jdhmnovel Chapter 301: Killing a bad guy and still blaming yourself?
Chapter 301: Killing a bad guy and still blaming yourself?
"Don't try to scare me! Who the hell do you think you are?"
The night was like thick ink, swallowing up all the light. Shen Xing's heart seemed to be tightly wrapped in the darkness, making it hard for him to breathe.
The echo of the argument reverberated in the empty room. Li's contemptuous and cold words were like a sharp blade, cutting into his heart.
"A poor scholar still wants to gain fame without paying anything? You are just a poor creature living in your own fantasy."
There was a gleam of greed and disdain in Brother Li's eyes, and a sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. That smile looked particularly distorted under the dim candlelight.
Shen Xing clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, but the pain was not as great as the anger and humiliation in his heart.
"Although I, Shen Xing, was born in poverty, every bit of my effort is my persistence and pursuit of my dream! How can you measure a person's value with money and status?!" His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and there was an unyielding light in his eyes.
The dispute suddenly escalated in the room, and book friend Li's voice was filled with contempt:
"A poor scholar can become rich first? That's just a pipe dream! Do you think that studying hard for more than ten years is enough? There are so many hardworking people in this world, but how many of them can achieve success in the end? Even if you win the first prize, what contribution can you make to others? For a person who is worthless to others, it's futile no matter how hard he works."
Shen Xing was deeply hurt by these words. He angrily retorted: "Although I am not rich, every bit of my efforts are earned through sweat! I study hard day and night for the ideals and justice in my heart, not just for fame! How can you belittle my efforts like this!"
Brother Li's expression suddenly became complicated. He had long coveted Shen Xing's handsomeness, and at this moment he was overwhelmed by anger. He grabbed Shen Xing's collar and said viciously:
"Well, since you are so noble, let me see if you are willing to sleep with me for one night for your ideal? Maybe if I am in a good mood, I will be willing to help you."
Shen Xing was shocked, but more than that, he was filled with anger and disgust. He struggled to break free from Brother Li's restraints and angrily shouted, "You are simply shameless! Although I am poor, I will not give up my dignity for my dream! I am poor but I have great ambitions! How could I be insulted by you like this!"
The conflict between the two broke out instantly.
Li refused to give in, with a hint of anger flashing in his eyes.
He took a step forward, grabbed Shen Xing's shoulders with both hands, and tried to force Shen Xing to surrender by violence.
"Hmph, dreams? How much are dreams worth in this world? If you really want to make a name for yourself, you should learn how to please those who can decide your fate!" His words were full of threats and temptations, and his eyes were filled with naked desire.
Shen Xing felt Brother Li approaching, and a chill ran down his spine. He struggled hard, trying to break free from Brother Li's restraints, but Brother Li's strength was far beyond his imagination. "Let me go! I, Shen Xing, would rather be torn to pieces than bow to a villain like you!" He roared, with a resolute light in his eyes.
Just as the two were at a stalemate, Li suddenly lost his patience and swung his fist, hitting Shen Xing in the face. Shen Xing was caught off guard and staggered back, with blood oozing from his forehead. He covered the wound with his eyes full of shock and anger.
"You...you actually did it!" Shen Xing's voice trembled with anger. He couldn't believe that the person in front of him was so cruel.
Seeing this, Li not only did not feel the slightest bit of remorse, but became even more arrogant.
"What? Are you scared now? It's too late! Unless you agree to my conditions, you won't be able to leave here alive today!" He said as he approached Shen Xing, with a crazy light in his eyes.
Shen Xing knew that he had no way to retreat, so he gritted his teeth and picked up the inkstone on the table as a weapon. The two of them started a fierce fight in the narrow room. During the shoving, the inkstone almost slipped out of his hand several times, and the air was filled with tension and despair.
In this chaos, Li accidentally pushed the inkstone towards himself.
With a loud "bang", the inkstone hit his chest heavily, and blood gushed out instantly.
Li's body trembled violently, and then he slowly fell to the ground, his eyes full of disbelief and fear.
Shen Xing was stunned. He stared blankly at Li who was lying on the ground, still holding the inkstone tightly in his hand.
He couldn't believe that all this was true, and he accidentally killed his book friend in self-defense.
Fear, shock, regret...all kinds of emotions intertwined together, almost suffocating him.
He put down the inkstone tremblingly, turned around and fled from the room full of blood and sin.
In the night, he ran wildly, as if he wanted to put all the fear and pain behind him.
Shen Xing's mood was like fallen leaves blown by the wind, chaotic and complicated.
He staggered on the way back to the carriage, replaying the scene of his book friend Li falling down in his mind, feeling both relieved and heavy.
Suddenly, several dark shadows emerged from the night and surrounded him. The familiar threat and arrogance made him realize that this was a robbery by bandits.
"Huh, it looks like tonight is really my unlucky day."
Shen Xing gave a bitter smile, but then anger surged in his heart. He knew that he could not sit still and wait for death. So he fought hard, and despite the disparity in strength, he also showed an unyielding will. However, the bandits were outnumbered, and Shen Xing soon fell into a disadvantage. The wounds on his body split open one after another, and blood stained his clothes red.
At this critical moment of life and death, a familiar figure appeared on the battlefield like a ghost. It was the heroine who had saved him before.
She was agile and her swordsmanship was sharp. The sword flashed like a weave. Wherever she passed, the bandits fell down one after another, and wailing sounded one after another. The female knight's movements were clean and neat, without any drag, as if killing was just a daily trivial matter for her.
Shen Xing stood there in a daze, looking at the back of the female warrior, feeling mixed emotions. When the last bandit fell, the female warrior turned around, staring at Shen Xing with a sharp gaze. Seeing Shen Xing's pale face and trembling body, she couldn't help but frown and said, "What? Killing a few bandits scared you like this? How can a man be so fussy?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Xing smiled bitterly and asked:
"Lady, don't you feel scared and blame yourself when you kill people?" There was a tremor in his voice, which was the awe of the disappearance of life and the self-blame for his inability to protect the weak.
Hearing this, the female warrior raised a disdainful smile at the corner of her mouth, and said contemptuously:
"You're still blaming yourself for killing a bad guy? Shen Xing, if you're always so soft-hearted, you'll be eaten alive sooner or later. The government doesn't care about the lives of the people, so are we supposed to just accept it and let them slaughter us? In this chaotic world, sometimes, fighting violence with violence is the only way to survive."
After saying that, the heroine no longer paid attention to Shen Xing's complicated expression. She walked to the carriage and helped Shen Xing up.
Shen Xing sat in the car, staring blankly at the back of the female warrior as she left, but something seemed to have touched his heart. He began to reflect on his own values and ways of dealing with the world, wondering if he was really too weak and naive.
As the carriage slowly drove away from this troubled place, Shen Xing knew that his life trajectory had quietly changed. He was no longer the scholar who only knew how to study hard, but began to learn to find his own foothold in this complex and ever-changing world.
The appearance of that heroine may be the key to the turning point of his fate.