Wen Yan composed himself, ignored the voices coming from behind, and didn’t respond, simply following the Grave Walker onward.
Before long, a small dirt path appeared beside the main road, and the Grave Walker stepped onto it.
Walking on the dirt path, they advanced, light seemingly shining from ahead.
The mont Wen Yan stepped out, he was t with the sight of several desolate graves. Lifting his head to look forward, his gaze sharpened.
There was an old courtyard with blue brick walls ahead, surrounded by an assortnt of clay pots, and he realized he was just outside the backyard of this courtyard.
Wen Yan took a few steps forward, looking to the side, and spotted a small earthen hole at the corner of the slope.
This was the place where he had lived for a long ti. The small hole was a dog’s den, made by a stray that, after being fed by the children in the courtyard a few tis, had settled down there.
The stray dog had a litter of puppies, which the orphanage director would sell. The next year, when she had another litter, she dug herself a den in the back, and they even quietly brought so twigs and leaves to cover it up a bit.
Of course, this wasn’t out of any kindness. It was simply because the pups were robust and easy to sell. The locals liked these dogs as guard dogs since they were easy to keep, smart, and loyal.
Back then, they still rembered using half of the money to buy fatty pork to satisfy their cravings and the other half to buy cheap lard, which they would render down into pork fat. Even a tiny bit added to boiled noodles would make them delicious, and the pork cracklings were also tasty—a very cost-effective choice.
Wen Yan was all too familiar with this place. Even though he hadn’t been back for many years, he recognized it instantly.
"Did we take a wrong turn again?" Wen Yan glanced at the Grave Walker.
The Grave Walker was a bit dumbfounded. He had gone the wrong way getting there, and now they had returned to the wrong place too.
After all these years, he had never made such a mistake.
"There must be a problem sowhere."
Just as the Grave Walker was about to turn around and re-enter the graveyard, Wen Yan stopped him.
"Didn’t you say we shouldn’t backtrack?"
"Once out, the journey is completed. Any road we take now is a new one."
"Wait a mont, don’t move from here. I recognize this place; we are indeed in Guanzhong County, just a bit off-track. It’s probably my fault, not yours."
Wen Yan knew that appearing here was definitely his fault, probably because his thoughts had been stirred earlier, leading to a slight error in their coordinates.
He descended the slope and walked around to the main gate. It had no lettering, no overhead sign, and no plaque beside it.
This place wasn’t really a proper orphanage. Many years ago, a kind-hearted old lady had taken in a child. As ti passed, the number of children imperceptibly grew. The old lady used to say she couldn’t let people starve; it was just a matter of adding another pair of chopsticks.
Later, after the old lady’s passing, her son took over, becoming the director of the place.
This establishnt was actually not quite compliant with regulations, but ten years earlier, this wasn’t an economically prosperous area, and there wasn’t a better option.
Wen Yan pushed open the gate and entered. He saw a teenager lying on a wide bench, being beaten on the buttocks by a plump middle-aged man wielding a belt.
"You’re not allowed to hide money! Do you have any idea how hard it is for to raise you all? Now that you can work, aren’t you supposed to promptly give your earnings to the orphanage, instead of always thinking of keeping it all for yourself?"
The teenager pursed his lips, enduring the beating without uttering a sound.
Wen Yan recognized him. It was the boy who later went to work on a small construction site and died in an accident.
After the middle-aged man finished beating the boy, he looked up, saw Wen Yan, and glared.
"Wen Yan, you too! Don’t think I’m unaware. I know you’ve been sneaking out at night to carry coffins and dig graves for extra money. Hand it over, quickly!"
"Don’t you know how expensive it is to raise you all? And then there’s that shaless person, leaving a child at our doorstep."
"They’re betting I wouldn’t dare to ignore the child, that I’d just let him freeze to death, right?"
Wen Yan’s vision blurred, and he found himself lying on the wide bench.
He sighed as a sunrise seed to bloom radiantly in his mind.
The terrifying Yang Energy transford into a glow, slowly diffusing into the surroundings.
He stood up, and the belt that had been hitting him was repelled.
Gazing at the startled middle-aged man, he took a long, hard look before letting out a sigh.
"Whenever I thought back on those years, my feelings were quite mixed."
"I’ve co to understand; one must keep different matters separate."
"People can change. Their thoughts aren’t always constant either."
"You could indeed have disregarded us—after all, it wasn’t your obligation."
"You truly didn’t let these children, incapable of self-care, starve, and yes, that wasn’t easy."
"For that, I must give you credit."
"But you made the older children work, took all their money, and then constantly beat us."
"I eventually realized that you had gradually lost your way."
"Struggling to cope, and then finding it much easier when all the money everyone earned went straight into your hands, you took the wrong path."
"I rember that fault of yours as well."
"Now, whether for good or bad, it’s all in the past."
"One cannot live in the past, constantly in conflict with oneself."
"I’m not reconciling with you; I’m reconciling with myself."
As he watched the belt falling, past fears surfaced. Wen Yan silently observed, seeing the belt repelled by the Yang Energy.
When the belt ca at him again, he suddenly stretched out a hand, grasped it, and with a gentle tug, pulled the man towards him, lifting him with one hand.
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