Chapter 439: Don’t Be Afraid

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Don’t Be Afraid

"You..."

Before she could finish her question, Guan Shan was upon her.

He pulled Ji Huan toward him, his other hand gripping her shoulder as he scanned her from head to toe, his brow deeply furrowed.

"Are you hurt."

’His tone was gruff and harsh, but this had to be concern, right?’

A warmth spread through Ji Huan’s heart. She shook her head. "No, it’s all thanks to Ding. How did you know?"

Guan Shan’s thin lips were pressed into a tight line, his gaze fixed on her.

Ji Huan had told him roughly what time she would be home. When she didn’t return by then, he had grown uneasy and gone out to look for her.

He’d even prepared excuses in case Ji Huan teased him, like Dabao fussing for her, or that he’d forgotten the braising time for one of the meats...

But on the way, he ran into some villagers returning from watching the commotion at West River Gully. Two of the bolder ones launched into a flurry of gasps and laments the moment they saw him.

They told him how the old Ji Family was giving Ji Huan trouble, wondering aloud why her husband hadn’t rushed over to back her up. Then they said Ji Huan had nearly been mauled to death by a vicious dog...

He was long accustomed to life and death, but hearing the word "death" connected to Ji Huan was like a bomb going off in his head. His chest seized with a sudden, dull ache, and he had sprinted toward West River Gully before they could even finish their story.

Only when he saw the distant figures of a person and a dog did his frantic mind begin to settle.

Thankfully, Ji Huan was completely unscathed.

"Who did it."

"Who else could it be? Besides Ji Xiu’e and her ’precious’ son..."

Guan Shan’s gaze turned cold. "They can’t be allowed to remain," he said, his voice deceptively light.

Ji Huan froze for a second, then grabbed his arm before she’d even fully processed his words. "Don’t you dare do anything reckless!"

"He wanted you dead."

"I know he wanted me dead. To be honest, I want that mother and son dead, too. But murder lands you in prison..."

"I have a way."

As Guan Shan spoke, the corners of his mouth dipped, and a storm seemed to gather in the depths of his eyes.

For the first time, he wasn’t hiding his emotions. He let them surface—something sinister, something violent. Ji Huan could even feel the ghastly chill clinging to him. ’Is this... the legendary killing intent?’

Ji Huan shuddered. Unwilling to discuss murder out in the open, she grabbed his hand and forcefully dragged him home.

Once inside, she securely bolted the courtyard gate.

Ji Mingfang and Dabao were in the kitchen, tending the stove. Ji Huan, feigning nonchalance, peeked inside. Seeing that the meat in the pot still had a long time to braise, she pulled Guan Shan into the back courtyard.

"Listen to me. I know that when you were in the army, you got... you got used to killing."

Guan Shan registered her unintentional stutter. His expression shifted, and the violent aura around him subsided a little.

Ji Huan didn’t notice and continued.

"I’m not saying it’s a bad habit. Killing the enemy on the battlefield is a soldier’s duty, and it’s what you’re supposed to do.

But you’re not in the army anymore, and these people aren’t enemy soldiers. We’re just commoners trying to live a peaceful life, and I can’t let you get your hands dirty so casually.

Besides, secrets never stay secret for long. Anything you do leaves a trace. My conflict with the Ji Family is common knowledge in the village. If something happened to that mother and son, I’d be the prime suspect, and then you, as my husband.

It’s not worth dirtying your hands for two disgusting people like them..."

Ji Huan was now almost certain about what had happened all those years ago. And after Huang Juncai’s attempt on her life today, she could no longer just sit back and wait to be killed.

It was true—she wanted Ji Xiu’e and Huang Juncai dead.

But she couldn’t just do it herself, as if she were chopping vegetables. And she certainly couldn’t ask someone close to her to be the executioner.

The environment she’d lived in and the mindset she’d developed over the past twenty-odd years made her want to deal with her enemies in a more "aboveboard" manner. If the law could handle it with sufficient evidence, why burden someone she cared about?

Perhaps Guan Shan didn’t see killing as a burden, but Ji Huan had her own selfish wish: she wanted him to be an ordinary man, to live an ordinary life with her, far from slaughter and bloodshed.

Besides, death would be letting Ji Xiu’e off too easily.

Ji Huan didn’t just want her to pay with her life; she wanted her name to be reviled for generations to come.

At the very least, all of her evil deeds had to be exposed, so everyone would know her true colors and understand the injustice and harm suffered by Ji Lianbai and Mrs. Wei. Only then could the spirits of the family’s second branch rest in peace.

"So, promise me you won’t do anything. I have my own plans. All right?"

When he heard Ji Huan talk about wanting to live a peaceful life and not wanting to see his hands stained with blood, Guan Shan’s expression was momentarily dazed before it settled back into its usual calm.

The irrepressible agitation churning inside him also began to fade.

"Fine." His gaze was locked on her, his tone still grave. "But from now on, wherever you go, I’m coming with you."

Ji Huan let out a sigh of relief, seeing she had finally calmed him down. Then she asked playfully, "Really? You’ll follow me everywhere I go?"

When Guan Shan nodded, she smiled. ’How long can you really follow me, though?’ she thought.

She didn’t voice the thought, however, asking another question instead.

"Has your... has it recovered?"

’To talk about taking a life so secretly, his skills must be coming back.’

She pressed on, "All of it?"

"Fifty percent."

The corners of Ji Huan’s lips twitched. She cleared her throat and said consolingly, "That’s fine. Just take your time to recover. There’s no rush."

Guan Shan watched the suppressed smile playing on her lips, and his brow smoothed out a little as the deep darkness in his eyes began to fade.

Ji Huan’s mind started turning, and she began to ponder something else.

’Fifty percent recovered... that should be more than enough to deal with ordinary people.’

At this thought, her expression immediately switched to a sweet, fawning smile.

"So... I might be making a few... small moves lately. Or maybe I’ve already made them. But as you saw today, Ji Xiu’e and her son are completely insane. I’m afraid... well, not afraid, exactly. It’s just better to be prepared... Anyway, if things get out of hand, you have to be my safety net, okay?"

The implication was clear: if Ji Xiu’e and her son became desperate and lashed out, she was counting on Guan Shan to protect her.

"From now on, the braising work will be moved over to West River Gully. Aunt Xie and the others will be in charge. I’ll tell them to be on their guard and not let any strangers get close, especially anyone from the old family estate. But here at home, especially with Dabao... you have to help me keep an eye out."

It would be a lie to say Ji Huan wasn’t afraid.

She wasn’t scared of simple conflicts or arguments, but this was different. Someone was openly trying to kill her. In two lifetimes, this was a first.

Thinking back on it now, "lingering fear" was an understatement.

If it hadn’t been for Li Shi’s push, for Ding’s heroic defense, she would have been the one with her throat torn out, her blood spilled on the ground, her body left in pieces.

As she recalled the scene, a chill spread from the very depths of her heart.

The cold seeped into her bones, causing her to break out in a violent shiver.

Guan Shan’s expression flickered, and he opened his arms to pull her into his embrace.

"Don’t be afraid."

The words were spoken softly, yet they carried immense weight.

His broad palm patted her back in an awkward, unpracticed motion—the same way she always comforted Dabao.

"As long as I’m here, no one can touch you."

Ji Huan listened to the steady, powerful rhythm of his heartbeat and didn’t push him away.

In his secure embrace, her anxious heart felt like a weary bird returning to its nest, finding a moment of peace, free from hesitation and calculation.

She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a hint of her usual playfulness had returned to her voice.

"I’m counting on you, Guan... husband."