Chapter 13: Grandfather and Grandson Meet

  Yang Feng lay on his mother's grave, sobbing and shedding tears that fell to the ground, quickly forming a damp patch beside the tomb. In this cold northern wind, it surprisingly didn't freeze into ice. Yang Feng himself didn't know how long he had been crying, until he felt dizzy and his brain no longer listened to him, then he fainted.

  When Yang Feng woke up again, he found that it was still a starry sky, and the surroundings were still pitch black. The cold wind blew, and he suddenly became much clearer. Yang Feng stood up, tidied up his mother's grave, but he felt a bit strange. He had been away from here for seven or eight years, and his mother's grave should have been overgrown with weeds, and it would also have become shorter with time. However, now he found that there was not a single weed on his mother's grave, and it hadn't become shorter either, still the same height as when he left. Yang Feng couldn't help but think to himself, "Could someone have come here to take care of it?" But who could it be?

  After placing a few handfuls of yellow earth on his mother's grave, Yang Feng couldn't think of anyone who would be willing to help her take care of the tomb after being rejected by the entire village. He let out a deep sigh and slowly walked into the small hut he had built for himself and his mother. Upon entering the hut, Yang Feng was afraid of being discovered by the people inside the village, so he didn't light any lamps. However, since he could already see in the dark, he didn't need any light to see everything clearly in the room.

  The small cottage was divided into two rooms, the inner one being a bedroom and the outer one serving as both a living room and kitchen. Yang Feng gazed at the simple stove, a small wooden table, two stools, and on the table, two small bowls and chopsticks. Suddenly, memories of his childhood with his mother flooded his mind. Although they didn't have any delicacies back then, just wild vegetables from the mountains and some vegetables his mother had painstakingly grown, she could still create the most delicious dishes in her hands. Every time Yang Feng would finish eating the meals his mother prepared, he felt it was the happiest moment of his life.

  Yang Feng thought about these things, and tears fell again. He had sworn that he would never cry again when he was in the small valley, but today he couldn't control his emotions, and tears kept flowing out. Yang Feng wiped away his tears and walked into the bedroom, looking at the large and small wooden beds, a simple dresser in front of the window, a wooden comb on the dresser, and a mirror. It seemed as if he saw his beautiful mother sitting in front of the dresser, combing her beautiful hair again.

  Yang Feng came to the dressing table, sat down, picked up the wooden comb, carefully stroked it, and then brought it to his nose to smell carefully, smelling the scent of his mother on it, gradually becoming intoxicated.

  Also didn't know how long had passed, Yang Feng woke up from his memories, only to find that it was already daytime outside. The bright sunlight shone on the window of the small cottage, making it gradually warm up. Yang Feng opened the window to let the sunlight in, and then wanted to sweep the house, but when he turned around, he froze.

  Yang Feng found that everything in the house was spotless, every place was so clean, which made Yang Feng even more suspicious. Now he dared to confirm that someone must have come here to tidy up the house, otherwise it would not be possible for him to leave for so many years and still be so clean. Moreover, the layout of the furniture in the house was exactly the same as when he left, without any change!

  But who exactly is going to take care of it?! Yang Feng's thoughts turned rapidly, and in the end, he thought of his own grandfather, who had driven him and his mother out of the village since childhood. Apart from him, there was definitely no one else who would come here to take care of all this! It seemed that this grandfather still loved his mother very much, although at first, he had driven Yang Feng and his mother out of the village, probably also under pressure to make such a decision. After thinking about these things, Yang Feng's original resentment towards this grandfather suddenly wasn't so strong anymore.

  Yang Feng was thinking this way when he suddenly felt his hair stand on end, and at the same time, he felt a strong, invisible pressure bearing down on him. The pressure was so great that Yang Feng didn't dare to have any thoughts of resistance. He turned around under the pressure and saw an old man standing in the doorway of the wooden house, staring at him with his eyes, and the invisible pressure was emanating from the old man's body.

  The old man was not very tall, with a thin build and a bit of hunchback. A strip of blue cloth wrapped around his head, and he wore the typical Miao ethnic minority attire. The old man's face had many wrinkles, which showed his life experience, but his eyes were deep and bright, exuding an invisible pressure. Although his body was somewhat hunched, it stood before Yang Feng like a great mountain - this old man was his maternal grandfather, the chief of Xijiang Miao Village, who had driven him and his mother out of their home all those years ago!

  "Grandpa!" Yang Feng called out softly, although he had once resented this grandfather, but seeing the old man's aged face and all that he had done for his mother, it was clear that the old man still deeply loved his own mother, and so deserved to be called "grandfather".

  The old man's body shook violently after hearing Yang Feng's call, and the pressure on Yang Feng suddenly disappeared. His bright and profound eyes became somewhat dull, and it took a long time to recover.

  "He's back." The old man said to Yang Feng.

  "En," Yang Feng replied.

  "Have you been wronged?!" The old man asked again.

  Yang Feng's body shook as he listened to the old man's words, and his fists clenched tightly, his teeth biting down hard, his eyes bursting with a fierce hatred, and his body emitting a violent energy. However, it was quickly suppressed, and after taking a deep breath, he said to the old man, "No!"

  Although Yang Feng denied it, the old man looked at Yang Feng's appearance and if he still didn't understand, then at such a big age, it would be considered a waste of life. The old man sighed and said to Yang Feng, "Follow me!"

  The old man finished speaking and turned around to walk out, Yang Feng followed behind the old man's back also walking towards the outside. The direction the old man was heading was the direction of the inner village of Xijiang Miao Village, the old man being the head of the entire village, his house located in the deepest part of the mountain village, while Yang Feng and his mother were in this wooden house which wasn't very far from the old man's house. The area surrounding the head's residence was not allowed to have anyone living there, so a large area around was empty and uninhabited, therefore the old man bringing Yang Feng here also didn't fear being seen by others.

  Arrived at the old man's stilt house, then followed the old man to the second floor. On the second floor, there were several rooms, and the old man first let Yang Feng take a hot bath before taking him to a room similar to a study. Inside, not a single modern thing could be seen, everything was very primitive, even bathing required boiling water oneself, and all furniture and decorations were made of wood, with an ancient flavor everywhere.

  The old man sat on a wooden chair, looking at Yang Feng who had just finished bathing and changed into a Miao nationality costume. He nodded and let Yang Feng sit in the chair opposite him, then handed over a black leather object to Yang Feng's hand.

  "This is the origin of our Xijiang Miao people, you take a look first." The old man said to Yang Feng.

  Yang Feng looked at the animal skin in his hand, looking at the Miao characters on it, and was suddenly shocked. Yang Feng had also learned the Miao script from his mother when he was young, and in order to please his mother and make her happy, Yang Feng had studied hard, so he naturally recognized these Miao characters.

  Although this piece of animal skin has been passed down for many years, the text on it is also in the ancient Miao language. However, as the daughter of the tribe's leader, Yang Feng's mother gave him something that was naturally profound in Miao culture, so Yang Feng easily deciphered the text written on the animal skin.

  Yang Feng was shocked and amazed, never expecting that the Xijiang Miao people had such a great history!