"I'm never coming back, never! Never again!"
Xiao Shan, like a raging beast, roared and then tightly embraced Ling Yao.
Ling Yao knew she had scared him again. His chest was pounding fiercely.
"Ashan, I have a secret to tell you."
She whispered into his ear, her voice soft and sweet, "I love you so, so much."
This was where he was born. She wanted to see how he had lived before, to understand him completely, to be a part of his life.
No matter how humble this place was, it had nurtured him. She had come with a heart full of reverence.
Who could have imagined that a dangerous person was hidden here? Thinking of that madman's ramblings, should she tell Ashan?
Could her father-in-law truly be that kind of person?
"You this..."
Her words disarmed Xiao Shan. In this dark, chilling graveyard, after he had lost his reason and yelled at her in his panic, she had said something like that.
Truly...
"A curse."
Why wasn't she scolding him or throwing a tantrum like before?
The torch had gone out. Even with Xiao Shan's eyesight, he could only vaguely make out her silhouette. She was covered in wet mud, cold and clammy.
"Where are you hurt? We'll go back immediately."
He smelled blood and worriedly felt her all over, but found no wounds. Finally, he touched her two muddy hands.
She was so badly injured, yet the girl didn't cry. Didn't it hurt?
But he felt the pain.
"Wait a moment, there's still Huzizi."
Only then did Xiao Shan look to the side. Indeed, there was a small figure prostrate on the ground. How had this kid been captured too? It must have been an accident! kuAiδugg
He had come too quickly. Shuanghua and the villagers were probably still on their way.
"Someone," he called out into the darkness.
Ling Yao saw a dark shadow appear and pick up Huzizi.
"Are they from the Immortal King Sect?"
"Yes." Xiao Shan opened his clothes and wrapped her against his chest.
Ever since she was abducted last time, he had made preparations. Not only to prevent any further accidents, but also to guard against Emperor Mingde going mad again. Although the numbers were small, each of them was skilled.
He hadn't expected them to be needed so soon.
It was truly a life full of hardships.
On the way, they met the villagers who were rushing over. Xiao Daming breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that they had found the people.
"Huzizi, Huzizi, don't scare your mother!" Shuanghua cried as she took Huzizi.
Ling Yao was held tightly in Xiao Shan's arms and couldn't speak.
She only heard the cold, low voice of the Immortal King Sect brother: "He's fine, just scared."
Huzizi began to whimper again, "Mom, Mom, Grandpa Chen wanted to kill me and sister, he was scary, scary..."
It really was Chen Dali!
The villagers were shocked. Chen Dali had already been taken away by Xiao Shan's men and wouldn't be easily let go. However, they truly didn't know what grudges existed between the two families.
They only knew that he and Xiao Ying Tian had been good friends before. After Chen Dali's wife ran away, he seemed to have become withdrawn and no longer worked with Xiao Ying Tian.
After the flood, when others fled the famine, he didn't leave and stayed in the village.
In recent years, few people had seen him. If not for the small population of the village, where one could count the inhabitants with a simple headcount, he would have been forgotten.
Xiao Shan carried Ling Yao back to Xiao Daming's house. Xiao Daming's wife brought hot water, wanting to help, but Xiao Shan refused.
Entering the house, he released her from his embrace and then realized she was truly covered in dirt. Her hair, neck, and ears were all caked with it.
Buried alive?
Forcing down the surging rage, he went with a dark, cloudy face to unfasten her clothes.
"Were you scared then?" he asked, his voice tight with suppressed emotion, a pain in his throat.
Ling Yao shook her head. "I've seen my share of things, so I wasn't afraid. It's just..."
"Just what?"
She didn't know what to say. She described these troublesome events as "seeing her share of things." Thinking about it, she had indeed seen quite a lot.
"I don't have any strength right now, can I eat something first?"
Eat again?
The breath that had been stuck in his throat somehow disappeared.
It was true, digging through the soil had taken a lot of energy. It was normal to be hungry.
"Alright, let's bandage your hands first."
Her little hands' fingernails were all broken, and her fingertips were bleeding. Not a single part was intact. It hurt just to look at them. Wasn't she the most afraid of pain? How could she endure it without a sound?
Xiao Shan looked up at her and saw that she was lost in thought.
Xiao Shan couldn't help but frown again.
If a woman stops acting spoiled or throwing tantrums in front of a man, what could be the reason?
Ruan Ji probably had some research on this, but unfortunately, he wasn't here.
Xiao Shan brought in some food. Ling Yao's hands were bandaged like rice dumplings, and she could only wait for Xiao Shan to feed her.
"Chew it thoroughly before you swallow."
Her mouth was so small, yet she took such large bites and swallowed them in a few gulps. There was definitely something wrong.
Could it be that she had worms in her stomach?
"I chewed carefully, I chewed carefully, hurry up!"
Ling Yao, holding out her two hands, wished she could snatch the date cake from his hand.
Why was he being so slow?
Xiao Shan frowned and fed her a little more, then dared not let her eat any further. He firmly decided to find a doctor to examine her.
Calculating it, her day's food intake was almost half of his. He knew that when she was an adult, she could only eat a tenth of what he ate. It didn't make sense that she was smaller, but her stomach had grown larger.
Ling Yao listlessly stopped eating. She still didn't feel full, but she wasn't hungry anymore either.
After eating, Xiao Shan brought water and began to clean her.
Ling Yao felt a little shy.
This was the first time he had bathed her since she had shrunk. Had he come to his senses and would he wash her from now on?
However, he wiped her so quickly, it was different from before. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have taken until dawn.
"Alright, get into bed quickly and warm up. You've caught a chill today, don't get sick."
After wiping her, Xiao Shan efficiently put on her inner clothes, tucked her into the quilt, and secured it tightly.
There was no tenderness or affection, it was like completing a task.
Ling Yao pinched her little arms and legs, sighing inwardly.
After tidying up, Xiao Shan went out. Feng Yi came to report the results of the interrogation.
"Madman?"
How much truth was there in his nonsensical ramblings? His wife was sold by his father? How could that be!
"Deal with him!" Xiao Shan waved his hand dismissively.
Whether it was true or not, this person had touched his forbidden zone, and there was no possibility of him surviving. As for the grudges between him and his father, he had no interest in prying into those old matters.
"Daming." He called out towards the corner of the room.
Xiao Daming sheepishly walked out. "Shan, Shanzi, I wasn't eavesdropping, I just wanted to come and see if your girl was alright?"
"She's fine. Go and invite the best doctor in the city to examine my girl, and also take a look at Huzizi."
Xiao Daming's spirits immediately lifted. "Okay, okay, I'll go right away. Doctor Xu from Detai Hall is highly skilled. I'll go and invite him right now!"