Chapter 72: Hope in My Heart

  The old man repeatedly declined and didn't let Ye Fan stay, saying that he could make up for the meal by paying next time he passed by.

  "Old man, I'm now homeless and have nowhere to go. Just let me stay here, I'll help out with things."

  "Big brother, don't you have a home?" The little girl was innocent and lovely, the tears on her face had not yet dried, she looked up at him with a sympathetic expression on her tender small face.

  In the end, the old man let Ye Fan stay and cleaned out a room for him in the backyard, telling him he could leave at any time.

  At night, Ye Fan was unable to fall asleep and got up quietly to go to the rooftop. He lay down there, gazing up at the sky. At this moment, the clouds had dispersed, and the bright moon hung in the air, casting a thin veil of moonlight that resembled smoke. The stars twinkled like diamonds in the vast expanse.

  The affection between the old man and the little girl inadvertently touched the deepest part of his heart, and the kind faces of his parents often appeared in his mind.

  "How are you..."

  Ye Fan gazed up at the starry sky, as if wanting to pierce through the endless expanse of stars and reach the other end of the universe, back to his parents' side. Every time he thought of his parents, his heart became restless, suddenly and unexpectedly disappearing, his elderly parents must be very sad.

  For parents, losing their only child in old age would be an unbearable pain. Thinking of his parents being heartbroken, Ye Fan felt anxious and restless, wishing he could immediately return to their side and calm their hearts, bringing a smile back to their faces.

  But separated by endless starry skies, the distance is so far away, how can I go back? His heart was filled with a sense of powerlessness, and he could only stare blankly at the starry sky.

  Every time he thinks of his parents' feelings at this moment, Ye Fan's heart aches terribly. Since coming to this world, he has always hidden his deep longing and dared not touch or recall it easily. Every time he is touched, he finds it hard to calm down.

  "No, I must find a way to return. I cannot let my parents who gave birth to me and raised me spend their old age in tears..." Ye Fan suddenly sat up and muttered to himself: "There must be a way, I must go back."

  In the original ruins, he saw those monks flying and escaping, saw five great figures with divine power covering the world, making him feel the greatness of the monks. Perhaps one day when he is strong enough, he can cross the endless starry sky and return to his hometown, back to his parents' side.

  Witnessing the terror of the cultivator, Ye Fan's heart rose with a glimmer of hope. He felt that the road home was not completely cut off, and perhaps there was still hope.

  "I want to become stronger, I want to break through this starry sky, I want to go home and no longer make my parents sad and cry. I want their later years to be filled with smiles..." Ye Fan's words became more and more determined, he was building confidence for himself, saying: "I must be able to do it, I have to do it, I will return to their side!"

  Sentiment and worry are useless, Ye Fan slowly adjusted his mood, letting his heart gradually calm down. Today, he was moved by the affection between the old man and the little girl, and his last bit of confusion and perplexity completely disappeared. He found his own goal and direction.

  "Nine dragons pulling a coffin, traversing the starry expanse, arriving in this realm, they can do it, and I can too. I must become strong enough, sooner or later, one day I'll be able to cross the void and return home." Ye Fan's eyes grew brighter and brighter, he had to get stronger, whether it was to rescue Pang Bo or return to his hometown, he needed powerful strength as a backing.

  Before he knew it, he had a bit of drowsiness and fell fast asleep on the bed. It wasn't until the next morning that the old man's voice came, which made him open his eyes.

  "Kid, how did you get up on the roof? Be careful, don't fall off."

  The little girl rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked out of the room, seeing Ye Fan on the roof, she was suddenly startled and opened her eyes wide, saying: "Big brother, what are you doing?"

  Faced with the doubts of the old and young, Ye Fan felt a bit embarrassed and said: "It was too hot last night, I came to the house to cool off and accidentally fell asleep."

  Ye Fan finished washing up, and the old man called him to eat. There was a small bowl of plain white porridge and a dish of salted vegetables, very simple because their conditions were really limited. The little girl was very sensible, had already set out the bowls and chopsticks, then served Ye Fan a bowl of white porridge, and for her own grandfather filled a full bowl, but when it came to herself she only took a tiny bit, originally she used a small bowl, as a result what she took was so little that she finished eating in just a few mouthfuls, after which she put down the bowl and chopsticks.

  "How little you eat?" asked the old man.

  The little girl was wearing a patched-up dress, but she looked as pretty as an exquisite porcelain doll. She patted her small belly and said, "I'm full."

  "Nonsense, you've just had a few bites, how can you be full?"

  "I'm really full. Last night, I ate the chicken pieces that Grandpa left for me and half a bun, and I'm still not hungry now." The little girl said, picking up her small bowl to go rinse it.

  The old man pulled her back, filled her small bowl with white porridge and said: "Good child, you are growing up now, eat more, don't worry, we still have rice at home."

  "I'm not worried, I'm really full, Grandpa you should eat some more..." The little girl poured a lot of the white porridge from her small bowl into the old man's large bowl.

  The old man couldn't stop it, didn't say anything else, and just let out a sigh.

  "Grandpa, will those bad people come again today?" The little girl's rosy face showed a hint of fear, her voice very childish, saying: "They've already taken away our wine shop, and now they're coming here every day to cause trouble. We can't even do business anymore, and soon we won't be able to eat either. Why won't they just leave us alone?"

  "Don't worry, you won't go hungry as long as Grandpa is here." The old man patted her head and then added some plain porridge to the little girl's bowl.

  Ye Fan didn't say anything on the side, silently finishing this simple breakfast, but his heart was hard to calm down.

  The old man's surname is Jiang, a very ancient surname with a great origin, but the old man himself is very ordinary, just one of the many people in the world. He is now living a very difficult life. The sensible and beautiful little girl is called Tingting, her parents passed away two years ago, leaving her and the old man dependent on each other for survival.

  Ye Fan didn't say much more and after having his breakfast and dinner, he said to the old man: "Old sir, I'm going out for a walk."

  "You're in an unfamiliar place here, be careful." The old man reminded.

  The town is not big or small, with over a thousand households and nearly five thousand people. At the busiest intersection, there are several wine houses and inns, as well as general merchandise stores, which are mostly concentrated there, while other areas are mostly residential districts.

  Ye Fan walked around the small town and then headed out of town. Many fields were adjacent to the small town, and further away was a forest where hunters went hunting every day.

  Ye Fan walked into the mountain forest, and as he went deeper, he became more astonished. Standing on a high mountain, looking far away, he found that the distant mountains were undulating, endless, misty and mysterious, and the primitive ancient forest seemed to have no end.

  "Roar......"

  In the depths of the mountain forest, waves of roaring sounds came, Ye Fan didn't worry at all, but instead showed a joyful expression. The small town was indeed a place where he could calm his mind and cultivate, not only peaceful, but also adjacent to the deep mountains, definitely with exotic beasts and spiritual herbs, these were things he needed very much.

  Ye Fan spent less than half a day wandering in the mountains, and didn't venture too far. He had plenty of time and wasn't in a hurry. As it approached noon, he started heading out, and on the way, he ran into some hunters and some herb collectors.

  "It's really not easy for ordinary people to live...” Ye Fan sighed, and found that several hunters were carrying some prey, while also lifting a body covered in blood, walking towards the small town, definitely someone who was killed by a large ferocious beast during hunting.

  In the distance, several deer were drinking water in the mountain stream. Ye Fan silently bypassed them and then threw a stone from his hand with great force, making a "bang" sound, knocking down one of the deer into the creek. Afterwards, he also hunted a roe deer in the mountain forest before heading back.

  On the road, some hunters saw an eleven or twelve-year-old boy dragging a roe deer and a muntjac, all with surprised expressions. Ye Fan didn't mind, he was going to live in this small town for a long time, these were unavoidable.

  Near noon, Ye Fan returned to the town, sold the roe deer to a butcher, and then went to buy some rice flour. He brought the roe deer to Old Man Jiang's small restaurant.

  From a distance, he saw that many people had gathered there, and Tingting's helpless crying voice came through the crowd. Ye Fan's heart suddenly "thudded", and he rushed over quickly.

  The old man's white hair was disheveled, his face smeared with blood, and he sat weakly on the ground, his patched clothes covered in dust. Little Tingting sobbed pitifully, using her small sleeve to wipe away the bloodstains on the old man's face, crying out at the group of rough-looking men in front: "You're bad people! You robbed Grandpa's wine shop, now we don't even have food to eat... and you still won't let us be..."

  A middle-aged man with a yellow face squatted down, forcefully tapped Xiaoting's forehead, making her fall to the ground, saying: "What does little hairy head know!"

  "What's wrong with you, coming at me like that? Don't do this in front of the child..." Old Man Jiang shielded Tingting behind him, wiping away the blood on his face and said: "What is it that you want?"

  "We didn't come here to eat like this, and you're telling us there's no food? What kind of restaurant are you running? Just close the door if that's how it is."

  "Bad people, you come every day to eat for free, how can we afford to support you......" Xiaoting cried behind Old Man Jiang.

  There were many people in the crowd who couldn't bear to watch, but they didn't dare to come forward. They could only persuade Old Man Jiang, saying: "Old Man Jiang, just close down this small shop and leave with your granddaughter."

  "Yes, there are immortals in their family, we ordinary people can't afford to offend them, you two should leave quickly."

  "Although it's hard to leave home and go far away, it's still good to have left."

  ……

  "What are you talking about?" The middle-aged man with a yellow face stood up and swept his eyes around the surrounding people, and those voices immediately fell silent.

  Ye Fan's anger was raging, but he didn't immediately take action. The other family had cultivators, and he feared that if he acted rashly, it might harm the old man and his grandson instead. Of course, he would never let these people off scot-free; not taking action now didn't mean he wouldn't settle accounts later.

  At this time, the middle-aged man with a yellow face and several others swaggered away. The onlookers came forward one after another to persuade Old Man Jiang, amidst which were interspersed with Xiao Tingting's sorrowful sobs.

  It wasn't until much later that the crowd gradually dispersed, and Xiaoting's eyes were red all over, supporting the old man to get up and walking towards the small restaurant.

  Seeing such a kind old man being bullied, and then seeing the little girl with patches all over her clothes crying so sadly, Ye Fan felt an outburst of anger. He looked in the direction that those people had left, clenching his fists tightly.