A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 378 Seeking Justice for Caiyi

The next morning, the sky was still gray. Caiyi followed Si Yao and Xiaolu from the ruined temple and walked towards Meilong City.

Caiyi slept soundly last night and was no longer under the control of her father and brother and was no longer forced to marry someone she hated. As a result, she was no longer as gloomy and sad as she was yesterday. A smile unconsciously appeared on her beautiful face and her bright eyes became lively.

Along the way, Si Yao remained silent as usual. Although Xiaolu was forgiven by Si Yao after his identity was revealed, he still felt guilty. He didn't know what to say and just followed silently with a worried look on his face.

Seeing that the two were silent, Cai Yi hesitated for a moment and then quickly walked to Si Yao, saying timidly but sincerely:

"Miss, thank you for bringing me out. I will never forget your kindness to Caiyi. From now on, I will stay by your side and serve you wholeheartedly."

"I'm not helping you just to make you serve me." Si Yao frowned slightly, then glanced at Caiyi beside her and said helplessly.

"I know that the young lady has a kind heart and rescued me because she felt sorry for me. Caiyi will definitely repay the young lady's kindness, but the only way Caiyi can think of to repay the young lady right now is to stay by her side and work like a slave." Caiyi hurriedly explained when she noticed a trace of loss in Si Yao's cold eyes.

"There's no need to work like a slave. If you are really grateful to me, promise me that you will never commit suicide when encountering problems from now on. People only have one life and should not give up easily. Even if you encounter injustice, if you have the courage to die, why not take a chance and resist?" Si Yao understood that Caiyi didn't want to owe her this favor, and she was relieved that the girl would repay her kindness, so she continued.

"When my mother was alive, she often told me that life in this world is hard for women. They cannot be independent and can only obey their fathers at home, obey their husbands after marriage, and obey their sons after their husbands' death. They have to depend on men all their lives and have no freedom to choose. Even though they know that this is unfair, how many women dare to resist? It has been like this since ancient times. This sentence is like a mountain pressing on our heads, making us unable to resist and not knowing how to resist?" Caiyi sighed helplessly and choked after hearing Si Yao's words.

She wanted to resist, but how could she resist if she couldn't even support herself? Even if she could sneak out, it would be hard for a woman to survive without anyone to rely on. In this difficult world, there was no way a weak woman could find a place to stay. It was nothing more than climbing out of one pit of fire and falling into another.

Caiyi's words stunned Si Yao. Yes, how could she judge others by her own standards? She had the independent thought of modern women to be strong and independent, but women in this era were taught to live by relying on men since childhood. Neither family nor society allowed them to be independent. In the long run, most women probably didn't have the courage like Caiyi. They were like frogs boiled in warm water, gradually becoming numb and accepting their fate, thus losing the ability to resist.

"But God took pity on me and I met you. When you protected me, I wanted to survive at all costs. It was you who gave me the courage to resist my father and brother." Caiyi continued while Si Yao was silent.

Thinking of the situation last night when someone protected her from behind, she felt a warm current surge in her heart. When she was a child, she was beaten by her father and her mother also protected her in this way, but her mother was also injured as a result.

"I'm glad I can give you strength." Si Yao smiled encouragingly at Cai Yi, then handed the indenture contract to her and said, "Keep this indenture contract for yourself. You will be a free person in the future. I originally thought of giving it to you when we get to Meilong City..."

"Please don't abandon Caiyi!" Before Si Yao could finish, Caiyi was so scared that her face turned pale and she knelt down in front of her, crying again with tears in her eyes: "Since you bought me, I belong to you from now on. If you don't want me, I will be really helpless!"

"Get up quickly. I don't mean to drive you away. I return the indenture contract to you just to tell you that you don't belong to anyone. You have the freedom to choose today and in the future." Si Yao was almost frightened by Caiyi's action. She didn't expect this girl to react so strongly. Fortunately, it was still early and there were no other pedestrians on the road.

"I feel relieved when you say that, young lady." With Si Yao's help, Cai Yi slowly stood up, wiped her tears with her sleeves, and then stuffed the contract into Si Yao's hands, lowering her head and saying, "Young lady, you should keep this contract."

Caiyi always felt that no matter what, as long as the indenture was tied to the girl, there would be a connection between them and she would not be easily abandoned.

Knowing that Caiyi was like a frightened bird at this moment, Si Yao did not force her any more and had to temporarily take back the indenture.

It was almost noon when the three of them arrived outside Meilong City. In order not to attract unnecessary attention, Si Yao asked Xiaolu to take off the bell before entering the city. Seeing that Sister Si Yao was talking to him, Xiaolu was so happy that he smiled.

The city was bustling with people, but Caiyi, who came from a farming family and had never seen the world, seemed a little reserved and timid in the crowd. She just kept her head down and followed Si Yao closely, watching people coming and going.

"Sister Si Yao, after passing Meilong City, we will reach Jiangnan. This place is closer to Jing'an City, but the journey will take two hours. I think it will rain again today, so we'd better stay in the city first and continue our journey tomorrow morning." Xiaolu asked passers-by in the city and then returned to Si Yao and said.

"Okay, let's find an inn to stay in first." Si Yao nodded and replied.

"Hey, isn't this Caiyi? I haven't seen you for half a year, and you look even more beautiful."

Just as the three were about to go forward to find an inn, a plain-looking, well-dressed man suddenly appeared in front of them. He looked at Caiyi with a sly look and smiled sinisterly.

Seeing that nightmare-like face, Caiyi was terrified. Her beautiful face turned pale in an instant and the tears in her eyes could no longer be controlled. However, she was so frightened that she couldn't make any sound. She just turned around and tried to escape when Si Yao pulled her into his arms.

"Is it this beast?" Si Yao comforted Caiyi, who was trembling in her arms, and whispered in her ear. At the same time, anger appeared on her cold face.

Ever since the man appeared, Caiyi acted as if she had seen a ghost, which naturally made Si Yao guess that this man was the bastard who had violated her.

Caiyi calmed down a little after Si Yao's comfort, but she still couldn't speak and just nodded.

"Caiyi, we are familiar with each other and we are from the same hometown. I just wanted to say hello when we met in Meilong City. Look at you, why are you doing this? If others see you, they will think..."

At this time, pedestrians on the street saw Caiyi crying sadly in Si Yao's arms and cast curious glances at her. The man, on the other hand, looked quite proud, so he took the opportunity to spread his hands and pretended to be innocent in public, and continued.

"Shut up!" Before the man could finish his words, Xiaolu frowned and looked at him angrily.

"Hey, how dare you talk to my young master like that?" At this moment, two arrogant and domineering servants walked out from behind the man, pointing at the path and shouting in a domineering manner.

"I'll leave this place to you. Let's go find an inn first." More and more people were watching. Si Yao didn't want Caiyi to stay here for long. He spoke to Xiaolu in a cold voice and hurriedly took Caiyi and continued to move forward.

“Caiyi, don’t go!” The man was about to stop her, but Xiaolu jumped forward and blocked him. His identity had been exposed in front of Si Yao, so there was no need to hide it anymore.

"Thank you, young lady." Soon the two entered an inn. After Caiyi was brought into a quiet room by Si Yao, her mood slowly calmed down and she could make sounds again. She threw herself into Si Yao's arms and cried again.

"It's okay, don't worry. No one will dare to bully you with us here." Si Yao patted Caiyi's back and comforted her softly.

The man just now was named Yuan Kui, and he was indeed from the same hometown as Caiyi, but he was also the son of a local official and the village chief. So even though Caiyi's father and brother knew that she was raped by this bastard half a year ago, they could do nothing but accept their fate and instead blamed all the mistakes on Caiyi.

"Look, girl, this is so unfair. Yuan Kui bullied me but he can still live so freely, but I am the one who is forced into a desperate situation."

Hearing Caiyi's desperate words, Si Yao closed her eyes helplessly.

At night, after Si Yao saw Caiyi sleeping peacefully, she walked out of the room and knocked on the door next door. Xiaolu, dressed in dark clothes, opened the door and was not surprised to see her.

"Sister Siyao, don't worry. I will seek justice for Caiyi tonight and make sure that this beast will never do evil again and will not harm other girls."

"These are incense and hemostatic powder. Don't make any noise and don't expose yourself."

"I didn't expect that Sister Si Yao would also understand this kind of thing?" Looking at the incense and medicine bottles on the table, Xiaolu's mouth twitched.

"Take care of yourself and come back quickly." Si Yao did not explain and turned away after giving the instructions.