Ti rewinds back to the beginning of the year...
The cold wind blows, accompanied by overcast rain...
In this chilly winter, just after the Spring Festival, ordinary families usually gather together, happily chatting about the joys and sorrows of the past year.
Those of marriageable age are naturally asked by their elders if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend, while the little ones run around joyfully wishing everyone prosperity, waiting for their aunts and uncles to give them big red envelopes, which they happily hand over to their mothers, or if they're a bit mischievous, use to buy candy.
Working adults, when they have ti off, naturally relax by playing mahjong or drinking with friends.
The elders of the family are, of course, surrounded by children and grandchildren at their knees, watching their frolics with a happy smile.
However, in this cold and rainy weather, an old man with white hair arrives in a dilapidated tricycle at a remote mountain village.
This old man looks to be over eighty years old. Yet, he walks with a straight back and powerful steps, his eyes sharp, showing no signs of aging.
Yes, Ye Aotian, on the day his grandson Xiaofan flew to the Capital City, also arrived at the Miaojiang tribe.
Due to its remote location, transportation is inconvenient, and by the ti he arrived, it was already late.
The few residents nearby seed to recognize this elder who had been here once before, and none gave him a warm welco. Especially those with older people at ho, they rolled their eyes at him and closed their doors, unwilling to say more.
This didn't matter much to Ye Aotian.
Compared to the last visit, the people in this small village were very welcoming, with smiles on everyone's faces.
Their lives were simple yet genuine. Those capable of working labored hard every day to provide for the new generation, filial to their elders.
Much like most people in the city, but here, far from urban hustle and bustle, there were no interpersonal scheming battles. Even their doors were often left unlocked.
With no outsiders usually visiting, Ye Aotian was the sole stranger here.
Originally, they held no guard against a benevolent-looking elder. However, whatever Ye Aotian inquired about last ti seed to be taboo among them, so today no one was willing to engage with him.
On his last visit, Ye Aotian questioned every household, but still found no trace of the Miaojiang Secret Technique. Since no one paid him any attention, no further conversation continued with him.
But for Xiaofan, Ye Aotian wasn't giving up. Without evidence, he certainly wouldn't give up easily; this was about his character, nature, and even dical ethics.
Facing every still-breathing injured person back then, he persisted in treating them until the last mont. That determination to stay on the frontlines for comrades, stubborn for their lives, Ye Aotian, known among many as the stubborn "Third Ye" of Yanhuang Soul, proved to be comndation rather than critique.
And Old Mrs. Ren once remarked, upon knowing Xiaofan was Ye Aotian's grandson, "This child's character is exactly the sa as your grandfather's."
Leaving that aside, finding clues about the Miaojiang Secret Technique from these people seed next to impossible. His pride surely would stop him from coercing people, right? His arrogance wouldn't allow him to lower himself to beg, would it?
Arrogance... Yes, his arrogance...
"Sir, my grandson's health has taken a severe turn, and after searching many redies, I still can't cure him, so..."
"Oh, ma'am, I beg you, if you know anything, please..."
"Big sister, I..."
Arrogance? In such circumstances, is it particularly worthless?
What is arrogance? It's when facing a brutal enemy, never lowering the head held high, that's called arrogance. But in front of these ordinary villagers, they're not enemies, and I am the one in need of their help, so putting aside arrogance and speaking with them in a pleading tone isn't much at all.
Yet despite this, even when facing his silent scorn and blank stares.
He's already explored everywhere nearby, visited the relics from decades ago, even offering incense to the souls lost back then.
The last hope lies with these villagers. But what thod could make them reveal clues to him?
Money? Bribe them with money? That won't work. Their lives are self-sufficient with little material demand.
If no idea cos, then wait, waiting while looking for opportunities to find a breakthrough.
There seems to be no inn nearby, and the residents didn't seem inclined to let Ye Aotian stay overnight.
The nearest hotel is thirty kiloters away, and public transport here runs once daily, leaving at ten in the morning and returning at three in the afternoon. So Ye Aotian could only stay near here.
Of course, Ye Aotian is inherently a rough man, village-born, and not frail. In this season of continued drizzles and rising cold winds, he set up a temporary shelter out of branches and leaves under a big tree.
Despite being in a sheltered place, the cold weather, combined with dropping temperatures at night, made it easy for an eighty-year-old man sleeping outdoors here to get seriously chilled.
Ye Aotian wasn't foolish. He knew how to start a fire to warm himself. Sadly, the nearby firewood was drenched and couldn't ignite. Ordinary hos probably had so, but at this hour, everyone had turned off their lights to sleep. No one was willing to get up and give him so dry firewood, right?
"Damn this weather." Ye Aotian shivered from the cold but never blad the people here, only lanted the uncooperative weather. Reluctantly, he had to use what little Inner Strength he had to dispel the cold within.
'Creak...'
At that mont, a house not far away slowly opened its door, and a light ca on at the entrance. A barefoot girl, looking only seven or eight years old, carried a small basin in her hands and scampered over to Ye Aotian.
After putting the basin down, she quickly ran back.
"Hey..." Looking at the newly lit brazier, Ye Aotian hadn't even had the chance to thank her before the little girl scampered back again.
Looking at the brazier before him, warmth surged in Ye Aotian's heart. The people here were kind-hearted; it was only the events of those years that hit them so hard, making it hard for them to trust outsiders easily anymore... Sigh...
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