Chapter 161: Ao Tian's Confusion (1)

Under the cold moonlight, a petite figure leaned against the cold stone wall. The mottled tree shadows on the cliff top were cast upon her, making it almost impossible to see her appearance or expression clearly. However, the large jar of wine by her feet revealed her depressed mood. The faint aroma of wine was intoxicating, yet it couldn't untie the furrowed brows of the woman.

Both she and Zhuo Qing knew that someone with a serious mental illness like Su Mufeng should be given treatment and help, not have his life taken. But let alone in this era, even in the legal society they came from, the families of the victims and the ordinary public could not accept the result of killing without paying with one's life.

As a police officer, seeing Su Mufeng sentenced to death made her feel very uncomfortable, but she also knew deeply that she couldn't save him. Every place had its own legal system, and it wouldn't change because of her. The conflict between values and right and wrong was perhaps the reason for the blockage in her heart tonight.

She couldn't stay here any longer; she had to go back. This thought had never been so obvious. Gu Yun decided to ask Su Ling about the Golden Bagua Disk tomorrow. She grabbed the wine jar and took a fierce gulp of wine, and a familiar feeling of being watched struck again.

"Who is it!" It was this feeling again, the same one she felt when she was training troops in this forest last time! Last time she almost caught him, but this time Gu Yun had no interest in hunting and said lightly, "Come out."

She thought that person wouldn't come out in the end, but to her surprise, no sooner had she finished speaking than a tall, slender figure stepped on the clear light and walked over slowly. The ink-black combat suit made him almost blend into the night, but that silver light was so dazzling that one could see at a glance who the person was.

"It's you?" Gu Yun narrowed her eyes slightly. At this time, Ao Tian had already walked to her and stood still. Seeing that cold, pale face clearly, Gu Yun smiled. "I didn't expect we had already crossed paths." It turned out that the one who had been peeping at her all along was Ao Tian.

Gu Yun withdrew her gaze, raised the wine jar in her hand again, tilted her head, and gulped down two more mouthfuls of wine before saying in a low voice, "You have two choices: one is to sit down and drink with me, and the second is to stay away from me. I'm not in the mood to be watched like a monkey tonight."

Her hoarse voice had its usual cold sharpness, but it wasn't hard to hear the irritability within it. Under the night sky, she sat casually on the ground, leaning against the cold stone wall, her high-tied hair occasionally rising in the night breeze. The large wine jar in her hand was completely out of proportion to her petite body, making her look exceptionally free and easy. However, the restlessness and annoyance between her brows were also undisguised. A trace of doubt flashed across Ao Tian's calm face. What had made such a calm and determined person become so restless and uneasy?

Sitting on the ground beside Gu Yun, Ao Tian recalled the expressions on her and Qing Ling's faces when Dan Yulan announced the Emperor's verdict on the heart-stealing case today. Ao Tian seemed to understand a little bit about what she was annoyed about, but he really couldn't understand why she, who seemed to hate evil as much as a foe, would feel so heavy about the verdict on a cruel murderer like Su Mufeng. So he asked, "Do you think Su Mufeng shouldn't die?"

Gu Yun's hand holding the wine jar paused. Had she become that obvious? She laughed at herself and replied lightly, "He shouldn't."

She really thought so. This woman would risk her life to complete a goal once she had one. Would she... Ao Tian looked at her with a solemn face. Gu Yun laughed. "With such a serious expression, you don't think I'm going to break him out of prison, do you?"

Gu Yun said it casually, but Ao Tian's cold brows lifted slightly; clearly, he had had such a thought just now. Gu Yun really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Did she look like such a reckless person? Slowly putting down the wine jar in her hand, Gu Yun sighed, "Every era and every country should have a legal system. Even if it is backward, does not meet everyone's wishes, or is even unfair, it is a relatively fixed criterion. Having laws to follow is much fairer than officials in various places judging cases according to their own ideas of right and wrong, so I respect the legal system. Even if I think Qiongyue's legal system has problems and Su Mufeng shouldn't die, I would only choose to work toward modifying the legal system, rather than simply breaking one person out. Breaking out of prison is meaningless to me, and it's also very stupid!"

Ao Tian stared with complex eyes at the woman who was natural and casual, yet spoke of overturning the legal system. Did she know that the laws of a country could not be changed just because the Emperor said so! Even if these words sounded ridiculous and unrealistic, coming from her mouth, they didn't make people want to laugh. The low voice wasn't loud, and her expression was as calm as usual. That kind of arrogance and pride seemed to fill her entire body, making it impossible to ignore. For a long time, Ao Tian's cold voice carried a faint smile as he replied, "You are very arrogant."

Arrogant? Gu Yun thought for a while and finally laughed out loud, handing the wine jar in her hand to him casually. "I think this should be a compliment. Thank you for not saying I'm self-righteous and overestimating my capabilities."

Gu Yun's generous self-mockery brought a few traces of a smile to Ao Tian's cold lips, though it was a pity that it was so faint it would be impossible to notice without looking closely. Taking the wine jar, Ao Tian was dazed for a moment; this was the wine she had just drunk from, was it alright for him to drink it too? He glanced at her and saw her expression was open and her smile was carefree. Since she was so open, why should he be coy? Grabbing the wine jar, Ao Tian also took a large gulp of the wine, and immediately, a spicy, intense, burning heat flowed straight from his mouth into his stomach. What strong wine! She had been gulping it down so fiercely just a moment ago, and the light weight of the jar showed there was very little left inside. This woman, at times, was truly so bold that it could make men feel ashamed.

Taking another big gulp of wine, that burning, heart-searing feeling didn't seem bad. Ao Tian replied indifferently, "Actually, if you really want to break him out of prison, it's not impossible." Su Mufeng was indeed a rare talent; it was a pity for him to die like this.

This time it was Gu Yun's turn to feel ashamed. This person's words were truly arrogant; breaking out of prison was not impossible? Not to mention that she had always respected the legal system and judicial procedures, even if she really wanted to break him out, the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice prison was not a vegetable market that one could enter just by saying so. Besides, what would happen after the person was broken out? Let Su Mufeng and herself wander the world with a criminal record?

Under the moonlight, he was cold and proud. Looking back at Ao Tian's cold side profile, Gu Yun was suddenly a bit curious. "How did someone like you become a bounty hunter?"

Ao Tian seemed to be still interested in this topic. The man of few words rarely replied, "Why not?"

Leaning against the cold stone wall, Gu Yun glanced at him sideways and smiled. "I haven't seen too much sense of justice in you." The woman beside him was different; although she was also cold, she could feel Ye Mei's integrity and kindness, but Ao Tian, to be honest, she couldn't feel any of that in him.

Gu Yun continued to smile. "And I haven't smelled any stench of money either."

After saying this, both of them thought of Qian Jing, who was obsessed with money, and looked at each other, unable to help but smile. Gu Yun supported her head, which was already a bit tipsy from the alcohol, thought for a while, and smiled. "I guess... you became a bounty hunter because it's challenging?" Taking capturing criminals as a profession, not because of a sense of justice, nor for money, the only thing she could think of was a man's desire to conquer. But clearly, Gu Yun didn't see any agreement on Ao Tian's face; instead, there was a faint disdain.

Not because it's challenging? Thinking for a while, Gu Yun still couldn't think of it. Attributing it to the alcohol numbing her brain, Gu Yun joked, "Then it's to kill time?"

Ao Tian's black eyes lifted slightly, with an expression that he couldn't believe someone had actually guessed it. Gu Yun was stunned for a moment. "I guessed right?"

Ao Tian didn't speak, but the playful expression on his face explained everything. Gu Yun patted her forehead and laughed out loud. It was the first time she had heard of someone becoming a bounty hunter to kill time, but it didn't seem strange for someone like Ao Tian to do such a thing.

I don't know if it was the effect of the alcohol or because she had just laughed out loud, but the depressed and uncomfortable mood of the whole night seemed to be better. Looking up, the moon had gradually shifted to the west, hiding behind the rock wall. She couldn't see the bright moon, only strands of clear light. Gu Yun sighed lightly, "The moonlight tonight is not bad, but it's a pity that it's boring to watch it here."

Gu Yun was just saying it casually, but to her surprise, a strange light flashed in Ao Tian's cold eyes. His low voice carried a bit of bewitchment. "I have a good place to watch the moon." After saying this, Ao Tian stood up and walked in the opposite direction of the dense forest. Gu Yun smiled slightly and didn't think much, following that ink-black figure. In front of the stone wall, only an empty wine jar was left.

The tall, centennial Wutong tree had lush branches and leaves. Even the branches at the top of the tree were still thick enough for a person to sit on casually. Gu Yun looked up and could see a crescent moon blooming with clear brilliance in the black-curtain-like sky, and countless bright or dim stars, so close that she could almost reach out and pick them. Everywhere she looked, there was moonlight and starlight. How long had it been since she had seen such scenery, and how long had it been since she had been in the mood to enjoy the moon like this? She had almost forgotten. Gu Yun smiled. "It really is a good place to enjoy the moon."

After watching for a long time, Gu Yun reluctantly withdrew her gaze. Unexpectedly, just as she lowered her head, she found that the mountain forest under the moonlight, swaying with the breeze, was equally intoxicating. A faint fragrance of Wutong came to her nose, and Gu Yun was even more dizzy than before. Wanting to change her posture to look at the scenery below, she moved her body, and the tree trunk shook slightly. Gu Yun hurriedly grabbed the branch beside her, and Ao Tian, who was sitting on another branch beside her, also immediately grabbed her arm. The tree trunk finally stopped shaking, and Gu Yun smiled embarrassedly. "Thank you." It seemed she was really a bit drunk; her body was almost not listening to her.

Ao Tian didn't say anything and silently withdrew his hand. Gu Yun saw a black cloth wrapped around his hand and suddenly thought of the sword he had blocked for her, so she asked with concern, "How is your hand injury? Thank you for saving me that day."

Perhaps he rarely received thanks from others, or perhaps he never cared about other people's feelings. In short, there was no expression on his cold face, and he only replied in a low voice, "It's nothing," and then lay back gracefully, his hands behind his head, looking at the horizon indifferently.

This person's personality is so strange! Gu Yun rolled her eyes. "Are you always this cold?"

Answering her was the still-frozen cold face. "Fine, pretend I didn't ask." Gu Yun shrugged, asking for trouble! Ao Tian's posture was really suitable for watching the stars; she felt a bit dizzy sitting, so she might as well lie down!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 162 =====