Chapter Seventy-One Stay Behind

  Ye Fan believed that in the next few days, this place would not be peaceful, and there might be a series of fierce battles. More people from the Donghuangmen sect would probably rush here, and the entire ruins would be stirred up because of the Demon Emperor's tomb.

  Looking back from afar, one can still see the direction of the ruins with blood splashing into the sky, and a divine rainbow is intersecting and colliding.

  "It doesn't matter if the ancient tower is in the nether tomb or not, it has nothing to do with me anymore..." Ye Fan was already very satisfied, and now he needed to find a peaceful place to calm his mind and cultivate.

  The strange beasts and birds that had gathered at the edge of the ruins had also dispersed, and Ye Fan walked out without seeing any ferocious birds or beasts.

  At this moment, the stars are twinkling, the bright moon is hanging high, and the night has already fallen.

  Ye Fan walked past the Lingxu Cave Heaven without any hesitation, taking big strides to leave. It was time to go. Although he had left some broken Buddhist artifacts at the Daliyin Temple, he didn't plan on going back for them. If he ran into Elder Han, it would be a huge hassle.

  The most important thing is that the Bodhi seeds are always with him, even if he temporarily loses those broken Buddha instruments, he doesn't feel sorry at all, after all, life is the most important.

  Ye Fan sped away quickly, dashing through the night, and rushed out of this mountain range. The place of right and wrong behind him was getting farther and farther away, but his heart had not truly put down.

  Three days later, Ye Fan appeared two thousand miles away. Along the way, he had been eating wind and sleeping in dew, cautiously sneaking around, almost never entering towns, but walking in the wilderness, until now he finally let out a breath of relief, his heart gradually calming down.

  It was already late at night, the clouds had obscured the stars and moon, making it exceptionally dark. Ahead, lights twinkled like fireflies, a small town came into view. Yefan felt he had reached a safe area and didn't need to flee anymore, so he walked forward with big strides.

  As I approached, I found that this was only a small town. At this moment, most people had already entered the dreamland, and only a few lights were still shining.

  Ye Fan walked into the small town, turned a big circle, and finally found a small shop that had not yet closed in a remote corner.

  This is a very small restaurant, with only seven or eight tables inside. Those tables and chairs look like they've been around for some years, polished to a shine, looking antique and very clean.

  "What's there for old man to eat? Hurry up and bring some over."

  The shopkeeper was an old man with white hair, and the years had left their mark on his face, which was full of wrinkles, looking weathered. His clothes were patched in many places, and life seemed not to be very good.

  Seeing an eleven or twelve-year-old boy out so late by himself was somewhat astonishing to the old man, but he still responded with a kind smile: "There's only half a roast chicken, more than half a plate of beef, and some mantou."

  "Alright, bring it all up here."

  "Then wait a moment, I'll go heat it up for you." The restaurant was really too small, the old man's living conditions were not very good, he was both the boss and the chef.

  Before long, the fragrant roasted chicken and more than half a plate of sautéed beef were brought up. Ye Fan's mouth was watering instantly. For over a year, he and Pang Bo had been eating vegetarian food every day, and Ling Xuan Cave Heaven almost never had meat dishes. The simple food in front of him made his stomach growl loudly.

  He quickly picked up the bowl and chopsticks, took a bite of the snow-white steamed bun, tore off a chicken leg, and started devouring it. At this moment, he felt that the most delicious food in the world was nothing more than this, and all the delicacies from mountains and seas were inferior to the few dishes in front of him that made him eat comfortably.

  "Don't rush, eat slowly, have a sip of soup, moisten your intestines and stomach, don't choke." The old man brought up a bowl of hot soup and kindly reminded.

  "Thank you, old man. Your culinary skills have made my stomach surrender with a loud 'gulp'." Ye Fan said with his mouth full of food, speaking unclearly.

  Looking at Ye Fan's attire, he didn't seem like a child from a poor family, but at this moment, he was devouring his food like a wolf. The old man couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He rolled up his sleeves with patches and picked up a rag to wipe the already clean table and chairs, chuckling and shaking his head: "You're too hungry, now anything you eat will taste sweet."

  "Grandpa, why haven't you closed the door yet..."

  At this moment, a five or six-year-old little girl walked out of the inner room. Her clothes were also patched up and dressed very simply, with two braids that looked very cute, her rosy face like a red apple.

  "You go to sleep first, it will be closing soon."

  The little girl looked at the food on the table, her big eyes couldn't move away from it, she swallowed a mouthful of saliva quietly, and nodded subconsciously, answering: "Oh."

  Before long, Ye Fan had swept away all the food on the table and stood up, saying: "Alright, old man, you can close up shop now." As he spoke, he reached into his bosom, but felt a bit embarrassed - he had forgotten that he didn't have any money or gold and silver items to pay with.

  "Is the young man having some difficulties with his hands?" The old man, who had experienced much in life, saw through his predicament at a glance.

  "This... I really didn't bring any money."

  "Ah, here comes another bad guy." The little girl next to her widened her eyes, on the verge of tears, staring at Ye Fan: "You're too cruel, always freeloading and bullying me and my grandfather. We can barely afford to eat ourselves..."

  She looked at the chicken bones on the table, her big eyes suddenly turned red, and said: "Grandpa said that if there were no guests coming, he would leave me a chicken leg... As a result, you are eating for free and also bullying us."

  A five or six-year-old little girl pouted her small mouth, and her long eyelashes trembled. Tears rolled down instantly, and her rosy cheeks were covered with tears. She kept wiping away her tears with a sleeve that had patches on it.

  It is obvious that their living conditions are not very good and they often suffer from bullying in daily life.

  "Don't cry, little sister..." Ye Fan was truly embarrassed and ashamed. The old man and the young girl looked like they were in a difficult situation, their lives had already fallen into a predicament.

  "It's okay, young man, don't blame yourself. I can tell you're different from those lazy bums, you're not a freeloader, you must have really forgotten to bring money." The old man with a face full of wrinkles pulled the little girl aside and said, "Don't cry, Grandpa saved a piece of chicken for you, and half a bun, I won't let you go hungry."

  "Grandpa..." The little girl suddenly burst into tears and said, "I'm not doing it for myself, because Grandpa hasn't had dinner either. We've been bullied by those bad people all day and we don't have any savings left. If we go on like this every day, what are we going to do?"

  Seeing the old and young people wearing clothes with patches, and hearing these words, Ye Fan suddenly felt a heart-wrenching feeling, his heart was deeply touched, and his nose was slightly sour.

  An ordinary person's life is filled with bittersweet emotions, the old and young relationships and helplessness, evoking a long-forgotten sense of feeling.

  "Little sister, don't cry. I'm not a bad person. Although I have no money, I have something here that should be enough to pay for this meal." Ye Fan took out a small jade bottle, which was the bottle of Hundred Herb Liquid he had exchanged during his trial in the ruins.

  "This is a good jade, it's too expensive, I can't accept it." The old man shook his head and said, "Everyone has difficulties sometimes, young man, if you pass by here again in the future, just make up for the money then."

  Ye Fan sighed and said, "You take it, it's nothing to me."

  "It's too valuable, I really can't accept it. When you're away from home, everyone has difficulties sometimes, young man, don't blame yourself." The old man's hands were covered with calluses as he firmly pushed the jade bottle back.

  Ye Fan saw him push it away and had no choice but to take it back.

  "Since you don't want to, I'll stay and help you with some chores." At this moment, he had nowhere to go, found the old man very kind and decided to temporarily stay here, cultivate quietly, and help the old man at the same time.

  A five or six year old little girl, with her head down looking at her toes, big eyes red, said in a low voice: "We can't even feed ourselves..."

  Ye Fan squatted down and gently patted the little girl's head, saying: "I'll stay here and won't be a burden to you."