Chapter 72 - Heart’s Only Wish
The old man tactfully declined him many times, saying that he didn’t need Ye Fan to stay and that he could just make up for the meal’s bill when he randomly came by again.
“Senior, right now I’m homeless and there’s no place for me to go. Please let me stay here, and I’ll definitely help out.”
“Big brother, you have no family?” The little sister’s innocent cute face looked up, her tears not yet having dried yet. A sympathetic look appeared upon that small tender face.
In the end, the old man let Ye Fan stay. In the backyard he tidied up a room, telling him he could leave whenever he wanted.
During the night, Ye Fan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Gently jumping upon the roof, he lay down and looked up at the sky. The clouds had scattered, and the bright moon sprinkled out a weak light. The stars twinkled within the dome of the heavens just like diamonds.
The love between the old man and the little girl had inadvertently stirred up feelings he had hid away within the depths of his heart. His mother and father’s kind faces kept appearing in his heart.
Are you still alright…
Ye Fan looked up at the starry sky, wanting to pass through those endless star fields to reach the other end of the starry sky, returning to his parents’ side. Whenever he thought of them, his heart would become disturbed. His sudden disappearance must have definitely caused his aged parents to feel extremely grieved.
For a mother and father, to have their grown son die before them was a kind of unbearable pain. Thinking about his parent’s grief, Ye Fan was heartbroken, wishing to immediately return to their side. He could see their happy smiles in his mind right now, the joy they would feel if he were to return, giving them a peace so they could live out their lives serenely. But he was separated by endless star fields. How could he possibly return when the distance was so large?
He felt completely powerless. All he could do was blankly continue staring up into the starry sky.
Whenever Ye Fan thought about his parents current state of heart he would feel extremely worried. Ever since he had arrived in this new world, he had hidden these thoughts deeply, not letting himself recall them easily. Every time he did so, he would be extremely shaken and couldn’t calm back down.
No, I have to think of a way. My parents who gave birth to me and raised me, I can’t let them continue crying…There definitely has to be a way. I have to return!
While at the primal ruins, seeing those cultivators flying back and forth, as well as those five elites whose divine might was unrivalled, allowed him to sense how powerful cultivators could become. A day might come when he was strong enough to step over the endless starry universe, once more returning to his home and his parents sides.
Having personally witnessed how formidable cultivators were, Ye Fan’s heart filled with hope and desire. His path back home was not completely cut off. There was still hope!
“I have to get stronger, rush out of this starry sky and return home. Return home, stop my parents from crying in grief! Let their last years be those of joy!” Ye Fan’s words became more and more firm and resolute. In order to boost his own self-confidence, he said, “I can definitely do this! I must do this! I will return to their side!”
Grief and anxiety didn’t have any uses. Ye Fan slowly adjusted his mood, letting his heart gradually become tranquil again. The familial love between the old man and the little girl had touched his heart, letting his last bit of indecision and confusion fade away. He had finally found his goal and path he had to take.
“The nine dragons pulling the coffin were able to pass through star fields to arrive in this region of the universe. If they could, then I can, too! I will become strong enough, and there will come a day when I, too, can pass through the empty void in order to return to my home.” Ye Fan’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. He had to become stronger. Whether it was to save Pang Bo or to return to his home, they both required him to be strong enough.
At some time, Ye Fan ended up feeling sleepy and entered a deep slumber upon the rooftop. He only woke up the next morning to the old man’s voice. “Child, what are you doing on the roof? Be careful, don’t fall.”
The little girl drowsily walked out of her room. Seeing Ye Fan on top the roof, her eyes immediately opened wide in alarm. “What are you doing, big brother?”
Facing this old and young duo’s doubts, Ye Fan felt somewhat awkward. “I was too hot yesterday so I came to cool off on the rooftop and accidentally fell asleep.”
Ye Fan finished washing up. The old man yelled out that it was time to eat. A small bowl of porridge and some pickled vegetables were all that was there, a very simple and limited food due to their circumstances. The little girl was very intelligent for her age. She portioned out a bowl for Ye Fan and her grandpa, but when it came to herself, all that was left was small amount. Her bowl was already so small, but it was only filled so slightly. In just a couple mouthfuls she completely finished it.
“Why are you eating so little?” asked the old man.
Although the little girl was wearing worn out patched clothes, she was as pretty as a porcelain doll. She patted her stomach and said, “I’m full.”
“Nonsense, how could you get full from just those few mouthfuls.”
“I really am full. Last night I ate the piece of chicken and half a mantou that grandpa left for me so I’m not hungry right now.” Picking up her bowl, the little girl prepared to go wash it.
The old man pulled her back, filling her small bowl with porridge. “You’re a good child. But right now you’re growing and need more to eat. Don’t worry, we still have food.”
“I’m not worried. I really am full. Grandpa should eat a bit more…” The little girl poured most of the porridge in her small bowl back into the old man’s bowl.
The old man was unable to stop her and didn’t say anything else about it, simply sighing.
“Grandpa, will those bad people come today again?” A trace of fear appeared on the little girl’s small red face. In a young and tender voice, she said, “They’ve already taken our big restaurant and now they come here every day to intentionally bully both us. There’s no way for us to do business and we almost can’t even feed ourselves. Why haven’t they let us go yet?”
“Don’t worry about it. As long as grandpa is here, you won’t go hungry.” The old man rubbed her head before adding a bit more porridge into her bowl.
Ye Fan sat to the side without saying anything. Although he finished his meal in silence, he was quite agitated inside.
The old man’s surname was Jiang. This was an ancient family name, dating back to a very distant past. But the old man was very ordinary, just one of the endless masses who was in a difficult situation. The pretty and intelligent little girl was called Tingting. Her parents had passed away two years ago, leaving her with her aged grandfather.
After finishing his breakfast he turned to the old man and didn’t say much. “I’ll go stroll around.”
“You’re still not very old, so be careful,” warned the old man.
This town was not considered too large or too small. There were around a thousand households and five thousand people. Within the most bustling section of the town, there were several restaurants, motels, food stores, and the like. All of those kinds of buildings were found in that section; the rest of the town was merely residences.
Ye Fan looped around the whole town before then deciding to walk outside it. Around the town were some neighboring farms, and then even further were some mountains and forests. Hunters would come down here every day to hunt.
Ye Fan walked into the forest. The deeper he went the more astonished he was. Standing on top a large mountain and looking out, he saw endless mountains within the distance. Covered by a hazy mist, this primal forest seemed to have no end.
ROAR…
All kinds of beast cries came from the depths of the forest. But Ye Fan wasn’t worried; on the contrary, he seemed quite cheerful. He definitely could focus on cultivation within this small town. Not only was it very quiet, it was right beside this huge forest which most likely possessed many strange beasts and spiritual medicines. These were all things that he greatly needed at the moment.
Ye Fan wandered around the mountains for almost half a day. But he didn’t enter too deeply this time as he wasn’t pressed for time. Only around noon did he start to leave. On the way, he noticed a couple hunters and herb gatherers.
“The lives of ordinary people are truly difficult…” Ye Fan lamented. Some of the hunters had managed to find prey, and were now carrying a blood-drenched corpse. They were now walking back to the village, most likely having been attacked by the huge beast.
In the distance, several deer were drinking by the mountain stream. Ye Fan silently approached and threw a stone that smashed into one of the deer, knocking it into the stream. He then also killed another doe within the mountains before returning.
The hunting parties that saw an eleven-year-old carrying two deer along the way were all amazed, but Ye Fan didn’t care. He was planning on living within this small town for quite a while, so such occurrences were inevitable.
Around midday, Ye Fan returned to the small town. He sold one of the deer to a butcher before buying some rice and flour. He then brought this and the other doe back to the old uncle’s small restaurant.
Even from far away he could see that there were many people around there. The sound of Tingting’s helpless weeping penetrated through the crowd. Ye Fan’s heart immediately sunk and he quickly rushed over.
The grizzled-haired old man was knocked onto the ground, and there was blood upon his face as he powerlessly sat upon the ground. His patched clothes were now covered with dust, and little Tingting was wiping away the blood on his face as she cried. Towards the malicious and evil people before her, she weepingly said, “You bad people took away grandpa’s restaurant and now we don’t even have any food left for ourselves. But you still won’t let us off…”
A yellow-faced middle-aged man squatted down bopped little Tingting’s forehead, causing her to tumble back upon the ground. “A dumb girl like you doesn’t know anything!”
“If you want to hit someone, hit me. Don’t treat a child like this…” Uncle Jiang protected Tingting behind him. Wiping the blood off his face, he said, “What do you want?”
“We don’t really want anything. But we wanted a meal, but you actually didn’t have anything to provide us with. What are you even doing with a restaurant when you don’t even have food for your customers? Hurry up and close shop.”
“You bad people come every day to take our food without paying. How are we supposed to have money to feed you…?” Little Tingting was crying from behind Uncle Jiang’s back.
The surrounding crowd found this despicable, but they didn’t dare to go put a stop to it. All they could do was advise Uncle Jiang: “Old Jiang, just close your shop. Bring your granddaughter and leave this place.
“That’s right. Their family has immortal cultivators, and us ordinary mortals can’t provoke them. You should hurry and leave.”
“Although you’d be leaving your hometown unwillingly, it’s better than staying here.”
“What are you guys saying?!” The yellow-faced middle-aged main glared at the surrounding mean, and those voices immediately became silent.
Ye Fan’s fury surged, but he didn’t immediately attack. If the opposing party’s family had immortal cultivators, then acting now might do more harm than good for this grandfather-granddaughter duo. Of course, just because he wasn’t attacking them now didn’t mean that he couldn’t handle them later.
At this time, the yellow-faced middle-aged man and the others all swaggered out with bravado. The surrounding people all came up and tried to advise Uncle Jiang to leave. Their voices mixed with the weeping of little Tingting.
Only after a long time did everyone gradually leave. Little Tingting’s large eyes were red as she stood beside the old man and walked back into the small restaurant.
Seeing such an old man with such a kind heart be humiliated in such a way, and then seeing little Tingting with her patched-up clothing and tears all over her face, Ye Fan’s fist angrily clenched as the other people disappeared from view at the end of the street.