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Remembering that hated enemy, the old man's emotions surged, and every line on his weathered face revealed his anger.
"Grandpa!" The girl was startled by the old man and timidly called out to him.
The old man was pulled back to reality and gently patted the girl's head. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Grandpa isn't angry anymore."
After calming the girl, he wearily leaned back against the ground, taking a moment before moving again.
Ye Xiaohan knew that they had lived in this dark, sunless basement for years, without exposure to sunlight or fresh air. Coupled with a lack of food, it had led to severe malnutrition and various health issues that required urgent treatment.
"Grandpa, let's talk about this later. You can't stay here; it's better to come out with us and focus on getting your health back first," Ye Xiaohan said as she moved a little closer, trying not to provoke any discomfort while slowly approaching them again.
The old man shook his head and pleaded, "I am but a flickering candle in the wind; I have brought this upon myself and deserve my fate. It is only my granddaughter I pity, suffering so young—truly an old fool I am. Young lady, could you take her away and find her a good family?"
Ye Xiaohan advised gently, "Grandpa, that's not right. If this girl has such a hard life and you give up on her too, she will be even more helpless. For her sake, you should gather your strength, see a doctor, take care of yourself, and live a long life."
The old man's expression shifted slightly as if he were touched by her words. His gaze fell on the girl, and he fell silent for a long time.
Ye Xiaohan patiently waited for his response; she knew he would agree. He had endured this hardship all for the sake of this girl.
Without her, the old man might have wanted to give up long ago; without him, she would have struggled to survive.
After a long while, the old man's expression softened as he no longer sought death. "Thank you, young lady. I have nothing to repay you with in my old age. When this child grows up, she will surely honor you."
"Alright, let's talk about that later. Grandpa, please step back; we need to remove this iron bar first." Ye Xiaohan called over Liu Bei. "Liu Bei, come take a look at how we can dismantle this."
Liu Bei inspected each iron bar one by one and pointed to a section where a piece was missing. "This part is loose; we can break it directly. Everyone stand back."
Ye Xiaohan waved to the girl. She hesitated at first but glanced at the old man for reassurance. He nodded at her, and she slowly approached Ye Xiaohan and stood beside her.
Liu Bei grasped the loose iron bar, took a deep breath, and with a sudden forceful pull, there was a loud clang as the lower end of the bar was ripped from the ground. With another tug, he pulled the entire bar free and tossed it aside.
The girl rushed over and hugged the old man tightly, refusing to let go. Ye Xiaohan gently comforted her for a long time, and with the old man's persuasion, she slowly released her grip, though her hand still clung tightly to the hem of his clothing.
Fortunately, the house had many rooms and had just been tidied up, so everything inside was clean. After preparing porridge and bedding, it was already late into the night.
When Ye Xiaohan returned to her room, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep within a second.
The next morning, she woke up early again and busily conducted a thorough check-up on the old man and the girl. Luckily, both of them were in good spirits and had not sustained any other injuries; with some rest, they would gradually regain their strength.
Especially the girl; children recover quickly. After finally escaping from the dark basement last night, with the old man by her side and having eaten some delicious food she hadn’t tasted in years, she slept soundly. By the next morning, her complexion had improved, and there was a sparkle in her eyes.
When Liu Yang and Liu Qi woke up to find two strangers in their home, they were both surprised.
After listening to Ye Xiaohan's explanation, Liu Yang restrained his curiosity and didn’t pry into their situation; he simply greeted them politely.
Liu Qi, on the other hand, was overjoyed. Back in the village, although the adults harbored ill feelings towards the Liu family and excluded them, the children didn’t understand anything and played together without care even if scolded by their families.
After moving to a new place, she hadn’t yet had a chance to make friends with the local children and had been feeling quite bored lately with no one to play with.
Now that there was suddenly another child around her age, she was the happiest of all.
Ye Xiaohan did not stop Liu Qi from approaching the girl; on the contrary, she encouraged it. Children find it easier to open their hearts to one another. The girl clearly felt overwhelmed and had a strong aversion to adults.
If it were another child like Liu Qi, things would likely be much better.
Sure enough, as Liu Qi approached the girl, she stepped back. Undeterred, Liu Qi continued to move closer while the girl kept retreating. After several attempts, Liu Qi tilted her head in thought for a moment before turning around and running away.
A moment later, she returned holding her favorite candy that she was reluctant to eat: "This is for you! My sister-in-law bought it for me; we can only eat one each. I haven't eaten mine yet; you can have it! It's really sweet and delicious!"
The girl looked eagerly at the candy resting in Liu Qi's palm, swallowing hard. She could hardly remember when she last tasted such sweetness.
She stared at the candy, then looked up at Liu Qi. Seeing her interest, Liu Qi happily extended her hand forward. The girl quickly grabbed the candy and put it in her mouth, covering her lips.
Liu Qi leaned in with a grin, "Is it good? I'm not lying to you. My sister-in-law's child can't lie; only adults do that."
It was unclear whether Liu Qi's words touched the girl or if the candy was truly delicious, but she no longer rejected Liu Qi and allowed her to follow closely behind.
Ye Xiaohan glanced at the elderly man, feeling a bit awkward. In order to help Liu Qi understand the harsh realities of society and to live better in the future, she had always practiced real education, not shying away from letting Liu Qi know some truths in advance.
For instance, adults are not always right; often, they just put on a show.
Now that Liu Qi had exposed this in front of her, Ye Xiaohan didn't feel she had done anything wrong; she simply thought that the elderly man was old and had been raised under feudal customs, so his ideas were certainly different from hers. She hoped he wouldn't be too upset.
"Hahaha, children speak without reservation; it's truly adorable, hahaha." Ye Xiaohan tried to make her laughter sound as natural as possible, avoiding any stiffness.
The elderly man's gaze remained fixed on the girl. Seeing her gradually warm up to Liu Qi eased some of the weight in his heart.
After hearing Ye Xiaohan's words, he shook his head and said, "The girl is right; only adults lie. You're teaching well. If I had taught my daughter like you teach Liu Qi back then, she wouldn't have been deceived, and my family wouldn't have faced such misfortune."
Ye Xiaohan comforted him, "Please don't get too worked up. There will be plenty of opportunities for these discussions later; first, focus on your health."
The elderly man shook his head. "You don't understand, young lady. I've held these words in my heart for so many years without a place to express them. For years, I was locked away by that beast in a dark room without light. If I don't get this out, it hurts my heart!"
"Calm down, calm down," Ye Xiaohan quickly reassured him and signaled to Liu Bei beside her. Understanding the cue, Liu Bei stepped forward and gently patted the elderly man's back.
The elderly man took a breath, his voice hoarse as he recalled those painful memories: "My surname is Li. I used to run a small business and had some luck when the market was good; I made a bit of money. As I grew older and my wife’s health declined while my daughter grew up, I decided to transfer the business and prepare for retirement at home."
Ye Xiaohan listened intently. After such a calm beginning, she wondered how twisted and bizarre the story would become that led this old man and young girl to be imprisoned underground.
"Later on, I took my life savings and built a house to live with my family. We only had one daughter; I couldn't bear to let her marry off easily, so I planned to find a son-in-law who would come into our family. I thought about having grandchildren in the future—more people meant we could build a bigger house for everyone to live comfortably." Uncle Li reminisced about those peaceful and happy times with distant eyes as if he were transported back to the past.
Ye Xiaohan was somewhat surprised. "That house, could it be...?" She couldn't help but think of the worst, and the thought was terrifying.
"That's right," Uncle Li admitted directly. "It's that house. This used to be the Li residence."
She hadn't expected that Uncle Li was truly the original owner of this house, yet he had been treated so inhumanely, and right here, in his own home.
From Uncle Li's description, his family should have been relatively happy and harmonious. The only variable, it seemed, was quite obvious.
Ye Xiaohan asked, "What happened next? That son-in-law you took in..."
"That beast!" Uncle Li's voice suddenly rose as he mentioned the son-in-law, cursing breathlessly while pounding on the bed. "It's all because of that beast that my Li family has fallen apart!"
Ye Xiaohan quickly stepped forward to press on Uncle Li's acupoints to prevent him from fainting out of anger. With Uncle Li's condition, if he fainted once or twice more, even a deity might struggle to save him.
"Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. Yes, just like that." Ye Xiaohan guided him patiently until she finally managed to calm the old man down.
Uncle Li said with guilt, "I'm sorry for troubling you again, Miss Ye. My heart is just so heavy. Every time I think of my dear daughter, I wish I could go with her."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Our family was living well before all this. It's all my fault for taking in that son-in-law. If I had just let my daughter marry someone properly back then, we wouldn't be in this situation now. Everything is thanks to that heartless beast."
The old man spoke in fragments, his emotions spilling out.
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