However, to be on the safe side, Su Qiao still took out a needle and sealed Chu San's mute acupoint.
She then pulled Zhao Jingting a little farther away.
Half an hour later, Ding Qiulan came over in a sorry state, a blood-dripping hatchet still in her hand.
With a thud, she knelt before Su Qiao and kowtowed three times in a row.
"Thank you. I can only repay your great kindness in my next life."
Su Qiao frowned. "You're still planning to die?"
"No."
Under the moonlight, the delicate-looking girl shook her head with a resolute gaze.
"I'm not going to die. I'm not the one who did wrong—it was him. I won't accept this fate, either."
Su Qiao was immensely relieved. "That's more like it. The people who committed crimes are the ones who deserve to die. Why should you die? Get up."
"Benefactor, there's no place for me here anymore. I'm going to find a nunnery and become a nun, to atone for the sins I've committed. I'll also pray for the Bodhisattva to bless you with a lifetime of peace."
Ding Qiulan bowed deeply to Su Qiao one last time before turning to leave.
"Wait."
Su Qiao called out to her, took a roujiamo from inside her clothes, and tossed it over. "Fill your stomach. Go downstream and find a small stone cave to hide in for a while. Wait until just before dawn, then leave the mountains."
Ding Qiulan opened and closed her mouth, wanting to refuse, but she knew Su Qiao's temperament. In the end, she accepted it.
"Thank you, Benefactor."
After Ding Qiulan left, Su Qiao tossed the hoe she had picked up along the way to Zhao Jingting. "Dig. We still have to hurry back before dawn."
"Oh."
Zhao Jingting didn't dare