An Ning carried me on her back as she fled along the path.
If I had to carry someone, even a grown woman, I wouldn't have been able to run fast at all.
And An Ning, a grown woman, had to carry me, a grown man. On top of that, she had gone nearly three days without food or water. There was no way she could carry me.
But she did.
She just ran very slowly, perhaps even slower than her usual walking pace.
Every few steps, she staggered, yet she stubbornly refused to put me down.
I looked back. My blood was all over the ground. Once the people who had imprisoned me realized something was wrong, they could follow the path straight after us.
"An Ning, listen to me. There's no point in this!"
"Even if they catch me again and I die at their hands, that's just my fate!"
"You've already done everything you can to save me. There's no need to throw your life away too!"
I grew anxious, pleading with her in earnest.
But she still wouldn't put me down and didn't say a word.
I snapped, "Don't you understand what I'm saying? Is your life really worth so little?"
"It's worth nothing..."
Her voice trembled. "If it were worth anything, I wouldn't be an orphan. I know you've looked after me because of my younger sister. Just consider this my way of repaying you..."
For some reason, those words hurt.
But I had no time to say much to her, because our pursuers were about to catch up!
"You're you, and your sister is your sister. I'm not the only one who's good to you. Everyone is!"
"Everyone has a reason to exist. Don't belittle yourself! Don't treat your life as if it doesn't