The waves came crashing one after another, wetting his feet, but he felt nothing at all. He half-closed his eyes, gazing into the distance. His long eyelashes, carrying a slight dampness, seemed veiled with a faint shadow, as dark as ink. Lin Xinlan sat down beside him, arms hugging her legs, following his gaze to the horizon where the water met the sky. Xiaocong turned his head to look at her, meeting her smiling eyes. "Mommy, you’re awake?" "Hmm, just woke up." After waking, she had heard Rong Shaoze tell her many things and heard that he was sitting here alone, so she came to accompany him. Xiaocong didn’t know what to say. He rested his chin on his knees, his eyes completely downcast, looking somewhat forlorn. Lin Xinlan reached out to pull him into her embrace, and he did not resist, letting his head rest on her knees. "Are you sad?" she gently asked him. Xiaocong nodded slightly, his young voice tinged with melancholy: "Uncle Zhou was very good to me. I swore to save him. But... I still failed to protect him..." He was only seven, and Zhou Xi was in his twenties. It seemed strange for him to say he failed to protect Zhou Xi. "It’s not your fault. You’ve done your best." Xiaocong shook his head, burying his face in Lin Xinlan’s knees, his voice hoarse and slightly choked with sobs. "It’s my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on rescuing Zhang Xu, Uncle Zhou wouldn’t have followed... But Zhang Xu is a bad guy. He led us over there to make it easier for Yun Xi to kill us... Uncle Zhou rushed forward to protect me, if it had been me rushing ahead, then it wouldn’t have been him who died..." Lin Xinlan felt a pang of bitterness. If it had been him who was killed, she might not have wanted to live either. Luckily, he was not the one who died. But did Zhou Xi deserve to die? None of this should have happened to them. "It’s Zhang Xu and Yun Xi’s fault, not yours. You shouldn’t take the blame for their wrongdoing," Lin Xinlan said, offering the only comfort she could. Xiaocong remained silent. He understood the logic, but his heart couldn’t find peace. The moment Zhou Xi fell in front of him, he felt deeply grieved and hated himself. Zhang Xu was clearly a bad kid, he shouldn’t have tried to save him. Trying to save him caused Uncle Zhou’s death, and it was all his fault! Lin Xinlan knew that although this child had learned some martial arts and experienced many things, in his heart, he was still very kind. Therefore, he simply couldn’t let go of Zhou Xi’s death. "What about Yun Xi? Did you kill him?" Lin Xinlan suddenly asked. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveIＦire.net Xiaocong clenched his fists, seething with anger: "No... I shot him, he got hit and couldn’t move... I wanted to kill him. But... I couldn’t bring myself to..." If Yun Xi had attacked him, maybe he would have acted in self-defense. But Yun Xi was completely immobile, at his mercy, and at that moment, he couldn’t do it. He scorned taking advantage of someone who couldn’t fight back. "What about Zhang Xu?" "I beat him up hard... everyone disliked him, but... we still sent someone to take him home..." Lin Xinlan couldn’t help but smile with relief: "Son, you did the right thing. Although they are detestable, we must not stain our hands with blood because of them, nor let them cast a shadow over our future lives."