview was about to be shattered. She looked at Lai Yang in disbelief, with fear uncontrollably flashing in her eyes.

It's normal for Xiao Yaya to be afraid.

If a normal person suddenly finds out one day that someone close to him is actually a murderer with dozens of lives on his hands, his first reaction will definitely be fear. It would be abnormal if he is not afraid.

Lai Yang turned to look at Xiao Yaya and said calmly, "Remember when I told you in the small temple that I once had a lover? I wanted to spend my life with her, living a peaceful and stable life, but she was murdered."

"I reported it to the authorities, but the county magistrate had a secret relationship with the man's family, so the case was eventually dropped."

"If I can't even avenge my woman, how can I be called a man?"

The two listened to Lai Yang's story with complicated expressions, and their eyes showed a bit more sympathy and heartache.

"I'm sorry, uncle. I misunderstood you."

Xiao Yaya's face was full of guilt.

Lai Yang shook his head and didn't take it to heart.

"So, how did you know about this, Village Chief?" Lai Yang turned to look at the Village Chief again.

Afterwards, the village chief told Lai Yang what happened this morning.

After listening to the other party's story, Lai Yang fell silent.

Did his wanted warrant arrive so quickly? He thought he could stay a little longer.

"I understand, Village Chief. I won't cause you any trouble. I'm very happy that you are willing to tell me this. Thank you for your care these past few days."

After saying that, Lai Yang turned around and packed his bags, preparing to leave the village.

The village chief looked at Lai Yang's back, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

Letting Lai Yang stay would not only harm him, but also the entire village.

Harboring a murderer wanted by the government is a serious crime that their small village cannot afford.

But Lai Yang is gone. What if the wolf demon comes to take revenge? No one will be able to protect their safety then. I'm afraid the whole village will suffer heavy casualties.

"Uncle, where are you going?" Xiao Yaya couldn't help but ask. "The world is so big, let's walk around and look for our next place to stay," Lai Yang said calmly.

Xiao Yaya suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if something important was about to leave her.

"Maybe I'm just thinking too much. Although Liu San usually does things in an unreasonable way, he may not really dare to report to the authorities." The village chief said against his will.

"Thank you for your kindness, Village Chief. However, now that things have come to this, it is inappropriate for me to stay here any longer. If the soldiers come after us, it might bring disaster to you."

Lai Yang shook his head and blurted out firmly.

After a moment, Xiao Yaya seemed to have made up her mind and mustered up all the courage in her life: "Uncle, I will go with you. You saved my life. If it weren't for you, I would have died at the hands of the wolf demon a few days ago. Please take me with you. I want to repay you."

"I'm going to escape, not to travel. It's too dangerous for you to follow me." Lai Yang refused without hesitation.

He is now in a difficult situation and can barely save himself, so how can he possibly take Xiao Yaya with him?

The more burdens and the more dangers there are, the more harm it will do to her and yourself.

He will not do anything that harms others and benefits himself.

Lai Yang looked at Xiao Yaya and wanted to say something comforting, but he swallowed the words back when they reached his lips.

He wanted to say: If I have the chance in the future, I will come back to see you.

Lai Yang was afraid that his promise would give rise to some unrealistic thoughts in the other party's mind, so he decided not to say it out loud in order not to waste the girl's youth.

Even though the probability of this is very small.

He has always been calm and cautious and never makes promises to others easily.

Even he himself couldn't say for sure whether he would have the chance to see her again, so how could he easily promise others?

Soon, Lai Yang packed up his things and put his sword back on his back.

"Village Chief, how far is it from here to the next town?"

"It's probably still a day's journey."

"Well, I see."

The village chief and Xiao Yaya stood at the entrance of the village, watching Lai Yang's figure gradually disappear into the dark night.

The girl's nose felt sore, her eyes turned red, and two lines of hot tears rolled down. She cried uncomfortably. She lowered her head and kept wiping the tears from her face with her hands, but she couldn't control it no matter what.

"Woooooooo..."

The girl's painful and sad cries echoed at the entrance of the village for a long time.

The next day, someone saw Xiao Yaya standing at the entrance of the village in a daze, looking distraught.

After Lai Yang left, the village chief no longer hid the secret from everyone and told the villagers about the wanted warrant.

After listening to it, everyone's expressions were different, worry, nervousness, uneasiness, resentment, disappointment, regret, helplessness, pity...

Everyone was reluctant to question the village chief's decision and discussed it privately.

Now that Lai Yang is gone, no one can protect their safety anymore and they can only protect themselves.

Under the order of the village chief, everyone strengthened patrols around the village and set more traps to guard against sneak attacks by the wolf demon.

The peaceful and quiet days in the village lasted less than two days.

Suddenly, the sound of noisy horse hooves came from the distance of the village.

Soon, more than a dozen officers and soldiers dressed in black brocade clothes, with swords on their waists and a fierce look, came on horseback.

There was also an unusual figure among them. Upon closer inspection, that person was none other than Liu San, who had been out of the village for many days.

The simple villagers had never seen such a scene before. Feeling the terrifying aura of the crowd, they were so scared that their legs were trembling and they hurriedly ran into the village to call the village chief.

"We are the Imperial Guards, ordered to capture the imperial criminal. We command you to hand over the murderer immediately, otherwise we will be considered as harboring the murderer and will be punished with the same crime!"

(End of this chapter)