Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 396: Alas, the Human Heart

Song Lianhe slowly raised her hand, wiped the blood from her face, and scoffed. "He killed my friend. Death was too good for him. As for you, you sniveling rats from the Nanchen Kingdom, even if you aren’t buried alongside this trash, you’ll still have to answer for the unjust deaths of the people in Sishui City!"

Yan Jiayu watched her quietly, the face beneath his mask betraying no emotion.

He did not deny his identity, speaking slowly. "The strong devour the weak; that is the ’Way’ of this world. Think back. When Emperor Cheng Xiao used the turmoil at the border to seize the throne, how many citizens of the Nanchen Kingdom died unjustly because of it?"

He glanced around the area. "I have never ordered the slaughter of this city’s people, but that does not mean someone else won’t. Sometimes, the true enemy is not who you think."

He looked at Song Lianhe. "These people have nothing to do with you, yet you refused to abandon them. I admire that greatly. I just wonder... are they as sentimental and righteous as you?"

Song Lianhe narrowed her eyes, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into her heart. ’In the original novel, the part about Sishui City was just a few short sentences. I can’t predict what’s going to happen next.’

"You will soon learn that choosing to leave with me is the wisest decision." Yan Jiayu stepped back and slowly commanded, "Pass on my order: If these few spies from Da Cheng are not captured, I will slaughter the entire city."

"Yes, sir!"

Song Lianhe gritted her teeth and suddenly laughed. "Compared to that dead piece of trash, you’re a real bastard!"

"And that is why he is the one who died."

Yan Jiayu raised an eyebrow. "How does it feel to watch the very people you saved turn around and raise their blades against you? Princess Qing, I am quite curious. Will you save yourself, or will you save the people of the entire city?"

He turned and left.

At his command, all the city’s inhabitants began to stir.

"Doctor Song saved us. Are we really going to...?"

"Doctor Song? What Doctor Song! Didn’t you hear? She’s Princess Qing! The wife of Zhou Cangqing, the man leading the army! We’ve all been deceived by her! She was only nice to us because she had ulterior motives!"

"That’s right! We can’t risk the lives of everyone in the city for her sake!"

"Since she’s part of the Imperial Family, sustained by the common folk, she should be the one to step up for us at a time like this!"

"If she knows what’s good for her, she should come out and face her death!"

"Right!"

"Exactly!"

Amidst the growing chorus of condemnation, Ah Jun’s face flushed with anger. "How could you? My sister stayed behind just to save you all! How can you be so ungrateful?!"

"Why did Princess Qing come to Sishui City? Do you really think it was just to help us? She knows damn well what her real purpose is!"

"Exactly! King Qing is attacking the city from the outside, yet he sent his own Princess Consort inside. He obviously wants to sacrifice us commoners to guarantee her safety!"

As these dissenting voices grew louder, the surrounding crowd began to close in on them.

"Don’t let them escape!"

"Right! If they get away, we’re all dead!"

Gradually, the expressions on everyone’s faces began to look as if this was all a matter of course.

’Even if it meant taking their lives, it was for the sake of the entire Sishui City! Two lives in exchange for the lives of everyone in the city—anyone would know what the right choice was.’

Looking at face after face, Song Lianhe could only let out a helpless, quiet laugh.

’Ah, human nature.’

Ah Jun’s body was trembling, yet the scrawny boy stood resolutely in front of Song Lianhe and roared, "None of you will lay a finger on my sister!"

Little Lan seemed to be back at full strength, raising its head once more. It might have been a trick of the light, but its color had faded further, now approaching silver, and its tiny scales were emitting a faint glow.

Chun Hua, too, had shed its usual roguish, lazy demeanor. The falcon’s feathers were practically standing on end as its sharp gaze swept across the crowd. It would occasionally spread its wings to circle above Song Lianhe’s head, its warning clear.

But even this was not enough to deter the bloodshot-eyed crowd.

As she watched this mob of once-innocent victims close in on her, Song Lianhe suddenly felt lost.

’What was the point of saving people?’

’I’m no saint. I can’t just sacrifice myself, much less drag my companions down with me!’

Yan Jiayu watched coldly from atop his horse.

No one knew better than he how easily the human heart could be swayed.

They could be crying with gratitude one moment, only to stab you in the back for personal gain the next.

The complexity and indifference of the human heart were on full display in that moment.

"Sister... I’ll hold them off here! You run inside and hide in the secret passage!"

Ah Jun gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white. In that instant, the boy’s slender frame seemed to grow taller.

Song Lianhe watched the crowd with a complicated expression, then suddenly asked, "Ah Jun, was I wrong?"

The boy gritted his teeth and looked back at her, his gaze earnest. "Sister, you weren’t wrong! They’re the ones who are wrong!"

Someone in the crowd threw a stone. Chun Hua’s eyes flashed as it swooped down, deflecting the stone with its wing. It then shot toward the thrower, aiming to peck at the person’s eyes—

"AH!"

The person screamed, crouching on the ground and covering their head.

But in the end, Chun Hua did not strike.

Ah Jun’s voice was full of hate. "Even Chun Hua knows mercy. But what about them?"

After the first stone came a second, then a third... an endless barrage of stones rained down on them!

Ah Jun and Chun Hua desperately shielded Song Lianhe, taking the brunt of the stones. Song Lianhe wanted to help, but she suddenly found she couldn’t move. Her body felt imprisoned. The more she struggled, the stiffer she became. Her mind would go blank for a moment, then flash with the scene before her—those apathetic faces morphed into demonic sigils, spinning endlessly above her head.

The world before her began to feel unreal, the scene shifting seamlessly from vivid color to black and white!

’This feels just like the first time I was pulled back to my own world!’

’No...’

’I don’t want to leave now...’

’My companions are still here! I don’t want to leave!’

Tears of desperation welled in Song Lianhe’s eyes, but she still couldn’t move, forced to watch helplessly as Ah Jun and Chun Hua were pelted with stones.

A wave of regret washed over her. ’Why did I have to play the hero and save people?!’

’These people are so ungrateful! I should have just let them fend for themselves! What does any of this have to do with me?!’

The volley of stones from the crowd intensified, their initial hesitation replaced by utter ruthlessness.

"Stone that animal to death!"

"You can tell at a glance that woman uses sorcery! Kill her!"

"No matter what, we can’t let her escape today!"

Watching the nearly frenzied mob, a mocking smile slowly spread across Yan Jiayu’s lips.

’How pitiful the human heart is...’

He also noticed Song Lianhe, who was standing there completely motionless.

She seemed to have suffered a great shock, losing all ability to react. Even when a stone struck her forehead and left a bruise, she remained standing in place, as if she couldn’t feel the pain.

When Ah Jun saw his sister get hurt, his heart ached with both pain and self-reproach. He simply planted himself in front of her. If she wasn’t going to move, then neither would he!

’He could have dodged the stones flying toward him, but he couldn’t move. If he dodged, his sister would be the one to get hit.’

Little Lan sensed that something was wrong with her. It grew agitated, slithering around her neck and over the crown of her head. Finally, it came to rest before her eyes, staring at her intently as if hesitating...

Just as Song Lianhe’s gaze grew unfocused and her body began to teeter, it lunged forward and bit her on the neck—